SCENARIO #5
(gesundheit.)
— 𖥸 —
Whoever said making pie crust was a challenging yet possible task, had been seriously underestimating their abilities.
No matter what you did to try and excel in your attempts of being a pro-baker, you still couldn't get the crust done right, no matter how many times you followed the instructions.
It was either you added too much water, kneaded the dough too long for it to be proper, or just totally crushed it in general. In the end, you were still lacking in what you wanted, and you were running out of time to finish your pastry for Home Economics.
Yeah.. you brought this upon yourself for picking raspberry pie rather than an easier dessert, but it was too late to back out now.
You already had the ingredients pulled out, most of everything else was already finished and waiting to be used in forming the finishing product, it was just the final step that you were struggling most with.
Most people would just tell you to go and buy a store-bought crust instead, but that was out of the question.
Afterall, you were in a cooking class.
Everything you needed that wasn't already in the pantry, had to be made by yourself.
You couldn't ask for help unless it was to find an ingredient or pick something too heavy for you to hold on your own. This was a graded assignment, any slacking off would cause a dent in your score this semester.
And if your family found out you flunked a household class of all subjects?
..Boy.
You'd be hearing it from them alright.
So here you were, drowning in a pool of regrets with no one to console you over it. Everyone else was far too busy focusing on their own work to bother spending any of their time comforting you after you brought demise onto yourself.
It was your fault choosing such a complex dish to make of all things considered.
Especially one that you couldn't eat, thanks to this raspberry pie having almonds.
Why were you making a sweet containing products you were allergic to? You had no idea.
All you knew, was that you had to be extremely careful when dealing with the risk of a reaction just by nearing the one thing threatening your health.
But, that task had already been completed just a few minutes prior, that's why you were more focused on the crust rather than anything else.
It was the only thing you had left to do, the rest was just waiting for the pie crust.
You'll admit, it was stupid to pick something you couldn't even eat afterwards to bake, but did you ever explain the reason behind it?
Why were you making something that had almonds in the list of needed ingredients?
..Well, it's simple, really.
Because you wanted to.
And it wasn't because you were making it for somebody or anything, no.
(It was.)
You were just trying something new.
(That's the only truth here, and it's only partial.)
Most of the time during classes like these, you'd go for the simple route of baking cookies or a pastry that was easier to do rather than a complex pie dish.
You wanted to test your skills, see how well you could make a raspberry pie for the first time with no assistance.
Sure, you knew it was a moronic decision to do it all without any practice in a class that grades based off of the finishing product, but if you asked for help you were certain whoever took the time to actually save you in your crust-making catastrophe would end up slipping the question of asking why you chose this particular sweet of all things.
They'd definitely give you weird stares if you told them it was just for the fun of it.
Definitely not because you were making it for someone specific.
Definitely not because you refused to acknowledge your growing softness.
(You were right on the staring part, but only different on the reason behind it. They knew the real reason, Reader. Your denial is fluctuating.)
So yeah, you're going solo.
Even if pie crust was your mortal enemy, you'd find a way around it.
..Probably.
Of course, refusing to get help doesn't mean that you can't do the same for others.
"(Surname)-San!"
You just didn't want to be the one being in debt to a person.
You've had enough to deal with as is.
"Yes?"
A boy in your class ran up to you, a tray of freshly made tarts on top. They were all decorated with such grace, you almost would've been envious of his work had you not seen him use a YouTube video to help him make his filling.
"Try these!"
Oh, he was offering?
That's nice! A little snack would definitely lift your spirits and bring you motivation. Looks like the earth didn't have it out for you afterall, you just needed to be patient.
"Sure! What's in them?"
You popped a tart in your mouth before he could answer, a small smile on your face as you chewed, moving to roll your dough.
This was the last time you were going to try and make it.
If you failed?
..Well.
Then you're going crustless.
(He'd still eat it, right?)
Lord, you hope not.
"Well, for the crust it was easy."
You wish that had been the case for you.
"Nothing out of the ordinary, just the usual for crust. Eggs, sugar.. but what I'm really proud of is the filling!"
Your throat felt kind of itchy for some reason.
Huh.
"Frangipane, that's what they call it, I think. Fun word! I used butter, sugar, eggs again, almond flour, vanilla extra—"
The sound of a rolling pin coming to an abrupt halt echoed across the room.
You blinked, face shifting into one of horror.
Your classmate didn't notice.
"Almond..?"
Hoarse.
Your throat was hoarse.
..Damn it.
"Oh, yeah. I heard it had a different taste from all-purpose, and wanted to see if it was noticeable. Pretty good for my first time baking with it, right?"
THUD.
The rolling pin slid from your hand.
That caught your classmates attention.
"(Surname)-San?"
"..I'm gonna puke."
