Incandescent

Chapter One - They'd seen a beheaded chicken walk into the room

Hey guys!!!! Welcome to the first chapter of Incandescent :)))) I'm so excited to start sharing this story with you guys! I hope y'all like it and enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it.

To say that I was the happiest person in the world today would be an understatement. That's how happy I was.

Ten years was a very long time. And I was the one who had made the mistake that had led to me not seeing my best friend for those ten long years. But now that I had been given a second chance, I was determined to do it right.

That's why when I entered the kitchen of Arlette's, humming to myself, everyone gaped at me like they'd seen a beheaded chicken walk into the room. Everyone stopped their work to stare at me.

"How come she's in such a good mood today?" I heard Martha whisper to no one in general. It was a valid question though. I knew I was a very short-tempered person. Usually, I would walk into the kitchen in the morning, down for business and start belting out orders the minute I walked in. Advantages of being the owner of the restaurant, you know. But today was different.

"Why Martha, is it a crime to be in a good mood?" I asked as I set my things down on a platform and tied my apron around my waist.

"No, no Hazel. Just that we wish we got to see this side of yours more often." I glared at her and then glared at the rest of the staff who were nodding in agreement at her words. Hazel's famous death glare. All of their expressions morphed into fear. Was I really that scary? I held back a giggle.

"Relax guys, I'm in a good mood today so I'm not going to yell at you or anything." I laughed. It was funny seeing their shocked expressions at my constant change of moods.

I tied my straight, brown hair into a bun and got started with my work, making Arlette's special chicken curry. Martha was one of my closest friends here. She was the first person to come help me in setting up this restaurant. In the beginning, we were the only two cooks and it wasn't exactly a restaurant, it was more like a lunchbox delivery service. We would pack food in lunchboxes and deliver it to offices for their lunch break. People loved our cooking and slowly more and more people started to order from us. It took us 6 whole years to be at this stage where our little food delivery service had become a restaurant. I had named it after my mother, Arlette.

"So really, how come you're so happy today?" Martha asked me as we peeled and chopped onions for the curry. Finally, there was someone I could get a little hyper around. I spun to face her, grinning.

"Ashton Kennedy is coming back!"

"Ashton Kennedy? Wait he's the one who-"

"My childhood best friend! He's coming back to town after ten years." I couldn't contain my smile. I had missed him so much. There wasn't a day I hadn't thought about him, but I could never work up the courage to call him or even send him a simple text. I had been the one to fuck up our friendship after all. I didn't want to apologize so blandly, over a text on social media. It had to be in person.

Martha knew everything about him. Over the years, I had recalled many incidents and fun times we had spent together, and Martha would always listen patiently.

"You know what the second good news is?" I asked her. She shook her head. "I finally got my visa! That means I can finally go to India with the rest of my family." My aunt's son lived in India, and they would go there to visit him every year. I was the only one without a Visa so I couldn't go. I had been in LA all my life, never traveled anywhere.

"Oh my god Hazel! What are you doing here? You should be packing your bags! Don't worry, I'll take care of everything over here." I nodded. I knew she would. I trusted her more than anyone else, except my Grandpa that is.