Removing her blindfolds slowly. The scene which unfolded before Ziya's eyes was very mesmerizing. She breathed heavily and was so shocked…surprised and touched by their attempt to decorate and prepare this silly surprise for her.
There was a table in the middle of the room with the lacey and decorative tablecloth on top of it. The table was filled with bowls and Tupperware as if something was kept inside those boxes and bowls. There seems to be something down the table which was hidden well.
The board has a written note saying Zee, open the bowls and boxes to unravel the mystery and be the judge of it.
I am pretty sure it's Ava and Ella's handwriting.
I was so touched that I started crying with my happy tears.
I slowly started walking towards the table and started to remove the lids to see the content inside. What I saw was not just anything but food, I hastily started removing the lids only to find out that there wasn't just any food but was a feast and all the dishes were her favorites. This is something which makes her beyond happy, she never expected such a surprise and looked towards the girls, and I shakily said, "Who made this? How and why??"
Emma replied, "Silly girl, we made this just for you. Do you even know how hard it was to learn and perfect the dish to your standard taste??"
Olivia sneered at Emma and said, "Well, well. Look who's talking? Em did you forget that this was your idea and you practically hogged us all and persuaded us to prepare this feast with our own cooking?" "Sarah even received punishment because she almost gave up trying to perfect the dishes resulting in her hopping punishment."
Emma guiltily looked away and tsk at her best friend.
Ziya was dumbfounded at her friend's statement and bantering with her friends.
Ziya shook her head and looked at everyone saying, "Did you guys make this with your own hands??"
They all replied in unison, "Yes."
Ziya was speechless for a moment and opened her mouth tremblingly and said slowly, "B... but, you guys don't even know how to cook?"
Everyone laughed at Ziya's accusation and said one by one.
"You are right, we never cooked anything, but we wanted to do something for you, so I decided to surprise you by having you to be the first one to taste our handmade food. So, I convinced everyone to prepare your favorite meals and we can create a feast for you." Said Emma.
Olivia added; "It was harder than learning the curriculum. I even poured my heart out in the meal I prepared."
Sarah said, "I am the worst of all, I almost burnt all the dishes whenever I tried to cook it with perfection making me give up, but they punished me instead and I finally succeeded in making a dish."
Ava and Ella; "While we were preparing, our parents were really jealous of you as we didn't allow them to even taste or have a bite to the food we prepared."
Ella continued, "This even enraged our parents to the point that they even decided to punish us. So, we have to basically coax them by promising to make the dish again after you taste them first to calm their anger."
Ziya was astonished by their statements that she hugged them and laughed saying "You guys aren't the only one to cook. I made snacks for you too to savor during our study sessions. Try them out and let me know how they were. I love you guys; I will forever remember this surprise."
Everyone was amazed by Ziya's cooking when they tasted her snacks and was utterly surprised. They all exclaimed that the food is delicious. It was more like a party that started and ended after a while.
All of them started to get back to studies and that's how the study week was spent. It was now the start of the exam, and everyone was fully prepared with the syllabus making them confident enough to pass all the obstacles.
Exams ended and everyone was back in their own home declaring the end of the term and anxious for the results announcement.
It was posted on the homepage of their website that the results will be out in 2 weeks followed by the graduation ceremony at the end of the month.
After the exams were wrapped up, Ziya was now relaxed and started preparing for the graduation ceremony.
She prepared her graduation clothes, camera, and a slam book to be filled by her friends and classmates. So, she can preserve the memories of her university days.
After all the preparations were completed, Ziya decided to wear the black gown on her graduation made of linen-blend fabric, elastic cross back straps, and hidden in-seam zip closure giving the perfect body outline matching the outfit with the contrast of the pearl earrings and her mother's locket to remember her parents on her big day they were eagerly looking forward to.
Results were out and as expected Ziya was ranked the first in class. Sarah, Ava, Ella, Olivia, and Emma passed too with a good GPA making their parents proud. All the teachers were happy for Ziya and the gang.
The graduation ceremony started with the students wearing red robes on their clothes and cap on their heads. It started with the classic song and instruments played by the professionals allowing the students to walk on the red carpet as soon as their name was announced.
It started with the handing over of the degree certificates followed by the pictures and ended with the national anthem of Canada, "O Canada."
After the ceremony was finished, Ziya and the gang took their photos together and individually to commemorate the graduation.
Everyone was smiling happily and taking pictures with each other while Ziya sneaked out and went to the teachers, taking pictures with them, filling her slam book for the last time with her teachers, homeroom teacher, and the entire staff of her program.
Ziya then went to her friends and asked them one by one to fill in the slam book for her. She enjoyed her graduation ceremony as best as she could. As the ceremony ended, Ziya bid farewell to her friends and professors and headed out.
Instead of going home, Ziya chose to visit the Cemetery where her parents are buried. She took out the bouquet of tulips and zinnias meaning miss you and love you in the flower language. She sat there for quite a while before saying the words where she proudly announced her graduation.
