Becoming A Better Baker! (Earning Second Skill: Cooking)

Lucy was running as fast as her little feet could carry her, a thing all too familiar. She was trying to make sure she wasn't late, as someone requested that she visit the cafeteria today for an important lesson. She wasn't sure why she was summoned to the cafeteria for an important lesson, as she figured that any teaching would be done in a classroom, but she was nearly there nonetheless.

Lucy managed to slow herself down enough so that she was only performing a very tiny hustle when she came to the opening of the cafeteria, then slowly walking in, looking around nervously as it was rather empty and Lucy was starting to get worried that she was late. However, she would be reassured after jumping from a bit of a spook as a voice called to her from behind the counter.

"Ms. Klug, correct? Please, step this way."

Lucy was a bit nervous, as the emptiness of the cafeteria combined with how dark it and was scary, but she managed to muster enough courage to move towards the voice. She nearly stumbled over the wheel of one of the cafeteria tables, but she managed not to fall, and she made it over to the serving counter where people would eventually line up for a hot and filling meal.

Lucy leaned towards the counter and looked for person connected to the voice she heard, but she didn't see anyone. "Inquiry: U-Umm...i-is anyone th-there?"

She got no response, and then suddenly there was someone there, and she jumped with a little eep. The face was a bit scary in the dark, but she managed to hold her courage and walk back up.

"Do you not recognize me, Ms. Klug?"

The voice...it seemed a bit familiar, but Lucy could recall quite why, so she looked a bit closer...

Wait a minute...she did recognize that face! It was one of the chef's from the lunchroom here at Syne Academy, the nice older gentleman that always made sure there was a piece of freshly made dessert for her every time she stopped by.

"Recognition: Oh my goodness, Mr. Nice Cafeteria Man! Recollection: I remember you now, you were always so nice to me, thank you very much for that! Apologies: I'm so sorry I didn't recognize you at first!" Lucy was first bowing politely as a greeting, but she was soon bowing repeatedly in apology for her forgetfulness.

"No worries, young one, it's quite alright: It's been a long while since I've last seen you. You have been very busy I've heard."

"Concurrence: Oh yes, I have been busy Mr. Nice Cafeteria Man! Explanation: I've been helping Mr. Davis and our horse friend, as well as Mrs. Petunia, both at her store and with bakesales!"

"Aha, I see. You've been very busy indeed, young one. Oh, and please, call me Shing."

"Understanding: O-Okay, I will, Mr. Shing. Inquiry: Umm, if you d-don't m-mind me asking, Mr. Shing, w-why did you want to meet with me here today?" Lucy was quite confused: It was too early to officially open the cafeteria, nor would it make sense to do so just for her. There must be some other reason her called for her...maybe to help clean? Lucy noted they usually did a very good job with that on their own...then what could it be?

"Well, you see young one, I'm actually calling you here this morning...to teach you how to cook." He then opened the door to the inside of the kitchen and beckoned Lucy to come in, which she did...but she was very confused.

"Confusion: B-but, Mr. Shing, I-I already know how to cook and b-bake."

"Yes, young one, it is true that you know how to provide meals for others. Knowing you, I can guarantee you put a lot of effort into your crafting of sweets and meals, but...I'm here to teach you how to make it an art!"

Now...now Lucy was very confused: cooking and baking, an art? I mean, with decorating your sweets, she could understand that...and making your meals look fancy and tasty...but, was that what Mr. Shing meant? If so, that was something she also already knew how to do.

"Befuddled: Mr. Shing, I-I...I r-really don;t understand-"

"Soon, you shall: I will show you how to craft edible goods that will touch the very soul of those who eat them!"

Mr. Shing was just becoming more and more confusing, and Lucy was nearly lost. "Confusion: Their...their souls?"

"Yes, Lucy, their souls. See, every living being has a soul, and some are able to become one with them. Some use this to achieve inner peace, others wield incredible powers beyond normal human strength. I know this may not make perfect sense to you, but I am here to teach you how to craft foods that will reach a living being on such a level."

AT this point, Lucy was truly lost, but she trusted Mr. Shing as he was a very kind and wise man, so she decided that she would learn from him...even if she wasn't sure what she was learning about.

"Affirmative: Yes sir, Mr. Shing. Concurrence: I'm not sure exactly what I'm going to be learning, b-but I p-p-promise to do my very best!" she said with a determined look on her face, despite her confusion.

"I know you will young one...let's get started."

So on of the first things that Mr. Shing taught Lucy is to always put her best effort into her work, and to always try and outclass her last work, thereby constantly bettering herself and bringing her to ever new heights of cooking and baking. Lucy didn't quite understand it, but she was more than happy to learn about becoming better at cooking, something she enjoyed doing.

The second thing she learned was to not let failure stop her and defeat her: failure was simply something to learn from, something to conquer and use as a stepping stone to succeed. This was something Lucy was bad at in general: when something went wrong, she was afraid of either making it worse or the outcomes of said wrong event, so she would either crumple in defeat or run away. Mr. Shing made her promise that she would never give up when it came to her culinary talents, and Lucy promised that should could do such a thing, and that was when Mr. Shing put an apron on her.

