Fancy Food

Hi guys! This is chapter 4 of Coffee Shop! As I always, I hope you enjoy it. I'll probably post another thing about my personal life when I get home from Church. :) 

Fancy Food

Claire felt lost in such a huge place. Melanie had helped her pack a suitcase full of clothes from the guest bedroom. It was odd how they kept everything ready for a person who would never come. Ryan stood true to his word when he said that she wouldn’t be staying in a dormitory. She sat outside the dean’s office for the first time in her life. The halls smelled of pine and she felt nervous. The ballet flats that Melanie gave her squeaked against the wooden floors of the hallway. The dean’s office could hardly be called an office. It was a separate building all the way across the huge Quad where picnic tables and parasols were scattered about. Everything about this place cost a fortune. Claire looked at her paperwork, frantically trying to memorize the details of someone else’s life. 

“Claire, come in,” an assistant dean said. She walked in holding her breath. 

“Hello Miss Hoskins,” the dean said. The golden plaque merely said ‘dean’ on it. Claire squirmed in her seat wondering what he would ask. He took the paperwork from her and hurriedly looked over it. “I’d like you to know that we’re on your side, Miss Hoskins.” The dean paused to fidget a smile. Claire smiled back but she had no idea what he meant. 

“You’re not a regular student. I’m not quite sure how exactly you got admitted. You aren’t paying the regular fee and you aren’t a scholarship student either, Miss Hoskins,” the dean let out a sharp sigh. “Unfortunately, we can’t accommodate for you. This school is prestigious and if we accepted every ole Jane and Tom, we wouldn’t have this status. Now as I said before, we’re on your side. If you want to attend Le Cordon Bleu Academy, it is a wonderful place, you’ll have to work as staff and live where members of the staff live. It won’t be easy but that’s the only way we here can grant you a spot in our prestigious school.” Claire nodded her head eagerly. How bad could washing a couple dishes be? She couldn’t lose to Ryan this easy. 

“Well, I’m certainly happy that you’ve agreed to stay. Here’s your uniform. I’d get changed before the morning classes. Your schedule too, Miss Hoskins. Your normal schedule starts tomorrow. I’d get situated and learn all about our campus. I’m sure you’ll make a wonderful addition to our school. Here’s Mister Henry Berne to show you the way,” the dean said waving his hand goodbye. He was in an odd rush to have her out.  She nodded politely before following Henry out the door. The door closed promptly.  If she had lingered for just another second, her foot would’ve been caught under the door. Henry had auburn hair and a nice smile. He was wearing some sort of sweater vest. She held onto her brand new uniform and schedule and tried to keep up with his brisk pace. 

“So when did you start cooking? I’d love to try your petit fours or your éclairs,” he said. “You look very accomplished.” Claire tried to smile it off but didn’t know what to say. She couldn’t possibly tell him about the disaster with her cheese sandwich. 

“Um, I’m here to learn, like all of us, right?” He gave a weird glance. “I’m so excited to learn all about baking and er cooking and um yeah the culinary stuff.” 

“Well, all of us are very excited when it comes to cooking. You’re probably just overwhelmed. Where’s your dormitory? Most of the girls’ dormitories are on the east end but special students are over there,” Henry said. He took a moment to point at the glamorous shining building in the middle of a hedge garden. There was even a fountain placed near the entrance. Claire gaped and wondered who could afford living there. It looked like a hotel straight from heaven. “That’s where Vanessa Atkins lives, but you know I heard they were remodeling to fit two.” Did Henry think that she was living there? Is that why he was following her? No, that was silly.

“What a lucky girl, I think I’ve heard of Vanessa. I’m not living in a dorm though, Henry,” she said expecting sympathy. “It’s just my first day but the dean said something about working.” She didn’t know Vanessa was that well off. 