"Mom, Dad you know I miss you a lot. Today I graduated. Now you can proudly say that I graduated by ranking first in the class. I took some photos and commemorated my graduation with the slam book like I always wanted. The only people missing in the ceremony were you guys."
"I know that you are watching me from heaven but mom, dad, it's hard for me to be alone. I miss you terribly. I know that I am strong enough to overcome the grief and I promise I will but it's just so hard for me to continue without feeling the pain in my heart and remembering you."
"I just could not now but eventually I will. I just need to fill in the gap in my heart by being strong and get back up on my feet."
"Enough of me rambling on about sad stuff. You know mom, dad, I am looking for a job to create a diversion and keep up with the expenses. I know, I know you are going to say that I have enough money left by you guys and I completely agree but dad I am an independent grown woman now and I want to fend for myself plus, I want to pursue further studies and want to go for my Ph.D. in mathematics. So, I am saving up money for my Ph.D. degree."
"So, I gave my exam and got my license as a front desk receptionist. I know you are thinking of me glossing it over, but I am too shy to say out loud that I am a security guard. I am not ashamed to say it, just shy. And I also got my first aid certificate too. I can now officially treat someone in need by providing them first aid. I can even save their lives. Proud of me, right?"
"Enough about me, how are you guys? Missing me as much as I miss you??"
"I made your favorite dishes today. We are going to have a meal and celebrate my graduation. I hope you guys are happy wherever you are and miss me too. I won't take up much time now, I must get going, it's getting late now. Bye, see you later."
Ziya left for her home bidding farewell to her parents.
The next day, Ziya took out a brand-new diary and started jolting down her findings while going through her mom's room where she found a secret room with spiral stairs leading to a room which has a jigsaw puzzle in it. She sorted and finished the puzzle but didn't look further into it as she was heartbroken.
Now with a clear mindset, she remembered how much her mother loved to create a treasure hunt during the festive season, especially on Easter and Halloween days.
So, there must be some clues with the jigsaw puzzle which she has to figure out the clues and where it will be. She made up her mind and mentally prepared herself for the next clue.
After jotting down the newfound information, she received a call.
Ziya answered the call, "Hello, Ziya speaking."
Caller: "Hi Ziya, we received your resume for a full-time job in a Security company as a concierge. Is it the right time for us to discuss the further details and schedule of the interview?"
Ziya: "Yes, it is. A few days ago, I applied to your company for the position of the concierge."
Caller: "Sorry for the late introduction. My name is Zenah, I will be the one conducting your interview. Would you be able to come for the interview tomorrow at the company's headquarters in the afternoon around 01:00 Pm? It would be great if you could."
Ziya: "Yes Zenah, I am available tomorrow and will see you tomorrow at 01:00 PM."
Zenah: "Sounds good, see you tomorrow then."
Ziya: "Yes, bye."
After hanging the call, Ziya was super excited to go for the interview and was determined to pass the interview.
The next day, Ziya went for the interview and reached 15 minutes before the scheduled time and waited.
At the reception, Ziya politely greeted the receptionist and said "Hi, I am here for an interview with Zenah which is scheduled today for 01:00 Pm."
The receptionist smiled and greeted back, "Welcome, Miss. Ziya, go straight and turn right towards cabin no. 3 and you will find Miss Zenah. Good luck with your interview."
Ziya thanked the receptionist and headed towards the direction provided.
Ziya: "Hi, Are you Zenah?"
Zenah: "Yes, I am. How can I help you?"
Ziya: "My name is Ziya. Nice to meet you in person, we talked yesterday on call, and I am here for an interview."
Zenah: "Oh yes, have a seat and make yourself comfortable and let's proceed with the interview when you are ready."
Ziya was seated across the table in a chair facing Zenah.
Zenah: "Your resume is pretty good. I see that you just graduated. So, do you have any experience or any customer service skills?"
Ziya: "Yes, I do know the basics of customer service skills as I used to work part-time at Burger king while studying in school to gain experience. I worked rotatory shifts including kitchen, cashier, and dine-in."
Zenah: "Hmm, sounds good. How comfortable are you interacting with people?"
Ziya: "As I said, I worked with Burger King, so I have dealt with all kinds of people and interacted with them. I would say my skills are above average in those terms."
Zenah: "Okay. So, if you are selected then, what is your availability and when can you start working?"
Ziya: "I am available to work full time and on many days from 9 to 5 or 8 to 4. I can start work right away."
Zenah: "Sounds reasonable. Okay, then I will give you a site to work on. It's a high-end condo, downtown. You will be working with 1 other person which will be your site supervisor. For now, I will schedule 3 days of training for you and after that, you can start working there. We have an opening there as of now. If it's okay with you, I would like to schedule your training for tomorrow at 8:00 Am in the morning."
Ziya: "Sure, it sounds great. Will start tomorrow."
Zenah: "Good, let's finish all the paperwork and I will send you the confirmation email. Welcome aboard."
Ziya: "Thank you so much."
After the interview ended, Ziya left the place and was on the way home.
The rest of the day went by in a jiffy, as night approached, she started preparing for the next day. Ziya set her alarm, prepared herself for the job and necessary things before ending the day.