{11.} Let's Get Baked


CHAPTER ELEVEN

Let's Get Baked

- not yet edited -

"Your dressing room is this way." Victoria led the group of twelve through the narrow hallway of Studio F, its white walls and beige tile a never ending trail of confusion.

Tori's focus was not on the various twists and turns of the building. Instead, she was battling the effects this morning's coffee had on her system. At least, that's what she told herself. The hammering in her chest and the twitch of her fingers couldn't be from the caffeine alone, but it was a lie she was willing to accept. It was better than admitting she was a nervous wreck, and that she couldn't shake the thought of failing the first challenge.

She wouldn't be able to live down the embarrassment. How could she return to her shop as the first contestant to leave the show? Everyone would know that she screwed up. There was no doubt that Sheri would bring it up in conversations at every opportunity. Tori would be the laughing-stock of New York City, as Sheri would share her failure with the clerk at the grocery store, the bus driver, and anyone unlucky enough to cross her path. She didn't want to imagine the look on her parents faces, and especially Lucas'. She couldn't let him down.

Victoria lead them around another corner and Tori started to wonder how much longer it would take to get to their dressing room. The journey seemed so long, but then again, maybe it was the caffeine working its magic and shrinking her patience.

Her eyes almost missed the figure at the end of the hall, talking to a man wearing bulky headphones and sporting a buzzing radio at the loop of his khakis. It wasn't until the figure turned, and she met those jade-colored eyes, that the walls seemed to be closing and the air became too thin to breathe. 

A grin touched Caiden's lips as she passed, barely breathing and her nerves on fire. It was as if she was walking in slow motion, or that the universe had stopped completely. She was only focused on him.

"Hey, Caiden. What's up?" In case anyone else missed him, August made Caiden's presence known to the rest of the group.

Tori avoided his gaze, but could feel his sight set on her as she followed closely behind Iona.

"Hi, Caiden." Alyssa winked and waved her fingers in a flirtatious wave.

"Good morning. Best of luck on the challenge today." Caiden called as the group passed, and his attention went back to the man with the radio.

"What was that?" Chantal whispered into Tori's hair, her tone muddled from sleep.

"What?"

"The way he looked at - Tori, is there something going on that I don't know about?" With new interest, her voice picked up to its usual perkiness. "You were way too quiet at dinner last night."

Tori hadn't thought about discussing the event in the parking lot with her friend. It's not that she was trying to hide anything, it was only that she had been trying to forget it happened.

"Here it is." Victoria stood in front of a door with a plaque that read: Dressing Room 16. "Please get comfortable. Filming doesn't start for an hour, so feel free to use the WiFi, cable, and enjoy the refreshments." She pulled a key from her pocket and unlocked the door.

Victoria pressed open the door, revealing a room large enough to be considered a studio apartment. A screen hoovered against a wall opposite of the leather couch and table. There was a table close to the door, its surface offering a variety of breakfast choices, including a coffee machine and plastic cups. Tori had her eyes on the croissants and fruit tray.

Sienna entered the room first, pushing past Carson with a heavy sigh. "Finally, some breakfast."

Tori avoided an eye roll, not knowing if there were cameras watching her from between the leaves of the potted plant in the corner or through the pillows on the couch.

"You're not the only one that hasn't ate breakfast." Chantal lowered her eyes as Sienna stacked a plate with slices of melon, a blueberry muffin, and a cup of yogurt. 

"Ladies," August interjected and pushed his hands in front of his chest as if confronting an invisible wall. "There's enough strawberries and bagels for everyone."

Victoria's radio buzzed, and this time it was followed by a voice. Tori couldn't make out the words through its static. "I'll check back in an hour." She waved a hand and left through the door, closing it behind her back and leaving Tori to fend for herself in a room of her competitors.

The kitchen wasn't as modern as Tori imagined. There were some changes from Season Three, like new state-of-the-art KitchenAid mixers, white counters, and a wall of shelving holding various styles and sizes of dishes. The walls were painted with a bright shade of blue.

Against the left wall was a digital timer, its yellow bulbs dimmed as it harmlessly displayed a set of zeros. Tori knew that it would soon become the most menacing object in the room. She feared the clock more than the contestants standing at their stations.

She looked over them now, standing still and determined in their coats. Lauren and August matched in head-to-toe black. Looking like marigolds, Carson and Wesley stood in their yellow coats at the middle station. Beside them was the Red Team; Sienna and Alyssa. They wore matching headwraps, a bow tied neatly at the center over their forehead. They looked like a pair of friends that were going to a festival rather than a baking competition. Everything was red and exaggerated; lipstick, nails, and shoes.

Theo and Iona had the corner station, closest to the pantry and the wall of dishes. Iona's green coat looked too big for her small frame, the sleeves nearly hitting her elbows. Tori couldn't tell from across the room, but Iona looked almost scared as she stared at the empty judge's table.

