Monday, October 4th, 2010. Week 17 in the Culinary Arts Program.

"No, no, NO, NO, NO, NO, NOOOOOO!" an aging Gothel cried inside her office, where Ham said. "Look, I'm sorry I wasn't able to do my job, but..."

"You were suppose to keep them apart, not let them be together." interrupted Caine.

"I know, but..." Ham began, only to be cut off by Pocket, who said. "But...because you failed to do so, those two lovebirds are more attached to each other than ever."

"Yeah, it's like they can't even keep their eyes off one another." added Otter.

"Don't you think you're overreacting a bit?" asked Ham.

"Au contraire..." said Gothel as she turned on the monitor that showed the kitchen.

Ham tried to walk away, but one of the Stabbingtons, Patchy, whom he passed through, caught him by his jacket.

"You ain't going nowhere." sneered Sideburns.

At the kitchen, Eugene and I were hard at work at another recipe.

Well, I was hard at work anyway, while Eugene kept his eyes on Rapunzel...and her braided hair. Rapunzel eyed him as well.

Knowing that any type of love is not allowed in the workforce, I elbowed Eugene, who resumed helping me out with the recipe.

Sure, I was a little bit jealous, but who am I to stand in the way of their romance?

"Oh, just look at them, pretending to be idiots." fumed Gothel as she watched the monitor. "If they find out the truth about Rapunzel, they'll...they'll take her away from me. And what's worse, I could lose my youth!"

"And what does that have to do with Rapunzel?" asked Pocket.

"It's her hair!" said Gothel. "It has the power of the Sundrop Flo..."

She stopped herself short, realizing we already knew, and plopped down on her chair, letting out a frustrating groan.

"I can't go on like this! I've got to have my youth back!"

"But how can you if Eugene, Nathan and the others won't let you come near Rapunzel?" asked Ham.

The moment she heard those words, Gothel eyed the phone placed on her desk.

Inside his office, Chef Adam heard his phone ringing.

"Adam Weiner speaking." he answered.

"Hello, chefy!"

"Oh, hello, Gothel." replied Chef Adam, feeling unsurprised.

"Forgive me to interrupt your teaching." said Gothel. "But I was wondering...when is young Nathan's last day in the program?"

"Well, since he took a week off to attend his late aunt's funeral..." Chef Adam began before Gothel cut him off, saying. "Oh, heavens. I'm so sorry to hear that."

"Uh, no, actually, it was back in the start of August* when she died." explained Chef Adam as he looked at the calendar. "And since Nathan took the week of August 8th off, come the week of November 7th, his last day with us will be on...November 12th."

"That's all I needed to know." said Gothel. "Thank you."

And with that, she roughly hung up the phone, leaving Chef Adam to hear a disconnecting ring and hang up his own phone.

Gothel started to laugh maniacally as she tore away the October page from her desk calendar.

"What's so funny?" asked Ham, having been intimidated by her laughter.

"We have ourselves a new plan." said Gothel as she circled the week of November 7th. "And Mr. Rosenberg's last week with us...wil be one to die for!"

Author's Note:

*It was August 6th, 2010 when my Aunt Jane died. I took the following week off to attend her funeral and meet up with Mom's side of the family.