I Got the Almighty Tongue - Chapter 195



Only Noblemtl

195 Anger and Guilt

Beep beep.

The chime signaling the end of class rang.

“Kent. Let’s eat!”

“What do you want to eat?”

The students got up from their chairs and headed to the cafeteria. But Kent had no appetite. The food at Harper High School had never been anything but horrible since he had been there.

“I don’t have any money. Let’s eat potato chips.”

“I just want to cut it more.”

Otto forcibly wakes up Kent, who is about to fall asleep again.

“I’m sleepy.”

“If we’re late, we’ll have to wait in line at the store. Let’s go quickly.”

The two of them trudged down the stairs and headed to the store next to the cafeteria. However, even though they arrived quite late, the store was deserted.

“Huh? What’s going on?”

As Otto looks around, he sees a crowd of students at the cafeteria. Everyone except him and Kent is waiting in line to be served.

“Is everyone eating lunch? Are you crazy?”

Otto got a terrible stomach ache from eating the tacos served at lunch last semester. He hasn’t looked at lunch since.

Thinking back, I still shudder at the sight of the disgusting beef topping and the oily sauce.

“Hey! Genie!”

Kent catches a friend passing by.

“Why is everyone eating lunch?”

“What? Didn’t you know? Chef Shin Je-hee is here. She’s serving food right in front of you. I heard that the food service will be changing to a company run by that chef starting this semester.”

Genie pours out her words and then hurries to the back of the line.

“Shin Je-hee? Who is that?”

Kent mutters as if he doesn’t understand English.

“Is that the judge from MasterChef? He definitely has a great sense of taste.”

“Ah! That guy!”

At Otto’s words, Kent also vaguely remembered who he was.

“Let’s go too.”

Beep.

When they swipe their cards, the meal fee is automatically paid. The two of them, like the other students, move to the back of the line.

“Wow! This is crazy. Seriously.”

“It’s so delicious.”

“Let’s take a picture.”

Students who received their lunch can be heard murmuring as they sit down at their seats.

At the back of the cafeteria, Principal Catherine was watching with a pleased expression.

Gulp.

‘Is it really delicious?’

Word of its deliciousness is coming out from all over the place. It’s an unfamiliar sight.

“Hey. See that math over there? There’s physics too.”

Kent whispers to Otto.

Looking back, he saw that, just as he had said, teachers were gathered in groups of three or four, waiting in line to receive food like them.

Harper High School doesn’t have a separate cafeteria, so teachers usually eat outside of school. But what was special about today’s lunch?

While I was thinking like this, it was already my turn.

“Eat lots.”

A handsome Asian man, a little over six feet tall. His face looked familiar. Otto knew that this was the chef Genie had been talking about.

“Thank you.”

I awkwardly greeted him and looked at his plate.

Today’s menu was pilaf. It looked delicious, with golden rice grains, vegetables, and a generous amount of lamb on top.

Moving to the side, a salad made of fruits and vegetables was placed on the plate in abundance. The meal ended with a carton of milk, butter, and a soft-looking dinner roll.

The two sat down at the table, picked up their forks, and looked at their plates. The food looked so delicious that it was hard to believe it was school lunch.

“I have to take a picture of this.”

Click.

Click.

Kent takes out his iPhone and starts taking pictures. Otto nods and does the same.

Gulp.

My mouth was watering. Kent and Otto both picked up their forks at the same time and began to taste each piece of food.

“Wow! It’s delicious. It’s better than Halal Boys.”

Kent speaks in a screaming voice.

It looked similar to the menu from New York’s most popular food truck, but it tasted completely different.

The texture of each grain of rice was alive. It was similar to curry, but had a unique flavor that whetted my appetite. When I put salty and tender lamb on top and ate it with rice, I couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration.

Otto, who was usually terrified of vegetables, even tasted the carrots and onions.

Crunch crunch.

Kent, who said he had no appetite, eats his food frantically with his fork.

Crunchy.

The salad is fresh. Until now, all the fruit served in the cafeteria was canned, but today it was different. The freshly picked apples and soft bananas go well with the sweet and salty mayonnaise sauce.

“Catherine!”

Otto unconsciously called out to the principal who was watching from behind him.

“Why is that, Otto?”

She approaches me with a puzzled look and asks.

“Is this a special dish that’s only served today? Did Catherine call the chef?”

The students in the cafeteria turn their attention to Catherine. It seems they were curious too.

“Don’t worry. You’ll be eating this kind of food every day from now on.”

“Wow!”

“Really?”

“oh my god!”

The children cheer, relieved by Catherine’s words.

“Thank you Catherine!”

“Thank you, teacher!”

Catherine’s eyes turn red.

The sight of children throwing away their meals in the trash as soon as they received them was no longer there. The corners of her mouth went up at the sight of everyone happily enjoying their meals.

When she was in school in the 1960s, everyone looked forward to lunchtime. Thinking back now, it was a simple meal, but it was definitely tastier than the food she ate at home.

My heart swells with excitement as I see the same scene unfold before my eyes.

After she finished serving the food, she looked at Chef Shin Je-hee, who was also looking around at the children, and expressed her gratitude with a glance. He also smiled brightly and nodded in response.

It was the happiest lunch hour since Harper High School opened.

* * *

“Teacher! I need to go to the bathroom.”

In a literature class at the prestigious Srent High School in New York’s Bromwich neighborhood, another student raises his hand and complains of a stomachache.

“How many people are there? Did we eat something wrong as a group?”

William, a literature teacher, is furious. He strongly suspects that this is a trick by children who do not want to study.

“My stomach hurts so bad.”

William sighs.

“Hurry up and come back.”

As soon as the teacher gave permission, she got up quickly and ran to the bathroom.

