More Background

Ezra chuckled at her sullen expression because she could not remember Jessie and Evian. "We do not expect you to remember all 30 of us in the first few days." He told her gently before trying to think of how best to describe the two boys he got the cake from.

"Jessie was the inexperienced one. He was a three before the selection even happened, so he lived a pretty good life as a country club member, his family owned a few. He worked as the golf instructor. I do not know much else about him yet."

"Evian was the experienced one. He was a six, so he was used to cleaning and cooking and waiting on everyone else. He knew about the cake because a restaurant he worked at had it as one of their specialties. I think he was the original inventor of it, actually. The restaurant should give him a raise, and patent this if they know what is good for them. Other than that, I did not have much more time to socialize..." He added cheekily.

~~~

"From not having much time for socializing, you sure learned their life story," Ava smirked, before looking around the room once more. "But which of these boys is it actually?" She glanced at a couple of blondes, trying to remember their names. She made a mental note to go over their profiles again tonight. Her stomach growled, and she replied by taking a few more bites, letting the rich and decadent chocolate seep into her mouth.

~~~

Ezra smirked back at her trying to find them in the kitchen. He decided to be nice and help her out, "Jessie is the blonde with short hair, tall, skinny as a board. Evian is the brunette with long, shaggy hair, sort of short, but well-muscled. Over there in the left corner."

~~~

When Ezra described them, Ava immediately found them in the room. Oh yeah, She thought Jessie was really goofy during the introduction. She did not recognize Evian though. Holding her empty plate, she walked to their table. "This cake was really good!" She said, holding up her empty plate. "I am going to need to get the recipe sometime." She grinned them, shyly.

~~~

Ezra watched Ava find them and go over to them, he did not mind though for he did not view them as competition, they were soon going to leave the Selection, he knew that. Not only could she not remember them when he gave her their names, she still could not remember then when he gave her a damn fine description of them. If they were not memorable yet, they were never going to be. It seemed the only one she has eyes for is the doormat, which is disconcerting because it is less than half a week into the competition and she was already playing favorites and putting all of her eggs into one basket. He rolled his eyes at the thought and decided he really needed to stop getting so invested so early on, hell, even he could get sent home tonight. Instead, he focused on finishing the rest of his own half of the cake. He actually did like it, he was not used to such sweet snacks, as the casting directors liked their actors to be skinny as all get out and would not think to hire those that are not.

~~~

The boys smiled back at her, nodding their appreciation and Ava turned back to go to their own table. She was finishing up her cake when Asher made his announcement. "If you have not done so already, please place your dishes on the carts," He waved at the carts beside the door. "If you are done, please make your way into the dining hall. Make sure to sit beside your partner." He waved them inside, the doors opening with a loud creak.

~~~

Ezra looked up at the guard's announcement and made his way into the dining hall, smirking because now he was guaranteed a spot next to the queen since he was her partner and all. He went to sit at the right side of the queen's chair and since the queen was at the head of the table, Ezra had to sit on an end chair.

~~~

Ava scoffed at Ezra's smirk when he settled down next to her but smiled when Ethan claimed the left. "How do you guys think you did?" She asked, glancing at the man beside him. 

Ethan just shrugged and gave her a small smile. "I guess we will have to see!" Ava glanced across the table to see Justin and his partner, before starting at the sound of Asher's voice.

"The first dish for dinner is..." He lifted the cover off of Ava's and Ezra's dish. "Three Mac and Cheese with Breadcrumbs, along with a shake!" The maids and butlers passed out plates, along with cups of the milkshakes.

~~~

Justin picked his usual seat at the end of the table, but this time instead of leaving the seat to his right open, his partner, Owen, sat down next to him, huffing about being so far away from the queen. Justin just smiled softly and shook his head in silent laughter. "It is all right, we do not need to be next to her all the time, this way we do not have to scramble for the food with everyone else, we have our own space." He reassured his begrudging partner. He looked up at the sound of the guard's voice, looking at the mac n cheese and beamed gleefully. He has not had Mac n Cheese in so long! And if Ava made it, it must be good.

~~~

Ava tried her portion, nodding. She was proud that all three flavors of the cheeses complemented each other, and that the pasta had enough creaminess and crunchiness. She tried to gauge the other boy's reactions, but it seemed like they had all taken classes on how to put on a perfect poker face. She took a sip of the milkshake and sighed. It had been a while since she had eaten both of these foods. She was excited to see what other dishes the boys had prepared and hoped it was edible.

