chapter three

CHAPTER THREE

The next morning. I met up with Julia in front of our school. We decided to buy some breakfast before our class started. The smell of the newly baked bread at the bakery attracted us, so we went to buy some.

"This bread tastes good," I said while munching on the bread.

 "Hmm, it's okay, but I think my mom's homebaked bread is tastier," Julia said.

I tasted some of Julia's mom's bread and pastry. Julia always gives me whenever she brings some of them to school. I bet she'll go big when she tries to sell it, but she has another job, and baking was just her hobby. Julia must be so lucky to have a good baker mom at home. I know she's trying to learn how to bake cakes now, and I'm excited to try it.

"Do you want to make delicious bread with me?" she winked at me, and I frowned at her. "Then, if it tastes good, let's try to sell it," she added.

"What if it doesn't taste good?" I asked.

 Julia attempts to make bread and cookies before, but it always fails. Cookies spread too much or it’s an overbaked bread. That's why I'm quite shocked to hear from her that she wanted to try making it a business.

"What if it does?" she asked me, "C'mon! Join me. I'll ask my mom to teach us. We will not spend a lot of money here because my mom has the equipment we need for baking."

"We can't just start a business just like that, "I told her.

 "Of course, we need to plan first, and in this business, we will be able to apply the things we learned from our class, especially in the marketing area."

"I have little savings. Is it okay?" I asked her. I'm afraid I can't join her in this business because I don't have a lot of money to spend.

"It's okay, Cara! I know mom still has some ingredients," she said, encouraging me.

"Okay, I'll join you, "I said abruptly, and she was excited. Is this the right decision? I asked myself.

After our class, Austin joined us in the library to study for a quiz.

"Austin, do you remember the brownies I gave you last Christmas?" Julia suddenly asked him.

 "Yeah. It was the best brownies. I gave my mom some, and she likes them. When will your mom bake again?" He asked, flipping his notes.

 "We can bake on Saturday. We want to make it a business. What do you think?" she asked.

"I think it'll work as long as your product tastes good, and I think you need to do research like your target market, price, competition, and how you can make the best of your product," He said. "I can help you. I can take good pictures of your product for your website as long as you give me some baked goodies," He winked. I smiled at what he said.

 "OMG! I can't believe you're listening to our professor," Julia said while laughing.

"Of course, I listen. What do you think of me?" He scoffed.

"We also need to prepare a good packaging to attract customers, and maybe we can have a free taste to our classmates maybe they'll like it and would want to order," I suggest.

"Very good!" Julia laughed. I can see how excited she is.

"The name? Any idea? "Austin asked, looking at us.

"Our name,” Julia said, smiling at herself. “Cara plus Julia is equal to Caia" Her eyes are smiling with excitement.

"Caia bakes," I added.

"Perfect!"Austin chuckled.

Instead of studying, we ended up planning. It's okay. We still passed the quiz. After our class, I went home to rest.

I slept for almost two hours until I heard a noise downstairs.

"What happened?" I asked. I saw Carlon and Mom smiling brightly.

"Cara, I got the highest score in our science test, "he said with excitement.

"Really? That's great! I am very proud of my brother." I said, smiling. My parent's hard work and sacrifices are worth it since Austin is diligent in school, unlike any other guy his age.

"I thought I wouldn't pass. I had a hard time, but I prayed, and it worked, " Carlon said. Looking so happy about his achievement.

"What's happening here?" Dad asked us as soon as he saw us. Carlon showed his test paper to Dad.

 "Wow. I'm proud of you, son. I'm happy for you. I don't feel tired anymore," Dad said. We laughed at what he said.

 I excuse myself so that I can prepare for work.

I took a bus to work, and I saw Julia sitting inside the store eating ice cream with Roman.

"Why are you here?" I asked her

"I'm waiting for Austin," she said.

"Where are you going?" I asked her while preparing some work to do.

"I saw a newly opened baking store near our school. Austin said he'll come with me," she said.

"Really? I wish I could come, "I mumbled.

"Don't worry, we can come again tomorrow after class," she said, smiling at me. "I'm just going to look around. I'm not going to buy anything yet."

"Tell me if you're going to buy, so I could give you some of my savings," I said, and she nodded, still eating ice cream.

"That's a great business. Start while you're still young," Roman said.

