And her confidence had come on in leaps and bounds recently, she had started out as nervous and timid, but in the last few weeks as his girlfriend she had really found her self-esteem again, and become quite out-going.
Mind you, he thought as he pummelled his dough a little more for good measure, Beth did take it all a bit too seriously; she could do with lightening up and developing a sense of humour. She could also be pretty critical if he wasn’t matching up to her expectations. He sometimes felt a bit dumb around her and her well-read brain. He would bet good money that Beth would have some pretty derogatory things to say about the shallow homemaker, Paige.
He turned his mind back to his dough. He supposed that learning to make your own bread might have been a useful skill in the previous century, but he couldn’t work out why anyone would give a rat’s behind now; you could buy bread anywhere and it wasn’t exactly expensive. So why go to all the effort? But at least kneading the dough was a good way to let off steam.
Weirdly, his sister, Rose, thought it was fantastic that he was learning to cook some stuff. He’d taken a load of handmade meringue back to West Tower last week and she had been in raptures. She didn’t seem to realise it was seriously embarrassing for him. But he’d merely rolled his eyes at her comments, because he liked seeing her so proud. Even if it was for something he had made under duress.
He and Rose were close. They were almost two years apart in age, though only one school year. And along with their cousins, Jack, Alex and Ellie, they had all stuck close together when they had each in turn left home and gone to Compass Court. His parents travelled almost constantly as an Investigative Journalism team, and so Rose had been like a second mother to him for the last several years of being at a boarding school and far away from home.
It hadn’t taken long for his sister and his cousins to discover his swap to Home Ec. But they were all surprisingly supportive.
Mrs Meadows clapped her hands, drawing the attention of the class to her. “Okay, girls.” (He winced. She kept forgetting his presence; either that or she felt he was now one of them.) “It’s time to decide on any extra ingredients for your bread. Leave it to prove for a while and select some flavours to add. Popular choices are things like rosemary or olives, but feel free to get a little inventive.”
There was the usual dash for the stores cupboard, but just as she always did, Paige opened her books before she did anything.
Toby watched her, while taking his time putting his dough in a proving bowl. He wondered why she took it so seriously. She never just cooked, she was always making notes and double-checking things in a variety of books. He shrugged; it was as good a hobby as any he supposed.
She followed him as he went to the cupboard, and they stood side by side considering the ingredients in front of them.
Toby found the proximity of the enclosed space a little full on – just him and Paige in a dimly lit cupboard. He grabbed some fennel seeds and backed out.
Paige too made a selection and they went back to their bench.
“That’s a great choice,” she said.
“What?” Toby wasn’t sure what she was referring to for a second.
“The fennel seeds, I think they’ll be lovely in the bread.” Paige flashed him a bright smile, which made dimples in her cheeks.
Toby wondered if she was flirting with him or if she was like that with everyone.
“Okay.” He gave her a side glance. She was definitely pretty, especially with those dimples; not his type of course, but he wasn’t adverse to her flirting with him, if that’s what it was. It would certainly make the lesson a bit more fun. But he had the feeling she was always like that regardless of who she was talking to.
“You should try toasting them for a few seconds.”
“What?” He’d been staring at her blue eyes and he couldn’t remember what they were talking about.
“The fennel seeds, you should try toasting them. Just a few seconds in a hot pan will bring out the sweetness.”
“Oh, right. Thanks, but I think I’ll just chuck them in.” He wasn’t going to go over the top or anything. On the other hand, if the fennel seeds were a success then his sister might like to try his bread.
“Well, I suppose there is no harm in toasting them a little.” He conceded.
Paige looked thrilled, and he felt surprisingly pleased he had agreed with her suggestion.
She too was taking out a saucepan. She began to heat a little oil in it. He was about to put oil in his when her hand shot out and grabbed his wrist. “You don’t need it. They have their own oil and should be in the pan for literally just seconds.”
He looked down at her hand on his wrist and shook her off with sudden annoyance. “Whatever, Paige – don’t take it so seriously, it’s just cooking.”
He saw the hurt flicker for a second in her eyes and then she resumed her sunny smile. “Yes, it’s just cooking,” she said agreeably.
For some reason that annoyed him even more. He debated whether to make some remark about her note-taking, but then wondered why he even cared enough to bother.
He saw her swirl the oil in her pan as she warmed it, then watched her swiftly chop up a leek and add it to the oil. He was so engrossed in her movements that he forgot about his own pan until the heat from his station commanded his attention as his cuff began to smoke where he was leaning against the edge.
He quickly went back to his own pan and put the seeds in dry as she had suggested. They began to pop and bounce, and he took her advice and gave them no longer than three or four seconds. Then he tipped them out into a bowl and wondered what to do next.
“Shall I just mix them into the dough?” he eventually asked Paige reluctantly.
“If that’s all you’re putting in?” She nodded.
“Yeah, it is,” he answered firmly.
For the next half an hour he covertly watched her sweat off her leeks, then she crumbled some flaky white cheese into a separate bowl; then taking a third bowl she mixed some of the leeks with some of the cheese.
