Kai had to fight the feelings of sleep and deal with multiple tasks with time she had on hand.

She got up from the table and proceeded to clean her workstation. Pot, pan and plate were scrubbed clean and hung dry on her dish rack. She meticulously wiped down all the surfaces, the unused portions of raw edible mushrooms were assembled in the bowl, finding its way into the fridge. Almost everything was used up, which satisfied Kai. Waste not, want not, was her personal cooking mantra, and she felt that through her core, especially at this moment.

She planted the oregano, young gooseberry, asparagus root, and wild strawberry in a typical terracotta pot that originally held a dead plant, reusing the dirt to surround the live roots. She placed it on her balcony in an area which received the best light and ample rain, giving it a generous amount of water from her watering bucket that collected rainwater the night before.

Nodding in satisfaction, Kai went back indoors and headed immediately to the crabapples, which were washed, chopped in half, and placed in a large pot with a generous amount water to start simmering. She set a timer on for four hours to check later and left the heat on medium high to force the material to break down. It would be a simple process; cook and strain the material into a cheesecloth, which would make the jelly. Kai did not need the store-bought jams that were saturated in chemicals and sugar. She wanted a clean tart delicately sensual wholesome and free additive to her breads. Crabapples contained a high concentration of natural pectin which help in the jellification process.

Kai then decided to deal with her family. She called her parents and got her mum on the phone. It was a simple process and the conversation went on like this, “Hi mum! Guess what, I got into cooking school! Yes, amazing right? I got a scholarship I applied for a while back! Yeah, I’m so happy too. I was able to go to a good one overseas, oh which one? The one in… uhh… England! Yes, I’ll be near that Gordon Ramsey place. Yeah, I’ll be gone for a few years. I’m bringing Maomao. I will be leaving immediately as I wanted to get myself set up early. No, I’m okay I don’t need any help. Yes, tell dad. Thanks mum! Okay, bye.”

The conversation went well except for the tight knot feeling in her gut telling her that the lie may end up more of a burden then anything else. Kai pushed it aside and breathed out the anxiety that was built up before the talk.

She then called her landlord to inform her of her decision to enter school and sublet her place in the meantime, getting the green light. All that was left was packing, setting up automatic payments for the utilities, and finding a suitable candidate to take care of her precious place.

Step one and two was easy enough however Kai didn’t feel very confident with her subletting approach. She sat on the couch with the TV in the background, pondering.

Kai reached over to the small coffee table where her charged phone sat on and opened her messaging app, finding a slew of unread messages from her friend Cassy. She was a friend at the restaurant as a waitress and they hit it off as soon as Cassy was hired. Apparently, Cassy broke up with her boyfriend and needed a place to stay, desperately asking Kai if she knew anywhere she could go.

Kai immediately jumped on this opportunity and called Cassy, or Cas, for short when they hanged out together. “Yo Cas, I heard you needed a place. Yeah, I got a fully furnished one bedroom in mind for you. Yea, excited? My place. I’m heading out for school. Yeah, I haven’t told boss yet. Took them days off to prep and stuff. Yeah you can stay here. No problem.”

With that, another problem was solved. It appears everything has been falling in place, which was odd. Kai’s life was nothing but uphill battles. She also felt a little creeped out on how easy it was for someone to slip away and go under the radar.

Kai pushed those thoughts aside and crossed another tedious task off her mental check list. Okay, the landlord rent, parents, utilities, money, sublet. Since is Kai’s friend, she doesn’t have to pack most of her belongings since Cas is trustworthy. They’ve had multiple sleepovers in the past and Cas loved this place and how it was decorated, minus the tiny washroom. Maomao was passed out on the couch so Kai decided to pack a few things away and clean up in the meantime, starting with peeling the dirty clothes off the floor.

*

Kai jumped as she heard a knock on the door. Cas let herself in and dropped her suitcase at the front landing, running over to Kai and giving her a bearhug, squeezing the air out of her lungs.

Cas was a little taller than Kai, at 5’4”, light brown hair in a bob haircut. Almond shaped brown eyes and a slender Slavic jawline with pinchable cheeks. Her upper lip was thin, but her bottom lip was plump and fresh, heightening her smiles and vampire-esque canine teeth.

Kai’s beauty did not pale to Cas, in comparison, Kai was short and of mixed descent. She had wide doe shaped eyes and a face that would be on any typical beauty billboard selling foreign skincare products. She was usually identified as Korean however her lineage mostly came from a mix of Japanese and British. Kai never had to wear heavy makeup as her mantra was ‘less is more’ while Cassy felt under the popular category of ‘heavy user’.

“Gosh, thank you so sooooo much my love! You are my light. My savior from the darkness. Your beauty shines so bright, it reaches the corner of the earth. Your kindness is the delicate petals that…” Kai cut her off, knowing that her overexaggerated extravagant flowery words would go on until she stopped Cas. That was how their friendship was. They both contributed to each other and overpraised each gesture, fanning each other’s ego. It made way for light banter and a fun atmosphere.

Kai finally freed her arms from Cas’s grasp and hugged back, feeling the familiar warmth from her best friend. “Welcome home, sis. Hold down the fort while I’m gone, alright cadet?”

Kai asked with humor in her tone. Cas smiled and let go, saluting Kai while replying “Aye eye Ma’am!”

“Imma be gone for school so I have to call the boss now to make it official. I already packed and sent my essentials. Gonna keep it light. Just make yourself at home, like you always do.” Kai wanted to let Cassy know what was really going on, however the better part in her mind forbade it, knowing it would only complicate things. Cas was her ally right now, and she felt in her gut she really couldn’t lie to this person.

“Well… that’s what everyone thinks anyways…”

Cas heard Kai’s quiet statement trail off and sensed the suspicions tone in her voice, narrowing eyes, prodded Kai for the truth. “You bitch, spill the beans. You got something to hide and you ain’t foolin’ anyone here. If you don’t tell me with a count to three, imma go postal on yo’ ass. One… TWOO…. Th-“

Kai panicked and said “okayokay! You caught me. Something else is going on. First, let’s have some tea. Then I’ll try to keep you in the loop…”

Kai walked off and Cassy let out an aggressive breath. Both knew it would be a new tug-of-war for information, however Cassy had no idea what Kai got herself into.