"That's what my mom told me too. Try new things and take a risk. If you fail, it's okay. Whenever you fail, you will learn a lesson. So if you will try again, you can avoid the mistakes in the past," Julia said.

"A piece of advice, don't expect overnight success, and when you get tired, please don't give up. Just take a rest. Everything takes time."

Roman is nice to have a conversation with. I always enjoy his company.

Austin walked inside the store. "Hi, Roman!" he greets. Roman just smiled at him.

"You're in a good mood?" Julia asked him.

"Is it too obvious? It shouldn't be. I need to be mysterious so that girls can find me interesting," He said, looking in a mirror.

"Since when have you been interested in girls?" I said, mocking him.

He looks at me in disbelief. "Since you rejected me," He scoffed.

"What are you talking about?!" I shouted at him.

"Hey! Don't shout. I was just messing around," Austin said as I glared at him.

"Let's go now, Austin!" Julia called him, smirking at me.

Gosh! What's with him? I don't like it when Austin does that even if it’s a joke. I don’t like it whenever someone says that it looks like Austin likes me. I will not believe anyone who says that unless he’s the one who confessed.

There are a lot of customers today, so I was busy the whole shift. Roman went to the restroom when two guys entered the store. At first, they were like a usual customer, but when they noticed that the guard was not around, the guy in a hoodie went to me and pointed a knife at me while the other one stood by the door.

I was so shocked that I could not move.

“Give me the money," He said sternly.

"We don't have any sales yet," I lied to him.

"You can't fool me, open that box," He threatened me, still pointing the knife at me.

I still didn't say a word and impatiently waited for Roman to arrive.

.

"Hurry, or else I'll stab you," he said, threatening me.

I tremble with fear. I slowly opened the counter, but suddenly I heard a loud gunshot. I look around to see Roman standing in front of the store with police around him.

The two robbers were immediately caught. I was unharmed, but the trauma is real.

"Cara! Are you okay?" Julia ran to me as soon as she saw that the officer had taken me out of the store.

"I'm okay," I said, still in shock because everything happened so quickly. Austin was still holding my hand. I looked at him and smiled. I didn't let go of his hand because I felt safe.

 Roman and the owner handled the situation in the store and let me go home. Julia was afraid to send me home alone, so we used her car to drive me home.

"We can cancel our plans tomorrow," Julia said, looking at me.

"Why?" I asked, "We don't have to, Julia. It's okay. I'll be alright. We can still bake tomorrow." I added.

"Are you sure?" Austin asked me.

"Yes. I'm excited, to be honest." I said, staring outside the window.

"Okay, then. I'll wait for you tomorrow,” she replied.

My parents were sleeping when I arrived home. I went to my room and immediately fell asleep.

Mom woke me since my phone was ringing non-stop. I grabbed my phone at the side table, half asleep. It was the owner of the shop, so I called him back.

“Hello? Cara?” he answered the phone.

“Hi! I was asleep. I’m sorry I couldn’t answer the call right away,” I said. Eyes still close.

“It’s alright I know you’re tired. I just want to tell you that I’ll be assigning you to a different store,” the owner said.

“Where is it?” I asked.

“It’ll be at Cornelia Street, down the road.” He said. My eyes went wide. “Is it beside the bookstore?” I asked excitedly as if nothing had happened last night at work.

“Yes, it is. I’m glad you know the place. I have to call Roman too. Rest for today. You can work tomorrow evening.” He hung up the phone. My favorite artist was seen at that bookstore last weekend. Who knows, maybe I’ll see her there. I went to my room and saw my dad fixing his tie.

“You’re late today, Dad,” I told him.

“I woke up late today. Your mom didn’t wake me up today,” he said, shaking his head.

“Don’t blame me. You didn’t set your alarm,” mom said, hands in her hips.

Dad starts the motorcycle to leave, “Don’t drive too fast, Dad. Be careful.” I warned him, and he nodded.

“I’ll be at Julia’s place” she just looked at me and asked me about work.

“Are you going to work later?” she asked while watering the plants.

“No. I’ll work tomorrow night” I hope she didn’t know what happened last night.

“I read your manager’s message,” she said. I looked at her then she faced me.

“Don’t work anymore,” she said, sternly.

“No, mom. I need to work.  I’m fine. The owner assigned me to a different location,” I said, convincing her to let me still go to work.

