fandomhigh | Practical Crisis Problem Solving - Danger Shop, Tuesday, Period 3 (11am-12pm)

Entry tags:

problem solving

Practical Crisis Problem Solving - Danger Shop, Tuesday, Period 3 (11am-12pm)

They were in what looked like a restaurant kitchen today and the Doctor was standing there, looking too pleased with himself for this to mean good things. "There's nothing a final will teach you that couldn't be learned in a kitchen. Working under pressure, creativity, teamwork, timing, adaptability and, yes, even making impossible decisions. You have one hour to make a three course meal for the ambassador from Shantella Prime, that judge from Masterchef with the glasses and me. It's up to you to work together to decide on a menu, use the ingredients from the pantry, figure out how to use the cooking equipment and deliver something edible. Will you cook? Will you cut? Will you take orders from others or be someone who listens and follows orders? Will you sit this one out and expect everyone else to solve the problem?" He looked at his watch. "You'd best be getting started."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Karla was looking a little panicked. Exploding an entire kitchen had rattled even her ~~wildly misplaced~~ confidence in cooking.

"Not one for cooking, Karla?" Alexander asked with a light smile, one he hoped make it seem that he was just being playful and not making fun of her. He had the advantage of having to cook countless dinners like this for Manannan, although, to be fair, they were rarely affairs where there were guests.

"I sort of...blew up a kitchen the other week," Karla said. "Well, my best friend and I did. We were making a casserole and a spell at the same time and we sort of couldn't tell which was which, and we ended up putting the spell into the oven and then there wasn't a kitchen there anymore."

That was all said in a giant rush, yes.

...

Alexander wanted so desperately to point out that this was why he was the way he was about magic, but he had enough grace to keep it to himself, and, of course, a genuine concern managed to overtake anything else that could have been offered in response.

"No one was hurt, were they?"

This was really less a problem with the spell and more a problem of Karla's inability to cook. There was no way that the spell and a casserole should have been indistinguishable from one another. Karla was just...special.

She shook her head. "No. I shielded myself and Jaenelle and Jaenelle shielded the rest of the Hall. And then Uncle--" she gave Alexander a sidelong glance, unsure how he'd react to her Saetan's name. Rilla had taught her to be wary. "Jaenelle's father sent us both far, far away before Mrs. Beale came home and could hurt us. She's the Hall's cook."

Alexander's eyebrow arched a little at the sidelong glance, but the sort of situation she was talking about was so foreign to him up until just recently that he probably wouldn't have really understood what it was all about, anyway. It did all sound a bit like something Rosella would get herself into, which almost made him wonder if every blonde girl he met here was going to just eternally bring up thoughts of his sister.

And, of course, associating it with Rosella made him easily see the humor in the situation as well. "Perhaps you're best left to do the planning in this particular scenario, then. The thinking. I know I've spent almost my entire life cooking and preparing meals, so it's a cinch for me."

"I could probably be really handy with making sure the five zillion forks were placed just so?" Karla offered. Then frowned. "Maybe not, though. I kind of ignored most of my etiquette lessons. Hmm..."

"You could..." Alexander took a moment to be thoughtful himself.

"Think of all the reasons why the way you placed the five zillion forks the way you did are actually correct and everyone else is wrong?"

Karla laughed at that. "You're exactly right," she said. "Anyone who is anyone, whether in this world or another can understand why the salad fork and the dessert fork go together. They're tiny and need to stay close to prevent bullying!"

"Plus," Alexander added, chuckling a little himself, "if you have dessert, you should probably have some salad, too. And, if you make it through the salad, you've earned dessert!"

"Exactly! It's a reminder that dessert should come after every course," Karla said, nodding solemnly. "Everything healthy needs to be followed up by a new and tasty dessert."

"I agree entirely!" Alexander nodded solemnly back. "Besides, desserts are easier to make."

Manannan had a bit of a sweet tooth.

"...of course, I might be confusing 'make' with 'eat.'"

A common mistake.

"I definitely find them easier to make, yes," Karla said nodding. "But I'm pretty good with cookies!"

No, no she really wasn't. Don't believe her, Alexander. Please don't.

Alexander's middle name, if he had one, would, unfortunately, be Trusting, and so he, sadly, believed her.

"Well, that's something!" he said. "And there are many kinds of cookies and you don't even need cutlery."

Usually.

"We had a bake sale for the Magic Reserves and Merlin and I baked a bunch of cookies to sell," Karla said, beaming. "My, umm, friend Warren--" there was some flushing there, yes "--bought all of them, he liked them so much."

Yup. That was totally why he did it.

"Well, that's great for him," said Alexander, laughing, and believing entirely that they must have been truly excellent, noteworthy cookies, "but what about the rest of us who didn't have a chance to have them?"

"You know, that's a good point," Karla said thoughtfully. "And it gives me a better idea. Maybe the Reserves should have a booth or something, at the newbie picnic. We could give away cookies there."

LOOK WHAT YOU DID, ALEXANDER. JUST LOOK.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Practical Crisis Problem Solving - Danger Shop, Tuesday, Period 3 (11am-12pm)

Re: Talk Amongst Yourselves

Re: Talk Amongst Yourselves

Re: Talk Amongst Yourselves

Re: Talk Amongst Yourselves

Re: Talk Amongst Yourselves

Re: Talk Amongst Yourselves

Re: Talk Amongst Yourselves

Re: Talk Amongst Yourselves

Re: Talk Amongst Yourselves

Re: Talk Amongst Yourselves

Re: Talk Amongst Yourselves

Re: Talk Amongst Yourselves

Re: Talk Amongst Yourselves

Re: Talk Amongst Yourselves

Re: Talk Amongst Yourselves

Re: Talk Amongst Yourselves

Re: Talk Amongst Yourselves