by JonVette Palmer
“No ma I not coming home this weekend I really have to study.”Anaiyah said trying to explain to her mother for the tenth hundred times being in Chicago studying culinary arts is what she wanted to do. She was the oldest of her mother’ children and she understood why her mom didn’t want her being that far away from. Anaiyah had always been the back bone of her family that was just the role she played and no one ever questioned it but she had to go for her dream.
“What do you mean you can’t come everyone is missing you like crazy.” Her mother said highly upset at the fact Anaiyah wouldn’t be coming home for the fifth week in a row since school had started
“Ma I understand everyone misses me. But right now I have to go give the family my love.” Anaiyah said hanging up the phone and turning her attention back to her food.
“Hey, Anaiyah. What’s up?” said Anaiyah’s roommate walking into the kitchen
“Hey, Shamika. What you and John up to tonight?”
“Nothing you want to go to the movies with us?” “
No. Try this.”Anaiyah said giving Shamika a spoonful of spaghetti “How does that taste?” “Good, girl who you got coming over here?”
“A couple of the people in my class I want to try it on them before our big presentation on Monday.”
“It’s Friday and night you’re at home cooking for some people in your class. MMMM, who is he.” Shamika said looking at her out the corner of her eye
“Who is who girl pleases I just really want to do well.” Anaiyah said not even looking up at her.
“So you really want this internship huh?”
“Girl yes do you know how good that will look on my resume first year of culinary art school and I get a internship that everybody in the school has tried for.”
“So how many internships are available?”
“Three or four.”
“You think you going to get it.”
“I hope so.”
“So how do they choose who gets the internship.”
“The presentation, only twenty of the people from the school got chosen and I was one of them so the judges are going to choose top three or four interns.”
“Well good luck I gotta go I’m already late meeting John if he calls tell him I’m on my way.” “Okay, bye girl.”
Ever since Anaiyah was a little girl she loved cooking and creating desserts she had started when she was 12 when her mom got sick and need her help cooking. Her mother had been diagnosed with many sicknesses when Anaiyah was growing up. That’s what made it so hard to leave Saint Louis for Chicago. “Hold on here I come.”Anaiyah said coming out of her room from changing into the best hostess dress. “Hi. Come on in everybody else should be here in a minute.” Anaiyah said welcoming her first guest as everybody came they began to eat and talk about recipes they thought would be good to try the get together was sort of a congratulations to Anaiyah she was the only one there who was in the top twenty which is how she wanted she didn’t want anybody taking her recipe or ideas of how to get into the top ten.
The night ended Anaiyah pick up the phone and dialed her mom feeling bad about the way their conversation ended. “Hey ma it’s Anaiyah I know ma I’m sorry its just a lot more stressful then I thought I it would be especially with this internship. I know you told me so but I just I really need to focus that’s why I’m not coming home this weekend I need to concentrated. Okay ma call me in the morning bye.” she said hanging up the phone feeling worse than she did before she called the next morning she went to the book store to find a cook book for her presentation so that she could put her own flavor to it.
Monday morning the day of her presentation she got up earlier than usual to make sure she had everything. Anaiyah had fidgeted throughout the whole. She was extremely torn, half of her was totally nervous and the other half was just as excited as a little girl learning to ride her bike without training wheels. The presentation would take all day but it was worth it at the end of the day when the judges announced the interns Anaiyah falling in at2nd place excited about her new intern ship. Though she knew it would be hard balancing school, family & friends, and the internship she was excited to have her internship and be on her way to her dream.
Anaiyah couldn’t wait until the big day on next Monday. But right now it was time to celebrate. Her and her and her girls went out on the town going to any club or party they could get in to watching how much they were drinking of course.
“You guys I just really want to thank you for coming to celebrate with me. And being with me on this joyous evening.”
“Girl please, you know we got your back and we happy for you. Plus I’m going need you to cook at my wedding one day.” Shamika said laughing
“Hey Richunna why you so quiet. Are you sick, you know that flu’s going around.” Anaiyah looking at her with concern. Richunna and Anaiyah had been best friends since six grade and they had develop a relationship was like a sister relationship
“No, I’m not sick my grades are dropping and fast. It’s just harder than I thought it would be.”
