Before I make the mistake

Morgana had no idea how she’d gotten roped into a cooking class. She didn’t know the first thing about cooking! The other girls in Nick’s harem had all taken part in a cooking competition for their last challenge, but Morgana hadn’t been there.

So even when compared to Dani and Gina, her cooking skills came up lacking.

“It’ll be fine!” Mary was with her every step of the way, giving her encouragement. “First thing’s first, you need to get the proper ingredients measured out, alright?”

Morgana nodded. She could do that, at least.

“Come on, what’s with these measurements?” Gina groaned. “Half a tablespoon of baking powder? These stupid spoons don’t have that as an option!”

“The meal is designed for two people,” Mary said simply. “We’re scaling down. We don’t want to waste food, after all.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to just follow the recipe as it’s written, though?” The punk protested. “That way we’re less likely to make mistakes!”

Mary smiled cheerfully in response to Gina’s complaining. “Oh? But Gina, I thought you didn’t like following the rules?”

Gina opened her mouth to reply, but she couldn’t think of anything witty to say so she closed it instead.

“Back to the recipe!” Mary said, walking over to a roll-in whiteboard she’d positioned at the front of the kitchen. Just follow what’s written here!

1 tablespoon Water

½ tablespoon Baking Powder

1 tablespoon Soy Sauce

½ tablespoon Sesame Oil

2 tablespoon Chicken Broth

¼ cup Honey

“If you mix those ingredients together,” she continued, “you’ll have the perfect sauce for our stir-fry!”

“Why do we have to make a stir-fry?” Dani groaned. “Can’t we start with something easy? Like toast?”

Mary stared blankly at the tomboy while Rose snickered.

“Toast isn’t cooking,” Mary bluntly replied.

“Yeah!” Holly chimed in, nodding eagerly. The sous chef seemed even more animated than Mary at this point. “Don’t you want to make a nice, delicious, and healthy dish to suit your master’s tastes and nourish his body?”

Gina nodded thoughtfully. “Well, when you put it like that…”

“I don’t have a master!” Dani objected.

Mary sighed. “Dani… look, no one’s saying that you have to make food for Nick, alright? But you were the one who came to me, saying you wanted to learn how to cook. You and Gina both did. And now that my wedding’s over with, I can finally take it easy and relax a little. Do the things that make me happy.”

“Like Nick, you mean,” Gina said, snickering. “From what we saw, doing Nick makes you very happy indeed.”

Mary’s face turned so hot you could have cooked the stir-fry on her forehead.

“Th-that’s not what I’m talking about!” She exclaimed, shaking her head frantically. “Sh-shut up! We’re cooking! And in the kitchen, I’m the boss!”

“Yes, mistress!” Gina saluted. Her expression wasn’t one of reverence, of course; unlike Holly who genuinely meant it when she called Mary that, Gina was taunting her with glee.

Mary wasn’t amused.

While those two were off bickering, Dani was carefully considering what Mary said.

She’s right, Dani was **** to acknowledge. I wanted this. I want to get better at cooking… but not for Nick’s sake or anything like that! For me!

Dani knew that this compulsion to improve her cooking skills was a result of her latest transformation acting on her mind. But even though she knew she was being compelled through supernatural means, she couldn’t bring herself to fight against it.

And she didn’t really want to, either.

For all the pain in the ass that cooking was, she HAD enjoyed the time she spent preparing that pot roast with her other self. And seeing how much Nick enjoyed it had actually been invigorating. Dani prided herself on working hard, and loved to see that hard work rewarded. It’s how she cultivated such a great figure.

If I back out of this, I’m just going to be running away again. While Dani gave it her all towards things she liked doing, she had an unfortunate habit of avoiding things that she didn’t and running away from her troubles. She admired Kim’s work ethic in that sense. It was often a struggle for her to do things she didn’t want to do, like cook.

Also, math. Fuck math. Why did cooking have to involve so much math?

Then, Dani noticed that Morgana was already getting started on her mixing, even though she had come in late. It was clear that the goth was struggling as much as she was, but she’d still made more progress than Dani in such a short amount of time.

Dani didn’t like asking people for help, as a personal rule. She tended to be too stubborn for her own good about that, of course, but when it came to something like this, she needed support. But Rose was the only one finished, and Dani wasn’t willing to lower herself to asking her for help. The blonde would never let her live it down.

So she went over to Morgana instead.

“Hey, um…”

“Yeep!” Morgana flinched, freezing as straight as a telephone pole. She’d been so startled by Dani coming over that she nearly dropped her mixing bowl. Petrified, the goth turned shakily towards Dani. “Um… uh… p-please don’t hit me?” She begged weakly.

