I have never been someone brave enough to take huge risks. That is what I told myself as I stepped into the kitchen, taking a leap of faith, ready to start a new chapter in life.

This is it, Sky. This is what’s going to change everything. Breathe, Sky, breathe.

 My fist clenches up, guts flipped inside out. I take a quick glance around as sweat pools in my palms. An aroma of bread and coffee swirls through the air, but it does little to calm me.

Looks like someone’s already here.

A black backpack lies open on the counter, bent in the weirdest ways, the only sign that someone’s here.

“Hello, is anybody here?”

My voice echoes around the room, and it’s the only thing that responds to my calling. I tiptoe around the kitchen, footsteps padded, head turning here and there to spot the mysterious stranger.

I took a quick glance around the sunlit kitchen, the warm light bathing me in its pool. Golden streaks of light paint everything in a soft yellow hue. The windows are wide open, the air cool on my skin. I touch the cool counters. It shines and glistens as the bright light reflects off of it. The copper pots and pans hanging above my head as a soft wind blows in.

*clink clink clink* goes the pots and pans, just like soft bells on a rainy day. The only difference being the bright sun hanging high in the sky today.

My stomach grumbles like a small earthquake rumbling, and I’m suddenly very aware of the bag that digs into my shoulder, burning my shoulder through my shirt. I walk to a back corner and set my backpack onto the table. The oven beside it lets out a faint aroma.

Hmm, the fresh smell of bread flows out, heavy, buttery, tinted with a bit of a sweet and spicy smell…cinnamon. And other than that, is that charcoal?

Wait, no…something’s burning!

My feet trips over itself as I lunge forward, pulling open the handle of the sleek oven.

“Oh my gosh, why didn’t you smell it earlier, Sky?”

The pastry on the tray is charred black at the bottom, like poison, curled up like crescents. The puffiness that was once there has also sunken, looking like a sad lump of rock. My eyes are fixed on this monstrosity, and I reach my hand out to the nearest counter, coming in contact with a cloth, as I yank the tray out.

It clatters on the counters, and I have no idea what to do. I walk to the trash can, and am tempted to trash the whole thing.

But what if someone comes looking for it?

I turn around, walking to open the cabinets, opening and closing them to find a container to put the destroyed croissants.

But why though? No one’s going to eat it anyways.

I turn to the trash can, and back to the cabinets, and then back to the trash can.

Ugh, I don’t know what to do. What if nothing works out? What if…

My head falls in my hand, breath unstable and fast. Water pools in my eyes, and I know what’s going to come. Helplessness pulls at me as my thoughts spiral out of control. My chest feels unbelievably tight.

Just as I’m about to cry, I turn to see an orange haired guy run in. His unbelievable long limbs and tall build makes him extremely lanky, and his expression, especially those seaweed eyes, jumps straight out at me. Straight. Up. Terror.

“Oh no, my croissants! Hey, you’re Skylar right? Have you seen my croissants?” I brush my hair out of my face, slowing my breath down. He’s from my AP Calculus class, Cayse.

Keep your composure, keep your composure, keep your composure.

“Um, yeah, hi. You can call me Sky. Your croissants are here.” I point to the tray in front of me.

“Oh, thanks!” He smiles, dimple caving in his right cheek. He walked over to take care of everything, so I went back to my seat, drinking water to calm down. Not even seconds later, other people started to file in, including our teacher. He’s bald, with bright blue eyes that seem to carry all the energy in the room. He has on hoodies and matching gray sweatpants as he comfortably carries himself to the front desk.

“Hello hello, fellow students! I’m Mr.Trent! I’m your club advisor, and I hope we’ll have a fantastic year together. We’ll make, and eat, a bunch of good food together! All right, without further ado, let’s get right into our first project! Make a dessert with the people at your table!”

I look back to Cayse and there are two people sitting across from me. They both have bright smiles and friendly faces, Wyatt and Kenzie. We talked and planned throughout our club meeting, and I slowly relaxed with the chatters in the room.

At this point in life, I did not know how big of a role these people will play in my life. I did not know how much I’d come to love these people. But as Kenzie looks at me, smiley eyed, kind, and Wyatt, playful smile activated, comfortable as ever in his chair, I feel like things will be okay. It was a bad day. One bad day, I have to remind myself, not a bad life. My ups and downs have ceased to smooth out, and probably never will. But maybe that’s okay. All I have to do is spread my wings like a little bird and fly, don’t I? Perhaps, it will be better tomorrow.