An Autumn Cookie
This was his third attempt and he was nowhere near successful. The home economic lab was beginning to look as though a little whirlwind had run through it and both he and Jin were covered in white powder - flour and icing sugar being part of the mix.
“Wait you haven’t answered my question yet, who did you kiss in second grade?” Jin pressed his friend who had begun on another mixing batch.
“Who did you think?” PI replied. He grabbed the open bag of flour that was lying on the counter and poured about a cupful out, cursing as the flour billowed out in a white cloud and added to the white coat he already had all over his apron and school uniform.
“You mean?”
“Yes, of course,” he told Jin irritatedly, “I’ve never kissed anyone else. Now stop being a pain and get the measuring cup for me over there.”
“You definitely need to get out more,” Jin scoffed, jumping down from the counter to do as his friend bid.
“This has nothing to do with me needing to get out more,” Yamapi replied, catching the cup that Jin had tossed to him, “Not everyone can be smooth with the girls like you Jin.”
“That’s a statement of fact,” Jin replied, preening himself in the back of a hanging frying pan before turning back to look at Yamapi who was industriously measuring out sugar and chocolate chips again, “But that doesn’t mean you have to be a married old man Pi. How long have you been going out with her?”
“Emm… since second year junior high I suppose.”
“Okay, we’re in last year high school now - that would make it…” Jin did a quick tally with his fingers and grimaced, “Almost five years.”
“So?”
“So?! So?! You’re barely eighteen and you’re already tied down this way. I mean look at you man!”
Pi’s hand which had been furiously churning the cookie mixed stopped as he looked up at Jin’s furious exclamation and gesticulating around them. He looked at the scene innocently and shrugged, “I don’t see anything wrong with me.”
“It’s a Saturday afternoon and what are you doing? Locked up in the school’s home ec lab and baking cookies! How can that NOT be wrong??”
“Jin… in case you didn’t realise, you’ve locked yourself up in here with me while I try to bake cookies for my girlfriend. Tell me who has the sadder life right now?”
“I’m just keeping you company,” Jin sulked as Pi laughed, going back to his mixing.
A minute later Jin came back to sit on the counter as Pi scooped out the mix onto the frying pan and dusted some icing sugar on each piece.
“Did you butter the baking pan?” he asked his friend only to have Pi groan in exasperation, tossing the carefully scooped out serving back into the mixing bowl.
“You’re so forgetful,” Jin said to his, “I’m surprise she’s put up with you for this long.”
“She’s not petty like you,” Pi shot back as his friend laughed out loud.
“Okay, okay, no more pot shots,” Jin grinned, “So tell me, what was it like?”
“What was what like?”
“Your first kiss moron, what was it like?”
“I thought we were done taking pot shots,” Pi grumbled as his friend swiped a finger tip of the mixing from the bowl and licked his finger clean.
“Well?” Jin pressed.
“It was… sweet.”
“Sweet?”
Pi sighed, putting the mixing bowl down as he looked away, his eyes distancing back to the memory, “We were in the school’s home economic lab actually. She was making blueberry pancakes for the class party and I was supposed to help her.”
“And?”
And… well I was helping myself to the maple syrup and then I looked at her and decided I wanted to taste her lips instead.”
“You sound gross,” Jin smirked as Pi grinned.
“Maybe.”
“So it tasted like maple syrup then?”
“Yeah,” he nodded to Jin’s comment, “It tasted like maple syrup then. Which is why I’m going for chocolate chip cookies today.”
-------
“You’re late.”
Pi grinned sheepishly as he sat down on the slope next to his girlfriend who had probably been waiting for him for the past half an hour.
The autumn wind tossed her long silken hair behind her and Pi couldn’t help but lean in for a kiss. She tasted of the peppermint sweets that she was so fond of and he sighed happily, letting the feeling sink in.
“Don’t think I’m going to forgive you with just that,” she teased him, grabbing a handful of autumn leaves and throwing them at him.
“No, but I’m hoping this would do the trick,” he responded, pulling out the bag of chocolate chip cookies he had so carefully packed from his bag and depositing it into her lap, “Happy anniversary Yui.”
“Oh…” Yui replied, unable to think of a response but her shining eyes telling him how happy she was.
He undid the bag and gave her one to eat.
“Did you make these on your own?” she asked, turning the cookie round in her hand. He nodded eagerly as she took one bite.
The look on her face made the smile on Pi’s face froze.
“Pi?” Yui asked him, “How much sugar did you put in this?”
“Eh?” he asked in disappointment, making a reach for the cookies bag when she laughed, catching his hand and kissing the tip of his fingers.
“I was kidding Yamashita Tomohisa. They’re just perfect. Thank you.”
