Unexpected Win

"We got this!" I exclaimed as I tried to boost up my friends' confidence. "We can totally make the biggest cookie ever! I just know we can! If we triple the recipe, maybe even quadruple it, I just know it will come out right. Come on, guys, we can do this!"  Milo, Derek, Chloe and I were entered into a baking contest, specifically to see which of the four groups could make the largest cookie. I opened the box of ingredients that we were given, and took out the supplies, flour, brown sugar, butter, chocolate chunks, an array of spices from cloves to cinnamon, baking soda, salt, eggs, and plain white sugar.

 “Yeah, I guess we can,” shrugged Milo. 

“I’m all for it, Fran,” said Derek, my moral support. 

“Whatever. How about I sit in the corner and not help?” Chloe asked. She wasn’t much for getting her hands dirty.

 “Alright. Well it looks like this could work after all!” I said, blocking out Chloe’s negativity.

 I knew that Derek and I were just meant to be. I always liked the way that he had my back. He loved my cooking. We were nearly perfect for each other. Our strong bond was like when you taste the sweetness of honey for the first time, sweet, romantic. I leaned my face on my hands thinking about when he would ask me. I was dragged out of my thoughts when Milo said, “Hey, are we going to start cooking this or not? I have stuff to do and I should get going.”

“Yeah, yeah. Let’s get started.” I said, a bit too dreamily. 

“You okay, Fran?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll be right there.”

We poured the flour as it rose like smoke to choke us. We mixed in the sugars and spices. It reminded me of when I used to cook with my grandparents, flour everywhere, laughter draining from the kitchen,  a sneaky little hand like a thief trying to take a cookie before dinner. It brought back so many memories. All though, it was like rocks were piled on us, for we were under pressure. The judges would give us each $100 if we won, and we only had an hour to make it. 

“So, what do you guys think you want to spend the prize money on, when we win?” I asked, as I mixed the dry ingredients. 

“Um, I don’t know, maybe like, buying the latest iPhone or something?” said Chloe.

“I want to buy the latest game, Minecraft,” answered Milo.

“I would like to give about ten percent to a local charity and the other ninety percent to my grandparents, who are struggling financially right now. What about you, Fran?”

“I want to save it all for college. I am determined to win!” I replied. 

We went with the basic, classic recipe of chocolate chip cookies. Some of the other groups did harder ones, like snicker-doodles or sugar cookies. I am fully engaged; in it to win it. I looked at the clock seeing that we only had five more minutes to get this giant mixture in the oven. Derek and Milo were talking over by the stove top and Chloe was texting something in the corner. I called the boys over to help me spoon out the batter into the circular pan. Our cookie had to be larger than eight inches for it to qualify, and we would get more points if we had layers, which is what we intended to do. We filled the pan and loaded another, and continued to do so until we had four pans full of the mixture. 

“Chloe, could you help us bring these to the oven? We can’t carry all of them, and we are short on time right now.” To my surprise, she put her phone away and walked over. 

“Sure, I guess I do need to help out a little,” and to my surprise again she asked, “is there anything else I can help with?” 

“Well, if you want you can help clean our mess. We need to bring everything to the sink and scrub the dishes until they shine. Milo and Derek you can help out too.”

“Yes, ma’m,” replied both, saluting. 

We had fun as we splashed soapy water at each other. Chloe even admitted that she had fun. I was happy that our team was working together and enjoying it. Time came for us to check on the cookies and they were golden brown. 

“Let’s take these out of the oven before they cook to a crisp.” I grabbed the hot pads, as did everyone around me, and we lifted the sweet smelling, cooked-to-perfection cookies out of the heat source and left them to cool. We chatted for a bit and before we knew it, it was time to present our work to the judges. We carefully carried the pans over to the booth. All of a sudden I heard an ear splitting CRASH! I turned around and saw one of our pans broken in pieces on the linoleum flooring. I almost cried. But we still had three other layers, so I left it, as a child leaves unwanted food on their plate. I faced the three judges and told them about our three layer cookie. They sampled, measured, and judged it and told everyone to go back to their work stations. Some of the other contestants decorated their cookies with swirls of buttercream frosting, fondant, and sprinkles. OH NO! I completely forgot to decorate our cookie! I was sure the judges would eliminate us. Bye bye college savings. Derek saw my saddened face. He walked over and put his hand on my shoulder.

“Fran, what’s wrong? Did we do something?” 

“No, not at all, but, totally forgot to decorate the cookie in some way. I wish I could redo it.” I replied, sniffing to hold back my tears of disappointment. He took my hand in his and handed me a Kleenex. 

“It’s okay. At least we all had fun, right?”

“Yeah, I guess we did.” I wanted to hug him during that moment, but I resisted the urge to. 

The judges called everyone back and announced, “We have a winner, Fran’s team! Congratulations! We noticed how much fun you guys had, and that’s what counts. We don’t need a decorated cookie to be delicious. Great job you four! We will hand out your money very shortly.”

And with that, I really did hug Derek. I felt his warm clothes and body heat against mine, and I was truly in love. I was sure that Chloe was taking pictures, but I didn’t care. He offered to walk me home and I said sure. We held each other’s hand and he felt how I felt.