Then there was Juliet and Lawson, standing quietly at their station in blue coats. Tori hadn't heard much from them, but then again, they've only been in Napa Valley for a day. Some people need more time to warm up to their new surroundings, and she guessed that's why Juliet and Lawson have been invisible. She couldn't even remember them being at dinner, but knew they must have.

She stood at her assigned station with Chantal, a space with a long counter topped with every tool a baker could imagine. Behind her were two ovens and a gas stove.

When she walked into the room, she was amazed to see the expensive equipment. She had never used such a beautiful and high-tech oven. 

Now, her gaze was focused on the table at the opposite side of the room. There were three chairs and a mural-painted wall behind it. The mural burst with vibrant colors and silhouettes of whisks, rolling pins, and spoons. In the center, written in a bold font, was the word BAKEOFF.

Then, there were the cameras and studio lights. Tori tried to ignore the chaos happening at that side of the room. She caught a glimpse of Victoria, but looked back to the judge's table and took a deep breath.

She knew Caiden must be somewhere in the mess of cameras and crew.

"Rolling in ten!" Victoria called from the sidelines.

Whether she meant ten minutes or ten seconds, Tori didn't know. She took one last deep breath.

The bulbs on the clock brightened and danced to a musical tune. A man in a suit walked to the center of the room, his hair gelled neatly to one side and his smile obnoxiously wide. "Welcome to Season Four of BakeOff," he said to no one in particular. The cameras were rolling now, as Victoria called it, and the camera-holding equipment started to move. "Where one winner will take home a prize of $100,000, and a five page feature and cover in The Baking Network Magazine."

Tori felt a shoulder at her side. Chantal bounced with excitement.

The host continued with his speech after a dramatic pause. "This season, there will be twelve challenges unlike any you've seen thus far. These young business owners and bakers will be competing in the challenges you voted for on Twitter."

She fought the temptation to roll her eyes. Of course, she had been right about the theme of the season, and of course they asked viewers for ideas. Wasn't that what all reality shows have come to these days? Tori hadn't seen the polls since she didn't have a Twitter account and didn't spend much time on social media. Sienna and Alyssa might be the team with leverage now, seeing as Tori overheard them complaining about the no cell phone or Internet rule of the house. Apparently, Sienna's fifteen thousand Instagram followers would not be happy with her absence.

The host, named Dewi Rigby, continued his spiel for a few, long minutes.

When he gestured to the side of the room, where the cameras loomed, Tori's attention snapped back to his cheesy smile and fluffy hair.

"We welcome our judges. First, a woman of many talents. She is the owner and prized designer of NJ Cakes in Los Angeles, California. A marvel in the industry known for her extravagant wedding cakes, Nora Jacobs." Dewi clapped his hands together as Nora Jacobs took a seat at the judge's table.

Everyone followed his example and clapped. Chantal's hands came together quickly, the applause resonating off the steel appliances.

Nora's ink-black hair was glossy under the studio lights, and her dark eyes glanced over the contestants in one quick movement. She didn't look impressed. "I'm happy to be here again." she said, her expression stony.

"And now, a pastry chef with award winning shops in Paris and New York City, Mason Miranda."

A man with a round belly and white hair joined Nora at the table. He smiled as he met the eyes of the contestants, his demeanor much friendlier than his partner's. He reminded Tori of Santa Clause.

"And our newest judge, a blogger and writer for Cake That Magazine, Kennedy Oakley."

Kennedy had ginger hair, and strolled onto the set in a pin-striped suit and a pair of shiny, leather oxfords. If the word hipster was in the dictionary, Kennedy Oakley's picture would be on its page. A pair of thick-rimmed glasses sat on a slim nose.

He waved at the contestants as he took his seat at the judge's table beside Nora.

Dewi extended a hand to the contestants. "Bakers, welcome to Season Four of BakeOff. Each of you was chosen to take part in the nation's top baking competition for your extraordinary talents and keen business knowledge. Are you excited to be here?"

Lauren was the first to start the next round of applause. Chantal's building excitement burst with a shout, and Theo drummed his hands on the counter top.

"Then let's begin today's challenge!" He pointed a finger at the clock, it's lights dashing around its frame. "Can I have forty-five minutes on the clock, please?" The zeros changed. Now, the clock showed 00.45.00.

"Bakers will have forty-five minutes to complete the first challenge. The baker that wins this challenge, by vote of the judges, will gain immunity for the elimination challenge."

Tori attempted a shocked face, as if she hadn't seen the show a hundred times and already knew the rules, and as if she didn't read through them in a contract.

"The challenge," Dewi paused again for dramatic effect. "is to show off your talents by baking your business' most popular menu item."

The calculations in her mind began. The top five menu items at Miss Lynn's Sweets and Treats were a mix of danishes, brownies and muffins. Now, she just needed an item that could be baked to perfection in under forty-five minutes.

