Chapter 1: For the culinary school

(Zane POV)

"My mom would also like a chocolate pecan cake and a peppermint panna cotta." Sasha said.

"Alright, will that be all?"

"Yes, that's all, thanks Zane."

Yeah, you got it, aside from being a student, I work as a dessert maker for my friends and classmates as a sideline. It's basically to earn money for college. My mom would have been proud to see me striving and being independent in working my way out of misery.

I still remember what she said about finishing school.

"It will be great for you résumé."

"It will remove you out of this miserable life."

"It still pays to have a college degree."

Yes, those are all very mom things to say. Though, I never regretted what I did because of her. She basically taught me the value of education and how far you can go with all your knowledge. That is exactly why I am determined to apply for college culinary school. I wanted to study pastries and all types of dessert and maybe establish my own patisserie with my own brand and logo. That would be so cool.

The timer suddenly went off and the oven dinged.

I stood up to attend to my goodies. I put on my cow puppet-like gloves and cautiously opened the oven for me to take out the freshly baked batch of cupcakes and cookies I made for the people in school who ordered it.

Oh yeah, just when I thought I was done, I still have to bake Sasha's mother's cake and make her a Panna cotta.

I sighed.

For the culinary school, Zane. For the culinary school

I kept chanting to myself to keep my enthusiasm alive, as I started boiling a cream and chopping up pecans.

--

"I'm sorry, Zane! My mom forgot that she's allergic to pecans. Can you instead make us a chocolate cake with strawberry compote?"

I felt like my stomach is tied into a knot at this point. Will I survive the night? I can't believe that I have to start all over again. I was basically at the finishing touches already when Sasha called and had to reorder.

"Sure." I let out a sigh of frustration before hanging up.

It's probably not even her mother. It's probably just her who changed her mind at the last minute.

Anyway, there might still be an upside for this pecan cake. I can probably sell this to our counselor, Ms. Janelle. That's right. Ms. Janelle has been a dear to me ever since my mom died. She has prioritized me over any other students just to make sure I had a good recovery from the trauma after her demise. Even though I told her that one can never recover from one's death, one just learns to live with it, she still continues our counselling sessions for her to help me cope with grief a lot better.

It did help somehow. She told me that yoga or meditation can contribute largely to our overall aura and energy, which I cannot deny.

"Listen to sounds of nature in Youtube. Pretend that you are in a peaceful forest with birds chirping right above you and gazelles leaping over you. Indulge the feeling of being serene and calm, then suddenly, a rain came pouring over you. The rain made vines grow out of your skin until you are fully covered by it. Those vines represent your bottled up emotions, sorrow, grief and every unwanted pain. Days have passed and vines keep on growing until it made you look like a bush already. Finally, once you have attained a sense of tranquility, raise both your arms and pretend that you are breaking out of that bush, completely renewed."

At first, I don't want to believe it but when I gave it a try, my cynicism disappeared. It really did help with my mood and behavior. Every time I finish my meditation, there is this odd feeling of being carefree and secure all the time. I have nothing to think about and I would just bake and make desserts in the time being.

Speaking of desserts, I decided to look inside of my refrigerator to see if there are still strawberries left. Lo and behold, I am out of luck.

Suck a duck!

What do I do? Should I tell Sasha? Should I just scrap this order? No, that would be called "giving up".

How about I go to the farmer's market early in the morning tomorrow so I can make this cake as soon as possible? Perfect, my class doesn't start before 10. I can still make it but in the meantime, I have to check if my panna cotta has set. Wish me luck.

I opened the fridge and I started poking at the surface to see if it has a gelatin-like consistency. Lo and behold, it has and it also made a slight jiggle. Phew. Thank God!

--

"It's still warm." I said as I handed the half-gallon sized tin can filled with chocolate cake, followed by the panna cotta in a sealed plastic cup to Sasha.

"Thanks Zane! You truly are the best."

"Don't mention it." I smiled before walking away to deliver my goodies to the students who ordered it. I went to the boys' locker room and hollered.

"One box of cupcakes over here, who ordered it?"

I then gawked immediately at what I saw, what it looks to be like a naked jock on top of a naked Haley Sparks, the so-called queen B with a brain that's a size of a pea.

"Do you mind?" Haley said, obviously annoyed.

"There's a place for that, you know. You can't blame me for entering. Now, who ordered this?" I asked.

"Um…our team captain did but you can leave it on that bench over there, if you like." The jock said, not bothering to get up. I rolled my eyes and left the cupcakes on the bench, but not before getting paid.

"Someone's going to have to pay me." I said.

The jock grouchily removed himself from Haley and retrieved his wallet from his locker.

"How much?"

"20 dollars"

He then handed the money before returning to Haley to do their business. I quickly dashed out of the room, feeling my eyeballs burning from that atrocious sight. I then delivered the cookies to the student council's room. I knocked thrice and it was answered by a tall and curly haired guy, then it hit me. It's actually Kurt, the student body president that I have been crushing on. Words quickly got stuck in my throat.

"Oh…um…well…cookies?" I stuttered.

"You're Zane, right? I spoke with you on the phone regarding the cookies that I ordered. Sasha was the one who referred you to me." He said.

"Yep, here it is." I said as I handed it.

"How much?"

"20 dollars"

I waited while he takes out a bill from his wallet. After handing me 20 dollars, I then made my way to Ms. Janelle's room to give her my chocolate pecan cake personally.

As I arrived in front of her room, I saw that there was a note saying "Ms. Janelle is in a meeting."

Bummer.

Anyway, I still decided to enter her room and just wait there. How long can it be? As I took myself in, I noticed that the lights are still on. She must have been in a hurry that she forgot to turn off the lights. Her air conditioning system is also on and her notebook is wide open.

Since I am like an "Alice in Wonderland" curious, I decided to have a look. There are student names listed all over with a few notes and annotations. This must be what a typical counselor's book looks like. I tried to find my name and as soon as I saw what was written about me, I felt like crying.

"Zane – has the most drastic improvement out of everyone, he is learning to cope with his loss in a healthy and productive way, and his transformation is very astounding."

Am I doing that well already? I could never tell. Maybe I am too hard on myself or maybe…

"Zane!" Ms. Janelle came in.

"Oops."

"What are you doing here?"

"Giving you this chocolate pecan cake." I smiled awkwardly, trying to not let her know what I just did.

"Zane, thank you but…"

"But?"

"I'm allergic to pecans."