Steph woke up feeling great. She had a new outfit, she had a chance at a promotion and she had Alf's number. She walked out of her building, smiling. Everything was great. Except Marissa, that is, but she tried not to think about that much. The less the thought about it, the more she actually told herself that Rissa was going to turn it back on soon. That she was going to tell everyone, that Aunt Bonnie would make her a daylight ring and that they'd be close again. And the more she told herself that, the more she knew it wasn't true. That even if they're close again, it would never be the way it used to be.

Stephanie found herself in front of the restaurant she worked at. Neither of her parents could ever cook, so she decided it would be her job at about 5. It wasn't always perfect. The first time she did it, half of what she made ended up on the floor, and about a third was eaten by the chubby 2-year-old who was sitting on the kitchen counter (Steph tried to get her down, but she was too heavy). Their parents walked in on this, both laughing. They still ate the remaining sixth of what their daughter made, and it was surprisingly good. Ever since then, the sisters spent a lot of time in the kitchen. Stephanie would cook and Rissa would… eat. She would eat.

Steph entered the restaurant. She knew people were staring. She expected them to. Rumour has it, Steph would become the new sous-chef (the previous one was fired for not knowing how to cook). She really, really wanted that job. Not only was it her life-long dream, it also paid good. But, for now, her only job was cutting vegetables.

-Hi!- Rony said, smiling at her. Rony was Steph's best friend these last few weeks. She had that curly, ginger —not even ginger, orange— hair you would see in animated movies and purple eyes. Not joking. Purple. She was sweet, and she was friendly, and she had absolutely no idea how to cut vegetables, but she was sweet, and she was friendly…

-Hi,- Stephanie said. -How are you?

-Great!- Rony announced. -My sister's getting married tomorrow, and my brother just got engaged, and my other sister's pregnant! God, siblings are great, right? Do you have siblings?

-Yeah… but I'd rather not talk about it right now.

-Oh,- Rony realised this wasn't the best topic. -If it makes you feel any better, the pregnant sister is pregnant from the other sister's groom!

-WHAT?!

-Kidding! But you should've seen your face!- Rony laughed. Steph laughed, too. Rony always made her feel better.

Both girls went back to cutting vegetables. That was just as easy for Steph as it was hard for Rony. Stephanie sometimes wondered if she'd be happier as a comedian. She definitely had the talent. Steph considered telling her that multiple times, but that would probably imply confessing to her what a horrible chef she was, which she didn't want to do. She was scared it would break her heart.

Stephanie was a lot like her mom. She was nice and caring and she had a lot of friends. She also had the crying thing. Well… everybody has a crying thing. Even her dad. Even Rissa. But it's different for everyone. Steph couldn't say she cried often, but she couldn't say it was a rare occurrence either, but when she cried, it was like, she cried a little and stopped, while with Marissa… she almost never cried, but when she did, it was… how to put this? Big. It was big. Always a big deal, always long…

Their boss suddenly came in:

-Okay, listen up, everybody!- the head chef announced. A lot of them believed he actually owned the restaurant, but no one ever asked him. -The position of sous-chef is open, and I know you've all been wondering who might get it!

-What is there to wonder about? It's gonna be my girl right here!- Rony announced. Steph smiled in a way that says both "I'm so happy I have a friend like this!" and "What? Who's Stephanie?" at the same time. Rony hugged her with one arm.

-Yes,- the chef continued. -As I was saying... the position of sous-chef is open! I would also want to say that we (as author, I would really like to note that no one in the entire restaurant ever knew who "we" were) have already decided who will fill that position.

Stephanie held her breath. This could be it. This could be the moment she finally gets her dream job, the moment the years of feeding Marissa would finally be something she can share in her big success story of how she started cooking for Michelin, the moment-

-It will be Derek.

Who is Derek?!