Love and Food

ii: the way he is

Every week seemed as if it was a routine, and every class without Joseph was one that was miserable and depressing. Cecilia counted the days every week to be in hospitality technologies and have that class with him. That hour would make her day, heck even her week too.

They still sent their snaps to each other, except normally it would be something they are doing. Although, sometimes it could be a snippet of their face, but not too much to really show.

Cecilia one day started to break the news to one of her closet friends: Chichi.

"So, do you remember Joseph Teak?" She asked daringly.

"Yes, he was so nice!"

"Well, uh..."

Cecilia started to nervously giggle to the point that she felt her heart twist up and started to blush.

"Well, I have a crush on him, I actually have since high school."

Chichi's mouth dropped, if possible than down to the floor.

"No way! Do you know what major he is going for?"

To be honest, Cecilia didn't know.

"I don't know, maybe he's a culinary major just like you and Bailey."

"Maybe."

Chichi has been one of her oldest friends since middle school, and in total, there were 4 people from their hometown that are in this program together: Chichi, Cecilia, Bailey, and Joseph.

Bailey was another shocker too. She was always a lead role in the school plays and at one point, was Cecilia's rival in theatre before a freak accident caused Cecilia to drop out of theatre as a whole.

Joseph was still a mystery in general.

Cecilia couldn't contain her feelings for Joseph. They grown so much over the last few months. Too much, she fell so fast for him.

"I even wanted to ask him to prom, but I chickened out the last second. Honestly, I thought he would reject me."

Chichi couldn't contain his shock.

"I feel like this is fate for you, Cecilia. Your fates crossed and I think life wants you to be together."

"Could it be?"

Cecelia wondered and thought about the exact time that she met Joseph.

It was less than a month after she got out of a toxic relationship. She remembered working with him in food science. He handed her some thing and their hands touched. All of a sudden, in that moment, everything just seemed alive, new, and fresh. Cecelia never noticed Joseph before until that moment.

"It could be." Her thoughts dazed off to Joseph.

"Wait, what do you like about him? What makes him stand out?" Chichi became curious.

"He's different. This is probably the first guy that I've ever like that never obviously showed off a red flag of his. He's not cocky, he's not conceited, he doesn't treat girls horribly. He's genuine. He's kind, he has a heart. You know I always used to go for the bad boy troublemakers "fixer-upper" kind of guys that have something wrong with them and I thought that I was their solution when in reality they use me a lot. Joseph is not that way."

"Do you think he likes you back?"

Cecilia stopped in thought for a second.

"I don't know. But, I've always noticed him staring at me and even for a split second. Our eyes always met up at one point. Even during graduation."

"You have blue eyes, they're enough to make any guy fall for you. He might like your eyes."

"With the eyebags that I have? He may be more concerned that I don't sleep at night. in reality, I get anywhere from 6 to 12 hours of sleep a night. And even with 3 cups of light roast."

Cecilia slightly giggled.

"But yeah, you should shoot your shot with him. This isn't gonna last forever. You only have until the end of the semester to make a move, any move will do. You don't have to confess to him, but get to know him more."

"You're right, I don't want to rush things. I learned that the hard way."

"He would be perfect for you, though. You two balance each other out. You're the energy and the adventure as well as the motivation. Meanwhile, he's the more grounded type."

They forgot that they were in class and suddenly, Joesph came walking in, unbothered. Chichi eyed Cecilia, and gave her a wink.

With Joseph in the room, all Cecilia could think about was Joseph. Even if he was dazed out or was picking his nose, Cecelia would find him to be the most attractive man in the galaxy. Why? a girl like her is down bad when she falls in love. She can only see him.

The teacher was going over the syllabus again for the third time in class and they are already three weeks in. Cecilia pretended to be the focused, hard-working student by doodling in her notebook. But, she was only making silly little drawings of her and Joseph in class. She didn't care that her friend was watching her make you dumb drawings as long as she is comfortable with expressing her feelings, that's what it's going to come down to.

The class ended and Cecilia had to run out the door to get to her English class. She thought in the meantime that she should probably drop her shoe somewhere and make Joseph find her for it. However, that is too over the top and probably cliché.

She stopped for a second, and the wind suddenly picked up. Joseph put on his hood, and it was struggling against the wind. Cecelia on the other hand was quite unbothered, and it felt like a calm breeze to her.

Joseph made her feel calm in a way, all of her worries and troubles disappeared when his name is mentioned, or she saw him even from a distance.

Before she walked to her English class, she looked back and saw Joseph walking to the parking lot.

Maybe one day, she'll get the courage to talk to him. Not now, but maybe someday.