DAY (0)

It's 6 P.M. The first customers of the year are finally arriving from their mecha-transformer cars. Classic of the people who look down on those with "cheap flying cars."

I have no time to greet them by the door. I never see the point anyway. After all, I'm not a celebrity. Besides, I don't wish to greet people like these.

I can see from the kitchen pass-through counter that the guests arrive with glamorous outfits, sitting at their assigned tables.

"Chef, good to go?" My cake pâtissier arrive at my table with a chocolate cake.

I bend down slightly, checking the moistness. Taking in the subtle smell of molten chocolate that anyone could taste without moving their mouth. The kind that drives a person crazy with cravings they didn't know existed.

I didn't taste the chocolate, but I already know the cake has a perfect ratio of bitterness and sweetness that it mirrors the bittersweetness of one's memories. Opening my eyes, I nod to Saul, the pâtissier.

"Good to go." The corner of my lips can't help but lift.

I keep myself busy, checking every station's dish. Hope erases the gloom I have been feeling lately. I find myself approving my chefs, proud that I have nothing to criticize of the chefs I taught.

Minutes passed, the lead waiter enters the room and approaches me.

"Chef, it's almost time." Caelan whispers.

I clap my hands once, gaining the attentions of the chefs.

"Chefs, let's take two minutes before we start serving."

My feet take me to the door. I face my chefs who look excited and nervous.

"For the last two years, we spent our efforts on proving that we deserve the three Holostars. We did it because we have faith that Sapiensa deserves it. You can call yourself a three-Holostar chef now. Tonight is our first night cooking for customers as one." I look into the brightened eyes and smiles belonged to 23 chefs.

"We have a birthday conglomerate prince to please along with his people, but truthfully, I want you to forget about it. You have yourself to please. I don't want you to be satisfied solely by three stars, because it's only the beginning. With three stars on your name, you are trusted to cook like how you gain the stars in the first place. So do not take the pressure as something that cracks you down. Turn yourselves into diamonds. We are chefs of Sapiensa. Nothing is impossible. With love?"

"Sapiensa!" My chefs chant.

I nod to Caelan who nods as well. I tidy my chef attire and follow him out the kitchen, meeting the people in the dining room of the restaurant. I go to the empty center table of the restaurant.

As I walk, the guests applaud at the sight of me alone. The surge of gloom washes my chest again, coming back to me.

They may be the reason why I achieve my dream, but these people make me realize how shallow my dream was. To be praised as the best chef, except when you have stars on your name as a chef, you could feed these people uncooked rat and they would love it. They don't think of me as good because they know what it takes. They think of me as good because I attain the label that makes me immune to criticism.

I smile slightly and bow slightly.

"Thank you everyone for coming. I also thank the Wright family for trusting Sapiensa to serve you for Mr. Eli's birthday." I land my eyes to Eli Wright, a handsome brown-haired man with a clean-looking fashion.

He looks bored. Good.

Then, I shift my eyes to everyone else.

"You are the first customers of the year and the first customers of Sapiensa as a three-star Holostar restaurant." The applaud cut me off; I smile and nod a bit.

"If you could please look at the menu on your table. The Essentials contains the three-course meals we will serve to all the tables. They aren't too heavy so that you can explore other dishes. The Appetizers section contains the recommended foods to set the atmosphere of this party. Birthdays are about remembering how far you have gone as you grow. Therefore, Originals section contains the dishes I place my confidence in to remind you of the milestones of your life. The Desserts contains a curated final-course sweets to finish your experience the sweetness of celebrating someone else's birthday, which, of course, isn't limited to just the cake we'll soon present at the table here beside me." I tap on the empty table right beside me.

"The Drinks accompanies the dishes with a tipsy haze of joy or a simple classic beverage. As customers of the signifance I told you about, Experimental Exclusives gives you dishes have never been served to anyone. I would like you to be the first or maybe the only one to taste them." I face Eli again who has abandoned his crossed arms but still wears that narrowed eyes and flat smile.

"Lastly, happy 28th birthday to Mr. Eli Wright. I'm honored to be trusted to accompany your party with what I do best." I bow once more, the applause loud.

