Ch. 115 Once Bitten

            After last night's security breach debacle, the students from Polaris were given permission by Erina to stay the night at Nakiri Manor. In fact, Erina insisted. It was a reasonable solution to the problem, since it had been very late by the time things settled down. However, it also would have been a simple matter for Erina to have one of her drivers take everyone back to the dorm by car. The only student who had protested Erina's decision was Alice, for obvious reasons.

"Aww, c'mon...Torrey-kins and I were just getting cozy on the couch," she had stated, accompanied by her very best pout. Erina was immune to such juvenile tactics, however, and wouldn't relent.

"Non. Everyone will need proper rooms, as well as lavatories, along with a change of clothes, since they will be heading straight from here to class in the morning. Such rooms are already prepared at the main estate," said Erina, with a signature flourish of her honey-blonde hair.

"But if it's just Torrey staying, he can borrow one of Ryo's spare uniforms. And on a side note, I can't stand it when you do that thing with your hair. It's pretentious."

"Alice, this isn't up for debate. Aside from you and Ryo, other students aren't permitted to stay in the guest house. And you've always been jealous of my hair, you admitted as much when we were children."

"How come? You were fine with letting him stay earlier. And stop holding stuff like that against me! I don't even remember saying that."

"...insurance, liabilities, etc...it would require a lot of paperwork and such. You know how it is with these things," said Erina, practically dodging the question. Alice raised an eyebrow at her.

"Why did you pause there? Did you just make that up?" she asked.

"Of course not, this is a serious matter!"

And so, everyone but Alice and Mimasaka (he'd stalked off back to the woods) had been shown to the main house, with its abundance of open guest rooms. The next morning passed uneventfully, with the exception of the gourmet breakfast provided by the Nakiris' cooking staff. It was certainly a step up for Torrey, whose breakfast routine usually consisted of grabbing toast on his way out the door. Afterwards, the entire group walked to campus together, along with Ryo Kurokiba and Hisako Arato.

"How'd you sleep last night, Torrey-kins? I'm sure those dumb guest bedrooms weren't nearly as comfy as my couch..." asked Alice, making sure to walk right beside Torrey.

"I slept pretty well, actually. I was so tired, I probably could have passed out on the floor even," he replied, adding a satisfying yawn.

"Aww..." said Alice, who'd been seeking a different answer for the purpose of guilt-tripping her cousin.

"I can't believe how nice the rooms were!" said Ryoko, beaming after a great-night's sleep herself.

"They were much bigger than our rooms at Polaris! Though I did miss Fumio-san's cooking," added Megumi.

"W-was the breakfast not to your liking? I'll need to have a word with the dining staff. Poor service is simply inexcusable for our guests," said Erina.

"Ah, no! I'm sorry; it was really good! I just meant...er, well...Ryoko-san, help please!" stuttered Megumi.

"I think Megumi just meant that it was different than what we're used to, that's all," said Ryoko. Megumi was in nervous tears, but she managed to flash a thumbs-up.

"Ah, I see. Polaris certainly does have its charms," added Erina, with a slight smile. She remembered her time at Polaris all too well.

"Erina-sama, we should pick up the pace. Those important documents on your desk that you left for today..." said Hisako, dutifully following Erina while holding her standard clipboard. Alice left Torrey's side for a moment to whisper something in Ryo's ear.

"Come to think of it, don't you usually take a car in the mornings?" said Ryo. Alice gave him a pat on the back.

"Yes, well I figured it would be more appropriate to personally escort our guests," said Erina, recovering quickly. "As Director of this Institute..."

"Yada yada yada. You're only here cuz Torrey-kins is here," said Alice, matter-of-factly.

"Hahaha, it's never boring when the two Nakiri's are together," said Soma, who'd been unusually quiet up to this point.

"Shut it, Yukihira!" said Erina, though she was actually glad that Soma had spared her the need to reply to Alice's comment.

"Yeah, don't lump us in together like that!" said Alice.

"You never learn, do you, Yukihira?" asked Ryo.

"Let's just enjoy the nice morning!" said Megumi, eager to stop the fighting. Erina and Alice both dropped their scowls immediately.

"Sorry, Tadokoro. It is a rather pleasant morning, isn't it?" said Erina.

"Hey, random thought here...but where were you last night, Kurokiba?" asked Soma. Everyone else turned to face Ryo; they'd been thinking the same thing but were too afraid to ask.

"I'll never snitch," he replied.

"Snitch? Why, did something happen?" asked Torrey, suddenly very awake.

"Nope," said Ryo.

And that was the end of that. Upon arriving at Campus, the group went their separate ways, except for those who shared a first period class. Torrey, Megumi, Alice, and Ryo, all took their usual seats. The bell had barely rung when-

"Tormund Waldenpond: please report to the Office of the Dean. Repeat: Tormund Waldenpond: please report to the Office of the Dean. Immediately," said Hisako's voice over the loudspeakers. Torrey glanced up them, red with embarrassment.

