Baking Time! (Open)

[Mallory Reynolds]

The smell of fresh baking was wafting down the hallway from the Home Economics classroom. Mallory was doing this on purpose.

What better way to welcome a new batch of students to the class than with food?

She’d spent the better part of an early morning mixing and measuring, and the fruits of her labour were nearly finished baking now. She had nearly every oven in the room occupied with warm cookies, brownies (white chocolate with mint chocolate chip, she loved that recipe), and an assortment of mini muffins. Hopefully, something for everyone.

As usual, she didn’t expect many boys to show up, but if they did she hoped she could keep their interest in the program. Sewing might be viewed as ‘lame’ among them, but cooking was a skill they could all stand to learn. What girl wasn’t impressed by a man who knew his way around a kitchen?

Well, if nothing else, she could give them a taste of what they would be missing before they dropped out.

Despite having been working around messy ingredients all morning, there wasn’t a speck of flour or chocolate anywhere on her dress. It was a skill acquired by many hours in the kitchen, and she was just a tad proud of herself.

A quick glance at the clock told her it was time to slide all of the trays out. Once that was done, it was just a matter of waiting for her students to arrive.

((Open to any and all students that want to learn about the basics!))

[Juliet Michaels]

It was as clear as the daylight streaming in from her window that Juliet did not want to wake up. She had been up all night studying, or trying to at least. She was failing almost everything. Not that she was particularly stupid, just uninterested. She honestly didn't give a damn when the Declaration of Independence was signed and who signed it. History was her worst subject. Followed by math. And science. There was no way in hell that she was going to get into college, but she preferred not to think about the future. In her eyes, she didn't have one.

So why was she getting up so early to go to some stupid home ec class? Because it seemed like an easy class to ace. Cooking couldn't be that hard, she figured. Throw in a few eggs and flour and sugar and chocolate chips, bam, you got cookies. Sort of. At least, it was something like that.

Jovi dressed in jeans and an old T-shirt with the Dr. Pepper logo on the front. No sense in dressing up to get covered by flour, plus, how could you not like Dr. Pepper? She pulled a brush through her hair and glanced in the mirror, deciding that she looked good enough. Juliet tugged on her shoes and headed out the door, grabbing her bag on the way out, trying to be quiet so she wouldn't wake up her roommates. She never spoke to them, much, and made a mental note to get to know them a bit better.

The smell of cookies and sweets encouraged her low motivation to go to the class. She stepped into the room, seeing that she was currently the only one. Great. Just what she needed. To be alone with some teacher. Jovi sighed and stopped a few yards behind Ms. Reynolds. "Alright, let's just get this over with so I can leave."

[Cristobal Autieri]

Cristobal was hungry, and he remembered that if he got to make a successful meal in Home Ec, he would be able to eat it. Even though he was tired, he leaped out of his bed, grabbing onto his sweats. Looking around for his sneakers, Cristobal just slid on his moccasins, and called it a day. Knowing that his Home Ec teacher has rather the same power as him, but with gas’s and stuff, Cristobal sort’ve wished he had a close bond with her.

Leaving his desk-light shining onto his Chemistry book, Cristobal headed for the halls. Uttering passed the people, Cristobal was enclosed in. “Scuse me please!” Said the boy, as they moved out of his way. Rushing outside to the class, he already smelled the sweet natural delight of the class.

Making his way into the class room, he saw a girl about his age, and the teacher, Ms. Reynolds. Luckily they were the only people there so Cristobal was able to squeeze some studying in.

[Mallory Reynolds]

Slowly, students trickled in. Some looked half asleep, some were looking longingly at the treats cooling on the trays, and some actually looked happy to be there.

There were more males than she was used to, but that was okay with her. The more the merrier, and really, it was a skill they could utilize to impress girls. What guy in his right mind wouldn’t want that?

She recognized a few from previous semesters. Isaac, in particular, she threw a happy grin to. He was one of the rare males that actually seemed to enjoy the sewing portion of the course, and he was good at it. He so rarely needed instruction, and that was nice. In fact, he was a great in class resource for anyone struggling with their projects.

This semester was actually looking to shape up fairly nicely.

Well, it had been.

Mallory really tried not to let student’s moods put a damper on her own, and Juliet’s sentiment just made her smile in slight amusement. Really, this wasn’t her first rodeo. There was one in every crowd, every semester. She shrugged. “If you leave, you’ll never learn the way to a man’s heart.” She winked and moved on, making sure she didn’t start until everyone was there.

Okay, it looked like everyone that was supposed to show up was there.

“Hi guys! Welcome to Home Ec. I know some of you have already taken the class in previous semesters, so you know the basics. For you, we can get some more complicated things going. For the rest of you, we’ll start with the basics and go from there. Now,” she stepped aside to sweep her hand in the general direction of the treats. “I’ve got a taste of what you’ll be able to do by the end of the semester, as far as the kitchen’s concerned.” She looked pleased. “Any questions?”

