Chapter 10:
"Where did you run off to in such a hurry?" Felicia's dark curls bounced energetically behind her as she sat next to Zarabeth in the baking lab, her eyes questioning as she waited eagerly for the girl's reply.
Not in the mood to talk, Zara combined the cake's ingredients into a bowl as she hurriedly began whisking them together, venting her irritation through her movements as she spoke. "I had something important to do."
Felicia pursed her lips, obviously not satisfied with Zara's excuse. "More important than eating?"
"I did eat, but I had a big breakfast so I didn't need much."
The gray eyed girl propped her head on her hand, her elbow leaning on the counter-top, watching Zarabeth's every move as she poured the light colored batter into a small cake pan. "But you didn't get to hang out with us. Didn't you want to meet Damian?"
Zara wiped her flour covered hands on her apron as she met Felicia's gaze. "I already know Damian."
The girl's face lit up as she leaned further over the counter, her voice rigid with excitement. "Oh Zarabeth, you really have all the luck! Isn't he amazing?! He knows just how to make a girl feel special. And he's so gorgeous!"
As soon as Felicia had uttered her last statement, Zara laid her arms down on the counter, a small groan escaping her lips as she let her forehead fall to rest on her arms, her face hidden from Felicia's sight.
The girl ceased her giggling as she hesitantly reached out toward her classmate. "Zarabeth? Are you sick or something?"
Zara groaned again, not daring to say the words she was thinking, "No, but you're enough to make me sick." The girl raised her head as she stood upright, walking away without a word over to the solar ovens, uncooked cake in hand. As soon as the cake was in the oven, Zarabeth returned to her previous place as she finally thought of words to reply. "Trust me, Damian may look sweet, but he's not that great of a guy."
Felicia looked almost sad, not hurt by Zara's words, but sad in pity for her. "How can you say that? How do you know what he is or isn't?"
Zarabeth folded her arms on the surface in front of her, leaning on her elbows as she tried to explain. "Felicia, you can choose to believe me or not, but I've been in some unpleasant situations with Damian. He thinks he can have anything or anyone he pleases, but when I tried to say otherwise, things didn't go so well. I don't want to stop you from finding out what you think about him for yourself, but I just hope you'll be careful."
Felicia rolled her eyes ever so slightly, the grin on her face confirming Zara's suspicion that she was laughing at her on the inside.
As long as she'd said her piece, she couldn't stop Felicia from seeing things in one way or another. That wasn't her job.
Even though Felicia seemed like a sweet girl, she was silly and flighty too. Girls like her usually irritated Zarabeth to no end, but being with Felicia just made her feel sorry for the girl. Zara always wondered what it was like inside their brains, curious as to how they see themselves, other people, and how they think about things.
As soon as the cake was baked and cooled, Zarabeth began frosting it as quickly yet as cleanly as possible, not wanting to have to stay after class to finish it. Even though she and Felicia were supposed to be working on it together, Zara realized early on that her partner had no intentions of doing anything other than giggle, gossip, and fuss over the quality of her nails.
Within only a few minutes, Zara was looking down in satisfaction at a beautiful vanilla cake, smooth with pure white frosting. Glancing up at the clock, she realized that she still had some time to add decorations to its top and sides.
Zara bit her lip, an internal struggle going on in her mind as she held the piping bag full of white icing in her hand. Finally deciding, Zarabeth smiled in an inviting gesture as she held the bag out to Felicia. "You wanna finish it off?"
The gray eyed girl scrunched her nose, shaking her head as her dark curls bounced behind her. "Thanks, but no. You've done a good job. You should finish it."
Zara tilted her head, extending her outstretched arm even further. "Please, I insist."
Felicia giggled, finally accepting the piping bag as Zarabeth carefully pushed the cake closer to her. "I just know I'm going to ruin it."
Zara smiled encouragingly as she watched the girl hold the bag. "You can never ruin a cake, as far as decorations go. Just have fun with it."
Felicia moved the cake one last time before beginning to squirt more frosting over it, biting her lower lip as a determined smile began to show through.
As she watched the girl play around, Zara could no longer suppress the question which had been nagging at the back of her mind. "So, is this what you've always wanted to do?"
Without looking up, Felicia began giggling again, her solid answer taking Zarabeth off guard. "Oh absolutely not."
Zara couldn't help but laugh, surprised by Felicia's bluntness. "Really? So...why are you here then?"
The girl scrunched her nose, her face twisting in annoyance as she explained. "Daddy said I had to go to college. I didn't want to, but I figured that this would be easier than any other options he forced me to choose from. I also picked it because this class only takes two years. I wasn't about to give up four or more years of my precious life in this boring place."
Zara shook her head as she laughed quietly. You could hardly have two bigger opposites sitting at the same counter as she and Felicia obviously were.
Zarabeth let out a sigh of relief as the bell sounded the end of their class, and thus, the end of their first day. Gathering up their notebooks and supplies, Zara slung her messenger bag over her shoulder as she got her classmate's attention. "Hey, Felicia. You should have the cake."
The girl carefully picked up the cake, which now looked more like a blob of frosting. "Alright, but only if you take our next project."
"Deal. If I don't see you later, I'll see you bright and early tomorrow."
As she left the building, Zarabeth took a minute to stand between the college and the dorms, looking up into the Etherium as it glowed orange and pink in early evening light. Kalepsia really was beautiful, but Zara did miss being on Montressor.
As far as the first day could have gone, Zara thought it went rather well. She knew without a doubt that this was where she was supposed to be, and nothing was going to convince her otherwise.