Today is another Sunday. I was supposed to work at Yamamoto Canteen for the whole day. I was even on my way there. Unfortunately, Uekawa-san called me and told me that the shop will be closed for today since Miyako-san got sick all of a sudden.

   ‘Is she going to be all right?’ I ask Uekawa-san out of concern.

   ‘Honestly, I don’t know.’ he replies with a voice on the verge of panicking. ‘It looks serious, so I called the ambulance just in case.’

   Then he starts to sob.

   ‘Oh, if only I did something earlier!’

   ‘That reminds me. She told me that she was feeling dizzy when I was working with her in the kitchen two nights ago.’

   ‘She told me that too! If only I took her more seriously!’

   ‘Now now, it’s going to be alright. So please, calm down.’ I try to comfort the half-crying man.

   ‘How can I be calm? She had been complaining that she felt like vomiting, and she had been more moody lately! This is serious stuff!’

   Hmm? She’s often tired, feel like vomiting and has been moody as of late?

   ‘Um, Uekawa-san-’

   Before I could continue, I hear the sound of sirens blaring from the other side of my phone.

   ‘Oh, the ambulance is here! I’ll talk to you once Miyako is in the hospital.’ he tells me.

   The line is then cut off.

   ‘Well, I guess I’ll just let the doctor to tell him the good news.’ I say to myself.

   Now that I have an unexpected off day, I guess I’ll go back to my apartment and play video games. Before that, I head to the supermarket since I remembered that we’re almost out of eggs. Might as well get some while I’m already outside.

   Just as I’m about to reach the supermarket, I see Shimada-sensei walking together with a woman coming from the opposite direction. The woman looks a lot like my homeroom teacher. They’re around the same height too. They could be sisters or mother-and-daughter for all I know.

   Sensei grimaces when she sees me. Before I could stop myself, I reacted the same. I mean, she’s a nice teacher and all, but no student would ever want to bump into his teacher during his off day from school.

   ‘Good morning, Shimada-sensei.’ I greet her stiffly.

   ‘Good morning, Bandou-kun.’ she greets me back in an equally awkward manner.

   The woman next to her looks at me, then back at sensei.

   ‘Is he one of your student?’ she asks her.

   ‘Yes.’

   The woman looks at me and smiles.

   ‘Good morning and hello to you. My name is Shimada Rei. I’m Shouko’s mother. You can call me Rei to avoid confusion.’ she introduces herself.

   Oh right. Shimada-sensei’s given name is Shouko. I’ve completely forgotten about it since I’ve been calling her nothing but Shimada-sensei.

   I bow at Rei-san. ‘Nice to meet you. My name is Bandou Takuya. Your daughter has been taking good care of me while we’re at school.’

   Rei-san beams. ‘My, what a polite young man you are.’

   Sensei, on the other hand, isn’t as impressed.

   ‘Why weren’t you that polite when you were greeting me?’ she demands.

   ‘Believe me, sensei. This is as polite as I would get. Under normal circumstances, I would have pretended that I didn’t see you.’ I tell her.

   ‘I suppose this is better.’ she admits grudgingly.

   ‘I’m glad that you understand.’

   ‘Come on, enough dilly-dallying. Let’s just go buy the ingredients we need so that we can get this over with.’ Rei-san tells her daughter.

   I vaguely remember that sensei told me her mother was coming over to teach her how to cook. I guess today’s the day.

   ‘Well then, I shall take my leave.’ I tell them while bowing.

   ‘Would you like to come along, young man?’ Rei-san offers me all of a sudden.

   ‘Wouldn’t I be a bother?’

   ‘Not at all. You’re welcome to join us. Shouko definitely could use another judge.’

   I was about to decline politely when I remember that Reii-san is sensei’s mother. Mother means lots of embarrassing stories to tell. More embarrassing stories means more leverage.

   ‘In that case, allow me to join you.’

   Perhaps sensing my true intention, sensei became very nervous.

   ‘No no no no no, what are you suggesting mother? He can’t come over!’ she tells her mum.

   ‘Oh come on. You know why we’re doing this. We definitely need a man’s opinion.’

   Sensei groans loudly.

   ‘If only father was here…’ she grumbles.

   ‘He can’t make it, remember? He had a last-minute business trip.’

   And so, I follow them to go inside the supermarket. I called Miiko beforehand to tell her that I’m not coming back anytime soon even though I’m not working today.

   ‘Okay. Please be careful while you’re out there.’