He looks around the classroom. A third of the desks are empty. They are the seats of students who ran to the bathroom.

“Okay! Let’s continue with the lesson.

Today we will look at Benjamin Franklin’s autobiography. This book covers the narrator’s childhood and later years. From his childhood, Benjamin was an ambitious man. But why do we consider him such an important figure in American literature and history?”

Woof!

Suddenly, a student grabs his mouth and starts shaking.

“Stuart?”

Ugh.

Vomit pours down onto the desk.

Gyaaak.

Students screamed and ran away. But some students couldn’t. As if Stuart’s vomiting had triggered a chain reaction of two or three students vomiting.

“What… what is it?”

“Sylvia?”

“Holy shhh!”

William had a feeling that things were not going well.

“Everyone calm down. Terry! Go get the school nurse. The rest of you, get a rag.”

The students started to move. William quickly opened the window. As the fresh air came into the classroom, his head started to spin properly.

Doo do …

“Hey, Principal? This is William. I’m in class 2-B, and it looks like the kids have been suffering from food poisoning.”

-What? Okay, I understand. I’ll go down now, so wait.

“Shouldn’t I… call the police?”

-What are you talking about? Did someone pull out a gun?

“No. But if it’s food poisoning of this scale, it seems like there’s a problem with the food service. Shouldn’t we investigate?”

-Stop talking nonsense. Just wait and don’t do anything!

Stop.

Sweat runs down Principal Christopher’s forehead. He quickly searches through the address book on his phone and dials a number.

-This is Coen, in charge of commerce food sales.

“Listen. The school is in chaos right now because of the food you ate. It looks like there’s food poisoning. What are we going to do about it?

The principal speaks, holding the phone with trembling hands.

-How are you responding now?

“I told you to wait for now.”

-Good job. There is a protocol for emergency situations. First, send the students home and take them to the hospital. The cause of food poisoning is poor cooking by cafeteria staff. It is common for undercooked food to cause food poisoning.

Christopher’s trembling subsides as he speaks in a businesslike tone, as if nothing is going on.

“Can’t we just let it go quietly? Back in our day, we all got better after resting at home for a few days.”

If this becomes public, he may be punished. Above all, he had a corner that was stinging him.

– This is not the time. Students have probably already spread it all through SNS. We have a broadcasting company that we are partnering with. Reporters will be visiting the school soon, so please be proactive in interviewing them in advance.

Remember, it is an immature job. And our company only gave out subcontracts, so there is no direct connection, but we feel a moral responsibility and must tell them that we will pay all of the students’ hospital bills.

“Okay.”

As Cohen said, an ambulance arrived on campus shortly thereafter, followed by reporters.

Before other teachers or students could say anything useless, Christopher stepped forward and requested an interview.

“I came to you after receiving a report of a mass food poisoning incident at Srent High School. Is this true?”

Before long, two relay trucks were waiting outside the school gate. Fixed cameras were set up to film the students being loaded into the ambulances.

“That’s right. There were students complaining of stomachache during class, so it wasn’t an emergency, but we took action quickly.”

“Based on what we know now, it appears that hundreds of students are experiencing the same symptoms. What do you think is causing the problem?”

“There were reports from students that the chicken nuggets were undercooked. We quickly investigated and found that the testimony was true. They were undercooked. I strongly protested to the company and they promised to cover all of the students’ medical expenses.”

“So you’re saying there are no other problems?”

As if he had been warned in advance, the reporter did not pursue the question persistently.

“Yes. We provide students with only certified meals, as well as thorough hygiene management. However, I feel a deep sense of responsibility for the unfortunate accident that occurred unintentionally. I failed to properly inspect the situation. I would like to take this opportunity to apologize.”

When everything went as Coen had said, Christopher was finally able to feel relieved.

There was a brief news report about a mass food poisoning outbreak at a high school due to poor cooking in the cafeteria.

The company that produced the problematic chicken nuggets stated that the product had undergone normal certification, and the original supplier, Commerce Foods, emphasized its moral responsibility by saying that it would pay not only the students’ hospital bills but also consolation money.

Some of the protesting students and parents were contacted individually by lawyers hired by the company and reached an agreement.

And a few days later, inspectors from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) were dispatched. Of course, they had connections to commerce food.

“It turns out that the cause of food poisoning is poor cooking. I will conclude my report here.”

Matthew, senior director of commerce foods, smiles at the inspector’s words.

Food-related illness is common in the United States, with 50 million people experiencing food poisoning each year and more than 3,000 of them dying.

But this time, because it was a food poisoning incident that occurred on campus, there were concerns that public opinion would turn against it, but it seemed that it could be contained with minimal damage through appropriate intervention.

“We will manage this thoroughly to ensure that this never happens again.”

“There will be an official warning. Be prepared for a fine, which is unavoidable.”

The inspector pretends to be a cautionary note and informs them of the punishment they will receive. And so the food poisoning incident seems to be over.

* * *

Beep, beep.

A monitor next to the bed emits a muffled sound, indicating the patient’s unstable condition.

Elise, who had a heart condition, often missed school. Food poisoning that she had while at school caused an inflammatory reaction in her blood vessels, putting a lot of strain on her heart.

But the food poisoning incident was officially over, and the connection between her heart condition and the food poisoning would be determined by the skills of her lawyer. And he knew full well that individuals could not defeat corporations.

Kevin’s face is blank as he holds his daughter’s hand.

He looked at his daughter with a strange expression of guilt and anger, then pressed the space bar on his laptop.

[A mass food poisoning outbreak occurred at a high school in New York. The cause of the problem was chicken nuggets, and the poor cooking skills of a cafeteria worker almost led to a terrible situation.]

A star-shaped chicken nugget appears briefly on the screen and then passes by. It was a product made in the factory where he works.