First Club Activities in a While
"Then, after pouring the yolks into the bowl you"re holding, mix it well."
Sana, Kanata, and I, the three of us were doing exactly as Hiiragi-chan said as we mixed the contents of the bowl with a whisk. It seems that this would become cookie dough. Since it was after we had put in vanilla extract, there was a slightly sweet smell.
Normally we would gather in the home economics room to play games, eat, do homework, or even eat the sweets that Hiiragi-chan had made as our club activities. However, today, we were doing legitimate club activities for the first time in a while. Right now, we were making cookies under Hiiragi-chan"s instruction.
Why me as well…?
"This is pretty hard…"
While frowning, Sana moved the whisk around and around. Her long hair was currently tied behind her.
Yesterday, after eating the cookies that Hiiragi-chan had baked, Sana started out by speaking.
"Are cookies easy to make, Sensei?"
"Ah, Sanchan, are you interested?"
"I-I can"t say I don"t… As long as it"s easy to make, and tastes good."
"I"ll teach you!"
And well, through this exchange that took place between Hiiragi-chan and Sana, despite Kanata and I not having much interest, we were dragged into making them together. Hiiragi-chan originally wanted to get along with Sana so she probably thought of this as a good chance.
"Thinking about the person that you"re baking for while mixing it will make it more and more enjoyable, you know?"
The person I"m baking this for, is it…? As I took a glance at her, our eyes met and Hiiragi-chan broke into a smile.
"The person I"m baking this for… Wait, Nii-san, why are you looking this way!?"
"I"m not looking at you."
"Even if you look like you want it so much, I won"t give it to you, okay? But if you say that you really must have it… it might be okay for me to give you some."
"Don"t continue the conversation as if I said something."
I wonder who the always mysterious Kanata is thinking of giving it to.
"…Seiji-kun, do you want it?"
"No, it"s just, I was wondering who you were giving it to."
"…I"ll give it to Shrimp."
"Shrimp…? You mean shrimp…?"
"… The pet we have at home. A dog."
"The dog"s name is, Shrimp…!?"
"…Shrimp, the golden retriever."
Her naming sense was so weird I didn"t get it at all.
Sana continuously took glances at me.…This person, she doesn"t think that I"m making this for myself, right?
"S-Sana… sweet things are good, but be moderate on the sweetness."
"Ah, is that so."
Sana furrowed her eyebrows.
This is why Nii-san is dense—
That"s probably what she"s thinking.
With Hiiragi-chan"s instruction and while she continued to watch over our progress, we progressed with our work.
"So—this is the complete cookie dough."
Dodon, Hiiragi-chan set the cookie dough that she made in advance on the table.
"Sensei also made some?"
"Just in case, a sample."
"I-I won"t lose…!"
Sana"s eyes were burning.
"Once they"re done why don"t we eat them together and compare?"
Hiiragi-chan who doesn"t really think much of Sana as an opponent, casually dodged Sana"s hostile intent. Even during the sports festival, Sana had a burning compet.i.tiveness, but Hiiragi-chan may just be insensitive to the hostility and malice of others.
Once the dough was finished, we wrapped it up and let it rest in the refrigerator for an hour.
"The school festival is coming up. Are you guys thinking of doing anything with the home economics club? What do you guys want to do?"
Hiiragi-chan asked while making coffee.
That"s right, it"s that time of year.
"Kanata, did you do something last year?"
"…Last year, I made curry for 300 yen."
"Curry!? Sana really likes curry!"
"Well, you do have a child"s taste buds."
"B-be quiet. Even Nii-san likes it, right!?"
"I do like it, but not to the point where I would get excited just by hearing it mentioned."
"… However, rice was sold separately. 100 yen."
"What"s with that billing method?"
Hiiragi-chan began to write something on the blackboard.
"For something sold at 200 yen, the production cost… I see…"
She continued to jot things down.
"If it"s anything Sana wishes for, hamburger curry would be great."
"Stop wishing for that. You really are such a brat."
"It should be fine, it doesn"t matter."
Sana sulked.
"I will calculate the ingredient costs, okay? I think we have the club funds. Is it alright with being a store?"
"… I"m fine with anything."
Kanata spoke quietly.
"Sana, might want to do that."
For me, if I had to choose, then I would say that I don"t want to. I wouldn"t be able to be open about it and walk around the school festival with Hiiragi-chan, but the time I can secretly enjoy with her will end up decreasing.
"Yeah. Then, let"s do it!"
With a single line from Hiiragi-chan, the decision was made. Since the cla.s.ses haven"t even decided on what they were doing, timewise, there was still quite a bit of leeway. The amount is quite large, but since the work needed will probably only be the day before, it wouldn"t be that bad.
Around when the conversation on the school festival was finished, it was about an hour and so we resumed our cookie making. The rested dough was stretched and cut into bite sized pieces.
