Now all eyes are on me.
Gordon watches me with folded arms. Eris stands quietly beside him, while Lilly waits near the doorway with an encouraging smile. Sitting on the preparation table before me is a mountain of vegetables: a huge bundle of green onions, twenty onions, twenty carrots, and twenty potatoes, all waiting to be conquered.
The challenge is simple.
Show off my knife skills and prepare everything within ten minutes.
I quietly tighten the apron around my waist before closing my eyes and taking a long, steady breath. The pressure is undeniable, but deep down, I know I can do this.
Come on, Felicia.
You've done this before.
I may have a different body now, but I'm still the same person. Years of working in restaurant kitchens haven't simply disappeared. My hands still remember every movement, every grip, every habit I'd repeated thousands upon thousands of times.
When I open my eyes again, all my nervousness has vanished.
Confidence quietly rushes through me.
The noise of the kitchen fades into the background.
The only things that remain are the cutting board...
The knife...
And the vegetables in front of me.
Alright.
Game time.
The first thing I do isn't reaching for the vegetables.
Instead, I pick up the chef's knife.
Every cook knows the same rule: A dull knife is a dangerous knife.
The blade Gordon handed me is decent, but decent isn't good enough. Without hesitation, I grab the sharpening stone resting nearby and carefully draw the knife across it several times at a consistent angle before wiping away the fine metal dust clinging to the edge with a clean cloth.
Then I spot a honing rod.
Perfect.
Schweng.
Schweng.
Schweng.
Schweng.
The blade glides smoothly along the steel.
A few quick passes are all it takes to realign the edge. I carefully test the knife with my thumb, feeling the crisp bite of the sharpened edge against my skin.
Perfect.
Now we're talking.
"Ho ho..."
A deep chuckle rumbles beside me.
I glance over to find Gordon watching everything with folded arms, the corners of his mouth lifting ever so slightly.
I see.
So this was the first test.
He wasn't judging my knife skills yet.
He wanted to see whether I understood the importance of maintaining my tools.
If I'd rushed straight into chopping vegetables without checking the blade first, I probably would've failed before I even began.
A sharp knife isn't optional.
It's the very first lesson every professional cook learns.
Satisfied, I finally turn my attention toward the vegetables.
Now then...
Where should I begin?
The carrots?
The green onions?
When in doubt...
Ask.
"Mr. Gordon."
I glance toward him.
"There are quite a few different knife cuts. Which ones would you like me to demonstrate first?"
One of his thick eyebrows rises.
"Oh?"
He crosses his arms again, clearly more interested now than before.
"If you can..."
A grin slowly spreads across his face.
"Show me all of them."
The corners of my own mouth lift in response.
"Gladly."
I reach for one of the carrots and place it neatly on the cutting board.
Before cutting, I adjust my grip.
My fingers wrap naturally around the handle while my thumb and index finger pinch the blade itself, giving me complete control over every movement. It's the grip nearly every professional chef uses because it offers the best balance of speed, stability, and precision.
My other hand curls into a claw around the carrot, fingertips tucked safely out of the blade's path while my knuckles guide the side of the blade.
Perfect.
The knife settles lightly against the cutting board.
Now then...
Prep Cook Knife Skill—First Technique: BRUNOISE!
Pap! Pap! Pap!
The rounded sides disappear first, squaring off the carrot so it rests perfectly flat without wobbling.
Then the knife begins to move.
Shhk! **Shhk! ****Shhk! **
Thin, perfectly even slices become delicate matchsticks.
I gather them together.
Pap! Pap! Pap!
The matchsticks transform into tiny cubes no larger than a millimeter or two, every single piece nearly identical in size.
Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Gordon's expression change ever so slightly.
His eyes narrow. Not with suspicion, but with interest.
Good.
I smirk.
But I'm just getting started!
Prep Cook Knife Skill—Second Technique: SMALL DICE!
Pap! Pap! Pap!
The knife moves faster now, but every cut remains controlled. Larger cubes fall neatly into a wooden bowl, each one clean, uniform, and almost perfectly identical.
Third Technique: JULIENNE!
Shhhhck! Shhhhck!
Long, thin matchstick-like strips appear one after another, lining up like tiny soldiers across the cutting board.
Fourth Technique: BATONNET!
Pap! Pap!
Thicker, rectangular sticks are finished in seconds.
Without pausing, I move from one vegetable to the next.
Carrots.
Potatoes.
Onions.
Green onions.
The rhythm becomes almost musical as my hands begin moving entirely on instinct. Years of repetition take over, and before long, I stop consciously thinking about each motion altogether.