"Sheesh...we've barely arrived and Erina's already trying to steal more time with you," said Alice, unimpressed.

"Would she really abuse her power like that? Sensei- I will accompany Torrey to ensure that the Director's intentions are pure!" said Miyoko Hojo, standing up from her seat.

"Not a chance! You don't know Erina like I do...only I possess the power to keep her in check!" replied Alice, also standing up with passion blazing in her ruby red eyes.

"You two- sit," said their instructor, pointing towards their chairs.

"Yes, Ma'am," said Alice and Hojo.

"You'd do well to keep your priorities in order. Besides, I think Tormund here will be just fine on his own. Unless...you'd like me to escort you?" said the instructor.

"Uhh...thank you, Sensei, but I think I'll manage," said Torrey, getting up and heading for the door before things could get any more awkward.

"Right, right. Of course," said the instructor, unable to hide her disappointment. "Now where was I? Ah, the theory of substance, flavor, and strength. Turn to page 394."

Alice and Hojo were too distracted to follow along, as was Megumi Tadokoro, who had remained silent during their interaction.

Hojo-san and Nakiri-san are always so bold...I wonder if that's a good thing? she thinks.

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When Torrey entered the Office, he was greeted, as usual, with a very businesslike atmosphere. He took a seat in one of the comfortable lounge chairs and grabbed a copy of "Cooking Illustrated." Hisako sat at her desk, busily clicking and clacking away at her keyboard. She looked different than she had on the way to school- she now wore her glasses. The light from the computer reflected across the lenses, causing a glowing effect.

Torrey flipped to a random page in the magazine and crossed one of his legs over the other, exuding a casual air.

"He-hem," he said, pretending to cough into one hand.

"Gah! Torrey- I had no idea you were there! My apologies," said Hisako, getting up from her seat to bow in atonement. "I hope you weren't waiting long."

"Was it long? Hmm...I guess it wasn't, though there's no telling what sort of valuable instruction I've been missing out on since I've been sitting here. Sigh...I guess I'll have to borrow someone's notes later..."

"Please, don't tell Miss Erina! She'll be furious with me! It's just, I was so preoccupied working on the..."

"Hisako- I'm joking. I only just got here. I'm sure whatever you're working on is far more important than formalities."

"But formalities are also my responsibility! I'm to greet everyone who enters this room, promptly and warmly. Failing to do so means setting Miss Erina up for failure, for her guests will be so offended by my lack of decorum that they might very well take it out on her!"

"Relax. I really don't mind."

"Very well. Thank you, for forgiving the slip-up. I won't make the same mistake again!" said Hisako, slapping herself once on both sides of the face.

"Umm...looks like you could still use some lessons on relaxation," said Torrey, adding a chuckle at the end. "What are you working on so diligently, anyway?"

"I'm finalizing the itinerary for Casino Night. It's such a huge event, and if things don't go according to plan we could possibly lose favor with some of our biggest sponsors and distributors," said Hisako, turning her attention back to the computer.

"Whoa, guess it's not gonna be all fun and games, then. When is this Casino Night, anyway?" asked Torrey.

"You mean to say...you don't know? It's been on our Facebook page for months!"

"Ha, I don't use Facebook."

"Students have been tweeting about it nonstop! Hashtag Casino Night!"

"I don't tweet, either."

"The Gram?"

"Nope."

"Well surely you've noticed the flyers around campus?"

"Oh, I think I've seen a few of those around. I don't pay them much attention any more, though. Seems like they're mostly just lame recruiting attempts by the research societies. My heart will always belong to the Going Home Society!"

"That loyalty is admirable, Torrey, but you really should stop and read a flyer every now and then. I designed these ones myself," said Hisako, handing Torrey a flyer that she had procured from her desk. It was color-coded, with three different fonts forming the words that covered most of the page.

"Hey, these look pretty good. I didn't know you were into graphic design," said Torrey, admiring the visually appealing layout. "Whoa! A $5000 yen buy-in fee? Forget that."

"That's for the clients. If you keep reading, you'll notice the section that describes student responsibilities during the event."

"Ah, of course," said Torrey, slightly irritated that he had to keep reading. "You know, on second thought there might be too much information on this flyer. It's a little wordy."

"It's all very important information, you see. We can only pare it down so much."

"Right...ahem. 'Students will be working in shifts, rotating between kitchen duty, serving duty, and dealing. Shift details will be sent to students via their Totsuki email address'," Torrey suddenly stopped reading. "Hisako, I think there's been a big mistake," he said, nervously.

"Impossible. I double, no, triple, no...quadruple checked all of the information on that flyer. I can assure you that it's completely accurate," said Hisako, brimming with confidence.

"I'm sure it is. The thing is, I never received a Totsuki email address."

