On Thursday, Kris could hardly concentrate in class. After watching three taped episode of Bake off with his friends the precious night, he felt as if he could actually picture Xiumin tasting his cake. And he was psyched! Each period, Kris watched the clock in the classroom and hoped the minutes would tick by faster. He wanted to get into the kitchen in Ms Seohyun’s classroom and start baking.

   Finally, the last bell of the day rang, and school was officially over. Kris headed to Ms Seohyun’s room with Suho.

   “Dude,” Baekhyun said, catching up to his friends. “What’s cooking?” He had a big smile plastered across his face. While Baekhyun was not as comfortable in the kitchen as on the court, he was totally there for his buddy. “I can’t really cook,” he admitted as they walked, “but I sure do like to eat!”

   “Yeah, man,” Suho added. If you need a taster, I’m your man.”

   “Plus, I would like nothing better than to beat those Sky High Knight,” Baekhyun said. “They don’t have a chance against our man Kris.”

   Kris smiled at his friends. It was great to have his team behind him. He was pretty sure that the taste of Grandma Emma’s cake plus a clever design would make a winning combination.

   When the boys arrived at the classroom, Taeyeon, Luhan, and Jessica were already there.

   Jessica had her graph paper spread out in front of her on a table. She and Taeyeon were ready to draw and calculate the dimensions of any design.

   “We’re ready if you are,” Luhan said to Kris. He wasn’t sure what help he could really be, but he was Kris’s number one fan.

   Kris opened  his backpack and took out a small white notebook. “I have Grandma Emma’s recipe here,” he said. “It’s been in my family for generations.” He tapped the book as he spoke. “I’ve made this cake dozens of times while visiting her in Seoul and I think it would be a good base for us to use for the Dream high cake.”

   “Sounds good to me,” Taeyeon said. “Anything chocolate has to be a winner.”

   “Most people will choose a chocolate dessert over any other,” Jessica announced matter of factly. She shrugged when her friends all looked at her. “What? I just did a little research on the Internet last night. It doesn’t hurt to have facts at your fingertips.”

   Just then, Yuri came running into the room. “Hye, you guys,” she said, slightly winded. “I just heard from this girl who used to take piano lessons with me. She’s on Sky high’s Bake off team.” She took a moment to catch her breath as everyone in the room stared at her.

   “What did she say? Jessica asked, eager to know more about their competition. “Did you find out what they were baking?”

   Yuri shook her head. “Well, no,” she admitted. “But I did find out that they have a pretty large baking team. I know Donghae and Jiyeon are participating.”

   “Jiyeon?” Tiffany huffed as she entered the room. If there was one name Tiffany didn’t like to hear, it was that one. Jiyeon and Tiffany had both been captain in the Heart to Heart challenge, an annual Valentine’s Day fund raiser that Tiffany had worked hard on for the United Hear Association. Jiyeon was also very competitive, and Tiffany looked forward to seeing her lose again, “Oh, I can’t wait to see her face when we take the prize,” Tiffany sang out.

   “Yes,” Yuri confirmed. “She’s definitely on the team. Apparently, Sky high is stacking the kitchen with a ton of people.” She glanced around the room. “I don’t think Dream high has anyone like Kris, though. They’re pretty nervous about this.” She nodded at Kris.

   “Well,” Kris said, rubbing his hands together, “we have a lot of work to do if we are going to make this all look easy.”

    “Um,” Tiffany said, clearing . “Before we begin, could someone please help me out?” She looked around at Luhan, Baekhyun, and Suho nefore her eyes rested on Kris. “I just need a hand outside for a moment.”

   Taeyeon eyed Tiffany suspiciously. What could she be up to?

   Kris grinned at his crush and rushed out the door behind her. Baekhyun followed out of sheer curiosity. There in the hallway was a large steamer truck. He looked exhausted from pushing the heavy load.

   “What is that?” Kris asked. “It’s all the costume changes I picked out for the show,” Tiffany said. “I’m not sure what you are planning on baking, and I want to be able to match the final cake. Colors are so important, you know. I want to be sure to sway the vote with writing combination. I wouldn’t want to clash with the cake.”

   “That’s so considerate of you, Tiffany,” Baekhyun said, rolling his eyes.

   Tiffany disregarded Baekhyun’s comment and opened the trunk as if she were opening a closet. She began handing Kris the outfit she had selected as possible choices for herself.

   “That was very considerate of you,” Kris remarked, completely genuine. But as Tiffany continued to hand him outfit after outfit, his eyes grew wide. He couldn’t believe the number of clothes stuffed into the trunk.

   As Baekhyun went back to the classroom to report on the outrageous collection, Tiffany took Kris’s arm and dragged him off to the side. “Whoever helps you onstage is very important,” Tiffany told him, almost in a whisper. “They’ll need to command the audience’s attention. Remember, I know all about being onstage.”

   “You definitely do,” Kris said as he looked down at the red sequined top draped across his arms, “I’m just not sure you’ll really need any of these outfits for cooking. Usually chefs wear a white coat and black and white checked pants.”

   “Black and white checked pants?” Tiffany’s voice cracked. She looked horrified at the fashion choice of chefs. What were they thinking?

   Kris nodded meekly. “Or they were an apron,” he said. “A kitchen can get pretty messy.” He held out the sequined top. “This could get ruined really quickly.”

   “Hmm,” Tiffany said. Then her eyes grew wide. “Wait, are you saying this because you are going to pick me to be onstage with you?” She held her breath as she looked into Kris’s eyes. She could only hope that her plan was going to unfold just as she had imagined.

   Without a word, Kris walked back to the trunk and placed the costumes inside. “Let’s get started,” he said and waved Tao and Tiffany into Ms Seohyun’s room. “We don’t have that much time.”

   Tiffany turned to give Tao a wink and then followed Kris. How could Tao have doubted her plan? Clearly, Kris was going to ask for her assistance. He may have required a little help realizing that he needed her, but Tiffany was more than willing to give him a gentle nudge. She wasn’t exactly sure what a sous chef did, but as long as it meant standing in front of a camera, then she was all for playing the role.

   Kris glanced around the room at his friends. “I want you to know that I’ll need all of you to help me plan everything out,’ he said. “But onstage, I think it will be best to just have one sous chef to assist me.”

   Tiffany held her breath. She had to be the person Kris wanted up on the stage. She just had to be!

   Shaking his head, Tao stood at the door. He was anxious to hear what Kris was about to say. Sure enough, he thought, the girl who has never boiled water has probably talked her way into being a sous chef.

   Kris cleared his throat and announced, “Tiffany, you’ll be right next to me , handing me ingredients and making sure we stay on schedule.” He looked right at her and loved seeing her stare back at him.

   “So I’m your sous-chef?” she asked, her brown eyes sparkling.

   Kris couldn’t have been happier. “Yes,” he confirmed to the shock of everyone else in the room. Tiffany squealed with Glee.

   As preparations got underway, Taeyeon watched Kris show Tiffany how to use a flour sifter. She had to stifle a laugh. Was he really explaining how to sift flour to her? No matter how great a performer she was, Taeyeon thought, how was Tiffany going to fake being able to cook? Kris’s crush had definitely blinded him. How could Tiffany help Kris bake when all she care about was where the camera was and if she was in its frame? Taeyeon sighed. She wanted to win just like everyone else at Dream High, but with Kris’s Choice for his sous chef, she wondered if they’d stirred up a recipe for disaster.