Serendipitous

Chapter 20

Evelyn's POV:

The weekend has now been and gone and I can't say that I've ever been in a better mood. To be honest, after everything that happened on Sunday, I was sure that Raven would have kicked me out, but I was proved wrong when she offered for me to stay and watch movies with her until I needed to head back home. Over the weekend, I felt like there was an unspoken acceptance of our attraction for each other, and Raven's actions to reassure me were certainly enough to prove it.

We were making meringue cakes today. This is one of the most difficult desserts to make, but we had been practising with smaller dishes like soufflés to prepare ourselves and strengthen our talents. I was really looking forward to creating this dish because I thought it would remind me of how far I've come and how much my culinary skill set has progressed since my first day.

I could tell Mia and Skye were also excited to make this dish by the looks on their faces. Mia had turned to us both with a grin, "This dish looks so pretty! I can't wait to make it." Skye hummed in agreement while I simply nodded.

Raven's usual warm and bright aura had a stoic tinge to it today, so I could tell she was a little on edge. Skye stared at me with a raised eyebrow, so I'm pretty sure she noticed, too, but neither of us said anything. It wasn't like I could ask her if she was fine right now, because the class would get overly interested in the talk and suspicious. Raven cast a glance my way, and I gave her a warm smile, which seemed to calm her demeanour as she reciprocated the same smile back to me.

We had a new student beginning our course today, so we were just waiting for them to arrive so we could get started. They'd be at a disadvantage because they would've missed the first few weeks, but hopefully they'll be able to make up for the lost work.

There was a pretty loud knock on the door before it was pushed open, and a boy around our age entered, he looked at the class expectantly "Hi, my name is Ivan. I begin today." He was roughly 6'0" tall. He had broad shoulders and dark brown shaggy hair that was quite short and scruffy.

His gaze traveled across the faces in our class, and I noticed he held his gaze on me a little longer than anybody else, sending shivers down my spine. He gave me a slight smirk before we heard a throat clearing behind me, quite forcefully, might I add. Based on first impressions, I could tell he was a very direct person, but there was also something really strange about him.

Raven walked out in front of me, towards Ivan by the door, with a small smile on her face that I could tell wasn't genuine in the slightest bit, but she did her best to make it seem real, and it seemed to work. "Hello, my name is Miss O'conner, and I'm your teacher for this course; there's a space next to Jake if you want to join him." Ivan nodded and strode over to where Raven had pointed, which was next to Jake.

He winked at me on the way to the station. It took me by surprise, and my face flushed slightly in embarrassment. Is he blind to the fact that I'm gay? When I felt a nudge on my shoulder, I turned away from him. I looked at Skye, who had nudged me, confused. She had a slightly wide-eyed expression on her face and pointed to Raven.

If I had been the one receiving it, the look on Raven's face would have made me cower. She was glaring daggers at Ivan, which made me smile slightly because I knew it meant she was jealous. I gave her a small smirk as she turned to face me. By the way her eyes softened slightly, I could tell she knew I wouldn't fall for his charms and would instead tease her because she was the one I wanted. She returned my smirk before addressing the class with a much more genuine smile on her face.

"I believe everyone has all of their ingredients, and now that you're all here, you can get started. Please assist Ivan if he appears to be stuck, Jake." With a nod from everyone, we all started making our meringue cakes.

I washed my hands before turning on the oven to 350°F. I then buttered three round cake pans and lined each with a round of parchment paper. I combined the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium mixing bowl. I then combined the coconut milk and vanilla in a separate jug.

In a separate bowl, I beat the butter and sugar for four minutes, or until light and fluffy. I then added the egg yolks, thoroughly mixing them in. After that, I alternated between adding the coconut milk and the flour mixture until everything was thoroughly combined. I whisked the egg whites in a clean mixing bowl with the whisk attachment until soft peaks formed. I gently stirred a large spoonful of the egg whites into the batter with a spatula to loosen it, and then gently folded the remaining egg whites in.

I divided the cake batter among the prepared cake pans evenly. I used a spatula to level the batter. I placed the cake pans in the oven. After fifteen minutes, I rotated the pan positions, and after twenty-five minutes, I inserted a butter knife into the centre to see if it came out clean, which it did, indicating that it was done. Before starting on the filling, I set the pans aside to cool.

I whisked together the cream and egg yolks in a mixing bowl. I combined the sugar and flour, then whisked in the cream mixture and cooked it over medium heat until smooth and thickened to the consistency of pudding. I took it off the heat then added the coconut, butter, vanilla, and salt.

I whipped the remaining cream to soft peaks with an electric hand mixer then gently folded the whipped cream into the filling with a spatula. I topped half of the filling on top of the layer, spreading it evenly with an offset spatula almost to the edge of the cake. I did the same thing with the second cake layer and the remaining filling. The final cake layer was then added on top.

The last step was to prepare the meringue. I set the metal bowl of a stand mixer over a pot of simmering water and added the sugar and egg whites. I then whisked constantly until the sugar was completely melted. To ensure that all of the sugar grains had melted, I rubbed a small amount between my fingers.

I placed the bowl in the mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment, and whisked on low speed until the mixture became completely opaque and began to thicken. I whisked until the mixture was glossy and thickened into medium-firm peaks that stood stiffly but curled slightly at the tip. I spread the meringue evenly over the entire cake with a spatula. Then I poked my fingertips into the meringue, pulling it into spikes all over the cake. I then browned the meringue with a small blow torch, and my dish was finished.

Before heading over to see how everyone else did, I cleaned up the equipment I used and wiped down my station area with a damp cloth. I moved over to Mia and Skye's stations after I finished cleaning and tidying up my area to see how they did, and I must say, I was impressed! They both performed well today.

Our dishes were almost identical, and you could tell we were all trying our hardest to follow the recipe method sheet perfectly. To tell you the truth, I think Mia's turned out the best. She had perfect peaks that were kept in place by an amazing golden brown colour. We all grinned at each other because we knew we'd done a good job.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and didn't need to look to see who it was because her sweet scent quickly overwhelmed my senses. As she spoke, my grin grew wider "Wow, ladies! These look amazing. Well done." I could feel her breath hitting my ear, and it made me automatically lean a little closer to her.

I heard her chuckle before she walked away to see how everyone else was doing. I found myself pouting a little because I missed the contact. When Mia and Skye audibly cooed at my needy state, I flushed a deep shade of red in embarrassment grumbling a small "piss off," towards them.

A//N The new boy has eyes for Evelyn?