CHAPTER 7 – CHASING THE MOON PART 01
We had entered the second half of February, and it was finally beginning to feel like spring. The news programs on TV often showed images of fields of blooming rape blossoms. It was a heartwarming color. And delicious too…… Wait, forget I said that.
Ai-chan’s injury was also slowly getting better. Now, she had turned her focus to muscle training.
Pop, who had successfully been accepted into Karen Girls’ Academy, had also bought her new uniforms and a brand new set of stationery. Mum was also busy preparing for her graduation ceremony from elementary school.
Momo-chan was also excited. Since they never had uniforms to wear in America, she was looking forward to finally donning our high school uniform. I wondered if it was really that exciting.
By the way, we managed to sell all of our Valentine desserts really quickly. Therefore, we immediately started on making spring-themed desserts the very next day.
I guess I should update everyone on what happened during Valentine’s Day.
Starting with Momo-chan. She’d given everyone in cla.s.s a heart-shaped madeleine cake, decorated with a special Valentine’s day motif. She’d kept it a secret, so even I didn’t know she was planning on doing that. Even the guys who had girlfriends didn’t get a chance to reject the gift. I was sure those who were single were glad to accept her present, but those with girlfriends might find the gift hard to explain. I wished I could have had the chance to advise Momo-chan to give out plain madeleine cakes to those guys instead.
Oh, Yada-kun was the only one who rejected all gifts. It was a rare sight, seeing him apologize to the girls, it was just so cool and cute? Though we were in the same cla.s.s, I’d never really spoken much to him, so I guess Hazuki-chan was the only one who knew him well. Either way, I thought he behaved like a real man that day.
Hazuki-chan had given Yada-kun a present he’d always wanted: a new trumpet case to replace the one that was damaged during that incident a while ago.
I was still waiting for Kotake to use the towel I’d given to him. He’d also told me that the ‘Experimental Cake No.3’ was really delicious. He probably received more gifts from other girls, but he never mentioned it to me. If only he’d rejected their gifts like Yada-kun had done. Oh well, I guess I should be proud that I’d managed to give him the gifts.
Also, there was a reason why Momo-chan’s desserts sold out so quickly on Valentine’s Day. Remember when she made three January-edition cakes for Seki-sensei, way back before Ai-chan’s injury?
Seki-sensei had gotten the cakes as presents for Ms. Yamaki Minako, Mrs. Tachibana, and GB-san’s wife, as a show of grat.i.tude for their help with Yada-kun’s incident. Seki-sensei had always wanted to let everyone try out the desserts made by her former student, so that was the perfect opportunity for her.
The cakes were well-received and praised for being cute and delicious. Furthermore, word-of-mouth started to spread that the baker was just a high school girl. It was amazing how far the antenna of these dessert-loving women reached.
That was why we were seeing more out-of-town customers these days. While she could only bake cupcakes and grilled sweets on weekdays, it had spurred Momo-chan to put her heart into making more desserts.
“I’ll bake lots of desserts during spring vacation! Let’s work hard together, Doremi-chan!”
Why me? Oh well. Hazuki-chan had her performance coming up in March, Ai-chan had started training even whilst recovering, and Onpu-chan was busy with her musical in London and Paris.
Everyone was running at full speed towards their dreams.
In contrast, I was…
Though I’d found the worthy task of becoming the soccer team manager, it was only a short-term goal. I had no idea what I wanted to be when I became an adult.
It felt like I was trudging along, far behind my best friends.
As a result, I couldn’t help but sigh, even as I worked hard at the MAHO-do.
“Doremi-chan, you’ve been sighing non-stop for a while now. What’s up?”
I was alone with Momo-chan today, and we were making desserts together.
And so, I told her about my frustrations.
“So…… you’re Naive.”
“Naive?”
“It used to be a French word, but it’s become English now. Usually, it means ‘pure’ and ‘innocent’, but it can be used to describe a heart that’s ‘lost’ or ‘wavering’ too.”
“Yeah… That’s what I’m feeling, I think. I just want to spend my youth without any worries, like you, Momo-chan.”
“Oh, but my hope of reviving Majomonroe’s store is just a dream.”
“Even so, once you graduate from high school, you’ll be going to France to officially learn some culinary skills and become a professional patissiere. That’s what I’m envious of.”
“But you’re just 16 years old, Doremi-chan. There are still lots of people to meet and lots more to learn. It won’t be too late to decide later.”
“Do you really think so…?”
“I may have discovered my ambition already, but that doesn’t mean everyone my age needs to be at the same level as well. I’m sure you’ll find your own path, Doremi-chan.”
“I really hope so…”
“If you don’t, you can become a patissiere with me.”
“Hu~~h!?”
“You’ve gotten better at baking desserts. Your gateau chocolat cake was really delicious too! I’ll teach you how to make fruit tarts next.”
“Ok, thanks.”
Momo-chan’s honest smile was just too destructive. It made me want to believe her, and I felt that I could really become a patissiere too, despite not having any English-speaking skills at all.