Chapter 6

I looked up to my station. There was a new student there. It was unusual to get transfers in college, but it still happened. Her apron was pressed and didn’t have any wrinkle in sight. Her hair was pushed back, so shiny and straight, not frizzy or unkempt like mine usually was.

What I would have done for hair like that when I was a teenager. As I got older, I learned how to better take care of my curls, but today was a lazy day. I looked down at my apron to a stubborn grease stain from our pan sauce demo last week.

I was really starting to regret my lazy day stance right about now.

The new student’s brown eyes met mine for just a moment before she looked me up and down as if sizing me up. She was a little taller than me, but I blame that on getting my height from mi mama. Why did she have to be so short?

“Nice of you to join us, Astrid,” the head chef said pointedly before turning to his TA to get the materials ready for class.

I hesitantly walked up to the new girl. “Hey, um, I’m sorry but this is my station.”

“I didn’t see your name on it. Did I miss it somewhere?” she asked like she knew the answer.

“N-no, I just…” I trailed off.

The head chef looked back at us and said, “Rodriguez, there’s a station free next to her.”

I looked at the new girl for a moment and ducked my head to go over to my new station. It was a little closer to the front so that was fine. I get my station ready and set out my knives.

The head chef turned to address the class. “Today, we will be breaking down whole chickens into two breasts, two thighs, two drumsticks, two tenderloins, and two wings. Everyone be sure to sharpen your knives and greet our new student, Isabella Perez.”

I pulled out my sharpener and got to work sharpening my knife for today’s demo. I tried to be polite and said, “Welcome to the class, Isabella. It’s a lot of fun.”

Isabella looked over at me and rolled her eyes. “Oh, I’m sure.”

The TA handed out chickens while the head chef demonstrated how to break it down the fowl and I swear he did it in about sixty seconds. He made it look so easy.

I struggled a bit with getting all the meat off of the breastbone. It certainly didn’t help that Isabella was eyeing me the whole time. I did my best to ignore her gaze and focus on my work. Overall, I knew I still had much to learn, but I kept a positive mindset. Practice makes perfect.

The head chef came by our stations to access our work.

“I have to say, I’m impressed. Minimal waste and prefect, beautiful pieces of chicken. Job well done, Perez,” the head chef commended. He came over to look at mine and in comparison, hers looked way better than mine. “It’s a little rough around the edges. You left a little too much on the backbone. Overall, not bad.”

“Thank you, chef,” I replied. Once he passed by, I leaned over to Isabella and said, “Good job. Your cuts look great.”

I could have sworn I heard her scoff and look over my cutting board. “We all have to start somewhere, don’t we?”

“Wow. Okay,” I muttered and looked away from her.

“What? Don’t be so sensitive,” Isabella countered under her breath while head chef examined the other students.

I didn’t reply.

“Deaf, too?”

The head chef walked back to the front of the room.

“I just want to pay attention to the—” I started.

“Have something to say for the whole class, Rodriguez?” the head chef asked.

I blushed and cleared my throat. “No, chef. Sorry, chef.”

I saw Isabella smirk from the corner of my eye. I bit my tongue. I bit it hard. I begrudgingly kept my mouth shut for the rest of the class, ignoring all of Isabella’s little comments.

When class ended, I stayed behind a little longer. The students are responsible for their own dishes, but that still left the TA with some extra work.

By the time I left, the building was quiet. The history class had let out, some of the lights were off. A little creepy, sure, but I finally had some peace and quiet from little two-cent backhanded comments. It made me seethe to even think about it.

I put in one earbud to listen to some music to soothe my frustration on the walk back.

“…need to leave, Claude,” I heard a voice say from the corner of the building.

It was Rowan. That was enough to splash some cold water on that temper of mine.

The disagreement was steadily getting more and more heated. This Claude was lanky and a little smaller than Rowan was. Somehow, despite being slightly shorter, he seemed more intimidating. Feral, even. Maybe he was on something? I reached down and put my hand on my phone.

Rowan was cornered, definitely angry. He looked furious.

It was nothing like how he had looked at me before. If that wasn’t anger, then I don’t know what that was. However, I found it hard to be afraid of him. I took out my earbud, listening closely to what was being said. Neither of them had seen me yet.

“If you won’t come willingly, then I will drag you back,” Claude threatened. His voice was dark and booming. He had dirty blonde hair and these crazy-looking eyes that could’ve been completely black. My hand gripped my phone, finger hovering over the SOS button.

“I’d like to see you try,” Rowan warned.

“Your family is giving you the world and what? You’re here pursuing a f*king geography degree?” Claude was getting visibly angrier. His hands were tightening into fists.