Just perfect, he smiled, wrapping his arms around her, they were just perfect.
“Wait you haven’t answered my question yet, who did you kiss in second grade?” Jin pressed his friend who had begun on another mixing batch.
“Who did you think?” PI replied. He grabbed the open bag of flour that was lying on the counter and poured about a cupful out, cursing as the flour billowed out in a white cloud and added to the white coat he already had all over his apron and school uniform.
“You mean?”
“Yes, of course,” he told Jin irritatedly, “I’ve never kissed anyone else. Now stop being a pain and get the measuring cup for me over there.”
“You definitely need to get out more,” Jin scoffed, jumping down from the counter to do as his friend bid.
“This has nothing to do with me needing to get out more,” Yamapi replied, catching the cup that Jin had tossed to him, “Not everyone can be smooth with the girls like you Jin.”
“That’s a statement of fact,” Jin replied, preening himself in the back of a hanging frying pan before turning back to look at Yamapi who was industriously measuring out sugar and chocolate chips again, “But that doesn’t mean you have to be a married old man Pi. How long have you been going out with her?”
“Emm… since second year junior high I suppose.”
“Okay, we’re in last year high school now - that would make it…” Jin did a quick tally with his fingers and grimaced, “Almost five years.”
“So?”
“So?! So?! You’re barely eighteen and you’re already tied down this way. I mean look at you man!”
Pi’s hand which had been furiously churning the cookie mixed stopped as he looked up at Jin’s furious exclamation and gesticulating around them. He looked at the scene innocently and shrugged, “I don’t see anything wrong with me.”
“It’s a Saturday afternoon and what are you doing? Locked up in the school’s home ec lab and baking cookies! How can that NOT be wrong??”
“Jin… in case you didn’t realise, you’ve locked yourself up in here with me while I try to bake cookies for my girlfriend. Tell me who has the sadder life right now?”
“I’m just keeping you company,” Jin sulked as Pi laughed, going back to his mixing.
A minute later Jin came back to sit on the counter as Pi scooped out the mix onto the frying pan and dusted some icing sugar on each piece.
“Did you butter the baking pan?” he asked his friend only to have Pi groan in exasperation, tossing the carefully scooped out serving back into the mixing bowl.
“You’re so forgetful,” Jin said to his, “I’m surprise she’s put up with you for this long.”
“She’s not petty like you,” Pi shot back as his friend laughed out loud.
“Okay, okay, no more pot shots,” Jin grinned, “So tell me, what was it like?”
“What was what like?”
“Your first kiss moron, what was it like?”
“I thought we were done taking pot shots,” Pi grumbled as his friend swiped a finger tip of the mixing from the bowl and licked his finger clean.
“Well?” Jin pressed.
“It was… sweet.”
“Sweet?”
Pi sighed, putting the mixing bowl down as he looked away, his eyes distancing back to the memory, “We were in the school’s home economic lab actually. She was making blueberry pancakes for the class party and I was supposed to help her.”
“And?”
And… well I was helping myself to the maple syrup and then I looked at her and decided I wanted to taste her lips instead.”
“You sound gross,” Jin smirked as Pi grinned.
“Maybe.”
“So it tasted like maple syrup then?”
“Yeah,” he nodded to Jin’s comment, “It tasted like maple syrup then. Which is why I’m going for chocolate chip cookies today.”
-------
“You’re late.”
Pi grinned sheepishly as he sat down on the slope next to his girlfriend who had probably been waiting for him for the past half an hour.
The autumn wind tossed her long silken hair behind her and Pi couldn’t help but lean in for a kiss. She tasted of the peppermint sweets that she was so fond of and he sighed happily, letting the feeling sink in.
“Don’t think I’m going to forgive you with just that,” she teased him, grabbing a handful of autumn leaves and throwing them at him.
“No, but I’m hoping this would do the trick,” he responded, pulling out the bag of chocolate chip cookies he had so carefully packed from his bag and depositing it into her lap, “Happy anniversary Yui.”
“Oh…” Yui replied, unable to think of a response but her shining eyes telling him how happy she was.
He undid the bag and gave her one to eat.
“Did you make these on your own?” she asked, turning the cookie round in her hand. He nodded eagerly as she took one bite.
The look on her face made the smile on Pi’s face froze.
“Pi?” Yui asked him, “How much sugar did you put in this?”
“Eh?” he asked in disappointment, making a reach for the cookies bag when she laughed, catching his hand and kissing the tip of his fingers.
“I was kidding Yamashita Tomohisa. They’re just perfect. Thank you.”
Just perfect, he smiled, wrapping his arms around her, they were just perfect.