29. Alice

ALICE

“ T hat’s halfway! Two hours left!”

I glance down at my workspace.

I’m on track and feeling good.

“One hour left!”

Oh shit!

I’m not on track.

“Thirty minutes!”

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

“Contestants, you have ten minutes left!”

If I had a single second of spare time, I’d scream curses at Joey for reminding me of the time.

But I’m busy concentrating, trying my best to still my hand while I ice my sugar cookies.

“Five minutes left!”

Biting on my lip so hard I’m surprised it doesn’t bleed, I add the last detail to the last cookie and start pressing them into the side of the round, white-frosted cake.

“Two minutes left!”

The time of reckoning is here. I turn to my extremely fragile sugar dome.

Dear Mr. Kringle, please don’t let this break.

I can feel eyes on me as I gently lift the globe from its cooling rack. Blocking out everything around me, I hold my breath and slowly lower it.

“Time’s up in three… two…”

The bottom rim of the globe presses into the top of the cake, settling without a crack.

“One! Please step away from your cakes.”