The Bee's Knees

Chapter 30

Anna whipped her head toward the source of the scream, her batter forgotten. Cracks spidered across Connor's cheesecake, leaving it a broken, uneven mess. The camera crew descended upon the damaged dessert like vultures swooping down on roadkill.

"It's ruined!" Connor's hands trembled as he set the cheesecake on the countertop. These cracks weren't just something he could cut slices around. No, they covered the entire dessert.

Reese winced. "Now that stinks. Wish I could help, but my ice cream's too much ice and not enough cream." They jabbed at what they'd made with a spoon, but the cold concoction refused to yield. "I've gotta mix up another batch quick!"

"And I'm having the worst time frosting my cupcakes." Food coloring had dyed Norman's hands a dark blue, and more frosting covered his fingers than the desserts.

Whatever confidence Connor had entered the Sliced studio with had evaporated, leaving him as fragile as an eggshell. He sniffed, wiping his face with his apron. "I'm sorry, Grandpa," he whispered.

Anna's throat tightened. She knew all too well how much it hurt to disappoint her grandpa, and hers was so sweet he'd do everything he could to cheer her up afterward. With how Mr. Voorhees acted, she wouldn't be surprised if he treated Connor even worse than how he treated most people. Connor didn't deserve that, not when all he wanted was to make his grandpa proud.

Anna knew she had to do what would make hers proud too.

"Take a deep breath and count to ten," she said.

Connor sniffled. "But there's nothing I can—"

"I'll help you fix it. Just breathe in." Anna inhaled slowly. "And out." She exhaled.

Connor copied Anna's breathing and started counting. By the time he'd reached ten, tears had stopped falling, and some of the redness had left his cheeks.

"We've got this," Anna said. "What does your grandpa usually do when he makes a mistake?"

"He doesn't," Connor said quickly, his rooster crowing with indignation. His gaze drifted to his shoes as he rubbed the back of his neck. "One of the new guys at Cake Kingdom messed up a cheesecake once. Grandpa heated a spatula in boiling water, then smoothed it right out. I—I mean he—didn't screw up this badly, though."

"It's worth a shot. You go ahead and start working on your topping, and I'll get the water started."

"Why are you helping me, anyway?" Connor asked as started heating raspberries in a saucepan.

"Because it wouldn't feel right if I didn't," Anna said. "Grandpa always says Sweet Surprise is all about making everyone's lives a little sweeter, so that's what I want to do, too."

For a moment, Anna thought Connor was going to start crying again. "Thank you," he whispered.

Once the water started boiling, Anna called Connor over to come get the spatula. "I'll stir the sauce while you take care of the cracks," she said.

"Thanks! Would you mind adding the cornstarch for me? I just got this ready to start thickening."

"On it." Anna spooned in the cornstarch, careful to break up clumps that would leave unsightly white spots in the sauce. Connor delicately smoothed the worst of the cracks out of his cheesecake right beside her, biting his lip in concentration.

"Just 45 minutes left, bakers!" Mrs. Torres announced as her toucan clapped its beak together. "If you've gotta get something in the oven, better do it quick!"

"Shoot, my tart!" Anna sprinted to her station with cornstarch speckling her fingers. "Good luck with your cheesecake."

"Thanks!"

Anna finished mixing together her custard in a blur of eggs and heavy cream. Once her crust cooled, she poured the custard inside and topped it with chopped rhubarb, kiwis, a dash of lemon, and a sprinkle of nutmeg. There was no time to fuss over arranging everything into a pretty pattern. All she could do was shove her tart into the oven and pray the filling would have enough time to set.

If there was one thing Anna had learned from watching Sliced, it was that contestants should never stop making stuff. Just because her dessert was in the oven didn't mean she could relax. No, she had to prepare something extra that would take her tart to the next level.

While the other bakers started prepping sauces and garnishes, Anna mixed together a bowl of whipped cream. This wasn't the overly sweet stuff sprayed from a can. No, this was a handmade fluffiness turned yellow by lemon juice and zest, just like what her grandpa put on scones for her grandma's birthday every year. She'd still have to taste test it to make sure it didn't curdle, but at least this gave her something to do besides glance at the oven's timer every few seconds.

BEEP!

Anna rushed to the oven. Her tart emerged with the custard bubbling around perfectly softened pieces of rhubarb and chunks of kiwi. Now all she had to do was wait for it to cool so she could—

"Fifteen minutes, bakers!" Philip clapped his hands and did a little dance in his chair, earning an eye roll from Ivan. "If you've got anything in the oven, make sure you take it out ASAP so it'll be ready for us to enjoy."

Anna groaned and nearly said a word she'd never say in front of her grandpa. Fifteen minutes wasn't nearly enough time for her custard to set.

"Use the blast chiller!" Connor yelled.

"But I don't know how—"

"I'll show you." Connor abandoned his cheesecake, now drizzled with a dark red sauce, and ushered Anna over to a tall metal box that looked like a high-tech refrigerator. A series of knobs on the side showed a handful of different settings, all using temperatures that were much colder than anything Anna had ever worked with. "Just put it in here for about five minutes, and the cold will help it set faster."

Freezing air bit Anna's fingers as she slid her tart inside. "I hope this works."

"Me too. Good luck!" Connor ran to his station and started breaking a thin red cookie into jagged crescents.

All around Anna, the other bakers were putting the finishing touches on their desserts, too. "Do you have any more chocolate chips?" Reese called out.

"I have another bag of 'em by the leftover sugar," Norman said as he carefully arranged chocolate-dipped pretzels on top of his cupcakes. "Thanks again for helping me ice these!"

Warmth surged through Anna, and that wasn't just because of the ovens' heat. Despite competing against each other, everyone was working together to finish their desserts. If that didn't showcase exactly what Sweet Surprise stood for, she didn't know what did.

"Five minutes left," Ivan announced. "Get those desserts plated!"

Anna dashed to the blast chiller and took out her tart. To her relief, the custard had gone from a bubbling hot liquid to perfectly cooled. She carved out three slices for the judges with lightning-fast knifework and topped each one with a dollop of lemon whipped cream and a sprinkle of nutmeg.

"Time's up!" Ivan yelled. His vulture let out a bone-chilling screech that sent goosebumps running down Anna's arms. "Put your hands up and back away from your plates."