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Annabeth squinted in frustration at the whiteboard before her. The silver ribbons and tinsel adorning its borders seemed to be mocking her with their cheer. Neatly inked in Sally’s elegant cursive were the words “Jackson Family Annual Home Baking Competition.” The eight year history of wins and losses were detailed underneath.
For the first three years, the competitors were Sally, Paul, and Percy. (Not that there was much competition, as Sally almost always took the cake… no pun intended. Although Percy did manage to score a few wins, and once, Paul blew everyone away by baking an elaborate, three-tiered cake with mythology themed decor that was so true to life it was hard to believe he couldn’t see through the mist). Annabeth acted as the judge for these bake-offs—and she was perfectly content to do so. Her future mother-in-law, father-in-law, and fiancée baking for her? And she got to have the final say in who the winner was, no ifs, ands, or buts? Count her in. But once Estelle joined the family, it was no question that she had to join in their sacred tradition. After some intense discussion (which rather reminded Annabeth of the strategy meetings that happened in the Big House back at camp), they decided that Estelle would step in as the new judge, and the remaining four members would split into two teams.
From then on, it was Percy and Annabeth versus Sally and Paul. Much to the younger couple’s dismay (but not surprise), Team Blofis had taken an astonishing lead, winning the competition for a whopping four years in a row before Percy and Annabeth broke their streak just last year. This was what Annabeth stared at now, the four golden crown stickers next to Sally and Paul’s names and the one golden crown next to her and Percy’s names. It was a pretty sad sight, but if saving the world from certain doom (twice) taught her anything, it was that any situation can take a better turn, no matter how hopeless. If Team Jackson went down, they’d go down fighting.
Annabeth heard someone walk into the room, and a second later, Paul was standing beside her.
“Ah, I see you’re steeling yourself to face yet another bitter defeat. Smart move,” he said, nodding slowly in mock reverence.
Annabeth scoffed. “Don’t get too cocky. We destroyed you last year.”
“Ha!” Paul exclaimed with a laugh, “The only reason Stella chose your fudge brownies over our clearly superior strawberry shortcake was because Percy found out she changed her favorite flavor a day before the competition.”
Annabeth grinned and pointed a finger at him playfully. “You’re just jealous she told him and not you.”
Her smile widened as he sighed dramatically and said, “Perhaps.”
“Ten minutes until the bake off!” Sally called from a door next to them, “The meeting’s about to start!”
Annabeth and Paul followed her into the living room and found that Percy and Estelle were already there, waiting. They always had a quick meeting before the competition started to go over the rules.
“We all know the basics: no stealing ingredients from the other team, no bribing the judge, and no rough-housing,” Sally recited from memory. It was always the same speech every year. “And please try not to make a huge mess in my kitchen,” she added with a pointed look at Percy. He just shrugged innocently.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Of course, he knew exactly what she was talking about. No one would ever forget The Great Icing Incident of ‘14 when Percy had tried to mirror glaze their cake and half its contents ended up on the floor. To be fair, he had been wary to try a technique they had never practiced beforehand, and Annabeth was the one who promised it would turn out fine (in her defense, if the room temperature had been a bit cooler, the icing would have behaved just fine and they probably would have won that year—and she couldn’t control the weather, now could she?) But Percy was the one holding the bowl, so he took the brunt of the blame.
“Anyways…” Sally continued, eyeing Percy with exaggerated wariness, “Does anyone have anything to add before we begin?”
Paul turned to Estelle. “Remember, honey, that your mom and I love you so much,” he said, dragging out the “so” in a voice dripping syrupy sweetness, “More than anyone else in this room.”
“She just said no bribing the judge!” Annabeth protested at the same time Percy jumped up and said, “That’s against the rules!”
Paul put his hands up as if surrendering, “No bribes happening here. Just a father expressing his undying love to his daughter.”
“I think that’s fair,” Sally said lightly, a sparkle in her eyes.
“Well, it doesn’t matter anyways because I know that my favorite person in the whole, wide world is way too smart to give in to a bribe,” Percy winked at Stella, and she giggled as she looked between him and Paul, who was pretending to look hurt.
