I'm Guilty, My Beauty[COMPLETED]

The whole team gathered. "Who will be the leader?" A girl named Candice asked, expecting to be chosen.

"Can we have Jimmy as the leader? He's a second-year student at our school. He's been representing our school in other competitions as well." Luisa said, confident in her choice.

"I'll be happy to be the leader if all of you agree with it," said Jimmy with confidence, knowing that he had 'credentials.'

"I agree. How about you, Beauty, Justin?" Candice asked, her lips secretly twitching.

"I don't mind," replied Beauty.

"Same here," added Justin.

"Good, that settles it." Jimmy started to give his ideas without delay. He recommended an all-Filipino menu. Candice suggested adding a Chinese or Thai dish instead. The three culinary students had been talking non-stop about their ideas.

Seeing that too much time had passed, Justin interrupted the discussion, "People, time is running out. Just decide, Jim. You're the leader anyway."

"Justin, you've been silent all this time. Why not share your thoughts? You might have good ideas hidden under your sleeves." Candice sneered, slightly miffed that no one accepted her 'good' ideas without a second thought.

"We decided Jimmy's the leader. I will do and cook what he tells me. So he will decide," answered Justin, frowning lightly at the girl before him.

Candice moved her lips but held back. She couldn't deny his words.

"Well, Jimmy?" asked Beauty, who supported Justin's stand all along.

All eyes were on Jimmy. "Okay, to be fair, let's make a Thai appetizer, Filipino entree, and Japanese dessert. How about that?"

"I agree." "No problem." "Fair with me." All answered in unison.

Beauty and Justin followed along. They were non-culinary school students, and so they felt a bit insecure against these well-taught culinary students.

"I'll make the Chicken Satay. Beauty, you assist me," said Candice, hoping to get a lackey in the kitchen. She deliberately ordered Beauty what to do, and the latter did what she was told. However, when she heard that there would be five or more chunks in a stick, Beauty thought it would be too much.

"Candice, this is only an appetizer." Beauty glanced at the dish Jimmy and Justin were working on, seeing how strong the meat in it was. She noticed they were both working on meat-based dishes. "Why not stick to three pieces only?"

"No, this is a delicious appetizer; what's wrong having five?" Candice raised her brow, not holding her hands in skewing five pieces.

"Our main course is already made of meat. It might overwhelm the judges or confuse them which one is the entree."

"Beauty,"—the indulgent girl huffed in annoyance—"if you're envious that I was assigned to this and not you, then do it yourself." Acting up, Candice left the table and sat at the side, leaving the team disappointed.

"Beauty, why are you making a fuss? Candice is a culinary student while you're not." Luisa frowned at the non-student, believing that the latter was trying to steal the scene from her friend. She also thought that they were more knowledgeable and better in understanding the art of cooking as culinary students.

"I'm not making a fuss. I want our team to win. We're supposed to be a team, right? Why can't I speak then? So what if I'm not a culinary student now?" She huffed with frustration and annoyance for being looked down on. She pointed her finger at Candice's direction and said, "If she's that good, why can't she understand that an appetizer shouldn't fill the belly? Why is she trying to compete with the entree?"

Understanding what Beauty said, Luisa had no words for rebuttal. Her face contorted in shame, recalling her haughty remarks earlier. It was also a way to stop her eyes from rolling.

"Jimmy, why not let Beauty do it since Candice is not a team player?" Justin's words revealed his discontentment with the latter's attitude from the start. Luisa's discriminating words insulted him, too.

"Go ahead, Beauty. What you said was right. We need to finish this on time." Jimmy shook his head, ashamed of his co-students. He gazed at Candice with disappointment before telling Luisa, "Let her be; the judges saw her bad attitude. They will decide what to do with her." Jimmy's decisive words shamed Luisa all the more. She then realized their sole purpose now was to win.

"Will our team be okay if the judges saw us disagreeing? Will our points be affected if I take over?" Beauty expressed her fears.

"I don't think the judges will side with her. Just do it. I got your back." The leader just waved his hand, not wanting to pat her shoulder with his hand smeared with pork blood.

"Fine, I'll just make Spicy Pan-Seared Scallops. Two or three for each judge. I'll just prepare them for now and cook 12 minutes before the judging time." She left the table to bring all the ingredients she needed from the storage, soon drying the scallops on a towel and preparing the sauce.

Candice was mooning about her self-importance for quite some time now. When she saw no one followed or even coaxed her, she went back worried, knowing the judges were looking at her. As she went near their workstation, she saw Beauty prepping scallops. In anger, she took wide, heavy strides and blew up on the other. She slammed her palm at the worktable and shouted, "Hey, you really wanted to mess things up for me, don't you?!"

The judges were surprised by her actions, and dissatisfaction drew on their faces.

"Team 2, who's your leader?" asked John, the judge.

Jimmy raised his hand. "It is me, Sir."

"Please take charge. Your team's disturbing the others."

"Yes, Sir…" He sighed and faced Candice and Luisa. "You two, don't look down on them and learn to listen to their suggestions. Beauty and Justin passed the first round on their own, too, you know."

"But she is taking over my work now without my permission," countered Candice.

"I gave her the 'go' signal." He glared at the unreasonable girl. "We don't have enough time. There are only 40 minutes left. Your Satay won't make it. What we need now is to win this round. Do you understand that?" Jimmy was indignant with her stubbornness.

"But…"

"If you keep on insisting, then I'll complain against you…"—he pointed his trembling finger to her—"so stop this argument." Jimmy's jaw was tensed in anger, but he made sure his voice was low. His patience was now on the edge.

"Fine. Frustrating, really frustrating… what will I do now? Just sit and wait while judges are looking at me?"

"Find some work to do. Assist others: help in making the dishes presentable and then clean our workstation."

"I came to show my ability. Now, I became a maid." She continued to complain, pulling down the team spirit.

The time was soon up, and each team took turns in presenting their three-course meal to the judges.