Toby put his whole mixture into one bread tin, but Paige used her three different mixes to make three trays of bread rolls: some with just leeks, some with just cheese and some that were both leeks and cheese. She worked fast, and his oven timer was only just going off as she too removed her rolls from the oven.
Once again his nose twitched as the smell of her cooking wafted past him.
When the bread was cool enough Paige selected a leek roll and tore it open. She smeared a pat of butter on both halves and then offered one of them to him.
Toby meant to say no, but the delicious smell of warm buttered bread was too hard to resist. He suddenly realised that he was really hungry.
He bit into it and had to stop himself from closing his eyes with pleasure. Paige chewed her own half thoughtfully and then made some notes. Toby finished his too quickly and restrained himself from asking for more. Instead he cut a slice from his own loaf and tried that instead.
To his amazement his own bread was delicious too. He rather shyly buttered a piece and offered it to Paige. He wasn’t sure why he did, but he supposed he could at least admit to himself that he was rather proud of how well it had come out.
Paige accepted the slice with a pleased smile and gave it careful consideration before putting in her mouth.
He felt like he’d scored a goal when she gave him a thumbs up and took a large second bite.
“This is perfect, Toby, nice one.”
“Thanks.” He grinned like an idiot at the praise, even though it was only for making some stupid bread.
“I don’t suppose I could ask you a favour, could I?” Paige said tentatively.
“Depends what it is.” He glanced around as though one of his friends might hear them, even though none of them even knew where he was.
“I could do with some unbiased opinions on these rolls. Do you think you could ask your friends to taste them and let me know which they liked best out of the three flavours?”
“No way!” He could just imagine how hilarious his friends would find it if he asked them to taste test some poncy bread rolls.
Paige’s face fell and he felt really mean, after all – she had helped him with the fennel seeds.
“My friends would just eat them without even noticing,” he hurriedly tried to cover up his comment. “I can get my family to taste them if you want?”
“That would be great.” Paige was all cheerful again, and he felt glad he’d pulled it back. He knew he’d been fairly unfriendly to her in the past, but she was growing on him now. He watched as Paige put some of the rolls into three paper bags, and labelled them accordingly.
She gave him another dazzling smile and Toby found himself smiling back.
Chapter Twenty-two
“SO WHAT HAVE YOU BROUGHT me?” His cousin Ellie pounced on him as he went into the West Tower Common Room, and was rooting through his school bag before he had even sat down.
“What do you mean, what have I brought you? Why would I bring anything for you?” he teased good-naturedly.
“It’s Thursday,” she lowered her voice, conspiratorially, “and Thursday means cooking in Home Economics. It’s now officially my favourite day of the whole week. Aha!” she said triumphantly, pulling out the still-warm paper bags.
She stuck her nose in one. “Oh wow, that smells good.”
“It’s probably one of Paige’s, this girl in my class. Mine is the big loaf.”
“But it is a big loaf.” Ellie said, “Is Paige in our year? She’s that blonde girl in South Tower isn’t she? Are these her rolls?” She opened another bag. “Mmm, I don’t know her very well, but I think I love her.”
He laughed, quietly thrilled that she had complimented the smell of his own bread first.
“Are Rose and Leo around?” He asked, hoping that his sister and her fiancée might also taste his bread. It was something he obviously had to hide from his mates, but it might be rather nice if his sister at least was impressed.
“They’ll be back any minute, can we eat these while they’re still warm?” Ellie pulled another bit off the loaf and stuffed it into her mouth.
Toby felt almost shy as he brought out some butter he had pre-wrapped to go with it.
“So, this girl in your cookery class, has she got a crush on you? Is that why she’s given you all these rolls?” Rose teased Toby, when she and Leo had returned from their art class and joined them at a small table in one corner of the common room.
“Hey, it’s a good call.” Leo bit into one approvingly. “The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, remember?” Leo ate his roll with relish. “These are good. If this girl is half as pretty as you, Rose, then I might have to marry her instead.”
“Feel free to try,” Rose retorted; then quickly kissed him to show she didn’t mean it.
“So is she?” Leo asked.
“Is she what?” Toby feigned ignorance.
“Is she pretty? Does she have a crush on you?”
Toby shrugged and avoided the first question. “She doesn’t have a crush on me. We are supposed to be comparing the rolls to see which we like best. That’s the only reason she gave them to me.”
“Well, there’s a clear winner for me.” Ellie held up the one in her hand. “This is my second of the cheese ones. What kind of cheese is it? Can you ask her for the recipe?”
“I forgot to ask about the cheese, but yeah, I’ll see if she’ll give me the recipe. So you all like the cheese ones best?”
“Yes,” Leo agreed Ellie. “The leek ones are fantastic too, but these cheese ones are heaven.”
“Great. Okay, thanks, I’ll pass that along.” He went up to his room shortly after that as Rose and Leo began to discuss their wedding with Ellie; and while he might have mastered bread-making, talking about wedding dresses and flower arrangements was a step too far.
It wasn’t until Monday afternoon that he saw Paige again, when they had another Home Economics lesson together. Monday’s lessons were always theory whereas Thursday’s lessons were practical application.
He enjoyed giving her the feedback from his family and thought it was cute how seriously she took the information. But the rest of the lesson went downhill from there.
