69

ALAYNA

The food I prepared for Brandon last night went back to my station untouched. Ms. Lennie said he came home at four-thirty in the morning before I woke up, so he likely won’t need to be served breakfast. I don’t care when he comes back, but I hate it when food goes to waste. I remember telling him that before.

Casey is early today too. She catches me still preparing for Brandon’s lunch at my station. She’s been busy with her special online classes since we weren’t able to talk.

I’m reinventing the recipe I made last night as well because I don’t want to give up. Brandon has to taste this, whether he ordered it or not. The dish is Asian as my base is rice. I perfected it now, so I’m confident.

“That looks good. Can I taste it?” Casey asks, looking down at my new invention. Anyway, I’m already finished with Brandon’s request.

“Oops! I need to add more. Just one more touch.” I heat the Dong Po Rou on the stove. It’s a traditional braised pork belly, chopped into fine pieces, and th