Dani blinked. “Hit-? Wait, no, oh, no, I’m sorry!” She remembered the few exchanges she’d had with Morgana that week, and felt miserable. “I shouldn’t have done that stuff, and said those things,” Dani said, lowering her head. “I’m sorry. I really am.”

“…Oh…” Morgana was a little taken aback. She’d been bullied and threatened a few times in her life (or more than a few times) but this was the first time someone genuinely apologized for it.

She didn’t really know what to say.

“I just… um… okay?” Morgana floundered, giving Dani an opportunity to press her.

“I really am sorry,” she continued. “I shouldn’t have been so aggressive with you before. Can you forgive me?”

“Um… I guess so?” Morgana had never actually been in a situation where she had to forgive someone, either.

Dani sighed in relief, feeling like a burden had been lifted from her shoulders. But only partially. It was clear that Morgana was still uneasy around her, and with good reason. Dani must have seemed very intimidating to the poor goth.

“Did you, um… did you want something?” Morgana asked warily.

She did, but Dani felt like pushing the point would just worsen their already tenuous relationship. She didn’t want to come across as a bully.

“We can get to that later,” she said, shaking her head. “I just wanted to know what are you doing here?”

Morgana flinched, and Dani wasn’t sure why.

“Is…” Her voice came out with a shaky warble. “Is it… not okay, for me to be here?” She asked.

Oh. Oh, no.

Dani hadn’t even thought about how her question might have been taken!

She had been genuinely curious why Morgana had come to join their cooking club, and had just been intending to make small talk to lighten the mood. But it was like maneuvering through a minefield with this girl, and Dani had all the subtlety of a monster truck.

“Of course it’s okay for you to be here!” Dani quickly reassured her. She reached out to lay a comforting hand on the other girl’s shoulder, but then she stopped herself. Morgana had flinched at her attempt, and with good reason.

Even at her best, Dani wasn’t exactly good with comfort.

She sighed.

“I guess I just thought that you would be off enjoying your time with Nick, or something,” Dani clarified. “I mean, today is your night with him, right? Wouldn’t you want to spend it with the guy you like? Trust me, if you’re worried about him doing something, don’t, Nick’s a really great guy, and he wouldn’t do anything you don’t want him to.”

“Ugh, that’s the problem…” Morgana muttered under her breath.

“Huh?”

“Nothing, it’s nothing,” the goth sighed, shaking her head. “Trust me, if I could, I’d spend every minute possible with Nick. But… I’m starting to realize that I can’t just be focused on my own world, you know?”

“Your own… world?” Dani asked, not sure what she meant by that.

“I’m… kind of self-absorbed.” It stung Morgana’s soul to admit that, but it was an unshakeable fact. “And I think that’s part of the reason why the audience didn’t vote me very high. Because I cared so much about my own fantasies… I didn’t really try to get to know anybody, or make any friends.”

“Oh…” Dani understood now why Morgana looked so anxious and uneasy (and no, it wasn’t just because that was her default expression).

“I’m trying to come out of my shell a little bit more… get to know people… and this was the best way I could think of,” Morgana explained. “Maybe it’s crazy… I mean, I’m not even that good at cooking, anyway, this stuff probably tastes terrible.”

“Hey, don’t say that,” Dani said, shaking her head. “You followed the recipe, didn’t you? So I’m sure it’ll taste great!”

Morgana didn’t share in Dani’s confidence. “…Really?”

“For sure,” Dani nodded. “Look, I absolutely SUCK at cooking, okay? I never even tried it before coming here. I was more of a ‘make protein shakes for all my meals’ kind of girl. Drinking my daily nutrition through a straw, you know?”

Morgana stared blankly at her. Vitamins were like a foreign word to her.

“…Whatever, it’s not important,” Dani sighed, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. “Anyway, the point I’m getting at, is that even though I had exactly zero experience with cooking, when it came to the cooking challenge, I followed the directions given to me by my assistant. I did everything she told me, down to the letter, and, well… it was delicious.”

“Really?” Morgana seemed a little less uncertain now, after hearing that story from Dani. She glanced at the brown liquid floating in her bowl.

“Really,” Dani promised. “Come on, give me a taste.”

Without even thinking, she jammed her finger in the mixture.

For that, she received a wooden ladle rapped against her knuckles.

“YOW! What the fuck!?” Dani exclaimed, tearing her hand away and clutching it. She turned towards Mary with **** in her eyes. “What did you do that for?!”

“Are you insane?!” Mary exclaimed, not intimidated in the least. “Touching food with your bare hands? Do you have any idea how unsanitary that is?! We have to eat this later, and it’s got little Dani flakes in it now, probably!”

