CHAPTER NINE;
cookie contest

"You need to fold the dough, not just mix it around!"

Everyone was in chaos, and it was only six in the morning. Today was finally club orientation day, and because the cooking club wasn't able to prepare anything before the start of this week, they were rushing to bake sugar cookies.

Each club had its activities for the freshmen to engage in, and the cooking club had decided to host a cookie contest; where anyone could design their cookie, and the winner gets to have a dozen cookies with their design.

They only had an hour left until the students started to explore what extracurricular club they wanted to join. Half of the members were focused on baking while the other half set up the decorations they made over the weekends.

"This is stressful," Amari says with a cracked smile, a bead of sweat trickling down her forehead.

"Yeah, more than it should be." you set up the table that was meant for the students to decorate their cookies in. You unfold the pink tablecloth you brought and spread it across the wooden surface.

"First batch is done!" Mio announces from the kitchen, the room was getting filled with the sweet aroma of freshly baked goods.

"I just finished making the colored icing, I'll place them in the fridge, so they won't melt!" another member adds.

You take a few stainless trays and place it on the wooden table, arranging the sugar cookies on them. Amari brought a few plates and stacked them beside one of the trays. "They'll use the plates when they decorate their cookie." she informs you.

Eventually, the whole preparation process was a lot less heavy, and the students were starting to roam around the booths prepared by each club. "Good morning! How was the assembly?" You ask one of the first-year students that entered the clubroom.

"Good morning too, miss! It was okay, just a bit boring..." she joked.

You laugh at her, "I know right," she gets close to the table and stares at the plain cookies, "Will you register?" you ask.

"Yup! I don't have any other choices in mind, what are these for?" she points at the table.

"We're holding a cookie contest, whoever wins will have 12 free cookies with their design." you inform.

She gives you an excited smile, "Can I have a go?"

"Of course! Do you have an idea what design you'll put?"

"Yep! What will I use?"

"We have colored icings, what colors will you need?"

"Hmm...white, pink, and light blue!"

You approached the fridge and took the bowls of colored icing, scooping them into small piping bags. After you were done, you got back to the first-year student, "Here you go," she gratefully receives the bags from you. You place a piece of sugar cookie on a plate with tongs and handed it to her.

She quickly got busy with her work, and more students flowed inside the room. Fortunately, it wasn't a hassle to deal with them; they were nice and cooperative.

"Bro, just go inside! It'd be fun!" a group of boys caught your attention, as well as the other members.

Your mouth gapes open as you saw Yamada Kousei, along with a few players from the football team, push Itoshi Rin inside. You throw a glance at Amari, and she was already looking back. You weren't allowed to leave the table- this was your task.

It wasn't like you expected him to participate, he was a 6'1ft tall scary guy and a football jock!

"Heya, Y/n!" Kousei greeted you. You give him an awkward, pursed smile, it had been long since you talked to him. It was unfortunate you had to distance yourself from them, they were fun people.

"Hello, Yamada. Would you like to decorate a cookie? Winner gets to take home 12 free cookies."

"Hell yeah! You guys better try this out too!" he wagged a finger at his companions.

"This is ridiculous, I'm out of here." Rin scoffed, before he could even take five steps, he was pulled back by the collar by Kousei.

"What'd I say?!" he raised a brow. Rin grabs onto his hand and forcefully removed its grip on his clothing, then, he faces you.

"Aren't you supposed to give me a cookie?" he grunts.

You squint at him slightly, "Here you go." you say dryly, pushing a plate toward him. He stared at it for a few minutes before looking back at you, "Red, white, black."

"Alright." you take a second to fetch the colors from the fridge and gave him the piping bags. Then he quickly drew Pennywise from IT on the cookie, his lines weren't messy and despite his rough demeanor, he was careful with piping the design onto the cookie.

Kousei looked at his cookie and Rin's, "Why does yours look better than mine?!"

Amari laughed loudly, "What is this abomination?"

"I don't think you're supposed to insult your customers..." Kousei narrowed his eyes at her.

"What's this supposed to be?" you question Kousei.

"Batman!"

Your best friend snorts out a disgusting laugh, "Batman?! This looks like if Batman never hit puberty!"

"HEY!!!!!"

After that hilarious commotion, you take a picture of Rin's work as well as the others' just like you had done to the previous ones. "Hold it closer to you, the cookie is not in frame." you tell him, you could see a scowl forming on his face from the screen of your phone. "Okay, done."

Kousei was happy when you informed them that they were allowed to take their cookies, and that the club will announce its winner before the band performances this late afternoon.

"Well, that was something." Amari whispered through gritted teeth.

You let out an exaggerated exhale, "Oh, tell me about it."

The rest of the day went by fast, and it was time for the members to vote on the winner. "I vote Itosh Rin's!" Aoi was first to go.

"Me too!"

"Me three!"

Obviously, there were cuter and better ones than his. But you can only mentally facepalm at the situation unfolding in front of you, of course they'd vote Rin!

"I guess that settles it." Amari concludes, writing the whopping 19/25 votes for Rin on the white board. You stood up and went to the kitchen, copying his design on all twelve cookies.

"I'll deliver it to him!" one of the members tell you.

"No, I will!"

They were bickering on who gets to give him the box of cookies, which you didn't really care about. You piped onto the sugar cookies as you listened to them talk back and forth against each other, "To stop this nonsense fight, just let Y/n give the box." finally one of them intervened- 'Wait what?!'

"Hey, it's okay, why not you both deliver this?" you tell the two girls who were fighting.

"NO!"

In the end, you were the one who had to give it to him. What could be hard about giving someone food? This was just a box of cookies!

The band performances were about so start in ten minutes, and you weren't going to miss the opening of it.

You hurriedly stride towards the football team's clubroom, only to find no one there, you assumed they'd be at the field, but it left you appalled to find it empty too. Your cellphone vibrated against your skirt's pocket; it was Amari calling.

amari<3
"Girl, where are you?"
She yelled through the phone, you could

y/n:P
"At the field, I can't find Itoshi."

amari<3
"Just give it to him later! Hurry up, the
first band is about to start!"

You tucked your phone back into your pocket as she ended the call, it didn't matter anymore whether or not you'd ruin the cookies, you will go to the gym with the box in hand.

When you arrived, the main entrances were blocked and packed, then you saw that the gym's balcony wasn't full yet. You ran towards the second year's building which was behind the gym, there you saw the stairs that led up to the balcony. 'Sweet.'

You messaged Amari, telling her that you were at the balcony. But you doubt she'd be able to come anyway, the exits were blocked too. The whole gym could be viewed from up here, then the first band started to play their first song.

The band had plenty of international students- you weren't surprised to hear them play a western song. Though you were sure a few people can't understand the lyrics, the song was very popular on social media.

While you were enjoying the musical festivity, your eyes caught the back of someone's familiar head, which was lightly bobbing to the current song.

"Itoshi Rin?"

He turned to look at you, "What?"

"You won the cookie contest, here's your box of cookies." you offered it to him, a gesture you'd done before. He stared at you, still not taking the box from your hands, despite the bridge and chorus of Secret Door by the Arctic Monkeys and the crowd's screams booming in your ears, the silence between you was overwhelmingly loud.

Your vision spun as you directed your eyes down to the crowd, then the weight from your hands disappears. You avert your gaze to him; his eyes meeting yours, maintaining eye contact "Thanks."

This time, he accepted it, and you weren't sure how to feel about it.