Hello everyone! Here I am!
Oh boy. Looks like another late update. Oh well, better late than never! Here's the chapter for you guys to enjoy!
Today's topic was suggested by jg13145.
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon in any way, shape or size!
School Bake-off!
Grade Two
May (7), Ash (7), Drew (7), Gary (7), Misty (8), Paul (8)
"Camera's rolling in three! Two! One! Action!"
"Hi there! I'm Solidad from grade eleven, and I will be your host for this competition! Yes, today is the school's annual bake-off!"
Solidad spoke into her microphone as she walked around, pointing out all the work stations, the camera following close behind, recording her every word and gesture.
"Looks like we have quite a lot of competition today! And there are many people coming here to watch as well. Many of the younger students and the parents and teachers will be the audience. Wow, it's much more crowded than last year! And over here we have our panel of judges. Three well-known gym leaders have decided to join us for this event. They are Fantina from Sinnoh, Burgh, all the way from Unova, and last but not least, it's Hoenn's Roxanne! So, Ms. Fantina, may you please explain the rules?"
Solidad held out the microphone for the gym leader to speak into, but Fantina took it enthusiastically to hold it herself.
"Bonjour, tout le monde! I am Fantina, a Sinnoh gym leader!" she said, speaking in her Kalosian accent. "I am very excited to see everyone here today! For this competition, we have students from grade seven up who are to bake a dessert to entertain our taste buds. We judges will be trying a bit of every treat, and giving scores to decide who is at the top. The competitors are allowed to have teams, so they can either work by themselves, or form a group of up to four. But no Pokemon assistance allowed! And at the end, everyone can enjoy the desserts! Now wouldn't that be fun!"
She handed the microphone back to Solidad.
"Thank you, Ms. Fantina!" Solidad said smiling before she turned back to the camera. "Okay, now let's go get some interviews!"
She walked up to a station where four boys were setting up their supplies.
"And here we have station 4, who call themselves the Gourmet Chefs! They seem confident that they are going to win!" She gestured to one of the boys, the green-haired one, to come over to give a comment or two.
"So, over here we have one of the Gourmet Chefs member! So why don't you tell us your name?" She held out the microphone to him.
"My name is Cilan, at your service!"
"Hello Cilan! And mind telling us about your team members?"
"Today, my team members are my two brothers, Cress and Chili, as well as a fellow classmate and friend, Brock, with all of us currently being in grade seven. We all teamed up because we know if we work together and combine each of our unique styles of baking, we will be able come up with the most exquisite result that is sure to delight the tastes of our judges. Our skill and passion is what drives and elevates our confidence!"
"I'm sure you and your group will do great! Thank you, Cilan, now I'll let you get back to work!"
As Cilan returned to arranging his supplies with the other three, Solidad walked along, until she reached another station. This one was occupied by only one person.
"Hello there! Do you mind giving us some of your time?"
"Why, of course not, Hon! Welcome to my humble station 5! Now what is that you want to ask me?"
"You are a participant today as well, correct? So what is your name?"
"I'm the one and only Harley, of course! Like you, I'm in grade eleven, and unlike you, I will be baking as well! I know some pretty good recipes, so watch out, all you sweeties!" He said the last part into the camera, winking impishly.
"Okay, thank you Harley! Now let's move on... Oh look! There seems to be a duo at work here!" Solidad arrived at yet another station. There were two teenagers there: a girl with long red hair, blue eyes, and round green earrings, and a boy with blue hair and green eyes.
"Ugh, James! Can't you do anything right?" the girl snarled, oblivious to the camera pointing at her.
"Cool, it Jess, it just slipped from my hand. Maybe it wouldn't have if you had just put that pan in its right place!"
"If you are going to do something, the least you can do is do it right!"
"Well, I don't see you doing anything!"
"Ahem." Solidad cleared her throat to get the attention of the bickering two. The both of them turned to her and suddenly straightened out, replacing the scowls on their faces with unnaturally wide smiles.
"Why, hello!" the girl said cheerfully. "You are here to no doubt interview me, am I right? I AM the most gorgeous contestant, after all!"
"Hi there! Do you two mind telling us about yourself?"
"You want to know about little old me?" the boy spoke up. "Well, I'm James, and-"
"I'm Jessie, of course, the fabulous winner-to-be! They should just skip the whole event, and hand first place over to me, since there is no doubt I'll be the one to come out on top!"
"Um, we're a team, remember Jess? Anyways, we call ourselves the Rocket Duo, the proud bakers of station 7!"
"And I will be stealing first place, of course! So, there really is no point for everyone else to even try. They're just asking for trouble!"
"Jessie, don't you mean we?"
"Oh, puh-lease! I'm the one running the show!"
"But I'm the brains behind the team!"
"As if! If it weren't for me, we wouldn't have even come this far!"
"The competition hasn't even begun yet!"
"Er, okay..." Solidad tried and failed to interrupt the two's quarrel. She turned to the camera a little sheepishly. "That was the Rocket Duo! Now let's go see what the audience is thinking!" The pink-haired girl walked to a young boy amongst the crowd of spectators.
