March 24 2025

Every journey begins with a single step, but it is the courage to keep moving forward, the resilience to face the unknown, and the willingness to embrace change that truly shapes the path ahead. It is not just about reaching the destination but about the lessons learned, the people met, and the strength gained along the way.

Life has a way of leading us to the unexpected moments we never planned, people we never imagined, and opportunities we never saw coming. Sometimes, what we weren't looking for turns out to be exactly what we needed.

Lumière & Ember, a name that evokes elegance, warmth, and the artistry of fine dining, This is an exquisite Michelin starred restaurant that embodies the perfect balance between light and fire, delicacy and intensity.

A woman was seen cooking food as the other chefs were focused on their own tasks, The woman placed the steak on the plate and made sure it was decorated nicely as she fixed her hair.

Her name is Maria Marshall, She is thrity years old, Maria lived in a small town and grew up in a family that owned a small but beloved Italian restaurant since her parents loved the stall cuisine She spent her childhood in the kitchen, learning everything about cooking, She didn't only want to learn about Italian cuisines, She also wanted to learn about other recipes, When she was sixteen years old, She started working at the same restaurant that her parents owned while focusing on school as well.

Everyone was impressed with her cooking skills and styles, Soon, Maria decided to move to a city and continued her work over there before she got the opportunity to join Lumière & Ember. Maria always kept her parent's advice to her heart, To cook with love.

Maria hummed to herself as she carefully poured the sauce to the steak, The food was prepared as she called one of the waiter's to serve the food to a customer.

Maria was about to prepare another meal until she heard someone's voice.

???: *Smiles* Hey, what's cooking?

This is Anne Winters, She is thrity years old. Anne never planned to become a chef, She had tried to pursue in medicine, but after years of working in a high pressure environment, she was burned out and decided to look for a different job, However she was also good cook and began working at different restaurants, At first, it was just a way to clear her mind, but she soon fell in love with the rhythm of fine dining and that's when she had the opportunity to join, It was unexpected but she was satisfied with this job.

Maria and Anne have been working for a few years now, Both of them are really good friends even though their personalities were different from each other, Anne was fun, loving and likes to take risks while Maria was sweet, calm and careful.

Maria: *Smiles* Nothing much, just preparing the next order.

Anne: I'll help you out, Alex and Caleb aren't letting me see their secret recipe.

Alex/Caleb: We didn't say that!

This is Alex Ambrose, He is thrity years old and is a chef, He's been working here for a few years with Maria and Anne.

And this was Caleb Maddox, He is thrity three years old and is a chef as well, He's been working a little longer than Anne, Maria, and Alex.

Maria: Anne, you're always trying to sneak in on other people's secrets.

Anne: Come on! We're all friends, We're supposed to share!

Caleb: It's top secret of this restaurant.

Alex: That's right.

Anne: Screw you, Old guys.

Alex: Hey! I'm the same age as you.

Anne: You were born two months before me.

Caleb: I'm only three years older.

Anne: That's why you're old.

Maria: *Laughs* Okay, You guys better not throw spoons at each other now.

???: The boss is gonna come in if you guys keep joking like that.

This is Lois Lane, She is thrity three years old and works as a waitress, She is also Caleb's wife, Both of them have been married for three years.

(No Superman jokes, please, Its just a name 😂😂😂)

Caleb: Sorry, Honey. We gotta have a little bit of fun sometimes.

Alex: Plus, no one's here

???: *Giggles* Fine, I might just call the boss here myself.

This is Sydney Sweeney, She is twenty-eight years old and works as a waitress, She is also Alex's girlfriend, and they have been dating for an year.

Anne: How about you call the manager instead? That would be better.

Maria: Anne, Have some respect, He's your manager.

Anne: Sorry, I can't deny that he looks fine.

Sydney: Oh God, Anne, hahaha.

Lois: Make sure he doesn't hear that. Otherwise, his girlfriend will kick ya.

Anne: You can't blame me for appreciating a handsome-looking manager. Can you?

Alex: *Laughs* I can't believe your saying that out loud.

Caleb: I told you, She's crazy.

Everyone shared a small laugh together until they realised that they needed to focus on their work right now, Alex and Caleb prepared their next meals as Sydney and Lois grabbed the plates and went to serve it to the customers. While Anne and Maria were helping each other for the next meal.

As time was passing by, the restaurant continued to get more busy as a lot of customers were in, The chefs needed to work faster. Meanwhile, in the dessert station, Someone yelled something out.

???: Hey! Does someone have a fire extinguisher!?!?

This is Benjamin McFarland, He is twenty nine years old and works as a pastry chef, He's been working for two years now.

And this is Anna Kendrick, She is twenty nine years old and works as a pastry chef, She is also Benjamin's girlfriend, They have been dating for two years.

Anna: Our cake is on lava!!!

Caleb: What are you two doing over there?

Maria: And how is a fire extinguisher gonna stop lava?

Benjamin: I don't know! Someone help us!

Benjamin and Anna started laughing as the others laughed with them as well.

Sydney: A chocolate lava? That's something I like.

Benjamin: Right, Hahaha. Anyways, We're done with our delicious lava cake.

Anna: Can't believe this guy ordered four cakes.

Lois: He probably wanted to save the money.

They continued laughing until someone walked in and cleared their throat as everyone turned around and saw who it was.

This is Steve Miller, He is thrity five years old and is the manager of the restaurant, He also has a girlfriend named Kelly, and they're been dating for five years.

Steve: I've been hearing a lot of laughs, What am I missing?

Maria: Oh nothing at all, We're just working.

Steve: Come on, I wanna laugh as well.

Alex: Benjamin and Anna needed a fire extinguisher for the lava cake.

Caleb: He might need to take a class in 'Dessert Fire Safety' at this rate.

Everyone in the kitchen shared a small laugh together as Benjamin and Anna were preparing their next dessert together while the chefs were busy on their own tasks, Steve was checking on everyone, making sure everyone was doing their task correctly.

However, Anne couldn't stop looking at him while she was cutting the vegetables, She had a small smile on his face until Maria nudged her shoulder, gesturing her to focus as Anne rolled her eyes and continued cutting.

Maria looked through and noticed there was a lot of customers, The waiters and waitresses were extremely busy, She noticed Sydney and Lois were running around, taking orders as fast as they could, Same goes with the others.

However as Maria was looking at them, She noticed someone was staring at her, Her gaze immediately shifted to the man as he had a small smile on his face.

This is Anthony Crawford, He is forty-three years old and works as a businessman, He owns a famous company in Seattle and Aberdeen, Washington.

Maria continued staring at the man as he smiled and waved, Marshall had a small smile on her face and waved back before she realised that she needed to focus on her work again, She quickly walked away as Anthony was staring before he looked at his phone again.

A/N: Thank you so much for reading! I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter! There might be mature content, But also maybe there won't be, Just keep that in mind hehe 😅

And Lokis03277 is Alex Ambrose

ForMandalore0227 is Caleb Maddox

And Ben10thejoker is Benjamin McFarland

QueenZain3 is Maria Marshall and Anne Winters 😌😂

Take care everyone and stay strong!