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Post by Deleted on Jan 17, 2014 18:34:48 GMT
| we ripped out my heart so the test could begin The cooking class was some desperate attempt of Natalia's to make friends, and/or improve her cooking skills. She was a good cook already, and she knew it, so part of her was excited to show off in front of a bunch of people who most likely had no idea what they were doing. Of course, she was no expert, but certainly not an amateur. At any rate, it was a way for her to feel talented at something other than her career, so she had signed up for several classes. The first was today, just before lunch, probably so they could eat whatever it was they were making.
Natalia had gotten a spot in the middle of the class, which was being held at a kitchen for a hotel restaurant not in use. She was standing still, patiently waiting for the room to fill in, for the instructor or whoever it was to show up. There were a few other people in the room, several couples; she frowned a tiny bit. It really was the sort of thing couples would sign up for. Surely she wouldn't be the only single lady in the room? That would be awful, she thought, placing her hands on the edge of the counter and leaning against it.
@genesis
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Post by Deleted on Jan 18, 2014 7:25:47 GMT
Gen was not happy, not happy at all with this turn of events. It was a rare day off for her, and her friend had insisted that they sign up for some high-bar cooking class event at some hotel. Gen wasn't entirely interested but ended up getting roped into it anyway, only half putting up a fight.
For the next few days she tried to convince herself that it wouldn't be that bad, but when she arrived, the dark-haired woman realized it would be very bad. She had entered the kitchen area where the class was being held and the "friend" was nowhere to be found. It was only when she checked her phone that she saw that the friend wouldn't be showing up because she was ill.
Typical.
She was about to leave when the doors to the kitchen were shut, as it was time to start the class. She wouldn't be able to leave now without creating a disturbance, and though Gen was never really one to care about that sort of thing, her entire groove was thrown off one notch and she couldn't seem to get everything back on track.
So, with a defeated sigh and a tic of anger pulling back her lips in a gentle grimace, she removed her suitcoat and purse and set them gently on the ground next to her, hoping this class was on the shorter side.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 18, 2014 22:03:41 GMT
| we ripped out my heart so the test could begin Natalia had been watching people file in, get set up, put their bags down, and patiently wait for the class to start. When the doors shut, she saw one woman nearby look somewhat out of place. There was an empty space between them, and Natalia flip-flopped on what she would do for a while before finally shuffling over a spot to stand next to the newcomer, who didn't seem to know anyone, just like her.
"Hello," she greeted her with a polite smile. "I heard there's various partner activities in this. Care to team up?" It seemed like a decent way to say hello, though Natalia realised after that she'd neglected to give her name. Hopefully the other woman would introduce herself, and then she would get a chance to fix her mistake without it seeming like too much of an afterthought.
Hopefully she's... nice, Natalia thought to herself, vaguely remembering a moment in her childhood when, at five years old, sheasked someone "Want to be friends?" and the little girl simply looked her up and down and then replied with a solid "No." She had cried. Of course, at thirty-nine that sadness would be replaced with a sort of bitter feeling, but past childhood most people were mature enough to avoid situations like that. Or so she hoped.
@genesis
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Post by Deleted on Jan 20, 2014 12:34:48 GMT
Genesis inwardly groaned as she realized she was going to be stuck here for the entire time. A more positive side said she should make the most of it, but pessimism won over as she stood there, obviously not wanting to be there. However, despite the negative aura she was putting out, she heard a voice speak up next to her.
There was a woman standing a bit closer now, a woman who had been at the station next to hers a moment ago. She didn't look to be much older than Gen's age, and she appeared to be alone. In fact, she asked Genesis if they could pair up for the cooking class. While she wasn't thrilled with the idea, it was probably just residual anger from being forced to take this class. Plus, if there was a partner element, she didn't want to be without a partner.
"Sure," she said with a curt nod, moving her stuff over so the other woman had a place to stand at the very least. Placing her hands on the workspace in front of her, a slight and uncomfortable silence fell between them as Gen wasn't sure who was going to speak next. She cleared her throat a little.
"I'm Gen Dayan," she offered, sticking her hand out politely for a shake. She wasn't a fan of hand shakes, regularly, but it was the customary polite thing to do when meeting someone new, after all.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 21, 2014 6:19:56 GMT
| we ripped out my heart so the test could begin Natalia made sure that her relief to Gen's nod in agreement was not visible as the other woman moved her belongings to the side, allowing Natalia to stand more comfortably next to her. So she wasn't the bright and bubbly type. Maybe a mother, maybe not. Married? Possibly. What did she do? Why was she here alone? An artist?