~~~

Justin waited patiently until his own plate was served and a chocolate milkshake was set down to the left of the plate. He looked around and saw that other boys were trading their milkshakes with each other for the flavors they wanted, but he was content with his own chocolate. He saw Owen got a strawberry milkshake and grumble under his breath about wanting vanilla. Justin shook his head in disappointment, he should just be happy with what he got, it was way more than what Justin was used to back at home, and he was lapping it all up in just case he got sent back home. Digging in, he scooped a generous amount of Mac n Cheese from his plate and chewed thoughtfully, tasting the different cheeses and textures. He softly hummed in appreciation.

~~~

When Ava finished her portion, she waited, patiently, for the next dish. "Ethan, what did you think about it?" Ethan was in mid-chew before looking at her and swallowing. "It's pretty good. The only mac and cheese I've ever had is the kraft kind that my maid used to make." Ava grinned, happy that people liked it. She glanced at his partner, who happened to be Derek. "Derek, what do you think?" Derek chewed, thoughtfully. "I think that a little bacon, perhaps, and a little more pepper would make this dish amazing." He smiled at her, "But it's good nonetheless!"

~~~

Ezra ate his portion in silence, preferring not to talk while he was eating, and also glad that these boys were somewhat higher castes or at least knowledgeable about the higher castes and swallowed before they started talking. One of the things he could not stand was the lower caste members having full-blown conversations with an entire three-course meal halfway chewed on their tongues.

~~~

Asher started, "The next dish is a Bacon Quiche made by Derek and Ethan." Once again, the maids and butlers handed out portions, along with a glass of water, since the boys did not make anything to drink. "This looks... interesting," Ava said, poking the spongy egg creation on her plate. "The bacon smelled good... but this…is different" She tried for a conciliatory end remark, watching the other boys put it in their mouth.

~~~

Ezra looked at the plate that was placed down next in outright disgust. He was never a fan of bacon being mixed into other foods, and this just looked plain outrageous. A real slap in the face to just how good bacon could be on its own. He looked to Ava to see what she had to say about this and when he saw her own little expression of hidden revulsion, he had to hide a chuckle by disguising it as a cough. He bumped her leg under the table playfully to signal that he didn't think it was good looking either.

~~~

Ava politely took a bite, before she felt a little nudge on her leg. She glanced at Ezra, who was failing to conceal his own aversion at the plate. The bite she had in her mouth was not horrible, but she could not say that it was good either. She smiled at Ethan, who was looking worriedly at everyone, not even bothering to finish his own piece.

~~~

Ezra watched in horror as Ava took a bite of the mush and could see from her eyes that she did not enjoy it. He started moving his fork around on the plate to make it look like it had been eaten off of, when really he was not going to put the offending thing, he could not even call it food, near his lips. He had learned this trick while on set, it was what the female actors always had to do in order to stay skinny, but not look anorexic.

~~~

Asher cleared his throat once again. "Next we have..." He looked at his card. "Justin and... Owen? With Fettuccine Alfredo?" He walked towards them, as the words were difficult to make out.

~~~

Justin cringed when the guard tried to read his scribble, he had done his best to try to make the words legible and spell correctly, however, he had not learned how to spell Fettuccini Alfredo before, and his penmanship could use a lot of practice, a luxury he was not afforded back at home. He wished Owen knew how to write, but being a caste six, he never got the chance to either and was even less practiced than Justin. He just hoped the guard did not tell Ava about it...

~~~

Asher returned to the front of the table, before announcing it again. "Next we have Justin and Owen with Fettuccine Alfredo." He nodded at Justin, before gesturing to the butlers and maids to bring out their dish. "Accompanying it is a fruit punch." With that, he stepped into the background, reading his next card in his head.

Ava smiled when she heard Asher announce Justin's dish. She could smell the fragrant spices from the dish as it was placed in front of her and picked up the cup as it was handed to her. She took a small sip, swishing it around her mouth before nodding. It was delicious, the sweet and tanginess hit just the right places of her taste buds.

