The Cooking Test (2)
Mizuno Nene, the same senior who had conducted the orientations on Club Day and had cooked up those delicious burgers, was studying the 27 freshmen who had lined up at the front.
"....It seems like a lot of you thought this would be a simple test. Remember, a badly cooked meal is a waste of ingredients and an insult to the hard work we've put into our craft. Take the tests with complete seriousness!"
More than half of the students stiffened up with guilt at her words, avoiding her gaze. They were here to try their luck and weren't truly serious about the club itself.
"In previous years, students just focused on perfecting one dish and yet most of them didn't make it. Do you want to know why?," she continued, pausing for a second to have greater impact. "It's because they couldn't even pass the first two rounds to have chance to cook for the judges. Let's see if that will be the case today!"
Mizuno Senpai picked up a stack of papers and motioned to another club member to pass them around, each freshman getting one set for the first round.
'The written test will be fairly simple.'
Reiji was pretty experienced in the kitchen, even having worked part time in his previous life, so this was a piece of cake for him. Even if he hadn't had that advantage, he remembered most of the questions from playing the game.
'But Haruna.... Can she pass?'
He looked down with slight concern at the girl beside him, who was also provided with the papers.
Once all of them had been distributed, they were told to go to one of the kitchen stations and use the table there to complete the assignment. Reiji and Haruna walked to the back and chose stations next to each other.
"You all have 30 minutes to work on those questions, we will be monitoring you carefully for cheating so be careful otherwise you will be immediately disqualified!" Mizuno Senpai announced loudly, displaying a large timer on the screen projector.
"Let's not waste any more time, you may begin," she said and started the countdown.
Reiji glanced at Haruna, and saw that she was also looking at him. He mouthed 'good luck' which she then reciprocated with a 'you too'.
He switched his attention to the paper on his table and filled in his personal information. Then he read through the first page of questions, which were a mix of multiple choice and short answers.
1) What is the term for cooking food in water just below boiling point?
a) Blanching
b) Simmering
c) Boiling
d) Poaching
2) Which of the following is a tool used to maintain a knife's sharpness?
a) Zester
b) Honing rod
c) Filer
d) Edge blade
3) How often should cutting boards be sanitized when handling raw meat?
4) Which bacteria is commonly associated with undercooked poultry?
5) What does "al dente" mean when cooking pasta?
He tapped his pen to his chin, making sure that the questions hadn't changed from what was provided in the game. They were still the same, so he knew he could get full marks, though the questions weren't too tough in the first place.
People that cooked very rarely might not be able to answer them though, which was the purpose of this test. It was to weed out the people that had barely stepped into a kitchen, preventing them from wasting excess ingredients.
Once he went through the entire test paper, only about 3 minutes had passed. He started answering each one systematically, ensuring that he hadn't made any mistakes before moving onto the subsequent parts.
The test got progressively more difficult as it went on, with the last 10 questions being pretty tough even for people that cooked regularly, but that only applied to the other participants. Reiji peeked at the rest of the stations and saw that a lot of them were rubbing their heads in frustration.
He didn't check on Haruna, worried that it might be misconstrued as an attempt to cheat since she was right next to him.
He put down his pen, circling the answer to the last question and then leaned back. The timer on the screen projector still indicated that there were 15 minutes left, showing that he had completed the test with more than half the time to spare.
He closed his eyes and slowly went through the recipe he would cook in the third round, just to study it a bit more. It wasn't necessary, but it could help him operate a little smoother later on.
A while later, the speaker over the screen started beeping with the zeroes flashing brightly, announcing the end of the written portion. Reiji reopened his eyes and studied the expressions of the other freshmen and saw despairing and disappointed faces on a lot of them.
Haruna herself looked a little unsure, but it wasn't as bad as some of the others.
"Bring your papers up, we'll mark them quickly!"
***
It didn't take too long to do so, with all the seniors working in tandem with answer keys to help them, finishing the process in 15 minutes.
During that time, Reiji chatted with Haruna. He wanted to discuss the answers but she shut him down quickly, nervous that it might indicate whether or not she passed.
"Don't worry, I'm sure you did well!" Reiji patted her shoulder reassuringly.
But he actually wasn't too sure. She was never supposed to take this test and Haruna's routes had little to do with cooking, so he was in the dark as much as she was.
Though considering her backstory, it did seem like she cooked whenever Granny was busy or tired. Her experience should be enough to let her pass....hopefully.
"Alright, I'll announce the students who made it through! If I don't call your name, that means you have failed and will have to leave the clubroom immediately, is that clear?"
Mizuno Senpai's stern voice splashed cold water over the fidgeting students as they straightened up with anticipation.
"Naruse Sayuri, 24/30. Pass."
A shirt and petite girl squealed with excitement, and the senior continued. She called out three more names, with scores ranging from 20 to 25 out of the 30 possible marks.
20 was the passing grade, so it wasn't too high.
And then, she called out his name.
"Yagami Reiji... 30/30, well done!" Mizuno Senpai nodded with appreciation.
The crowd of freshmen started whispering to each other in shock. They had been both confused and nervous when they saw Reiji attend the test, automatically thinking that he was either here to cause trouble or try his luck like some of them.
In fact, this entire time Reiji and Haruna had been a little isolated, as if there was an invisible barrier around them that kept the others at bay.
Haruna ignored the loud whispers and smacked his back lightly.
"I knew you'd do it!" She giggled, even happier than he was.
Before she could say another word, Mizuno Senpai yelled out the next name which made her freeze up mid-laugh.
"Yuzuki Haruna, 20/30. Pass."
She stared blankly at the senior, her eyes glazing over with disbelief. And then she regained her composure in a second and started shaking Reiji aggressively, an expression of joy blooming rapidly.
"R-Reiji-Tan! I did it! I really did it!" she sputtered nonsensically.
Reiji wobbled in place, the spontaneous movement from the overly excited girl making him a little dizzy.
"QUIET DOWN BACK THERE!"
Another senior slammed her fist onto the table at the noise she was making and Haruna clamped her mouth shut with a hint of embarrassment, hiding behind Reiji's broad back shyly.
"...Congratulations," Reiji whispered softly, entertained by her reactions.
"...Thanks," she muttered, still refusing to come out because she saw the others giggling at her.
After calling out two more names, Mizuno Senpai raised her head calmly.
"Those are all of the people who passed. The rest of you, thank you for trying, but you may leave the club and submit a new choice to the Student Council," she said, crushing the hopes for those that missed the mark.
Out of the 27 people who took the test, only 13 of them passed. More than half of them were eliminated in just the first round.
The 14 freshmen walked out with dismayed faces, staring enviously at those who had managed to squeak through just barely, like Haruna.
"Alright! Good job to all of you for passing the first round, but don't get complacent. That only tested your knowledge, not your skills. Now, we'll be checking how you operate in the kitchen and your overall prep work."
Mizuno Senpai signaled a senior who was standing at the back of the club room. With a smile, she slid open the massive doors that initially looked like it was part of the wall. Behind it, a room as large as the one they were in came into view.
The remaining applicants gasped in awe, taking in the wonderful sight in front of them. There were large shelves and boxes filled with various ingredients, seasonings, oils, cooking wines, etc. Each of them seemed to be of extremely high quality, judging from the fresh aromas wafting through the air.
"The second round will test your knife work, pacing, and handling of these top quality ingredients! Those who successfully become a member of the club at the end of the day, will be able to work with these tools and ingredients consistently!"
Reiji's eyes were shining as they roamed across the different shelves, his hands twitching with eagerness.
It was time to start the second round.
