Chapter 14- Terror of Nine Vegetables!

                                    

                                          
(Name)'s POV
                          
"Good morning."
                          
It was the next day of training camp and Soma, Megumi, and I all stood in a little cluster together as our instructor for the day spoke from the front of the room. 
                          
"I'm Shinomiya, an alumnus of the 79th graduation class," he introduced himself. "This task involves cooking a dish of my choosing. You all have the recette, I hope?" He implied, holding up the paper in his hands.
                          
I looked down at my paper in response as worried murmurs from the other students filled the room. 
                          
Apparently this guy's got quite the reputation, I guess I'm going to have to be careful around him... 
                          
Rumors of him expelling more than thirty students the previous day didn't come as a surprise to me and I gulped, slightly clenching the paper in my hand. This was the same dude who expelled someone for their shampoo.
                          
Don't be intimidated, (Name), you got this!
                          
Shaking off my nerves, I scanned the recipe in my hand. 
                          
Terrine of Nine Vegetables, a dish that is not only extravagant in its appearance but in its taste too. I'll need to pay attention to each vegetable and enhancing its flavor, all the while maintaining balance in the dish. It'll be quite the challenge. But lucky for me, my family's restaurant was big on cooking with crops grown fresh in Seichōmura. All I have to do is follow the recipe...
                          
"I chose the easiest of my recettes. Would you prefer a more difficult challenge?" Shinomiya mocked a pair of male students, waving the recipe. The two male students grimaced and mumbled quietly to themselves but still not loud enough for the man to hear. 
                          
"'Recettes'?" Soma asked from beside me. 
                          
"He's talking about the recipes." Megumi explained and Soma let out an 'oh' in response. I chuckled slightly before turning to face the front again. 
                          
"Also..." Shinomiya began, "...you are not allowed to form teams for this task."
                          
Oh no...
                          
Megumi tensed visibly from beside me as a worried look covered her face. 
                          
"I will have each of you prepare the dish. You may not share information or help each other during this process." 
                          
Megumi's expression dropped further at this piece of information as Shinomiya pointed toward the back. 
                          
"You will each select ingredients from the piles at the back of the kitchen." 
                          
"Lastly, a word of advice: you would do better to think of everyone else as your enemies."
                          
I squeezed Megumi's shoulder in encouragement before walking over to my cooking station at the back of the room. Kiyoko, who was stationed beside me, shot me a nervous smile and I returned the look. Ryou, who was stationed on Kiyoko's other side, ignored me with a focused expression, but I could still sense the nervousness in his tense posture as he glanced from Megumi's shaking form to our instructor's.
                          
"Now..." Shinomiya spoke, "...begin."
                          
As per usual, a wave of panic overtook the crowd at the start signal before everyone dashed towards the back.