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Chris stared at his camper in horror. It was soaked. Everything was a mess of blue and orange. Behind him, the rest of the crew sniggered in delight.
Chris slept in the same camper as Chef that night.
***
The campers were rewarded with a slow morning for once. Neither Chris nor Chef appeared, allowing them to naturally wake up. Duncan awoke first, taking a deep breath in and smiling softly. Cody smelt of the honey and lemon shampoo he used, a scent that soothed Duncan and almost lulled him right back to sleep.
But Cody had other plans. The smaller teen wiggled uncomfortably, and when Duncan unwound his arms from around Cody, the ‘geek’ leapt out of bed and dashed for the bathroom.
Duncan flopped onto his back, a smitten smile on his face.
“You’ve got it bad,” grinned Geoff.
“He’s just so cute!” sighed Duncan. “I mean, he has these freckles on his nose, and they’re just so adorable – it’s like constellations!”
“You’re sounding sappy bro,” said DJ.
“He read me Jane Austen – and I understood it! And it was funny! I mean, imagine dancing with someone you like and they’re just spitting half-disguised insults at you!”
“That doesn’t sound like fun to me…” DJ said slowly. Geoff just gazed out the door towards the beach.
“She’s out swimming, isn’t she?”
“Yep. And he’s still looking.”
“If I ever act like this around Cody, slap me would ya?” DJ took great delight in hitting Duncan then and there.
“Dude!”
“You literally cuddled with him to sleep. And read sappy romance books together.”
“I’m dating him! I’m allowed to do those things!”
Cody returned, the group got dressed without having to awkwardly step around Harold’s dirty laundry (yes!) and then they were heading to the dining hall for breakfast.
At around 10:30, Chris finally emerged from Chef’s camper, gathering the contestants on the beach.
“Today’s challenge will test your minds, your teamwork and your skills in the kitchen. You’ll be cooking a three-course meal and serving it to me for tasting. The winners get a reward; the losers will send somebody home. Each team will appoint a head chef to create the theme of the meal and to oversee the cooking.”
Duncan pulled DJ back just a smidge.
“Do. Not. Let. Geoff. Cook.”
“Why dude?”
“He cannot cook for shit. Give him head chef, and we’ll do the actual cooking.” DJ reluctantly nodded, and the pair broke off just in time for a freaking truck driven by a dolphin to back out of the ocean. Just randomly.
“Is… the original driver okay?” asked Gwen.
“We hope so.”
Five minutes and a sack of potatoes later, and the two teams were grabbing out their ingredients. Geoff, thankfully, said ‘Italian Theme’ before anyone else could speak, and Duncan latched onto it instantly.
“He’s not very good at cooking, is he?” said Cody.
“Got it in one try. He tried to make s’mores the first night here… and somehow, he undercooked the marshmallow and set the cracker on fire. The cracker doesn’t even go near the fire!” Cody shivered.
Geoff had no clue how cooking worked, so he just said gibberish while the team broke into groups of two and collected what they needed.
“Spaghetti or lasagne?” asked Bridgette.
“Lasagne will take longer, and we can make Italian meatballs to go with the spaghetti,” DJ replied. Sadie teamed up with Courtney to make the antipasto – which they would go by chopping up vegetables, stuffing olives and rolling cheeses with meat.
That left Duncan and Cody to make dessert.
“You should make cannoli,” Courtney said bluntly. Cody frowned.
“But there’s espresso and coffee here…” he said. “That lends itself to tiramisu. Not to mention there’s Marsala right there!” Courtney rolled her eyes and huffed away. Cody grabbed the ingredients for tiramisu, placing them in a wooden crate. Then, the two headed out after their teammates. In the background, they could already hear Leshawna and Heather arguing.
“Why not go for an Indian theme?” wondered Cody aloud. “I mean, we both saw the number of fresh herbs and spices they had, right?”
“Are you a whizz at cooking or something?” asked Duncan.
“No, I just liked to read the cookbooks my mother left lying around when I was home. Passed the time, you know?” Duncan really wanted to stop and pull that thought apart – but they had a challenge to complete.
Arriving in the kitchen, the three teams split up easily, Duncan and Cody setting up in one corner while Sadie and Courtney took command of the chopping board and DJ and Bridgette started a pot to boil.
“We don’t have time to make the pasta by hand,” moped DJ. Geoff looked at him curiously.
“You can make pasta by hand? Doesn’t it grow on trees? I saw this wicked old video about it…”
The other team members quietly bunged all the unneeded vegetables into a pot and told Geoff it was ‘a very important soup’ that he needed to work on.
