Chasity King

Chasity was cold. Her skin was riddled with goose bumps, her hands felt hard, and it took everything she had to not add chattering teeth to the list of obvious signs that she was cold. Her outfit did little to protect her against the cold and the wind definitely didn’t help her situation. She wished she had packed warmer clothes or, at least, pair of gloves, but hindsight is twenty-twenty. Right?

She looked to the man on her right. He was a tall, burly man of about thirty years. His appearance didn’t suggest he was the sort of person to judge a cookout, but here he was donned in clothes much warmer than her own. On the other side of the man was an average sized woman who was in her twenties. She looked to be dressed in the finest clothes money could buy in Logue Town. Probably an important figure or married to one in the town.

To her left stood a petite woman about the same age as the one on her right. She too was dressed in clothes appropriate for the current weather conditions. Yet the man next to the woman wasn’t. He too was young, garbed in clothes appropriate for a day on the beach and so, he was just as cold as she. For some reason, Chasity felt relieved that she wasn’t the only stupid person who didn’t prepare for what the weather had to throw at them, but that didn’t make her feel any less foolish or cold.

She switched her focus to the man standing on the edge of the large wooden stage she and her fellow judges were seated at. It was pretty high up if she could remember correctly. It gave her and the rest of the judges a good view of those competing and vice versa. One strong gust of wind or move and the announcer would go toppling off the stage. He seemed safe… for now. He coughed and Chasity perked up as the crowd began to quiet. It was now starting.

“Ladies and gentleman!” He shouted, his voice energetic though his stiff body betrayed that energy. “Welcome to Logue’s first cookout!” He went silent as the crowd of people that came to cook, support, or observe cheered. She looked to the man on her right for a second before returning her attention back to what was in front of her.

She listened as he introduced himself, gave the crowd a bit of fluff, stated the rules, and explained how the competition would be judged. He then threw the ball at herself and her fellow judges. It was a simple introduction that started with the woman next to the burly man - Linda and Chase respectfully. She was third and she stated her name with the usual amount of fervor she put into everything else she did. Ashley was next with Camden being the last one.

With their introductions done and out of the way, the announcer commenced the challenge.

Chasity King

It had been about thirty minutes since the conclusion of the breakfast round. Chasity and her fellow judges had gone through roughly fifteen entrees at that point with plenty more to go. She was careful about how she scored the dish that she took no more than three bites from since only the top fifteen would be moving onto the lunch around which was scheduled to begin in thirty minutes. It was more than enough time to score the remaining dishes and add up the scores to see who were the lucky fifteen.

Then, lunch could commence and she would have about two hours, possibly three, to digest whatever was in her stomach and make small talk with her fellow judges. She had already enjoyed a conversation with Ashley and Camden, the trio having discussed some of the most mundane things as the remaining two judges carried out a conversation in hushed whispers. From what she got, Camden wasn’t a resident of this particular island, but he did live on one of the islands in the East Blue. Ashley, on the other hand, had lived in Logue Town her entire life.

He was single and enjoyed the life of an adventurer. She was married with two kids and enjoyed quiet walks on the beach. Chasity was right when she guessed the two were in their twenties, Camden being twenty-four and Ashley twenty-seven specifically. She glanced at the two for second, but she didn’t say anything. They were focused and she didn’t want to break that. She switched her attention back to her task.

So far, Chasity had consumed and judged seven omelets, three waffles, two pancakes, and three traditional breakfast. A fruit parfait was in front of her now and though she liked that someone tried something different, she didn’t like it. It was too sweet for breakfast and she mentioned that in the small box located at the bottom of the cook’s card. It was reserved for tips, tricks, and comments, so that was what she used it for.

There would be four more parfaits to come and several other dishes. Eventually they were all scored and those scores were added up to send nine men and six women to the lunch round. Though she was full, Chasity looked forward to trying out what they had to offer. With lunch being giving the cooks more freedom, she had no doubts that the dishes would be diverse. That was two hours away and until, she may as well get to know the judges on her right.

“Neh. What was you favorite dish?”

Chasity King

It had been roughly two hours since the lunch round had begun and still there was nothing in front of Chasity. She had talked up a storm with her fellow judges, getting to know them on a more personal level as time went by, but she was growing bored. This was bad on more than one level and an unwanted feeling. It wasn’t unexpected. She had been made aware that her behind would be glued to her current seat for the duration of the day with only a couple minutes to spread her legs when she was recruited.

She just didn’t think the event would be so boring and she wished her fellow judges and herself could interact with the crowd. Ask the cooks about their dish and bear witness to their cooking abilities. Alas, she was trapped up on the platform unless she had to use the restroom or until the event ended. Something about not wanting their judges to suddenly go home. Chasity wouldn’t say the excuse was stupid since it was pretty valid. It just sort of sucked.

Chasity looked towards Camden. He was fidgeting in his seat which was no surprise since he was just as much a free spirited person as she was. He probably wouldn’t mind getting away from the stage for a little bit and so, she decided that it was now time for a restroom break. She first got his attention, forming gestures that suggested they escape for a little bit or at least she hoped she was. He seemed to get it though since he did wink at her and give her a thumbs up.

She abruptly stood up from her seat and looked to the announcer of the competition who seemed to be awfully hot. Now that she thought about it, everyone on the stage with the exception of Camden and herself seemed to be hot. It probably didn’t get this hot in Logue Town. There was nothing she could do about it besides get them a cold beverage on her way back from her restroom break.

She strode over to the announcer with hands behind her back. Just her approach managed to catch his attention which made her escape quicker and it would last longer. Or at least she assumed it did since she was under the assumption that there was at least thirty more minutes until lunch was presented to the judges.

“Bathroom.”

Short, sweet, and to the point. She didn’t bother mentioning Camden since he could tell the announcer himself. That and she got the underlying feeling that would somehow be weird if she were to say she was off to the restroom with Camden.

“Ten minutes.”

Was the announcers reply as he lazily waved her away. Chasity merely nodded her head in understanding before hopping off the stage, forgoing the stairs a couple feet to her right and left. She landed loudly and temporarily gained the attention of several people. The eyes on her were gone just as quickly as they were on her and so, she proceeded to the restroom in peace. Well, she stopped about halfway and waited for Camden since she hadn’t been interested in the restroom at all. Just stretching out her legs and striking up another conversation with the adventurer.