Chapter 3

All the student chefs were standing in front of the boards, looking for their results. These students were part of Patisserie Art Academy. It was the biggest Academy in Durban. The Academy had so many options that students could do like sugar sculpture, tempering chocolate, and many other amazing things in Patisserie. That was why most of the students came to this Academy. Riya and her three friends, Holly Taylor, Aliya Essop, and Lucas Reddy, were standing in the middle of the crowd. They were waiting for their turn to see their results. Holly was getting impatient that Lucas could not stand it. She was even jumping like that was going to help her to see her results. Every time she jumped, she was knocking her elbow on Riya's shoulder.

"Child, hold your horses. We are almost there.", Riya said while massaging her shoulder.

"I can't help it. My parents are going to buy me a cake that will have 'passed or failed on it. I need to know my results before they buy the cake.", Holly said then carried on jumping.

Aliya was also getting slightly irritated by the jumping. "Well, my parents will take me out for dinner if I pass.", she spoke then looked at Lucas. "What do you do when you achieve something?", she asked him.

"My brother will take me to the nightclub with our cousins. We drink and drink until we pass out.", he said. "I hope I pass. I didn't drink alcohol for ten days and I need a drink."

Riya shook her head and then looked at the front. They were getting closer to the boards. The other student chefs were screaming after seeing their results. They were not happy about the results, they were happy that they did not need to come back to this place anymore. Riya and her three friends were now by the boards. Their names were put according to the lecturers who taught them and their surnames, alphabetically. Aliya's name was on the top of the page, Riya's name was in the middle, and Lucas and Holly's names were at the bottom. Aliya started jumping for joy when she saw her results. Riya walked normally after seeing her results. Lucas and Holly were hugging each other and they were jumping at the same time. Riya and Aliya were watching them with their arms crossed. Lucas and Holly were still hugging each other.

"Hey!", Riya called for them. Lucas and Holly looked at their friends. Riya and Aliya lifted their arms in the air by their shoulders. "We also passed.", she pointed out.

"Well, we didn't know that you passed because you were walking normally.", Holly pointed out.

Riya felt slightly dumbfounded. "We passed our course."

The four of them ran into each other. They wrapped their arms around each other to create a group hug. The other people were looking at them weirdly. Riya released her friends.

"Eish, we finally made it. All we have to do is start working at our new jobs.", she spoke with happiness.

"Guys, I got accepted into The Rose Valley Hotel.", Aliya said with excitement.

Riya, Lucas, and Holly looked at her in confusion. "I got accepted there too.", they said together. The three of them looked at each other. "You also got accepted there too.", they said together. They were pointing their index fingers at each other.

Aliya was looking at her friends in confusion. "Hold on. So, all of us got accepted in The Rose Valley Hotel?", she asked to make sure and the three of them nodded. A smile appeared on Aliya's fair face. "That's great. We will be together again.", she said with excitement.

"Yeah. We can work together, eat together and go to those cafés. I want to try their desserts.", Lucas said.

"Oh and see The Forbidden City in Beijing.", Riya suggested.

"Yeah. Let's go the Starbucks to buy our regular orders.", Holly suggested.

They agreed on that. They were heading to Starbucks. As they were leaving, more student chefs were entering the building. Riya, Holly, Aliya, and Lucas came out of the large building. The area was quiet during the mornings. Most of the restaurants were still opening at eight o'clock in the morning. Starbucks was ten minutes away from the campus. Riya decided to have a conversation.

"Guys, guess who I saw on New Year's Day?", she asked her friends.

"Chris Brown.", Holly answered.

Riya looked at Holly. "No.", she corrected her.

"Aw.", she was sad.

"Kiara Perumal."

"That girl who used to be in the same school with you.", Lucas answered what he knew.

"Correct.", Riya gave him a thumbs up.

"Yes. Now I should have two shots of tequila for getting that right.", he whispered.

"Was she the one who dated three boys in grade eleven?", Aliya asked Riya.

"Yep."

"What did she want from you?", Holly asked.

Riya took a deep breath and then let it out. "She came to the café then we bumped into each other. She must say my name out loud like she wanted the entire world to know my name. But the one thing that put me off. I told her that I left the make-up industry to try something. Guess what she told me? She had too horrible guts to say 'Why? They thought you were too dark?'. That was so insulting.", Riya was still salting about that.

"That's horrible. I still don't understand why people are still seeing color when we are living in the 21st century.", Holly said with some irritation.

"There are still people who want to be in that bubble. They don't want to come out of it to experience the new life.", Aliya said.

"We are sorry about what she said. You should know her by now that you will be hearing those comments from her.", Lucas said to Riya.

"I'm not worried. If she doesn't like the way she looks then that's not my problem. But I believe that people are handsome and beautiful the way they are. They don't need those make-up to make themselves look like those models in magazines. Being natural is the best.", Riya explained.

"Kids today are so insecure about the way they look and who they hang out with. There is too much bullying going around with schoolkids.", Holly said.

"You must also blame the upbringing. There are still parents who are teaching their children that wearing make-up and being thin is the best. The parents also spoil their kids. The kids also think that their parents' money would get them away from anything like bullying. Because those kids come from rich families, they can undermine other kids. That's so pathetic.", Riya added to the conversation.

"Certain people are just horrible.", Lucas concluded the conversation.

They were almost to their destination. Holly was busy messaging her parents about the cake. She wanted her parents to have a 'pass' on the cake. Aliya's parents messaged her that they were taking her to an Italian restaurant. Lucas was going to the nightclub with his brother and cousins. Riya was going to be at her apartment. She was going to start packing her things early. The four of them entered Starbucks. They were the first customers so far. Holly was now doing the ordering for everyone as she suggested. The other three were looking at the beach while they were waiting for Holly.