Summer Cooking Class

>The year was finally over
>The last day of class had been a few days ago, and everyone was making the most of their free time by doing absolutely nada
>At least, for the first week of summer
>Principal Skeeves had instituted a new summer program for all students, requiring them to take one "summer class" that would last half the summer vacation
>Something about "fixing falling standards and reducing student apathy"
>Whatever that meant
>At least they got to pick their preferred brand of torture
>As cheer-leading wasn't one of the summer classes being offered, Sabrina had decided to try branching out and learn something new
>That hopefully wouldn't kill her
>Eyeing the brochure that they had been given on the last day of class, she was skimming the list of potential classes she could take
>A few caught her eye, like No Bake Cooking, Puppetry, and Gardening
>Those didn't sound that bad, maybe any skills she picked up could come in handy later in her life
>Ok, maybe not Puppetry...
>But Gardening might be useful
>Help take her mind off a certain boy and a decision she'd been sitting on all week...
>Learning to grow your own fruits and vegetables didn't sound like a complete waste of time
>There were a few different cooking classes too, but except for the No-Baking class, she was afraid that the others might end...badly, for her and anyone near her
>She still had some old burn scars from the last time she had tried to bake some cookies for the spirit committee's last social get together
>Much safer to just buy some already cooked food instead
>Not quite as satisfying though
>In the end, Sabrina got in contact with a few of her classmates to see what they planned to take, and the group collectively decided to take a "Budding Chefs" class together
>In spite of Sabrina's safety concerns
>They all agreed to help Sabrina out when they could, mostly so she's stop trying to get them to change their minds during the short time before the class started

>Attempting to enjoy their brief break from school, most of the students hung out at the beach, played video games and watched late night TV into the wee hours of the morning, or conjugated at the nearby Echo Creek Supermall that had recently opened, to the enjoyment of almost all of the nearby locals
>All too soon however, the "summer classes" started
>As Echo Creek Academy filled once again with a mix of disinterested and hopeful students, most were relieved to learn that the "classes" were only a few hours long each day, so they still got enjoy most of their summer break, while learning something that wasn't quite as boring as what they would normally be learning
>Even their teachers, some familiar, some new, liked getting to teach something that they themselves fancied, hoping to past on their passions to a new generation
>Which brings us back to Sabrina and the classmates who had just started showing up for their "Budding Chefs" class that morning
>"Hey Hope...good to see you made it, did you have...any issues waking up at a normal hour this morning?" -Sabrina asked her seat neighbor as she stifled a few yawns, wiping the sleep from her eyes
>"It wasn't that bad, my sleep schedule's been fairly normal this past week, but a few more hours wouldn't have hurt...speaking of sleep, is Janna here yet?" -Hope asked, looking around and noticing that they had beaten their teacher and all their classmates to their summer class this morning
>Both girls hoped that they had the right classroom
>Thankfully they're worries were groundless, for soon the rest of their fellow students trickled in in a timely fashion
>"So...who's our teacher? The brochure said the position was still being picked..."-Janna asked aloud, as the rest of the students shrugged and kept to themselves, most not quite fully awake yet
>Right on cue, their teacher finally showed up, a few minutes before class was supposed to start

>"Sorry I'm late kids, my son and our exchange student stayed up too late last night watching movies, so I'm running a little behind schedule.
>But never mind that, who's looking forward to learning how to become a better chef! Eh? Eh? Anyone?" -Their teacher asked cheerfully, who turned out to be none other than Mrs. Diaz, Marco's mother.
>"Mrs. D? Your teaching this class!? When did you become a teacher?!" -Janna asked, confused slightly by her crush's mom's appearance
>"I volunteered Janna, most of these summer classes are being taught by the parents of the students. It's our way of giving back to the community you could say. Oh! And you guys can call me Angie, I recognize a fair number of you from when you were toddlers after all." -Angie said as she opened the classroom door and lead the students within
>"This will be interesting, perhaps we'll learn something after all..." -Janna said mostly to herself, walking behind Angie as the rest of the students followed suit
>"Remember last time Marco had a birthday party and invited the whole class? That home-made cake his mom made was excellent!" -Hope reminisced to Sabrina, who had a vague recollection of the event in question
>They had been pretty young, but Sabrina did remember the great food that Marco's mother had cooked for the party
>She also remembered running into a cactus when they had started playing tag in the front yard
>At least the party had went fairly smoothly before that
>Walking into the classroom, the students quickly noticed that the room was connected to the back of the school kitchen
>"Oh, this must be the old storage room...never been in here before." -Francis muttered, noting the quickly assembled cooking stations that had probably not been there a few days ago

