Chapter 140: S2 Episode 38 - Judging the Final Round (2)
I looked at the cake we made together and viewed it as a whole.
The base was my genoise cake that was designed with white feathers and white cotton candy clouds. It was supposed to give the impression of "Heaven", leading up to the components my teammates were in charge of.
On top of my base was Hanabusa's shimmering gold staircase that gleamed in the light. He infused Cafe's sweets magic into the candy to give it that appearance of light within the stairs. It was in the shape of a helix staircase (about 3ft tall) that was being held by the large white pillars used for the foundation to hold the staircase in place. Hanabusa engraved each stair separately and thoroughly to the point of perfection. And, at the end of that stairway was a small door at the top that glowed a bright color due to the sweets spirits' magic that gave it this illusion. Additionally, there were candy butterflies of different sizes placed around the stairway as they were fastened on that pathway. Each was precisely placed on the staircase for people to see that the butterflies were climbing up the stairs and towards that open door that shined ever so brightly. Once the butterflies had been placed, we all added different-sized white pearls that shined to the eyes to represent a blockage in the pathway.
On some of the smaller pillars that weren't used as a foundation to fasten the stairway in place, Andou placed his magnificently made petit gateaux of different types and colors to elevate our white and gold theme of the cake. Each of his small cakes looked tempting to eat and the garnishes for each were sprinkled with some gold dust to charm the eyes of the audience.
Lastly, our centerpiece of the cake, the Angel.
Kashino managed to outdo himself again with the white chocolate angel that sat on a gold stand made out of white chocolate. The angel's wings were large and long which drew in the eyes towards the center to allure the audience. She wore a white flowy dress and her torso was covered by the staircase she stood behind. Her hair was also sculpted to flow as if a breeze of air was blowing through the side. She had bright blonde hair with a gold-plated halo behind her head.
Kashino captured the dignified expression on the angel's face as she gave off the vibe of a heavenly being guiding you up that staircase. The sculpture was so realistic that it looked like it could come to life at that very second. Kashino had to dismember the angel in separate parts to strategically add more depth to her figure, such as adding grey shadows to her large angelic white wings and dress, light brown shadows to her skin, face, and hair, and lastly, detailing her expression to appear as a celestial goddess.
She offered her hand out as if inviting those who looked at it to follow up the staircase and towards that bright light at the end.
Surrounding the angel were more white cotton clouds to give it the scene of this taking place in Heaven.
Finally, with the help of the four sweets spirits, they added the final touch and added their sweets magic onto the cake. Their magic would allow our cake to glimmer and shine, giving off the effect that our cake truly was "Heaven."
This was our "Stairway to Dreams."
'I really think we did it this time,' I thought to myself with a slight smile.
After continuously practicing days in and days out, we managed to polish our skills and improve each element that seemed sloppy to perfect this cake. Each time, our time to make it would decrease as we got better at pacing ourselves and understanding how to strategically do each element.
With only 30 minutes left, we managed to complete our cake before the time ran out. Despite the many elements we had on it, people were astonished that we were even able to complete this cake in the time that we had.
"Team Michiko is done with their cake," I spoke up, signalizing that our cake was complete.
The large room was filled entirely with absolute silence as they stared at the cake made by us. The cameras turned to us and our cake at the table we assembled it on.
After some momentary silence, muttering could be heard throughout the room.
"J-just wow…"
"Is that even a cake? Can it even be called a cake?"
"14-year-olds made this?"
Even with their reactions, the room was still awkwardly silent.
"A-alright! Both team's creations have been brought together. Now, the judging will begin!" The MC stepped in to break the tension of the room.
"To the left is Team Tennouji's "The Flower of Dreams." On the right is Team Michiko's "Stairway to Dreams!" The MC presented, and to the surprise of the 8 of us competing, the audience remained muted.
They didn't know how to react when they looked between the two cakes. One was simple yet elegant, yet the other one was "heavenly." Both cakes had centerpieces that could draw people in, but nobody knew who would win.
The audience was clueless! If there was an option, they would hope that both teams would tie… but it was definite that there would only be one winner for the final round. After both teams spent 10 hours straight trying to make their cakes, it was only fair that their efforts paid off and one would win.
"Who do you think is gonna win? I can't say…"
"Why can't they just call it a draw?"
"You idiot! If they did, what's the point of calling it a competition!"
"Team Tennouji's cake just draws you in but Team Michiko's is…"
Chattering began within the audience placing their bets against which team is going to win.
"Okay! Let us focus our attention on these 5 judges!" The MC tried to switch the focus onto the panel of judges who sat on a long table covered with a white cloth.
