#TimsEspressYourself Short Story Contest [CLOSED]

The Perfect Blend - Part 1

A note from @AvaViolet

Hey everyone! I am so excited to be partnering with Tim Hortons in this #TimsEspressYourself collaborative short story challenge. This is going to be so fun because we—as in you and I— will get to write a short story together! I will start us off, then in the comments (limited to 2000 characters) you will write the next part. I will pick a winner at the end of the week, who will win a $100 Tim Card®, and then I'll continue the story from there. We will go back and forth together for four weeks. Isn't that exciting?! Because we're partnering with Tims, try to weave an espresso beverage (like a latte, cappuccino or americano) in your continuation. Enjoy reading this part, and I can't wait to see how you continue the story!

Part 1

The competition is in 9 hours, and I have nothing to present to the judges. I'll need every single one of those hours to bake the best dang cake anyone in Northtown has ever tasted, but I've been staring at the oven since last night, as if it would magically bake a cake itself. It's not that I don't have any recipes, because I do, but I just had to go and run my mouth last night to my apartment neighbour and arch-nemesis, Isaac.

Isaac went to culinary school with me and always got better grades and praise than me. Never mind that he's tall and has soft, touchable hair and a smile that makes girls' knees weak. His smile is useless on me. Useless! Not when I can hear his voice in my head, 'Second place again, Aria? Too bad.'

I've been coming in second place to Isaac in every bake-off we've ever been in. So when I ran into him and told him I entered Northtown's 32nd annual bake-off, and would win, he laughed at me. Laughed!

'You're not going to win, because I entered too, and you always come in second to me,' he had said.

'Not this time,' I replied. 'I have the best, most creative recipe out there. The judges are going to taste it and say they don't even need to try anyone else's entries because they've found the winner.'

'Only in your dreams,' he said.

And now I'm in trouble, because I need to prove it to him, and to myself, that I can and will beat him. I have to come up with the recipe to end all recipes, but I have no idea where to start. It's too much pressure. It needs to be amazing, and nothing in my cookbook is good enough, not if I want to beat Isaac. Everything in my recipe book has been tested against him already... and lost.

Staring at my oven clearly isn't helping, and I'm running out of time. Maybe I should go pick up some fuel—something to kickstart my creativity.

I leave my apartment and cross the street to Tim Hortons. I always come here for a caffeine kick when I'm trying to boost my confidence or get creative with a recipe, and I'm really going to need it today.

"Hey Ben," I say to the barista when I get to the front of the line.

"Hey Aria," he says. "Have you baked 'the best dang cake anyone in Northtown has ever tasted' yet?"

I may need to stop telling that to people before I have a tangible idea. "No. I can't come up with an idea."

He shakes his head in amusement. "Well, you've still got a few hours before the competition starts. Why don't you try the new handcrafted cappuccino? Maybe the flavours will inspire something."

I agree and order the cappuccino. The moment it's in my hands and I take a sip, I already feel better.

I can do this. I can beat Isaac. I can win.

I turn around, ready to head back to my apartment while my inspiration is high, but slam into someone. My poor cappuccino spills all over whoever I ran into.

I look up, mortified, only for the feeling to intensify when I see who it is.

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Now, it's your turn! Submit the next part of the story below in the comments section of this chapter. Make sure you tag it with #TimsEspressYourself to enter. Entries must include all Submission Requirements. Deadline to enter the next part is November 28th at 11:59 PM EST.

The winner's part, along with my continuation, will go live on November 30th!