Hot Stuff (Pregame 2, EN, Kitchen)

[Eilonwy Ainsley]

"Not a bad idea." she smiled. "I don't usually keep food in my room. But, could make an exception for something sweet."

[Mei-Ling Zhou]

Mei slid up next to her and put an arm around her.

"This is going to be a long 15 minutes, I hope everyone appreciates this."

[Eilonwy Ainsley]

"They will. I know I do."

[Mei-Ling Zhou]

As the seconds ticked by Mei looked into Elle's eyes and she bit her lip.

"I'm normally a very patient person but not today it seems." She said with a chuckle finally breaking eye contact.

[Eilonwy Ainsley]

"Just a little longer." she assured her. "We can clean up while we wait."

She began rinsing off bowls and spoons and loaded up the dishwasher.

[Mei-Ling Zhou]

"Good idea."

She set to wiping down the counter and sorting the trash. Between tasks she drummed out a tune with her knuckles and bobbed her head.

"So what kind of music are you in to?"

[Eilonwy Ainsley]

"All kinds. When I'm working, however, I prefer something soft and soothing."

Once the dishwasher was loaded, she checked on the cookies.

"Almost done."

[Mei-Ling Zhou]

She pulled out a pair of cooling racks and set them out.

"Whew, I need something to drink." She said headed towards the fridge. "You want anything?"

[Eilonwy Ainsley]

"Please, I'm very thirsty." she nodded. "Water would be fine."

[Mei-Ling Zhou]

She passed Elle a gas and clinked hers with it.

"Cheers."

She swept her gaze over the kitchen one more time looking for anything out of place. Reflexively she rubbed her neck and winced slightly then smiled.

"Will you be attending the briefing in the morning? I assume it will be in the morning at least but is that something you go to?"

[Eilonwy Ainsley]

"I suppose I could, just to be informed, but I'm not sure it's necessary."

She walked over to the oven and peeked inside.

"I think they're done."

[Mei-Ling Zhou]

Please

She hurried over to the oven to see the fruits of their labor.

"Are they? Are they?" She said with childlike glee. "How do you test if a cookie is done? Like a cake?"

[Eilonwy Ainsley]

"I usually just go by look." she shrugged. "We could try poking the sides a bit, to make sure they aren't soft."

She opened the oven and slid one of the sheets out a bit, prodding a cookie with a spatula.

"Looks good." She removed the sheet entirely and set it on the counter.

[Mei-Ling Zhou]

Mei pulled the second sheet out and held it up for Elle to render verdict on.

"I think these are ready too?" She twirled a spatula in her other hand as she held the tray. "But we need to let the cool BEFORE we can let them cool or something? Like we can't take them off the sheets just yet right? I think I ruined a batch of meatloaves that way once."

[Eilonwy Ainsley]

"Sounds good." she nodded. "It shouldn't take too long, regardless."

[Mei-Ling Zhou]

"So you seem really good at this, I mean, we didn't need to start over or waste anything. Are you sure you've only been doing this a couple of years?"

Mei started air drumming with the spatula and an invisible drumstick as she tried to will the cookies to cool faster.

"I'm curious what you would bring to a pot luck if we had one."

[Eilonwy Ainsley]

"I'm a bookish person. I read a lot." she answered. "I've read a lot of cookbooks, trying to figure out the best techniques."

[Mei-Ling Zhou]

"Ahh. I'm terrible at book learning, that's why I have just been trying to learn as I go. It took me a while to figure out how important salt is but i had a real breakthrough when I figured that out. I thought salt was bad for you but it makes everything taste better."

[Eilonwy Ainsley]

"Everything can be bad, if you have too much of it." she explained. "You do have to be careful with salt."

[Mei-Ling Zhou]

"Right, moderation."

The world felt strange in her mouth.

"So do you think the Major is going to make any more of this or was that warning it?"