"The clock starts now."

Chantal turned to her with Bambi-like eyes, an expression of panic on her face. Other contestants started running to the pantry and grabbing ingredients off the shelves.

"We're doing the almond toffee sea salt brownie. It's quick, and we shouldn't need to spend much time plating it." Tori stopped when she realized that she was repeating Caiden's words of advice.

Chantal didn't seem to notice, because she kicked up her heels and ran for the pantry. Tori followed behind at a jog, and met the other bakers inside the room-sized pantry. Lauren, Chantal, and Wesley were shoving past each other to grab bags of flour. Tori didn't have time to think. She needed to grab as many items as possible and get her ass out of the pantry.

She went for a shelf and started loading items into a basket. Cocoa powder, chocolate chips, toffee bits, and a bag of almonds. From a distance, she could see a carton of eggs in Chantal's basket. All she needed was sea salt and vanilla extract.

Sienna was at the next shelf, using her hand to scoop items into her basket. To her right, was the vanilla. Tori hurried over to the shelf, passing Carson along the way and hearing a curse beneath a heavy breath.

"Sorry!" Tori lifted her foot away from Carson's hand. He was on the floor, searching the bottom shelf, and shaking his injured hand.

The blue team ran past her and left the pantry with their basket. Tori was already behind.

Despite Sienna crowding the shelf, she pushed her way through and grabbed the sea salt, murmuring a polite, "Excuse me." as she ran out of the pantry.

She dropped the basket at her station and took a rectangular baking dish out of a cabinet. Chantal had joined her, and started the brownie mixture in the KitchenAid machine.

From the corner of her eye, Tori noticed Dewi making his way to the Blue Team's station with a cameraman. She focused her hearing, tuning out the whine of mixers and scraping of spoons against glass bowls, to hear him ask what the team was making.

"Raspberry bow tie cookies." Juliet said with a smile, her hands working hard to crush a bunch of raspberries in a bowl.

Sienna gasped and gave her partner a nasty side-eyed glare.

Tori crushed the almonds in the bag as she trained her ears to listen.

"She stole our idea." Sienna growled.

"We're making raspberry lemon scones. They're not the same thing."

"But the judges aren't going to like two raspberry desserts."

Chantal clicked the mixer to ON and the droning of the machine filled Tori's ears. She couldn't focus on the other teams right now, anyway.

"Did you prepare the pan?" Chantal looked over her partner's shoulder.

"That's my next step." Tori unwrapped a stick of butter, and ran it across the bottom of a dish.

Before she could ask Chantal how the mixture was coming along, a cry sounded from across the room. It took everyone's attention away from their work.

It was Juliet. She was spooning the raspberry mixture into a trash can. A camera followed her movement as she ran to Lawson.

"We can't use this. It's too runny. Can you make another batch?"

Lawson quickly switched gears from the sheet of cookies he was working on to take over Juliet's work. Juliet continued pressing dough through a cookie cutter and stacking them on the sheet.

Tori stole a look at the clock. fifteen minutes had passed. The clock now showed 00.30.00.

Chantal brought the bowl from the mixer to Tori.

She dumped the mixture into the baking dish, evening out the top with a spatula. Chantal helped spread the almonds, and Tori sprinkled the sea salt. A pinch of toffee was added to the top, and then the dish was placed into the oven.

The Pink Team was the first to have a dish in the oven.

Although they were ahead, Tori still felt panicked. She ran to the wall of dishes and grabbed four rectangular plates. She chose them to compliment the shape of the brownies, and four of them because one plate would go off for photography, and the other three would be for the judge's tasting.

Back at the station, she gave Chantal directions. "You're in charge of drizzling the caramel on the plates. We'll get the brownies out of the oven in the next ten minutes, and then we just need to plate."

"We're so close to winning this challenge!" Chantal gave her friend a high-five. 

Tori had a gut feeling that they were going to win this challenge. Whether it was her own confidence of her recipe, or the fact that she took Caiden's advice. She hoped it would be both.

Six teams stood in front of the judge's table, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with their partner in matching coats.

The judges stared out at them, their faces showing no expression as a cameraman made his round to catch their features.

Tori's brow was sweating under the harsh lights and anticipation. She feared what the judges would say about her dessert, and she didn't think it would be possible for her to be satisfied with her position in the competition if she didn't win this challenge. It's either she won, or she would drown herself in a tub of ice cream and tears after the panel.

Beside her, Chantal had the same frightened look on her face. It was as if she was calculating every move she made in the kitchen, and trying to decipher the mistakes.

Dewi straightened his tie before clearing his throat. "And now, it is time to hear the judge's deliberations."

The lights in the room dimmed instantly, giving Tori goosebumps and a heightened feeling of panic.