“He’s right,” Annabeth said in a sing-song voice, and, because she knew this could go on all day, continued, “But if you’re so sure you’re going to win, let’s go to the kitchen and prove it.”
Sally and Paul exchanged a look that could only be described as conspiratorial, and Annabeth wondered just what tricks they had up their sleeve. She fell into step with Percy as they left the room.
“Ready?” she asked, glancing over at him. He flashed her a grin.
“This is our year, Wise Girl. I can feel it.”
Their plan was to make a peach and berry cobbler (with a generous portion of vanilla ice cream heaped on top, of course). Although it sounded simple, Stella had recently developed a huge sweet tooth and an obsession with colorful fruits. The dish may be too sweet for Annabeth’s liking, but she knew Stella would love it, that little sugar junkie.
The two teams already had their ingredients set up on separate tables. They couldn’t pull an all out Great British Bake Off since they only had one oven, so they had to coordinate what temperatures their desserts needed to cook at and for how long. Sally and Paul’s dish needed to be baked at 356 degrees, and Percy and Annabeths called for 375 degrees, and since they were close in temperature, they had agreed on preheating the oven to 365 degrees and adjusting their baking times accordingly. Other than that, it was every group for themselves.
“Everyone ready?” Sally asked.
They all nodded. Estelle was up on her judges throne (AKA the kitchen stool) swinging her legs in anticipation.
“That’s your cue, Stella!” Percy said.
She thrust her hand out and began to count down with them enthusiastically.
“Five… four… three… two… one!” She threw her arms up and giggled, “Go!”
Both teams begin moving at once, unpacking grocery bags and scanning their recipes. Sally and Paul pulled out a large jar of pink frosting and another containing rainbow sprinkles. Percy and Annabeth rinsed off their bins of fresh fruits.
“Looks like they’re doing another cake this year,” Annabeth called to Percy loudly when she spotted the Blofis’ bundt cake mold, “How original.”
Percy made an exaggerated yawn and Sally batted him with a whisk.
“If I remember correctly, our cakes have won three times in the past four years,” she replied airily.
“How many times have you won?” Paul added innocently.
The Jacksons both stuck their tongues out at him in unison.
“Uncalled for,” Percy said with a sigh, and Annabeth nodded her agreement as she dumped sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and cardamom in a bowl.
They all knew their banter was in good fun, and Annabeth loved it. The annual bake off was honestly one of her favorite times of the year. She was doing a lot better at letting her guard down now, but back when she first started dating Percy, it was the only time she felt comfortable enough to relax and joke around and just be a kid for once.
Stella hopped off her stool and walked around the room, craning her neck to see all the ingredients.
“So, who do you think’s going to win?” Percy asked, slicing their peaches into neat wedges. She looked offended.
“I can’t tell you yet!” She eyed their progress so critically before trotting off to the other table that Annabeth had to stifle a laugh.
“Didn’t realize she would be taking it so seriously this year,” she said to Percy, whose lips were pressed together in a failed attempt at suppressing a grin.
Annabeth looked over at Sally and Paul, who had finished mixing their cake batter and were pouring it into a pan. Seconds later they popped it into the already pre-heated oven. She and Percy were still preparing their ingredients, but soon they had arranged their mixtures into a large, cast-iron skillet and placed it into the oven alongside the cake.
Suddenly, Annabeth realized what Sally and Paul had been planning. The bundt cake, the pink frosting… they were making their cake look like a giant—
“Donut!” Stella squealed, coming to the same conclusion as Annabeth.
“Clever,” she admitted, impressed. There truly was nothing better than a giant donut. Except, hopefully, their cobbler. She raised a questioning eyebrow at Percy. He just shrugged.
“Stella’s a fair judge. I trust she’ll value taste just as much as appearance.”
Stella beamed and said, “I’m un-partial!”
“Impartial, honey,” Sally corrected with a smile.
Percy and Annabeth were basically just waiting for their dessert to cook at this point, since all they had to do was add ice cream on top when it came out. Sally and Paul were getting their frosting ready.
