In the kitchen.

[la-calice.livejournal.com]

After a long, satisfying afternoon of basketball practice, Utena takes a hot shower. It feels good. After a little deliberation she takes the rose from its' vase and tucks it back into her breast pocket,

She enters the kitchen through the back door and finds all the ingredients she needs.

On the board in the bar, she writes,

Tonight's menu:
- Gyoza (Pork)
- Tiritas (Calamari fillets with potato crusts)
- other requests

Satisfied, she returns to the kitchen.



Later.
Before she goes upstairs, she affixes a note to the menu-board for Gil: 'Last night someone needed a first-aid kit. Is there one? -- Utena'

Comments

[empath-wiggin.livejournal.com]

Val peeks her head in the kitchen with a smile. "Hey there. I don't think I've really inroduced myself. I'm Valentine Wiggin."

[la-calice.livejournal.com]

Utena looks up from making gyoza, startled. "Ah..." She gets hold of herself. "Hello, Wiggin-san. I'm Utena Tenjou. Whimple-san hired me to be the sous-chef."

[empath-wiggin.livejournal.com]

Val looks concerned at her startledness. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to startle you. Oh, and please call me Val or Valentine. I'm not really one for titles." She smiles. "Makes me feel impoortant or old or something, none of which I am. It's a pleasure to meet you, Utena. I'm a waitress, so you'll probably be seeing a lot of me." She smiles, a disarming and charmingly kind smile.

[la-calice.livejournal.com]

Utena relaxes a little bit at Valentine's smile. "It's all right," she lies, "you didn't startle me, Valentine-san. It's... It's nice to meet you too."

[empath-wiggin.livejournal.com]

She leans against the counter with a smile, waving her head. "Go back to your work by all means. I just came in here to grab a sanck of something or another and say hi."

[la-calice.livejournal.com]

"Do you want some gyoza?" Utena offers. "I can fry these up now."

[empath-wiggin.livejournal.com]

"If it's not too much trouble, that sounds kinda good, actually. If it's a big deal, or you need it for someone else, I'll just grab a sammich." She shrugs. "I wasn't really meaning to come in here and make people get food for me." She looks a bit sheepishly concerned.

[la-calice.livejournal.com]

"Oh, I don't mind. It's not very busy right now."

Utena heats up some oil in a large frying pan and finishes putting the last few gyoza together (gyoza are dumplings, by the way). Once the oil's hot enough, she consigns half a dozen gyoza to the pan, and pretty soon they're ready. "Here you are," she says, scooping them onto a plate and giving them to Val.

[empath-wiggin.livejournal.com]

"Oh, thanks. These smell wonderful." Val takes a deep breath, smelling them, then grabs a fork from whereever they live, and digs in. "Mmmm. Utena, these are wonderful." She smiles at the girl. "Bah. I wish I oould cook like that."

[la-calice.livejournal.com]

Utena has learned by now that it's easier to ignore praise than to protest it. "I'm glad you like them, Valentine-san."

[empath-wiggin.livejournal.com]

As her mouth is full of food, Val just grins, (with her mouth closed, like a nice and polite girl) Clearing her mouth, she smiles again. "So, where are you from? I would assume Japan, but then again, the last time I assumed where someone was from. I think I was about two lightyears off."

[la-calice.livejournal.com]

Utena smiles. "Yes, Japan, you were right. Tokyo, actually. Where are you from, Valentine-san?"

[empath-wiggin.livejournal.com]

She chuckles a bit, eating another gyosa. "Well, that's an odd question, actually. I'm actually from North Carolina, in America, but my brother and I are world-hopping right now, flying from planet to planet in a space ship."

[la-calice.livejournal.com]

"That sounds like fun," Utena manages, reminding herself that she is, after all, in the restaurant at the end of the universe. "I guess you saw lots of interesting places. Did you come here in the space ship?"

[empath-wiggin.livejournal.com]

"Well, I was on a space ship, but I was actually going to bed, but I opened a door, and ended up here." She grins. "Spaceflight's not really all -that- interesting, but it's fun."

[la-calice.livejournal.com]

"Yes, something like that happened to me. I was expecting a restaurant -- not this restaurant, I mean." Utena starts to clean up, saying apologetically, "I should be getting up to bed myself. Good-night, Valentine-san."

[empath-wiggin.livejournal.com]

Val grins, finishing up the rest of the food. "Well, thanks much Utena. Sleep well, and I shall talk to you soon, neh?"

[la-calice.livejournal.com]

"I hope so," Utena says, giving a brief, sincere smile.