~~~

Ezra raised an eyebrow as the guard announced the next sample. Justin's. Brilliant. He was not just a little vindicated when the guard seemed to have trouble reading the cue card. It seemed doormat did not have legible penmanship. A luxury he should have been afforded with his caste status. Ezra looked at the plate in front of him and glass of punch before begrudgingly admitting that it looked pretty good. Picking up the glass, hiding his disdain, he put it to his lips and sipped slowly, wondering at the different tastes in the punch. It was not like any punch he had ever had before, and he marveled at the complexity of the mixture, but somehow it all blended and complimented each other. There was a sweet sorbet taste along with a carbonated lemon-lime taste and a hint of vodka. He nodded his head in approval.

~~~

Ava picked up a forkful of the noodles, glancing at the other boys before placing it in her mouth. She noticed that the others had their eyes closed and that some of them had already emptied their plate or drained their cups. She nodded, savoring the food. This was a really good dish. She just hoped that hers was better. She finished both the plate of food and the punch, before once again glancing around her. Everyone else had finished, and Owen looked pleased.

~~~

Ezra finished his punch quickly before going to the noodles if the punch was good, the noodles were probably even better...he picked up a forkful and twirled them around to get them to stay instead of leaving them hanging. Another thing he abhorred was the lower caste members using their mouths as a beacon to just shovel their food in, leaving half of it hanging out of their lips. Instead, he easily put the fork in his mouth with the noodles wrapped tightly around the prongs and slid the noodles off, regrettably enjoying the taste of the Alfredo sauce they had made.

~~~

Ava glared at Ezra. "We could have had an extra helping of this..." But then she rolled her eyes. "But the cake was good, so whatever." She nudged his knee under the table, holding in a laugh. She noticed Ethan looking at them, worried, and she winked at him.

~~~

Ezra shot a glance at Ava, about to grumble at her bringing that up again but held it in when she nudged his knee back under the table. He simply went back to eating, more high handed than ever now that he got Ethan boy looking all jealous and nervous. He soon finished his plate and felt stuffed from all the different rich foods he had 'sampled'. To him, those 'samples' were the size of 'meals' back at home on set.

~~~

Ava rolled her eyes once again at Ezra's aloof attitude, but ignored it, for now. "There are two more dishes to taste!" Asher said, stepping towards the table. "The next dish is by Damien and Maxon! We have a sweet creme brûlée with a strawberry sauce!" The maids brought in little bowls with custards, and Damien and Maxon stood, holding two curious things. Damien was holding a bowl of raw sugar, while Maxon was holding a flame torch. He noticed some of the glances he got and hefted it in his hand. "Do not worry," Maxon said, "I am a welder." He grinned at some of the chuckles, before heading towards the front of the table with Damien in tow. One by one, starting with the queen, Damien sprinkled sugar, while Maxon followed, melting the sugar into a crispy top.

~~~

Justin watched the show of Damien and Maxon preparing their dessert with interest, wondering how Maxon got the sugar to melt and caramelize without burning and turning into ash or crumbles. He watched each dish be served until, finally, they made their way to Owen and him, with Owen grumbling about being last, again.

~~~

Ava scooped a little of the custard onto her spoon, cracking the hard surface. She placed it into her mouth, savoring the sweet and creamy texture of the custard. She licked her lips and ate some more. Although she liked the creme brûlée, she, with a sigh, admitted that the cake was a little better. She raised her eyebrow at Ezra, wondering what he thought.

~~~

Ezra watched the procession unimpressed, the fire scene was not his thing. He waited until he got his own ice cream to taste and judge it, rather than being moved by the presentation. When he finally did get his own sample and put it to his lips, it was edible but not nearly as good as the chocolate layered cake or the punch. He shrugged when Ava looked at him with an expectant look on her face. He was not about to put it down in front of her because she did not like him, 'being a jerk' as she called it, so he did not say anything at all.

~~~

Ava rolled her eyes at Ezra's pointed silence. Some boys are too complicated. She turned to her other side and smiled at Ethan. "Do you like it?" She asked, picking up more with her spoon. She chuckled lightly as he stuffed some into his mouth, and met her eyes. He then froze, swallowing nervously, and wiping his mouth on his napkin. "It is really... good," He answered sheepishly, his eyes shining under his hair. She grinned back, before scooping some more of her own. "Yeah, it is one of the best creme brûlées I have had in a while." She directed this at Maxon and Damien, who had made their rounds and were coming back to sit near the head of the table. The nodded their thanks, and she smiled at them in return.