[Morgana Bennet]

Morgana was one of those students that looked forward to every class. She was always on time and was usually the first student to arrive. Recently, however, she had become more absent-minded and a little more relaxed as well. No one knew why. No one except for Morgana. Ever since she had met him, it had become harder and harder to concentrate. Morgana had managed to arrive to her Home Economics class on time, though she brought a slight headache along with her. The other students in the class were either tired, hungry, or happy. Like always, her empathy acted up and she was experiencing emotions that made her stomach do flip flops.

Rubbing the side of her head, Morgana let out a groan that was loud enough to be heard by everyone. She immediately looked up and gave an apologetic smile. "Sorry. Slight headache, that's all." Morgana looked at Ms. Reynolds, who may have been the best teacher ever, and smiled. She always seemed so happy and energetic and Morgana loved it.

When Ms. Reynolds asked if there were any questions, Morgana put up her hand. "Will we be making any ethnic dishes, or will they just be basic things."

[Isaac Tilford]

Isaac threw up his hand when Ms. Reynolds asked for questions. It wasn't his first class with her, and he was ready to be one of the "experienced" students who ended up paired with someone who hadn't spent as much time on this. ("This" meaning Home Ec., not necessarily the cooking part. Isaac was good at sewing, but his talents didn't exactly extend to the kitchen. He could follow a recipe, but it wasn't anything special.)

Once he was called on, he dropped his hand. "What's the breakdown on the class? How much time are we gonna spend cooking or sewing? Are we going to be paired up with people with similar experience or will it be more experienced people with less?" He'd rather work with another student who could keep up with him, instead of babysitting a freshman or something.

[Juliet Michaels]

Juliet gave an irritated roll of her eyes, "I'm not about to be some cooking slave for some guy." She stated, then softened her gaze a bit. She wasn't about to get an A in this class with an attitude like this, and Jovi knew that. So she bit her tongue and decided to keep her comments to herself. As the teacher spoke, she listened intently, glancing to the other students, only recognizing one of them, though. Isaac. Her roommate. What was he doing here? She barely ever spoke to her roommates, but he had never struck her as the sewing/cooking type. Apparently she was wrong.

She had sewn before. And cooked. But nothing to in depth. She knew how to thread a machine, and follow a recipe. Basically just the basics, finding it far to uninteresting and time consuming to make a hobby out of it.

"Hey Isaac." She muttered to her roommate, finding him a decent enough human being to at least greet.

[Mallory Reynolds]

Mallory was actually quite happy with the turnout. She always expected that the faces she saw today wouldn’t be the same that would start again for the first ‘official’ class. Day one was usually just going over the class structure, and generally slacking off. There was always a small handful that decided to drop the class, which was a reality she’d come to terms with years ago.

Today, she’d let them pick partners, and go from there. At least she had a few familiar faces. That would make the class that much more fun.

Of course, Juliet’s attitude was making her wonder if she’d stick with the class. “Oh come on. It’s a useful trick, especially if you want something.” She’d used her skills in the kitchen against her brothers many times when she needed something from them. Not to mention, it was a great way to butter up anyone, like, say, teachers. Or parents.

She leaned against the closest counter to the tables and chairs that comprised the ‘desks’ in the room, waiting for questions.

And they came quickly. She grinned at Morgana and called her on her first. “Well, for anyone that’s taken this class before, you’ll get a little more freedom. I’m going to give you a few assignments, but you’ll have a lot of freedom within those guidelines. So of course you can try something a little different! We’re got some great resource books in the back, or if you have something special in mind, let me know and I’ll make sure we’re stocked with everything you’ll need.” There was nothing better than letting the senior students run a little more free. They always came up with some interesting ideas.

When Isaac raised his hand, she nodded to him. “Well, I was going to go over the breakdown in a bit. But if you’re so eager to know, I’ll tell you.” She looked out at the rest of the class, making sure no one was sleeping yet. “It’s usually about fifty-fifty, but if you have a strong preference for one or the other, and you’re a senior, I might let those numbers slide a little. If you really want to do an extra sewing or cooking project, I’ll knock one off from the other. Everyone else, you’ll have that same chance next year. As for partners, I’m going to let you pick your own. Ideally, I’d like the groups to be as similarly matched up experience-wise, so we have beginners together. But I also want the seniors to help out if need be, okay?”

With that said, she grinned, and swept her hand towards the goodies. “That’s really all I have for you guys today. I’ll hand out the course outlines, but for now you guys can talk about what you might want to try doing this year, and who you want to work with.” And hopefully, most of them would turn up again for the next class.