The Joy of Nonmagical Cooking, Wednesday, Period One

[hiddenkilt]

Priestly -- that'd be Mr. Priestly to you students -- stood at the front of the classroom, wearing a neatly starched and pressed white apron over his equally neatly starched and pressed suit. He waited with his arms folded over his chest, watching as the students arrived, and at the precise time that class was intended to start, he cleared his

Comments

Cook and set the table [7/25]

[hiddenkilt]

Make sure the knife's facing the right way. You're being graded on this.

Re: Cook and set the table [7/25]

[twintuloyalist]

Juliet didn't trust herself to cook swordfish, but she was an excellent hostess. She was going to fuss over the place settings and hope somebody else wanted to cook her fish.

Re: Cook and set the table [7/25]

[3s_a_crowd]

Sholeh was stubbornly trying to work the knife, even with her bandaged hand.

*Maybe you should explain to Mr. Priestly that you're wounded,* Zhahar said softly. *He might give you a break.*

Sholeh shook her head, not even caring that people might see her reacting to a voice they couldn't hear. ::Or maybe I'll get into more trouble. I can manage.::

Re: Cook and set the table [7/25]

[hiddenkilt]

Priestly noticed and frowned. "Sholeh, are you alright? Do you want an alternate activity?"

He couldn't outright tell her to sit this one out, but he was pretty sure he was allowed to find her something else to do for the class period.

Re: Cook and set the table [7/25]

[3s_a_crowd]

Sholeh started and the knife went clattering to the counter. "I can do it!" she said, frantically reaching for the knife handle again. "I'm not lazy!"

Sorry, Priestly. But Callie had made a deep impression when it came to trusting teachers.

Re: Cook and set the table [7/25]

[hiddenkilt]

Priestly wished that he could be surprised by that reaction from a student. "I didn't say you were. But managing to injure yourself again by trying to work when you're already hurt isn't going to do anyone any good."

Least of all Sholeh herself.

Re: Cook and set the table [7/25]

[3s_a_crowd]

Sholeh looked up at him, not hiding the mistrust in her eyes. "What would I have to do instead?" she asked, still trying to use the knife until she was explicitly told otherwise. One bout with the quill was enough for her, thanks.

Re: Cook and set the table [7/25]

[hiddenkilt]

Priestly was so tempted to tell her to go home and relax. He hated seeing that mistrust in her eyes.

"Flip through one of the cookbooks and write down how you would set the table, including centerpiece, if you were serving that recipe at a formal dinner party."

That seemed low key enough, right?

Re: Cook and set the table [7/25]

[3s_a_crowd]

If he'd told her to go home and relax, she probably would have assumed it was another trap and stayed right where she was, truth be told.

"I can write up an essay on presentation, too," she offered quickly. "Just...so long as I don't have to use the special quill for it?"

Re: Cook and set the table [7/25]

[hiddenkilt]

"This is nonmagical cooking," Priestly reminded her. "You can use whatever pen or pencil you want."

Re: Cook and set the table [7/25]

[3s_a_crowd]

Sholeh nodded, trying not to look too relieved, and grabbed one of the cookbooks with her uninjured hand, bringing it up to her chest. "It'll be a very good essay," she promised. "And a very nice presentation, too."

And there wouldn't be a hint of pink in it. Because that was the best rebellion she could think of at the moment.

"I can get it done before the end of class if I hurry."

Re: Cook and set the table [7/25]

[hiddenkilt]

Priestly took a moment to remind himself that teaching for Umbridge wasn't helping her, it was making sure she couldn't hire some sadistic fuck to do the job instead.

"If you want to get it done by then, then sure," he said. "If not, you can turn it in whenever you're ready."

He didn't expect her to believe him, but maybe she'd stress herself out just a little bit less.

He was helping the students here. He just had to keep reminding himself of that.

Re: Cook and set the table [7/25]

[3s_a_crowd]

Did he mean like the Madri and Kennedy?

"Thank you, Mr. Priestly," Sholeh said, offering him a tiny smile before dropping her eyes and skittering away. "I'm sorry for making you go to this extra trouble because I misbehaved."

By, you know, eating dessert. That had been offered to her. By a teacher.

Re: Cook and set the table [7/25]

[hiddenkilt]

Priestly offered her as an enthusiastic a smile as he could muster -- which wasn't very, admittedly -- and wished he could slam his fist into something without alarming her and the other students.

He seriously hated this place. Saturday could not come fast enough.

Re: Cook and set the table [7/25]

[childcrusader]

Billy was working quietly and keeping to himself. Handling a knife while he was upset about Topher probably wasn't the best idea.