Mr. Shing's next rule was that she needed to see past the pan, past the noodles, past the cake batter: she needed to look past the physical form of the meal she was creating and look at the spiritual form of her creations. Lucy asked what Mr. Shing was referring to, and he told her to close her eyes, so she did.

"Imagine, Lucy, the most recent edible you prepared."

She did: it was a special wheat and oat carrot cake with crushed apples, for her horse friend, Ms. Silvana.

"Okay, now look past the cake itself. Look deeper into the cake, into what made it."

"Confusion: U-uh, b-but Mr. Shing, it was the ingredients that-"

"No! Lucy, look deeper: What really made it?"

Lucy thought harder, and she saw herself putting all the ingredients together, her cutting the apples just perfectly, her imagining Ms. Silvana's happy face and smile before she gave her the cake and how happy she was when Ms. Silvana loved it.

"Reflection:I-I...worked so h-hard...I just wanted Ms. Silvana to be happy. Understanding: I worked so hard...I wanted to make her happy."

"Yes, you can see it now: the true spirit of the dish! What makes a dish is not the noodles or the sauce, but the passion and soul of the chef themselves!"

"Comprehension: M-Mr. Shing, I think I understand now: It's not the ingredients I use, b-but the hard work and love I put into what I make."

"Yes, precisely. Now, we move onto the next step: Taking risks. I'm sure you have taken risks with your cooking, but have you truly risked everything? Do you know what it feels like to be on the precipice of disaster and losing it all, only to just barely get by? You need to be able to take any risk and come out like a perfected triple-chocolate lava cookie every time!"

Lucy recalled the time when she made the very fruity Cap'n Rhubar's Citrus Surf, and it how the first one burned to a crisp and she was sure she couldn't make a new one in time. With some encouragement from others ans a little help, she was able to make a replacement in time. Lucy started to cry a little at the thought of how she felt when her pie burned, and she began to shake. This was when Mr. Shing placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Ah, I see that you do know how it feels. Regardless of whether the likelihood of such an outcome was real or not, great or small, to YOU...it was everything; to YOU, it was real. However, you may not always have encouragement or friends by your side. You need to learn to be strong on your own, Lucy." Mr. Shing then wiped away Lucy's tears, and she nodded with a bit of a small, but strong smile.

"Now, we have one final step: making the perfect dish!" Mr. Shing's eyes lit up as he mentioned this, and Lucy was a bit unsure and nervous at this.

"Rebuttal: B-But M-Mr. Shing, th-there is no w-way to make such a t-thing as a perfect meal-" Lucy was shaking a bit as she said this, but she was cut off be a very passionate Mr. Shing.

"Nonsense! It is entirely possible Lucy! Here, extend your hand to me."

Lucy did as she was requested, and Mr. Shing held onto her hand for a few moments before letting go of her hand with an "Aha!", and then like a superhero Lucy had only read about it books he dashed around the kitchen almost to fast for her to register. In roughly a minute she saw him cooking...a cookie with a frying pan?! Before she could correct him, he whipped a plate off the shelf nearby and slapped a fudge cookie on it, then dolloped it with vanilla ice cream and drizzled it in maple syrup. He then handed it to Lucy with a spoon.

Lucy, in shock at her dream dessert being right in front of her, she downed it incredibly fast. Once she was done, she looked up to Mr.Shing in awe, "Inquiry: H-How d-did you k-know..."

"Now, it is your turn."

Lucy extended her hand and held the hand of Mr. Shing, and she closed her eyes and tried to think about what things Mr. Shing would like. She tried hard and concentrated in an effort to get some sort of sense on what would be good to make Mr. Shing...but she couldn't. She kept trying for a bit longer, but unlike Mr. Shing and the cookie sundae he made her, Lucy couldn't even get a smidgen of an idea of what to make Mr. Shing.

"Apologies: I-I-I'm...I'm so...sorry, Mr. Shing...I can't do it."

"You doubt yourself too much. Remember: look past the physical dish."

Lucy then extended her hand and held onto Mr. Shing's hand and concentrated one more time. This time, she thought about how it was her love and desire to make others happy that made her dishes special. She desired to make Mr. Shing happy...what made Mr. Shing happy?

Suddenly, Lucy felt something that was warm, yet wet. She felt like she was on the beach. Mr. Shing liked the beach? She also noticed kids quite young compared to her enjoying the beach front and running around her, and the looked an awful like like Mr Shing. he liked to send time with his familar. The last thing she could sense was a burning tongue sensation and egg noodle mixed with ramen noodles. Lucy let go of Mr. Shing hand in shock, then after looking at him for a second, she panicked and began trying to cook up what she felt.

It took her much longer, about fifteen minutes, but she came up with a dinner for him: she seasoned the noodles by hand to bit just spicy enough, and Set it up so he could slurp these noodles int he form of Mr, Shing himself and his kids holding his hands. She handed it to Mr. Shing, and he ate it gladly.

"Lucy, I think you now understand what it means to touch one's soul through the art of the culinary."

"Affirmation: Yes, Mr. Shing, I do. Grateful: Thank you very much for teaching me this!"

They bowed to one another, and then Lucy left to return home.