   ‘Will do. Call me if something happened, okay?’

   ‘Got it.’

   ‘Do you think you can stay until dinner time?’ Rei-san asks me once we’re inside the supermarket.

   ‘I’m afraid not. I left my cousin all alone in the apartment that we’re staying. I don’t want to leave her alone any longer than I have to.’

   ‘A shame. Well, I guess it can’t be helped.’

   Rei-san takes some carrots, potatoes and onions and put them inside the basket her daughter is carrying.

   ‘May I ask what’s for today’s menu?’ I ask once Rei-san.

   ‘It’s curry.’

   ‘Is curry really a good choice?’ I ask. ‘Making roux can be quite difficult for beginners.’

   ‘Don’t worry. We’ll be using store bought roux for today.’ she assures me.

   ‘Oh, right. I was so used to making my own roux that those things actually exists.’

   Rei-san looks impressed.

   ‘Oh, so you can cook?’

   ‘Yes.’

   She nods approvingly. ‘Even though times have supposed to change, it’s still rare to find boys who can cook.’

   ‘I’d say it’s even more rare to find women who can’t.’ I say while looking at sensei.

   ‘Hey, I can cook too okay?’ she protests.

   ‘Just so you know, popping pre-made food into the microwave and cooking instant noodles aren’t cooking.’

   ‘W-Well, it’s all going to change today! Just you watch!’

   ‘Those are some big words coming from someone who can’t even cook rice properly.’ Rei-san mumbles.

   ‘Mother! Could you stop spilling the beans about me in front of my student?’

   ‘By the way, what do you like in your curry, Bandou-kun?’ Rei-san asks me while ignoring her daughter’s outburst.

   ‘Breaded shrimps.’

   Rei-san looks at her daughter.

   ‘Well, you heard him. Let’s go get some shrimps.’

   Sensei glares at me. ‘You just had to raise the difficulty for me, don’t you?’

   ‘Now don’t you take it out on him.’ Rei-san chides. ‘If your cooking skills were decent, you wouldn’t have any problems with it.’

   ‘That’s right that’s right.’ I agree.

   ‘Quiet, you.’

   The next thing on the shopping list is the curry roux.

   ‘I like my curry sweet, sensei.’ I tell sensei.

   She looks at me with eyes full of contempt as she was about to grab a box of curry roux marked with the word “ very spicy” on it.

   ‘Only children eat sweet curry.’ she tells me.

   ‘Well you look like someone who tried to act mature by drinking black coffee.’

   She flinches before averting her eyes.

   ‘I have no idea on what you’re talking about…’

   ‘Rei-san?’

   ‘Yup. That did happened when she was in middle school.’ her mother confirms.

   ‘Whose side are you on, mother?’

   In the end, the two of us settled on getting a box of middle-spicy curry roux.

   After the shopping’s done, I follow the two of them to wherever sensei is living. Turns out that it’s an apartment similar to one I’m staying in, except it’s much bigger and more high class looking.

   ‘Come in. Make yourself at home.’ sensei tells me once she unlocks the lock of the door.

   From her expression, I could tell that she’s saying it out of moral obligation than meaning it from the bottom from her heart. Not that I mind. It’s not like I have plans to make a mess of her living quarter.

   The interior’s quite decent. There’s a long sofa in front of a long television, a dining table with four chairs, a decent-looking kitchen, and even a balcony. Everything looks clean and tidy.

   ‘Don’t be too impressed. I was the one who did the cleaning.’ Rei-san tells me as if she could read my mind.

   I couldn’t help but chuckle. ‘I wonder what the students at Jindai would say about this.’

   ‘Don’t you dare!’ sensei warns me at once.

   I raise up both my hands.

   ‘Don’t worry sensei. Your secret is safe with me.’

   ‘Remember that time I had to keep your mouth shut by treating you to a meal of yakiniku?’

   ‘Those meats were delicious.’ I recall.

   ‘You’re totally missing the point here.’

   ‘What are the two of you talking about?’ Rei-san asks us curiously.

   ‘It’s nothing. Right, Bandou-kun?’ sensei asks me with extra emphasis.

   ‘Yup. It’s nothing at all, Rei-san.’

   ‘Well, if you say so. Most importantly, let’s get started.’

   Sensei begins by putting on an apron that I highly doubt she has wore more than twice.

   ‘Start by cooking the rice.’ Rei-san instructs.

   ‘Got it.’

   ‘Try not to mess it up this time.’

   ‘I’ve got this, mother.’

