Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume23 Chapter7 1

The Heart in the Frosted Glass. Part 1

At 6:30 the following morning they were woken by the alarm clock and, while rubbing their eyes, they stood on their futons and Rei-sama led them in a round of radio calisthenics.

Sachiko-sama didn't like it, but since the other five were doing it she apparently didn't want to be the odd one out and reluctantly joined in.

"Did you have your first dream of the year?"

Naturally, this was the first topic of conversation that morning. However.

"I sort of did, and I sort of didn't."

"I dreamed that I ate so much I couldn't move."

"I think I had a dream but I can't remember it now that I've woken up."

Surprisingly, that was how it was. Dreaming about one of the lucky omens, like Mt. Fuji or falcons or eggplants, seemed to be about as unlikely as winning the lottery.

They walked through the house together in their light sleeping clothes, then brushed their teeth and washed their faces before getting changed.

Shimako-san swiftly dressed herself in her kimono, like she was putting on regular clothes. It seemed that she was so used to this that she didn't even need to make use of a full-length mirror. Sachiko-sama wasn't wearing her kimono today. She was dressed simply in a sweater and skirt.

After they'd finished dressing they split into the cooking group and the cleaning group. The former was made up of the two third-years, while the latter comprised the second- and first-years.

The cleaning group folded up the futons then tossed the sheets and pillowcases into the washing machines before cleaning the room.

Normally the tatami mats may have been swept clean of stray tea leaves with a broom, but they weren't sure so they decided to give it a quick clean with the vacuum cleaner. It'd be bad if they messed up by doing something they weren't used to.

"Just that room's fine."

Sachiko-sama called out from the kitchen.

"Oka~y."

But it was kind of fun, so Yumi and her comrade-in-long-pants Yoshino-san raced each other in cleaning the long hallway.

As Shimako-san tweaked the ikebana display in the alcove, an enticing aroma wafted in from the kitchen.

"Itadakimasu."

When Sayako-oba-sama joined them, the seven of them started breakfast. At 7:30am.

The breakfast menu:

A clear soup made from chicken stock with a grilled mochi rice cake for each of them. The color of the Japanese parsley, wheat balls and mushrooms made it look quite pretty.

Fried eggs and non-fried prosciutto (Was it okay to call this Bacon and Eggs? … It was a bit of a quandary.)

Finally, Rei-sama's red and white radish salad.

It was a mix of eastern and western cuisines but there were no complaints once they started eating.

"There's soy sauce, salt and pepper, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, and mayonnaise. That should be enough to suit everyone, right?"

Rei-sama said, lining up the condiments she'd gathered from the kitchen on the table.

"As they say, to each their own."

Referring to how they seasoned their eggs.

Sachiko-sama reached for the soy sauce, and Yoshino-san for the ketchup. Rei-sama for the salt and pepper, and Noriko-chan for the Worcestershire sauce. Shimako-san took the soy sauce after Sachiko-sama, while Sayako-oba-sama seemed to be amusing herself by trying the mayonnaise for a change.

"What about you, Yumi-chan?"

Rei-sama asked, having noticed that Yumi hadn't reached out for any of the containers.

"Ah, I'm still trying to decide which one to have."

If she wanted to have the same as Sachiko-sama, it would be soy sauce. But there was also the option of trying something different, like Sayako-oba-sama.

"Which one of these do you have at home?"

"Well."

Which one of these, she'd asked.

"Wait, you can't mean … "

At which point Rei-sama acted totally shocked.

"You have something that's not here?"

" … Yeah."

Bingo. Although, naturally enough, she'd had eggs with ketchup or Worcestershire sauce when she was a child, but, unfortunately, she'd been having them with something else almost exclusively of late.

"Is it a special sauce? Or is it a household staple?"

Yoshino-san leaned forwards, her excitement gushing out.

"A staple, but … "

"Is it vinegar?"

"No."

Yumi shook her head, and Shimako-san and Noriko-chan joined in.

"Is it salad dressing, perhaps?"

"Is it kimchi stock?"

" … No, it's neither of those."

Salad dressing was one thing, but what family would have a supply of kimchi stock on hand?

"Don't tell me it's miso soup?"

That would be something. It didn't sound like it would taste that bad, but wouldn't the egg be more of an accompaniment to the soup than the other way around?

Sachiko-sama had been listening quietly but she finally got tired of waiting and said:

"Stop acting so self-important and just say it already."

Yumi hadn't meant to be acting self-important, but it was hard for her to say what it was now that it had turned into such a big deal.

"Well … it's mentsuyu sauce."

"Mentsuyu sauce!"

Everyone else cried out in unison.

"Mentsuyu sauce, huh?"

"I suppose we'd probably have that at home."

No-one had guessed it, but they all responded favorably.

"Sachiko-san, we have some in the refrigerator."

"Yes, we do. If you're alright with store bought sauce."

As she responded to her mother, Sachiko-sama finally looked at Yumi.

"Ah, of course."

The stuff they used in the Fukuzawa household had been bought from the supermarket in a "one-per-customer" special sale. She remembered being pressed into service to line up at the register because her mother had to have two bottles of it.

The bottle Sachiko-sama retrieved from their refrigerator was the same brand as Yumi's house used, but a size smaller. It seemed surprising that they would use something simple like this on their fine white noodles in the Ogasawara household, but the truth was apparently something else.

"Grandpa doesn't like noodle broth that doesn't have dashi, so the chef uses this to add some flavoring."

After taking the offered bottle, Yumi basked in everyone's attention as she poured the sauce over her egg yolk. Now the conversation turned to how they ate their eggs. Whether they attacked the egg yolk first, or saved it for last, or ate the white and yellow parts proportionately, or whether they usually had it cooked on both sides. From there it moved on to how they preferred the egg yolk. Then it broadened from just themselves, as they discussed the preferences and idiosyncrasies of other people they knew, and the dining table became quite lively.

Fried eggs was such a simple dish, but it was funny how it brought out the eater's personality.