[Thursday Afternoon. Maestra Vivienne's Candy-Making Class]
As soon as Marron opened the classroom door, the smell of caramelized sugar hit her in the face. Eight more students stood at their stations, each one with gleaming copper pots. They had their measuring tools and nervous energy on display, too. She felt thet same way, because they were going to be working with sugar.
Delicate and unforgiving.
Maestra Vivienne stood at the front, her silver-white hair catching the afternoon light streaming through the windows. She looked at each student in turn. Her smile was warm, but her eyes had a serious glint in them.
"Before we begin," she said, her accent lending music to the words, "I want you to understand something fundamental about candy-making."
She picked up a small white marshmallow from the demonstration table. It was a perfectly formed square, covered in powdered sugar.