“History.” Rowan countered. “You need to leave. Go home.” Even though he looked upset, his tone was cool and collected. He pushed past Claude with his shoulder.

Claude grabs Rowan by his collar, yanking him over. I could have pressed the SOS button right then and there, but I didn’t. I don’t know what came over me, or why I cared, but suddenly I shouted, “Only students are allowed on campus!”

When Claude’s eyes snapped to me, I wanted to hide. Something about him made me want to shrink away and pretend I didn’t see or say anything. But I didn’t. I stood there, staring him down all the same. I swore that he was going to come at me any second.

Rowan yanked Claude’s hand off of him and shoved him in my opposite direction. “Go home,” Rowan ordered once more.

Claude looked back at me, his lips upturning into a snarl. He glanced at Rowan and hissed, “Fine.”

Then he was gone. My hand relaxed off of my phone.

My shoulders slouched and I shrugged off the shiver that tiptoed down my spine. I nervously tucked my hair behind my ear and looked up. Rowan’s shoulders seemed to stiffen a little before relaxing. “Are you okay?” I asked.

He tilted his head to the side as if confused by my question. “Yes, I’m okay. Are you?”

I nodded. “That guy was a little intense, but I’m okay.”

Rowan looked behind him to where Claude had left. He glanced back at me. “Can I walk you back to your dorm?”

It was in my nature to refuse any help immediately, even if I wanted it. “Oh, I’ll be fine. I should get going.”

He took two long strides up to me. His sapphire eyes observed me for a moment. He insisted, “It’s almost eleven, it’s dark and it’s unsafe for you to be walking alone. Please let me walk you back.”

I cleared my throat and mumbled, “Maybe it’s a little dark.” I paused. “Okay. Sure.”

Rowan seemed content with my answer. My dorm wasn’t terribly far. Considering that I normally did this walk alone, it was nice to have some company.

Especially company that looked like Rowan.

Blood rushed up to my face as I glanced at him through my eyelashes. I was struggling to find something to talk about while I pushed up my glasses.

Thankfully, it was Rowan that broke the silence.

“It’s a little late to get out of class,” he commented.

“I was just helping the TA clean up after our skill drill today. Lots of dirty counters.”

Rowan chuckled deep in his throat. “I bet. What do you do in a culinary skills class?”

“You know, just deboning chickens and learning the importance of a pan sauce. All the good stuff,” I replied, starting to feel more comfortable around him.

“That beats a lecture any day.”

“I don’t know. I kind of miss a good ol’ lecture,” I countered. It was true that lectures were boring, but at least they were predictable.

“Oh yeah? You used to be a history teacher, right?”

“Yeah, I taught second graders. It may not be as prestigious as getting a master’s degree, but I enjoyed it,” I replied.

“Are you kidding? That’s really awesome. Why’d you leave?” Rowan asked curiously.

I didn’t reply right away. I couldn’t help my face fall as I thought about why I left. I didn’t like to talk about it.

“I didn’t mean to hit a nerve. You don’t have to tell me, it’s none of my business,” Rowan said, his tone sincere.

I looked up at him as we walked up to my building. “It’s okay. I just needed a change. To do something completely different,” I replied.

Rowan opened the door for me and followed me inside. “I can understand that. Do you like it?”

I answered confidently, “I really do.” I paused as we got to the elevator. “Enough about me. What’s your history focus?”

I watched the corner of Rowan’s mouth tilt up for a moment before he replied. “I don’t want to bore you.”

“You won’t.”

This time, I caught Rowan off guard. He rubbed the back of his neck. “Um, I have a focus in ancient history. I’m really interested in the passing down of legends and mythology through time.”

“That’s really cool, Rowan,” I responded genuinely. We made it to my dorm, and I said, “Let’s talk about it sometime.”

That must’ve been the first time I had seen him so flustered. He rubbed the back of his neck again before he said, “I would like that.”

“Cool,” I gestured to my dorm door and started unlocking it. “Well, this is me, so um,” I paused, a thought popping into my head. “Jessica is having a party at the beginning of spring break. Would you like to come?”

“I didn’t take you for a party-goer,” Rowan observed.

I snorted a laugh, “Oh, I’m really not. But Jessica is and someone needs to keep an eye on her.”

Rowan smiled and replied, “I’ll think about it.”

“Then, I guess, I’ll see you later.”

“I guess you will,” Rowan countered, a teasing smile tugging at his lips. I finished unlocking the door and when it swung open, both Rowan and I saw Jessica and James getting very comfortable on her bed.