Page 31 of Skye's Fall

Every girl picks. I can hear Kelsey and Alexa complain about their cards, and their guys don’t look too happy. Guess you should have tried.

We file into vans and take off to the grocery store. Shane is coming for input. We can ask him questions if we need help as we shop. Everything has to be fresh and edible.

I cringe thinking about how the breakfast I cooked for Memphis was anything but that.

“You’ll be fine,” Linc reassures me.

“I know.”

“What did you guys pick?” Mckenna asks Mallory and Snow.

“I picked stuffed porkchops,” Snow says.

“I picked taco bake. I guess it’s like a casserole,” Mallory replies. “What did you pick, Mckenna?”

“I picked chicken chow mein,” she tells us.

“These all seem like simple recipes,” I observe.

“Could be because we picked first?” Snow chimes in.

“I wonder what the others got. I mean, Victoria got a time and Kara at least tried, but Alexa and Kelsey, not sure.”

“We’ll find out once we get to the store.”

“Which one are we going to?” Mallory watches out the window, trying to figure out where we are going.

“An organic market. It’s a farmers market. They have everything,” I say, knowing that’s where we’re going. I’ve been there several times with Ever. Okay, we go every weekend. She likes fresh vegetables, especially when Memphis is in training, and we help Shane find new food items for his catering menu. They have everything under the sun— you want it, this place has it.

We pull in and I’m a little excited. I know exactly what aisles I need to go to. And in trying to be the person Ever keeps telling me I am, I’ll help the others, including the mean girls.

“Listen up, follow me, I will point to where you need to go as we pass aisles. Once I grab what I need, I will circle back around,” I tell the whole van. They just nod.

“You guys have two hours to shop,” Carlton says before starting the timer.

“I hate fish, I don’t want to eat it,” I hear Kelsey whine.

“We have the same dish,” Alexa tries to help her out.

“Go away. I hate this, hate fish, I don’t even know what trout is.” I want to laugh at that.

Alexa looks defeated and probably realizes Kelsey isn’t a friend. I take pity and grab her to come along with me.

“Why are you helping me?”

“Because it’s the right thing to do. You want to stay in the competition?”

She nods.

“I’ll help you the best I can. Trout is easy to cook and tasty. I promise, you’ll love it.” I start to explain to her partner, Peter, how to cook trout.

“Make sure you use lemon, and seasoning,” I say and they take off to finish their shopping.

“That was nice of you,” Linc kisses my ear and I blush.

“I think we have a common enemy,” I say, pointing to the aisle with Chinese noodles for Mckenna, and then the herbs aisle for fennel for Snow. Soon we all have what we need, but I can see Victoria and Zack look lost.

“What are you guys looking for?”