#CHAPTER 6: First Day

MILA By the start of my first day, I had twenty new ideas to incorporate into the menu, hoping to make my mark at my new job. But things were proving difficult. Samara, as executive chef and owner, was often busy, and did not have time to chat with me most days. She had been nice enough to tell the rest of the kitchen to speak in English instead of Fresonian, so I was able to communicate with my fellow workers. I reported to Fiona, a sous chef, who was not as kind as Samara. Fiona did not seem to like me very much. She was constantly criticizing my work, and never let me experiment with the recipes. I wanted to talk to Samara about my ideas, but Fiona was always right there to shut me down. Still, the work was good, the pay was better, and I had hope for the future. Right now, that’s really all that mattered. I had decided to wear the stone necklace under my chef’s uniform, afraid of leaving it alone in my motel room. The uniform hid it quite nicely, and I found it oddly