"Just in case I get the first one wrong, I have back up." 

🥩

"Hey, you never guess what happened to me on Saturday." Morton says excitedly as he sits next to Oliver.

"What?" Oliver questions, looking up from his phone. 

"Mr Rodriguez visited my friend's book store."

Oliver puts down his phone and looks at Morton, who seemed overly excited by the event. "What, the tutor?" Oliver confirms. 

"Yeah." Morton nods eagerly before continuing. "He came in and bought a book, a Japanese poetry book and he asked if I owned the store and I said 'yes' and he said it was a find." Morton now sits back in his seat and folds his arms looking all smug, to which Oliver responds by just staring at him, taking the words in. 

"You don't own the bookstore Morton. Your friend Clark does." Oliver points out. 

"That bit doesn't matter..." Morton dismisses the statement. "What matters is what he said to me after." Morton plasters a grin on his face once again. 

"And what was that?" Oliver says with a slight sigh. He was already beginning to lose interest.

"I am a find...and something else in Spanish I didn't understand."

"You are a find?" Oliver questions, furrowing his eyebrows. 

"Yes, he said the shop was a find, as was I," Morton reiterates. 

"What do you think he meant by that?" Oliver asks, now paying more attention. 

"What do you think it means Oliver? He's flirting with me isn't he."  Morton responds as if it is obvious. 

Oliver looks at Morton, his face a little expressionless as he goes very quiet. Then both Morton and Oliver's attention gets caught up with the classroom door closing and the one and only Mr Raphael Rodriguez entering.

"Ok class..." he begins as he makes his way to the front of the classroom and puts his bag on the wooden desk, situated in front of the board. "Today we will be getting creative with a little poetry." He looks up at his class, taking in the faces of his students. He sees Morton staring at him a little intently, with what Morton thought was a flirtatious grin. Whereas Oliver seemed to be glaring at him as if looks could kill...

***

Up one floor level, everyone had watering mouths, Ben in particular, as today, Chef Roshan was going to show them the skills needed to cook the perfect steak. "Baby is there any part of the cow you haven't brought with you?" Tully laughs as Ben offloads 5 packs of meat onto the table. 

"Just in case I get the first one wrong, I have back up." He insists. 

Clark watches the meat being stacked high, before looking down at his sad steak, which he had purchased on the way to class, because he had forgotten all about it and therefore had the remains of the day from a market stall, about to close. His mind had been elsewhere. Mainly on the potential rumour which was apparently circulating. He still hadn't spoken to Roshan about it. 

Clark feels a rush of air drift past him and a faint but familiar smell of candy canes as he looks up to see Roshan make his way to the front. He felt that buzz of adrenaline rush through him of excitement to see the guy before him, just a little out of reach to touch, though he vowed to Roshan and to himself that he wouldn't be so reckless again. 

"It's all about the perfect steak this week." Roshan says loud and clear, though he had Ben's attention already.

"Yes chef!" He calls out, rather excitedly, causing Roshan to smile.

"We are just going to add a little seasoning, that is all." He continues, before heading to a fridge nearby and pulling out a plate with a big piece of steak on it. He then begins to sprinkle a little seasoning on one side of the meat, before slapping it over to do the other side. "Not too much seasoning, if your steak is of good quality, it will have plenty of flavour. 

Clark again looks at his offering. He would probably need more seasoning than most. 

"Timing is crucial, it all depends on how you like your steak done and the thickness of the meat." He adds. Roshan quickly washes his hands and turns to write some times on the chalkboard. "I am going to cook my steak for 2 minutes on either side. That's medium rare." He puts down the chalk on the tiny ledge and again washes his hands and heads to the griddle, turning it on. "Make sure your surface is nice and hot, please try not to burn yourselves." He instantly looks up at Clark who tries to portray a Who me? face, but it seems that Roshan isn't the only one who thinks that way as a sea of faces turn and look at him. 

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." He says with a weak laugh. He would totally have to not burn himself now. 

There is an instant sizzle as the meat hits the heat of the griddle. Roshan pulls his hands away swiftly and Clark hopes he doesn't damage those nice hands as he watches the chef reach for a pair of tongs. 

The air in the room instantly fills with the delicious smell of sizzling meat as the once watering mouths were now sure to be drooling. 

Ben couldn't draw his eyes away from the demonstration as the meat got flipped and the sizzling sounds and wafting smells hit his senses. Tully again glances over to Ben, then at the pile of steaks. "You're going to try and eat all of those aren't you?" He says with a sigh. 

"Maybe..." Ben replies, eyes still transfixed. 

"Et voila!" Roshan says as he stands back from the steak, now cooked but still sizzling a little on the plate. 

A round of applause fills the room from his students and Roshan would like to think it's because he has done well, but they're probably clapping the steak. 

"Ok, time for the taste test, any volunteers?" 

A/N So, I'm vegan and it's been a few years since I ate meat or anything associated with animals, so I had to use my imagination somewhat 😁.

I would also like to add that even though it's my choice not to eat animal products, I respect whatever food choices people make. It's not for me to judge. 💜