“I’m telling you, if anything happens to you, I might die.” She sighed.

“I’m okay, don’t worry. I will be more careful,” I smiled. Mom shakes her head and lets me leave the house.

Dad shouldn't know about this because if so, I'm sure he'll really stop me from working.

As I entered Julia’s house, the smell of cinnamon welcomed me. I think her mom baked cinnamon rolls. I went to the kitchen and found Julia preparing the baking utensils.

“You’re late,” she said, smirking at me.

“No, I’m not. Austin’s not even here.” I told her in my defense. She laughed at me. “He’s outside, having coffee with mom.” She smiled at me.

I went outside to greet her mom.

“I baked cinnamon rolls, have some bite before we bake,” she said, smiling at me. Julia’s mom is beautiful. I love her smiles.

I sat with them and ate cinnamon rolls.

“Are you okay now?” Austin asked me while taking a sip on his coffee.

“I’m okay now,” I said so he won’t worry, but to be honest, I can still remember the knife pointed at me. It gives me chills.

“Let’s start!” Julia shouted at us, so we went back to the kitchen.

“Are we baking brownies today?” Austin asked.

“Yes, I’ll teach you how to make fudgy brownies.” Julia’s mom said, “Oh, thank you! Your brownies are my favorite,” he said excitedly.

“Okay, let’s start. First, get the butter and the chocolate. Melt it using a double-boiler.”

“What’s a double boiler?” Austin asked.

“You don’t directly put it on the heat. Get a pan put water on it, and when it boils, get a bowl, put the chocolates and butter at the top of the pan until it melts,” I did what she said.

“Next, mix the flour and cocoa powder,” Julia did that.

“The butter and the chocolates melt,” Austin said and turned off the heat.

“Put it aside and let it cool,” she said. “This is easy to do. Do you want to bake chocolate chips cookies?” she asked.

“Sure, mom,” Julia said.

“Alright, now mix the sugar with egg and combine it with the melted butter and chocolates then add the vanilla and add the remaining ingredients and that’s it,” she smiled.

I was happy to learn how easy it was to make fudgy brownies.

Once we mixed it thoroughly, we put it in a pan with parching paper, so it won’t stick to the pan, and baked it for 45 minutes, then we proceeded to make chocolate chips cookies.

We mixed the sugar and butter using a hand mixer into a large bowl. We added the eggs and vanilla then mixed again until it was fluffy and light. We combined it with dry ingredients and chocolate chips. We used a small ice cream scoop for the dough and put it on a cookie sheet. We baked it for 25 minutes until golden brown.

The smell is making me hungry and excited. I think I’ll enjoy baking, it’s actually fun.

Once the brownies and the cookies cool down, we taste it.

“I like it!” I said as I took another bite of the brownies.

Julia was so happy that we baked successfully today.

“Why don’t we bring this to school tomorrow and let our classmates taste it,” I suggested.

“You can do that and asked if they would want to order next time.” Julia’s mom said. She is very supportive of us.

We spent a little more time at Julia’s place. We went to their garden and had some quality time with each other.

“Do you think this will work?” I asked them

“Of course, just trust the process,” Julia said, winking at me.

“Can you bring it tomorrow to class, Julia? I asked her.

“Yes. I’ll bring it. I’m excited. I’m sure our classmates would like it,” Julia said confidently.

Austin’s phone rang, “Mom?” he answered, “She’s here.” then he looked at me and ended the call.

“Your dad had an accident,” he said calmly.

“What? Where is he? Is he okay?” I asked him worriedly.

“At the hospital. I’ll come with you”,” Austin said.

“Go ahead. You need to go there, Cara.” Julia said and tapped my shoulder.

We said goodbye to Julia’s mom and went straight to the hospital.

“I told him not to ride the motorcycle too fast,” I complain to Austin. Sometimes, Dad is hard-headed.

“We don’t know what happened yet,” Austin said.

 I am worried and mad. I just told my dad to be careful since we cannot afford to pay for the hospital and look at what happened. Why is this happening to us?

As we arrived at the hospital, I found Carlon there.

“What happened, Carlon?” I asked him.

“A car hit him,” He said.

“Whose at fault?” I asked him again

“Both of them.” He said, staring at dad.

The doctor came and talked to us while Austin went to his mom at the nurse station.