"Red Team," Nora started, her eyes almost black in the new darkness of the room. "Your raspberry filling was equally sweet and tangy. The lemon created a perfect balance, and the cookie itself had a nice crumble."

Sienna boasted a grin to the other contestants.

"And the Pink Team. Your brownies were moist and crunchy. The plating was beautiful and I enjoyed the toffee flavor." Nora nodded her head at Tori, which she considered to be a compliment.

The woman didn't give much away in terms of expression, so Tori had to rely on these subtle gestures.

"The caramel at the bottom really helped to bring out the saltiness of the almonds, and it actually enhanced the chocolate taste." Kennedy bobbed his head, much like a cartoon character that was way too excited.

Chantal giggled at this and said, "Thank you."

"There can only be one winner." Nora looked to the other judges, as if checking that she had the right answer. "The Pink Team."

Chantal hummed in place, and Tori could tell that she was ready to burst.

Tori thought that she'd be happy just by hearing those words, but she was more proud of the fact that Nora Jacobs liked the dessert; a dessert that she sells in her shop.

"You are safe from elimination."

The joyous moment was short lived, because Nora's attention turned to the next matter at hand. The top two teams have been chosen, and now it was time to pick the bottom two teams.

"Yellow Team," Nora's eyes shot to Carson and Wesley. "Your Southern pecan pound cake was lackluster. The plating was a mess, and it was evident that you did not grease the pan before baking. On BakeOff, no mistake goes unnoticed."

Carson's eyes lowered to the floor. He had been defeated, and couldn't make himself look at the judges. Wesley stood with his fingers laced together, their tips turning pink as he squeezed.

"Green Team."

Tori let out a sigh of relief. She thought for sure that Juliet and Lawson wouldn't come back after their mishap with the raspberry filling. She was glad that they did.

"In theory, your churro cupcakes were a nice idea. The execution did not work in your favor. The icing was too sweet, and the cupcake not sweet enough."

Iona stood with her chin held high, but she looked like she would cry at any moment. Theo patted her back with a gentle hand.

"I'm sorry, but the Yellow Team is at the bottom today."

Carson's gaze stayed glued to the floor.

Tori didn't know if the feeling in her chest was guilt or sympathy. She knew that every person standing had the same dream. They all wanted the same thing she did: recognition for their business. There were going to be more challenges, but she couldn't help but feel as if she was the most hated person in the room for winning the first one.

"Really, why did you think a churro cupcake was a good idea? This is the first challenge. You can't go that big." Sienna pointed a finger at Iona, who was wiping away a tear behind a curtain of hair.

"If you knew what was such a great idea, maybe you would have come in first place rather than second." Theo shot back without delay.

Sienna was taken aback, literally, as she stepped away from Theo, his height towering over her. Instead of shutting her mouth, which she should have done, she set her eyes on Juliet. "And who throws away an entire bowl of raspberries and starts over? That was a move that should have gotten you to the bottom."

"Fuck off." Lawson didn't look up from his burrito. The breakfast table had been replaced with lunch; a full burrito bar now took the place of this morning's fruit tray and pastries. "How about you stop bitching and leave everyone alone."

The room suddenly became very quiet as everyone showed a shocked expression. Not only had Lawson been silent until this moment, but Tori was not expecting the curse words to come from his mouth as well, especially aimed at Sienna.

Her face turned red as she crossed her arms in front of her chest, as if her thin arms could protect her from someone as strong and pissed-off as Lawson.

"I couldn't give the judges those raspberries. It's a good thing I didn't either, or I'd be on the bottom." Juliet gave a concerned look to Carson. "I'm sorry."

He shrugged his shoulders. "It had to be someone. It just sucks that we're the first to get put on the bottom. I know that we messed up, but I thought we'd at least be safe."

"You heard what Nora said. Every mistake is counted against us." Theo supplemented.

"After all, we're supposed to be the best of the best, right?" August grinned. Clearly, he had bad timing. His cheery demeanor only annoyed Carson more.

"Who said that? I don't remember that being in the contract."

"Oh, come on. At least try to have some confidence in yourself." August kicked his feet up on the coffee table and snuggled into the back of the couch beside Carson. "You'll do better in the next challenge."

Carson exchanged a forlorn glance with Wesley. "If we don't do better on the next challenge, then we're going home. That's it for us."

Sienna didn't hide the grin on her face. 

This was a competition, and Tori knew the gamble of being eliminated, but she had the decency to give Carson and Wesley her sympathy. It could be her team that is on the bottom next week. There is no chance to get comfortable on BakeOff. The past seasons of the show have made that very clear. 

Tori didn't want to know what it felt like to be at the bottom. She already lacked so much confidence as she came into this competition, and she didn't know if she could afford to lose it all again at a loss. Especially now that she wouldn't have Caiden to give her any more advice. All her decisions from this point onward would be her own.

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