On the far right were Teacher Ameya and Mr. Karashima; in the middle was Mr. Hisashi Ito who sat next to Henri Lucas and Chairman Moriyama to the far left. Seeing as to how the judges were all unmoved after both teams finished making our cakes, we could tell that even they didn't know how to react.
Just behind the panel of judges was an electronic screen that showed the judges' names and the teams' names. We could see that this scoring board was placed everywhere on the large screens throughout the room.
"Each judge can give up to a maximum of 20 points in each category, all points will be displayed on the screen around the room," the MC explained, pointing at the large electronic screen.
After hearing this, my team and Tennouji's team nodded our heads in understanding, but as I looked at the chairman who sat at the far left of the table, I could see a cunning grin behind his jolly face.
"Before judging, we'd like to hear an explanation on each creation… hohoho..." Chairman Moriyama chuckled out loud through a microphone he held to his mouth. Behind those glasses was an ever-watchful eye that saw everyone's movements and reactions.
I gritted my teeth and furrowed my eyebrows after hearing what this old man had to say.
'Explanation?!' I questioned myself, trying to conceal my contempt for this old blockhead.
Seeing as to how no one thought of this, each of us was taken aback by the chairman's request.
On my team, we all looked at each other but didn't say anything. Looking each one of the three boys in the eyes, I could read what they were trying to tell me.
Andou's brown eyes said something like: "You can do this!"
Hanabusa's green eyes were something along the lines of: "I'm exhausted. Good luck."
And lastly, Kashino's fierce brown eyes explicitly said: "It was your idea. You explain it."
Rubbing my ever-stinging head, I gave out a light sigh. It wasn't like I could outright refuse them. After all, it was my idea and they did more than enough to make my idea on paper come to life. As I glanced over at the cake we made together, I felt a feeling of sadness wash over me as I stared at the Angel at the center.
'Mom…'
I stared at the Angel's luscious, bright blonde hair that flowed to the side. Her white wings encaptivated me as well as the kind expression on her face that felt as if she was guiding me towards that light at the top. In my eyes, this was what I envisioned my mother as if she was an angel. It felt like she was right here with me, watching this competition.
'I guess I have no choice.'
I looked back to the boys and nodded my head in agreement.
"First, Tennouji Mari. Please, step up!" The MC instructed Mari who had a neutral look on her face. She seemed perfectly calm as she stood up to face the 3,000 people in front of her, the cameras recording her, and the 5 judges.
She was handed over a mic and the pale face I saw before the final round started was taken over by an air of assurance as if she was indirectly saying: "My team will win no matter what."
"I am Team Tennouji's representative, Tennouji Mari," Mari said calmly. "When I first heard the theme was "Dream", I immediately thought of this flower floating in midair."
She then pointed to the beautiful white candied flower that was the centerpiece of their cake.
"This flower opens quietly inside our hearts. Inside their hearts, everyone has a hidden dream, isn't that the case? We are puzzled by the scent of so-called "aspiration", and it continues to give us drive… We've expressed "Dream" as a white flower; the title is "Flower of Dreams."
With this, we could see the audience in awe after deeply explaining the idea behind their cake.
[APPLAUSE!]
Since she was the high school's student council president, it was obvious that she was good with words.
As I gazed into that blooming flower that faced me, I felt a bit distracted.
'When she explained it, I couldn't help but think that their white flower looked like Henri Lucas.'
Maybe that was the idea Tennouji Mari had. I already knew that she had other feelings towards him so it was quite obvious that she'd place the guy who opened her eyes into their Dream cake.
I knew that she really wanted to win this badly to achieve her dreams, but I couldn't get my mind out of what she tried to pull before. I wasn't even sure if she was capable of doing such a thing.
"Thank you for your lovely explanation, Tennouji-san. Next up is Team Michiko's representative! Please come forward!" The MC advised, calling me up to the stand.
The many cameras focused on me and I could tell that my face was on the screen of many peoples' televisions or phones. For a bit, the thought of my face appearing in my family's home calmed me down drastically.
'Just imagine that they're the only ones watching me. I can just imagine them cheering for us in the living room.'
As I received the microphone from the broadcaster guy, I took in a slight breath and exhaled.
I looked around the room and made eye contact with the audience who watched me. I eyed down the Sweets Princes families who were anticipating my words and the final results of our cake. Even they were cheering us on.
'If I really want to make an impact, I really need to explain the idea behind our cake thoroughly,' I thought to myself as I glanced over at the cake we created. When I looked around the room, I noticed a strange figure that was in my peripheral view.
It appeared to be a man dressed in obscure, black clothing. I couldn't see what his face looked like, but for some reason, he carried a sense of familiarity that I felt I could recognize, but not recall.
'Who… is he?'
Sorry if my updates have been inconsistent. I've been busy with school so I'm trying to get into the groove of things.
Otherwise, thanks for reading!