Heaven's Senses

XIII

~~~~Hikari~~~~

After a good night's sleep, we got up bright and early to start yet another day. It was only the second day, but the crowd of students really thinned out and the air around us became.... How could I put this?

Complete. Utter. Stress-inducing drama! The students were glaring at each other like they were making enemies with just a single glance. Good friends looked like they were about to turn on each other in an instant. 

If you were to compare how all the students looked at each other, you could probably say that it was like a group of starving wild animals were standing in front of a delicious feast. But the catch was that there was only enough food for one of the wild beasts to have their complete fill.

True, a lot of the students were panicking, but I was completely calm. I figured that this would happen in a school like Totsuki, but seeing it in real life was crazy, and very exciting.

"Soma!" I shouted to my brother, walking over to him, but a hand stopped me from going further. I turned and saw one of overseeing chefs behind me. It was a tall woman with black hair and dark brown eyes that radiated seriousness and cold attitude.

"Excuse me, Ms. Yukihira." She said in a very surprisingly calm tone, "But you are not going in that group today."

"What? Why not? I was told that the assigned groups were completely set for today." I asked confused by the new assignment.

"Yes, ordinarily that would be the case, but your placement in a different group was specifically requested by someone on the board. I'm here to take you to your new assigned group for today's plans."

I sighed and looked over at my brother, waving him over.

"Hey, sis, what's going on?" He asked.

"Looks like they shuffled my placement for today's training camp of hell. What do you say I meet you later tonight, yeah?"

"All right, but make sure you take your meds when your--"

"When my head starts to hurt or when my senses are overwhelmed. I know, I know. See ya later, Soma." I waved goodbye and followed the woman to the assigned room where my first challenge would take place. 

As soon as I walked into the room, I saw a bunch of students standing straight at their stations, one student to a table. It kinda looked like they were soldiers preparing to go to war. I went over to the only empty table and put my stuff down, opening my knife case and preparing one last time before the teacher would come in.

"All right students!" A loud voice shouted from the door. We all turned toward the door and saw a tall and very intimidating man wearing a full chef's uniform. He had brown hair tied into a ponytail at the nape of his neck, and a steely cold glare in his green eyes. 

"Is that seriously going to be our judge?" One of the students whispered.

"Oh man, I'm gonna fail for sure."

"I can't handle the Iron Chef."

"I might as well give up now."

My eyes widened just a bit hearing the chef's nickname. From what I've read in the school's records I checked out for a little bit of light reading, this was Chef Adam Dupont, a famous chef known around the world for his delicious sweets and desserts. Contrast to his cold appearance and demeanor, his desserts are said to melt your heart and soul. He was really picky when it comes to desserts and sweets, and if you made even the smallest mistake in even the prep stage, he would figure out.

"I am Chef Dupont, the one in charge of you all today." He announced, his voice as cold as the glare in his eyes, "I'm sure you have guessed about what this challenge will be, but listen up anyway. Today, you all will create a signature dessert. Most of you were trained to create main dishes, but now you are in charge of making a dish that is supposed to follow up a main dish. No matter how delicious the main dish may be, the dessert will either make or break the entire meal. And to make this challenge more challenging, you are to create a dish that would compliment a French Dish. All of the ingredients you may need are on the table behind you. You have two hours to complete your dish. Now, get to it."