One morning, a sixteen-year-old girl named Ichigo Amano was getting ready to go out with her family. Her little sister Natsume Amano had a piano recital today and she, her mother, and her father were going to watch Natsume at the recital together. But Ichigo didn't really want to go. The truth is she didn't really have good relationships with her mother and sister. Her mother Kyouko was a pianist as well as a piano teacher and Natsume had inherited her piano talents. Ichigo, on the other hand, didn't. She had tried to learn how to play the piano in the past, but she didn't really have the talent for that. Or so she thought but little did she know she did have the talent but because she loves baking and cooking so much she basically ignored her other talents and only sees them as a hobby. She has a beautiful voice and plays the violin and piano. So her mother had favored Natsume over Ichigo and Ichigo felt neglected by them.
Her father Shigeru Amano was an artist and Ichigo did have good artistic skills, but again Natsume had more talent with art than she did. Ichigo did have a good relationship with her dad, but she felt like nothing to both her parents compared to Natsume. In the past, Ichigo had tried to find talent for something like ballet and swimming, but they didn't turn out to be her talent, so Ichigo gave up on trying to be as talented as Natsume.
Even though Ichigo didn't have the so-called same music and art talent as her parents, there was one big talent that she did have. Ichigo was talented at making baking and cooking, like cakes, biscuits and pastries, and other desserts and dishes from all around the world. She had inherited this talent from her grandmother Michiko Amano. Ichigo loved her grandmother very much and always thought that she was the only one that cared about her. Michiko was a patisserie and owned a shop in the countryside. Ichigo always visited her grandmother a lot when she was a little girl, and Michiko taught her everything about being a patisserie. It was thanks to her that Ichigo became talented in making sweets.
The sad thing was Michiko died two years ago and Ichigo missed her very much. But Ichigo never stopped making sweets. Whenever her family wasn't around, she would practice making sweets in the kitchen at home and would also practice at school. She even continued making sweets at her grandmother's shop. Her uncle Hikaru Amano, who was a patissier, ran the shop now, and Ichigo liked to help him with making sweets for the shop. She had many recipe books for making sweet things like pies, biscuits, puddings, and cakes. Ichigo never revealed her talent for making sweets to her parents and sister, because she believed that it wouldn't make a difference in the relationship between her and her mother and sister.
Soon it was time to go to Natsume's piano recital. Ichigo was dressed in a pretty, but plain dress, with shoes, and let her hair fall lose. When she got downstairs her family was already waiting for her. "Why are you wearing something a bit plain?" asked Natsume. "Since I'm in the audience, I don't need to dress up smartly for this recital," said Ichigo. Her mother shook her head and dragged her back to her room and took a better and prettier outfit from her closet and laid it on the bed.
"Okay everyone it's time to go now," said Kyouko. Soon everyone was in the car and on the way to Natsume's piano recital. Shigeru was driving and Kyouko was saying stuff like they mustn't be late and telling Natsume to be ready. It was like this all the time; Kyouko was a very fussy woman and always wanted things to be right.
Ichigo was looking boringly outside the car window. 'I should have pretended to have a cold and stay home,' she thought 'but mother would be mad with me if I did'. Soon they reached the concert hall, where the recital was taking place. Before they went into the concert hall, Ichigo noticed that Natsume was feeling a bit nervous. Even though Natsume had a real talent for the piano, there were times when she would feel nervous. Ichigo placed a hand on her sister's shoulders. "There is no need to be nervous," she said, "you have practiced long and hard for this and you have participated in many competitions before this. Just give it all your got". Ichigo may not have a good relationship with her sister, but she was there to give her comfort. Shigeru saw what just happened and was happy that Ichigo was giving her sister encouragement.
Soon the competition had started and it was now Natsume's turn. Natsume had lost her nervousness and was now calmly playing the piano. Ichigo was impressed with Natsume's talent but still felt depressed about not having the same talent as her. In her mind, she felt like leaving the hall right now. Her dad was looking sadly at her. He knew that Ichigo always felt left out in her family because she didn't have the same music and artistic skill as he and his wife, but he didn't know what to do for her.
Later that day, the competition was over and Natsume had won 1st place. Now she was having her picture taken, holding her trophy, and with her parents. While that was going on, Ichigo snuck out of the concert hall. She didn't really want to watch Natsume getting a lot of praise and attention. This made her miss her grandmother very much. 'I wish you were still here grandma,' she thought in her mind 'you always paid attention to me, you always cared for me and you always gave me more love than mum has ever given me'. This was true; Ichigo had always been Michiko's favorite granddaughter and she was more like a mother to Ichigo. With her grandmother dead, Ichigo thought she could never again be as happy as she was when her grandmother was still alive.
Suddenly Ichigo noticed that there was a sweets festival in a shopping center and headed over there at once. "It's a good thing that I always take my wallet with me, whenever I'm out," she said to herself "So I can eat cake and other sweets whenever I want". Apart from making cakes and other sweets, Ichigo also loved to eat them; eating them always made her cheerful whenever she was depressed and it made her forget about her troubles for a while. Ichigo checked to see if her purse was in her pocket and it was. She even had a small notebook and pencil with her. The small notebook and pencil were used for Ichigo to write down whatever sweets she had, so she would never forget them.