Toby doodled on his pad as he listened to Mrs Meadows drone on and wished he were outside on the playing field. The theory lessons were dull beyond belief; today’s class was about peasants using what ingredients they had around them to feed their families in the olden days. How different it was in the countryside as opposed to the city, how skills like bread-making were essential in those times. He tapped his pen irritably. Who cared? He couldn’t see any use in the information. It certainly wouldn’t help him with the study of Sports Science.
It wasn’t until he was hurriedly leaving the room that it really took a turn for the worse. Mrs Meadows asked him to stay back, and he had to wait as all the girls filed past him until they were finally alone.
Mrs Meadows smiled at him kindly. “I know this isn’t a class you ideally wanted, and I’d like you to know how pleased I am with your improvement, but I’m afraid you are quite behind in a lot of the mainstays. I expect most of the girls, uh students, to at least have a handle on the basics of running a home and you, well, you don’t.”
“Okay,” Toby looked longingly at the door, “but no one has actually ever failed the class – that’s right, isn’t it?”
“Yes, but I’m afraid there’s a first time for everything.”
“You’re saying I’m going to fail?” Toby couldn’t believe his luck would be that bad. He hadn’t even wanted to take the stupid class in the first place, and now it would be a waste of his time?
“No, no, I’m sure we can help you get through. I was merely going to suggest you make time to do some extra work. Perhaps you could ask Paige for some help? She’s top of the class and the two of you seem to be getting on well. Anyway, it’s up to you, but I just thought I should mention it. I’d hate to see my own hundred percent pass rate get ruined, ha ha.” She gave a tinkling laugh and Toby ground his teeth, guessing that her concern was more for her own record than for his.
Beth was waiting for him outside the school gates at the end of the day, and he tried to muster up a smile for her sake.
“Wow, that is one grumpy face. What’s got your pants in a twist?”
So much for faking a smile; she had seen right through him.
“I’m failing Home Ec, can you believe it? I’m working my butt off to make sure I pass my science subjects and I’m actually doing it, but give me some dumb cooking class and I can’t make the grade. Mrs Meadows thinks I should ask Paige to help me, and I suppose I’ll have to, but she will be unbearably nice and I’ll just want to throttle her.”
“Wait, are we talking about Paige Finchley?” Beth wore a look of horror that Toby had never seen before.
“Yeah, why? We share a bench in Home Ec. She’s kind of sweet.”
“Sweet? Sweet?” Beth’s voice rose in disbelief. “That girl is so not sweet. She’s a mean girl, a monster in disguise!”
Chapter Twenty-three
TOBY LAUGHED, “WHAT on earth are you talking about? She likes cooking and sewing and all that girl stuff – I mean she’s hardly on the radar. I’ll grant you that she’s quite pretty, but she’s certainly no man-killer.”
“For goodness sake, tell me you aren’t that clueless?” Beth slapped her forehead. “No, she’s not a man-killer, you dummy, she’s a freaking girl wonder. It isn’t always about boys, you know. She’s head of just about every committee in the school; if something gets organised by the student body it is done by Paige, or at least done the way that Paige wants it done. She’s the ultimate Stepford wife – that girl is a powerhouse. You need to stay well away from her or she’ll wrap you around her little finger and organise your entire life, and you probably wouldn’t even notice it was happening.”
Toby tapped his temple. “Do you know how mental you sound? I’ve barel
y even heard her name mentioned before. If she was running half the school the way you say she is, then wouldn’t I have noticed?”
“Men are so naive sometimes,” Beth said. “She’s a girl’s girl, the leader of the pack, a bully. She’s the girl they all follow. Don’t you realise how manipulative she has to be to get to that rank?”
“Are we really talking about the same Paige? She really doesn’t seem much of a powerhouse, more like a power-mouse if you ask me. Anyway, I was only going to ask her to help me with my theory stuff for class.”
Beth groaned. “Isn’t there someone else you could ask? Paige will be so incredibly smug if you ask her. She’s bound to know we’re dating, and she hates me because I don’t do her bidding like the rest of her minions. She’ll love it that you have to come to her and not me because I’m useless at all that stuff.”
Toby continued to look at her like she was insane. He’d been sitting next to Paige twice a week for over a month now and she’d never shown any signs of being controlling or manipulative. He would concede that she was very organised, but she always seemed so calm, and certainly not the kind of girl who cared about having minions.
But later as he lay in bed, he began to think more about Paige, wondering if he had misjudged her. Was there more to her that met the eye? It was strange, but hearing Beth describe Paige as a powerhouse had somehow made Paige seem more attractive instead of less. He had thought she was a little bit blah and without ambition, but now he was wondering what was behind the nice smile. He had never scratched the surface. Was she really some kind of leader of the girls? Or was Beth just being dramatic? Was her sweet and calm manner just an act? He was fairly certain she had never tried to manipulate him in any way, and he just couldn’t imagine her being smug. Maybe at first he’d thought of her that way, but not as soon as he got to know her even just a little bit. Yet Beth was obviously intimidated by her. Clearly he was going to have to get to know Paige a lot better to see what was really true...
Boy Girl Games Page 9
