{{ warning: heavy spoilers for episode 58 onwards }}
Symbol looked over at their students. Yashee was staring very intently at the measuring spoons on the table, but he suspected that she was considering which spoon to take when his back was turned. Raz'ul and Randy were whispering about something or another, and Symbol supposed if he felt like it, he could properly listen in to what they were saying. Despite what the two of them thought, subtlety was not their strong suit. Or at the very least it wasn’t Raz'ul’s. Randy chuckled softly about something and Raz'ul briefly flicked his gaze up at Symbol. If they actually cared about being a proper teacher, this would probably be the point where he would make some form of academic sternness cross his features, but instead, Symbol only gave Raz'ul a brief smirk.
Oho.
That set off more whispering, enough that Yashee stopped inspecting the silverware and remembered why they were all standing behind the table in the first place. She swept up her teammates with an outstretched arm and slapped on an expression that Symbol had already classified as “We’re not up to mischief, Splash (ugh) we swear!”
Symbol wondered if his students knew how much guiltier they looked when they made that face. They busied themselves with brushing off imaginary lint from their clothes to keep themselves from chuckling.
“Do you all remember what we’re doing today?” Symbol asked.
“Not making music and waking up before the sun comes up.” Randy said. His tone barely stayed within the upper limits of “scamp” instead of “mouthy”. “Yes, and?” Symbol prompted.
“Well, you told us to be here this early because we’re borrowing Alto Brown’s kitchen, and that he gets really peeved when other people cook in here so-” Raz'ul began to explain, but Yashee’s outburst drowned out the rest of his words:
“WE’RE MAKING PUDDING! YESSSS!”
“That’s what I was going to say…” Raz’ul muttered. “Oops. Sorry, buddy, but it’s pudding!” Yashee replied. “I imagine this isn’t just an excuse to move Alto Brown’s stuff around and out of their carefully-labeled positions?” Randy asked.
Symbol rubbed at his chin in mock contemplation. “I, of course, hold Alto Brown and his culinary skill in the highest esteem, and let it not be said that I would ever disparage his methods…” A chorus of “no, of course not, yeah, no definitely”s reached Symbol’s ears as they paused for dramatic effect.
“But...if, perhaps, we’ve disagreed on the proper pudding preparation...then perhaps a bit of chaos could be in order.” Symbol finished. “Just a smidge.” Yashee agreed. “A little dollop.” Raz’ul said. “Or just like, three cups worth.” Randy added. Symbol’s students began nudging each other and doing what Symbol could only determine was some sort of secret handshake. “Bards.” They called gently, pleased to see their students focus once more.
“Now then. As Yashee said, today we are using Alto Brown’s kitchen before breakfast to make pudding. He has generously donated a fridge to store your creations,” (Symbol ignored Randy’s “oh has he now” and made a mental note to move his snacks out of that fridge) “and the flavor of said pudding is up to you. You can either make the same flavor, pick your own, or some combination of the two.” “All that I ask is that you do not needlessly waste ingredients and that all the cooking implements remain in the kitchen.” Symbol said. Randy gave a dramatic sigh and returned a measuring spoon to the kitchen table. For a moment, Symbol thought they saw Randy do something with his hands, but it was honestly too early for him to care. “Now then. To make any type of pudding, you need the base ingredients.” As Yashee gathered the ingredients, Symbol saw Raz‘ul wink at Randy. They had been about to ask what exactly the two were planning, when Yashee returned with the ingredients. “Are we going to get food poisoning from this?” Randy asked. “Not if you follow my instructions.” Symbol answered. “Right. Raz’ul, dear buddy, I’ll let you take point on this.” Randy said. “Huh? Oh because of- yeah, yeah. Got it. Definitely, definitely.” Raz‘ul said.
Symbol continued guiding their students through the proper pudding steps. From time to time, he would reach out and adjust their stirring technique or nudge the correct measuring spoon towards Randy with his magic.
“Excellent. Now from here you add your flavoring. You can go traditional, such as chocolate, or more complex, such as mint or introducing a fruit syrup. With mint, you must be careful to delicately extract the flavor-”
A harsh rapping on the metal shutter of the serving window halted Symbol’s instruction. They attempted to speak again, but the rapping continued. “You should probably see who it is.” Yashee suggested. “Yeah, it might be Alto Brown.” Raz‘ul said. “Yeah, maybe he wants scones or something.” Randy added.
Symbol sighed and approached the shutter. “Alto, we had an arrangement,” Symbol lifted the shutter, “and...oh.” On the other side of the window wasn’t Alto, but Tabitha. “Tabitha.” Symbol greeted. “Tabby!” The three bards cheered in greeting. “I like your sweater!” Yashee said. Symbol wondered if the sleeves would tear with how forcefully Tabitha was now twisting the ends.
“Tabitha.” Symbol repeated. Tabitha squeaked and turned a very bright shade of red. “Right! Umm, I think I left a potion in the fridge. Alto Brown let me use his kitchen the other night to make medicine for Sandy-”
“SHE’S SICK?!” Yashee cried.
Symbol barely resisted rolling his eyes as Raz‘ul and Randy shushed Yashee. “Yes! Sandy is sick and I need medicine from the fridge. Symbol, could you please get it for me. Thank you.” Tabitha said. Points for enunciation and elocution, Symbol supposed. “Sure.” Symbol replied. They turned around and saw his bards were stirring their bowls of pudding. “You’ll form lumps if you overwork it.” He reminded them as he breezed past to one of the fridges.
