All is Fair in Love and Cupcakes

Chapter Two

Lilly

I felt like I'd been in school for days when the bell rang, signaling that it was time to go to our last class of the day. Anyone else probably would have been excited, but I had lost all will to move at that point, because my last class would be Culinary Arts.

It was clearly a new class, so I couldn't simply gravitate to the familiar room without a struggle as I had all day. I consulted my schedule, which said that it was in room 309. Which meant it was on the third floor, so...the rest I could figure out myself, I guess. 

As I was hiking up the stairs creating horror-story images of the class in my head, I noticed the same kid I had seen this morning, David McClain, walking in the same direction. I almost felt myself being attracted to him all over again, and I had to remind myself that I wasn't to go barking up that tree.  He's a criminal, I had to tell myself. God damn it, Lil, the guy's a criminal, and all you can think about is the two of you making out.

Finally, there it was: Room 309. I'd never taken much note of it before, but I'd never had a class on the third floor before. The third floor was barely used, as all it had was the wood shop, an art room, and tons of storage. Since I'd never taken art before and there was no way I would ever enter the wood shop, I'd never ventured far beyond the stairwell of the third floor. There had been no reason to. 

I pushed the door open with a lot of trepidation, not knowing what to expect on the other side. When I got in, it was mostly how I had always envisioned a cooking class. I mean, in the rare instances where I had ever actually envisioned a cooking class. There were ten small tables that seated two people, each with cabinet space underneath. There was one long desk for a teacher at the front, like an actual classroom. One wall was lined with ovens, the opposite with counterspace and cabinetry. The back wall was sinks and a big fridge. 

The pressure was on as I realized that I'd have to sit in a pair. Pairing off was always a uniquely stressful event, and it was very common in high school, but the stress was magnified a thousand times in a class where you knew nobody. A few people were sitting down in pairs talking already, but the class hadn't started yet. I decided to stand by the back of the room and wait to see if anyone seemed approachable.

Minutes passed and more and more people flooded in. Everybody seemed to know at least one person. David McClain had sat down with another guy who he didn't seem to be close with, but was wearing a football jacket, and I had to assume they knew each other from the team. The bell rang and while not everyone was seated, I realized my partner options were running thin.

"Okay, let's all find a partner and take a seat," the teacher instructed, and I entered full panic mode. How would I find a partner? I found myself praying for someone to find me.

Finally, the door opened, and a petite quiet girl with brown hair entered, apologizing for being late and shuffling to the back of the room with her head down. I recognized her as Mackenzie Squire, a girl from my geometry class last year. She'd been the only other freshman to take double math, which probably explained why we were the only two sophomores in the class. I let out a sigh of relief. Mackenzie and I weren't best friends, but she was nice enough. And she was definitely approachable, and had already distinguished herself as the one person in the class that I wasn't afraid of.

"Hey, Mackenzie," I called out, taking the initiative. I knew her to be shy, and I figured she wouldn't have approached me if I'd left it to her.

"Hi, Lilly," she said, smiling warmly.

"It looks like we're the only sophomores in here," I said, alluding to the fact that we should be partners and hoping she would catch on.

"Yeah, I guess so. It's kind of intimidating." She hadn't caught on. I had to take the initiative.