Chef Jake delivered on his promise when he said he talked to "his friend" and got me a job. Saturday morning I received a call from an unknown number and a pleasant woman greeted me before telling me I was hired. 

At first, I couldn't comprehend what the lady on the other end was saying, it was way too early to be receiving calls. As she started to explain, I shot out of bed and showered in mere minutes. Sophia was still sleeping, so I sent her a text as I sat in the tube taking me to the other side of town.

Mia Margherita was a four star restaurant with an expensive menu that I couldn’t afford, but the silver lining?  Their patrons tipped well. Located in Notting Hill, it was surrounded by markets selling antiques and vintage fashion. There were also other high end restaurants, pubs and boutiques. 

My eyes took in the beauty of Notting hill, which was known for its bright buildings and the streets were always filled with tourists shopping and exploring.

Trying to find  my way around the beautiful city, I wrecked my brain for any information the lady had given me over the phone. Being half asleep when I answered didn’t do me any favors.  I surveyed the surrounding restaurants and cafés around me, and just as I was about to give up I saw the familiar name she had mentioned.

Mia Margherita (My daisy)

I walked to the entrance, when a lady walking past the doors saw me, and stopped  opening the door slightly before asking, "Hi, are you by any chance Amara?" 

Bewildered, I wondered if she was a psychic. I must have looked silly, standing  without replying before she clarified. "Miss Jane told me to expect a young woman around 10 o'clock?" She smiled warmly. 

"Sorry, yes, I'm Amara. You just caught me off guard."

The woman whose tag displayed the name Cathy, let me in before closing the door, and guided us to the host who stood when she saw  me following. She was wearing black dress pants, white shirt and black short blazer, her brown hair neatly put in a bun. Cathy dialed a few numbers of the phone by her stand and spoke softly into the receiver.

"Beth will be with you in a moment, you can sit while you wait." She pointed at the many tables around us.

“Thank you.”

I decided to look around the enormous space. The gold tables were paired with beautiful turquoise blue and nude armchairs. Chandeliers hung from the vaulted ceilings with beautiful gold lights, but what took my breath away was the floor to ceiling windows, allowing natural light to shine through. I could only imagine how beautiful the view must be during the night.

Still taking in the mesmerizing interior a voice called out behind me. "Miss Scott, I'm so glad you could come at such short notice. I am Beth." The elegant lady said, holding her hand out for a handshake.

"Please call me Amara, and thank you for giving me this opportunity." I shook her hand.

"No problem. We are short staffed, so Jake's call came in at the right moment. Please follow me to my office so we can talk more privately." 

Everyone seemed so polite and kind. I followed Beth to an office at the back of the restaurant. felt surreal to be here. When Chef Jake said he would help me look for a part time job, I figured it would be  somewhere small-scale, not a fine dining restaurant. Not that I was complaining.

Upon reaching a door with a plaque written manager, Beth opened it and asked me to enter, offering me a seat near a big polished table. Her office wasn't too big, and seemed to fit her well.

A PC, a few framed pictures and a vase filled with white roses sat on her desk. It was clear she was  very organized. Unlike Ms. Ellen, Beth's office was clean and stacks of papers didn’t cover every inch of it.

"As I said on the phone, we are looking for a waitress. Jake said waitressing isn't your forte, but we are short staffed and perhaps after a few weeks you will help the Chef’s in the kitchen,” she explained politely.

"I'll be happy wherever you place me, I’m just grateful to be here."

"Jake sings your food praises, so I'm sure you will fit in perfectly."

The compliment surprised me, I didn't know Chef Jake had so much faith in me. He has only tasted my food a handful of times, was that enough to impress him? Regardless, I was happy he vouched for me.

"Normally, we begin with training, and then give you a day or two to go over your contract, but unfortunately I'm going to need you to start today...Do you think you can manage?" She asked, apprehension pulling the corners of her eyes.

"I have experience waitressing so it shouldn’t be any problem. As for the contract I can go through it this weekend and bring it back during the week." I beamed.

Starting today was exactly what I needed. All  she had to do was  tell me where to go and I was good to go.

"Excellent! I will have your contract ready before you leave. Jake provided me with your school schedule for this month, and I will try to work around it, so you don't miss out on school." Beth said warmly.

Tears began to fill my eyes., No one except for my mum, the Reigns and Soph has ever made me feel like I belonged, and this moment right now tugged at my heart. Chef Jake went out of his way to help me, and now  Beth was doing the same. This is where I definitely needed to be.

"Thank you, Mrs. Beth." 

