Begin Again

BAKER'S HEAVEN

Sweet Serenity.

The wooden block that hung above the glass door was painted with pink and blue letters of the words in an artistic way, one that made it look like icing on a freshly baked chocolate cake. The inside of the bakery was decorated to look like a nice little cottage. The blue and white checkered tiles were complemented by the pastel blue wallpaper, the furniture were all white in colour. The space within was brightly lit with adorable owl-shaped lamps, and there was a beautiful glass counter that showed off the daily menu of cakes and cookies.

For that wonderful morning, the special displays were classic no-bake vanilla cheese cake, pastel-coloured cupcakes and frosted malt-chocolate cookies. The scent of baked flour and sugar filled the entire bakery, leaving all its customers licking their lips wanting more of the delicious dessert.

'I guess this will be my second home from now on,' a woman with honey-blonde hair said to herself. If I can make it through today. She thought to herself bitterly.

'Mother, you'll be alright,' Delano said, ignoring Corinne's uncanny fear of finding a job, probably because she hasn't been working in front of people for a long time. He gave her an assuring grin, and watched as she stepped into the bakery, the bells jingling as the door opened and closed behind her. Then Delano headed back home. He had decided that he would walk around more often, not that he didn't enjoy driving --- he loved it --- but he would also like a taste of fresh air, something which he could anticipate every morning, he met a few nice people every now and then, and he was glad there was a change in scenery.

'Del, how's it going?' Someone waved from afar and came running towards him in large steps.

'Zeke, never thought I'd see you today,' Delano laughed as his friend nearly ran into him at the failed attempt of braking his shoes.

'Doing anything later?' Zeke blew a strand of his blue hair upwards, which was poking into his left eye uncomfortably. Delano shook his head sideways, he had no plans for the special occasion. Though a Friday without school is awesome, he would really like to just laze like a couch potato and binge watch Netflix.

'The girls are going shopping, want to tag along?' Zeke said. He was wearing a striking orange shirt with the words 'orange is the new black' written in big blocks on it, and it was definitely getting him the attention he liked.

'Sure, why not?' Delano raised his eyebrows and pursed his lips. What is it with girls and shopping anyway? He thought, shaking his head slightly when he imagined all the paper bags they would be carrying later on.

Moments later, Delano was in his room, going through every apparel in his closet to find something decent to wear. At last, after a thirty-minute long inner discussion, he decided that he would be fine wearing a brown leather jacket and a pair of black jeans. After tucking himself comfortably in his sneakers, he locked the door behind him and went to Maison dé Café to meet his friends.

'Hey guys, I have something important to announce,' Sydney cleared her throat when everyone arrived. Piper was even more excited than she was, practically trembling in excitement beside her like a happy little toy which might burst any time soon.

'You're getting a new haircut?'

'You got a new car?'

'You're getting married?'

The boys raised their hand and started guessing the answer, the way they always did in class during a pop quiz.

'No, you silly people, I got a new credit card!' Sydney waved her brand new card in front of the three jaw-dropped guys in exaggerated expressions. They shrugged her off moments later, asking her to buy free clothes for them if she wanted them to keep their mouths shut in school. 

'It's the Black Friday, guys,' Piper said as they walked out of a designer shop into the next. The five of them were literally holding up the clothes and putting them back to their places after seeing the price tags, assuring themselves with things like 'I don't think the shirt suits me' and 'suddenly I don't like the colour'. 

'Clothes on me, now shop your butts off!' Sydney cried out and rolled her eyes. I can't stand being around people who don't shop, like duh, there's a huge sale everywhere. She mumbled in her head. 

After five long hours at the mall, it was time to go. 

'Join us for spa?' Piper asked the boys while Sydney was indulging in her imagination of meeting cute guys at the spa. Delano, Zeke and Fletcher shook their heads frantically, as if the idea itself was killing them. 

'That's too bad, your feet might hurt so bad tomorrow that you'll have to stay home all day,' Sydney replied with sass before they parted ways. 

Moments later, Delano dropped his bags at home and decided to take his mind out for a walk. He was strolling aimlessly on streets, his mind blank, he couldn't hear voices, and the only sound that was ringing through his ears was the wind blowing into his face. 

It wouldn't hurt to pay mother a visit on her first day. He thought to himself. I should show her my support. With that, he took a right turn into a street and looked ahead at the familiar wooden signboard. 

As he pushed the door open, he could feel the warmth of the freshly-baked cookies and imagine the taste of the beautifully-decorated cakes melting in his mouth. But then, his wonderful thoughts were interrupted by a small commotion at a table. 

'Do you know who I am? How dare you ask me to pay?' A masculine voice rang through the whole bakery and all the customers looked up from their plates with curiosity, leaving passers-by to toss glances into the very shop. 

Delano saw a tall broad figure, facing him backwards, yelling at his mother. She was pitifully petite in front of the guy, her shoulders were tight from the stressful situation, and in her eyes were the shadows of shame and fear. 

'I-I'm sorry, mister-' She stumbled. 

'My father owns this bakery, pay me some respect. From now on, you call me "sir", or prepare to say goodbye to your job,' The guy grunts rudely. 'Apologize again.'

'I'm sorry,' She paused to adjust to the new title of the man standing in front of her. 'Sir.' 

Delano could feel the anger rising inside of him, someone was talking to his mother as if she was trash and he would not hesitate to punch the guts out of that ruthless human being if it wasn't for his mother's warning eyes when she caught him staring at her. 

He took a deep breath to calm himself down and walked towards them. 

'It's alright, mother,' Delano said as he made way to stand in between the man and Corinne. Then he turned around to take a good look at the cruel and self-absorbing person. He paused in his tracks when the man raised his eyebrows as Delano turned around, and the frown on the man's face slowly turned into an awful smirk. 

At the same time, they called out each other's names. 

'Cadieux.'

'Santora.' 

With a wave of his hand, Austin motioned the other customers to get back to their food while he gave Delano an devilish grin, and slanted his head to mock at him. 

'I didn't know she was your mother.' He said, and laughed out loud, 'I don't care.'

Delano clutched his fists so tight that veins were practically popping out of his arms. 

'I do not consider you a vulture, but something that a vulture would eat.' He threw an insult so beautiful that Austin was jumping at his spot. At last, Austin let out a huge puff and made a U-turn. 

At a few steps from the door, he placed his hand on the handle and turned his head at approximately sixty degrees to look at Delano with the corner of his eye. 

'See you in school, baker boy.'