February 2005...
As soon as Amanda opens the door to the apartment, Savannah rushes in and goes straight to her room. Nothing means more to her than a good sleep.
She sits on the duvet-bed and checks her messages to see whether Debbie has replied or not and it wasn't a surprise that she did reply.
'A girl? Did the two of you talk? Was she nice?' Savannah smiled at the text, exactly what she expected from her.
'Well, we didn't really talk much. I just bumped into her and returned her books. Oh, also, she asked if I was new student, but because of Adam I couldn't reply' Savannah sent the text as she lay on the duvet-bed and not even up to a minute later, Debbie replied.
'She seems nice. And, you never know, what if she could be your friend. You know, give you a tour around the school, introduce you to your other classmates. But that doesn't mean you should forget about me' Savannah read the text carefully, feels like she's almost fully prepared for her new school life except for the learning part.
She decided to close the conversation with a little text, 'But this all will only be possible if she's in my class or worse, maybe she won't even be my friend, you never know, she could be 'that type' '.
She sent the text and was about to slip into a good night sleep when she heard her mother's scream from the kitchen. She knew it wasn't a serious matter because it sounded more like a squel than a scream, but either way, she still decided to go and check what it was. She got up and made her way to the kitchen and there she saw her mother staring intensely at her phone.
She turned slightly to look at Adam who was standing next to Amanda.
" Mom? What's wrong, I heard you scream". Savannah said as she approached her mother.
"I already asked her that. They've sent the results for our exam".
So soon? It's barely even 6 in the evening. "Are they good?" Savannah asked as she stared at Adam.
"Look for yourself". Adam said as Savannah took a slight peek at Amanda's phone. Savannah Hilton: 35/40.
Adam Hilton: 37/40.
"The both of you got an A on the test. You both passed!" Amanda said as she showed them both the phone. Savannah felt a wave of relief wash over her when she saw the results. At least now it's confirmed that she'll be able to attend Saints Academy. This Monday is their resumption date. In the next few days she'll be going to the school.
"So when are we collecting our uniforms". Savannah said imagining how her first day at her new school would look like. Strolling through the corridors wearing her new school uniform. Just thought of it makes her smile.
"Probably Saturday or Monday". Amanda says as she places her phone on the counter.
Savannah went back to her room and for some reason, she didn't feel as tired as she did when she came home. The first thing she did was pick up her phone and text Debbie.
' Debbie! I have amazing news. I passed the entrance exam, and, we're going to collect our school uniform either on Saturday or Monday!' Savannah typed as she excitedly sent the text.
Not up to a minute later, Debbie replied. ' Wow! That's amazing news. So you thought you wouldn't have passed the exam? I always new you would . And I'm excited to see you in the new uniform!' Savannah read the text before switching off her phone. All she wanted to do now was lay down and think. Think about every little thing she'd do on her first day. Going to a new school now felt more exciting to her than it did before. Closing her eyes, she soon fell into a deep slumber...
...
After enrolling them in school and paying the school fees, Amanda felt like the only thing she needed to do now was arrange Adam's birthday.
Over the years, celebrating birthdays became more exciting to Amanda than putting up Christmas decorations or celebrating a new year. Since the year Daniel died, seeing her kids grow a year older brought her inner peace.
Adam's birthday is tomorrow and she hasn't gotten anything ready yet. Anything, meaning, a cake, some decorations and new clothes for the kids. They never celebrated a big party for their birthday to save money and because all those fancy big ballroom parties weren't necessary if they had each other to celebrate with.
Amanda carefully placed the croissants on the plate as she rung the bell. She stared at the croissants as a thought crossed her mind, 'even if I wanted to bake them here, it probably won't be allowed. Or would it' she thought as Ryan walked out of the kitchen with the plate. Mary notices how distracted Amanda's been and decided to confront her about it.
" Amanda", she starts as Amanda breaks out of her daze, " you like a bit distracted. Like as if something's bothering you. You know you can tell me anything". Mary says as she stops what she's doing and turns to look at Amanda.
Amanda sighs as she also turns to face Mary. " How do I start this", Amanda mumbles to herself, low enough for noone to hear, " actually, I wanted to ask, is it allowed for us to bake here. Like, I'd bake a cake and buy it. Would it be allowed if I take it home?" Amanda says in a way Mary could understand.
Mary looks a bit confused after hearing what Amanda said.
Amanda noticed this and decided to justify herself," No, as in, i-" Amanda couldn't finish her sentence because she was cut short by Mary.
"No it's okay, I understand, it's just that....why would you ask of such a request?" Amanda sighed before answering Mary.