>"Alright class, pick a partner and we'll start with something simple. Today I'll be teaching you how to make a few various soup recipes my mother taught me." -Angie explained as she laid out the ingredients they would be needing
>"Hey Angie, Marco's not here, so what class is he taking?" -Janna asked, somewhat curious and wondering if she had time to switch classes
>"He's taking one of the Hiking classes that is being offered, as is Star, so neither of them are at school this morning." -Angie explained while sorting through the ingredients
>"Oh, ok...is it too late to change classes?" -Janna asked, somewhat sheepishly
>"Sadly it is Janna, the principal mentioned that yesterday was the last day to change your class" -Angie explained as Janna sighed in response
>Maybe she'd get lucky and Angie would tell them funny or embarrassing stories about Marco that she could try and blackmail him about at a later date...
>Sabrina and Hope exchanged glances and smiles, having decided to partner up earlier
>After the rest of the students paired up, the cooking lesson got started in earnest
>With Hope's help, Sabrina managed to not get injured too badly, apart from some minor scrapes from the cooking utensils
>"Hey, this is actually kinda fun. Plus we get to eat in class!" -Sabrina said happily, beaming as she tasted Hope's tomato soup, that surprisingly didn't taste much like tomatoes at all
>"Yeah, your broccoli cheese soup's pretty good too Sabrina, and I hate broccoli!" -Hope complimented, actually really enjoying herself.
>Who knew cooking could be fun?
>For her part, Angie helped each student pick out a soup, then showed them a recipe and how to follow it, with a list of the ingredients required, then let them have at it, being there when they had any questions
>The first day of class was a smashing success, with even Janna's black bean soup coming out pretty good

>"I thought I'd never be a good cook!" -Janna cried, tears of joy cascading down her face as she reveled in the tasty concoction she had made
>Similar reactions came from some of the other students as well, joyous to learn that they were not as hopeless at cooking as they had thought
>As the class came to an end for the day, the room buzzed with excited conversation about their dishes, present and future, along with normal gossip and discussions that tend to happen when teenagers gather together
>"So Justin's throw a party Saturday, did you-"
>"I saw Francis got his braces off-"
>"Did you see Ed's new haircut, oh my god he-"
>"Hey Sabrina, I heard that Marco asked you out on the last day of class, is it true?" -Hope asked Sabrina, curious if the rumor that she'd heard from Ferguson had any truth to it
>"Oh...ah...yeah...yeah he did" -Sabrina mumbled, blushing slightly
>"Aww yeah girl! Go Sabrina! Get that brown sugar!" - Chantelle whooped from where she was sitting near the end of their table, with some of the rest of the class making similar sounds and remarks
>As Angie got the class under control, Hope drilled Sabrina for more info
>"And...? Did you say yes or what?" -Hope questioned, lightly poking Sabrina in the shoulder
>"I told him...that I'd think about it..." -Sabrina whispered
>"What!? He takes a liking to you, and you turn him down!? You two would be so cute together! The Safe Kid and the most accident prone girl in school, together at last...you'd complement each other so well too..." -Hope gushed, somewhat envious of Sabrina; Marco had matured alot over their freshmen year, and was considered to be a bit of a hunk by most of the girls in their class, even a few upper clanswomen were interested
>Janna had been regretting her past indecision most of the year
>"Ahh, so it is you who Marco's been agonizing over for the past week" -Angie said, walking over and putting her hand on Sabrina's shoulder

>Class is dismissed! I'll see all of you tomorrow, we'll be cooking a casserole, so think up a variation you would like to cook!" -Angie told the class as they finished cleaning up and started shuffling out the door, the class done for the day
>"Can you stay for a few minutes Sabrina? I'd like a word, if you don't mind" -Angie asked the poor girl, who timidly smiled and nodded her head
>Hope was the last person out, waving at Sabrina and making a "I'll call you later" hand gesture, then skipping from the room
>"Now, as Marco's mother, I'd prefer it if you would make up your mind as to whether you want to go on a date with my son, for your sake and his stress levels. I assume he gave you his phone number?" -Angie asked, playing the protective mother pretty well
>"Yes..I have his number...I'm not standing him up or anything, I've just been thinking, is all." -Sabrina tried to clarify
>"That's fine, but that is your homework for tonight then...decide if you want to call Marco or not, at least that way he can move on, maybe start dating someone who's more interested, hmm?" -Angie said, letting go of the girl's shoulder and leaving her alone with her thoughts
>Sabrina decided it might be a good idea to take a long walk home
>Once she got home and still hadn't made a decision, she ended up calling Hope for advice
>"You know my stance girl, I'm sure there are plenty of other girls willing to take him off your hands, if he's willing...or not, in Janna's case" -Hope pointed out, not helping Sabrina much at all
>"Well, thanks for the moral support Hope" -Sabrina said, somewhat annoyed at how stubborn Hope was being on the issue and hanging up
>As Sabrina pondered, she came to the conclusion that it probably wouldn't hurt to at least TALK to him, right?
>Making up her mind, she grabbed her phone again and called the number on the piece of paper that Marco had given her on the last day of their freshmen year

>"Hello? Marco Diaz speaking..." The voice on the other end said
>"Hi Marco...it's...Sabrina..." -Sabrina murmured
>"Oh! Nice to hear from you...did you, ah...make a decision about that date then?" -Marco asked, somewhat nervously
>"Yes, yes I did...I...I figure...why not? Don't have a-anything to lose really right? We might hit it off...heh." -Sabrina stammered, blushing somewhat
>"Yeah, hey, that's great! How does this coming Friday at the movies sound? I've got two tickets to see that boxing movie, sound good?" -Marco said, happy that she had agreed finally
>"It sounds f-fantastic, what time should I be there b-by?" -Sabrina asked, hoping she didn't sound too bad over the phone
>"2pm should give us plenty of time to get snacks and good seats." -Marco replied
>"Ok then, it's a date, I'll see you t-there" -Sabrina said
>The two said their somewhat awkward goodbyes, then hung up
>Huh, guess I've got a date after all -Sabrina thought to herself, smiling at her ceiling, actually feeling better than she had all week
>She picked her phone back up and added Marco to her contacts list, then started dialing Hope to tell her the news