“His legs are severely injured. He needs surgery,” The doctor told us frankly.

“Please do the necessary things, doc,” I said, not thinking how costly it would be. I just want my dad to be better.

I called mom and told her we were in a hospital.

When she arrived, she almost cried, looking at my dad.

“How can we pay for this?” I asked her.

“Talk to your Aunt. Tell her we need help with money,” I was hesitant at first because my aunt was not approachable, so I was afraid of her reaction, but we had no choice. She was the only sibling of Dad who could help us right now.

Dad will be having his surgery later at night. I went to her house, which is kind of far from where we live.

I took a bus to get there, and I found her talking to her friends outside their house.

“Cara,” she said, smiling at me.

“Hi, Aunt Judy. Can I talk to you for a moment?” I said shyly.

We went inside their house.

“Is it money?” she asked right away. I smiled uncomfortably.

“I’m sorry, but can we ask for your help. Dad will be having surgery later, and you know our business is closed. Can we borrow money?” I asked, looking at the floor, so I won’t see her irritated face.

“Why? What happened to him?” she asked.

“A car hit him, and his right leg was severely injured,” I told her, fidgeting my hand.

“I told your father not to buy a motorcycle. Now, look what happened to him,” She said in disappointment. I couldn't answer her back, so I just waited for her to talk again.

“Your grandpa's land has been sold. No need to borrow. I’ll give him half of the payment.” I looked at her in shock. Not because she will give me money but because she sold the land of their parents.

Dad and Aunt Judy fights a lot because of that land. Aunt Judy likes to sell it, but Dad wouldn't allow her because he wants to build a house there.

But I guess Dad can’t do anything now that it has been sold.

“Don’t worry, Cara. I’ll talk to your Dad about the land when he’s okay now,” she said. “I’ll give you my number. Call me when you need anything. Your uncle sent a package from the US. I’ll give you some,” she said and went to the kitchen to get the goods sent by her husband.

She gave me a few canned goods and chocolates.

“I’ll visit your dad tomorrow, text me when his surgeries are done,” she said.

“Thank you, Aunt Judy. I appreciate your help.” I said sincerely.

 “Your dad told me you and Carlon are afraid of me. Don’t worry. I’m just like this, but I care. Be comfortable with me, okay? Call me anytime,” she said and gave me a genuine smile.

I nodded and smiled at her. I went back to the hospital to tell mom about our conversation.

Dad's leg surgery will be later at 10 pm. I have a class tomorrow morning, so I decided to sleep here at home instead of sleeping in the hospital. I was too tired going back and forth to the hospital today, and the humid weather today makes me more tired. I wanted to sleep so bad, but my mind was a mess. I'm worried about my Dad. What would happen after the surgery? I know he can't go back to work immediately. I need to work double-time.

THE NEXT DAY

"Good morning, everyone!" I look at the door to see Julia holding a tray of brownies, wearing her bright smile.

"Good morning, Julia. You shine so brightly today," Alex complimented her energy.

"Thank you, Alex! Have some brownies. We baked it yesterday." She said, giving him a brownie.

"How was it?" she asked.

"It's good. It's delicious."

I watched Julia as she gave our classmates a free taste of our baked brownies.

Austin ran towards Julia. "Is there any leftover?" he asked, and he saw an empty tray. I laughed at his reaction as he looked betrayed.

"Where are the cookies?" I asked Julia.

"Inside my bag. Let's give it to our classmates on our next subject," she murmured. I nodded.

After our class, I saw Austin asking our classmates if they liked the cookies and the brownies. "It's our new business. If you liked it, I'd appreciate it if you'd place an order on our websites." He said, flashing his smile to the girls.

I was thinking about what he said. A website? We haven't made one yet, so I asked Julia.

"A website?" she asked me. "Oh. Austin better makes a website later," she laughed.

Austin joined us at lunch. "Okay, fine. I'll make one later," he said in defeat as Julia kept annoying him.

The day went by slowly. I am here at the hospital with my Mom. She told me Aunt Judy visited earlier. The doctor came and advised us to take Dad on rehabilitation therapy if we wanted him to walk properly again.

I sighed. Of course, I want Dad to walk again, but where are we going to get money to pay for his therapy. I know mom was thinking the same thing.

When are we going to have a day without a problem?