“Oh,” Henry said suddenly freezing up.  He looked a bit puce. “Come this way.” He started walking at the speed of a rocket. His leisurely tone had changed and he wasn’t pointing anything out anymore. He stopped at the cafeteria and adjusted his sweater vest. 

“This is the end,” he said frostily before waving to a group of people. She was all alone and looked around for a bathroom.  Claire saw them gazing at her with curiosity. A girl broke into laughter. Claire found the bathroom and looked down, avoiding all eye contact. She sat down with her back against the door trying to calm down. There had to be nicer people at this huge school. Claire started to change but felt worse when the itchy nylon brushed up against her skin. She could still here Henry talking about her, even with the door closed. Claire heard a knocking at the door and decided that she couldn’t stay here forever. 

“That’s the girl that works here,” Henry said pointing a finger at her. When she grudgingly came out, everyone had somehow found out about her situation. Claire was exempt from classes for the day and she walked into the room marked ‘staff only’. They glanced her over and did not make any introductions. There was an empty bed and she put her suitcase next to it. Tears started dripping down her face. Why had she wanted to come here? Right now, she wanted nothing more than to return to Marlene. Why wouldn’t anyone be her friend?

She fell asleep only to be woken up by seven. An old man was watching from his rocking chair and she felt scared. Were these the bad men that Marlene had told her about? There was another man, unshaven, who was holding a rolling pin. Claire felt her spine tingle with fear. 

“You sure spent a long time sleeping,” the man with rolling pin said. He pounded the rolling pin in his open man and a loud hollow sound echoed. “Dishes are yours.” He moved away and sat down on his own bed. 

“Those kids don’t know how to do anything,” a woman said as she walked in. She was older, maybe thirty, with a feather duster in her hand. The lady untied her hair and it fell in a sweeping whoosh. “Who’s the kid?” Both men shrugged and Claire decided it was her moment to say something.

“I’m Claire,” Claire said shyly. Claire walked to the kitchen part of their living quarters. It was separated by a very small arch, just big enough for a six foot person. Claire put on the yellow rubber gloves and was awed by the huge sink. She poured some of the liquid soap on a sponge. The work was hard and it was the first time Claire had ever washed dishes. She was very cautious and made sure that each and every dish was okay. Claire was appalled by the amount of food that people here consumed. Three hours later, Claire was done and totally exhausted. She slept soundly, only to hear the maid’s screeching alarm at dawn.

Classes were another struggle altogether. They were so radically different from the pages that Marlene had always prepared for her. Half of her classes were academic and the other half involved cooking. Claire still dreaded even the slight touch of a frying pan. She had no time after school to do any of her homework. Claire became a living zombie. Horrible dark circles had formed under her eyes and her eyes were always red from so much crying.

“Claire, sweetie, I’m Lola. Look, it’s my turn to do the dishes but I’m so busy. Could you take a moment to do my share?” Lola, the maid, batted her eyes a couple times before Claire nodded wearily. How could she say no to someone who had asked so politely? Claire got up from her homework to greet the giant sink once more. She was doing this about every day. Her hands permanently reeked of the rubbery scent of the gloves. Claire received another introduction by the end of the week. 

“I’m Grady,” the guy with rolling pin said. He put it down and greeted her with an artificial smile. “I was supposed to deliver some of this stuff to Vanessa Atkins but looks like I forgot.  Can you run down and just give this to her? It’ll only take you fifteen minutes. Please?” Claire nodded her head and took the package from Grady. It was still hot and Claire wished she had food delivered to her too. Claire had so many things on her mind. There was that English test and then a soufflé test tomorrow. She didn’t even know what a soufflé was. Claire started to run. It was better if all this stuff got delivered faster. 

“Watch where you’re going!” A shrill voice pierced her train of thought. Claire looked up innocently to see Vanessa. Vanessa was wearing her sunglasses and looked like a celebrity.  Claire couldn’t tell if Vanessa was staring at her directly. 

“You look like a movie star,” Claire blurted out. “I have food for you, delivery.” Vanessa nodded and flipped her hair. She took the package from Claire’s hands. 

