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

Chapter 1 - Term 1, Week 1

Adele laughs at Eden's comment lowly, kicking off the wall now that everyone has moved out of the way. "Do like watching you argue with them, though."

"Someone needs to, bunch of twats."

Adele moves her finger along the paper to find her name, sandwiched in amongst four others. Just like Level 1, she's in a group of only boys. She doesn't know whether it's a compliment or an insult. "Me and you again, Ben." She looks up to him with a smirk.

He holds his hand up for a high five, which Adele immediately returns. "Who else?"

She groans in irritation. "Harry's our Level 3."

Level 3, meaning one of the most senior students on the course. Most kids start at Level 1 - an introduction to hospitality, and sometimes called the foundation level. They're always the most populated class. Last year, pretty much half of the students attending any kind of catering and hospitality course were Level 1s. Adele, Eden and Ben are all now in Level 2.

On site, there's a fully functioning restaurant - The Shrubbery, which all students both cook and serve in. There are three kitchens - the main kitchen, which handles meat, fish and veg, the pastry kitchen, and then the larder, which provides food for the student canteen. The students are put on a rotation, changing which kitchen they're in every half term.

Most students are on a full-time course, meaning they're in four days a week. They have one day of theory, where half the day they'll be in a kitchen practising for an assessment, and the other half they'll be in a classroom doing written work. They then have one full session a week in the restaurant, and two sessions a week in the kitchen.

Adele's rota hasn't changed since last year - working in the restaurant on Tuesdays, day off on Wednesdays, and then kitchen sessions on Thursdays and Fridays.

Eden laughs loudly, moving her gaze to where Adele has still got her finger on the paper. "He's gonna be a fucking nightmare, you know that, right?"

"Love a good test of my patience." She huffs, dropping her hand.

"All you did was moan about him last year, and he was only a Level 2." Ben frowns down at Eden, his arm draped around her shoulder.

"Yeah, because he was arrogant as fuck and beyond irritating." Eden insists.

The three of them begin walking towards the doors that lead to the stairwell, Ben holding the doors open for Adele and Eden to head through first. The building is clearing out, the lights in the restaurant shut off but still dimly lit in the canteen. Only a few students still linger inside, Hattie and Bella's usual group all loitering around one of the larger tables with a few boys they recognise but don't know by name - probably from a different course. Adele does notice that Bella is missing from the collective, but her absence doesn't particularly bother her.

"Coming for a drink?" Ben asks Adele once the three of them are outside. "I'll buy to make it easier if you like?"

She grimaces and shakes her head. "Not really worth the risk with four days to go, to be honest." An awkward laugh leaves her. "Plus I really need to do some job hunting."

Unfortunately over the summer, the restaurant that Adele had been working in part-time had to let her go when they made the difficult decision to permanently close. Even though the food and the service were always commended, the owner couldn't afford the rent anymore, and had to close. It wasn't necessarily a huge issue for Adele given that she's still a minor and living with her parents, but she liked her job. The college recommends having a job to go along with your courses as well, so she thinks it's probably best to find some new employment.