42: Pride of the Lover

My hands were cold and were almost trembling. Beads of sweats formed in my temples while my body was slightly shivering because of tension.

I am now already cooking the third dish for the contest. It was almost a miracle that I reached the final phase. All my opponents are from higher batches. Now, there are only four of us left.

And just looking at how my competitors presented their dishes for the first two phases, I knew they weren’t casual. So I became even more nervous especially since there are definitely a lot of people watching what is happening here backstage. The judges, my schoolmates and my family. I don't want to disappoint them.

"It looks like the fight between our contenders is heating up even more!" I heard the emcee say on stage. That was followed by a loud shout from the crowd. I heard them cheered different names. That includes me. As many ADU people came to support.

I wiped the beads of sweats using the back of my hand. I don't wa