Today marked the third time in one week that Nea had snuck into the Hope’s Peak school kitchens for baking. Normally she would’ve entered alongside Miyu, whose talent was the Ultimate Baker; a tall girl with the best baked sweets in the country, Nea was allowed in to help her from time to time. But, technically speaking, she wasn’t supposed to be in there alone. And yet - here she was. A bowl of cake batter, already mostly finished, to her right. A carton of eggs, a gallon jug of milk, and various items for sugar art to her right. The oven preheated to a suitable temperature. She was working on a cake, and from the size of the bowl, it wasn’t going to be small.
No, not small at all. Her ambitions were for a MASSIVE cake! A cake so huge that when all the layers were finished, it would be four feet high! A cake so huge it would feed the students for a week! But even she thought it possible she was dreaming too big. Miyu could do this, no problem. She was sure the Ultimate Cook among her upperclassmen could as well, even if she had never met him. Though she did vaguely remember someone saying he liked being called a chef instead? But Nea knew she herself...might struggle a bit more.
This simple fact did not deter her, nor did it hinder her resolve! She would just need a bigger bowl! ...or more bowls! And more materials...she had enough for the first layer, but she had to find more! And so off she went, perusing the various cabinets and drawers. What started as a simple effort to make herself a birthday cake a few days late has escalated into an ambition to make a giganto-cake she can share with everyone.
Just another day in the life of Nea Withers.














