fandomhigh | Nailed it! | Wednesday, 3rd period

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Nailed it! | Wednesday, 3rd period

Hannibal welcomed his students to the classroom today with a nod. "Welcome back. Today we will begin the class proper with a fairly simple recipe."

He uncovered the dish at the front, which contained steamed piggy buns. "Steamed buns. The presentation is the thing to watch for here. You will want to read up on how to proof yeast if you have never done it before, and make certain you understand the instructions for using the steamers. The rest should be straightforward, but please ask if you have any questions. Let's see if we can't at least improve upon yesterday's cooking class." He loved you, Karla, but really, pesto should not be a fire hazard!

He passed his steamed buns around so that they could taste what they were aiming for, then pointed them toward their stations. "You may begin."

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That statement had Vette putting her Ugnaught bun right back down, too, her lekku tense behind her, the tips curled in toward her back.

"Yeah, you did."

Hannibal waited a moment longer, then, when it was plain that Vette still wasn't going to say anything, "Would you prefer that I ignore your difficulties in reading?" His tone was nothing but polite curiosity. "I am prepared to do so, however I believe your classwork, as creative as it is, may suffer in the edibility."

Now those lekku weren't just tense, they were practically quivering.

"I'm working on it." A beat. And then, abruptly, almost, almost dismissively, "Thanks."

Hannibal spread his hands. "I am here to teach you. If you aren't learning, that is a failing on my part." Which he didn't sound too bothered about, no, but it was a fact.

"You are doing an admirable job so far, particularly given you start from a completely different culture and world, if I'm not mistaken. But many of our recipes will be much more complex, and I should hate to see you stymied from the start." He grinned. "I'm much more interested in what you might accomplish without that difficulty."

Vette stared at him, hard, for a few long moments. And then looked down at the buns she'd managed to make; perfectly edible, some of the portioning might have been off in the recipe, the tops were rock-solid and the bottoms were getting soggy for some reason she couldn't put a finger on. And all of that was easier to focus on than this conversation.

"I didn't even ask to come to this world. But," and now her tone was deceptively casual, almost carefree, "since I'm here, I might as well go to these classes I've been signed up for, right? I even manage to get here on the right day, at the right time. That's practically a miracle."

She wanted to pick up one of those stupid buns and throw it. Hard. At something. She didn't know what. So she just stood there and continued twitching, instead.

She just wanted to go home.

Hannibal nodded. "That must be very difficult. And I am honored you choose to put in the effort for my class." That was a little amused, but genuine. "What can I do as your teacher to make your time here more acceptable?"

Vette was quiet for a long while before finally managing words.

"Just... don't draw attention to it. I'll sort myself out."

She always did.

She had to.

"If that's what you prefer." Hannibal nodded at her. "You're doing well already, although your ughnaught buns are baked rather than steamed. They would need a different cooking time and method."

Nevertheless, he was getting out a knife and fork and cutting into one.

In deference to Vette, he would not cut through the face.

Vette was silent as she watched Hannibal cut into the bun.

Die, stupid bun, die.

"You don't... mind... if I ask for... help. Then."

He'd offered. But offers were so often traps, she rarely trusted them.

Hannibal raised an eyebrow at her. "I never offer anything I'm not prepared to give."

He took a small bite and chewed. And chewed. And chewed.

Vette was going to just stand there. Waiting. Patiently. While he chewed.

... And not hide behind a lek.

"Maybe I'll do that, then. Next week."

It would probably be appreciated.

It would be, yes.

Hannibal swallowed and took a sip of water before speaking.

"Well, the flavor isn't bad, which means you likely got the ingredients correct and in reasonable proportions," he noted. Which was an accomplishment all its own. "The consistency could use work." He poked it with his fork, turning it to face him. "The artistry is quite good, if not entirely what I anticipated. So, two successes out of three, I would say."

Honestly, that was two more than she'd expected! Vette would take it!

"Just watch," she said, crossing her arms over her chest. "Next week, it'll be all three."

Hannibal smiled and nodded at her. "I look forward to it."

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Nailed it! | Wednesday, 3rd period

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