The knife simply dances.
Its blade rises and falls with effortless precision, gliding through vegetables with a crisp, satisfying rhythm.
One minute passes.
Every carrot is finished.
Another minute.
The potatoes follow immediately afterward.
The onions disappear almost as quickly, followed by the green onions, each sliced into perfectly even rings with barely a wasted motion.
A grin slowly spreads across my face.
I hadn't realized how much I'd missed this.
Standing behind a cutting board, feeling the knife glide effortlessly through fresh vegetables, working with nothing but rhythm, muscle memory, and focus.
Somehow...
This feels like coming home.
This is fun.
I'm absolutely destroying this test!
****
Less than five minutes later...
"Finished!"
I set the knife down on the cutting board with a satisfied smile and take a moment to admire my work.
Neat rows of perfectly prepared vegetables cover the table before me. The green onions have been sliced evenly into delicate rings, the onions diced with uniform precision, the carrots transformed into several different knife cuts, and the potatoes prepared exactly as requested. Every pile is tidy, consistent, and ready to be cooked, looking as though they'd come straight from the prep station of a professional restaurant.
Not bad.
Actually...
Way better than I expected.
Gordon had said that if I could finish everything within ten minutes, the job would be mine.
Instead...
I'd finished in half the time.
Five minutes.
Despite spending years away from a professional kitchen, it seems my muscle memory hasn't abandoned me after all. Once my hands started moving, everything had simply... come back. Every motion felt familiar, every cut instinctive.
Feeling rather pleased with myself, I wipe the blade clean with a cloth before placing it neatly beside the cutting board. Then I turn toward the others, expecting someone to say something.
But instead...
I find complete silence.
Eris stands frozen.
Lilly is frozen too.
Even Gordon, the battle-hardened kitchen veteran who has probably seen countless cooks come and go over the years, simply stares at the cutting board without moving a muscle.
For several long moments, nobody says a single word.
Their expressions almost make it seem as though I've done something terribly wrong.
"...Umm..."
I rub the back of my neck awkwardly.
"H-How did I do? Was it... good enough?"
Lilly is the first to recover.
"Y-Yeah..." she stammers, her eyes still fixed on the vegetables, her mouth slightly agape.
But then...
"AAAA!!! FELICIA! WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT?!"
Eris suddenly blurts out, practically jumping in place.
"That was AMAZING! I've never seen anyone chop vegetables that fast!"
The praise immediately sends warmth rushing into my cheeks.
A small, embarrassed smile forms on my face.
Still... the opinion that really matters isn't Eris's.
Or Lilly's.
It's Gordon's.
I cautiously look toward him.
"Mr. Gordon...?"
He doesn't answer.
Instead, he silently walks over to the cutting board and begins inspecting every pile one by one.
He picks up several pieces of carrot between his thick fingers.
Then the potatoes.
Then the onions.
Without saying anything, he compares their sizes before setting them back down again. His rough fingertips gently roll the vegetables across the board, checking the cuts from every angle with the practiced eye of someone who's spent decades working in a professional kitchen.
He moves on to the julienne.
Then the batonnet.
Finally, he nods almost imperceptibly as he examines the brunoise one last time.
The silence feels endless.
Every second that passes makes me more nervous.
Did I miss something?
Was one of the cuts uneven?
Did I work too quickly?
Was I too focused on speed?
However, just as I begin doubting myself, Gordon's booming voice explodes through the room.
"LILLY! GET THE PAPERWORK!"
"Y-YES, DAD!"
Lilly practically jumps before sprinting out of the room as fast as her legs can carry her.
I blink.
"...Eh?"
I slowly look back at Gordon.
"Does that mean...?"
A broad grin finally spreads across his face.
"It means you're hired!"
"Haha, young lady, I didn't know you are such an amazing prep cook! You are exactly what our kitchen has been looking for!
For a heartbeat, my brain completely stops working.
Then the words finally sink in.
"YEAHHHHHHHH!"
I throw both fists into the air, unable to contain my excitement.
"I DID IT!"
Beside me, Eris lets out an equally enthusiastic cheer before wrapping me in a quick congratulatory hug.
"Congratulations, Felicia!"
"Thanks!"
I can't stop smiling.
The knot of anxiety that had been tightening in my chest since walking into the interview finally disappears, replaced by an overwhelming sense of relief.
My first day after reincarnating into another world...
And I already have a job.
Heh.
Maybe...
Just maybe...
I'm actually pretty awesome after all!