Waifu Wars: A Food Wars Fanfic

Ch. 43 When the Lights Go Down

The dark clouds that foretold of rain finally fulfilled their promise by the time Torrey arrived back at his apartment. Tiny bullets hammered away at his rooftop, while the wind whipped violently against the building. It was a cacophony of disturbing noises.

            Cold and tired from his journey, Torrey decided to make a quick snack to ease both of these ailments. Salmon fillets were ready in the fridge; all he needed to do was fry them up and serve with some piping hot rice. Maybe a lemon and caper sauce, too...mhm that sounds good.

            He set two pans over the stovetop burners, one on high for the fillets, the other on medium for the sauce. Then he began boiling water for the rice. The sauce pan was coated with a thin layer of olive oil, and by the time the rice water was ready, so was the oil. He tossed the rice in, and started frying the fillets.

            A minute later, a loud boom of thunder rang out, and the room went dark. Over the noise of the storm, the inexplicable sound of electrical appliances shutting down could be heard. The familiar hum of the refrigerator was gone.

            "Uh..."

            Torrey pulled out his phone and clicked the flashlight feature on. He realized that he hadn't charged it since yesterday, for his battery was in the dreaded red zone. Knowing that there was an actual flashlight somewhere in the room, he spent a few minutes digging around in the closet until he found it. Then he switched his phone to airplane mode to conserve what little power he had left.

            Frowning as he shone the flashlight on his would-be meal, he tried to think of a way to save the salmon. The stove was electric, not gas, so no solutions came to mind.I guess the fish is no good...the rice isn't nearly done, either. Wonderful.

            A sudden pounding against the front door startled him from his thoughts. Though the storm was loud, there was no mistaking that the sound was a knock. Thunk Thunk Thunk.

            Shining his way over to the door, Torrey opened it to find Rindo Kobayashi shivering in the cold. She was bundled up in several layers of jackets, and also holding a flashlight.

            "H-hurry up and l-let me in, K-kohai!" she said, her teeth chattering. She didn't wait for his reply before barging into the apartment, which was now without heat but still cozier than the porch.          

            "Hey Rindo-Senpai."

            "Hey? That's it? You could at least PRETEND you're happy to see me."

            "No can do. Well, actually I am kinda glad you're here. I don't really know what to do in this kind of situation."

            "You mean the situation when you're alone with a cute girl in the dark? And a violent storm is raging outside? There's no getting around it- our first priority should be to get warm. Let's head back to the bedroom and..."

            Torrey put up a hand.

            "I'm gonna stop you right there, Senpai. What I meant was, I don't know what to do about this food now that the power's gone out." He gestured towards the fridge, and his half-cooked salmon fillets on the stove.

            "Gasp! The food! I was so distracted by my lustful thoughts, I forgot the MOST important thing."

            "I had assumed that was your reason for coming here."

            "Right, right, it definitely was. I'm just testing you. To make sure that YOUR priorities are in check."

            "You're not fooling anyone, Rindo-Senpai. In all seriousness, though, what do we do?"