"WHAAAT?! This mistake surely falls on the shoulders of the previous administration, but it must be rectified as soon as possible. Torrey, I will handle this at once!" said Hisako, who started clacking away once more.

"Thanks, Hisako," said Torrey, relaxing a little. He probably hadn't missed much anyways, and it wasn't his fault that he didn't have an email. Just then, Erina finally emerged from the door to her office. She breathed a visible sigh of relief.

"Torrey, I apologize for the delay. I was finishing up a phone call with one of our investors, and he insisted on talking my ear off," said Erina, offering a reassuring smile.

"No worries, Hisako here was just helping me set up my email account."

"You still don't have an email?! My grandfather has some explaining to do. This isn't the first oversight of his that I've stumbled across," said Erina, who like Hisako, was also stuck in 'serious' mode. "Er...after our meeting of course. Please, step into my office," she said, remembering her manners.

As Erina closed the door to her office, Torrey grabbed the only other seat in the room, across from her desk. A quick glance around the room revealed something that he didn't recognize- an entire wall covered with various plaques and awards. There was so much gold across the wall, that Torrey had to squint to avoid getting a glare.

"What are those?" he asked. Erina simply followed his gaze, and knew immediately what he was referring to.

"Ah. To you, it likely appears to be a collection of various awards won by Totsuki Culinary Institution over the past few years."

"Few? That's all from the past few years?!"

"It's everything we could fit on that wall. The rest of them are housed elsewhere across the campus."

"Wow, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. But you said 'to you'. Does it take different forms for other people? Like magic?"

"It appears as something else, but only to me. To me...it appears as my family's legacy."

"I think I get it. Since your family's been running this place for generations and all. But why did you have those awards moved in here? I didn't see them the last time I was in your office."

"I anticipated that relocating them here would provide extra motivation for me to excel in my duties as the Director of Totsuki."

Torrey frowned.

"You seem plenty motivated to me. Are you sure it's not just adding extra pressure?"

"Perhaps..."

"If anyone can deal with that pressure, it's you Erina. But you definitely don't need it; you're doing a fine job as it is."

"You truly think so?"

"Yeah, but then again...I'm just a student who doesn't even have an email address."

"Pffft," Erina burst up laughing. "I appreciate the pep-talk, but that's not what I called you here for. I was actually planning to discuss the matter of Casino Night."

"Thanks to Hisako's beautiful if slightly dense flyer, I know everything there is to know about Casino Night," said Torrey, proud of himself.

"You know everything that we wish the students to know, Torrey. But from the administrations perspective...this is a terribly important event. Terribly important."

"Which means..."

"Which means that, given the drama that's surrounded you since transferring here...sorry, I didn't mean for it to come across that way. What I should have said, was that...given the amount of female attention...that your presence will...err, bare with me here...this is terribly embarrassing to say. Umm..."

"As much as I'd like to keep watching you struggle, I'll spare you the trouble. Terribly important, investors, female attention...I think I've got it figured out," said Torrey, smartly.

"You do? Oh thank goodness, Torrey. I was absolutely dreading this conversation. I mean, I wasn't dreading speaking with you! It was the topic, no getting around it."

"Naturally; after all what you're asking of me is borderline illegal. But I'll do it. For the glory of Totsuki!"

"Precisely! Wait...illegal? What exactly have you just 'figured out'?"

"You want me to capitalize on my charms to lure in some of the female investors. If I sweet-talk them a bit, they'll be much more likely to pledge their services to Totsuki. I knew you were a crafty Director, Erina, but even for you this is quite the plan."

"That wasn't my plan at all! Though, now that you mention it...I see potential merit in...no! That's just wrong! Torrey, I was going to ask you not to attend. There are far too many chefs here who stand to be distracted by your presence," said Erina.

"Oh. OHHH...wow, I was way of the mark, wasn't I? No matter. I didn't even know about this event a few minutes ago. Still, Hisako's flyer made it sound kinda cool," said Torrey. His earnestness was throwing Erina off; she couldn't decide if he was actually upset or not.

"It's just...well take last night for instance," started Erina, hoping Torrey would understand her implications better this time.

"All I did was have dinner with Alice, since I owed her some time after she beat Hojo in class the other day. Everything else was..."

"Not your fault. Not directly, at least. I know this sounds like a punishment, but it would put me at ease. There's just far too much at stake here."

"Well damn. Guess I'll just stay in and work on some recipes or something. Fine, if that's what you want."

"Thank you, Torrey."

Torrey got up to leave, but paused with his hand on the doorknob.

"One more thing, though. If you're making this decision based on something like that," said Torrey, nodding his head toward the wall, "then you'll never know the kind of Director that only you can be."

After he had left, Erina sat back down at her desk and stared at the wall for a good ten minutes.

Damn it...why does he always have to get so philosophical about everything?