   ‘I wonder about that.’ Rei-san mumbles.

   ‘Would it kill you to have more faith in me? I still remember what you taught me last time.’

   ‘Don’t worry, Rei-san. I’ll be sure to call the fire station if a fire breaks out.’

   ‘You’re not helping, Bandou-kun.’

   To her credit, she actually manages to do it right, from washing the grains until putting the right amount of water.

   ‘There. What did I tell you? Nothing to it!’ sensei says smugly.

   ‘All you did was wash the rice and press a button.’ I remind her.

   ‘Just let her have her moment, Bandou-kun. After all, Shouko here can’t even make hard-boiled egg.’ Rei-san tells me.

   ‘Mother, you promised that you won’t tell anyone that!’

   ‘This is going to be a tough lesson.’ I realize.

   While the rice is cooking, sensei is instructed to move on to the vegetables. She begins by taking out a chopping board. Next she puts the bought ingredients on the it one by one. Rei-san and I stand on her both sides to give her advise.

   ‘I hate onions. They always make me cry.’ sensei grumbles as she starts to peel an onion.

   ‘Just deal with it.’ Rei-san tells her.

   ‘Alternatively, you can try to hold your breath. Or you could drink some water and keep it inside your mouth without swallowing until you’re done with the chopping.’ I advise.

   Sensei looks at Rei-san.

   ‘See, mother? This is the kind of advise I need. That said, I can’t believe that I’m getting an advise from Bandou-kun of all people.’

   ‘Whatever do you mean, sensei?’

   ‘Let’s just drop it.’

   Under careful instructions, sensei manages to dice all the onions without hurting herself. She then moves on to potatoes and carrots. After those are done prepared as well, it’s time to cook the curry.

   Well, I said cook, but all she has to do is to put oil in a pot and cook the vegetables in turn until they soften, then add water and the curry roux. Once the curry starts to boil, the heat is turned down to make it simmer. Now we wait until an hours or so passes.

   Now comes the difficult part: the breaded shrimps.

   ‘I’m supposed to peel most of the body and leave the tail, right?’ sensei asks us.

   ‘Right.’ I answer.

   ‘How am I supposed to make them straight even after being fried again?’

   Rei-san takes away sensei’s knife for a moment. ‘Here, let me show you.’

   She skillfully shell a shrimp using the knife. Next, she makes some slits on its underside.

   ‘Nice knife skill there, Rei-san.’ I compliment.

   ‘Thank you. It’s no big deal, though. My mother was the one who taught me well. And that’s how you do it. Try not to make the cuts too deep.’ she says while handing the knife back to sensei.

   After a few clumsy attempts, sensei is finally starting to get the hang of it.

   ‘Can we move on to the frying now?’ she asks while looking a bit tired.

   ‘Not yet. You’re making breaded shrimps, remember? You have to coat the shrimps with panko first. Get three bowls and fill them with flour, eggs and panko.’

   Sensei obliges obediently. Rei-san demonstrates on how to coat a shrimp. Sensei are to do the rest.

   ‘How about now?’ she asks again once the coatings are complete.

   ‘Yes you can. Now fill a pot with oil.’ Rei-san instructs.

   ‘But please don’t put too much. I’d say filling it halfway is good enough.’ I add.

   We wait until the oil is hot enough for frying. Sensei picks up a shrimp and attempts to drop it from a distance.

   ‘Please don’t do that. The oil might splatter out from the impact.’ I tell sensei.

   ‘How low am I supposed to drop it then?’

   ‘Right on top of the oil.’

   She follows my instructions. The shrimp sinks to the bottom of the pot without so much as an impact. She does the same thing with the rest of the shrimps.

   ‘Remember to watch the color. You want them to be brown. Any color deeper than that, and you’ve failed.’ Rei-san tells sensei.

   ‘Try not to mess this up please. I really hate the sight of my favorite food being wasted.’

   ‘I got this, okay? I got this.’

   From the way she’s talking, it sure sounds like she’s trying to reassure herself instead of assuring me.

   The breaded shrimps didn’t turn out too badly. Sure, some of them are slightly burned, but overall they’re still edible. Sensei lets out a huge sigh of relief.

   ‘We’re almost done, right?’ she asks us.

   ‘That’s right. Now we have to wait until the curry is done.’ Rei-san tells her.

   ‘That was the longest two hours of my life.’ I mumble.

   ‘I’m just glad that nothing bad happened.’ Rei-san says.