"Actually, tomorrow is my son's birthday", Amanda started and when she saw Mary gasp in excitement, she continued, " We usually get everything ready the day before the actual event but since we're closing late today, I thought maybe I'll bake the cake here since l might not have enough time to buy the ingredients and the other things". It took some time before Mary replied.
"Well... I'm not really sure if it's allowed though, but I'll ask Anne about it". Mary assured her before they both continued their work.
But even after Mary's assurance, Amanda still felt a bit worried and down. Time flew by fast and soon enough, it was time for lunch.
Amanda was busy eating her food when Mary interrupted her.
" Amanda", she started as Amanda stopped eating and turned to look at her, " I'm sorry. I asked Anne about it...but she said it wasn't allowed". Mary said as she also went to a stool and began eating her food.
Amanda didn't feel hungry anymore, so she packed her lunch and put it in her purse.
It was 12:15 now. She'd be closing by 5:30, meaning she still has around an hour or two to get everything ready before it's time for dinner.
She still has a few hours of work before she can go out and get everything ready.
As soon as lunch was over, Amanda began working. During lunch, they got a series of orders that Amanda has to complete.
Time flew by so fast that Amanda didn't notice when her work hours were over.
"Amanda", Mary started as she put a chair over one of the tables, "I really need to go home now. Jane and Jason must be waiting for me at home. Could you complete the work for me?" Jane and Jason were Mary's younger siblings that she has to take care of, at least before they turn 18. They're all orphans and since Mary is above 18, she's the one whose been taking care of them for the past 3 years. Both Jane and Jason are twins and currently are 14.
Amanda looked at the clock above the counter. It was exactly 5:20. If she hurried up, she'd be able to finish before it turns 5:30. "Don't worry, I'd complete the work for you". Amanda said as Mary rushed to hug her.
"Thank you so much". Mary managed to say under her breath before rushing out of the café.
Maybe it wasn't evident but Amanda seemed a lot closer to Mary than Jacob. While she was a bit more childish, Jacob was a bit more reserved and kept to himself most of the time.
While trying to manage time, Amanda quickly put all the chairs over the tables and with Jacob's help, managed to finish up the work within minutes.
Amanda quickly rushed out of the café and made her way to her car. She still remembered the grocery store from when they first arrived at South Carolina, so she thought of going there to buy the ingredients for the cake. And after that, she'll look for a mall to buy a gift for Adam.
She quickly started her car and drove to the nearest grocery store to the apartment.
As expected, the place was filled with people, even by this time. She got to work immediately and started looking for the ingredients .
She found what she was looking for, and so much more but was worried for the price. She still had to buy decorations and other things to make the gloomy unfurnished apartment to look more welcoming. She counted the money she had on her. It was more than enough for what the ingredients but the remaining money won't be enough for the decorations, clothes and gift.
She thought about it for a while. It would be possible for her to just buy the ingredients and then tomorrow, she take both Adam and Savannah out for a while.
She paid for the ingredients and rushed to her car. She checked the time and it was already 6:15. She quickly drove back to the apartment and with her purse and the shopping bag in hand. She climbed the stairs and made her way to their flat.
Before she could knock on the door, Savannah opened it for her.
"Good evening mom". Savannah said as she collected the shopping bag from Amanda and made her way to the kitchen.
"Where's Adam? Is he sleeping?" Amanda asked while the two of them made their way to the kitchen.
"No, he's in his room". Savannah said as she opened the door to the kitchen.
"Have the two of you eaten?" Amanda asked as Savannah put the shopping bag on the counter.
" Yeah, we ate the leftovers from yesterday's dinner", Savannah started, "What's in the shopping bag?" She then asked after a long while of silence.
"It's ingredients for Adam's birthday cake". Amanda said smiling warmly at Savannah.
Savannah gasped before saying, "What flavour would it be?"
"Don't worry, you'll find out tomorrow. First, go and call your brother for dinner".
"Okay mom". Savannah said before walking out of the kitchen.
....
After dinner was over. Amanda went back to the kitchen with the dirty dishes in hand. She then kept them in the sink before turning to look at the cake ingredients.
She had planned the previous night to make a blue chocolate and strawberry cake with the inscription ' My 15th year with you' on top of it.
As tired as she was, she walked over to the ingredients and started taking them out of the bag one by one.
It was around 7:45 in the night when Amanda started mixing up the ingredients and putting the colouring in the frosting.
After both the layers of the cake were done baking, Amanda waited for a while before putting the frosting and adding the inscription.
After she was done decorating the cake, she carefully put it in the freezer before cleaning up the kitchen.
Once she was done, she looked at the kitchen, then took a little peek at the cake before returning to her room.
'Let's wait until tomorrow morning', were her last thoughts before she dozed off...