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Who: Haruka+Anyone (feel free to jump in and make subthreads across time and space!)
Where: Home Ec Room+Near Entrace
When: Wed April 19th (after school) and Saturday April 22nd (during lunch)
What: Drama Club spreads sugary goodness

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'DRAMA CLUB PRACTICES ARE SUSPENDED THIS WEEK FOR FUNDING SCHEMES AND BEGGARY' read the notice on the drama room door.

Instead, the members of the drama club were prepping for the bake sale planned for Saturday. After some wheedling with the Home Ec club for permission to use the room and even more wheedling to be allowed to put up ads and set up a table during lunch, things were well underway.

A few club members had already finished their contributions and were gone, leaving a boy who had to start over when he burned his batch (the smell wafting outside the open door), two girl who were spending more time talking than doing work, and Haruka. Haruka had her tablet on the counter, settled on a recipe for caramel chocolate cake, while she worked, taking her time as she went through each step. The kitchen station she was at was fairly standard so she didn't have much problem navigating but it was nice to not have to maneuver around people or fight for space anymore.

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"Hmm?" Ryuta peered over at the tall German after hearing her remark. Shortly afterward, he noticed Miyume step into the room as well. But he felt he needed to address the main issue at hand before greeting her. He walked over to the tall blonde with a questioning expression. "You are Abendroth, yes? I'm Tanemoto. Might I ask what you meant by 'you're wrong'?" He adjusted his glasses as he awaited her response.

Edited 2013-09-07 15:41 (UTC)

Chloe watched Tanemoto walk over, her face its usual mask of grim stoicness. The only shift her features made was when she looked at Miyume and nodded, her gaze softening somewhat. It lasted only a few moments before she looked back at Ryuta.

"You treat cooking like a calculation. Like a series of strict rules." She paused, her icy gaze falling on his batch of cookies. "It's not. Cooking is an art, and sometimes you mess up. Mistakes are important," she nodded towards the burnt cookies, "and they are never a waste."

That was probably the most Chloe had said at one time since leaving Germany. It was true, though. Blindly following the recipe as if it were rules to success basically took the point out of cooking. Mistakes need to be made in order to learn.

Ryuta took a moment to process everything she was saying. After a moment of consideration, he shook his head. "While I see your point, I would have to disagree in this case. Some people do treat cooking as an art, displaying it in various forms to showcase their skill. However, that was not the intent behind making these particular goods. These were meant to be sold as food." He casually pointed in the direction of the burned cookies. "And in a school full of upper class students raised on high standards, these would not sell. Therefore they would go to waste."

He brought his hand back to adjust his glasses once more and quickly returned it to his side. "While learning from one's mistakes is important, they can be completely avoided after taking the proper precautions. That is why there are things such as cookbooks. If he had properly followed the steps to begin with, then he would not have burned the cookies." He looked toward the tall German, expecting her rebuttal.

Edited 2013-09-07 17:02 (UTC)

He really was a stickler, wasn't he? His unhealthy obsession with rules and guides was almost enough to make her scowl. Almost. Her expression remained unchanged as he brought up his points, to which she shook her head.

"Cookbooks are rough guides. You learn nothing from them except to remain inflexible."

She paused, her eyes falling on the particular cookbook Tanemoto had used. She knew of it, had looked through it on occasion. It was a very... basic cookbook, she had noted. Good for beginners. Poor for those wanting to make something that tasted unique.

"They are being sold. That means they must taste good, but also look presentable." She looked at his cookies, resisting the urge to frown. "Bland recipes will create bland products. Know your goal, adjust accordingly.... rules be damned."

Just then, Miyume approached the table from the direction of the cafeteria. She carried two school-made box lunches, one for her and one for Haruka. To Haruka's ears, her walk sounded somewhat better than it had on Wednesday but it still wasn't normal for her. When she spotted Mirai, her whole face brightened on reflex as she graced him with a radiant smile. Then she remembered where they were and her expression became a bit more subdued but the delight in her eyes was unmistakable.

"Hello, Mirai-kun," she greeted then turned her attention to Haruka. "Sorry about the wait. The line was longer than I expected. Here's your lunch."

