Gordon's P.O.V.
When the homecooks walked into the Masterchef kitchen, I noticed that Mariah had a bandage on her arm. She stood at her station beside Leslie and laughed at whatever he said.
"Today, as you can see, is your first Mystery Box challenge." Joe said.
Mariah and Leslie kept talking to each other. Some of the other homecooks looked at them.
"Mariah! Leslie!" I snapped.
They both looked at me.
"Shut your god damn mouths!" I yelled.
Leslie instantly went quiet. Mariah, her eyes wide, seemed to be keeping herself from crying.
"Don't be a damn crybaby!" I growled.
Leslie and Willie both went to her and tried to calm her down. My heart ached. I hope she understood that I didn't mean to shout at her.
"That was a bit harsh." Graham told me.
I waved him away. My eyes were on Mariah. She wiped her few years away, and Willie and Leslie went back to their stations.
"Lift your box!" Graham yelled.
All of the homecooks lifted their boxes. A few cursed, others cheered. Mariah simply smiled.
"You will have ninety minutes to make us a dessert from the ingredients in front of you." Joe said.
"Your time starts......now!" I yelled.
Watching the homecooks run around in a panic always made me laugh on the inside. Mariah, however, always moved at a regular pace.
I made sure to look at the clock every few minutes, checking the time. I stepped off the stage and walked to Willie.
"Tell me about your dish, Willie." I ordered.
"I'm making spiced gingerbread mini cakes with an orange coffee mascarpone cream and spicy mixed berry compote with cayenne pepper." He answered, working while he spoke.
"Sounds delicious. Keep it up."
I walked by the stage. Time seemed to fly by. Soon, Graham took a step forward.
"Stop!"
One by one we tasted their dishes. Both Astrid and Cutter had strange combinations for their dishes, which will ultimately land both of them in the pressure test. Willie's gingerbread cakes were outstanding. Soon, only Mariah and Leslie remained.
"Mariah." Joe called.
Mariah's dessert seemed to be a cake of some sort. She picked up the plate and brought it to us.
"Mariah, Darling, tell us about your dish." I told her, cutting into the cake.
"I made a strawberry cream cake with handmade vanilla frosting and a strawberry sauce drizzle." She answered.
I laid a piece of the cake on a plate. "It looks stunning."
"Thank you." She never looked me in the eyes.
I took a bite with my fork. The two different preparations of strawberries complimented each other.
"That is stunning." I said. "You used the strawberries in two different ways, incorporated different ingredients for both preparations, yet your cake is fantastic."
She smiled. Graham and Joe both said similar things when they tasted her cake. Leslie's dish was on the passing level when we tried it.
"We will be deciding from four homecooks for the best dish and the worst dish." I said.
"Willie." Graham called.
"Astrid." I said.
"Cutter." Joe yelled.
"Mariah." I finished.
The four walked away from their stations and stood in front of the first two stations. Mariah and Willie looked at each other confidently.
"Cutter and Astrid, please step forward." I ordered.
Once they stepped away from Mariah and Cutter, I took a deep breath.
"You two had the worst dishes tonight." Joe announced.
"That means Mariah and Willie have the best." Graham smiled.
The two high-fived. Mariah's beautiful smile took my breath away.
"There can only be one winner." Joe told them.
Mariah stood as still as was possible for her. Willie chuckled.
"The winner of the first Mystery Box Challenge is......" I started.
"Mariah!" Graham finished happily.
Mariah gave us a closed eye smile.
"Please head up to the balcony." I told her.
She skipped a little on her way. I smiled slightly. When she stood at the rail, she looked at me for the first time since I yelled at her. She smiled and winked.
"As the winner of this challenge, you must choose what dish the others will be cooking. You will also choose ten of your peers to be up there with you." Graham said.
~
"Tell the others what you have chosen for them." Joe ordered.
Mariah had returned to the balcony after choosing the meat in the pantry.
"Meatloaf." She smiled.
The others groaned and cheered.
"Now the ten that you chose to save." Graham said.
"Leslie." Mariah called.
The old man walked up to the balcony and stood beside her.
Mariah called the names easily. "Jaimee, Gordon, Elise, Cutter, Francis L., Kira, Ahran, Elizabeth, and Christian."
They all climbed the stairs that led to the balcony and stood around her.
~
At the end of the challenge, It was Astrid and Whitney that didn't make it past the challenge and the pressure test.
Mariah happily waited for the others to leave before she ran to me. I chuckled and caught her as she jumped from the stairs.
"Katie keeps asking me if you're coming over." She said.
"How about we take them to a pool? Would they like that?" I asked.
"Katie doesn't know how to swim."
"We can teach her. Bring them to my house, and we'll go to the store and buy them pool toys and other necessities."
"If you want to."
I smiled and kissed her once.