Forget berating from your parents if you flunked cooking this year,
You were going to get an even worse scolding from the nurse in the maximum of an hour.
— ✶ —
"—Classmate or not, you should never take something without knowing what's inside of it, (Surname)."
Your head was throbbing, and you weren't sure whether it was because of the cruelty of post-reaction symptoms, or because of the ear-piercing chiding you were put under by the nurse the second you stepped into the infirmary.
The second your classmate realized you were anything but okay, you were rushed to her office— and just as you expected, she was anything but happy.
You've gone to her infirmary enough times to count, whether it be because of chemical spills in the science room or scenarios like these where your body acted out of line and forced you to drag yourself to the bleached room that had nothing but packets of ice and rough beds that gave you more back pain than it did relaxation.
You thought you were starting to get better the moment you were handed a drink, but turns out every word that she uttered only made the pain worsen.
Seriously, can she get out of here?
She's right, yeah, but you already learned your lesson.
It was your fault for being so rash, but why add salt to the wound by scolding you with things you understand better now?
It's not like you were purposely trying to get yourself into these conundrums, they just happened!
To make things worse, you couldn't even speak to tell her any of this. Your throat was still as scratchy as ever, and the thought of speaking while in this state made the agitating ache only intensify further with each pressing sensation.
You were silenced, getting yelled at, and put in a mood worse than any mood you've been in before.
..Not to mention, you still haven't finished that darned pie.
"You're lucky it wasn't anything big this time around, otherwise I would've needed to call your parents."
..Didn't she do that already?
No wait, maybe she means it in a 'Come pick your child up' way rather than a 'Your kid had a reaction, but they're alright now, just letting you know' way instead.
..Or maybe you were just imagining fake memories all because of your throbbing mind, it's not like you were fully well anyways, just recovering.
The nurse sighed, and you fought back a wince when her gaze landed on you again.
"Just get some rest, and when you're feeling better feel free to return to your classes or go home. I expect better from you here on, call me if you need anything."
She left, and you let out a breath you didn't realize you held.
..Geez, weren't nurses supposed to be nice or something?
She wasn't mean, but definitely not as soft as the expected nurse.
(She probably is nice, you just don't give her a reason to be.)
No matter, now you were all alone.
..Not much of a nice thing, huh?
It's quiet, all you could really do now was rest your head against the tough pillow and hope to get a decent nap or whatever.
...
You should have asked for cough drops.
— ✶ —
Meanwhile, Akane remained oblivious to your dilemma.
He was in his homeroom, getting back a book that a classmate of his borrowed and making sure that nothing happened to the pages.
It's not like he didn't trust them or anything, but he didn't want to take his chances.
The most of his day was spent by himself for the most part. Occasionally, he'd talk to Lemon or Aoi— maybe even Minamoto, but he barely even saw you this morning.
He knew it was because you weren't in the same class, but it was still disheartening.
Akane had learned nothing of your Home Ec incident, having too focused on other things to even get a quick snippet of whatever happened.
He didn't get a text from you or anybody else, so he remained oblivious.
Until, the news finally reached him.
..By his own classmates.
"Have you heard?"
He thought it was going to be a rumor, something related to supernaturals.
Kamome was known for its ghostly nature, every students' favorite topic would be along the lines of apparitions, it was the one thing everyone clicked over.
Or atleast, most of everyone.
Akane didn't see the appeal.
They weren't that cool, not even.
Why enthuse over those who don't even breathe? If they ever met a supernatural he doubts they'd be as excited as they always seem to be when they speak of it.
They'd never squeal about if it they were actually face to face with one of them.
What was the point then? It's not that great. He would know, afterall he assis—
"Apparently some kid in Home Economics had an allergic reaction, they ate something they weren't supposed to."
...
Oh, so it's not supernatural related.
..That's new.
"Really? Who was it?"
He should just continue on then, can't be th—
"(Surname)-San, I think."
RECORD SCRATCH.
...What.
"Some guy gave them a tart made with almond flour, turns out they're allergic to almonds."
"Really? I never would've guessed."
"Yeah, they got rushed to the infirmary after that, but they're fine."
The stare he gave the two students was tense, but they barely even noticed.
It didn't even last long anyways.
He ran out before the conversation could finish.
...
Reader.
You're an idiot.
— ✶ —
In the midst of your moping, you sneezed.
Twice.
"..Yikes."
Word got out it seems.
[ NOTE: In Japan, it's believed that sneezing
correlates to somebody talking about you. ]
AUTHORS NOTE ;
I tried to do my research when it comes to the food and allergic reactions part, please tell me if I got anything wrong! and if I did, I am so sorry :( I wanted to experiment like I always do, but I know I'm not fully knowledgeable, so any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Other than that, i hope you're excited for the next part, Akane will 100% check up on them, and maybe even more!
Sorry for not posting :( I've been so busy </9