I turned the sign on the door from closed to open. The special on today's menu was a classic chocolate cake. My plan was to put a different specialty dessert on the menu, every two days. I figured it would make it a bit more fun for me and my customers.
Business has been very slow. Not surprising, since The Bakery opened only four days ago.
My dad and I moved to San Francisco two months ago. We wanted a new start.
In those two months I had been so busy with setting up the bakery, that I didn't have any time to meet people and socialize. Thus, so far, I have only met Georgie. She's a sweet older lady who lives around the corner.
She walked in on the second day of my bakeries opening, with a bouquet of flowers to congratulate me.
I wanted to give her a free piece of vanilla sponge cake, but that sneaky woman left money under her plate.
My new aprons arrived in the mail this morning and I was ecstatic upon opening it. I chose some neutral white ones for my – not yet existing – staff and some special ones for me. The apron I chose to wear today was white with red cherries on it.
I looked up when I heard the bell above the door. First customer of the day. "Hello, what can I help you with today?"
A young girl, around my age, walked up towards the counter.
"Hello, are you new to the area? Haven't seen you before!"
I chuckled at the enthusiastic girl. Her mood was infectious. I always got a bit nervous at the start of a workday, so it's nice when you've got an already happy costumer.
"It's always nice to see new faces! My name is Lucy." The smile she gave me was blinding.
"Hi, I'm Kianna."
"I love your name!"
"Thank you! So, what can I help you with?"
"Oh right," Lucy looked at the display in awe, "They all look so gorgeous!"
"Thank you." I grinned at her.
It was hard, being the only worker here. I basically live in the bakery, to the extent of having my own little room with a bed. Before the bakery, I worked multiple jobs and saved up every penny, otherwise I could've never been able to afford this.
My dad, whose incredibly rich, offered to pay for the bakery and its upkeep, but I declined. It wouldn't feel right. I wanted to accomplish something on my own, without the influence of my dad or my last name.
It was my mom's dream to have a bakery. However, my dad didn't take no for an answer.
Eventually we came to an agreement and I let him sponsor the bakery.
"I'll take two slices of chocolate cake, two chocolate cupcakes and a hot chocolate to go, please."
I collected her order as she went on.
"I'm just taking a wild guess here, but do you possibly like chocolate?"
Lucy shook her head, her long auburn curls flying from left to right.
"No, I love chocolate," she stated with a serious look.
I grinned, "I know how you feel. That will be $11,00."
"Keep the change."
She handed me a bill of twenty dollars.
"Thank you."
I always feel guilty about taking people's money, especially tips. It's a bad trait to have as a bakery owner. I've been like that since I can remember. Always feeling guilty about something.
"You're welcome, I'll see you around Kianna!"
She waved at me and stepped out the door.
It was quiet in the bakery again. So, I decided to walk to the back room to check on the chocolate cakes in the oven. As soon as I walked through the doors, I was engulfed in chocolate heaven. That's one of the best parts of a bakery, the smell.
The cakes looked fine, but they weren't done yet.
I walked over to my computer in the corner to check if anyone replied to my vacancies. To my disappointment, the only emails I received were notifications from my family on Facebook. Apparently, Aunt Anne went to visit China Camp State Park in San Rafael. Everywhere she goes she has to post a picture. It's actually really cute. I love checking in on my family, especially because I don't get to see them that often.
I refreshed my email, hoping that somehow a reply would come in. I made a mental note to take some new pictures for the bakery's Instagram account. Maybe I'd reach more people that way.
I smoothed out the wrinkles that were forming on my forehead.
If I didn't find any employees soon, I might have to close this bakery down. There's only so much I can do on my own, but for now- since business was slow, I could handle it.
I walked back towards the front and saw a young man standing outside, looking at the bakery in thought. He had brown hair, like the color of my chocolate cakes. He looked inside the store and saw me smiling at him. He smiled back and opened the door to my bakery. The little bell went off above him.
"Can I help you?"
The young man walked over to the counter, his eyes roaming over the shelves of pastries before landing on me. His eyes were the same color as his hair.
"I'm Mikey, this bakery is new right?"
"I'm Kianna and yes, we opened four days ago," I replied.
He tapped his chin and looked around, "Hmm, I don't see a lot of employees."
I smiled sheepishly, "That's because there aren't."
Suddenly he clapped his hands together, "Awesome!"
I winced at the sound and gave him a confused look. How could that be awesome?
I opened my mouth to ask him, but he cut me off.
"Okay, well, bye." He turned around and walked out of the bakery. I stared at the spot where he stood only a couple seconds ago. I couldn't wrap my head around what just happened. What a peculiar guy.
I shook my head, it was time to remove the chocolate cakes from the oven.
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Writing this made me want to bake and eat a chocolate cake.
QOTC (Question Of The Chapter)
Do you like chocolate?
