Abby

The buzzer goes off, and the contestants place down their dishes, stepping

back from their stations. The room is alive with murmurs, excitement from the

crowd as their eyes scan the three dishes on the stage. The judges step down

from their booth, their gazes inscrutable.

My hands tremble, still hovering over the tiramisu’s uneven surface— it’s a

mocking reminder of the chaos just moments before, but I could fix it, at least a

little. Maybe no one would even notice.

My dish is not even close to perfect, far from the image I had in my head, and

every fiber of my being screams to adjust the messy dusting of pistachios just a

Enter title…

little bit, just so I can make it look a tiny bit more presentable.

But before my fingers can act, I catch Logan’s cold glare, halting me, his

disapproval crystal clear. I quickly pull my hands away, feeling my face turn what

I can only imagine is the deepest shade of red ever.

We all stand back, the stage now eerily quiet. The judges begin to make their

rounds, and I can hear them before I see them.

“Delicious,” Logan says, slowly chewing a bite of none other than Daniel’s

You’ve

says with a nod. His eyes flicker over to

bubbling inside of me, a fury that makes

switch my spices? I

Bryan next. I can’t quite make out

tell me that they like his dish. Vanessa rolls

subtle

just me left; me,

compare if they love

Vanessa’s voice is sweet, almost too sweet, as

of my

a tense smile, nodding politely

of the lumpy tiramisu to

eyes closing for a brief moment. Then,

shifts ever

my blood run cold. It’s not a grimace,

either.

spices out of

from my face. “Just… Just nutmeg,” I reply,

quivering.

and confused as she beckons

of her head.

a look as he approaches. I brace myself,

of sabotage, the

when I added the ‘nutmeg’

want to curse out loud; I should have checked it just to be safe, but

out of

takes a spoonful. His eyes, a stormy

tastes the

he states flatly, putting the spoon down with a

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