My First Love

Chapter 24

We all reached Sanjay's home the next day, and he warmly welcomed us. He told us his parents weren't home and we need not worry about that. We looked around his house in awe. It was a luxurious house with a top-notch design and interior.

Sanjay took us on a tour of his house, and we all returned to the living room. A servant served us some snacks and drinks. We chilled in the living room while Sanjay excused himself to cook for us.

After a while, I excused myself and reached the kitchen. I looked inside to find him chopping. He looked to be in his element as he was focused on his cooking.

I felt a presence behind me and knew it was Vihaan without looking. He back-hugged me as he watched along with me. I relaxed into him as I spoke, "He looks happy while cooking, right?" and he nodded. We left him to his cooking and returned to others.

Soon, he was finished, and the food was ready to be served. We settled in the dining room, and I could sense the nervousness on Sanjay's face when the food was by the servant. We dug into the food; it was delicious, as I expected.

I looked around and saw that the others were happy with the food. Everybody gave honest feedback, and he decided it needed some changes. He left and returned a few minutes later with the modified dish, which was perfect. We were satisfied with the taste of his improvised dish.

Later, he thanked us for coming as he walked us out. We all said our goodbyes and left, looking forward to the competition day.

On the event day, we reached the location of the competition, and Sanjay looked a bit surprised and happy to find us all.

"I'm happy you're all here, but I'm surprised." He said, looking at us.

"We are here to support you in fulfilling your dream. Whether you win it or not, we are always with you." I said to Sanjay.

Everyone agreed and cheered him to give his best in the competition. Sanjay once again thanked us, and we parted ways. Others went to find their seats while I stayed back.

He looked nervous, so I decided to cheer him up a bit. I took his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, "Don't be scared. Stay calm and perform well." Sanjay nodded, smiling, and left as he got called to be onstage.

As the first round began, all the contestants worked on their dishes. Sanjay started his cooking. We patiently sat in the audience and observed him on the screen. After the cooking time finished, the contestants served their food to the judges. They tasted the food and evaluated their dishes.

At the announcement time, I nervously prayed for him to be selected for the next round. Finally, the judges announced the next round of contestants' names, and I jumped excitedly when his name was announced. I hugged Vihaan beside me, and he happily shared my excitement for our friend.

When everyone dispersed, he ran to us, and we hugged him to congratulate him.

The next round was in two days, so I thought Sanjay would be busy preparing for the next game. I was surprised to see him at college the next day.

I stopped and pulled him aside when he was about to walk toward the class, "Why are you here? You should be at home, preparing for the next round." I looked at him confusingly.

"I'll prepare tomorrow. However, I must finish my assignments and submit them on time." He replied.

"Don't worry about the assignments. I'll finish it for you. You have to focus on the competition; go prepare for it." I pushed him.

"Well," he smiled at me for being concerned for him. He excused himself as I took his incomplete assignment sheets.

I sat in the classroom and wrote Sanjay's assignments. Vihaan and Aarav walked into the class and found me busy. They insisted on helping me to finish it on time, and we shared the work among ourselves, finishing it earlier than expected.

The next day, we submitted our assignments on time. After college, we left for Sanjay's home to get an update on how far his preparations for tomorrow's round were, and he looked confident, which was good.

On the day of the competition, Sanjay did well in the next round and was selected for the semi-final round. We were glad that his hard work was getting paid. We went to a fine restaurant for dinner to celebrate it.

We were busy eating and talking when Aarav asked, "What prize will the winner gets from this competition?"

"The winner will be awarded a trophy and gets a chance to work under a famous chef in a restaurant, and the runner-up gets a chance to learn in a famous cooking academy in Italy," Sanjay replied.

Aarav said, "Wow, it's a win-win for both winner and the runner."

"I hope Sanjay wins the competition. I want to be the first customer when he opens his restaurant," I said, grinning.

Sanjay smiled, "You will surely be my first customer whenever I open the restaurant, even if I don't win this competition."

"What about us?" Annie asked excitedly.

"Of course. But you guys are the second priority." Sanjay replied.

I chuckled as Annie huffed, "This is called favorites."

"Because she is mybest friend forever. "Sanjay replied with a smile. Later, we parted waysafter we enjoyed our dinner.