CHAPTER THREE

The next morning. I met up with Julia in front of our school. We decided to buy some breakfast before our class started. The smell of the newly baked bread at the bakery attracted us, so we went to buy some.

"This bread tastes good," I said while munching on the bread.

"Hmm, it's okay, but I think my mom's homebaked bread is tastier," Julia said.
I tasted some of Julia's mom's bread and pastry. Julia always gives me whenever she brings some of them to school. I bet she'll go big when she tries to sell it, but she has another job, and baking was just her hobby. Julia must be so lucky to have a good baker mom at home. I know she's trying to learn how to bake cakes now, and I'm excited to try it.

"Do you want to make delicious bread with me?" she winked at me, and I frowned at her. "Then, if it tastes good, let's try to sell it," she added.

"What if it doesn't taste good?" I asked.
Julia attempts to make bread and cookies before, but it always fails. Cookies spread too much or it’s an overbaked bread. That's why I'm quite shocked to hear from her that she wanted to try making it a business.

"What if it does?" she asked me, "C'mon! Join me. I'll ask my mom to teach us. We will not spend a lot of money here because my mom has the equipment we need for baking."

"We can't just start a business just like that, "I told her.

"Of course, we need to plan first, and in this business, we will be able to apply the things we learned from our class, especially in the marketing area."

"I have little savings. Is it okay?" I asked her. I'm afraid I can't join her in this business because I don't have a lot of money to spend.

"It's okay, Cara! I know mom still has some ingredients," she said, encouraging me.

"Okay, I'll join you, "I said abruptly, and she was excited. Is this the right decision? I asked myself.

After our class, Austin joined us in the library to study for a quiz.
"Austin, do you remember the brownies I gave you last Christmas?" Julia suddenly asked him.

"Yeah. It was the best brownies. I gave my mom some, and she likes them. When will your mom bake again?" He asked, flipping his notes.

"We can bake on Saturday. We want to make it a business. What do you think?" she asked.

"I think it'll work as long as your product tastes good, and I think you need to do research like your target market, price, competition, and how you can make the best of your product," He said. "I can help you. I can take good pictures of your product for your website as long as you give me some baked goodies," He winked. I smiled at what he said.

"OMG! I can't believe you're listening to our professor," Julia said while laughing.

"Of course, I listen. What do you think of me?" He scoffed.

"We also need to prepare a good packaging to attract customers, and maybe we can have a free taste to our classmates maybe they'll like it and would want to order," I suggest.

"Very good!" Julia laughed. I can see how excited she is.

The name? Any idea? "Austin asked, looking at us.

"Our name,” Julia said, smiling at herself. “Cara plus Julia is equal to Caia" Her eyes are smiling with excitement.

"Caia bakes," I added.

"Perfect!"Austin chuckled.

Instead of studying, we ended up planning. It's okay. We still passed the quiz. After our class, I went home to rest.
I slept for almost two hours until I heard a noise downstairs.

"What happened?" I asked. I saw Carlon and Mom smiling brightly.

"Cara, I got the highest score in our science test, "he said with excitement.

"Really? That's great! I am very proud of my brother." I said, smiling. My parent's hard work and sacrifices are worth it since Austin is diligent in school, unlike any other guy his age.
"I thought I wouldn't pass. I had a hard time, but I prayed, and it worked, " Carlon said. Looking so happy about his achievement.
"What's happening here?" Dad asked us as soon as he saw us. Carlon showed his test paper to Dad.

"Wow. I'm proud of you, son. I'm happy for you. I don't feel tired anymore," Dad said. We laughed at what he said.
I excuse myself so that I can prepare for work.
I took a bus to work, and I saw Julia sitting inside the store eating ice cream with Roman.

"Why are you here?" I asked her

"I'm waiting for Austin," she said.

"Where are you going?" I asked her while preparing some work to do.

"I saw a newly opened baking store near our school. Austin said he'll come with me," she said.

"Really? I wish I could come, "I mumbled.

"Don't worry, we can come again tomorrow after class," she said, smiling at me. "I'm just going to look around. I'm not going to buy anything yet."

"Tell me if you're going to buy, so I could give you some of my savings," I said, and she nodded, still eating ice cream.

"That's a great business. Start while you're still young," Roman said.

"That's what my mom told me too. Try new things and take a risk. If you fail, it's okay. Whenever you fail, you will learn a lesson. So if you will try again, you can avoid the mistakes in the past," Julia said.

"A piece of advice, don't expect overnight success, and when you get tired, please don't give up. Just take a rest. Everything takes time."