Episode 10
Diamond In The Rough
Madison’s POV
“yeah..okay how’s dad
“He’s good…still sleeping
“okay..I gotta go,I need to prepare for school
“okay,bye sis
“bye
I dropped my phone on the kitchen counter and I continued my cooking
“Mama..I want juice”Mitch said as he munched on his cookie
“Okay..strawberry?”I asked and he nodded
I took out his favourite strawberry flavored juice box from the freezer and gave it to him after opening it
“One,two,twee,four,six”
“Jeez Mitch that’s not how to count the numbers”
“No no no,I know it mama”
“Okay read it”
“One,two,twee,four….”he paused and looked and me,he giggled and looked away
“Come on,what’s next after four”
“Ummmm,five?”
“Good boy,its five..for that,you’ll get a high five”I stretched my hand and he landed his on mine
“Baby shark,du du du du..baby shark du du du du..baby shark du du du du..baby shark”he sang tapping in spoon on the table..this boy is so adorable
“Mummy shark du du du du..mummy shark du du du..mummy shark du du du du..mummy shark”he pointed at me as he sang and I laughed at his cuteness
“Daddy shark du du du…wait..there’s no daddy shark”he said and I gave him a quizzical look
“What do you mean”I asked as I packed his lunch in his flask
“I’m baby shark,you’re mama shark,where’s daddy shark?”he asked and I cleared my throat…I wasn’t expecting that question
“Well…”
*Honk honk*
I heard a car horn from outside and I breathed out as a sign of relief,
“Look,Mrs Russ is waiting let’s go”I picked him up and carried his lunch box along side with my backpack and left the house
“Good morning Mrs Russ”I greeted as I passed Mitch to her
“Morning dear,hey little trouble”she tickled him and he gave a small giggle A car drove and parked in front of my house..Mr.Max is already here
“I gotta go,bye Mrs Russ..bye baby”I pecked him on the cheek and made for Mr.Max
“Let’s go,we’re kinda late today”Mr.Max said and I nodded..I entered the car and off we go to school
The bell rang as soon as I stepped into the school and i thanked my stars..I don’t like being late to anything
I got to class and Crystal came to hug me
“You are kinda late today”she said and I nodded
“Yeah”
I sat on my seat and she settled beside me,I brought out my laptop from my bag and I started doing whatever my my head told me to do
“The cooking competition is coming on soon,do you know?”she asked
“Competition?”
“Yeah,the competition among all cooking schools,the first round of the competition is among all cooking schools,the winners of the first round would compete again..and that will be the second round..now the last and final round..the winners of the second round would choose one representative to represent their school for the final round”
“So..the winner of the final round would be gifted?
“Yeah,Romeo has always been the one to represent Ariana Grande’s cooking school for the final round,and of course he has always been coming first..he doesn’t use the prize money for himself tho
“How much is the prize money?
“A million dollars
“What?”I screamed gaining a little attention to myself
“Yeah…that’s a lot of money,sometimes he gives it out to motherless babies home or orphanage and sometimes,he shares it among his team
“Team?
“Yeah,for the first and second round,the school would choose a team of
chefs..well,I resumed this school a year ago so I don’t know the people that have been representing our school in the past but for the past one year,it has been Romeo,Ken,Tiana,Me,Martha,Bianca and Lucas
“This school’s team?”I asked and she nodded
“Okay,so you guys know pick Romeo as your representative for the final round right?”I asked
“Yeah”
“Wow,I would really love to be on the team”
“You would,if people see what you can do and they are impressed with what you can do”
“Hmm..when is it coming up?”
“In two months time”
“Wow its near already”
“Yeah”
“Good morning class”Mrs.Collins greeted as she entered the class,Romeo behind her
“I’m sure you all know that the annual competition is coming up soon”
“Yeah..”the class chorused
“So…due to that,there would not be any theory classes only practicals..this is because we want to know the potentials of you guys and most especially to improve your cooking skills”
“Wow”
“Thank God”
“No more writing”
Different comments from different people
“Now this isn’t the time for you to seat back and rest,this is the time for you to fasten your belt and buckle up,it isn’t the time for play at all..you all need to seat tight understood?”