Ichigo picked up many different cakes to try, paid for them, and sat down at a table to try them out. Her family turned up to the sweets festival too to celebrate Natsume's victory. Natsume went over to Ichigo and thanked her for giving her encouragement. "You're welcome," said Ichigo. Just then she noticed something about one of the cakes she just tasted. 'This taste is nearly the same as grandma's' she thought. Ichigo had an amazing sense of taste and she never forgot the taste of sweets that she had in the past.
Ichigo got off from her table and went to look for the table, where she had picked up the cake. Just then a man's voice asked if there was something wrong with his cake. This man had blonde hair and blue eyes and seemed to be a foreigner. Ichigo said to the man that the cake tasted similar to a cake that her grandma once baked for her. Just then she realized that she said something rude and apologized to the man at once. "Was your grandma a patisserie?" asked the man. "Yes sir," said Ichigo "she owned a cake shop in the countryside and she taught me about making cakes and other sweets. But she passed away two years ago, and now my uncle is running the shop. But I help him and learn from him sometimes as well". The man felt sorry for Ichigo for losing her grandma. "Forgive my curiosity, but did your grandma used to study in Paris when she was younger?" he asked. "Actually she did," said Ichigo "she used to tell me about her life studying in a culinary school in Paris. I think it was called St Marie Academy". "I see," said the man "Was her name, Michiko?" "Yes, but how did you know that?" asked Ichigo. The man said to Ichigo that he had heard about Michiko being a very talented patisserie and that she made many wonderful cakes in the past. Ichigo was amazed by that and told the man her name. The man introduced himself as Henri Lucas and told Ichigo that his great-grandmother, Marie Lucas, was the founder of the St Marie Academy. "To be able to taste the similarity between my cake and Michiko's cake from one bite is outstanding, you have amazing taste buds". Ichigo couldn't believe that she had just been praised; she had never been praised by anyone before because of her lack of talent. Henri asked Ichigo to have the honor of trying his new cake and Ichigo accepted.
Ichigo watched carefully as Henri prepared his new cake. He placed some pink cream on some strawberry moose, added a strawberry on top, and then added some white chocolate, in the shape of wings, on the top as well. Ichigo thought it was a beautiful cake and when she tried it the taste was more beautiful. "This cake has the taste of a girl's first love;" she said, "I can see myself falling in love for the first time with this cake". "I had the image of a girl's love in my mind while making this cake," said Henri "Ichigo you have a wonderful sense of taste and feelings. I wish for you to attend St Marie Academy and learn to become a patisserie". Ichigo stared at Henri and his cake, and then she thought of all the times that she had made sweets with her grandma and uncle. Then she remembered that her childhood wish was to become a patisserie like her grandma. "I will attend St. Marie Academy," she said, "I want to become a patisserie like a grandma". Henri was happy that Ichigo accepted the offer and handed her a guide to the St. Marie Academy School that was in Nijigaoka in Japan. "I look forward to teaching you at the school Ichigo," he said. He explained that he was also a teacher at the school.
When Ichigo and her family went home, Ichigo told everyone about her meeting with Henri Lucas and her decision to transfer to St. Marie Academy in Nijigaoka. Natsume thought that the academy looked wonderful and Kyouko thought it would be a good idea for Ichigo because she always knew that Ichigo loved sweets like her grandma. Shigeru on the other hand was against the idea; he was one of those dads who didn't like having his own children growing up and leaving home. He also didn't believe that Ichigo was capable of living in a boarding school. "I will not let you transfer," he said. Ichigo didn't like her dad's words and spoke up. "I want to be a patisserie like a grandma," she said "I want to make cakes that would bring people smiles, like grandma made cakes for me whenever I felt sad. Ever since I was a little girl, I learned how to make cakes and other sweets thanks to grandma and uncle Hikaru. Even after grandma died I still learned how to make cakes; I even practiced making them at school and here at home. So please let me transfer to St. Marie Academy". Her family was surprised by what Ichigo just told them; of course, they never knew that Ichigo had practiced making sweets because she never told them. "Ichigo you may go," said her mother "I know very well that you have been feeling lonely because I have always paid so much attention to Natsume". "You are right about that mum," said Ichigo, bluntly, "for as long as I can remember I always felt that you cared more about Natsume because she has a talent for the piano and I don't. And I always felt that grandma was more of a mother to me more than you, and even though she's now gone she is still like a mother to me". Ichigo had decided to tell about her feelings. Kyouko went up to Ichigo and hugged her. "I'm sorry Ichigo," she said, tearfully and feeling regret what how she treated Ichigo, "I'm happy to know that you have found your dream. So you go to this culinary school and become a patissier like Michiko". Shigeru still didn't like the idea, but he agreed because he remembered the times when Ichigo was happy with his mum and when they made cakes together. Ichigo became happy to have her parent's permission to attend St. Marie Academy.
That night, Ichigo looked at a photograph of her and her grandma together. "Grandma, I'm going to attend St. Marie Academy and become a patisserie like you. Just watch me," she said.
The end
2266 words hope you like it