"Don't mention it, and please call me Beth. Anything other than that makes me feel ancient." She said, making me laugh.

"Here is your uniform, I hope it's the right size.” She handed me the uniform and pointed at the door on her right. “You can use my bathroom so that I can hand you a different size if it's not fitting you." 

I stood and went to the bathroom door she had just pointed at, and opened the door to the bathroom. “Amara?” Beth called out, stopping me in my tracks.

"I forgot to mention, if you work hard and impress us, there’s an opportunity for an internship at the end of your studies." Beth stated with a kind smile.

Beth gave me a tour and introduced me to everyone on duty. The restaurant opened its doors at 11 AM, so I didn’t have a lot of time to go over their menu and take note of how their kitchen worked.

As soon as we opened, the restaurant filled up with patrons who came to eat brunch. My colleagues were polite and helpful whenever I needed them, making my first day run smooth.

By the end of my first shift, my muscles were stiff and my feet ached . As soon as I walked through the front door, I was welcomed by the delicious aroma of food and sweet goodies Sophie was baking in the oven.

"Hey! I ran you a bath when you told me you are getting off the tube, go soak yourself and I will let you know when dinner is ready." 

"Sophie! I love you, but you know you didn’t have to, right?”

"I know, but I wanted to. This is my way of congratulating you on your new job,” she said smiling. “ Now, shoo-shoo, off you go.” 

"I cooked Mac and cheese, and made some chocolate brownies for you and chocolate chip cookies for me. Don't take too long." Soph shouted after me as I salivated at the thought of food.

My body relaxed the instant I submerged into the warm water filled with salts. It felt like heaven. Sophia thought of everything, all that was missing was scented candles and a glass of wine, but this was great. 

I’ll have to make it up to Soph, she deserves some spoiling for doing all this.

        ~~~~~~~~~~😐~~~~~~~~~~

You know how your body reacts due to what was going on in your mind? Almost like it was in perfect sync with your thoughts and emotions even when you try your best to separate the two? Well, yes your body takes orders, verbal and nonverbal from your brain.

As soon as my eyes opened, I knew it wasn't going to be a good day. For years now, Valentine's Day has become just another day to my mum and I. After grieving for so long I wanted today to be different even though I wasn’t feeling like it. 

It felt like he had died, yet he was healthy and living his ‘best’ life.

Luckily, I had something else to look forward to; we had a cooking competition today and I needed to be on my game. I couldn't afford to get distracted. Not even my father deserved that much attention from me. 

Taking a deep breath, I got out of bed to get ready for the day. I was hellbent on making it through the day without much of a hiccup. But luck wasn’t on my side because my period decided today was a perfect day to pay me a visit.

It's just another day Amara!

It was impossible not to worry about Mum. I used to wish she would forget about my father and move on, but even after eleven years she was still single. Sometimes I wondered if she still loved him.

Two hours later in class, I was hunched over my work station writing down what to cook with the main ingredients we were given to work with. We were tasked with  cooking a three course meal. We had 30 minutes to prepare and cook the appetizers, 50 minutes for the main course and 45 minutes for dessert. 

My pulse raced, drawing a blank on what to make. ,The ingredients presented to us were messing with my head.  I scanned over the ingredients for the millionth time: salmon, goat cheese,  and figs.  My classmates were already well into their appetizers while I was still stuck.

I’m going to have to make up time quickly.

Glancing at the clock on the wall, I only had 25 minutes left and decided to head to the pantry, hoping that would stimulate my brain. I grabbed cucumber, horseradish cream, some herbs, lemon, crème fraîche, a loaf of ciabatta, virgin olive oil and punnet cress to prepare my appetizers. 

Rushing back to my work station, I worked quickly to get started. . I cut the loaf of bread into four slices then toasted, and moved on to   mix horseradish cream with crème fraîche, then added a pinch of salt and black pepper. Next I cut a lemon in half to squeeze juice into the mixture, I mix until it’s the consistency I need.

Once my toast was ready, I placed each slice on a plate and drizzled them with olive oil, topping them with smoked salmon. To finish off, I spooned a dollop of horseradish crème fraîche on top of each toast and added a punnet of cress.

"Chefs, you have less than five minutes on the clock; start plating."

Looking over  my plates, there was something missing. I quickly grabbed the other half of the lemon and squeezed on top of each dish, and drizzled more olive oil again. Happy with my work, I wiped off the plates and washed my hands then cleaned up my work station. 

The judges started counting down the last seconds.

Soon after, we presented our dishes to the judges one by one. As they munched over the yummy looking food, they jotted down notes.