Cody and Duncan got straight to work, first making the coffee needed for later in the dessert (and a bit extra to wake them up), before adding two tablespoons of Marsala wine. Then Cody separated the eggs and the two split up to beat the whites until stiff and to mix the egg yolks with sugar until light and smooth. Cody worked the mascarpone cheese until it softened, then added it to the egg yolks. From there, the mascarpone cream was beaten slowly, to fold it into the egg yolk mixture. Duncan handed Cody the egg whites, and those too were added.
“How did you learn how to make tiramisu like that?” asked Sadie curiously, wandering over with a thin slice of salami in one hand.
“I had an Italian caretaker for a time, and she used to make this with me on weekends. It was a lot of fun!”
“Where were your parents?” quizzed Sadie.
“On overseas business trips. Same as always, really,” Cody replied nonchalantly. He was using a wooden spoon to mix the entire cream together, stopping to taste.
“Duncan! Try this!” Duncan dipped his finger into the mascarpone cream – ignoring Courtney’s indignant shouts about hygiene – and tried it.
“Damn dearest, this is good!” Cody turned bright red while the rest of the contestants – from both teams – turned to stare at Duncan. “What?”
“You called him dearest,” hissed DJ. “That’s further than any other dude has gone with the person they like!”
“That’s cause I’m the only dude man enough to ask Cody out.”
“Duncan… you never actually asked,” Cody whispered.
Now it was Duncan’s turn to go bright red.
“Well… shit.”
Bridgette and DJ quietly went back to slicing up tomato.
At that moment, Owen barged in with a crate of oranges and a hundred hornet bites. He flung the crate at Trent – and now their team was down a man. Or they had a man down. Quite literally.
Cody and Duncan ran over together, carefully picking up Trent as the medical crew rushed in.
“We’re gonna cut to a confessional for this bit,” said Chris, poking his head through the doors.
“No shit,” snapped Duncan. “Dude’s got a concussion, and Owen needs medical treatment too.”
The medic and an intern carried Trent away, and Duncan headed back over to the tiramisu with Cody. They dunked ladyfinger biscuits into the premade coffee, covering the bottom of the deep ceramic dish with them. Cody spread a layer of mascarpone cream over, with a hint of cocoa powder, and then Duncan added another layer of ladyfinger biscuits dipped in coffee. They followed this pattern until the dish was filled, then sprinkled a healthy amount of cocoa powder over the top.
Then, they slid it into chef’s smaller fridge.
“We need that to stay in for as long as possible,” Cody said. Courtney slid the antipasto beside it, and the two nodded to each other.
The other team was a veritable mess, so the four sat back to enjoy.
Heather had been spouting orders like an insane drill sergeant – orders that Leshawna had downright ignored. Heather had demanded pineapple skewers, so Leshawna made a pineapple chutney to be served on a bed of rice with fried fish. This was also a Hawaiian dish according to Leshawna (who had never been to Hawaii and had no clue about its culture), so Lindsay loved it. The flambee cake was now a traditional mango pudding that Gwen knew how to make. And Heather was in the freezer.
So… it was chaotic to say the least, especially considering that Owen was in the corner sort of just… staring off into the distance as a medic placed balm on his many bee stings.
“First hornets, now bees. Poor guy,” sighed Duncan.
“We should go see if we can pair our dishes with any wines,” suggested Cody. Courtney brightened.
“That’s a great idea! We can look at flavour profiles and intensities!”
Duncan and Sadie shared a confused look before they were being dragged off to the truck by Courtney and Cody.
“Let’s see… That’s Ontarian – so no.”
“But…”
“It doesn’t have the acidity needed for a antipasto,” Cody explained. “Wait – look!”
“That’s an Italian Pinot Grigio! It’s perfect!” Courtney fished out the wine with a flourish, and placed it in a bucket they’d filled with ice.
“This is a Chianti Classico!” gasped Cody, hefting the bottle out of the case. “Don’t chill it – but this will be perfect with the spaghetti!”
“Oh my god, yes!” squealed Courtney, dashing over. “Where did they get the budget for this?!”
“Probably from the money that was supposed to go into renovating the cabins and paying for normal food,” Duncan huffed. Cody smirked, withholding a chuckle.
“And we have the Marsala to pair with the tiramisu – we’re good to go!” cheered Courtney.
The four headed back to the kitchen just in time for Chris to call time. Geoff stepped out to light the candles ‘to set the mood’, while Beth put down a lei with a weird tiki doll in the centre. Cody and Courtney set out the three different wine glasses, and Sadie walked out with the antipasto. Lindsay dragged Owen beside her, leaving Gwen to guard the food.
