Life Is What You Bake It // A Harry Styles AU

Chapter 5 - Term 2, Week 5

Monday

Even though Mondays are often the worst day of the week for a lot of people, for college catering students, especially the ones at St. Nicholas, they're the best.

Quite often, Tim Bennison will have the Level 3s cook up something in the morning to go out into the student canteen, and it can vary from anything like proper fish and chips, to a rich, chocolatey (and often massive) gateaux. While Adele may have missed out on the Monday delicacies for the most part of this year, she's certainly going to make the most of them now.

"I genuinely love Mondays..." Ben hums, dragging the pizza box forward to take a large slice for himself.

"What is it about us lot always ending up sharing a pizza?" Hattie asks over a laugh, standing to lean over the table to take her own.

"I've never shared a pizza with any of you." Paisley retorts, already half way through hers.

"Well, we had one at the convention thingy in Birmingham 'cause it was convenient. And on nights out we sometimes go to Flames after we've got out of Fever 'cause they're close by and they always taste bangin'." Ben says around a mouthful.

"Bet they're disgusting sober, though." Eden mutters, mostly out of spite since she's never there on nights out.

"They are." Adele agrees, taking a slightly smaller piece because she'd eaten half of the food they made in their practical session this morning.

"Still not sure why Bennison has got Level 3s cooking pizza. Didn't we do that in Level 1?"

"It's the dough." Ben says, still with a mouthful not swallowed. "It's special shit, can't remember what it's called."

Adele can't help her small laugh. It's surprising sometimes how little information students really take in. Too busy making sure they remember the actual recipe, dish names are often forgotten.

"It doesn't even matter, this is some fucking good pizza." Paisley says tightly, eating too quickly. She can already feel her oncoming indigestion.

"Don't tell the Level 3s that - it'll go straight to their heads." Eden grumbles.

While a conversation breaks out about how egotistical the small class of Level 3s can be between the others, Adele's phone vibrates against the table with a text message. She picks it up absent-mindedly from its face-down position, and she frowns at the name.

It feels strange seeing Harry's name on her screen again. It's familiar in a way, but also alien now. It's only been two weeks but he hasn't texted her once since that Saturday, and seeing his name against the backdrop of the photo she's always had as her home screen - the one of her as a baby being cuddled by Gwen -, makes her stomach churn. It's almost nostalgic, but it feels bad.

She frowns, opening the text reluctantly.

Harry 12:39

I need to talk to you

Still frowning, she looks up again. Talk about vague, she thinks. She glances around the room, finding Harry hovering by the table the Level 3s always sit at, and looking directly at her. Even though his expression is ambivalent, it still makes her shiver.

He nods subtly towards the door, and then turns to Lewis's chair, leaning down to tell him something. Adele grits her teeth, looking back to her phone. This is a bit fucking dramatic. She scowls, closing the app and then locking her phone. She finishes her pizza before she moves.

"I'll be back in just a tick." She announces quietly as she stands.

No one seems to be listening to her, too busy thriving on their bitch-fest about how stuck up the higher level students can be when they want to be. After tucking her chair in, Adele wipes her hands down her jeans to rid any lingering pizza crumbs, and heads towards the door and out into the building lobby.