Private Finished Burning Is Not Baking

Somehow Jae got roped into helping out the school bake sale. Normally the student council would oversee things and make sure the baking and selling went smoothly. However, due to the hectic nature of the elections, many on the council were too busy with their campaigning to put much attention on the sale. Which, it wasn't a big bake sale. It was one of several done throughout the year to raise a little money for various projects. Jae couldn't remember what they were raising money for, something to do with the elementary school.

But before the table could be set up, several dozen more cupcakes and treats needed baked and that's where Jae and another student came in. The teen tied an apron around his waist and examined their supplies. Everything was provided, including space in the cafeteria kitchen. All he had to do was follow the recipes and not burn anything. Simple enough, though Jae had no experience baking anything.

A door opened, and Jae saw a girl walk in. "Ah, Katie. . . right? I'm Jae. Um, let's bake some cupcakes." How hard could it be?

@Big Jeffe

Jae nodded, secretly happy Katie remembered his name. He was told who would be helping today, so he cheated. Still, it was nice to know he was memorable enough from their brief meetings. Katie joined him by the counter and together they got to it.

"Yes! Um, I guess one of use could do cupcakes and the other muffins? I've made muffins before" When was that? It was in Hawaii and his Auntie made them for a friend. She had Jae chopping the additions and pouring batter into their little paper cups. Auntie always asked him or uncle to help, so Jae knew a thing or two about cooking.

"Here's the cupcake recipe." He said, pushing the sheet towards her. "To start off it looks like we'll need flour and butter and sugar. Easy enough."

Jae glanced at his own recipe, but unlike Katie, didn't properly measure anything. He estimated the amount of butter and sugar, and used uneven scoops of flour. Wet and dry ingredients were mixed together at random before added to the same bowl. Neither of his aunts measured anything while cooking, as they went off rough estimates and their own baking knowledge to craft dishes. They made cooking look easy, so Jae felt it must be easy.

He had just mixed his batter, and was ready to add the mix-ins when Katie asked for help. "What's the problem?" He said, while looking over her batter. It looked great to him. A little lumpy perhaps, but that'll bake out once in the oven.

Jae nodded. "Looks right to me." Batter could be lumpy after all, right? Katie asked for help and Jae agreed with a small smile. "Of course." The teen took the batter and poured the mixture, taking care to pour to the top of the little paper cups in the tray. "That's one batch done. I'll get mine in the oven then we can start on the next."

This was turning out to be rather fun, and much easier than expected. With Katie's tray done, Jae did the same for his muffins and set them in to another waiting oven. He did forgot that ovens had to be turned on and preheated. But that was something he'll figure out eventually. For the moment he was content to start on his next batter.

"Um," Jae glanced towards Katie and decided he should try to strike up a conversation. "Are you in any school clubs, Katie?"

Jae assembled his second batter much the same as the first. Estimated measurements and proportions as seemed fitting. His second batter included fresh blueberries that were dumped in en mass. Perhaps a few too many but Jae figured it wouldn't hurt things.

He nodded at Katie's answer, "I'm in the Amateur Theater club." He liked it more than he thought he would. Acting came easily to Jae, as did slipping into the minds of fictional people. "Um, I haven't really looked at the other clubs. But the theater club is interesting. It's more than acting, it's also stage production, theater staging and production." Jae liked talking about the club, and found himself happy to share about it.

The teen poured his next batch into the pan, then thought he should check on his first. He opened the oven door to find that the batter was uncooked, and the oven didn't even feel warm. Had he done something wrong? Jae studied the oven, entirely unfamiliar with it. His home in Hawaii had one, but auntie used it mostly to store extra pots and pans. Oh, did he have to turn it on some how? Sheepishly, the teen found the bake button and pressed it.