Chapter 176 Preperations (2/2)
Sophia liked Ali. A lot.
So it really was a pity that it could never progress beyond the friendzone. She figured that Ali was comfortable enough with her for she knew her boundaries. At first, he had been worried that she might misunderstand but she assured him that she knew and understood.
”What about you, Sarah?” Sophia asked, ”And Kay? Anyone you want to confess to?”
”Puh-lease,” scoffed Kay, ”When you have Kyle for a brother, it's hard to find a guy that can actually measure up now, right?”
Sophia laughed, ”Ah, I can see how that can be a problem. He certainly makes it hard for you, huh?”
”A guy that would impress me enough,” Kay admitted, ”And if he can actually get through the Elite Five Knight Guards, then he's worth the second look.”
”Elite Give Knight Guards? What do you mean?”
Sarah was quiet as she listened to the two talking. Kay was explaining about the Elite Five guys have taken it upon themselves to be her protector i.e. knights - which also included screening out 'unworthy' guys.
Sarah thought about the question Sophia had posed and was grateful that she didn't ask again since she was busy listening to Kay. At the end of it, before Sophia could ask again, Sarah said, ”Maybe Sophia is right about the chocolates; but Kyle doesn't like chocolates, right?”
”Yeah,” Kay confirmed.
”Is that the real reason why you wanted cookies instead?” Sophia asked.
”Partly,” Kay said, ”But I still feel cookies would be better than chocolates - it will be original and different as well.”
”We're only giving this as a friendship thing so does it really have to be so personal? Cookies are harder to bake,” Sophia said, ”Though yes, I admit, it's not the effort that I'm looking at. I just can't shake the feeling that it should be chocolate.”
”Well, we can do both then,” Kay suggested as a compromise, ”We do both cookies and chocolates. I'd rather distribute the cookies while you and Sarah can take the chocolates.”
”How about chocolate nuts?” Sarah suggested suddenly, ”It's not too chocolatey yet it is still considered chocolate, right?”
Kay and Sophia looked at Sarah, then at each other. They smiled.
”It has to be dark chocolate though,” Kay stated.
”No problem,” Sarah replied, holding up her phone, ”This recipe is simple. 'Sea salt and dark chocolate nuts' and only requires four ingredients: chocolate bars, unsalted nuts, sea salt and sugar”
Kay took the phone excitedly, her eyes twinkling, ”It's perfect!”
”Wait. Wouldn't this make the cost go up? The rules say that the gift is not to be more than $5,” Sophia pointed out.
”That's only if you're buying something, not when you're making something,” Kay explained, ”Didn't the Class Rep explain this to you?”
Sophia thought back and said, ”Perhaps she did but I was distracted at that moment. Luckily I have you guys here to make sure we follow the rules! hehehe”
Kay and Sarah laughed at how Sophia laughed sheepishly for admitting that. They quickly bought the ingredients and tried it out first.
First, the sea salt and coarse sugar were mixed together in a small bowl.
Kay carefully melted the dark chocolate bars in a double boiler, which was actually just two pots. The big pot was filled with water and a smaller pot was placed inside it. The chocolate bars were broken into pieces and placed in the smaller pot. It had to be stirred continuously so that it didn't burn.
Once it was all melted, Kay carefully took out the smaller pot from the bigger pot and placed it on the table. Sarah poured the mixed nuts into the chocolate mixture while Kay slowly stirred so that all of the nuts were fully covered.
After that, she carefully picked the nuts out one-by-one and placed them onto the cookie sheet that had been laid out earlier. Sophia sprinkled the sea salt and sugar mix over the nuts and they looked at their creation with a smile.
”Now, we just wait until the chocolate sets,” Kay said.
”That really was simple and it looks so good,” Sarah said, her mouth already watering.
They all looked at each other and without a word, each of them took one chocolate coated nut and popped it into their mouth.
”Okay, we really should wait until the chocolate sets,” Kay said, fanning her mouth. It was hot. Also, they couldn't quite get the true taste of it, but even then, it was already delicious.