Chasing His Kickass Luna Back by Jane Above Story

Abby

Vanessa walks up to me, her heels clicking softly on the tile floor. The room

slowly begins to pick up its volume again, but I feel lost in a giant void.

“Are you okay, Abby?” Vanessa asks, her voice pulling me back to the present.

“I-I’m fine,” I murmur, although the words feel like a complete and utter lie. “I’m

sorry. I didn’t mean to cause a scene.” I glance at Karl, who’s standing a few

feet away, watching intently.

Vanessa smiles, a soft, empathetic curve of her lips that immediately puts me at

ease. “Don’t be sorry. The culinary world isn’t exactly a bed of roses for women,

you know? We’re already at a disadvantage just by being female chefs.”

Enter title…

find myself saying, a hint of bitterness

and talent should be what

eyes meeting mine with a look that

world doesn’t operate the way

moment, as though

decision. “Let me tell you a

against a nearby table, crossing her arms

my way up the ladder, there was

stand me. Not because

mind you, but simply because I was

black woman at

my heart sinking at the thought of facing such

discrimination.

that’s not even the beginning of it,” Vanessa says, her voice

grim tone.

during a critical review from a food critic,

fresh herbs I’d prepped with

dish. The critic got sick. It was a

“Did he get

the time, nobody believed that he could do