As Thomas and Javqua entered Mr. Acinterin’s classroom, everyone was silent - looking at them, but Thomas felt like he was getting most of the attention… and it wasn’t the good kind.
He took his place beside Javqua, waiting for Mr. Acinterin to begin his class, and the Magistra did just that.
“Today, we’ll be discussing Dyson Spheres, and how they revolutionized the production of energy as we know it. But first, let me send you your current class average.” Mr. Acinterin walked to his computer and tapped some buttons, and in moments, a notification popped up on Thomas’s HUD implant.
The few tests he had done were remarkably easy - being open book, Thomas was sure that he had gotten good grades. Gone were the days of memorizing useless information and regurgitating it back up; with implants that could instantaneously answer any question, memorization was no longer needed.
Instead, tests focused on the quality of your notes and application of knowledge.
Sure enough, Thomas saw that he had gotten a ninety-five. He turned to Javqua, who had the same idea as him.
“Ninety-two,” She whispered, and Thomas grinned. “Ninety-five.” He smiled smugly as Javqua’s eyes widened.
“Good job Tom!” She said, and he continued smiling. “You did great as well. Man, school is gonna be a breeze.” Thomas said, leaning back in his chair.
The class went by quickly - not only was Mr. Acinterin a good teacher, but Dyson Spheres were actually interesting.
So interesting, that Thomas continued to talk about them at the cafeteria with Javqua. As usual, she ate an all-meat meal, while Thomas tried as much stuff as he could.
This time, he had something that resembled orange cabbage, a random assortment of greens and a small pile of stringy meat. To be completely honest, the meal was terrible, especially the meat - it tasted like really overcooked chicken.
Looking over from his mildly vomit-inducing meal, he noticed Javqua basically inhaling the food on her plate. He guessed that Javqua didn’t really care about the quality of the school food, especially considering that she could probably eat it raw.
To be honest it wasn’t that surprising. Because there were hundreds of different vegetables and fruits, the cooks probably weren’t able to cook all the food to its best quality, and as for the meat, as herbivores, they most likely wouldn't enjoy cooking it.
Thomas definitely preferred his own cooking over what the school provided. His previous meal was decent… but the same couldn’t be said for this one.
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The thoughts and taste of the shoddy food remained in Thomas’s mind - so much so, that once he and Javqua finished school, he began planning.
He was going to show Javqua some proper human cuisine, in the name of humanity!
Firstly, he had to check the pantry for anything of use. It was pretty empty - devoid of any real cooking ingredients besides what seemed to be Javqua’s snacks.
There was a bag of something that resembled beef jerky, and...a big block of meat? To be completely honest, Thomas was glad to be omnivorous. The lack of variety for carnivores was staggering.
Still, he had to try and cook something. Pulling up a shopping app, he searched for meat to cook with. The results were scarce, which wasn’t surprising, considering the herbivore to carnivore population ratio.
He ended up ordering a massive chunk of meat. It didn't take very long to arrive, but when it did Thomas was shocked; he knew it was gonna be big, but... the square “chunk” was a foot thick.
Luckily for him, it wasn't heavy, and he was able to carry it to the kitchen. From there, it was a mess, as Thomas tenderized the meat - which translated to beating the absolute shit out of it with a flat kitchen utensil he found.
Thomas found the activity somewhat stress-relieving, not that he was - in fact, the past week had been the best week he had had in a while.
Still, he soon finished the arduous task and began searching for spices and seasonings to flavour the meat with.
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He began browsing online again and settled for a few of the most popular ones.
Only a couple of minutes later, four small containers arrived. There was Khana Kha-harn, Jloo’mi’ryn-ryn’rha’rhi-tar, and Yu. They were pretty much the ‘salt and pepper’ of the galaxy.
Thomas had no idea how to pronounce the first two spices, but then again, he didn’t expect Xeno languages to be easy.
And then, finally, there was Tyn-laca mokancia, which translated to “Flaming punisher”, which was infamously known for being incredibly spicy and not for the weak-willed.
Starting up the oven, Thomas left it to preheat. He then began slathering the enormous cut of meat with oil, before opening the containers of spices onto a chopping board. From there, it got even messier, as he rolled the meat around in the colourful mix of powders.
He caught a whiff of the Tyn-laca mokancia and grimaced. Thomas had inhaled a little bit of it, and he expected for pain to kick in at any moment, but alas, the spice didn’t seem any stronger than cayenne pepper.
Still, he ran to the sink, washing his hands and grabbing a tissue, blowing his nose.
