Chapter 1589
Chapter 1589 Feeling Awful
With Gideon, the master in half-hearted cover-ups, no longer around, the sudden inspections brought light to the long-standing issue that had been conveniently ignored.
The problems that had festered within the school became evident the moment the group stepped into the cafeteria.
No one said a word at first. They watched as the cafeteria staff poured something from a pot. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be leftover tomato soup.
But that wasn't the most shocking part-what was truly disturbing was the sour smell emanating from the soup. It had clearly gone bad, yet the staff were reheating it to serve it again.
A glance further into the kitchen revealed even worse. The hygiene standards were appalling. Forget masks-one of the cooks was smoking while adding oil to a large pan to stir-fry vegetables.
Fredric's expression dimmed before Lucas could even react.
The kitchen staff eventually noticed the group watching. One of them dropped the ladle with a loud clang before yelling, "What are you all doing here? Don't you know that outsiders aren't allowed in here?"
While other high schools had undergone regular inspections, Mindcrest High School had somehow always managed to dodge them. Whenever they needed to present something, it was staged for photoshoots. Hence, no one in the kitchen ever expected a real inspection to happen.
This was especially true for the man, Aiden Valencia, running the cafeteria. Aiden was part of the Valencia family and a direct relative of Gideon. This made him believe that he was untouchable.
But unlike the clueless kitchen staff, Aiden recognized the gravity of the situation and rushed over as fast as he could.
Even faster was the school's administrator, David Harris. He was sweating profusely as he ran to greet the group. "Mr. Paley, this isn't how things usually are in the kitchen. I swear, today's just an exception. Maybe it's just that..."
David only recognized Samuel Paley and hadn't seen any of the other officials before. But noticing that Samuel could only stand in the back, David instantly realized the severity of the situation-their school was in deep trouble this time!
"Maybe? Maybe what?" Samuel pointed at the pot of the tomato soup, his hands shaking in anger. "Why are you reheating something that has already gone bad? You guys are allowing children to eat this? Tell me, would you allow your own kids to eat this?"
Samuel was beyond furious. As someone responsible for overseeing education, he had
always believed that his work was for the betterment of students.
But now, something like this had been happening under his very nose. "All of you! Don't think you can brush this under the rug with a few words!"
As he spoke, he lifted his head to look at Lucas. "This is my mistake. Mindcrest High School clearly needs a thorough investigation!"
Everything they'd been presented with before had painted a rosy picture. Samuel's mouth felt dry as he continued, "The last time I was here with Mr. Monty, the cafeteria served ten dishes and a soup.
"Everything was fresh, and they even made accommodations for students who don't eat meat by offering a separate vegetarian menu. I personally tasted every dish. I never would have imagined they were capable of such deception!"
Parents paid for their children to eat at this cafeteria, and no parent would tolerate their child eating this kind of "food". Even the meat in the kitchen was questionable no one could say for sure what kind of meat it even was.
Lucas remained composed, his steady gaze falling on Fredric. "Mr. Monty, what's your take on this?"
Fredric was not expecting to be singled out at this moment. He had hoped to avoid any attention from Lucas. But he had never anticipated that this would be the very moment he'd stumbled.
"Yes, an investigation must be carried out. The safety of the school's food is paramount-it concerns the health of every child here." Fredric feigned outrage as he continued, "People who make money through such unscrupulous means must be punished severely!"