Pathetic Scone 1
“Alright, this is looking good.”
Sōma pressed the dough he had taken out of the refrigerator with his fingers to check its texture. Feeling the ideal elasticity bounce back, he nodded in satisfaction.
The dough, made by mixing flour, sugar, baking powder, and butter, had firmed up nicely. He divided it into three portions: one was plain, another was brown because of cocoa powder, and orange because of pumpkin paste for the last one.
After cutting out shapes from the dough and arranging them on a baking sheet, he placed it in the oven-microwave combo and pressed the start button while praying that they would turn out well.
“Please bake them perfectly for me.”
He clasped his hands together as if praying to the oven that was beginning to emit heat.
Sōma’s baking was always a serious matter. He never cut corners or did things half-heartedly.
However, more than ever, he couldn’t help but pray for a successful bake today. Because these scones were to be tasted by both a patissier and a patissiere.
A few days after going for a run, Chika suggested, ‘Let’s have a tea party with my parents.’
It was an idea she had come up with a long time ago, and since then, she had been inviting him to tea parties often, but he had been dodging the invitations with vague excuses.
Of course he did. The idea of having a tea party with a female friend’s parents was a situation that made no sense to him. All he could foresee was a future filled with stomachaches.
However, he eventually ran out of excuses to escape.
“You looked so happy when you were invited to Wakui-san’s Halloween party. Yet, you’re going to turn down my tea party?”
She cornered him with a smile that didn’t look like she was smiling at all.
“I wasn’t making a happy face back then.”
“You looked so happy when you were invited to Wakui-san’s Halloween party. Yet, you’re going to turn down my tea party?”
With an unchanged smile, she repeated the same words like a broken speaker.
“Um, Chika-san, your face is kind of scary.”
“You looked so happy when you were invited to Wakui-san’s Halloween party. Yet, you’re going to turn down my tea party?”
“…Alright. Let’s have a tea party next Sunday.”
Feeling defeated by Chika’s pressure, Sōma finally conceded and responded in a small voice.
It was an incredibly daunting event, but it wasn’t without its benefits.
Chika’s parents were both a patissier and a patissiere. For Sōma, who aspired to be a patissier, they were figures of admiration. He had long hoped to have a conversation with them and to have them taste his homemade sweets.
So, although he was somewhat coerced into attending the tea party, by the time he was arranging sweets with Chika at the Satomi household on the following Sunday, he had become quite positive about it.
“Alright, this should be good. Chika, could you carry this?”
“Sure! Mom, Dad, sorry to keep you waiting!”
Chika proudly presented the gleaming silver afternoon tea stand in the living room to her waiting parents.
“Oh, how lovely!”
Chika’s mother clapped her hands with a smile.
Her father remained silent and grumpy, but he seemed interested. He leaned forward slightly to gaze at the Western-style sweets arranged on the afternoon tea stand.
The afternoon tea stand, as the name suggests, is a piece of tableware used to enjoy afternoon tea. It has three tiers of silver plates, with sandwiches on the bottom, scones in the middle, and small cups of yogurt mousse on top.
“I made these sandwiches.”
Chika said, pointing to the bottom tier while pouring tea from the teapot into cups with a hint of pride.
“That means this afternoon tea stand is a collaboration between Chika and Sōma-kun. I’m really looking forward to it.”
“I hope it suits both of your tastes.”
Feeling nervous, Sōma sat down next to Chika.
What was about to begin was not only a tea party but also a critique session for Sōma’s confectionery.
After his daughter placed a steaming cup of black tea in front of them, Chika’s father slowly began to speak.
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“According to proper manners, one should start with the sandwiches on the lower tier, but let us first partake in the sweets made by Ichinose-kun.”
The smile that had been on Chika’s mother’s face until then vanished abruptly when her husband suddenly declared so.
Sōma could feel the atmosphere in the living room becoming tense.
“I look forward to your feedback.”
Sōma said and bowed politely as Chika’s parents reached for the afternoon tea stand.
They ate the scones without jam and tasted the yogurt mousse while checking its aroma. After finishing their silent meal, they took a sip of the tea their daughter had brewed.
Then, they began to converse in a murmur too quiet for Sōma and Chika to hear. Their expressions were neither filled with the affection they showed Chika nor the curiosity directed at Sōma.
Instead, they were extremely serious, with a frightening sharpness reminiscent of a blade.
This is the face of a professional…!
Just watching them made Sōma’s skin tingle.
As he watched nervously, Chika’s mother nodded several times, and her father nodded back. Then, they turned to face forward.
“Ichinose-kun.”
“Y-yes!”
His name was called, and it felt like all the muscles in his body were about to cramp.
“What we are about to say is purely our subjective opinion. Other patissiers might have different impressions upon tasting. Furthermore, we are of an older generation. Our way of thinking may be outdated and you might not agree with us. However, it is also true that our comments are based on thirty years of experience and knowledge. Please understand that.”
“I understand.”
Sōma replied, swallowing hard as if it were a Herculean task.
“Then, on behalf of both of us, I will give our impressions.”
Said the father while taking a sip of his tea.
“You are very childish.”
“Childish…?”
It was neither praise nor harsh criticism. In fact, it wasn’t even an evaluation of the taste.
Confused by the unexpected comment, which hardly seemed like feedback on his confectionery, Sōma was at a loss for words.