Here I was, in front of a huge mirror. It had been a while since I’d last paid attention to the girl in the mirror. Staring at her brilliant, chin-length, messy curls and her hazel eyes, I smiled at myself. “You are beautiful!”

“I hope you love your room, Caro.” Nadia peeped through the door. “And feel free to make it homely with any décor of your choice, okay.”

“It’s perfect, Nadia, thank you!” I gave her a hug. “You won’t regret this. I promise.”

The room was painted sky blue which reminded me so much of my parent’s house. I had told my mom I didn’t want to be like other girls who loved pink. I wanted my room to be painted in blue and my parents had agreed to do just that for their nine-year-old daughter. But on their way back from getting another container of paint to do the finish-up, they were involved in a car crash with a taxi driver. This accident cost everyone’s life except the taxi driver, who was severely injured. And that is how I became an orphan.

“Just be glad you don’t have to move from one foster home to another again,” I comforted myself.

I decided to unpack my suitcase and, while doing so, I found my notebook with a folded piece of paper in it.

“Ah, the ideas about the App.” I had torn the paper into pieces after I had opened my varsity letter to find I couldn’t pay the fees. It must only mean one thing – Kate, she had glued the pieces together and made a copy. I had known Kate for as long as I can remember and she was the closest thing to family. She had always believed in me and my ideas.

“Don’t give up, soul sister, not yet. Love Bestie,” Kate signed at the end of the paper. She might not have always helped me in the way I wanted, but I was so glad to have her in my life.

It had been two weeks since I started au pairing Nadia’s kids. I had enjoyed every moment with Joel and Abi. They were not naughty and loved to ask questions such as, “Why can’t your parents visit?”

And when they were at school, I would take my laptop to the café which was five blocks away, and work on my App.

“Hi Caro, would you like the usual?” Benji asked. He was very friendly and would come chat with me during his lunch hour.

“Hmm, give me your best coffee Ben… I want to get this App started!” I winked at him.

“Ah, CC the busy lady! How about Dirty Chai?” he giggled. “Actually, tell me more about the app you are building?” He joined me at the coffee table.

“I’ll give it a try… hmm, my app?” I looked at him.

“Yeah, tell me more,” he leaned in to hear.

“Well, it’s called FYC which stands for Find Your Chef… give me a sec” I looked at my phone and it was Nadia.

I came to grab some files and I see you are not home. You, okay?

I’m just five blocks away, using the internet at the café.

I pressed send, and closed my screen.

“Sorry about that. That was Nadia, my boss,” I continued. “This app will make it easy for event planners to hire chefs and pay them properly.”

“Ahh CC, you should teach me how to build apps. You are smart, huh.”

“Haha… Thanks, Ben, I will see you tomorrow.” I packed my laptop and rushed home to watch the kids.

Abi had asked me to make quesadillas for lunch. While I was adding chicken to the tortilla, she walked in the kitchen, looking a bit low for an active child.

“Hey kiddo! How was school?” I tickled her.

She smiled with a teardrop, “Caro…is it my fault… .hmm – this boy at school said. He said mom and dad divorced because of me?”

“Look, he is a mean boy and you, don’t listen to his lies!” I gave her a hug.

“Now, get ready because we are about to have, guess what, for lunch?” I held her little hands.

Right when she was about to answer, Nadia walked in. “Abbi, tell Joe that Dad will fetch the two of you in an hour.” She dropped her purse on the counter.

“And Caro, would you please help pack a few things they will need for the weekend?” She looked at her phone screen. “I have also asked a guy to come and install the wi-fi. He will be here in ten minutes,” she smiled. “I hope it helps you.”

***
A few weeks’ later, I sat in the quiet house. I was done building the App, thanks to the wi-fi. And Nadia had been kind enough to ask about it. She promised to introduce me to people who could make this App big. I was really excited and couldn’t wait to see this App flourish.

As I opened my WhatsApp, Kate’s message popped in.

Call me now!

What’s the rush? I wondered. But I decided to call anyway.

“Kate, what’s up?”

“Is there something you didn’t tell me?”

“Eh, like…?” I laughed.

“Like how you sold your App to Nadia. You worked so hard for that App, Caro!”

I was shocked. “What… what do you mean?”

“Dude, have you seen the news?”

I quickly rushed to the TV and tuned into the news. I was surprised at what I saw, the journalist shaking Nadia’s hand. “Thank you, Ms Springer. This App will help chefs to make a decent income and give them better access to jobs. All thanks to you!”

I couldn’t watch this… I was sobbing. It hurt. I trusted her.