Lion Hall Dinner

It’s the tenth of October. Time for the annual school district dinner. This event would begin at six and everyone would eat at seven. Noiz fixed up her hair in the mirror. She stood back and smiled. The kitty looked over at her clock. This would be the first time she would be part of the big leagues. Tokyo-Zion Academy was now becoming legitimate. Noiz grinned to herself. This night had to be perfect.

She turned and walked out of her room.

The Lion Hall had been remodeled last year. They were going for a more traditional look. Noiz’s jaw dropped as she pulled up into the parking lot.

“How did I not see this?” she asked. But she couldn’t stay amazed at the pagoda-like structure in the middle of the city. The builders were really going for an ancient castle. Noiz locked up her car and made her way up to the front door. Members of her staff would already be inside. This year, the board of Tokyo’s education hosting the dinner.

A woman in a fancy suit greeted her at the door.

“Which school are you with?” she asked. Noiz broke into a huge grin.

“Tokyo-Zion Academy,” she said. “It’s a new school.” The woman looked down at the list. Noiz waited with a smile on her face.

“In you go,” the other woman said.

“Thank you,” Noiz said, bowing her head. She walked into the building. From the hallway, she could hear classical music. The kitty nodded to herself. Going fancy, huh? She could get with that. Noiz walked up to the wooden sliding doors. She pushed them open. Before going in, she looked around and spotted tonight’s menu. Noiz nodded to herself.

“French and Italian, really classy,” she said.

Her school’s table sat near the back. Almost near to the emergency exit. That didn’t really upset her. Tonight’s dinner floated through her head. Noiz over to her table. Most of her staff sat around, waiting.

“Hey!” Louise said, flagging her down. Everyone had their eyes on their table from that outburst. Iris lowered her head.

“Too loud,” Bemmer whispered. Noiz walked over to the empty table.

“Hey everyone,” she said. “How is everyone?” The kitty took a seat.

“Bored,” Jun-Jun said.

“Now, now,” Amethyst said. “We all just got here. It’s about to start.” Louise rolled her eyes.

“And how are you?” Bemmer asked.

“Good,” Noiz said. “I am good.” The room drowned in chatter before everyone heard what sounded like a fork hitting glass. The head of the board stood up with the microphone in his hand.

“Welcome, welcome, everyone. Thank you for coming,” he said. “This is the annual fall dinner of the Tokyo school distract.” Everyone applauded. The head of the board bowed his head. Here came the speech. Noiz and her staff waited for their food. Louise groaned and rolled her eyes. Amethyst nudged her in the side.

“Stop,” she whispered. Louise stuck out her tongue and turned back to the man at the head table. The head of the board wouldn’t stop talking. His secretary had to nudged him to get him to sit down.

“Enjoy your dinner,” he said at last. Everyone applauded as the catering staff came out from the kitchen.

First Course: Provencal Stuffed Squid

“What is this?” Katie asked as she looked at the little squid on her fork.

“Stuffed squid,” Amber answered. The Finnish girl frowned as she made a face.

“Yuck,” she whispered.

“Oh come on,” Noiz said. “I’m eating it.” She put a little stuffed squid in her mouth and started chewing.

“Mmm,” she said. Katie didn’t look too convinced and put the stuffed creature in her mouth. Not the best in the world, but hey. She was hungry like everyone else.

“Is there anymore squid?” Jun-Jun asked. The saner members of the staff eyed her.

“What?” she asked. Bemmer shook his head as he finished off his plate.

Second Course: Caprese Salad

“I’ve never had this before,” Noiz said as she looked down at her plate.

“It’s good!” Diamond insisted. “You have to try it.” The kitty had a bit of an unease look on her face.

“Okay…” she said. She picked up her fork and picked up a tomato.

“No, no, no!” Diamond said. “You have to eat the pieces altogether.”

“Right,” the kitty said. She picked up the tomato with the cheese and basil.

“Time to eat,” Noiz said. She put the combination into her mouth. Diamond watched her with narrowed eyes.

“Well?” she asked. Noiz looked up, smiling.

“I love this,” she said. Diamond smiled and ate up her salad as well.

Third Course: Salad Aveyronnaise

“Another salad?” Jun-Jun asked.

“This is really good,” Amber insisted. She dug right on in. Everyone else took their time eating. Jun-Jun shrugged and picked up her fork. She started chewing as if lost in thought.

“Hm, not bad,” Jun-Jun said after she swallowed. “How many more courses do we have left?”

“Three more,” Amber said.

“Wow,” the woman said.

Main Course: Crab and Prosecco Linguine

“Oh wow!” Noiz said, looking down at her plate. She picked up her fork and started eating. There wasn’t much talking during the main course. Slurping filled the room. The adults had their wine and the younger staff members had sparking juice.

“Are you sure that we can’t have any more?” Jun asked.

“Don’t be rude,” Amber said.

“Aw, come on,” the woman said. Noiz tuned them out as she finished up her meal. Bring on dessert!

Dessert: Strawberry Crepes Suzette

“How were they even able to get strawberries at this time of year?” Brooke asked.

“It looks so pretty,” Katie said.

“I can’t take my eyes off of it,” Soot said. It didn’t take them too long to dig right in. Noiz smiled the whole time. So far, tonight was a success. Her purse was filled with business cards. Maybe there could be more connections with the academy in the future.

“This is so good,” she said. “I can understand what you mean with wanting more, Jun.”

“Right?” Jun asked. The saner ones were too lost in their crepes to make any comments to correct their behaviors. Noiz sat back after finishing the last bite.

There was still one more course to the dinner.

Mignardise: Petit Fours

“These are so cute!” Noiz said. She dug them in right away.

“Can we take these home?” Amethyst asked. “I wish I brought my camera with me.” By now, everyone just stopped listening as they finished their dinner. Noiz herself planned to bring the academy back here next year. Maybe they would be closer to the main table by then.

Fancy Dinner