"It's now time to prepare the main course. Your time starts now." Announced the host.

 The kitchen filled with different aromas coming from everyone’s work stations. For my main course, I prepared grilled lemon chicken and asparagus. I kept running around like a headless chicken looking for the perfect plates to use and realized one of my classmates was using them. I found different ones  and started plating.

This is why I always picked my plates before cooking!

This frustrated me to no end as I was always on top of my game, but today I felt like a fish out of water. As the judges switched plates to taste my meal, I wished I could read their minds, but their faces remained neutral,  giving nothing away.

When they finished tasting everyone’s meals, we were given the go ahead to start our  desserts. I made fig and goat cheese ice cream e, which turned out to be the highlight of my three courses.

           ~~~~~~~~~~🍨🍗~~~~~~~~~~

By the time we were done with the cooking test, all I wanted was to go home and sleep. The medicine I had taken for cramps this morning had worn off and I was starting to feel pain. 

"Let's go eat, I'm hungry." Sophia whined as I followed her to the door.

We had two hours to ourselves while another group from our class was having their cooking session. I wished they dismissed us for the day, instead of telling us to wait till the next batch was done.

We sat in the campus cafeteria and ate sandwiches she made this morning. She made a tuna sandwich for herself and chicken mayo for me. I was starving after not having breakfast. My nerves wouldn’t let me stomach anything and had no appetite.

"Thank you for this." I gestured to  the sandwich in my hand. "It's yummy."

"I'm just glad you are eating, since you didn't eat this morning." Soph bit into her sandwich, giving me a wary look.

I could tell she had something to say, but she stayed quiet. "What's on your mind?" 

Her eyes were fixated on  her sandwich contemplating if she should say what was on her mind. Unlike April, Soph took the time to think before speaking. I liked that about her. As much as I loved April's sharp tongue, it often got her in trouble.

"Out with it already!" 

"Have you called your mum?" She asked softly.

"Not yet, she was working a night shift last night. I will call her later, though she hates when I fuss about her." I answered after a while.

"I admire her strength." I told her, finishing my sandwich. "She put her pain aside and sacrificed all she could to provide me with a happy life." 

"Do you ever think of him?" Soph’s voice was quieter, almost like she was afraid of my reaction. .

For a while I did think of him, even blamed myself for his departure. There weren’t any cracks in my parents' marriage that I could remember and it made sense when I was younger that he left because he was tired of me. I was a mischievous child, always keeping my parents on their toes. A month before he left I was almost suspended at school for tying Emily James's pigtails to a chair.

My mother was at the hospital in surgery that day, leaving the school no choice but to call my father. He was angry he had to beg the principal and Emily's mother to spare me, with promises that I would help my teachers with whatever they needed in class. Later that evening, I heard him and mum quarreling about my behavior.

"Not anymore than I have to. He has his new family. I'm a nobody to him and he is a nobody to me." I wiped at the  angry tears I hadn’t noticed falling from my eyes, before standing  to throw the sandwich wrapper away. I searched for my medicine to take  and swallowed two with water.

“Five years ago, my mother found out my father had an illegitimate child.  She was born a few months before me. My mom  was so heartbroken, she almost died in a car accident. So, I understand your anger. That’s one of the reasons my dad and I no longer get along.” Sophie shared willingly, for the first time.

“I’m sorry to hear that, Soph.”

She nodded and we silently went to the kitchen we were using earlier to clean up and put away ingredients in the pantry. One of the students played music on her phone and we danced and sang along as we cleaned and put everything where it belonged. Love on the Brain by Rihanna was currently playing and I sang along as I grabbed a broom from Casey, one of our classmates.

It beats me black and blue
But it fucks me so good
And I can't get enough
Must be love on the brain

It keeps cursing my name
No matter what I do 
I'm not good without you
And I can't get enough
Must be love on the brain..

I sang loudly as I danced, using the broom as an imaginary dance partner., When  I opened my eyes,my classmates were no longer singing along. They were busy  cleaning their work stations wearing guilty looks on their faces. When Sophi’s gaze flickered in my direction,  the look in her eyes told me all I needed to know.

Someone was behind me, and knowing my luck, it was probably Chef Jake or the strict professor from sanitation class. Slowly, I glanced toward  the door and just as I guessed, Chef Jake was leaning against the doorframe,watching my little show.

"I hope you did well today, because I would hate to see you bunch as singers and dancers next year. With voices and moves like that, you wouldn't last a day in the entertainment industry." 

The jab was definitely meant for me. I wondered how long he had been standing at the door, watching me.

Argh! I hated how he had me questioning myself lately.