Inaaya smiles, but it quickly turns into a yawn. “It was brutal, but I wanted to get some restaurant experience. My parents are members at this yacht club, and they talked the maître d’ into hiring me. Personally, I think they were hoping I would change my mind about culinary school and decide to go to med school.”
“Is that what they want you to do?” I ask.
“That or be an engineer like my dad. But even as a little kid, I would rather make mud pies than build things with Legos. And I hate the sight of blood. My dad even offered to pay for everything if I went to college instead of culinary school.”
And just like that, the common ground of us both being waitresses slips away. I work at the diner to help keep the lights on and food on the table. Inaaya was a waitress to prove a point to her parents. “So you turned him down?”
She shrugs. “What can I say. Cooking is my passion. Mud pies and all.”
I force a laugh. “I was more of a Play-Doh girl myself. Even had the cake and pie shop sets.”
“Did you have the pizza oven? It was my favorite.”
“No.”
“You know,” she says, pulling one of the decorative pillows close to her stomach, “now that I think about it, it’s my parents’ fault that I want to be a chef in the first place.”
“How so?”
“They came here from India. Dad was on a scholarship, and Mom followed for love. Ticked my grandparents off like you wouldn’t believe. And living in Chicago wasn’t cheap. When Mom started law school at Northwestern, they both got jobs at this Indian restaurant near campus to make ends meet.”
“Is that where you learned to cook?”
Inaaya nods. “The owners had come over from India years before, and the wife knew my grandparents. They took a liking to my parents, and when I was born they let us move into a little apartment they owned above the kitchen. They’d watch me so my mom could study. Dad was working all kinds of crazy hours.”
“That was lucky that they had help.”
She nods. “So, what got you into cooking? I mean, aside from the Play-Doh?”
I pretend to yawn and stretch my arms over my head. “My story’s pretty boring, and I’m exhausted.”
She looks at the clock. “I can’t believe it’s only nine back home. I’m normally a night owl, but I don’t know if I can stay up much longer. But tomorrow, you have to tell me your boring story.”
I smile and stand up to get my pajamas. “Sure.” And by that I mean not a chance.
We take turns using the bathroom to get ready for bed. I let Inaaya go first and finish putting away my clothes. When I slip into the shower to finally wash the kitchen residue off my body, my mind starts racing. The conversation with Caitlin still has me on edge. Her expectation that I play the poor girl from the wrong side of the tracks might help me in the competition, but is that really what I want people to think about when the show is over? That I was some sort of pity contestant?
And how will the people back home look at me? Like Gerri at the diner, who gave me a job busing tables when I was fourteen because he felt bad that I was walking around town with holes in my shoes. Or my mom, who, yeah, hasn’t always been able to take care of us but has done the best she can. I don’t want them to feel like I don’t appreciate what they did. And Aunt Jenny didn’t blink when Mom asked if we could move in with her. She opened her doors and made room for us in her life. To slam on the trailer on national television would be a betrayal in her eyes. I lean my head against the cool tile, and the water slides down my back. I wish it could wash away the uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach.
I turn off the water and dry myself with a fluffy towel before pulling on my pajamas. When I quietly open the door, I hear soft snoring coming from Inaaya’s side of the room. The walls in the trailer are pretty thin, and I’m used to Aunt Jenny sawing logs, but even so, I toss and turn for almost an hour. I just can’t fall asleep. Finally, tired of trying, I flip the covers off and slip out of the room.
When I turn into the kitchen, I see Paulie peering into the fridge. Leaning against the door frame, I say, “Still hungry?”
He startles and looks at me, his eyes wide. “Geez, Peyton. You scared me.”
“Whatcha doing?” I ask, slipping farther into the room and peeking over his shoulder.
“Couldn’t sleep,” he says. “I saw some sandwich stuff in here earlier.”
“So, what did I miss this evening?”
“Not much,” he says, pulling out vegetables and packages and dropping them on the island. “Caitlin kept pulling in people to watch their packages. I was last.”
“She’s gone, then?”
He nods.
“How was your package?” I ask, avoiding his eyes, focusing instead on selecting an orange from the fruit bowl.
“It was good. I mean, they interviewed a couple of my sisters. That was embarrassing. But overall, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it might be. What can I say? I am the loud Italian guy who loves his mama’s sauce, but not as much as he loves his mama.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Did you come up with that?”
“Nope. That’s the tagline they want me to record tomorrow. I just wanted to hear it out loud.”
“I didn’t get a tagline.”
“Maybe Caitlin forgot to tell you yours. I’m sure it will be equally cheesy.” He begins to pile meat, cheese, and veggies onto a slice of whole-grain bread.
“I don’t know if that bread is ready for all those toppings,” I say, beginning to peel my orange.
He squirts spicy mustard in a practiced zigzag motion, twists his wrist, and goes back the other way. “Ye of little faith.” He plops the second piece of bread on the top and slices it in triangles before picking one up and taking a big bite.
“Nice,” I say, giving him a slow clap before going back to peeling. A piece of tomato slips from between the bread. Paulie looks up at me and grins.
Between bites, he asks, “How was your package?”
