Love and Food

xiii: luckiest girl

"So there's the thing. There's been another guy that has shown interest in me. Ever since I was in banquet, this second year has noticed me, and I'm not sure what to do!"

Cecilia squealed.

"Everything just feels so unreal right now, I might just faint!"

She proceeded to faint and Addy caught her.

"Girl, at this rate, you will be flipping out every five seconds. And everybody agrees with you here."

"It is interesting though." Stella snacked on some cheez its.

"Something like this has never happened in my life and everything is so crazy to the point where I feel like I'm in one of my dreams."

"Why would your dreams be set in a college? In a kitchen? I have many questions at this rate it's not even funny." There was a girl with them as well, a dietics major named Sandy.

"Wait, you're in dietics, right?" Cecilia asked Sandy.

"Yes."

She smirked.

"Do you know a Joesph Teak by any chance?"

"Teak? Of course, I actually went to school with his cousin and I know him veryyyy well."

"Oh, tell me more!" She sat right next to Sandy.

"He volunteered for the banquet and admitted that he hated cooking. It's just so much for him and he doesn't have the energy to do it. He loves music though."

"And how did he get here?" Cecilia laid up and looked at the ceiling.

"But didn't you have a study session with him?"

"Yeah, and I got his number."

Everybody was in shock.

"YOU WHAT?" Addy couldn't contain her shock.

"I did, and that never happened before. I was actually shocked that he let me."

"But, actually, I'm curious. What made you drawn to him?"

Cecilia sighed.

"Where I'm from, there were a ton of guys that if you liked them, would often just treat you like rubbish, plus most of them were concieted jerks that had egos that they wish were bigger than their dicks. Also, they were just..... no. It was really an unsafe enviornment to be in. Even to this day, I'm waiting for somebody to treat me like they did back home."

Cecilia felt herself going wayyy off topic.

"Sorry about that. But, it was about a month after I broke up with my ex boyfriend, who was just as bad, if not as worse as the boys back home. Joesph and I were lab partners and we were doing an experiment together. Our hands touched, and boom. I started to fall for him. I never noticed him before like that, and he was possibly the first guy ever that did not show any red flags at all."

Sandy brushed Cecilia's head slightly.

"It must have been rough for you."

"Seriously, being in that school caused so much damage to people, she was one of the most affected. I saw how it was for her. She was bullied everyday by this egotisical ugly guy that she liked years ago and he can't brush her off. This girl had to go through therapy just to reverse the damage that he did to her." Chichi added.

"I'll admit that I'm scared that the same thing is going to happen here."

"It won't be. What is it with you? Do you think that you are not deserving of good things?" Addy became worried.

Cecilia nodded.

"I'm scared that I'll make everything about myself. That I don't deserve things because I only am seem as a narcissist." Cecilia felt some tears start to roll.

"Don't cry!" Elwich jumped in and hugged her.

She started to feel genuine warmth and her heart lit up. Cecilia was used to having distant friends and friendships that were fragile and fell apart almost instantly, the few friends that she had were ones that she treasured.

"You really don't have to do that."

"No matter what happens, you deserve all the love that you need. And, one day, there will be somebody out there that will love you for you." Elwich reassured her.

Cecilia had more tears rolling down her cheeks. In that time, Addy grabbed her bag and took out a pack of on the go tissues for her.

"Here. You always take care of us, so we are returning the favor for you."

Addy came in and wiped the tears off of Cecilia's face.

"You're like a mom friend to us all. You give us snacks and drinks, always give us a hug when we need it, and encourage us through thick and thin."

Cecilia blew her nose in the tissue and grabbed a sip of water in the meantime.

"The friends that care for others need to be taken care of too." Sandy added.

"But, you guys don't think I'm overdramatic?"

"Why would we think that?" Stella asked.

"Because...." Cecilia sniffled. "I was always considered overdramatic when I would have a mental breakdown. To be honest, I've always suffered with severe anxiety for as long as I could remember. It got in the way of a lot in my life. One thing was love. This anxiety got worse as I aged and I wasn't allowed to get treatment until my senior year, which was last year. By then, it was so bad to the point that I had to get a lot of therapy."

Cecilia saw everybody look at her with concerned eyes.

"I'm sorry, I probably said too much." She looked down.

Everybody hugged her more.

"No. Don't ever be sorry. Cecilia, you've been through too much at such a young age. And look at you now. You're amazing. You're inspiring. You're the girl that always has a smile on her face and keeps on going no matter what. You're not weak, you're strong."

"You really think so?"

"Of course!"

"Word of advice for you, you are amazing, don't ever let somebody get in the way of your happiness. It's the fact that you kept on pushing even when you struggled. Despite the rain, you were able to see the sunshine. Don't let anybody taint your rays." Addy told Cecilia.