AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“That’s quite impressive, Bob. How was your experience at the hotel? I’ve been told it’s a beautiful place and quite fancy.” I watch as Blaire walks toward his table he shares with Samantha.
“It was fantastic. Chef Martin was the best to shadow. He was very patient and helpful. I also worked closely with his sous-chef Adam.” He smiles confidently.
“I’m so happy for you. When did you say you were at the hotel?” Blaire asks.
I sit tall in my chair and stare at Bob, listening intently to every word he says now.
“Oh. I was there on Monday thru Thursday evenings. Between that and the volunteering at the hospital, I kept the weekends open to spend time with my wife.”
I slowly let out a long-held breath, realizing Bob wasn’t at the hotel when Blaire and I were.
Candace turns to face me and asks, “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, why?” I open my notepad and scribble some gibberish on the paper.
“Well, you seem very interested in Bob’s story once he mentioned that hotel. Have you been there?” She knits her brow.
“I’ve heard of it and of Chef Martin. That’s what got my attention.” I force a thin smile and pretend to write more notes.
“Ah, okay. Um… so, how about coffee later today? We can catch up.” Candace pats my shoulder.
I don’t want to lead her on, but I can’t tell her no either. She’ll ask too many questions if I say no to her invitation.
“Sure. I think I can meet you around three for an hour. I have a shift at The Oasis tonight.”
“That’ll work for me. Thanks.” She turns and faces Blaire, who’s standing in the center of the room again.
Samantha fills us in on her summer, then Angela follows her. I zone out and watch Blaire move about the room. She kindly skips asking me about my summer.
“Okay, class. Let’s use the rest of class time to review what we learned last year and from the summer experiences. Follow me.” Blaire waves her arm, and we all follow her toward the prep stations.
“Let’s begin with reviewing your knife skills.” She stands in the center of the tables to get the best view of all of us. Twenty minutes later, everyone has completed the review.
We all return to our tables located in the front of the room. Blaire taps on her desk to get our attention. She pulls out a handful of papers from the folder she holds.
Waving them in the air, she says, “Pop quiz time.”
Groans fill the room, and she says, “It’s just a quick ten question pop quiz. You all should ace this with no problem.”
She walks across the room and begins passing out the quizzes, ending at my table. When she hands me the paper, I overreach and touch her hand. Our eyes meet for a moment, but I don’t show any other emotions as I notice Candace watching us closely from my peripheral vision. Blaire pulls her hand free and moves to the center of the room.
“Okay. You have until class is over to finish.” She nods and leaves us to answer the pop quiz.
When I finish, I wait for all the other students to hand in their papers.
Of course, Candace waits for me to finish. She walks ahead of me and to Blaire.
“This was easy, Miss Turner.” She smiles and stands by Blaire’s desk, waiting for me.
I look at Candace and say, “I’ll meet you later. I have a couple of things to go over with Miss Turner from last year.”
“Okay. See you at the coffee shop.” She turns and leaves the classroom.
I watch as Blaire stands and walks over to the door. She opens it, peers out into the hall, then closes it, turns, beginning to walk back to her desk. She stops when our eyes meet.
I stand by her desk, smiling from ear to ear. She shakes her head and walks toward me.
“I finished the quiz, Miss Turner.” I hold the paper in my hand. “Where do you want me to put it?” My lips tug upward, then I lick my lips and she grabs the desk to keep from stumbling into me.