Annabeth breathed in deeply, taking in the sweet aroma of sugar and spices. The kitchen was warm from the heat of the oven, and Sally’s homey decor only added to the cozy atmosphere. She had been so nervous when Percy had first insisted she join them as honorary judge. Gods… it felt like ages ago. They were sixteen, fresh out of the Battle of Manhattan and trying to figure out what they were supposed to do with their lives. She had fought countless monsters, faced death more times than she could count, and yet she had never been so nervous. She didn’t know how she was supposed to act around Sally and Paul. They seemed like such a close family, and she felt like an intruder. But as soon as she stepped into their apartment, she was greeted with warm hugs and enthusiastic greetings. Slowly, she had felt herself relax. Her fear of being judged, being rejected, began to vanish, slowly but surely. She glanced down at the ring on her finger, glinting in a beam of light from the open window, and smiled. Here she was now, eight years later, about to become an official part of the family (though she knew they already had considered her one of them for years).
The oven beeped, and Annabeth was roused from her thoughts. She blinked, trying to regain her bearings.
“Just one hint?” Percy was pleading to Estelle. She shook her head adamantly, thoroughly basking in her position of power.
“No judging until I taste them,” she said matter-of-factly.
“At least I have one child who obeys the rules,” Sally teased.
“For now…” Percy said with a grin.
Paul had taken their cake out of the oven and set it on the counter to cool while they were talking. The cobbler still needed a couple more minutes to bake. While they waited, Stella updated them on how school was going. Apparently, Smencils™ had made a comeback. She was making several not-so-subtle hints about what she wanted for her birthday when Sally’s timer went off, signaling that it was time for Sally and Paul to start frosting their cake and for Annabeth and Percy to get their cobbler out of the oven.
After several minutes of Master Chef level intensity, they made their final touches on their masterpieces.
“Judging time!” Estelle announced, bouncing on her toes.
She walked over to Sally and Paul’s dessert first. It looked, well, pretty perfect. The bundt cake was round and fluffy, with luscious pink frosting on top mimicking the appearance of a donut. Multicolored sprinkles were scattered across the top. Sally cut a small piece, and passed it to Estelle. She took a bite. The room was so silent they could hear the muffled voices of people below them from the street outside. Stella paused, gazed at the cake thoughtfully, and then continued on to Percy and Annabeth’s table without a word.
“Ice cold,” Percy whispered.
“Well?” Paul asked cautiously. Stella just grinned at them.
“Oh, she’s loving this,” Annabeth said at the same time Percy burst out laughing.
Annabeth handed Stella a plate of their peach and berry cobbler, the ice cream already melting on top from its warmth. Thankfully, the berries had kept most of their vibrancy. The crust was just the right shade of golden brown. In Annabeth’s completely candid and unbiased opinion, it looked good enough to be on the cover of a magazine. Stella took a bite. Silence once again fell over the little kitchen.
She thought for a moment, and then announced, “I have a winner!”
Stella couldn’t keep up her “serious judge” persona any longer, she was practically bubbling over with excitement.
They all leaned forward in anticipation.
“Percy and Annabeth!” she screamed.
Percy let out a whoop, and Annabeth pumped her fists in the air, grinning from ear to ear. He slung an arm around her shoulders.
“Looks like Team Jackson is making a comeback!”
“Don’t worry; we won’t go so easy on you next year,” Paul promised with a wink.
“Well, they were taught by the best,” Sally grinned.
“Very true,” Percy conceded, smiling. He turned to Stella.
“I knew you were my favorite sister,” he said, tousling her hair. She squealed and jumped away from him, but she was beaming.
“I don’t know about you all, but I’m ready to try these dishes for myself. They smell wonderful,” Paul interjected. They all agreed enthusiastically.
Soon, they were passing the desserts around the table so everyone could grab a bite. The rest of the night was filled with laughter and lively conversation (and only a bit of gloating from the winners). It was impossible to tell whether or not Percy and Annabeth would be able to keep hold of their crown, but if they won again next year, well, that would be pretty sweet.