An Eager Student

Lyra was not a morning person, she was rarely up before 11 a.m. So when she woke up to her phone vibrating under her pillow bright and early, she was ready to toss it out of her window. She scowled and squinted in the low light at the phone screen to see just who was bothering her so early in the morning. To her surprise, however, it was a text from Dan.

“Since you started coming in, I’ve seen how good you are with your hands. Come over to the shop. I’ll teach you how to make dango.”

Lyra blinked before she pinched her own cheek just to see if she was still dreaming. But she didn’t wake up any more. She couldn’t help but grin as she unlocked her phone to quickly text back.

“Be there soon! <3 <3” 

Lyra quickly went through her morning routine before getting herself dressed and all dolled up. She would always wear her makeup even if she was only going to the store–or in this case, to make dango. She left the house about an hour after she’d last texted Dan, but she was still on her way. She sent a quick message to let him know she’d be there soon. 

It was early afternoon by the time she got to Dan’s, but he didn’t seem too peeved at having to wait for Lyra. 

“I’ll be teaching you how to make matcha dango today, your favorite,” he said as he set rice flour out on the table. He had two bowls and two pairs of chopsticks at the ready and he was expecting Lyra not to just watch but to work alongside him.

She hurried to his side and watched as he measured out the rice flour, matcha, and water he needed before she did the same. They mixed the three together in each of their bowls and Lyra was wholly focused on making it look right. Her dough came together a little more slowly than Dan’s, but he was patient while she worked.

“Right, now form it into one big ball first,” he said as he set the chopsticks to the side. He reached down into his own bowl and grabbed his dough, kneading it and forming it until it made a smooth green ball.

He showed her how to cut it before bringing her into his kitchen to demonstrate how to boil them as well. Once they were done, they put them in an ice bath before skewering them.

Overall, the lesson had taken most of Lyra’s afternoon and she was simply exhausted from being in a hot kitchen for most of the day. She sank down at one of the kotatsu tables, relaxing and leaning forward on it while Dan topped their dango with one of his glazes.

Once he was finished, he brought over two sticks of dango, one for himself and one for Lyra. He set one of them down in front of her before sitting down near her at the table.

“Eat,” he said simply before he took his first bite. “It will taste better because you made it yourself.”

Lyra picked herself up and looked at the dango down in front of her. She picked it up gingerly and tasted it, letting herself close her eyes to focus on it. She hummed as she swallowed and smiled happily.

“You’re right it really does taste better!”

Dan gave her a smug smirk but otherwise fell back into his usual, comfortable silence as they ate their dango together.

Before Lyra left, he stopped her and asked her to come back again sometime to learn more, if she ever wanted to.