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I laughed and held out my hand to her. “Sounds a lot like my mother,” I said. “I’m Layla, by the way.”
“Katrina,” the cute brunette said. “But you can call me Kat. Kat Lee.”
“Nice to meet you, Kat.”
“You’ve got a bit of a twang,” Kat said. “Where you from?”
“Texas,” I said, unaware that my accent was so instantly discernable. “Amarillo.”
Kat let out a long whistle. “Ooh. That’s a long, long way from here. I’m just from San Francisco... barely an hour away from here.”
“So, I guess you’ll be going back to visit with your parents pretty often,” I said.
“Oh, no,” Kat said. “I need to concentrate on my studies. I’ll be living here in the dorm and I’m quite happy about that, although a little nervous at the same time. You? Are you staying at the dorm?”
“Yes. This is my first year here, so I’m a little nervous, too.”
“My first year, too.”
I pulled out the letter that I’d received when I was accepted. “Let’s see here,” I said as I tried to unfold the sheet of paper.
“They sent you a paper acceptance letter?” Kat said a little surprised.
Feeling the heat of a blush come to my cheeks, I concentrated on the letter. “We only have intermittent internet back home... so. Oh, here it is. I’m in Dorm C, room 205.”
Kat pulled out her phone and looked at her acceptance letter. “Hey,” she let out with a happy smile. “What do you know. We’re going to be roommates.”
I bit down on a happy grin. What luck. The first student that I met is not only nice and charming and polite, but she was my roommate. “Good,” I said. “I was a little bit worried I’d be with someone I don’t like, but....”
Kat smiled. There was something sassy, yet shy about her. Something playful and mischievous, but also tame and unsure. “I’m a very likable person,” she finally said with a grin.
Someone finally came to open up the large wrought iron gate.
“First year students,” the stern woman called out. “Head over that way.” She pointed to the large, castle-like building. “Those who are coming back for another year, head over to your dorms unless you have a need to discuss a matter with the administration, in which case, we ask that you put it off until a little later unless absolutely necessary. We would like to tend to the newcomers before they get lost.”
“Let’s stick together,” I said to Kat. “If I get lost, I don’t want to get lost alone.”
“Same here.”
We followed the stream of young new students who made their way to the administrative building. Inside, a row of a dozen tables, each ten feet apart, was set up at the back of the large space. At the top of each table was a board with the letters to the various dorms.
“Ours is over there,” Kat said, pointing to the cardboard marked ‘C’.
Pulling our respective suitcases on the smooth white tiled floor, we got into the appropriate row.
“This place is so big,” Kat said.
“A lot bigger than I expected,” I admitted.
“So, how did a girl from all the way in Amarillo, Texas end up in a culinary academy north of San Francisco?” Kat said as we waited.
“Scholarship,” I said simply. “Back home I’ve been entering cooking contests since I was a kid. I’ve won a lot of ribbons and trophies and a few cash prizes, but this tops it all. And I beat out a lot of talented people to make it here.” I looked at her. “And what made you come here.”
She shrugged and smiled. “My mom.”
“Really?” I said with a reluctant chuckle.
“Well, sort of,” Kat said. “My parents own a string of Chinese restaurants, most of them in the northern part of California. They also have a base store in Singapore. They both thought a few classes here would do me good, but... truth be told, I really do enjoy cooking and it’s something I would have wanted to do anyway. I just like letting my mom think that it was all her idea.”
