Derek went to rest on the sofa in the sitting room, his eyes fixed on the screen of the television, obviously anxious to watch a football match.. I took a glance at him one last time before walking into the kitchen. Disheveling my hair with my fingers, I screamed into a bag, regretting that I made the decision to cook. How would he feel when he tastes my meal? Will he like it? What if he doesn't like me anymore when he finds out that I'm bad at cooking?
.
"Oh! no"
I let out a deep sigh, grimacing In front of the kitchen window.
"Let's do this.." I finally muttered a word of encouragement before entering the kitchen store.
I took out a carton of noodles from the cabinet. I think I'll make noodles; It's easier to prepare I guess..
With a smile, I emptied the noodles in a pot on the gas cooker, watching as the water boiled happily in it. My mind raced in anxiousness and thoughts of how the food will end up tasting filled my mind.
I diced the carrots, bacon and meat before adding them to the noodles.
After boiling the chicken, I sprinkled some chilly in the noodles. I slid my fingers into my hair and sat on the floor, watching as the clock ticked. I kept on releasing deep breaths from my mouth, my mind racing with different thoughts.
When it was exactly thirty minutes, I stood up and grabbed a plate, hoping to eat on the same plate as Derek.
I placed the plate on a tray and hurried to the sitting room watching Derek's smiley face as he got up and moved to the dining room.
"Oh..nice" Derek mumbled with his eyes on the food. He was so excited to eat on a plate with me.
After taking a spoonful of the noodles, he coughed and creased his brows and I hurried to the kitchen to get a glass of water for him.
While he gulped down the water, I decided to have a taste of the food. I spat and raised my brows in shock at what it tasted like. It was horrible!
"Is..is it good?"
I asked with a smile, my brows raising in worry.
"Yes!."
Derek answered with a forced smile before giving me a thumbs up.
"It's…it's good."
I fed him and he kept looking into my eyes, his expression unreadable.
After some minutes, he excused himself and headed to the bathroom- and I raised my brows as confusion etched my features. Did he like it? Is he only faking it?
I tasted the food while he was gone and spat it out immediately once again.
"Oh no.." I mumbled, my eyes glancing around. This wasn't good. It's too chilly and tasteless. A horrible combination. All the ingredients just went to waste.
Derek returned and I scooted on the chair, staring at him with a sad expression on my face.
"What is it, Isabel?"
He asked, looking somewhat confused.
"It's..it's horrible"
I finally confessed as I stole a glance at the food on the table and Derek saw the portion of the food I spat on an empty plate.
He knew I must have tasted it when he left for the bathroom.
"Tell me Derek, it wasn't nice, was it?."
I asked, looking at him, my eyes glinting with a hint of sadness but he remained speechless as he didn't want to hurt my feelings by saying the food was bad.
"Be honest with me Derek, the food is horrible. I want, you know, the truth from you. You don't need to hide the truth from me."
"Yes It–."
Derek finally opened up and paused, pressing his lips together.
"It wasn't that nice." He finally revealed, shifting his gaze away from mine. I felt my heart sink heavily in my stomach. Well, I should be happy that he expressed his true thoughts on it..
"Well, I will tell you the areas that made it poorly cooked."
Derek said and finally turned to stare at me, a serious expression on his face.
"Firstly",
He said holding a fork and pointing it to the noodles which was now turning cold.
"The noodles are soggy. It had too much of water and oil in it"
"Secondly, it was too spicy, you put too much curry and chili in it."
"Thirdly, the bacon and chicken were undercooked and the carrot was overcooked."
"And yeah, lastly, it was all salty. Noodles don't really need salt in it."
Derek explained before asking me to follow him to the kitchen.
He brought out another packet of noodles, wanting to prepare another noodle at my front.
I passed the ingredients to him while he reached for his favorite apron, acting like a professional chef. How handsome and stunning he looks in that apron! I couldn't take my eyes off him for a moment, and he snapped his fingers, pulling my attention together. With a blink of an eye, I shifted my gaze back to him, feeling embarrassed that he noticed me staring at him.
He diced, and fried the onions, carrots, bacon, and chickens.
He chopped up and shredded the barbecue and made coleslaw.
He grabbed some eggs on the crate and he fried it before garnishing the food with parsley.
I could not help but drool and sniff as he opened the lid of the pot. The palatable and pleasant aroma of the food struck my nose with one blow.
"I haven't tasted it yet but I'm sure it's gonna be delicious."
I said to Derek who brought out a large plate from the rack.
Derek smiled and emptied the noodles on the white large plate and we both hurried to the sitting room, getting anxious to taste the food.
"So delicious!"
Licking my lips, I mumbled with a bright smile, my eyes fixed on Derek.
"Thank you, mate."
"Since when have you been cooking?"
"Since I was five."
Derek answered and I spat out the water in my mouth, feeling so shocked to hear his answers.
"Really?"
"Yes,!I stayed with my grandpa most of the time and he was a great chef. He taught me how to cook when I was little. I also went to several cooking competitions to improve my cooking skills."
"Oh!, I see"
I mumbled, nodding my head. I knew at that age, I never stepped foot into the kitchen because I hated cooking.
The kitchen was one place I hated the most In a home.
My mom had been the one doing the cooking even till now that I'm a teenager.
After hesitating to ask Derek the question that had been lingering in my mind, I finally mustered the courage to ask him, "Can you take me on cooking lessons? I really enjoy cooking with you."
"Sure, why not?" Derek answered cutely before stroking my hair. He dug his fork into his noodles and fed me sweetly.
"Is your grandpa still alive?" I asked and Derek went silent for a minute. With a shake of his head, he mumbled a 'No'
I pouted my lips, feeling so emotional at his replies.
"I haven't heard anything about your mom? Did she divorce your dad or is she late like my father?"