Chapter 162 - 163: The Cooking Competition

Chapter 162: Chapter 163: The Cooking Competition

They woke up slowly with the kind of groggy reluctance that came from a night of sleeping on floors and makeshift beds and the kind of deep exhaustion that made even the hard ground feel like a feather mattress, and the sun was bright and the house was warm and the smell of morning filled the air with the promise of a new day and new possibilities.

Daniel sat up and stretched and felt his joints pop and his muscles protest and his body remind him that he was not as young as he sometimes forgot he was, and he looked around at the others who were waking up in their own ways.

Lyra was rubbing her eyes with the kind of sleepy confusion that made her look younger and softer than she usually did.

Paul was yawning with his mouth wide open and his arms stretched above his head.

Cheeky was pulling her hood lower over her ears as if she could hide from the morning itself.

Fluffy was curling into a tighter ball as if she could pretend the sun wasn’t rising and the day wasn’t beginning.

Mittens was blinking sleepily with her cat ears twitching at every sound.

Brick Head was still snoring with his mouth open and his arms spread wide and the kind of oblivious peace that only came from having no thoughts in one’s head.

Daniel stood up and walked toward the window and looked outside at the city that was waking up with the streets filling and the stalls opening and the people beginning their daily routines.

He smiled a warm and genuine smile. "Good morning," he said.

"Good morning," they mumbled with voices that were still thick with sleep.

Lily walked out of the small kitchen area with a tray in her hands that had bread and cheese and fruit and the kind of simple breakfast that felt like a feast to people who had been eating nothing but travel rations for days.

"Breakfast," she said. "It’s not much. But it’s something."

Daniel looked at the tray and the food and the kindness. "Thank you," he said.

Lily nodded and set the tray down and gestured at the table. "Sit. Eat."

They sat down and started eating and talking and the conversation turned to the exam and the preparation and the training that needed to be done.

Daniel looked at his team and his family and his friends. "We have three days until the exam," he said.

They nodded.

"We should prepare. We should train. We should get ready."

They nodded again.

But then Paul spoke with a voice that was casual but also serious. "Or," he said, "we could have fun."

Daniel looked at him. "Fun?"

"Yes. Fun. We’ve been traveling for days. We’ve been fighting. We’ve been training. We deserve a break."

Daniel thought about it with the kind of careful consideration that came from knowing that rest was important but also knowing that time was limited. "A break?"

"Yes. A break."

Daniel looked at the others and their tired faces and their hopeful eyes. "What do you think?" he asked.

Lyra spoke first with the kind of honest directness that Daniel had come to rely on. "I think we should have fun."

Cheeky nodded. "Me too."

Fluffy bounced on her heels with excitement. "Fluffy wants to have fun!"

Mittens nodded shyly. "Me too."

Brick Head grinned. "Fun! Fun! Fun!"

Daniel sighed and looked at Paul. "Fine," he said. "We’ll have fun."

They cheered.

Daniel held up his hand. "But," he said, "we need to do something productive too. Something that brings us together. Something that helps us bond."

Paul thought about it. "A cooking competition?"

Daniel blinked. "A cooking competition?"

"Yes. A cooking competition. We split into teams. We cook. We compete. The best dish wins."

Daniel thought about it. "That could work."

He looked at Lily. "Can we use your kitchen?"

Lily nodded. "Of course. But I don’t have much food."

Daniel looked at her. "We’ll pay you back. After the exam. When we have money."

Lily smiled. "Okay."

Daniel nodded and looked at the others. "All right," he said. "Let’s do this."

They split into teams with Daniel and Fluffy and Mittens forming one team and Lyra and Cheeky and Brick Head forming the other, and Paul was the judge who would taste the food and decide the winner, and Lily was the supervisor who would make sure no one cheated and no one got hurt.

Daniel looked at his team and Fluffy and Mittens. "All right," he said. "What are we making?"

Fluffy thought about it. "Meat."

Daniel nodded. "Meat. Good. What else?"

Fluffy thought harder. "More meat."

Daniel sighed. "We need vegetables. We need spices. We need something more than meat."

Fluffy tilted her head. "Why?"

"Because a dish needs balance. It needs flavor. It needs variety."

Fluffy nodded slowly. "Okay. Meat and vegetables."

Daniel nodded. "Good."

He looked at Mittens. "What do you think?"

Mittens hesitated. "I... I don’t know. I’ve never cooked before."

Daniel smiled. "That’s okay. We’ll teach you."

Mittens smiled a small and fragile smile. "Okay."

The other team was having a different conversation with Lyra looking at Cheeky and Brick Head. "What are we making?" she asked.

Cheeky thought about it. "I... I don’t know. I’ve never cooked before."

Lyra looked at Brick Head. "What about you?"

Brick Head grinned. "I know how to cook!"

Lyra blinked. "You do?"

"Yes!"

"What can you cook?"

"Toast!"

Lyra stared at him. "Toast?"

"Yes. You put bread in the fire. You wait. You take it out. It’s toast."

Lyra sighed. "That’s not cooking."

"It is!"

"It’s not."

"It is."

Lyra shook her head and looked at Cheeky. "We need a plan," she said.

Cheeky nodded. "We need a plan."

The cooking started with Daniel’s team organized and efficient and Daniel directing and instructing and helping, and Fluffy was in charge of the meat and cut it and seasoned it and prepared it, and Mittens was in charge of the vegetables and washed them and chopped them and arranged them, and Daniel was in charge of the sauce and mixed ingredients and stirred and tasted.

It was going well and the food looked good and the food smelled good. Daniel smiled. "We’re going to win."

Fluffy nodded. "Fluffy’s meat is the best."

Mittens smiled. "The vegetables look nice."

Daniel nodded. "They do."

The other team was chaotic with Lyra trying to organize and direct and help, but Cheeky was slow and careful and precise and too precise, and Brick Head was a disaster who was trying to cook toast and burning the bread and setting off the smoke alarm.

"Brick Head!" Lyra shouted. "Stop burning the bread!"

Brick Head blinked. "I’m not burning it. I’m toasting it."

"It’s black!"

"It’s crispy!"

"It’s burnt!"

"It’s crispy!"

Lyra groaned and buried her face in her hands.

Cheeky looked at her. "Should we... should we help him?"

Lyra shook her head. "No. Let him burn."

Cheeky nodded and went back to her vegetables.

Daniel’s team finished first with a beautiful dish of meat and vegetables and sauce arranged perfectly and smelling amazing. Daniel smiled. "We’re done."

Fluffy bounced on her heels. "We’re done!"

Mittens smiled. "We’re done."

They looked at the other team and their chaos and their disaster with Brick Head still burning bread and Cheeky still chopping vegetables and Lyra still trying to organize.

Daniel smiled. "We’re going to win."

The other team finished last with a dish that was something but not something good, with the meat overcooked and the vegetables undercooked and the bread burnt.

Lyra looked at it with her face a mask of defeat. "We lost," she said.

Cheeky looked at it with her face a mask of disappointment. "We lost."

Brick Head looked at it with his face a mask of pride. "We did it!"

Lyra stared at him. "We did it?"

"Yes! We made food!"

"It’s terrible food."

"It’s food!"

Lyra sighed and buried her face in her hands.

The dishes were placed on the table with Daniel’s dish and the other team’s dish, and Lily stood in front of the table and looked at the dishes and the food and the teams.

"All right," she said. "I’ll taste both dishes. I’ll decide the winner."

She reached for a spoon and reached for the first dish.

Daniel smiled a confident smile.

The other team held their breath.

Lily lifted the spoon and brought it to her mouth.

She was about to taste.