Week 17: Wednesday
Who: Ita and anyone interested in the cooking club (open) What: Cooking club meeting Where: Kitchens When: 7 pm sharp
Ita could hardly focus in any of her classes. Not that she was all that focused on a regular basis, but tonight was the cooking club meeting, and she really hoped she drew a fairly decent crowd. As a student, she'd been involved in many clubs, and often she was in some sort of officer's position - she enjoyed being in the thick of things. Organizing, creating, getting people involved - that was all a part of her personality. She made sure that those members who weren't there often felt included, often sending out minutes in e-mails, and she made sure that those members were who were there often didn't get stuck doing all the business of the organization. She was a peacekeeper, too, finding it important to try and work out drama. It made her sad whenever someone left a club, not because they no longer enjoyed the club, but because of social politics.
After classes, she had rushed back to her room and did what any girl did for an important - checked her closet and became suddenly stricken with indecision. However, unlike for most dates, she wasn't checking her closet for an outfit. She was checking her closet to go through the bins of cooking supplies that she'd brought, bought, or received in the mail. Unsure of how many people would show, she couldn't decide what to bring. After considerable consideration, and several wrestling matches with items that wanted to remain stored, she finally decided on several mini-loaf stones. Her favorite recipe was banana nut-raisin bread, and the mini-loaves would be perfect for sharing. She had a half dozen, and hopefully, if that didn't cover everyone, someone else would have brought something. Grabbing her home-recipes cookbook - nearly all of the recipes were stolen from Aunt Lissa - she headed down to the kitchens, arriving nearly a half hour early.
Setting her stones and her cookbook on an empty counter, Ita filled one of the sinks and tore a page from her notebook, writing, "Please do not use or empty" in big letters, and folding it so it would stand up next to the sink. She knew that in a kitchen with too many cooks, it would likely get emptied, or someone would use it for dishes. She wanted a nice clean sink of water in case of fire. After getting that all settled, she checked the cupboards to see what other recipes she could make with the supplies here. Satisfied that she had ingredients for at least two other recipes, and the necessary utensils, she pulled those cards as well and laid them all out nicely on the counter. She'd pull the ingredients if they needed them. Settling herself on a stool she found, she titled a page in her notebook with the date and "First Meeting of the Underground Cooking Club." She had liked Sasha's name better, but she couldn't remember it right now. She really hoped Sasha would come - she had the best ideas! That, and she'd brought the cute little half-apron she'd given her from last time. This time it matched her outfit, though. Not that much wouldn't - jeans, white blouse, Birkes. Yeah, not much could clash with that.
Truly settled at last, Ita discovered she had a full 15 minutes until 7. People probably wouldn't show for another 10. This was going to be excrutiating. To entertain herself, she began to manipulate the water in the sink, creating a little story in her head to go with the splashing and waves she was creating. She even managed to make something that looked rather like a clay horse. Well, that's what she was going for anyway. She wasn't too involved in her magical play to hear someone approach, though, and ceased her actions before they even opened the door. She could hardly stay seated as the first person arrived.