Steph came to work like on any other day. She entered through the back entrance. Like on any other day. She came into the kitchen. Like on any other day.
-Hi, Rony.
-Hi, Steph.
Like on any other day.
But then, it happened. The head chef came in. He looked panicked. This was the first time anyone, ever, saw him panicked. Everyone in the kitchen turned to look at him:
-Ladies and gentlemen, we have some bad news. Derek, our new sous-chef, has passed away.
-Wasn't he, like, in his twenties?- Rony asked.
-He was. I think.- the head chef sounded unsure. -So, moving on. We need a new sous-chef. That will be Stephanie.
Steph wanted to scream from happiness when she heard that. Not that Derek was dead, obviously, bad for Derek, but she was going to be the sous-chef.
She came over to the head chef, who gave her the new hat. It was the same as the old hat, but "we" insisted she wear it.
He gave her a task. She started working. It was much more interesting than her old job. She cooked all day, forgetting for a moment about vampires, and her sister, and her dad, and Guy, and dead Derek, and the fact that Rony can't properly cut the vegetables. It was just about cooking.
After the best day ever, she practically flew out of the restaurant. She barely even felt the tap on her shoulder. But she did. She turned around and saw the head chef:
-Can we talk?
-Sure, what do you want to talk about, sir?
-No. In private.
-Okay…
He led her to a quiet corner, looking even more panicked than before:
-Stephanie, can we trust you?
-Yes, of course.
-Do you promise not to tell anybody about this?
-I…
-Do you?
-Yes.
-Okay. Who is Derek?
-What?
-No, not what, who. Derek. Who is he?
-He was the sous-chef…
-No, no. WHO was he?
-I… I don't know, sir, really, the first time I ever heard of him was when you said he was going to be your sous-chef.
-But why did I say that, Stephanie? We wanted you to have the job from the beginning, then this Derek just told us he was going to be sous-chef and I… agreed with him.
-That's… strange.
It really was.