~~~

Justin watched with awe when they served him, seeing the display up close like that somehow created a different effect than watching it from afar, and maybe knowing that this time it was his food he was putting in his mouth caused it to feel more exciting. He scooped up a decent portion of the sample and put it in his mouth, tasting the different flavors and textures of the ice cream and the melted sugar and caramel. He hummed his appreciation and could hear a few others coming from around the table as well. He was starting to get increasingly full as each sample came out though, even though he made a point not to completely finish any of the plates, just getting the taste of so many different foods had his stomach reeling.

~~~

Once all of the creme brûlée had been consumed, Ava looked around expectantly at Asher. She knew that the only dish left was the chocolate cake. 

Asher stepped up, looking at the open faces seated on the table. "Next we have a chocolate cake." He did not say anymore but just stepped aside as two boys came out rolling a platter that was decorated with a giant cake. It was dark brown, and the icing reflected light, as it was very shiny. The boys looked extremely proud of themselves, standing by their creation.

~~~

Evian started cutting the slices of the Death by Chocolate layered 'cake'. The first layer at the bottom was brownies and on top of that was pudding, on top of which was heath bar bits and on top of that was chocolate cake and on top of that was more brownie and heath bar bits, then a nice layer of caramel and icing to make a design of an arrow. The picture was more or less a joke in that they both hoped to get a blue-tipped arrow from their masterpiece. The thing was cavities on wheels.

~~~

Ava watched carefully as they sliced the cake open, revealing the different layers inside. She chuckled lightly at the shape, which she had not noticed before. She crossed her arms and glanced at Asher, to see if their little pun got through to him. When she saw the raised eyebrow, though, she knew it did. Ava waited for her piece, her fingers tapping the side of her chair. She thoroughly enjoyed the cake, and she knew that everyone else would like it as well. It would be hard for the group to choose which was the favorite, she mused. All of these dishes were so different.

~~~

Evian served Ava first, as she was the queen, and waited for her to take her first bite before serving the others. He wanted the chance to personally see her reaction and would not be able to do that if he was handing everyone else their slices while she ate hers; even though it was proper etiquette that everyone gets their meals before digging into your own...though he supposed it was also proper etiquette that the head of the table/host get the first bite.

~~~

Ava noticed that Evian waited at her right side once he placed her slice down, so she glanced at him. After contemplating for a short moment, she took a bite, the soft and crunchiness that she remembered tasting assaulted her taste buds. Her mouth filled with cake, she nodded at the two boys, before waiting for the others to be served. As she looked around, she noticed that a lot of the others were staring at her, and she narrowed her eyes, before wiping her mouth quickly on her napkin.

~~~

Justin watched the cake being presented and noticed the shape of the cake, he smiled softly at the joke and took notice of all of the different layers throughout the cake. His mouth watered at the pure decadence of it all. Never before had he seen such richness and sugar all in one food item. He waited eagerly for a slice, as he and Owen did not actually end up having enough time to try tasting any of the other contestant's food choices, even though a few partners went to taste his.

~~~

After everyone had been served, and the table had been cleared, Asher once again stood next to Ava, at the front of the table. "The tasting has finished! Notes of paper will be passed out, and please mark down which of the dishes was your favorite, your second favorite, and you're third." He paused, giving the maids and butlers time to pass the different sheets out, along with pens. Ava paused, reading the options. "You are not allowed to vote for yourself," Asher added, crossing his arms, as he looked over some of the boy's selections. "If you just did, please pick again."

Ava voted for her favorite dishes, which included the cake, the Fettuccini, and the custard. She handed the list to the maid on her left, where she scurried up to Asher, handing him the paper. He smiled at the maid and Ava lifted an eyebrow at their little exchange, normally Asher maintained a stoic, professional expression. Except around her, of course. She turned to Ezra, wondering what he wrote down.

~~~

Ezra looked back at Ava, expressionless, he knew she was wondering what he put down but as far as he knew, these votes were anonymous, so he was not going to divulge his party lines. Instead, he looked around to see what was taking everyone else so long and realized it was because a fraction of the boys here did not know how to read and their partners were reading and explaining the different options to them. He pursed his lips in judgment, not at the boys who did not know how to read, but at the way that society was set up so that it took away the poorer families' opportunities to even learn how to read or any chances to further themselves or their children in life. It was a stark reminder of the conversation he and Ava had in the kitchen earlier that day.

~~~

Ava followed his glance, noticing, alongside him that some of the boys did not know how to read. She realized, with a start, that that should have been one of her top priorities. Although it looked good to marry a man from her kingdom, it might look bad if he was illiterate. She called a maid over, asking her to relay a message to the butlers, and in one of their cases, maids. "Please tell the servants in each of the boy's rooms that I will be hosting a class tomorrow afternoon," Ava whispered into the young girl's ear. She smiled at the maid, before excusing her, turning back to the table.