25 Jan :" Group Project"

25th January

Group project

Today we got our first official project for baking class. I am so excited, as we get to choose our favourite desert and then have to research the best recipe and then make it within in hour in front of the examiner. The only catch is, is that we have to do it in a group. I generally don’t mind working with other people, but my lecturer thought it would be a good idea to put Mena Davids with me, what a total disaster! I don’t think that she can even bake peanut butter cookies by herself without burning them or her partner.

She is the recipe for disaster. (Cheap joke for a cheap moment!)

I flung my bag around my shoulder, and made my way to the car, I was so distracted and mentally disturbed by this new burden, that I wasn’t even thinking of Todd today. This is a good thing because he has been clouding my vision lately, visually disturbing my creative peripheral view.

I walked to the car feeling like an over boiled tea pot, steam was fuming out of m ears, if I had to open my mouth to verbalise any of it I think I would blow lava and burn someone’s face off!

As I placed my car key in the door, I heard a voice call out:
” Had a rough day”.
(I didn’t look back)
I didn’t care who was trying to make polite conversation with me, cant they see that trying to sound sympathetic will just make it worse?!
I mumbled in return under my breath,” life changing!”
The voice still focusing on the back of my head:” Yip tell me about!” (Who does this person think he is? I don’t have time for those tree hugging optimists)
The footsteps approached closer, I didn’t turn around, and instead I felt for my pepper spray in my bag.
“ Want to trade stories?” I turned around, getting ready for my volatile lava to release itself in this annoying direction. My cheeks feeling hot as ever, my throat feeling tight from anger I raised my head clenching my pepper spray , and began saying :
”Look if you don’t back off…….
My words stopped mid sentence as I stared back into those warm chocolately eyes, it was Todd, I gasped in horror! “Ah ,oh its you!”

“She speaks” he interjected swiftly.
All of a sudden I felt my anger melt, as he smiled at me. “It’s a miracle “I said.
I dropped my pepper spray back into my bag.
“Were you going to spray me with pepper spray?”
“Um maybe, no not intentionally, I thought you were someone else!”
He started laughing, and then he leaned against my car door standing next to me.
“So do you have a name? “
“Tallulah Belle”
“Well it’s a pleasure to meet you Tallulah Belle”.
I blushed and froze. Ah no my vision is blurring again!
“So how was baking today? Make any cupcakes?”
“How did you know?”
“You look like one of those type of girls, and I never saw you enter onto our campus”
“Your campus?”
“Yip next to your building, we’re over there!”
He pointed to next to a very plain and very serious looking building.
“What are you studying?” I asked trying to act very nonchalant.

As he was about to answer, I saw my mortal enemy Mena David’s approaching towards us, she had a big smile spread across her face, I couldn’t tell if she were happy or if she was cross, she had one of those faces.

She walked up to us, and swung her arms around Todd, almost punching me in the face and she pulled him closer towards he stick like figure. A prey mantis I thought to myself. Watch out, she might bite off his head!
He gently moved out of what seemed to be head lock, and he said: “Tallulah Belle this is my girlfriend, Mena, I believe you know each other from college?”

My heart felt it had just broken into a million pieces as I watched her drape her arms around him insecurely around his waist as he spoke. I bit my tongue, hoping to focus all of my tension to one place instead of onto my face. I think I bit too hard, because then my face showed pain from my tongue.
Mena gloating at this point in time spoke in her high pitch voice that I suppose only dogs could understand. “Toddy, Tallulah and I are going to be working on a cupcake project together, what fun!.”
“So much Fun Toddy” I said dryly.
Then without looking at either of them, I opened my car door and almost collapsed into my car seat. I started the car, and heard a knock on the window. It was Todd smiling and waving goodbye to me.
Mena holding him even more tightly now seemed a bit disturbed by his eagerness to say goodbye to me. I couldn’t wrap my lips into a smile; instead I looked like a dead fish and nodded my head barely even acknowledging Mena as I reversed out my parking spot.
I have never felt this kind of pain before, a sharp stabbing annoying pain in, my chest.

“Todd I hate you!” I muttered out of mouth as I drove through traffic, that little vent helped me feel some what empowered for a few seconds, but that disappeared as soon as I started remembering his smile, and his loving gaze.
“Stop it Tallulah! You stop that right now!” I cannot believe that I am reprimanding myself in the middle of traffic! This is new low for me, this is worse than the time that I fell asleep by the front door. I don’t even know the guy, he could be a total random freak, and I he is with Mena then he must have screw loose upstairs!

I have other things to worry about, like what recipe was I going to use for my first project, as I thought of some of my favourite chefs, I started remembering my dream; to open up my very own Tallulah Belle Cakes store in the middle of town.

I felt the pain start to disappear the more I started to imagine my future. As I started getting lost in these colourful pictures of what may be one day, I started getting flashes of Todd, and then the pain returned.(useless)
I pulled up into my drive way. I walked quite morbidly into the house and threw my bag onto the couch. I threw my ballet pumps against the wall, and stampede into the kitchen, this time putting on apron.
I would take my pain out on my cupcakes.
I would bake and bake, and bake, until I stopped thinking of Todd and of stupid Mena.

My mother came home, and she noticed I looked like I had the world on my mind, she gave me my much needed space in the kitchen and tip toed around me as to avoid breaking my concentration.
Finally at 12 am I stopped baking, the kitchen looked like bakery.
Dozens of cupcakes with multicoloured icing painted the countertops, I bit into one of the cupcakes, and tasted its bitter sweet texture, it didn’t taste right, and it tasted a bit sad.

My anguish had made its way into the cupcake only to find it making its way back full circle into me. A half a tear trickled down my cheek and down onto the cupcake I was holding. I placed it down, and walked to my bedroom; I lay in my bed with cooking ensemble and smothered my little tears in my pillow, and drifted off to sleep.