Walking to the kitchen, Ruby and her team have begun plating the 20 plates of the Essential appetizers. Miles's team cooks the main dish after my approval of their prep-batch. Saul and his department work for the desserts that may take longer than the main dishes, some of them give finishing touches on the cake before putting it in the refrigerator.

Serving is quick. After a minute of plating, our waiters pick up our appetizers.

"Five minutes!" I shouted gently.

Five minutes is an important time. When the clock says the said minutes are over, Caelan and the others will come back with empty plates of our appetizers and the orders of the other dishes that the guests may want to try. We finish our main dishes in three minutes, but I haven't called the waiters to serve them until the fifth minute. During the remaining two minutes, Caelan returns.

"Table three: one Lobster Soup, one Tomato Cream Soup, and one Mushroom Soup."

That's when I step in. I cook the unpredictable orders with my chefs.

"Apprentie Sakura, prepare your lobster in two minutes and give it to Poisonnier Dennis. Legumier Jack, pick five tomatoes and blend them. Entremetier Naomi, chop and blend the Five Cream Soup Mushrooms. Potagers Quentin and Pamela, you get ready with me for final assembly. Quentin, tomato. Pamela, mushroom. I handle the lobster. Unassigned apprentis stand by!"

"Yes, Chef!" All the mentioned chefs shouts.

As I pour broth on my pot, I heat another pan with butter.

"Lobster?!" Dennis shouts.

"Here!" I reply.

Dennis arrives with the cooked and chopped lobsters.

"Thank you, Dennis. Apprenti Axel, find my thyme!"

"Yes, chef."

"Louder, Apprenti! This kitchen will make you mute by the minute. I need to hear every "yes," "but," "no," or any ingredient and numbers you name!"

"Yes, Chef!"

In a blur of chopping sounds, shouts, and fragrant searing; it only gets more chaotic as Caelan barks more orders. However, this chaos is the most ideal management. We are quick and still provide good food. At last, the cake is served after every main Essential dish is served. Additional orders are now done with the help of Miles' team and Ruby's team.

"Alright, whew! Good job, Chefs. Caelan, please handle any refill drinks. Thank you."

"Yes, Chef!" Caelan nods.

As the clock hits 8 P.M, the guests exit the restaurant as we clear the stations. The Wright Family enters the kitchen behind Caelan. Customers can select a tier of kitchen visit with many rules, like turning on their Mecha Masks and Gloves. Eli and his parents press their temple, a mask with a steel frame and a non-fogging glass as a window take form on their mouths.

Mechahumans keep a good epidemiology behavior by installing plug-ins to their temple, which could install vaccines or disease prevention features like this mask or the non-fluid transfer ability on therir hands.

Martha Wright and Wallace Wright are excited to see everything in the kitchen, opening their mouths like it was a museum.

"Chef Wanda, thank you for the food tonight" Martha smiles.

"Thank you for trusting me." I give a small smile. "What did you think of everything, Mr. Eli?"

Eli looks around the kitchen. The boredom in his face is half-eliminated. For the first time, I am truly nervous of what a customer is thinking.

"At first, I thought you'd be another gimmick. I was prepared to be disappointed, but I gotta say; it was a nice concept. I see the potential and the meaning behind every dish." he speaks coldly.

"I just wish there's more your dish could do. The critics seem to be brought into a whole different dimension of cuisine euphoria. It seems your work has downgraded by the time you serve me."

The blood on my body still, freezing from the cold, sharp icicles of his words.

"I was prepared to be disappointed, but your dish makes me surprised to be disappointed. I guess in itself, that makes you better than most Holostarred restaurant."

"No, that's worse. It means I half-assed impressed you."

Eli looks at me and smirks slightly.

"Good to know that my criticism matters."

"The most important critics are laymen. They are harder to impress. You are a writer, Sir. You happen to deliver your criticism the best. How about this?" I look to my chefs, a surge of hunger melts the ice that froze me stunned.

"Give me 30 days to cook for you. A second chance for a much more personalized set of meals, one that isn't interrupted by birthday orders or guests. One that focuses more on who you are as a person, not a wish on you'll become as you age or celebrating the past version of you."

Eli smiles genuinely this time.

"Deal. 30 days. I'll come everyday."