"Hello there! How are you today?"
"Hi, Solidad!" The boy grinned ad flipped his green hair. "I'm fine, thank you."
"And your name is?" The boy blinked at her.
"You know my name. It's Drew."
"Yes, but I'm asking for the camera."
"Oh." Drew faced the camera. "Hi, I'm Drew."
"Any thoughts about the bake-off, Drew?"
"It's very exciting. My grade seven reading buddy is competing over there." He pointed at Cilan. "My friends really love the bake-off too. Especially Ash and May, cuz they love treats."
"And where are these friends of yours?"
"Over there." He pointed to a location where five kids about the same age as him were standing.
"How about you lead me to them? Then I can interview them as well!"
"Okay! They'll like that!" He thought for a second. "Maybe not Paul though, but the others would." He led her to the others, whom she greeted brightly.
"Hello there! Do you guys want to say a few words for the camera?"
"Okay!" The girl wearing a red bandana quickly came up front. "Hi!"
"And what's your name?" The question made the little girl blink, but then she smiled.
"My name is May!" Her smile was extra-large to show Solidad that it was okay that she had forgotten her name.
"And you like the bake-off, don't you?"
"Yes! There are lots of cakes and cookies and brownies and stuff! It's like a free bake sale at the end!"
"It really is, isn't it? And what about you? What's your name?" Solidad held out the microphone to a boy with black hair wearing a baseball cap.
"My names Ash! The bake-off's a lot off fun, and my reading buddy is going to make stuff too!" He pointed at Brock. "He said he would give me an extra treat later if I really want, but not to tell any-." Ash stopped mid-sentence, realizing that he had nearly revealed a secret. Good thing he had stopped himself when he had!
"Wait, he said he'd give me an extra treat too." a girl with orange hair said.
"Maybe it's because your both his reading buddies, Misty." May suggested. She did feel a little left out, but maybe she could get something from Cilan. And maybe Harley too.
"And our reading buddy is there too!" a boy with spiky hair cut in, gesturing to himself and a boy with purple hair standing next to him.
"And your names are?" The teenage girl wasted no time moving the microphone to them.
"I'm Gary, and this is Paul. And Chili's our buddy, so maybe he'll give us a treat as well!"
"Give you a treat." Paul corrected. "I don't want one."
"Mister Grouchy..." Gary muttered.
Ash stared at all of them. How had they found out about the promised extra treat? He had stopped himself right in the middle of spilling the secret, hadn't he? He watched on, a bemused expression on his face as he pondered the question of 'how'.
"And let the bake-off begin!" the judge, Burgh, announced, both hands raised in the air. "Start the timer!"
The room was instantly filled with the noise of all the competitors taking out ingredients, preparing batter, and doing whatever they could to complete their recipes. The audience watched transfixed, pointing out mistakes someone made, or letting out gasps when someone accomplished a risky feat. Solidad provided the spectators with commentary, drawing their attention to different stations while a few other students, who were handling the cameras, scuttled about, trying to capture all the excitement on tape.
"You know," Gary muttered in Paul's ear. "It would be pretty funny if Chili Pepper 'accidentally' messed up and ruined his baking." Paul smirked at this, understanding what his friend was hinting. But Ash seemed to have overheard.
"No, it won't." he said, frowning. "It's cheating! And that would mean Brock, and Chili's two brothers will all mess up their baking too, and that won't be fair. Besides, I really want to try what they make!"
Gary and Paul were both surprised that the dense boy actually caught onto their plan, before realizing he was simply stating that it won't be funny if some misfortune with Chili did happen to occur. To their dismay, they also realized the truth in what Ash was saying. A small prank on Chili would cost the whole team, including those who were not their target. They dismissed the idea of mischief.
"Oh dear! Looks like station 7 is having a bit of trouble!" Solidad commented as a great puff of black smoke emerged from the Rocket Duo's oven.
"I don't think I want to try their baking." May said anxiously.
"Yeah." Ash agreed. "But there is still a lot of stuff we can eat! I can't wait to try those cookies at station 6!"
"Is food all you ever think of?" Misty said, rolling her eyes. She glanced at station 6. She couldn't exactly see who were the three occupying it, as it was pretty far from where she was standing. But even from a distance, she somehow found them looking familiar...
"And times up!" Roxanne announced, blowing on a whistle. "Everyone, please get ready! Burgh, Fantina and I will be coming around to test your results!"
The on-lookers chattered amongst themselves, taking note of the judges' expressions as they tried different desserts.
"Doesn't look like Burgh liked station 2's cupcakes." Drew observed.
"I bet none of them will like station 7's muffins. They're all burnt!" Misty pointed out.
"I wouldn't mind having one of Harley's cookies..." May mumbled to herself.
"Oh, don't tell me." Paul looked at station 10 in disgust. "Reggie actually entered too?!" His older brother had a triumphant smirk on his face as he proudly presented what looked like over-baked brownies. His teammates looked less confident.
