Waifu Wars: A Food Wars Fanfic

Ch. 36 Insomnia

It was late by the time Rindo and Momo left his apartment, and Torrey was exhausted. The stress of cooking for four council members was unlike anything he'd faced thus far at Totsuki, and it was more labor-intensive than any Shokugeki.

            After all that work, Rindo's Moroccan Meatball Couscous hit him with a knockout blow and left his taste buds in disarray. The only thing on his mind after that was sleep.

            Torrey spent the better part of the night tossing and turning, finding it difficult to fall asleep in the new environment in spite of his fatigue. At some point, he reached over to the nightstand and grabbed his phone. 1:17 AM. Well this is no good.

            Students faced diverse challenges every day at Totsuki Culinary Academy, and getting a good night's sleep is paramount to tackling these challenges. Of course, getting the recommended 8 hours per night came with a trade-off: less time to perfect you craft. Some chefs had too many steps to climb, too many recipes to improve to risk missing out on that crucial practice time. Finding the right balance was a part of their education.

            As a latecomer to the Academy, Torrey was the kind of chef who felt pressed for time. To surpass his peers, he needed to put in more work. If sleep wouldn't greet him, then he'd step into the kitchen and take control of the night.

            Tonight he chose a sweet potato and molasses soufflé as his practice dish. The main reason was that he'd missed out on the French cooking instruction that the other students received during the middle-school section. The other reason was because it sounded good.

            While the sweet potatoes were boiling in the oven, Torrey mixed heavy cream with cloves, star anise, and nutmeg in a saucepan and simmered it over the stove. Once finished, he let it cool before removing the spices, and by this time the potatoes were done. He pureed them together with the spiced cream, butter, and egg yolks then seasoned the mix with salt and pepper.

            In a separate bowl, Torrey beat the egg whites into firm peaks and carefully folded them into the base of his soufflé. He poured the mix into the prepared dish and set it to bake for an hour in the oven.

            While waiting on the soufflé, Torrey decided to go for a walk. Buttoning up his Totsuki regulation double-breasted coat, he stepped outside into the crisp winter air.

            Each building in the apartment complex held 4 single-bedroom apartments, with 2 on each floor. Torrey's apartment was on the 2nd floor, so he shared a balcony with his next-door neighbor. All the buildings were arranged to face a central courtyard, which displayed a large statue of Azami Nakiri, surrounded by benches. That's...a bit much, he thought.

            Walking down the steps toward the courtyard, Torrey noticed a pale specter lingering on one of the benches. Small clouds of breath were periodically escaping it. Torrey did a double-take.

            "Tsukasa-Senpai?" he called, out once he was closer. The figure stirred.

            "Torrey...you startled me. I didn't expect anyone else to be up at this hour..."

            "Neither did I. Having trouble sleeping, too?"

            "I always do. I'm usually too worried to sleep."

            "Worried? About what?"

            "School, mostly... right now I'm worried that Rindo's going to sneak into my apartment and steal the pie I left cooling on the counter..."

            "Hahaha! Oh, that probably wasn't a joke."

            "She's done it before..."