Blinding lights flooded the set. Three cameras captured the bake off sponsored by Wholesome Food Inc., a small, local company, to launch their new cake flour made from the best whole grains. Padma wasn't interested in their product. She had entered the contest solely for the prize money of $10,000. It would go a long way in paying for her son's college tuition.

The contest host babbled at one of the cameras. He went on about how Wholesome Food Inc.was born and their vision for a healthier, wholesome future for all.

It gave Padma the opportunity to gauge the other contestants. Unsurprisingly, they were all women and most of them looked giddy to be on the tele. The studio had a makeup artist, a few of the women, wanting to stand out, had improved upon the light touch-up with atrocious embellishments of their own. One especially kooky lady had slut red lipsticks and heavy shadows.

Amateurs.

She could easily beat these woman any day. The only real challenge she'd face was Mave, the plump woman dressed in the white attire of a professional pastry chef. The toque and the double breasted jacket bore the name of her bakery-Sweet Dreams. Such a cliché.

Padma was well aware of the woman's creations, though. The couple of times her son had bought her treats from the bakery, she found the pastries nearly as good as her own. But it wouldn't matter. Not tonight. She would win the contest.

She had to.

Padma unconsciously patted the slight bulge in her blouse-the plastic wrapped flour she had smuggled into the studio was reassuring. There was no way she would leave this to chance. Especially when even with her skills, the cakes made from the Wholesome's flour turned out unpalatable. She tried sifting it multiple times, substituting half of it with regular flour, adding it on small portions, reducing the temperature of the oven, whisking in egg whites. but nothing worked.

The flour clumped together in light cakes, and made gritty fudgey ones. The new product was a total failure. At best, it could make pancake batters that too only if was allowed to rise overnight and vigorously beat again right before pouring it on the heated pan.

Padma wasn't there to review their product, though. They probably wouldn't want to hear her candid opinion. The prize money mattered. A lot. Even if it meant that she'd have to lie and cheat to get it.

When asked to introduce herself and tell them about her motivations for entering the contest, she was candid about her recent lay-off and how much the prize money would mean for her son's college education.

The host kicked off the contest with a blast of the whistle. The digital clock on the wall started a count down. They had two hours. The other contestants scrambled to gather their ingredients from the walk in cooler installed in the studio. Padma bid her time arranging her working station. Padma took her bowl to the walk in cooler the studio installed for the show and slipped the flour out of her dress. With shaky hands she sloppily swapped the sponsor's product with her own. She'd have to stash the excess flour away so no one suspected a thing. There was a shelf full of the stupid cake flour. She ripped open one box and poured the excess flour into it. The floor around her was dusted with the off white flour. It couldn't be helped. She wiped her hands on her thin, slightly frayed apron.

It was done. She breathed a sigh of relief and laughed. But the laughter turned into tears and she fought to keep her breathing even. It was good thing she wasn't wearing too much makeup.

The door to the walk in cooler opened and Mave came in. Padma eyes still teary turned around a little horrified. The two women stared at each other for beat and Padma looked away. She dabbed her eyes with the end of her apron and schooled her face again to the practised indifference. Without looking at the other woman she picked up her bowl and strode past her out the door.

There was no way Mave could have known what she was up to. There was no reason for her to suspect her of cheating. As far as the professional chef was concerned she was simply another contestant who had a little breakdown in the cooler. That was probably it. Nothing to fret over.

She proceeded to mix the batter with brown sugar (the sponsors insisted on using more healthy options) and curd and then she added the lemon juice and and the zest (she would have preferred to use a store bought extract) and throughly mixed the batter before pouring it into a greased and dusted cake pan. It went into the oven. Then she got down to make the lemon glaze. She opted for a cream icing instead of the typical sugar based icing. She reasoned that it would give her cake the extra lightness, the extra edge over her competitors.

The small OTG oven at her desk chimed. She took out the hot cake and poked it with a toothpick more out of habit than any actual need to know the cake's state. It came clean. She set it aside to cool. This was the part where she saved time. She placed an aluminium wrapper over the cake pan to let it cool slower. That would save her some time. The other women would have to work with hot cakes if they hoped to get aa decent icing on top of theirs. And even then, she knew that their cake would turn out chewy rather than melting in the mouth. She glanced at Mave. Professional chef she might be but she can't compete with her. The silly woman hadn't even taken her cake out of the oven yet. And ther was only a hour left on the clock.