She sat the bento in Haruka's lap then took her own seat beside her.

Mirai's lips pursed. He was standing before the counter, hovering over it as he pushed his hair away from his face. They sprang out annoyingly from behind his ear - which made him even more annoyed, and so to calm down he began twirling it around his right finger. Half a pocky stick was held like a vintage ladies' pipe; balanced between his left thumb and forefinger.

If Miyume was quick enough, she would have seen a rather mischievous smile on his face. Then he was smiling at her. He was taking one of the cakes from the stall - without permission - and handing it over.

"I come bearing gifts."

Miyume gave Chloe a friendly little wave and hobbled over to where Haruka was. Whatever this argument was about, she wasn't getting involved in it.

"What kind of batter is it?"

Ryuta held back his retort to her disregard for rules. Best to save that discussion for a later date. Taking a deep breath, he focused once more on the present matter.

"If the product is bland, then it is the fault of the one who made the recipe. That being the case, you use another recipe or make your own." Ryuta noticed her glance over his cookies. He motioned back over to said cookies, barely containing a smirk. "These were merely made as an example for the student. A simple, basic recipe to show him the proper procedure. If I were to make something, it would be a bit more 'presentable' as you call it."

"A poor artist blames his tools."

She said simply, shrugging only slightly. When he spoke of the purpose of the cookies he had made, she wanted to smirk, but again nothing made it past that grim mask she wore. An example, eh?

"An example? If you're going to make something, make it right the first time. Half-assed example cookies not meant to be sold are somewhat of a waste."

There was a definite steely tone to her voice as she said this, playing on the fact he had called the burnt cookies a waste. In her mind, these cookies of his were more a waste than the burnt ones. The German turned back to her cookies, took another one, set it on a napkin, and silently set it down next to Miyume before turning to pack up the rest of the cookies to keep them fresh.

"Oh, Shikata-san, right? Wow, it looks like you all did a lot of work on these."

Kisa, meanwhile, had a 1000-yen bill to offer for the short stack of cookies she picked up. It was a good cause, she figured, and everything did look quite tasty. Plus she didn't have a lot of expenditures these days.

"I hope it's paying off for you."

Well, this was awkward. Mirai had stolen a cake she'd contributed to the bake sale to give to her and the nice senpai Miyume found herself not wanting to disappoint had shown up to buy cookies. And she hadn't even opened her bento yet.

Also, Miyume's ability to speak or even think at all had seemed to vanish entirely. She sat there, completely frozen, not even blinking.

"Well, being called a poor artist is an improvement. Better than 'mindlessly calculating' as you would call it. Glad to see I've stepped up in the world." He sighed, seeing now that he has somehow upset her.

"We shall see, won't we?" He maintained his calm demeanor, despite the obvious stab at his work. He then grabbed one of his cookies and took a small bite out of it. "Hmm. Not bad. Would be good with some tea. If we offered some warm tea with this, it could sell as a tea cookie." He said to himself and then finished off his cookie.

He then peered back over to Abendroth and saw her pack up the rest of the cookies. "Mind if I try one?"

Haruka, meanwhile, seemed to listen in on Abendroth and Tanemoto's argument a little longer before turning her attention back to Hazama. She said with a smile,

"Cake. If things work out right, it'll be mini caramel chocolate cakes."

Haruka tilted her head in Hazama's direction for a moment, listening to the sudden stillness before saying with a smile, "Thanks for grabbing lunch. Should go great with the cake?"

Turning her head towards the new female voice, she looked bemused. However, she replied easily, "Yep. Hours in the kitchen, fighting the home ec hordes, braving the cold for the perfect caramel base. Think they turned out alright? Too bad, it's apparently not even worth 100 yen or even 50 yen for a sweet or three." She feigned a sniffle.

And then she subtly adjusted her leg again. Her cane prodded Imaizumi again.

"Those sound really delicious!"

And they did. The prospect of caramel-covered, chocolate-y goodness was enough to make her temporarily forget how much her legs hurt.

"What's the next step, senpai?"

Thank goodness that she wasn't alone. Haruka offered enough of a distraction for Miyume to jumpstart her brain back from its complete stall. She offered both Kisa and Mirai a friendly, if slightly more neutral smile, than she might ordinarily give.

