Dysfunction (Discontinued)

Amends, Made Pt.2 (New Chapter)

Please listen to music linked with chapter .

Be sure to read part 1 to this chapter

Ade's friends came. Mimi and Nyema. They both squealed in excitement for me.

" Oh my gosh Bia. This place is beautiful ! ", said Nyema with a gasp looking around.

" Yes. It reminds me of pictures of Paris ", Mini chimed.

" I tried. Why don't you guys get seated. Ask for anything you like, on the house ", I said.

I started greeting people at the door. They were piling in, associates of Harper of course. Some of them had on furs and jewels while others wore skinny jeans and hoodies. There was such a wide variety of people here, all because she said to come. Tonight would absolutely be a full house.

My last guest came and I shut the doors to the restaurant. The air buzzed with hushed voices and laughter. This was my dream since I was a kid. I'd be cooking for all my foster siblings, watching the joy on their faces spread around the room from a hot meal. A labor of love from someone who cared enough to make sure they didn't go to bed hungry. Now I finally had my very own restaurant to do whatever I wanted with. "B's World cuisine" where I could spread that love and maybe even share the stories of some of the people I loved. The room started to really pick up, my employees were working over time at the bar portion and once everyone was seated I stood in front of everyone. Analise clung to my leg as I spoke even after I told her to go sit down. I just kept thanking god these people spoke English. I grabbed the microphone and began my speech.

" Hello everyone and Thankyou all for coming to the grand opening of my restaurant. I've worked very hard to get this thing up and running. It's been a challenging journey to get here. For most of my life I didn't think this dream would be possible. Many nights I dreamt about what it would be like to have my own business and share my food to those willing to try it. It wasn't until recently that I even gained a support system for this dream. I have my supportive staff to thank and my friend Harper for her encouraging words. I also would like to thank Mini and Nyema for helping me with the real estate and encouraging me to get more creative with my variety. For those of you who don't know, my name is Bia summers. A little bit about me, I was born in Somalia and due to unforeseen circumstances I became in orphan at 6 months old. I've been all over the south in foster care and I faced many many challenges. Growing up in foster care, it deprived me of being able to connect with people organically sometimes. So in my own way I used food to connect, to understand people. When you come up to somebody and tell them "I made this for you" and you see their face light up, it's rewarding. I did that often over the years. I used to food to translate what I couldn't. I did a lot of things that I wasn't particular passionate about but trust and believe throughout all my harships, food was on my mind ", I pause and the audience chuckles at my bluntness.

" When I was of age I left for college under a full ride scholarship competition. I was accepted into MIT and majored under archeology and materials. I wasn't passionate about it at all. In fact I spent most times in class daydreaming about food, what I was having for lunch and what recipes I should try next. Eventually I ended up in meeting a guy who absolutely LOVED to eat, so I started experimenting on him. He ate almost everything I cooked and it was through that relationship that I realized that I could actually COOK. I started making dishes from around the world and I realized just how thereupetic it was for me. It wasn't just about cooking and eating it. It was about putting time and effort into something, seeing it through and enjoying it as the reward. It was art to me. I spent the next few years building my craft. Some more very very unfortunate events happened, and those unfortunate events were so bad that they landed me under the radar or the Black panther. Luckily, King T'challa is a very very forgiving man. He saw something in me..and decided to swoop me up from the life I lived in the United States and gave me a new start here. He truly saved my life. When I got here I realized that my dreams were a possibility. Now I stand here telling you all the story. One of the most difficult decisions for myself when it came to creating a resturant was the menu. Did I want to have a theme ? Did I want to limit the food I made ? Did I only want to cook food from a certain region ? What did I want ? That's a huge question for someone who rarely ever had the option to do what they wanted to do. As I was talking to my girlfriends about what theme I wanted, my good friend Harper said these brilliant words "choose the food that's close to your heart" Then I realized what she meant. Everybody I met had a favorite food, why not start there. So, I thought back to all the impactful people in my life. I curated a meal after every person I've held close to my heart or anyone who's made a difference in my life in some way. If you open your menus you'll be able to see a list of each cuisine we specialize in here along with other cuisines from around the word that I've made or tried. I'll stick with the few that stand out the most ", I grabbed a sample menu and opened it.