The remedial course

Itsuki trembled as she stood before Rika and Masaru. "I- I look forward to working with you," she bowed.

"Perfect, now we have 4 sets of hands working. I take it you don't need to give her a crash course?" Rika smirked.

"Completely unnecessary. Itsuki is by far more than qualified to work in the kitchen," Masaru stated.

"Well, guess Mimi'll primarily handle serving, though I'll help out too."

"Nice to meet you, Itsuki-chan. I'm Codename: Laks, aka Mimi," Mimi smiled.

"Uh, n- nice to meet you," Itsuki nervously nodded.

Itsuki quickly got into the groove of things as soon as she set foot in the kitchen.

"Hey, now that we have got 3 chefs, one of us can take a break, so why don't you take one, Masaru," Rika suggested.

"I can work just fine," Masaru replied.

"OK, then I'll just go out, and you can help Mimi and Itsuki with the serving."

Masaru sighed and reluctantly took a break.

"Now that it's just us, why don't we have some girl-talk while we work," Rika smiled at Itsuki.

"I haven't forgiven you. Even though you have set me free now, I had to endure hellish brainwashing for the past year. If only you'd stepped up to lead the rebel faction earlier, we could have united and completely quashed my father," Itsuki glared.

"But I did win."

"No, you merely beat all his elites. He refrained from the contest, but had you stepped up earlier, we could have beaten him personally as a team."

"Sorry, I just didn't have the motivation back then."

"If I didn't have a percentage of willpower left, I would have been lost regardless of what you fed me a few nights ago. Because of that, I was able to be deemed "tainted" and Father loosened his control over me. Yet that man still seeks to spread his will so don't let your guard down. As for the remedial course you forced him to create, I expect none shall pass it."

"Nah, I'm sure there will be some graduates. He can't mess with the school rules we established when his faction lost the big cook-off."

"Why are you making a move now? And speaking of cook-offs, I know you did something dirty to win. My father may be authoritarian, but he does not make massive blunders like that."

"I didn't do anything to his food. I even followed the rules perfectly. Heck, he was personally watching me the entire time."

"Well, I shouldn't be complaining. The stakes were high, and your victory resulted in my freedom, as well as negative press for my father. The deck was also unfairly stacked against you, so you did well to outsmart him. I still will not forgive you for the suffering I went through though."

"It's fine. Just don't make romantic passes at Masaru and we're good."

"I have no interest in romance."

As Masaru came back, Rika decided to give Itsuki some pointers in serving. "I know how to wait tables in an efficient manner," Itsuki huffed as she walked away.

Rika then walked up to Eluf and took his order. "Wonder if they're gonna do something together," Mimi thought as the two began chatting.

...

"So, you gonna go for the remedial course?" Rika asked Matcha as she stopped by the convenience store.

"Why bother? Makihara's going to make it impossible anyway," Matcha groaned.

"Nah, I'm gonna make sure a good chunk of the participants pass. Though if you know a few guys that don't want to attempt the remedial course, or some with low level skills let me know so I can contact them. Oh, and you're getting your license back."

"If it gets you to stop shopping here to pester me, I'll do it," Matcha sighed.

...

A few weeks later, the remedial course was held. Matcha clenched her fists as she stood before the gates of Tabemono Gakuin. She was clad in casual attire consisting of a lime green dress and neon pink sneakers. As she entered the gates, a girl with spray tanned skin and a bleached blonde mohawk clad in a red plaid shirt, shorts, and grey skateboarding sneakers suddenly ran up to her.

"Matcha, is that you? It's been eterns," the girl smiled.

"And who are you?" Matcha glared.

"Girl, it's me, Waki."

"Waki? WAIT! WAKI!? B- but you used to be so creepy, and you had long black hair that covered your eyes and reached your ankles!"

"Yeah, I got a makeover after cryin my heart out. Now I'm totes back for revenge against the Mak," Waki smirked.

"It seems time has passed. I recognize thee not, Waki,” an ordinary looking man said as he walked past them.

"Well, at least Takeshi hasn't changed," Matcha sighed.

"Hey, don't diss me girl, it took a lot to go from gloom to gyaru," Waki pouted.

"I never thought I'd miss when you were my creepy stalker."

"I totes heard that, and totes still into you."

"UGH!"

Waki and Matcha quickly made their way to the orientation hall and were surprised by how packed it was. Makihara and some faculty then took the stage. "Ah yes, you 100 unworthy rejects have returned to taint these halls. I assume you bear a grudge for your JUSTIFIED expulsion and subsequent blacklisting from the culinary world. Well, by mercy, you have a percentage of a chance to have the blacklisting revoked. You simply need to pass a simple judging. Make a majority of my 5 handpicked judges say your meal is delicious and you shall pass. You may even form a group of up to 4 people, though you can only submit one dish per group. As for the 5 judges, please introduce yourselves."

"Helga Hepburn. You trash ain’t passing with me around," Helga sneered.

"Kanryusai Shimazu. Makihara-sama is my idol!" a middle-aged man cackled.

"Etsuya Hariyama, you rabble will not pass," a snobby man with a large belly declared.

"Sundae-chan! Everyone's favorite pâtissier and emcee!" a young woman with a multicolored bob sneered.

"I am Kiki Ikari. You will fail," a woman with short red hair and glasses glared.

Matcha recognized the 5 as alumni from Makihara's faction, as well as some judges that were under his wing.

"Guess he had a falling out with his hand-picked buddy from yesterday," Dastard smirked as he watched, from the crowd.

"Wow, a full course Makihara stooge buffet. Well, can't wait to see that ass freak out when all his judges pass everyone," Rika smirked.