“I know, a lot of people tell me that and I have gotten a couple offers from agencies and Tom Cruise and what not. But you know I’m way too busy,” Vanessa flipped up her sunglasses and walked away. 

Over three hundred staff members had seen how easily Claire bent. These people didn’t even know Claire but somehow had convinced her to do their jobs too. Lola and Grady had almost nothing to do now that Claire was doing all their chores for them.  All it took was a little ‘please’. She was getting all kinds of favors by the end of the next week. Sometimes it was dusting a certain dorm and other times it was delivering food. She never had a moment of rest and once she did, it was spent learning about different types of cheese. Her grades were disastrously low and Vanessa had never skipped an opportunity to embarrass her. Life was miserable. 

It was a Tuesday afternoon and classes were almost over. She was sitting in math, the one subject where she actually perked up. Mr. Lambert was her favorite teacher and it was the only class where she had a passing grade. Eugene Miller was also in that class. He had to be the friendliest person at this entire school. He always waved back when she dared to approach him in the hallway. Eugene never scoffed when speaking to her and he had even offered to tutor her before. It crushed her soul having to deny his kind offer. She was just too busy to spend time with maybe the best person in the world. He looked genuinely sad when she said no, and not in a pity like way. Claire raced back to the little staff room to find that the head chef, she still didn’t know his name, was not sitting in his rocking chair. She wondered where he had gone just to find him in the kitchen. 

“Claire, come here,” he said. It was the first time speaking to him in her two weeks here. “It looks like I should start teaching you how to do things here. Lola and Grady have been no such help. Pick up the frying pan.” Claire winced before picking up the pan. She felt an electric shock. Claire swallowed down her the awful feeling she felt. 

“Now slide it along this way,” he said in a slow voice of a knowledgeable teacher. “Bend your hand. It’s not good to be so stiff.” Claire nodded and found that holding a frying pan wasn’t too bad.

“Thank you,” Claire said ready to touch the paring knife. 

Ryan looked up at the clock. He slumped over and reached to check his phone until he heard his teacher say Le Cordon Bleu. He was visiting a lot less now that school was occupying a larger portion of his time. Ryan adjusted his school blazer before attentively paying attention. A lot of the guys at his private school had girlfriends and friends who attended Le Cordon Bleu. Redford Day guys were expected to know at least ten people from Le Cordon Bleu. Ryan waited until someone passed him a piece of paper, ah the final term project for English, oddly enough. He read it over carefully. Avoiding Vanessa at all costs was necessary. The project was some sort of interview. Ryan would be writing about one of the students there and what their day looked like. It was an easy project but only Ryan would think so. He winked at Mr. Lambert and saw Mr. Lambert nod his head approvingly. Ryan was one of Mr. Higgins’s best students no matter how much he slept in class. 

“Now, everyone, settle down, I’ll be coming around and you all can pick a name,” Mr.  Higgins had a baseball cap in his hand. He started to walk around slowly and dramatically, pausing at every desk. Ryan grew impatient. He sat towards the back and for the first time, Ryan was leaning against his desk in anticipation. He heard a couple names, some met with enthusiasm and others with a groan. Mr. Higgins scratched his salt and pepper hair before gently pushing the cap in front of Ryan’s face. Ryan smiled before taking a cursory glance at the remaining few papers. His teacher’s messy handwriting was clearly visible but Ryan couldn’t make out any of the names. He shrugged his shoulders and glided his fingers around the cap. The guy behind him, Dave, seemed restless but Ryan couldn’t care less. He finally snatched up a piece of paper and carefully opened it. 

“No trading,” Mr. Higgins said and moved away from Ryan’s desk. Fate had cursed him. Mr. Higgins was already sitting back in his desk shuffling papers. Most of the people had already left the classroom. Dave was packing up and shot Ryan a dirty glance. 

