“Five minutes. You now have five minutes remaining.”

Lucy dusted the coarsely grated chocolate with edible gold dust, and placed it carefully in the centre of each flower, creating sparkling stigmata. They contrasted exquisitely with the golden flower petals. On top of each dessert portion, she sprinkled chocolate curls and placed the flower at a slight angle to the rim of the glass.

Stepping back to admire her creation, she heard Chef Miranda’s voice erupting above the buzz of activity. “Hands up and step away from your workstations!”

The immediate hush emphasised the sounds of spoons dropping on work surfaces and disappointed mutterings.

Looking up, Lucy found herself captured by Christian’s troubled eyes; his face revealing a discomfort she’d never before seen. A thin sheen of perspiration layered his upper lip; his twitching jaw betrayed his barely-concealed nervousness.

He thinks I’m going to rat on him, or his dessert flopped, or possibly both, she thought. She drew her eyes down to his work surface. His dessert was difficult to identify, looking like an upside-down pineapple cupcake.

Lifting her head, she found Christian’s dejected eyes searching her face, and she gave him an almost imperceptible shake of her head, hoping he understood.

Visibly relaxing, he struggled to contain the smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. He gave her a nod of understanding, before turning away and focussing on Chef Miranda instead.

“Now that that’s over, I have a surprise announcement. Chef Henri has graciously agreed to judge this challenge and,” she said, raising her voice above the excited whoops, “in addition, he’s offering a one-year contract in his flagship restaurant – Henri’s – to the top student. The lucky winner will be working under the direct guidance of Chef Henri.”

“No way!”

“Hell, yeah!”

“Bloody hell, that’s huge!” were some of the cries from the students.

“Please, welcome Chef Henri,” Chef Miranda said, starting a round of applause as Chef Henri entered the kitchen.

“Hello again, little chefs,” greeted Chef Henri.

“Hello, Chef,” came a chorus of voices.

Smiling, he stood at the front of the kitchen surveying their eager and excited faces.

“You may step outside while I have a word with Chef Miranda. Thereafter, we’ll call you in one by one, in no particular order, to discuss your work. Leave everything exactly as it is. Good luck,” Chef Henri called out.

There was a hurried shuffle as students headed for the door.

“How was it?” Willow asked, linking arms with Lucy once they entered the chill zone. “You were like a bullet in there – first to the ingredients – like you knew what the mystery item was. Are you sure you’re not clairvoyant or something?” she teased.

Laughing, Lucy shook her head before responding.

“You have no idea how surprised and happy I was to see that pineapple. I immediately knew what I’d make.” Lucy smiled broadly. “It was an opportunity for everyone to show off their knowledge and understanding of preparing fresh fruit desserts – and pineapples are one of the tricky ones.”

“Tell me about it. I battled to get my dessert to set,” sighed Willow. “Never mind that though. What was that I saw in there, at the end? A moment between you and Christian?”

Between Willow’s eye-popping cursing, Lucy relayed how Christian had left the fridge door propped open to ruin her dessert.

“You should report him, Lucy,” she insisted.

“No, Willow. He can battle with his conscience about his cowardly behaviour. I’m showing him I’m the better person.”

“You’re a better person than I could ever be. I would have scrambled his eggs with a good kick between the legs!” Willow said, giving an exaggerated karate kick.

Lucy laughed so hard at Willow’s antics that she almost missed her name being called.

“Lucy Andrews, you’re next!”

“I’m here, I’m here!” she shouted, raising her arms above her head.

Tell us what you think: Would you react like Willow, or like Lucy, in a situation like this?