AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter 1
Layla
I’d been dreaming of this day for weeks and it was finally here. Standing just outside the huge and imposing closed gates in front of the International Culinary Institute Academy, my heart raced. I was early and I knew they wouldn’t open the gate for another ten minutes, but I’d wanted to arrive as early as possible.
It was such a momentous occasion, and, in addition to being early, I had certainly dressed the part.
With my large, pink rolling suitcase in tow, I was a splash of summer blooms in my floral summer dress and pink high heeled sandals. Although my dress had an ample and modest length skirt, it did have a cute cut-out at the back and was nicely cinched at the waist.
I had to assume that that was why so many of the young men passing by turned to take a second look at me. But I hadn’t come all the way out from Amarillo, Texas to northern California just to meet cute boys, so I ignored them as I looked up at the impressive Academy.
The large and majestic building was like a castle, built of solid blocks of dark stone and enhanced with rich dark wood at the windows and doors. Turrets rose high at the corners of the building adding to the drama of its architecture. Set in the midst of a redwood forest, there was something almost magical and enchanting about the site.
To the left was a tall edifice built with the same dark stones but with dozens of multicolored, stained-glass windows. And far to the right, I could just barely make out a few of the three-story structures that I assumed were the dormitories.
“Yes, Mom. I promise I’ll call the minute I settle in. Yes. Yes. I promise.”
I turned to the high pitched, sweet sound of the female voice to find a petite, dark haired Asian girl climbing out of a white Mercedes. At the wheel of the car was the girl’s mother who quickly got out to come help her daughter with her suitcase.
“I’ve got it, Mom,” the young woman said patiently.
“You don’t need me anymore,” the older woman said with chagrin. “My little Katrina is all grown up now and no longer needs her mother.”
“And you should be proud of that fact,” Katrina said gently, trying to console her mother. “Remember Annie? She’s two years older than I am and she still relies on her mother for everything. Would you prefer that?”
“No,” her mother said. “But I just wished you hadn’t grown up so fast. This is all happening too fast.”
Katrina grabbed her suitcase from the backseat of the car and dragged it out. “You promised you wouldn’t do this, Mom.”
“Yeah, yeah,” the older woman said, wiping away a stray tear. “Give me kiss and go on with your life.”
Katrina kissed her mother, gave her a warm hug then stepped back to watch her get back in the car and drive off.
“They sometimes have a hard time letting go, don’t they?” I said, empathizing with the girl.
She looked at me with the most beautiful brown eyes and smiled. “Try to understand a Chinese mother. One day she’s pushing me to go out on my own. The next she’s pulling me back to stay at her side.”