"I"ve been thinking about this for a while now, but why is Nii-san"s black?"
"That"ll be saved for when you eat it."
"Is it because you died the dough with your terrible personality?"
"Haah, I"ll hit you, you know?"
Even while listening to our exchange, Kanata continued her work quietly while Hiiragi-chan chuckled.
Once that was done, the dough was baked in the oven for 20 minutes.
"It"s done ♪"
With oven mitts, Hiiragi-chan brought out the cookies that were inside. Seeing that, Sana"s eyes were shining.
"Sana"s is this one!"
Since she strongly appealed, I took one that seemed to be b.u.t.ter cookie and ate it.
"Ah, yeah, it"s good."
As expected, she definitely followed Hiiragi-chan step by step.
"Right?"
Sana making a smug face is a little irritating, but let"s not say anything.
"…Seiji-kun, this is mine."
I tried eating the one that Kanata pointed out.
"There"s no taste?"
"Try it with the jam. Marmalade or strawberry."
"Say that first!"
Still, as expected of Kanata… She doesn"t just listen to instructions, but also adds her own twist. Moreover, the options to choose your own flavor… It"s strong. I tried eating it with the marmalade jam that Hiiragi-chan brought out.
"… Try eating it like you were Shrimp."
"Which one? Like shrimp? Or, the dog?"
"… Like shrimp."
"Shrimps can"t eat cookies, right!?"
Kanata"s was also delicious. The fact that you can change the flavor to your liking adds to the enjoyment.
"Sanadkun, this one is mine."
No matter how you look at it, Hiiragi-chan"s… has chocolate chips in it, right…? She taught everyone else normally, but while hiding the fact that she was making her own arrangement.
Hiiragi-chan as well, was making an expression as if to say that it was obvious that she would win.
"Ah, yeah. It"s good."
"Sensei, why does yours have chocolate chips…? If that"s the case, Sana would"ve wanted to be taught that as well."
"You see, Sanchan. The ability to make arrangements is all about imagination. It"s the flash of inspiration."
"Meaning, without any inspiration, following the instructions faithfully, all of that is Sana"s loss…!?"
Sana received some shock. For Sana, there would probably be a higher success rate without inspiration, so it"s probably fine.
"And so, Nii-san"s is this one?"
Hiiragi-chan was watching, so she probably knows.
"If you try it, you"ll get it."
All four of us ate my cookies.
"It"s not sweet… well, just a little."
"…Seiji-kun, this, it"s coffee?"
"That"s what it is."
A coffee cookie with moderate amounts of sweetness.
"… Seiji-kun, you made it moderately sweet for Sachan…?"
"That"s not it. It"s just a coincidence."
As we were eating our cookies with tea and talking about the school festival, an elementary schooler was standing outside the window. She was peeking in with the expression of a frozen dog. Rather, that"s Rei-chan.
"What are you doing?"
"Senpai isn"t coming out, so I came looking for you. And then, I smelled something nice."
It seems she followed the scent and arrived here.
"Ah, the child that came yesterday."
If Sana were to explain it, it would probably become annoying, so I ended up explaining it to the other two people.
"… Then, the a.s.sumption of Seiji-kun getting along with girls younger than ten…"
"Hey, Kanata, stop saying that in a way that invites misunderstandings."
"Sanadkun, she"s become quite attached to you."
Hiiragi-chan smiled and waved Rei-chan in and we all ate cookies together.
"The cookies, they"re good…"
Rei-chan was eating Kanata"s cookies in between Hiiragi-chan and I. She"s eating cutely like a squirrel.
"The chocolate chips are king and there"s nothing to say about it. The coffee cookies have moderate sweetness which makes them easy to eat. The flavorless cookies are also good if I do say so myself! All these sweets… pure bliss…"
I know that the inside is a 20-year-old girl, so it"s fine. However, for the other three, she probably just looks like a precocious child.
"H-hey? Rei-chan. What about, this one…?"
Sana quietly recommended her own cookies.
"This is good, but it"s a cookie that lacks personality. I wouldn"t really eat them if I had the other three types."
"Ugugugu…"
Rei-chan was merciless.
"S-simple is best, but I guess for a child, that"s too hard for her?"
"… Sachan"s is plain, but good, but plain."
"Uuuu… Kanchan, thank you… how many times did you say plain?"
After sampling was done to some extent, Hiiragi-chan asked which one was best.
"Which one tastes the best?"
"The coffee cookies. The moderate sweetness is a nice consideration for girls."
It seems that for Rei-chan"s mature sense of taste, my cookies were on point. Like this, from Rei-chan"s judging, my cookies ended up winning.
Sana and I ended up sending Rei-chan home.
"Why does she call you Senpai?"
"Who knows? I wonder."
I dodged the question that was asked once more.