While he was doing so, he heard the oven beep, signalling that it was finished pre-heating. Washing his hands again, he carried the meat and dumped it onto a tray. He then shoved the large slab into the preheated oven. He contemplated cooking manually but decided against it.
It was non-earth meat after all and most likely had a different cooking time. Letting the oven do its job, he began to clean up.
Not long after, the sound of a door opening and closing greeted his ears, along with the sound of clawed footsteps.
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Javqua sat in her room putting some final touches on her schoolwork. It hadn't been that long since she and Tom had gotten back to their dorm; near-instantly Tom had made his way to the kitchen, most likely to get a snack or something.
That's what she had thought at first, but that quickly changed when the sound of hard impacts made its way into her room. It was mildly concerning, and so she peered outside her room a little, only to see Tom...bludgeoning a thick chunk of meat?
She observed the practice for a little longer before she returned to her work, but soon, she caught a whiff of cooking meat and looked up. Tom was...cooking? She thought as she closed her laptop and exited her room, to a surprising scene.
Tom was standing in the kitchen, looking at the oven, his shirt covered in...seasonings? He turned, his eyes widening.
“Hey Javqua!” Tom chuckled, a smile on his face, and she approached. “Are you cooking? Whatever it is, it smells good.” Javqua remarked, and Thomas grinned.
“Yeah, I wanted to show you some human cuisine.” Thomas’s smile faded somewhat, as he peered into the oven. “I think it might be burning,” He said, sounding concerned, and Javqua laughed.
“I can eat meat raw or burnt - if it burns, it’s a problem for you, not me.” She grinned as Tom desperately fiddled with the oven’s settings.
“There! The “Gentle'' setting should work!” Tom exclaimed, his face wrinkled in what Javqua assumed to be worry. “That has to work...right?” He trailed off, looking at the oven’s timer. “I guess we’ll find out in twelve minutes.”
“Also...Tom I happened to observe you a little while ago, and I must ask, why were you beating your meat?” Javqua asked as Tom wheeled around, his face bright red.
“WHAT? WHA-What the f...oh, OH, OH! I-I was hitting the...meat to tenderize it!” Tom sputtered. “For cooking purposes! It’s a human thing, I suppose.” He said.
“Huh. I’ve never heard of that.” Javqua mused.
“Well, now you do.” Tom avoided her gaze as he hastily retreated to his room, not coming out until the timer beeped.
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Thomas set the tray of meat on the table with his bare hands. The oven’s cooling technology was so advanced that it could cool just the tray and not the food - Thomas had no idea how it worked, but he wasn’t going to question it.
“Wow!” Javqua said, sniffing. “It smells...strong.”
Thomas grunted as he grabbed the largest knife he could find. The final product didn’t look bad - it had a nice appearance, a dark, rich brown. but of course, it was the inside that mattered.
Thomas found a suitable knife, which was only slightly smaller than his arm, and he paused. “Javqua, you wanna do it?” He offered, and she nodded eagerly.
Javqua took the knife, cutting into the huge steak with ease. She let the first slice fall onto its side, revealing a nice...medium rare? His jaw dropped - Javqua didn’t seem to care as much and continued slicing the meat.
“I cooked meat from scratch by myself, and it’s…” He trailed off - Javqua probably wouldn’t understand anyway.
Even after Javqua had finished cutting it up, Thomas was still quite surprised at the outcome. He’d never cooked something to what seemed like perfection, and his mouth watered as he put a few thick slices of meat onto his plate.
Using an oversized fork and knife, Thomas ate a large mouthful, chewing.
He finished eating. “Oooooh shit...it’s good!” He said, happily. “It tastes great!”
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Javqua watched as Tom ate a small piece of meat, his body slightly tense before he looked up at her, eyes shining.
“Oooooh shit….it’s good!” Tom exclaimed, starting to cut into his slices again with his utensils. “It tastes great!” He said, and she picked up a slice of meat with her claws and began to devour it.
For a moment, all was good - Tom sure was a great cook! Human cuisine was...was amazing…?
Then, the burning sensation began. She froze, as Tom continued eating, oblivious to her agony.
“Is it good?” He looked up at her, as she squirmed in pain. “Javqua?” Tom said hesitantly.
“Why is it so spicy?” Javqua managed to whisper, and Thomas frowned.
“What do you mean? I only seasoned it with one container of Tyn-laca mokancia,” He told her. Her eyes widened… what have I gotten myself into!? She thought as she rushed to the bathroom.