"Oh, um, I hope those are really good. I thought they were but I helped Shikata-senpai make them so I might be a little biased," she babbled on, reaching out to take the cake from Mirai. "Did you come to support the drama club? I hope you think the cake is worth buying. We worked really hard on them."

Hopeful, nervous smile.

"I hope lunch is okay, too, Shikata-senpai," she added. "I wasn't sure what you wanted. Oh! And you like your cookies, Saiga-senpai!"

"Batter mixing," Haruka replied, moving over to give Hazama some room. Most of the ingredients were already in the main bowl, except for a few eggs and the cocoa. There was also a muffin-type of tray which had a bag of wax-paper like cups.

"Then into cups, add caramel, add more batter, bake, and then drizzle with frosting and more caramel.

The German had nothing to hide, so she opened the container again and offered the boy one of her cookies. The cookies themselves were still somewhat warm. They had a gentle sweet taste to them with just a hint of spice from the ginger. Soft, they were easy to bite into and would almost melt in the mouth of those eating them.

Mindlessly Calculating? She'd have to remember that one on account of the fact she hadn't even thought of it. She was quiet for a few moments before setting the container of cookies down again.

"No disrespect intended. I just don't agree with the way you treated that student."

Well... at least she was honest, right? Chloe placed the lid back on the cookies tightly and slid them over to Haruka, making sure not to jostle anything she or Miyume were working on.

"Take these for the sale. I can make more."

Ryuta selected one of her cookies and took a small bite of it to test it. He mulled it over for a moment before he came to a decision and promptly finished off his cookie. "That was surprisingly good. I'm normally not a fan of sweets to begin with. But I might have to make an exception."

"It's fine. I enjoyed listening to your take on things. It's always nice to hear another's perspective. And I am fond of a good debate as well."

"And I had no ill will toward that young man or you for that matter. I tend to take things too far sometimes it seems. Luckily, it all turned out rather well."

Edited 2013-09-08 01:54 (UTC)

Hearing the argument wind down, Haruka's head turned as she heard the tin Abendroth placed.

She picked up the cookie she left her and Haruka let out a genuine, "Yuuum." It was sweet and there was something else that she couldn't quite place.

"You sure? These and tea would be perfect for those lonely, cold nights studying."

"I'm sure I will. Thank you." Kisa neatly wrapped the cookies in a napkin and set them down for the moment. If she recalled correctly, these were a few of the people she'd be working alongside, so it might be good to do a little bit of socializing to at least get acquainted before class.

Besides, her appetite hadn't quite fully recovered, so lunch was ending up a lost cause anyway.

"It's good to see you again, Hazama-san. Are you feeling better?"

If there was one thing she knew she could deal with, it was loneliness.

"I'm sure."

She said before turning back to Tanemoto. Her icy gaze actually fell on his face this time. The look she gave him was a calm, almost cold calculating look, but one that didn't seem to hold any malice towards him.

"... Noted."

It seemed now that the debate was over, she could stop speaking so much. Thank goodness. The first year took the apron she was wearing off, brushing it off for good measure and hung it back up where she had gotten it.

As Abendroth walked away, Ryuta finally remembered what he was originally doing here to begin with. "Ah yes, I almost forgot. Haruka?" Ryuta took a few steps closer to her and continued.

"The Home EC teacher wanted me to inform you that you need to record everything you and the drama club used today for the bake sale. It's so they can restock accordingly afterwards."

At the mention of Haruka's first name, sans honorifics, the other two girls suddenly stopped their conversation again. They had been just been packing up their brownies and hastily cleaning up when their attention turned towards them, glancing between Haruka and Tanemoto, before bursting into a new streak of conversation, including snatches like 'super familiar' and 'moves fast after all' and 'maybe they're already-'

Haruka looked mostly nonplussed. She just said, "Okay then. I can't speak for everyone but I can pester them over email."

Ryuta was lost as to why the girls started making so much noise. Really, you would think they would be considerate enough to keep it down for the other students. "Do you know why they are acting like that, Haruka?" He addressed her once more, completely unaware as to what is going on.

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