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In the end, aside from me, only Talin and Grath made it through all the students and Ghale to earn an excellent. Wraythe came close, but the last guy dropped him, so he was happy to get a good. I hated to admit it, but sitting down to watch was exactly what I needed. Whatever Zeal had done to me took its toll, but I felt better now than I had that morning.
Yet the moment our class got out, I had to hurry. In the middle of the week, I'd had two written exams back-to-back. Today, I had to get through grappling and then rush down to the kitchens for my Obligation final. Not only was I expected to cook that pie, but we also had to serve the council of educators.
The three of us headed back to our room, where I changed into something decent enough to not be noticed. I didn't have the time for a shower, but a washcloth would do well enough. Sadly, makeup and fixing my hair weren't even an option. Then Talin and I jogged across the temple to the stairs that led to Obligation.
Naturally, I was late. Slipping into my spot at the table, Ati was already directing the others to gather their things and start. She paused at my arrival, raising a brow in an obvious question, yet the woman was much too polite to demand to know where I'd been.
"Sorry, Priestess," I told her. "It was a long way from my last exam." The fact that I was breathing hard proved that wasn't a lie.
She nodded. "I see." Then she turned to Talin. "No cookies today, I'm afraid. I'll find you something as soon as they're busy."
"Thank you, Ati," he said as he claimed his chair.
It wasn't worth trying to call her off. That woman wanted to feed everyone, and it was adorable. My time down in the kitchens had made me fond of a few priests and priestesses on this Path. There was something relaxing about them. Unassuming was probably a better word. Then there was Polst.
"If we fail because of you..." he warned.
I didn't bother to reply. Instead, Odette and I headed to the counter to get the supplies for the dough. Norris had mentioned that he didn't think his crust was fluffy enough, and Polst really didn't care what he did so long as he passed. Working together, we began to divide our efforts and make this whole thing work.
There was a frenzy to the cooking this time. As a dessert course, we had a little leeway, but the students assigned to the main courses around us were all working feverishly. At one point, I heard a pan clatter to the ground. Right after that, a group of people groaned in frustration, knowing they would have to start all over. The whole time, the clock on the wall kept ticking down, minutes passing faster than they ever had before.
Then dishes started going into the oven. The temperature in the room began to climb. I could feel my hair sticking to the back of my neck. Sweat trickled down between my breasts, but I ignored it. Odette and I rolled the dough out to line the pan. I let her lay it in and make sure it was straight, then moved around to help Norris. The filling looked thinner than it ever had before.
"What happened?" I asked as I leaned over his shoulder.
"No idea," Norris admitted. "Polst, are you sure you measured everything right?"
He grunted. "I think the cherries had more juice."
I dipped my pinky into the edge of the bowl then sampled it. It tasted different. Something was missing. "Taste it, Norris?" I begged.
He did. "Not enough sugar, or the cherries aren't completely ripe?"
"Or both," I decided. "We need more cherries to take up the space, and will adding more sugar hurt?"
Norris pushed back his chair. "Worth trying. I'll get that. You work on the crust for the top."
Somehow, we managed to tweak it just enough to make it work. The filling was thicker than ever before, having almost twice as much fruit as the recipe called for. When we sampled it, we all agreed that it had a bite to it, but the good kind now. The sugar made the tartness refreshing instead of shocking.
Then Odette carried the whole thing to the oven. While it cooked, we had to get cleaned up. Ati would handle pulling it out on time. With the food prepared, our job was to start serving now, and that required looking clean and respectable.
"Hey," I said, catching Norris by the arm. "You have flour on the back of your neck."
Grabbing a rag, I cleaned that up for him. Odette wiped something off my face and Norris picked at a strand of my hair. Polst refused to let us help, but Odette didn't care. She got up in his face and made it clear that his bad attitude would not ruin her grade. It was enough to make the guy give in. He also smiled when she wiped down his face.
There was just one last problem. Every Priest and Priestess of Obligation wore a white shirt and dark pants. My pants were dark, but my shirt was purple, which made me stand out. I hadn't been given the standard uniform, because this wasn't my Path. No one had mentioned anything about it until now.
Norris ran his eyes over me, pausing at my chest, then told Odette to cover for him. The guy ran off, slipping out of the kitchen. In less than two minutes, he was back with another white shirt. One that clearly belonged to him.
"It'll be big, but I figure that's better than purple, right?" The guy's cheeks were getting darker.
I just handed him my apron, and then pulled off my shirt. It didn't matter that we were at the edge of the kitchen. I honestly didn't care if anyone else saw. I was used to being naked in public, so a bra was nothing, yet everyone around me turned away, clearly offering their best attempt at privacy - even Polst.
The purple shirt got tossed at Talin. I put the white one on, tucked it in, and then tied my apron in place once again just as the group before us headed into the staging area. We were up next.
Talin stood as the four of us headed into place, but I lifted a hand. "Just wait here, ok? I don't need to be judged as anything but a Priestess of Obligation."
He nodded. "Ok, but be careful."