He turned to look at Tabitha. “Which fridge?” He asked. “Uhh…” Honestly, Tabitha probably wasn’t the best person for...whatever his students were planning. She pointed at a random fridge. With a sigh, he began looking for a potion bottle. “What color is the potion?” Symbol called out. A series of dissimilar colors reached his ears. They closed the fridge and Tabitha pointed at another. Symbol raised a brow. “Uhh...it was late and I was tired?” Tabitha asked. “Sure.” Symbol said. None of this was even remotely suspicious, and it definitely wasn’t odd that by the time he finished checking the last fridge, Tabitha was gone.
“She remembered she had the potion in her dorm fridge.” Raz’ul said when Symbol asked. Symbol ran both hands through his hair. “On the bright side, we’re all done adding our flavors!” Randy said. “And what did you choose?” Symbol asked. Raz’ul gave a rambling explanation of his flavor choice and why he thought it suited his personality. Yashee and Randy plainly stated their flavors as “chocolate” and “triple chocolate”, respectively.
Symbol eyed the new addition on the kitchen table. “And the fourth bowl?” They asked. “It’s for you!” Yashee said. “Don’t ya wanna taste it?” Raz’ul suggested. “I think I will wait until later tonight when it has properly set. Now let’s get them in the fridge and clean up in here. Breakfast preparations will begin soon.” Symbol said.
The full moon was high in the sky before Symbol left his chambers to return to the kitchen. While he cared greatly for his students, Symbol also knew they had a penchant for mischief. Therefore, it only made sense to visit the kitchen once most of the school was asleep, so no one could see any disastrous outcomes of eating the pudding his students had made. As Symbol opened the fridge, they saw, predictably, that Yashee’s pudding bowl was gone. Randy’s bowl was half-eaten. Sadly, Raz’ul’s bowl had only three scoop-marks in its surface, and Symbol suspected all three were from one person.
Finally, on a shelf by itself was a bowl of pudding that was ostensibly “vanilla”. They retrieved the bowl from the fridge and set it on the nearest counter. Symbol got a spoon and removed the plastic film covering the top of the bowl. He scooped some of the pudding and after thinking of creative musical exercises to punish his bards with if they pranked him, Symbol took a bite.
All at once, they heard music. Symbol closed their eyes and felt themselves become awash in story and song. Each memory played as a perfect note within his mind, orchestrated to the perfect melody. They saw themselves meeting his students for the first time, already deciding how to best nurture and foster the talent within them. They remembered every Ira Glass call, every time one of the bards would call him “Splash”, how the name would glow bright and suffuse him with warmth, even if Symbol would grumble about it.
They saw old memories as well, of their true home and the family they had lost. Remembering his family was bittersweet as Symbol could still remember the music he associated with them. Only now...now there was more music, the sound no longer faded and dull, but bright and lively.
More instruments.
More family.
Yashee, playing furiously with her mallets. Quick to protect those she cared about, and so much love for those around her. Randy, with his impish smile and roguish ways, playing his organ with a level of dexterity Symbol had grown to respect. Even if that meant a few pudding cups went missing now and again. And Raz’ul, the druidic bard who had started out unsure of his own capabilities, but now more willing to put himself out there and accept the possibility of failure, of the improvisation that came from blending two roles.
Symbol opened their eyes and even though their cheeks were wet, they were smiling. “Symbol?” Yashee called out carefully. Raz’ul made a noise of distress. “I think we broke him, you guys.” Raz‘ul said. The dwarf made a longer version of the noise when Symbol turned around, their face now illuminated by Randy’s drift globe.
“Randy, how many drops did you put in? Tabby said-” Yashee said.
“-look, I added the right amount. Maybe Raz’ul stirred too much-” Randy argued.
As the bards began to bicker, Symbol began to laugh. They wiped at their eyes before giving it up for a lost cause. “You three continually surprise me.” Symbol said. “In a good way?” Yashee asked cautiously. “Most of the time, yes. That includes just now.” Symbol replied.
They held out their arms and wasn’t surprised in the least when Yashee crashed into his embrace. “I’m so glad you’re not mad, because Tabitha said it was only supposed to show happy memories, but I think we’ve also kinda proven we don’t always know what we’re doing…”
While Yashee continued to talk, Symbol motioned to his other two students. Randy sighed, but judging from the way he burrowed himself into the hug after executing a perfect front flip, it was clearly an act. Raz‘ul was the last to join the hug, but Yashee easily readjusted him to avoid any awkwardness.
“Soooo Splash…” Raz’ul said. Symbol pointedly rolled their eyes. “Yes, Raz’ul?” “Be honest: you just wanted to mess with Alto Brown’s stuff, didn’t you?” Raz‘ul asked. “Yeah, and make free pudding.” Randy said. Symbol smiled. “Ok, yes.” Symbol said.
“So is there any chance we could borrow the kitchen again at a later date, because I’ve got a thing-” “No, Randy.” Symbol said. “Awww, Splash ~” The bards cried. Symbol knew it wouldn’t be long before his students turned their attention to the abandoned pudding bowl on the counter, but for now, Symbol was content to remain in the arms of his family.
By: Basil Wright
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