Enter Veronica, the reigning champion and their worst nightmare. With her perfectly coiffed hair and a smile that could charm the socks off a statue, she was the embodiment of baking perfection. Alice and Lucy had always admired her skills from afar, but now, she was the enemy.
"Did you see her Instagram post?" Lucy asked, scrolling through her phone. "She's making a three-tiered chocolate ganache cake with edible gold leaf! Who even do something like that?"
"Someone who's not afraid of losing," Alice muttered, her competitive spirit igniting. "We need to step up our game."
Determined to outshine Veronica, they decided to bake their signature dishes: Alice would whip up her famous lemon meringue pie, while Lucy would create her experimental lavender-infused cupcakes. They spent hours in the kitchen, fueled by caffeine and a healthy dose of anxiety.
As the competition day approached, their rivalry with Veronica intensified. They began to obsess over every detail, from the texture of their pastries to the presentation. The fear of losing loomed over them like a dark cloud, and they couldn't shake the feeling that something catastrophic was about to happen.