   ‘Please don’t jinx it. We’re not exactly out of the danger zone yet.’

   ‘My bad. Maybe we should start praying.’

   ‘Could the two of you stop acting like I would end up making some sort of biological weapon if I made one wrong move?’ sensei demands while looking like she’s about to cry.

   We have some free time until the curry is done, so Rei-san allows sensei to take a short break. She spends it by lying down on her sofa face-down.

   ‘You’re behaving unsightly in front of your student, you know.’ Rei-san chides her daughter.

   ‘I don’t care!’ sensei shouts with a muffled voice.

   Rei-san smiles apologetically at me.

   ‘I’m really sorry for my daughter’s behaviour. She’s a good girl, but she always had the tendency to act like that whenever she was tired or stressed out.’

   ‘Are you saying that she was always like this?’

   ‘Yes. Ever since she was a small child. That said, she tends to act tough in front of those who’re younger than her. Which is why I was surprised that she acted like this while you’re around.’

   ‘Maybe it’s because I’ve already caught her in an embarrassing situation. That’s why she doesn’t care anymore.’ I suggest.

   ‘Now I’m really curious. Care to elaborate on it?’

   ‘I’m sorry, but I promised her not to tell.’

   She shrugs. ‘Fair enough. I won’t push for it any more.’

   An hour later, the three of us got up from our seat and inspect the curry. It turned out very nicely, although I doubt that you can actually mess up by using store bought roux. We check the rice next. It cooked quite well too.

   ‘Well I’ll be. You actually didn’t mess up this time. Color me surprised.’ Rei-san says as she’s getting the cutleries for all of us.

   ‘You mean she didn’t mess up too much.’ I remind her as I gesture towards the slightly burned breaded shrimps.

   ‘My bad. I’ve forgotten about those.’

   I was so hungry that I decided to ignore the partially-failed products.

   ‘You added too much water, so the curry is a bit watery.’ Rei-san comments after taking a sip of curry. ‘I guess you need some more practice before you can get it right.’

   ‘I wanted to follow a recipe, but you forbid me, remember?’ sensei reminds her mother.

   ‘Having a recipe is good and all, but it might backfire. I mean, the quality of the ingredients you use changes all the time. The best way to cook is using your instinct.’ I tell sensei.

   Rei-san beams. ‘See, he knows his stuff.’

   ‘I’m glad that the two of you are getting along.’ sensei says drily.

   ‘Still, you’ve improved a lot since the last time you cooked. Are you sure you didn’t practice at all.’

   ‘No, mother. Do I look like I have the free time to do it?’

   ‘Well I simply refuse to believe that your skill improved so much in one go. Unless…’

   ‘Unless what?’ sensei asks when Rei-san isn’t continuing.

   Rei-san is too busy staring at me with a look that I don’t like to answer her daughter.

   ‘Say Bandou-kun. Do you have a girlfriend?’ she asks me all of a sudden.

   ‘Um, no.’

   ‘Do you have any particulars when it comes to choosing one?’

   ‘Not really. I feel that this is all about feelings instead of superficial things like looks.’

   ‘I see…’

   Sensei starts to realize that this conversation is heading towards a bad direction.

   ‘Mother, why are you asking him all these questions? What are you thinking?’

   ‘Oh, it’s nothing dear.’

   Her expression is definitely telling us otherwise.

   ‘Maybe you should go home right now after all, Bandou-kun.’ sensei quickly tells me.

   ‘Yes. Thank you for your hospitality.’ I say to them while getting up.

   ‘Leaving so soon?’ Rei-san asks me. ‘I know you’re worried about your cousin, but you could have stayed until tea time, at least.’

   ‘No thank you. I really need to get going.’ I decline politely.

   ‘Well, if you insist. Just be careful on your way back, even though it’s still bright out there.’

   ‘Thank you. I will.’ I promise.

   ‘I’m really sorry about my mother, Bandou-kun.’ sensei whispers to me while I’m wearing my shoes at the entrance.

   ‘It’s fine, sensei. Just give her my regards again once I leave.’

   ‘I will. See you at school tomorrow.’

   ‘Yes. See you.’

   ‘Welcome back, Takuya onii-chan.’ Miiko tells me once I’m back. ‘You’re quite early.’

   ‘Well, a lot of stuff happened.’ I explained ambiguously.

   Later that day, Uekawa-san called me again. As I expected, Miyako-san is pregnant with his child. It took him quite a while to calm down from the joy of being a father soon.