"Hi, Gen," she replied, taking her hand in a gentle shake before letting go after the appropriate amount of time. "I'm Natalia Caito," she added, turning to look forwards before vaguely listening to the man in the front. This was probably not going to be as easy as she thought it would be, but adults were supposed to find it harder to make friends, as far as she was aware. It was kids who could do it easily; so straightforward and smiley. It didn't work the same way once you were older.
There was a break in which they were meant to chop up green onions using the correct "wrist technique" or some sort of crap the man informed them of. She lifted up her knife briefly, resting her elbow on the wooden board, and glanced over at Gen.
"So Gen, why are you here? Just for cooking classes?" she asked, hoping it wasn't too intrusive. She tried to put on a certain tone of voice that said, "I've known you for years and we're familiar with each other," but had no idea how successful it had been. Oh well.
@genesis
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Post by Deleted on Jan 21, 2014 16:53:02 GMT
Gen just nodded when the other woman, Natalia, introduced herself. Unfortunately she wasn't in much of a talkative mood, so she hoped this woman wasn't pining for some good conversation. Gen made her living talking to others. It was nice to have a break every now and then.
She listened as the instructor explained what they were going to be doing. Gen wasn't an amateur in the kitchen, but she was no professional. She could understand how to read a recipe and execute everything it asked of her, but she had no training. She didn't know the theory behind food or food preparation or how to create her own recipes. The woman was terribly uncreative in her own mind, and cooking was following a recipe created by someone who had knowledge of all of the culinary essentials. Gen was not one of those people.
When the class was instructed to cut green onions, she grabbed one of the knives at their station and took some of the green onions sitting out for them. Both participants were required to chop some onions, and the provided amount of onions were all they'd need for their recipe so there would be no overages. Knife in hand and curling the tips of her fingers under so there were no slicing accidents, she chopped the rooted end off of the onion, making a slight face. The roots always looked like little hairs to her, and it was very unappetizing.
Natalia's voice brought her back from the recesses of her mind and she had to let the phrase process a bit in her head, once she was actually listening. Not looking up at the other woman and concentrating on chopping the onion, she said, "I was supposed to come with a friend, but said friend never showed up and I couldn't just leave in the middle of the lesson."
She had to make sure the other woman knew she wasn't here of her own volition, she wasn't here because she wanted to be.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 23, 2014 4:46:02 GMT
| we ripped out my heart so the test could begin "Ah," Natalia replied, and then in a somewhat sympathetic tone, "that's too bad." She wasn't sure if it was safe to assume that Gen was the sort to go out to cooking classes with friends, or if it had taken convincing for her to even show up. She wasn't sure. Her tone of voice didn't sound pleased, but perhaps that was just out of bitterness towards the friend? At least this woman was the type to have friends, which Natalia, apparently, was not.
"Hmm." She wasn't sure what else to say. There wasn't much room for conversation. Nat had too many questions; did Gen mean to leave the conversation quiet? Was she just... a quiet person, maybe? Was she not interested in chatting? She hadn't opposed to Nat moving over, but now she was feeling intimidated. Quickly finishing up the green onions, she tossed them in a small cup that was placed between her and Gen, and then paused a moment while the rest of the class finished. Their instructor was walking around, checking everyone's technique.
The silence drove Natalia nuts. It felt rude, awkward, distant. Not that she was deeply offended by Gen's demeanor; more that she was a little self-conscious and couldn't help but wonder vaguely if it was something about her. She had no idea for what to say, and so she left it, instead occasionally glancing back at her partner.
@genesis
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Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2014 5:22:49 GMT
This was only a little bit awkward. Natalia fell silent after Gen's last comment, and after a few moments to brood about it, Gen realized she probably sounded a bit too angry and snippy. True, she didn't want to be here, and it's not like she necessarily asked Natalia to join her, but the least she could do was to be nice.
"Anyways," she said after the green onions were done and the instructor moved on to the second step of the recipe. Small talk had never been her greatest strength, which was ironic since she did talk for a living. But the talking was so much different, after all.
Gen wracked her mind for what to talk about. She thought back to university, to social mixers where people were basically forced to talk to one another to try and make at least one friend so you weren't completely alone for the next four years. Everyone just asked about majors and hometowns. Why should this situation be that different?
"So, Natalia," she began, trying to sound a bit friendlier this time around. "What do you do for a living?"
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