Every Troll has a passion. Most like to scrapbook, others study physics, and Lily was a professional pastry chef. Or, at least, that's what she believed.

“Lily... Stardust, isn't it?"

“My whole life," Lily answered as Sky Toronto looked through her resumé.

“It says here you currently work at an ice cream parlor/disco, Frozen Saturday Night Fever," he said. “What makes you think our desserts department will be similar?"

“FSNF is run by my parents, and I only agreed to work there until I found another job," Lily explained. “But I've been baking since I started preschool. I even won first place at the West Bergen Town Baking Contest last summer."

“What did you make?" Sky asked.

Flashback

There were only three contestants left; Bernice, Buzby, and Lily. And Groth was the judge. First, he tasted Buzby's candied sardines.

“Typical," he groaned, and moved on to Bernice's pickle cream pie.

“Needs more horse radish," he said, making Bernice wanna throw something. He then tasted Lily's pastry and his eyes widened. “This is... I mean, could you explain your dish?"

“Well, basically, I just made a molten lava cake, which is actually a brownie with a runny center," Lily replied. “I made sure it could have a bittersweet taste, but I sprinkled it with powdered sugar so it could resemble volcano ash, and these strawberries, I figured, can be dipped into the chocolate."

“Agreed. First prize!"

End flashback

“I see," Sky Toronto muttered. “Why don't you come by tomorrow and show the board what you can do?"

“I don't see why not."

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

The following morning, Lily prepared herself for her presentation.

“Okay, you're wearing a cute outfit, got all your supplies, now I just need to make sure it goes perfectly," she muttered, and heard a knock at the door. When she answered it, all she found was a pink card and opened it.

“You are invited to Queen Poppy's pod for a tea party!" it sang, spraying glitter on Lily's face.

“Why would she invite me?" Lily asked herself. “Doesn't matter. I'll go after the presentation."

With that settled, Lily gathered her things and headed out the door all the way to the party factory.

“Come right in, Miss Stardust," Sky greeted as she went inside. There were two other Trolls in the room, Tug Duluth and Cooper, and a cake right next to him.

“Hey, Lily!" Cooper greeted. “I get to watch you make treats!"

“But why did you bring a cake with you?" she asked.

“She asked me to!" he replied when, suddenly, the cake exploded, revealing a rather stylish Troll with electric yellow hair.

“Hello, my nuggets!"

“Yeah, hi," Lily said, wiping some frosting off her face. “Write down your requests and I'll make them for you in a jiffy."

And that's exactly what happened. The four Trolls each wrote down a dessert, and Lily baked one of each.

“Okay, your requests are ready," she announced. “Crème brûlée for Ms. Swift, chocolate mousse for Mr. Toronto, Fluffleberry cheesecake for Ms. Duluth, and for Cooper... blueberry pancakes. Not really a dessert, though."

“Doesn't matter, they're delicious!" Cooper said with his mouth full. “I'd hire you right now!"

“But you have to hear from the rest of us first," Sky pointed out. “Ms. Swift, what do you have to say?"

“Well, your sizzle is in Fuego," Nova admitted. “But the style of your execution is more... eh."

“What does that mean?" Lily asked.

“You're too boring to watch!" Tug replied with a big smile on her face. “As if the ice hasn't melted all the way!"

“I don't speak metaphors," Lily stated matter-of-factly.

“I'm sorry, Miss Stardust, but I'm afraid I can't give you the job," Sky Toronto decided. “You have great talent, but my factory needs positive representation, and if you can't give us that, then it's probably better you go look for work elsewhere."

❤️🧡💛💚💙💜❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

“Lily still hasn't shown up yet," Poppy pointed out. “Do you think something happened to her?"

“She's probably just working on her ‘I really wish I weren't here right now' face," Smidge figured.

“That's not very nice, Smidge," Biggie pointed out. “But you do have to admit, Lily isn't the best Troll to socialize with."

“But guys, she's still a part of the village," Poppy contended. “And as queen, I have to give her a chance, even if she doesn't want one. I'm going to her house to look for her."

Poppy grabbed her portable teapot and headed straight to Lily's pod. Much to her surprise, there was a bunch of cookbooks and fancy cake plates outside the door.

“What in the name of..." she muttered, and went inside. “Lily, is everything okay in here?"

“Well, I'm giving up on the one thing that makes me happy, so why don't you be the judge?" Lily replied sarcastically.

“You're giving up baking?!" Poppy exclaimed, flabbergasted. “But you're the best pastry chef in Troll Village!"

“Tell that to Sky Toronto," Lily said. “He and those other people wouldn't hire me because they assumed I was cold and bitter, just because I can't smile."

“Of course you can, you just won't," Poppy pointed out.

“It's a medical condition," Lily informed her. Poppy blushed with embarrassment. “Besides, what's the point in doing something you love when no one sees who you truly are? I think I'll just stick to making ice cream with my parents."

“Maybe you just need to clear your head for a little bit," Poppy suggested. “I brought some tea, if you want some."

“Is it green tea?" Lily asked. Poppy shook her head nervously. “Good, I hate green tea."

There's got to be a way to keep her from giving up on what she loves, Poppy thought. It's sad when people won't open up their doors. Wait a minute. “Open up." That's it!

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Lily woke up the next morning and got ready for another day at FSNF. She didn't want to go, but it wasn't like she had a lot of options. Suddenly, she heard someone at the door.

“Good morning, Lily!" Poppy greeted as she stood outside. Lily answered the door to see optimism spread across her face. “It's a beautiful beginning to a beautiful day, right?!"

“This better be important, Poppy, I have to go to work."

“Of course you do," she agreed, before smirking mischievously. Suddenly, Lily found herself trapped in an old potato sack and lifted on to someone's shoulder.

“How grown up," she muttered sarcastically. “Yeah, that's real mature. How long is this trip? You should've given me nuts."

After a brief trip across the village, Lily was dumped out of the sack. She rubbed her head and looked around, a little confused about the fact that she was in an empty café.

“Okay, what is this?"

“Think of it as an early birthday present," Poppy answered. “I had the fuzzlings construct the pod, Harper painted the walls, and the twins made you the cutest uniform. I'm not, in a million years, letting someone give up on something they love."

Lily was silent for forty-five seconds. Poppy was hoping she was alright.

“This is the most thoughtful thing anyone has ever done for me," Lily finally spoke quietly. “I don't know what to say."

“I guess a thank you would do," Poppy suggested. “Or better yet, why say it when you can make a card or..."

Before she could finish, Poppy found herself enveloped in Lily's arms. Feeling warm and fuzzy inside, Poppy happily returned the hug.

“Of course, it'll need some adjustments," Lily pointed out as she let Poppy go. “The tables and chairs should be in in perfect symmetry, and I'll have to look at this ‘cutest uniform.' It better be the right color and shade, otherwise it'll clash with my eyes."

Sorry this took so long. I've been really busy...

By the way, these are all the entries for my cover contest. They were all really good, but I just didn't feel right about any of them. (One of them is by Spectra234)

I don't when I'll end this book, I just know how it'll end. No spoilers. 🤫