Chris took a bite…
“Your antipasto passed the test-o!” he grinned. “Pass the pasta please!” Sadie grabbed the antipasto off of the table as DJ set down the pasta. He offered a rotary cheese grater to Chris, who used it to add a generous helping of parmesan to his bowl. Chris twirled his pasta around his fork, and both Cody and Courtney withheld the urge to comment on his abysmal technique. He placed the fork to his mouth, ate the spaghetti – and then went back for another bite. He was grinned, eating the meatballs and sipping the wine.
“There’s a lot of thought put into this meal so far – on a scale of one to ten… fifteen!” Bridgette and DJ beamed. They picked up the plate, and stepped back to join their teammates. “Let’s see how the Screaming Gophers respond!”
Leshawna placed the chutney, fish and rice down.
“Is this the first course?” asked Chris hesitantly, but took a bite. He smiled.
“That mango chutney could knock the socks off the devil,” he grinned.
“I told ya!” cheered Leshawna.
Then Owen was sent back to collect the ribs, bringing them out and presenting them with a flourish. Chris picked up a rib, and took a bite.
“Okay, I’m calling it – the teams are tied. Whose recipe even was this?”
“Heather’s,” Lindsay replied. Then she froze. “She’s still in the freezer!”
Duncan burst out laughing, and even Courtney giggled.
“She’s so wound up she makes me look relaxed!” she sniggered. Duncan grinned.
“You could still be a great mate yet,” he said. DJ mouthed the word ‘friend’, and Courtney nodded in understanding.
Then, it was time for dessert. Cody stepped into the back, and presented a clean plate with the tiramisu.
“Some extra cocoa powder?” he offered.
“Yes please,” replied Chris. Cody sieved a light sprinkle, then drizzled a chocolate sauce over the top, adding a chopped strawberry beside it. Then, he poured the wine and stepped back. Duncan placed a comforting hand on Cody’s shoulder. The two waited with bated breath.
“This… is an absolutely incredible tiramisu. I mean… wow. And the wine… I honestly expected you to go for the rum or something and overdo it… but wow.” Cody turned and crushed Duncan in a bearhug. Duncan gleefully returned it, and DJ took the plate away so that the Screaming Gophers to put their own plate down.
The mango pudding. Only… it was half-gone, fistfuls ripped out.
“What… happened?” asked Chris slowly. The reply came from a scream in the kitchen.
“How dare they? I am head chef! They needed to listen to me!”
Chris gingerly ate a spoonful.
“This… is really good. But, I think there is a clear winner. The Killer Bass had a cohesive dish with perfectly paired wines, and teamwork. Screaming Gophers… you had a good menu, but where’s the cohesion? The drink pairings? The not giving people concussions and hypothermia?”
Leshawna was about to reply when Heather stormed out, pudding still on her hands.
“What is this tacky doll doing there?! I did not authorise any of this!”
And that kicked off a whole new fight.
***
Duncan and Cody sat, the great book of Jane Austen’s works in front of them.
“‘I might as well enquire,’ replied she, ‘why with so evident a desire of offending and insulting me, you chose to tell me that you liked me against your will, against your reason, and even against your character? Was not this some excuse for incivility, if I was uncivil? But I have other provocations. You know I have. Had not my feelings decided against you—had they been indifferent, or had they even been favourable, do you think that any consideration would tempt me to accept the man who has been the means of ruining, perhaps for ever, the happiness of a most beloved sister?’”
“Yes Lizzie! Tell that man off!” cheered Bridgette, startling the both of them.
“How… how long have you been there?” asked Duncan slowly.
“Since they went to Rosings Park,” she replied. “We’ve all been listening.” The two looked over – and sure enough, all the rest of the Killer Bass were there.
“Now I wish I’d asked Noah for his copy of The Complete Novels of the Brontë Sisters,” sighed Cody.
The team watched as the Screaming Gophers voted off Beth, then celebrated with a Five Star meal under the stars.
As the rest of the team headed back to the cabins, Duncan pulled Cody aside.
“Um… you mentioned today that I forgot to ask you out… so…”
“Yes Duncan, I’d love to be your boyfriend,” chuckled Cody, standing up on his tiptoes to kiss Duncan. Duncan smiled into the kiss, tilting his head just slightly to deepen the kiss, letting lips drag against lips before dipping in with his tongue.
“Well… that’s a thing now,” said Trent to Gwen.
“Yeah, and if you hurt them, I’ll hurt you,” replied Gwen.
“Hey, if someone hurts Cody, I’ll be heading the mob,” replied Trent. The two grinned at each other, and left the pair to their romantic kiss.