Chapter 84. Chef’s Kiss: pt. 1

I sat cross-legged on the floor of my tiny Emo aesthetic bedroom, my laptop balanced on my knees, refreshing the results portal for the third time in thirty seconds. My thumb hovered over the trackpad like it might somehow coax the page to load faster. “Come on, come on,” I whispered, mostly to myself. “You studied. You fucking studied.”

Three years. Three years of this same damn course hanging over my head like a guillotine. Everyone else from my original batch had moved on—jobs, internships, restaurants with their names already printed on menus. I was still here, twenty-four, still chasing a piece of paper that felt more like a restraining order than a diploma.

The page finally stuttered to life.

Culinary Techniques III – Practical & Theory

Ava Laurent

Final Grade: 49.0 / 100

Status: Fail

The number stared back at me, round and smug. 49.0. One point. One miserable, arrogant point.

My chest caved in. I pressed the heel of my hand