Her hunger felt like it was ripping through her stomach. She was certain that the resulting growl would draw the attention of everyone in the classroom. Sixteen more minutes, she thought, looking at the clock on the wall. Add in ten minutes to walk to her car, seven to drive home, and she could be eating before the hour.
She started daydreaming about what she would cook for dinner. She mentally opened her refrigerator and took stock of the ingredients. If only she had thought to thaw the pork roast that was in the freezer; she practically drooled at the thought of it.
She needed something quick and easy, or else she'd end up stuffing her face with junk while she waited for the meal to cook, as she always did. She was trying to make good choices now. She wanted to eat better so she might lose some weight. She wanted to practice cooking so that, and the very thought made her cringe, she might cook for a partner and a family somewhere down the line.
That's what school was for, right? Learning, practicing, discovering who you wanted to be. Since she was older than the traditional students, she wasn't simply learning who she wanted to be. She needed to chip away at who she had become over the years to find who she truly was.
She wanted that person to be someone who liked picking fresh vegetables from a booth at the farmer's market. Someone who saw potential in green leaves and instinctively knew what flavors would go with them to make them sublime. She wanted to cook a meal and watch someone take a bite and close their eyes in delight.
She hadn't thought that cooking classes meant she'd get to eat the food, not really. She knew it was about learning first. How to chop, how to prepare, how to safely refrigerate. But she hadn't realized she'd get so hungry while doing so. She ate breakfast, went to work, took a lunch break, finished her day, clocked out, and ate a snack before coming to class. But maybe she needed to eat an early dinner after work, and a late dinner after class.
Food was all she could think about. It was understandable, sure. She was in a cooking program, after all. She loved saying that to herself. She knew that in a year's time, she'd have something to offer someone.
405 words
[prompt from Going Short by Nancy Stohlman]
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