Getting Ready

Waking up early, Mira was excited to cook something that would help her get into the final rounds. With the help of her mother, she would definitely be able to learn some delicious recipes to impress the jury.

Entering the room where her mother was staying at, she noticed that the bed was empty. Panic struck Mira as she got worried where her mother might be. However before she had to chance to even worry, she heard a voice from the cooking area, "Good you are awake. We still have a lot of things to do."

Looking over, Mira saw that her mother was standing. Even though it was with difficulty, Mira knew that her mother also valued this competition. Walking over to her mother, Mira looked over. She saw various ingredients prepared on a table.

Given the financial status they were in, these were ingredients that they would barely use and save for special occasions. Thinking about it, Mira was certain that this was such a special occasion. Looking back to her mother, she saw that her mother was ready to explain what Mira had to do.

"It is important to know what your ingredients are. With that you can know what you can make. As you can see from the ingredients we have here, we are able to make cake. However, as there is no fruits, making a fruitcake will be impossible. Therefore we will make some oatcakes to start off with. After you get an understanding of these things, we can also make other more difficult cakes."

Being taken aback from the information flow, Mira was lost for words for a moment. Afterwards she finally regained herself as she was looking over at the products lying in front of her. She was finally getting a bit of an idea of what to do.

For the next few hours Mira's mother explained her every detail of how to make deserts and guided Mira in the process.

It was getting to early noon, when the first batch was finished. Looking over at the finished product, Mira felt a sense of pride flowing in her. However ones she saw the look on the face of her mother, the pride got crushed in an instance.

"Is something wrong?" Mira asked hesitantly.

Hearing this, Mira's mother responded, "I would not recommend you to present these in front of the jury."

Shocked by this, Mira was not sure how to respond, she was just able to give out a faint "Why?"

"Ones you taste it, you will understand." She heard her mother say. With that, she curiously picked up one of the cakes and took a bite out of it. The moment she took a bite, she was expecting to get some taste. However there was nothing. It was just bland.

Realizing now what her mother meant, Mira looked over to her with various questions, "What do I do now? Like you said, I cannot present this to the jury."

It looked as if her mother was expecting these questions. She had a grim face as she looked back over to Mira. Before she replied, she took some time to think. After a moment she finally replied, "Well, if you want to make a chance, you need to spend some money for the desert you are going to prepare. The ingredients won't be cheap at all. But I am sure that the end result will be out of the expectations of the juries."

Without hesitation, Mira responded, "What do I need to get? I will head out to the market this instance!"

Seeing the readiness in the eyes of Mira, she formed up a smile. With that she mentioned various ingredients for Mira to get. With those, they would be able to make something that the jury would absolutely love.

After taking note of the ingredients, Mira rushed over to her room and took out all her savings that she had prepared for her mother. With that, she made her way to the market to get the ingredients.

…

At the market, it took Mira some time to gather all the ingredients. However after some time, she finally had everything that she needed to make something new for the juries to taste. With excitement she made her way back to her house.

After turning a street that lead to her house, Mira saw a few people standing in front of her. Wanting to avoid any trouble she turned around, just to see another group of people standing there.

"Where have you been Mira?" One of the persons in the group said as he walked forward. "We have missed you yesterday. I am definitely not satisfied with yesterday's service. I require something, no someone else, just like you."

Hearing those words, Mira knew that it was the rats of the brothel that stopped her at the moment. She was their target. Looking around in panic, Mira realized that no one was around to help her out.

Building up some courage she asked, "What do you want from me?"

The one that previously spoke, formed up a wicked smile as he said, "I want you. I want your body to satisfy my needs." As he was saying those words, he got closer and closer to Mira. Before he stood in front of Mira, he signed to the rest of the group and said, "Grab her boys. We deserve some fun, after missing out yesterday night."

…