I shrug, crossing my arms over my chest. A beat passes before I say, “I don’t know. It wasn’t what I expected.”
He pauses, his sandwich halfway to his mouth before putting it down. “You didn’t like it?”
Paulie seems like a nice guy, but after what Caitlin said, I don’t know who I can trust. My first reaction is to tell him, but I hold back.
“I don’t know. It was weird seeing my past pasted together like that. Seeing my life put up for the world to see.”
He nods. “I get that. And far be it for a cradle Catholic like me to quote Buddha, but he once said, ‘Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.’”
“What does that mean?”
“No idea,” he says. “But it sounds profound, right?”
“Why do I get the feeling you know exactly what it means?” I ask, pulling the orange apart and popping a wedge in my mouth. “Holy cow,” I say, quickly taking another bite. “This is a good orange.”
“You sound surprised.”
“I’m from Florida, remember? Most of our oranges are so sweet and juicy that they make the best juice. My standards are pretty high.”
“Right.”
I bite into another wedge, a drop of juice landing on the counter. I grab a paper towel and wipe it up. “What do you think the Landmark Challenge is going to be like?”
“Not sure, but I hope we go somewhere cool like Madame Tussauds.”
I laugh. “I wouldn’t count on it. It’s not like that place is only in New York. Besides, what kind of cooking challenge could they come up with in a place like that?”
“Fondue?”
I laugh. “Melted stuff; well played.”
“Thank you,” he says, giving a small bow before turning his attention back to his sandwich. He looks thoughtful while he chews. “I don’t know what it is about your past that you don’t like, but we all have things about our lives we wish we could change. That’s life. Just remember: the past ca
n’t hurt you anymore, not unless you let it.”
“Another quote from Buddha?”
He shakes his head. “Alan Moore. V for Vendetta.”
“Of course,” I say. “I should have known.”
Paulie pops the last bite of his sandwich into his mouth and wipes down the counter. “All right, I am ready for bed. You want me to wait for you?”
I shake my head. “I think I could use a little reflection time, but thanks.”
“No problem,” he says and turns to leave the room.
I gather up my peels into a neat pile before dumping them in the trash. It’s easy to say that your past can’t hurt you, but it’s quite another thing to be brave enough to put that to the test. And there’s too much at risk if I fail.
CHAPTER
ELEVEN
THE MORNING DAWNS BRIGHT AND HOT. WHEN I enter the kitchen, everyone is grabbing something from an array of bagels, muffins, and breakfast sandwiches. I grab one with sausage and sit down to eat.
“We’re supposed to meet the PA at the bus downstairs,” Malik says, spreading cream cheese on his bagel.
“When did they tell us this?” I ask, sinking my teeth into the soft English muffin.
He points his knife toward a dry-erase board on the refrigerator.
“The PA elves must have come in early this morning.”
He nods. “I was up when they snuck in.” He rinses off his knife before putting it in the dishwasher. “Almost scared me to death.”
“Hey,” Lola says as she sits down in the seat next to me to fix the strap on her bejeweled sandals. She stands and says, “How do I look?”
“Perfect,” Malik says as she tops off her outfit with a black fedora and a pair of aviator sunglasses.
“Looks like we get to wear street clothes for the Landmark Challenges,” she says.
“So it would seem,” I say, looking down at my own outfit. “This was in my closet with today’s date on it.”
“It looks cute,” Lola says.
“Yes,” Dani adds, sneaking in behind Lola to grab an apple. “Very wholesome and innocent.”
I smooth the fabric of my white short coveralls. From most people that would sound like a compliment, but from Dani it’s definitely not. Pulling up the sleeves on what’s supposed to be an off-the-shoulder crop top with eyelet ruffles, I turn my attention back to Lola, who seems to be trying to make up for Dani’s snide comment.
“I like your necklace,” she says, pointing to the long knotted gold chain that hangs down to my belly button.
“Thanks,” I say. “It matches my sunglasses.” I have never been so coordinated in my entire life, and when Dani snickers I realize that my comment just fed into her impression of me. “Of course, I’ll have to take it off when I cook. Otherwise, I’ll probably shut it in the oven.”
The other drawback of my look today is the stylists had left strict instructions for me to wear my hair down and full of curls. Which would be okay, except the humidity today is like 90 percent, and I’m going to have to pull it back when I cook anyway. They might as well have told me to stick a fork in a light socket, because the result is going to be the same. Thankfully, I found a white scrunchie in one of the front pockets.
“Do you have any idea what the Landmark Challenges are?” Lola asks, and I shake my head.
“We were talking about that yesterday,” I tell her. “Does Dani know?”
“Nope. Not a clue.”
“We better go,” Malik says, tucking an apple juice under his arm and grabbing a bunch of grapes.
Everyone springs into action and we head to the front door. Adam, Hakulani, and Paulie are coming from the bedroom hallway when we see them.
Paulie rubs his hands together. “Let’s do this,” he says, giving me a wink.
“Why don’t you save some of that for the cameras,” Hakulani says.
“Someone’s not a morning person,” Paulie says with a grin.
“It’s two in the morning back home,” Hakulani groans. “Jet lag is no joke, man. I’d like to see you be all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.”
