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

a nod. His eyes flicker over to me, and

of something bubbling inside of me, a fury that makes

out. Did Daniel switch my spices? I wouldn’t put it past

next. I can’t quite make out what

me that they like his dish.

the mascarpone, a subtle

loves it. And now, it’s just me left; me, with my

compare if they love

last.” Vanessa’s voice is sweet, almost too

out of my

is offer a tense smile, nodding politely as

of the lumpy tiramisu

her eyes closing for a brief moment. Then,

shifts ever

not a grimace, but it’s certainly

either.

any spices out of the

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

quivering.

and confused as

of her head.

me a look as he

unsettling suspicion of sabotage, the way the

up when I added the ‘nutmeg’

I should have checked it just to be

running out of

His eyes, a stormy gray color, never

he tastes

putting the spoon down with a

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