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

nod. His eyes flicker

inside of me, a fury that

my spices? I

judges approach Bryan next. I can’t quite make out what

their expressions tell me that they like his dish. Vanessa rolls

subtle “Oh my god…” escaping

loves it. And now, it’s just me left;

if they love the others’ dishes so

Vanessa’s voice is

me, pulling me out of my pit of

do is offer a tense smile, nodding politely as Vanessa picks up a

lifts a bit of the lumpy tiramisu to

her eyes closing

shifts ever

blood run cold. It’s not

either.

any spices out of

face. “Just… Just nutmeg,” I reply,

quivering.

Vanessa’s hum is low and confused as she beckons

of her head.

me a look as he approaches.

of sabotage, the way the

when I added the ‘nutmeg’ to the

to curse out loud; I should

running out

takes a spoonful. His eyes, a stormy gray color, never leave

tastes the

cardamom,” he states flatly, putting the spoon down

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