“Yes”we all chorused
“And we all know that before the main competition,a competition is being held by all Cooking schools by Alexa Grande so as to choose the school representing”
“What does she mean by that”I asked Crystal
“Well,you know Alexa didn’t build only one cooking school in her name…Alexa Grande Cooking school is all over the world in different countries,there’s one in Spain,USA,UK,Russia,South Africa,Korea and different places I can’t remember”
“So if my guessing is right,all Alexa Grande’s school can’t compete,they only need one to represent all Alexa Grande’s school right?”
“Yeah..so that’s why a mini competition is done before the main one” I nodded and turned back to the teacher
“So..prior to this,like I said,no more theories so get up your butts and meet me in the food lab in 15mins”with that,she left the class
“Wow..another competition,well,as usual,my baby is gonna win”Tania said proudly and I rolled my eyes
“Hey hey,your baby,we know…what good are you contributing to the team anyways..the only thing you know how to do is to cling to your so called baby like a leach”a bad ass looking girl said..she even has a piercing on her eye
“Yeah,i wander why she’s on the team anyways”another added
“Who’s the girl”I asked pointing to the girl with the piercing
“She’s Bianca,the only girl Tiana doesn’t act bitchy to..because the girl is crazy,she can beat the hell out of anybody”
“Wait..Bianca,she’s part of the team right?”
“Yup”she said popping the “P”
“Let’s go to the lab”I said pulling Crystal along with me.We got to the lab and the teacher is already settled in,one after the other,the other students came in until we were finally complete
We all took a seat on the stools and I kept humming to a song
“Now,we’re gonna start with some basic American foods”
“So random ingredients would be arranged in front of you and you have 30minutes to make something out of it”she said as she arranged random ingredients in front of
each and everyone of us..each counter as a total of 5cookers so its 5people to each counter
I,Crystal,A harsh looking guy,Bianca and a girl I’ve never seen before are on the same counter..Romeo’s counter is facing mine directly and I’m making it possible not to make eye contact with him and as expected his girlfriend is with him
“Pots,spoons and other equipments are available so…your time starts…now” With that everyone set to work…
Okay what do I have here…okay so I have prawns,avocado sauce,vegetables,tomatoes,mayonnaise,chicken cubes and chips?..wait that’s all?..what I’m I supposed to do with chips? Okay…avocado sauce and prawn..hmm
Oh…I’ll make hot gumbo dip,since there’s prawn and avocado sauce..I looked around and others are already in the middle of cooking,okay here goes
25 MINS LATER
“5minutes more folks”
The teacher announced and I was giving finishing touches to my food.
“Time up..present your dishes”she said and we all stopped cooking..
We placed our dishes on the judging table and 4 more teachers came in..I’m guessing these are the judges
They all took a seat and the dishes were brought to them one by one..I was looking at my dish that was on the counter hoping they would like mine
After series of tasting and tasting,they reached Romeo’s own..he wasn’t even bothered..well,why would he be?..He’s the best His was tasted and they Got to mine…
The first judge tasted it and he paused..why did he pause?
He passed it to the second one and he tasted it..he widened his eyes and took another one
The other 2 judges tasted it and they all gave wired reactions
“Okay..the judges will decide on the top 5dishes”
After 15minutes of deciding,they finally finished
“We have the top five dishes here”
“The fifth best dish is this..”she said pushing a dish forward
“That’s my dish”Bianca said and everyone clapped
The forth and third were called out which were Ken and Crystal respectively There was a long pause before the 2nd was called
“Actually,there is a tie”the judge said
“A tie between this dish and this dish”he pushed two dishes to the front which I recognize to be Romeo’s and..mine..wait mine?
