Chapter 20 (1/2)

“What’s your name?”

A bored looking woman asked behind the table. Lia, unsure of what to make of her question, let her eyes roam around, trying to find a clue of what was going on.

“Name,” the woman repeated, impatience evident on her voice.

Lia’s eyes found the open area with tables and other cooking materials. She returned her gaze to the woman and the registration paper before her.

“Drat.”

“Drat?” the woman gave her a weird look then shrugged and wrote on the paper.

“No!” Lia was pretty sure she would not want to be called Drat. “Look, I’m not joining okay.”

The woman stared up, looking affronted. It was Lia’s turn to shrug, not like she ever wanted to be here either. She turned on her heels and began walking away when her eyes caught sight of him.

The four judges had already taken their assigned seats. They started chatting and whispering with each other. Except him who was busy having a staring contest with Lia.

The woman followed Lia’s line of sight and snickered.

“So you came for him too?”

Lia looked away first and gave the woman a, what she hoped, an incredulous look. Did she mistake her for some lovesick maiden like the ones from the crowd?

“You’re not the only one,” she said as she pointed to the participants who already took their places. Almost half of them were young ladies.