Adam turns and heads to the kitchen, reappearing a moment later with two bottles of iced coffee. “Will this help?” he asks, handing them to Hakulani.
“It can’t hurt. Thanks.”
With everyone ready to go, we file onto the elevator and down to the lobby, where two slightly annoyed PAs are waiting for us. “You’re late,” one of them says.
I glance at my watch. “By three minutes.”
“We were supposed to leave at eight. Not meet at eight,” the other one grumbles. “Let’s load up.”
Inaaya slips into line next to me. “And Paulie thought Hakulani wasn’t a morning person.”
“He looks like a chirping robin compared to them,” I agree.
We climb aboard the small bus. Each of us has an assigned seat with our name on it, and we sit down. From across the aisle, Hakulani offers me one of his coffees.
“Thanks, but no. I’m nervous enough as it is. Add caffeine to my system and I’ll be bouncing around like a jackrabbit.”
He smiles. “Good. I was just being polite. I’m going to need both to get started.”
“I hadn’t thought about those of you from out west and how the time zone difference might impact you. Do you think it will make it harder for today’s challenge?”
He shrugs. “I don’t think so. By the time we actually start cooking, I’ll be ready.” He turns slightly. “Why? Thinking of going easy on me?”
I laugh. “Not a chance.”
“Good. Because I hope we both stick around for a long time.”
I shake my head slightly, tossing my hair off my shoulder, and turn to look at the city.
From behind us, Adam calls out, “When are you going to tell us where we’re going?”
Without turning around, one of the PAs says, “When we get there.”
Hakulani leans closer to me and whispers, “Have you noticed that there are some really cool PAs, and then some of them act like we’re inconveniencing them?”
“Maybe they aren’t morning people either,” I say.
“You like to find the good in people, don’t you?”
I look down at my hands. “I don’t know about that, but sometimes we make assumptions about people and never really get the chance to know the real them.”
He nods, looking at me thoughtfully. “There’s a story behind that answer, isn’t there?”
“I don’t know what you mean,” I say, starting to wish I had never said anything. Thank goodness Inaaya stands up and moves next to us.
“Wardrobe malfunction,” she says. “I need my roommate to help me out.”
Hakulani places his hand on the seat in front of him and pulls himself up. “Wouldn’t want to get in the way of fashion.” He moves to the back of the bus, where Paulie and Malik are in an intense debate about college football conferences.
“Thanks,” I say as Inaaya sits down.
She gives me a quizzical look before glancing over her shoulder at Hakulani, then back to me. “For what?”
“Nothing. Just thanks.”
She doesn’t press me. “I really do have an issue,” she says, holding out a bracelet. “This snagged on my pants and I can’t get it back on.”
I take the bracelet as she holds out her arm. “You look amazing, by the way,” I tell her, pulling back the clip and reattaching the clasp.
“Thanks,” she says, smoothing out her red and black harem pants. “Thank goodness they paired it with a T-shirt or I would look like a character out of a Disney cartoon.”
“Well, it looks amazing on you.”
“Back home I normally just wear jeans and T-shirts,” she says wistfully before shrugging. “Oh well, at least we get to keep the clothes.”
“We do?” I ask, surprised by her statement. “Who told you?”
“Caitlin, last night. When I met with her in the confessional room.”
“You get to keep the outfit you
wore yesterday, too?” I ask, thinking about the pants and shirt I wore. They weren’t anything special, but I wasn’t going to complain. “That’s awesome.”
She laughs. “I would hope so because I brought that one from home.” She quickly adds, “At Caitlin’s request.”
“But any clothes we wear on the show?”
“Are ours to keep.”
It would seem Inaaya’s conversation with Caitlin was very different from mine.
“Well that’s nice to know.”
“I did a sneak peek at my clothes for this week, and I’m more than happy.” She looks down at my outfit. “Is this how you dress back home?”
I almost laugh. There is no way I’m going to find something like this at the thrift store back home. “Uh, not really. I’m like you. Jeans and tees mostly.”
The bus slows down and we all turn to see where our first Landmark Challenge is going to take place. At first, all we see are a bunch of white tents, like the ones you see at family reunions and weddings. Everyone is so busy trying to figure out where we are that no one notices Jessica join us on the bus.
“Today is your first Landmark Challenge,” she says, and we all turn around. “Are you guys ready?”
“For what?” Dani asks, stepping into the aisle.
“Well, come down off the bus and see.”
In a single line, we file off the bus, everyone talking excitedly about what comes next. But Jessica doesn’t take us far, as the PAs order us to line up in front of the bus where a camera crew is waiting to capture everything.
Once we’re all settled, Jessica looks straight at us and launches into her introduction. “Welcome to your first Landmark Challenge. Today, you are going to get a chance to explore one of New York City’s most famous attractions. You’ll have two hours to explore, learning everything you can. Once your time is up, it’ll be time for you to create a special dish, on-site. The winner of each Landmark Challenge will be determined by some very special judges. But you’ll meet them later.”
She turns to us. “Chefs, are you ready to find out where you are?”
We don’t have to feign excitement as we all answer, “Yes.”
Where There's a Whisk Page 8