"I think I see Daisy!" Gary said, referring to his older sister. Sure enough, she could be seen with a stack of neatly frosted cupcakes.
"Okay, the three of us have decided on a winning team!" Fantina proclaimed. Everyone waited eagerly while the judges allowed there to be a dramatic pause.
"And finally, the winner is..." Burgh gestured to a small group beside him.
"Station 6!" Roxanne declared. "Everyone, give it up for the Sensational Sisters!"
"Wait, what?!" Misty's voice was drowned by the thundering applause that followed. Stepping up were three girls, all of whom Misty knew very well: Daisy, Violet and Lily, her older sisters.
"I didn't know your sisters were in the contest too!" Ash said loudly as he clapped, trying to be heard over all the noise.
"I didn't know either!" Misty replied, breaking out of her dumbfounded state. "I didn't even know they could bake to begin with, let alone use an oven!"
But, apparently, it didn't matter whether she knew or not, because the three oldest Waterflower sisters were presented with first place ribbons by the judges who congratulated them on a job well done. And then came everyone's favourite part of the bake-off. Time to eat all those tasty goodies!
Ash and May were some of the first ones to rush to a station. They went to the Gourmet Chefs.
"Hi Brock!" Ash said, standing on his tippy-toes to succeed in peeking over the counter.
"Hey, Ash!" Brock said in return. Even though he had lost, he was smiling all the same. "I'm guessing you want a slice of our chocolate cake?"
"Yes! Thank you!" Ash eagerly stretched out to take the plate Brock handed to him.
"And maybe you too?" Brock turned to May, who was watching the cake hungrily.
"Yes please!" she chirped.
"Hello, May!" Cilan arrived at the scene. "You here for our cake?"
May nodded enthusiastically and was handed her slice.
"It feels great sharing our baking, like a refreshing drink after creating a well-blended smoothie!" Cilan remarked.
"Yeah." Brock nodded in agreement. "The kids are like the real judges! You can tell that you made something pretty good by the way they all rush to have your cooking."
"I can't believe we lost..." Chili murmured. "We made the best dessert! How did the judges not like it? It was the work of experts!"
"It wasn't because they didn't like it." Cress assured his brother. "It was just that they thought another team made a dessert that they found to be more delicious than ours."
"But still..."
Meanwhile, Misty was meeting up with her sisters.
"I didn't know you were entering." she said, frowning slightly.
"Like, duh we would." Lily said. "We, like, totally wanted to win this. It, like makes us more popular! Let's everyone know who the Sensational Sister, like, are."
"But we, like, couldn't ask you, Misty, because you're, like too young, and you're not even popular like us." Violet added in.
"Do you, like, want one of our cookies?" Daisy offered. Even though Misty was fuming at what Violet had said, she accepted her other sister's offer. The cookie wasn't bad. In fact, it was great! Misty had no idea her sisters could bake like that! Well, they'd do anything to be more popular.
"So, Drew, you planning on getting something to eat?" Solidad asked the green-haired boy. He flipped his fringe before replying.
"I think I'll go say hi to Cilan. And then I'll go see if there are any good cupcakes somewhere." When he arrived at the station, he greeted his buddy before noting May.
"How much cake are you eating, May?"
"This is only my second piece!" May said through a half-full mouth. "I'm gonna go see if Harley has any cookies left next. His cookies are usually pretty nice."
"Maybe I'll go see if he has cookies for me too."
"Hi Chili Pepper!" Gary appeared, waving mischievously at his red-haired buddy.
"Oh no, not you!" Chili moaned.
"Do you have any special treats for me?" Gary asked directly.
"Huh? No, not really. Why?"
Instead of answering, Gary just turned and began heading for his sister, no doubt to get his hands on one of her cupcakes.
"Um, bye?" Chili gave a small unsure wave.
While Gary pestered his sister, and May and Drew travelled to Harley's station to obtain some cookies from him, and Paul chided his brother for his miserably-failed attempt at baking doughnuts (turned out his creations weren't supposed to be burnt brownies, but burnt doughnuts. Evidently, Reggie was way off), Misty showed up at station 4 to join Ash and Brock.
"Hey!" said Brock. "Didn't I promise you two a treat?" He looked at both her and Ash.
"Yeah!" Ash cheered, punching the air.
"Well, here you two are! I kept these aside just for you." He held out two cookies, a Pichu-shaped one for Ash, and a Goldeen-shaped one for Misty. He had gotten the idea because Misty obviously loved water-types, and Ash frequently talked about a Pichu that lived on Professor Oak's ranch that he visited often. Needless to say, both were delighted.
The many people attending the event worked for hours, devouring every bite of all those baked goods... except for maybe the Rocket Duo's. But nonetheless, it really had been a successful bake-off!
Whew! Done!
Okay, everyone, I think I have pretty much broken my usual update-on-weekends schedule, but once a week is good enough for you guys, right?
Please review, and thanks for reading!
Bye bye for now! And have a smiling day! :)