She checked out the ingredients on Mave's counter. There were slivered almonds and honey. An almond cake then. Did she substitute the flour with almond flour? That would be fine if it weren't for the fact that the cake would be denser than a regular flour cake. The extra honey and buttermilk might offset the lumpiness of the resulting cake with moist but still, there was no was she could lose. Hers would be the perfect cake of the lot. A glance around the studio showed that the other women were still waiting for their cakes to bake. One of the goofs was attempting a triple layered chocolate cake. That might work. The resulting cake would be a sticky affair but consistent with the dense chocolate flavour. Only problem was she wouldn't have time to let the cake cool down sufficiently to let the chocolate harden enough for a brownie consistency.

Padma whipped her cream lemon topping. The cake had cooled down enough to take the frosting. The warm cake was firm enough to hold its shape and yet soft enough to cinch her a victory. She released the cake from the pan, it wobbled delightfully. She slathered the frosting over in smooth practised moves, spreading it evenly over the cake. She focussed on getting the right thickness so as balance the cake and the cream. And for garnishing she used lemon slices glazed with honey in a nice halo pattern over the top. The perfect cake for a hot summer evening.

Padma finished a good fifteen minutes early. She placed her finished cake on the pedestal and settled to watch the others struggle. Mave was putting the finishing touches herself. Mave had gone with a thin jam icing and sprinkled the roasted almond slivers on top. Her cake was honey hued and tempting. But it was a cake for the fall. Not a Summer flavour at all.

The digital clock chimed. The host called for the contestants to stop their work. Of the twenty women, only eleven had finished. The rest were in various stats of dressing their cake.

The judges came around sampling each cake in turn. Nodding and muttering among themselves and taking notes. They came to Padma's counter. One of them looked at her unflattering dress and wrote something in his little note. These were the people who were going to award her. She needed to put a pleasant front for them. It was struggle but she managed it. She was polite in her answers and explaind her technique when quizzed. They made further notes. Finally they sampled the cake. Each of them had the look of pure delight on their face. They nodded amongst themselves and moved on to Mave's.

Padma relaxed with a sigh. They were going to award her the money. She smiled at the camera for the first time, hoping her son was watching. Won't he be surprised. He can quit the part time job and focus on his course instead. He was destined for great things. She knew that the day he was born. It was a struggle raising him on her own, but she had done well. And with this she would ensure that he got the best education.

The host drew all their attention. The judges were all standing at the small podium looking smug and pleased. Padma hoped they hurried with the announcement. She wanted to phone her son with the good news. He'd probably at the fast food counter manning the cash register.

"And the winner of tonight's baking contest is..." The host consulted the paper the judges had handed to him. The silly man already knew who the winner was. Padma despaired at their feigned theatricals.

"Mave, the proprietor and the baker of Sweet Dreams," the host finished with a flourish. The judges applauded and the electronic applause mimicked the non existent studio audience.

Mave strode out to the stage. She didn't look one bit surprised. Padma watched the plump bitch shake hands with the judges and the host and exchange air kisses with one of the women directors of Wholesome Foods Inc.

The other contestants clapped unenthusiastically when the sponsor handed over a huge mock up of the cheque with Mave's name already printed on it. Padma couldn't even fake it. This was a rigged contest from the beginning. She and the others were merely props for this huge advertisement.

Sure. Who better to take the prize than a locally acclaimed baker! It was a win-win for them. The company got their advertisement and Mave got to promote her bakery. She probably paid half the money for the prize in the first place. She knew the camera would focus on her. Her son might notice her anger at losing. Yet she couldn't bring herself to smile. She didn't have to act for these people any more. Not when the prize money was gone.

To add insult to the injury the judges passed out Mave's cake for all the other contestants to sample. They thought everyone should taste the glorious creation. Padma received hers on a cheap paper plate and a plastic fork. She wanted to throw it at the judges' face. Her hands trembled as she took a reluctant bite of the cake.

It was delicious with the subtle taste of almond sweetened with honey. It melted in her tongue. It was impossible.

Padam narrowed her eyes at Mave. The cameras were off and the spotlights were turned off one at a time. Studio hands were clearing the mess the contestants had made. Padma's counter was clean. She'd never leave her work area untidy. Tonight was no exception. She waited outside the studio for Mave to appear. After half an hour, Mave emerged from the studio, her chef's jaket replaced by a simple shirt.

Padma walked up to Mave. "I know what you did."

"I know what you did."

The two women stared at each other.

"Tell you what, I'll give you the prize money. All of it."

"And?"

"You come work at my bakery."

"Is that a bribe to buy my silence?"

"No. I told you I tasted that lemon cake of yours."

Padma gauged the other woman's words. She was at present without work and Mave did offer to give her the money free of cevat. She could support her son better with a steady income.

"Deal."

The two rivals shook hands.
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