“Please, sir,” Ryan started to say when Dave was out of earshot. He opened the paper and gave Mr. Higgins another glance. “Anyone else would do. I owe you Mr. Higgins.” 

“Ryan, there aren’t any names left. What’s wrong with Claire Hoskins?” 

“She’s. . . I mean she can’t talk. Er she can’t well. She gets flustered when talking to people and I need to write a good paper sir,” Ryan said with a sneaky smile. He had done it again. Mr. Higgins rubbed his mustache and contemplated. 

“Well it seems that you know Miss Hoskins very well. I’m sure you could coax a couple words out of her with your charm,” Mr. Higgins said. Ryan gaped in disbelief. This was the first time that Mr. Higgins had rejected any of his requests. 

“My parents,” Ryan said and Mr. Higgins shook his head out of laughter. 

“Ryan, a boy like you could learn a couple things. You’ll thank me later. Now, you’ll be late for lunch, Mr. Nichols.” Mr. Higgins unwrapped his sandwich and started to eat. Ryan sighed and left the classroom. Dylan was waiting for him in the quad. 

“You don’t look so good,” Dylan said. Ryan nodded before putting his folder inside his messenger bag. It was the one that Vanessa had given him for his birthday last year. He still hadn’t gotten a new backpack. 

“Just normal English stuff,” Ryan said with an agitated look. “It looks like my past is haunting me.” Dylan just nodded with no idea about what Ryan was spewing out.

“It’s better than Vanessa, right?” Ryan shrugged. What did Dylan know about girls from high class society?

Vanessa glanced uneasily at Claire. They shared two classes together; math and introduction to culinary pastries. Everyone thought that culinary school meant only cooking. Well that was true for the most part except at the high school division of Le Cordon Bleu. In the past few months, Claire was beginning to become competition. She was still nowhere was good as Vanessa, but she was slowly climbing. Vanessa wondered who in the world was helping her. Her grades were slowly improving and Vanessa knew that her culinary prowess was reaching new standards. Just yesterday, Claire had made the best crepes in the whole class. She wasn’t failing anything either. They were just outside the classroom. Vanessa sweetly smiled when Claire turned her head. 

“Claire,” Vanessa said hopping to where Claire was standing in her Jimmy Choo heels. Her Burberry bag was slung over her shoulder. Classes were over and Claire waiting at the water fountain. 

“Hi Vanessa,” she said with a cheery smile. “What’s the matter?” 

“Where are you going so fast? Don’t you usually walk that way?” Vanessa pointed towards the cafeteria. It was no secret that Claire worked to be here. This was even worse than Phillip Brown, the scholarship student. 

“Oh today is Friday,” Claire said with a beaming smile. She looked a lot happier than when she first arrived. 

“Weren’t you transferring? Do you not work on Friday?” 

“No, I do work but I have somewhere to be today” Claire said trying to leave. Vanessa crossed her arms. 

“Where are you going?” Her tone was no longer cordial.

“I’m just heading over to the library,” Claire finally spit out. 

“Great, I’m going that way too,” Vanessa said imitating Claire’s smile. They walked in silence and Vanessa couldn’t help but to be curious about Claire. Claire went inside the library first and Vanessa followed steadfast. She weaved her way around and Vanessa finally saw her go into a study room. Vanessa crept around closer and peeped through the window. The blinds were drawn and Vanessa knew for a fact that only Eugene Miller had access to that room. She didn’t know how and she didn’t care to find out. Eugene was tutoring Claire. Vanessa wondered how she felt about that. Eugene had a very good reputation and Vanessa wanted to know why he was putting his reputation on the line for Claire. Claire was pretty but she had no family connections and nothing she could do for him. Eugene hadn’t been interested in any other girl since Sasha. It was too bad that Sasha hated him. Sasha. Vanessa hated that name and hated Sasha Chanel even more. Sasha was directly related to Coco Chanel and Ryan was just one of the guys infatuated with her; except Ryan had a steady relationship with her.  Vanessa looked through the window one last time. She studied the way Claire stared at Eugene. Eugene pulled down the blinds before Vanessa could get a closer look. She was pretty sure that Claire was in love with Eugene. Vanessa couldn’t help but laughing before leaving the library. How dumb could that cute little girl be? 

