The minute I stepped out of the car, I knew I was in HUGE trouble. Everything was big, fancy, and screamed this is a prestigious school for the rich. Why the hell was I even here anyways?

A few years ago when I was a ripe 9-year old, my father lost all of his money. Every little penny was taken from us and we were whisked out of our lovely home with all the maids and servants. My mother, a kind woman kept on reassuring me that everything was going to be okay, but I think she did it more for my dad's sake than me. Unfortunately, only days after we started living in a ramshackle house that we could hardly afford, he hung himself outside our alley. The person who really helped me through all my pain was my only friend, Fujioka Haruhi. We were pretty good friends, and my bad memories seemed to fly away when I was with her.

And then everything I worked so hard for shattered, once again. When my mom sold me through a college friend after finally going delusional after 2 years without my father, my biggest regret was not losing my mom, neither was it knowing I was going to be teased for the rest of my life, but it was that I never said "goodbye".

Now a lively 15-year old, I met Haruhi at a local supermarket the other day. I was looking around at the melon chips section, when I heard a familiar voice calling out an order to the fish seller. We instantly bonded and I met up with her often whenever she had free time. I dropped out of school a year earlier because of the ridiculous fees and now lived as a poor but happy teenager. When Haruhi and I talked, it was usually about some kind of Host Club nonsense. It actually was pretty amusing, and I had cried a few times from laughing so hard.

But suddenly one day Haruhi burst into my room panting and out of breath. I, being the kind soul that I am, asked if I needed to beat up anyone who might be outside my door. Sadly, she shook her head and managed to get out a sentence from her exhaustion. "Do you…do you know how to make a decent cake?"

So that left me there, standing outside Ouran Academy, praying to Kami-sama that Haruhi would show up. My mind was a complete mess and I had on some old clothes that I could get dirty. Heck, all my clothes are old, and I've dirtied a good few by accident. I walked through the bright halls and was led to the third music room and almost choked by a rose petal. I felt totally overwhelmed as 6 really hot men stared intensely at me. I suddenly felt the need to address the situation with a calm introduction. I pointed at myself at proclaimed, "Hi, my name is Hoshi Saki, you may call me Saki-chan." I kept on going.

"You must be the insanely evil twins Hikaru and Kaoru."

"What can we say?" they shrugged.

"The glasses wearing AB blood type dark king Kyouya."

"What's wrong with my blood type?" he pushed up his glasses.

"The cute little senpai with a lovable bunny, Hunny."

"Do you like Usa-chan?" He put his pink bunny-thing up to my face.

"The over-protective bodyguard Mori."

"Ah."

"What about me? What am I Saki-chan?" Tama-baka yelled excitedly.

"I don't know you. Haruhi didn't tell me about you." I sighed as the twins were laughing their asses off and he retreated to a dark corner. "The stupidest of them all, the idiot king with delusional problems Tama-baka. Also, you should fix the lighting on that corner, it's rather dark." I sat down and smiled at everyone and ended my little introduction. "Please take care of me." Kyouya took over the spotlight since the real king was growing mushrooms in the corner. I swear, that corner must be like a cave or something.

"So, as you may have heard from Haruhi, you will be our baker for our club activities today. Our usual cook was not exactly fit for the job anymore." He smiled and propped up his glasses and wrote in his notebook.

"Yeah, how unfortunate for you." I said with no trace of sarcasm, and proceeded to look around. "So, where's the kitchen?" I was directed to a small room hidden from view that was stocked full of ingredients. Now, I don't want to brag or anything, but I think I'm really good at making pastries, and I love to make them. Suddenly, I was hit on the head with two paper airplanes. I picked up the one with the teddy bear patterns on it first, and read 'please make all of Haruhi's favourites'. I crumpled it up and threw it into the wastebasket without giving it a second thought. In the distance I think I heard a faint crying sound. The next one with bunnies and flowers all over it said 'please make lots and lots of yummy sweet things'. I smiled and nodded to Hunny-senpai and rolled up my sleeves.

"She's been in there for a long time hasn't she?" Hikaru complained.

"Maybe she really has no skills and has already ruined a cake." Tama-baka replied.

"Do you think she'll burn down the kitchen?" Hunny asked worriedly.

"She will regret that, the kitchen costs a small fortune." (Guess who)

"I CAN HEAR EVERY WORD YOU'RE SAYING BAKAS!" An exasperated voice pierced through their chatter. I came out of the kitchen, spatula in hand and cursed silently. "Keep it down, you're going to ruin my pastry-making mood." With that, I slammed the door and didn't make contact with the outside world anymore. When I finally came out, I set down a tray of blueberry muffins and a platter of banana oatmeal cookies on the tables. I sat down in a chair and gave an exhausted sigh. "Next time, I'm going to come earlier so I have more time."

"Thank you Saki-chan! Please make a cake next time!" Hunny reached out for a cookie and his eyes widened in amazement and bliss. I quickly ran into the kitchen and brought out the leftovers that couldn't fit in the trays before my precious works were all gone. Everyone tried something and they all patted me on my back and told me I was amazing. I smiled, because for some reason, it was the first time such simple praise gave me so much happiness, even if so many people had said the same thing at different periods of my life, each time with a different treat in their hands. But of course, reality struck with a blistering force and I found myself in the kitchen, listening to the host club doing their job and entertaining guests in a matter of seconds. I sighed and ate some cookie dough and felt better each time I heard a comment on the treats.

Suddenly, I heard a spoon clinking against a glass and soon I was dragged by the twins out into the room in all my glory, old clothes and all, to applause followed by several people shaking my flour stained hands congratulating me on my pastries. A bunch of pretty girls asking how to make a cookie so delicious crowded around me when I realized that even though Hikaru had left my side, Kaoru was gently resting his hand on my arm while talking to his followers. I shrugged any nonsensical thoughts out of my head and continued smiling at the girls. Kyouya came up to me and told me I was considered their pastry baker now, and he said it with an edge that told me there was no escaping it now.

But surprisingly, it didn't bother me. Not even a little bit. Maybe it was because Kaoru was still right there beside me, maybe it was all those girls telling me I had a talent for baking, maybe it was Hunny's adorable expression when he ate my pastries, or maybe it was knowing I could bake without caring about the cost for a long time. All I knew was, even though I still wondered what I was doing here, it wasn't a negative question anymore.