“Who are the owner of these two dishes?”
“Um..I “I said as I stepped out along side with Romeo
“These two dishes are the best,we couldn’t pick one out of the two..it was a tough decision..which one is your dish”the judge directed the question to me and I pointed at mine
“Hmm..The Gumbo dip you made has a very rare and unique taste..it was fantabulous and Romeo’s truffled mac n’ cheese was so tasty..we couldn’t pick the winner”
“Give her the 1st position”Romeo said and I screamed a “what?”
Including Tiana and some judges
“What do you mean Mr.Grande”
“I mean it,this is the first time a person is tying with me so..doesn’t it worth it?”he asked
“Um…okay,Abigail Maxwell is the winner and with that,she’ll be part of the team alongside with the other best four dishes”
Crystal screamed from the crowd and I laughed at her craziness..my eyes met Tiana’s and she gave me a deadly glare..i turned my gaze to Romeo’s and i found him staring at me..i looked away and grinned at Crystal who was giving me a thumbs up
The other students dismissed from the lab leaving only me and Crystal..guess what shes doing..yeah,she’s eating the food I made
“Gosh”she moaned as she stuffed her mouth
“This is so good…where did you learn this”
“Nowhere”
“Wow..this dish would cost a fortune in Alexa’s restaurant”
“Thanks”
We heard the door open and I was surprised at the person that came in
“Romeo?”Crystal whispered
“Um..hi”he greeted and I gave him a small smile
“Hey Romeo”Crystal greeted
“Watsup Crystal..I just wanna speak with Abby”he said staring at me
“Sure…I’ll be in the class”she whispered and left the lab
I adjusted well on my seat and adverted my gaze to the window side
“Hey”he said lowly taking a seat beside me
“Hi”I greeted without looking at him
“You did great today”
“Thanks..and Thank you for giving me the first place..you didn’t have to do that”i said and he smiled
“You earned it”
Silence took over and I got up to exit the lab but he held my hand
“Please don’t go..I wanna say something”I looked at my held hand and his face before I sat down..he removed his hands from mine and he cleared his throat
“Look Abby,about what happened yesterday when I said I didn’t like the feeling…it just..it has never happened to me before,I thought I was going crazy or something until I realized that I just find you fun…you really make me smile and happy,I know you find it weird because we just started talking yesterday but its okay..I just wanna say I’m sorry…I didn’t mean it that way at all..you are a very unique girl and I guess that was what attracted me to you”
He said and I didn’t know when a smile found it way to my lips
“Its fine Romeo..honestly,I understand..its just I was kinda hurt because it felt like I’ve known you like forever and you said you didn’t like the feeling so I thought maybe I’m too bad to be your friend or something
“No you’re not..at all,you’re the perfect person to be called a friend”
“Wow..I’m flattered”
“So…friends?”he stretched his hand and I smiled before taking it
“Friends”we shook hand and he smiled in appreciation
“I’m sure you didn’t taste out of the food you made”he said and I nodded
“Yeah…Crystal stole everything”I said in a babyish tone and he laughed
“That was cute”
The door banged open and a witch with devilish eyes came inside with her hands akimbo
“What the hell is going on Romeo”she snapped
“Tania why all these calm down”
“Calm down?..don’t f**king tell me to calm down Romeo,why are you with this girl..the same thing yesterday.you left me in the cafeteria for her and the same thing is happening now..you left me in class for this girl”she said throwing me scornful gazes
“Tania its not what you think,we were just talking”Romeo said trying to calm her down..what’s her stress..with the way she’s shouting,there’s no doubt she won’t have a high bp soon
“Talking?..what the hell were you talking about that you had to sit close to her staring into her yes like that…you don’t sit with other girls aside from me and you don’t stare at other girls like that…what the hell is going in”she fired
“Tania please let’s talk outside,stop all rantings”Romeo said..im sure he’s trying his best not to go crazy on her
she shoved him aside and came to my front
“And you..don’t you have anything else to do than to flirt with other people’s boyfriend?..Romeo is my boyfriend and I don’t and can’t share him with anyone..not now not ever,now if you know what’s good for you,you’ll get your shitty ass out of his life and leave him alone do you here me?”I screamed to my face and I had a calm expression on..I looked at her and sighed..I adverted my gaze to Romeo and he was giving me an apologetic look
I shook my head and walked out on both of them..I have a long life to live..life is too short to waste all time shouting unnecessarily
“Wait so you didn’t do anything?”Crystal asked and I nodded
“Wow…you’re too calm for my liking”she said and I smirked..too calm?..if only she knew circumstances changed me..I,Madison,calm?…no way..if it was to be in the past I would have given her the taste of her own medicine
I told Crystal everything…all my encounters with Romeo because I felt I needed to tell her…there’s something about her that’s making me to thank God I met her..