Vanessa left the library when she saw Ryan running around. It was a coincidence that she saw him. She pulled out her iPhone, fully protected with a limited edition Kate Spade case, and saw that he hadn’t contacted her. 

“Ryan!” Vanessa shouted waving her hand. He nodded and walked towards her. She had never seen him so out of breath. Whenever he stepped foot on Le Cordon Bleu, it was with style. He would always wear sunglasses and ride his motorcycle with wind blowing through his hair. 

“Where’s Claire?” Ryan said panting. Vanessa looked at him with surprise. 

“Library,” she simply said.  Like usual, he rejected any of Vanessa’s subtle advances and walked past her.

Eugene was pleased to see Claire understanding what he was saying. She was pretty and in need of a friend. Claire smiled up at him and put her pencil down. They had been working for about an hour. That was the latest that she could afford being out and Eugene sort of wished they could spend more time together. 

“Claire,” he said nervously. She looked up expectantly at him. This was it. He breathed in and searched his backpack for it. His special moment was interrupted when Ryan Nichols burst in to their private study room. Eugene was not a fan of the famous Ryan Nichols; especially since Ryan was once his competition. 

“Claire, I need to talk to you,” Ryan said urgently. 

“Too bad, Nichols, I’m speaking to her. Claire, so I was saying, I need a favor. You consider us friends, right?” His hand was inches from hers. He’d been tutoring her for about a month now and was always just one phone call away. 

“Of course, Eugene, what is it?”

“It’s my friend’s birthday in two days and I need a cake. I haven’t time to make one but you know, I thought you would.” He could see Ryan rolling his eyes. 

“I definitely have time.  I have tons of time, thanks,” Claire said taking the recipe in Eugene’s hand.

“I have to go but see you later, Claire. This idiot wants to talk to you,” Eugene said and Claire giggled. Eugene looked Ryan straight in the eye before kissing Claire on the cheek. He felt her freeze and her body stiffen at his close contact. Everything always came in handy and this was one of the instances where that mantra was applicable. Eugene Miller had found a way to torment Ryan Nichols. He left the room cockily. Eugene was sort of curious why Ryan would want to see someone like Claire. He walked straight to the security offices. His friend Hank gave him a smile before sliding over to the next chair. Hank volunteered at the security room and that came in handy for Eugene. Eugene placed his backpack on the floor next to his feet and slid on the headphones. He watched the TV screen labeled room 24. Ryan was sitting down and Claire was awkwardly facing him. She looked so happy for a simple kiss on the cheek. 

“You have a thing for that girl?” Hank raised his eyebrow.  

“Whatever, Hank, this one’s not even worthy to be a Cordon Bleu girl. She works here for heaven’s sake. It’s just a game,” Eugene said. How could Hank even think that he would stoop so low as to like Claire? 

“You shouldn’t mess with innocent girls,” Hank said before taking a swig of water. 

“So I’m doing a project,” Eugene heard Ryan say. “I’m supposed to write a paper on you. So I’m going to be here often. I don’t want you to spend time with that douche, order number one.” Ouch.

“You can’t order me around, Ryan,” Claire said. Her voice was trembling and Eugene questioned the relationship that they had. It was obvious that they knew each other. It was neither a romantic sort of relationship nor one the type friends had. Was she scared of him?

“I’m going to follow you around usually after school just to see your schedule and such,” Ryan said. “Do you what you normally do. I probably have to do some other homework while I’m here anyway.” Claire sighed and left the room. 

“Well today, I’m going to bake the best pie ever,” Claire said. Her voice trailed off. Eugene grinned. 

xx