“She should be grateful I wasn’t there at that moment”she said with clenched fists and I laughed
“Oh…Abby give me your number”
“Oh..okay”
I punched my numbers into her phone and she saved it…I guess I have a new contact..how many contacts do I have anyways..just like..5
“Is this your WhatsApp number?”she asked..I don’t do social media again..I guess I can do only WhatsApp
“Actually,I’m not on WhatsApp”
“What?”
“Yeah”
“But don’t worry,I’ll open one now”I said and she nodded..
I opened a WhatsApp account and she sent me a message immediately
“That’s my number”she said and I nodded
“I’ll call you when I get home okay”
“Yeah..bye Crystal”I waved at her as she entered her mom’s car..I sighted Mr.Max and I went to him
I entered the car and he drove away..we picked Mitch from school and he drove us home
I made lunch for Mitch and he went to sleep immediately he finished his food…he must be really tired
After doing my assignments,I rested on my bed and started scrolling through my phone
My phone dinged and I checked it..its a WhatsApp message from Crystal and it says…
Hey girl
Watsup
Bored AF..i added you to the group chat
What group chat
Just check
I checked and truly she added me to a group chat…I checked the people in the group and Tania and Romeo are there..including Ken,Bianca,and 5other people
Why did you add me to that group
just for fun
okay
A message came from the group chat and I clicked on it..
From Ken: Big Ken in the house
From Crystal: Do you have to always show your madness
From Ken: Yes my love
From Crystal:
From Bianca: You’re both psychos
From Tiana: you guys are so annoying..your chats are disturbing me
From Bianca: Sorry Mrs Poopypants…we don’t accommodate goats
From Crystal:
From Romeo: Hey guys
From Tiana: Hey love
From Bianca: eww
From Crystal: hey Rommy
From Tiana: im the only one entitled to call him Rommy
From Crystal: achievement
I was just reading their chats I didn’t join..what I’m I even going to say An unknown number sent a message and I clicked on the picture of the person..its…its Romeo..he must have gotten my number from the group chat
Hey Abby
Hi Romeo
You aren’t contributing in the group chat…why?
What do you expect me to say
i understand..how are you
i’m good..u?
i’m cool as always
okay
Um..Abby about earlier,i wanna apologize for Tania’s behaviour
no problem…she’s just too possessive and protective of her boyfriend thinking i wanna snatch him from her not knowing i don’t have anything to do with him than being his friend
Umm..but she’s just too stubborn
sorry
no problem..um,i’ll talk to you later..i wanna do something
okay..bye
bye Abby
I went back to the group chat and nothing interested me..I switched off my data and dropped my phone on the bed..
Hmm..Romeo…something just draws me to him
Is it his super handsome face or everything about him..Jeez this is frustrating
.
.
.
TBC
I love Bianca
Romeo gave Madison the first place….he’s so sweet
And if you know you don’t know how to count…Mr.Mitchell is at your serviceforgive you
Romeo is attracted to our Mad I..hmmmmm
Diamond In The Rough
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BY:Authoress Timi
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