“Piss off!” Dani groaned, rubbing her tender knuckles. “Like the meal’s gonna be ruined just by a little dip with my finger, come on!”

“I don’t cut corners when it comes to preparing meals,” Mary coldly replied. “This is not up for negotiation. I do not want anyone put their hands in the sauce, or handling the vegetables, or the chicken. This is a SANITARY kitchen, do I make myself clear?”

Dani sneered at her, but Mary’s expression was adamant. So adamant that the tomboy began to seriously question if the farm girl was right.

“…I’m sorry,” she said with a sigh, hanging her head. “You’re right, we shouldn’t touch the food with our bare hands while we’re preparing it.”

And just like that, Mary’s frown turned upside-down. “There we go, isn’t that better?”

Dani still wanted to punch her in the face, but she recognized that feeling wasn’t coming from any sensical spot.

“Now then, you’re done with your sauce?” Mary turned towards Morgana, who swallowed, still feeling uneasy.

“Y-yeah,” she said, nodding shakily.

“May I?” Mary held up a tasting spoon. Morgana gulped and nodded. She wanted to see what the end result was for herself.

Mary dipped the spoon into the sauce slightly, and brought it to her lips. There were just a few drops sitting at the bottom, just enough to taste.

She took a sip.

Her eyes widened and a look of pleasant surprise spread across her face. “Well! This is actually not bad, Morgana! I think you did a fine job!”

Morgana’s entire world came crashing down. She stared at Mary in slack-jawed disbelief. “R-really? I… I did a good job?”

The thought that Morgana could do a good job on something like this was a complete nonsequitor. And yet, the fact remained that Mary had praised her. Mary, the kindest and most honest person that Morgana had ever met had told her she did a good job.

Morgana couldn’t think of a single reason to disagree with that.

Mary gave her an encouraging nod, and Morgana’s face reddened. An awkward smile spread across her lips and she beamed, basking in praise for what felt like the first time in forever.

“Wow! Way to go, Morgana! I knew you had it in you!” Dani cheered, slapping Morgana on the back. That sent the goth girl rolling, and she nearly fell over from shock.

“Y-yeah, I did… yeah…” Morgana stammered, her cheeks red. “Thanks.”

“Now, it’s not perfect,” Mary clarified. “I think you used a little bit more honey in here than the recipe calls for. But given this is your first time, I’d say you did a great job.”

Morgana tried to focus on the positives of Mary’s statement, but all she could hear was “you used a little bit more honey.”

She started to shake. “I-I’ll do better next time, I… I’m sorry…?” She stammered out, unable to meet Mary’s eyes. The redhead started to panic.

“Wait, no, it’s fine! Really!” She cried. “It’s okay if it’s a little too sweet! Like I said, you did a really good job on it!”

Morgana was a pain in the ass. In spite of all the praise Mary heaped on her, the only thing she could focus on was the thing she’d done wrong.

Seeing that, Dani decided to take matters into her own hands. She snatched the tasting spoon from Mary’s fingers and jammed it into the sauce, scooping out a bit and draining it with a long “SLUUUURRP!”

It tasted delicious.

“Wow! Mary is right, you really did great, Morgana!” Dani nodded. “This is the best I’ve ever tasted!”

“Really?” And just like that, Morgana’s mood picked back up again. Her mercurial temperament could be a pain in the ass.

“Really!” She grinned. “You can trust me. I might not know shit about cooking, but when it comes to eating healthy, I can’t be beat!”

She held up her arm and flexed her muscles. Once upon a time that would have looked impressive, but in a blue t-shirt and white apron with her soft and spongey arm, she looked like a posing pinup model instead of a gym rat.

Morgana appreciated the gesture nevertheless, though, and giggled.

“Thank you for saying that,” she replied, and turned to Mary. “You really liked it?”

But Mary’s attention was elsewhere.

“What do you think you’re doing?!” She demanded, giving Dani another thwack with her ladle. “Did you just use a tasting spoon with someone else’s germs on it to double dip in the sauce!? Are you crazy?! That spoon had my saliva on it, you know! And you just contaminated Morgana’s sauce with it! That’s awful!”

Dani stared blankly at her, then she sighed. “…Right. Sure. Whatever. Tastes the same to me either way,” she shrugged.

Mary was having none of it. “This is important!” She exclaimed. “You can’t just contaminate the mixture! You could spread germs!”

“Okay, okay, geez, I’m sorry,” Dani said, holding up her hands in surrender. She smiled nevertheless. In spite of Mary’s exclamations, that sauce had tasted DELICIOUS. She didn’t regret it for a second.

A giggle escaped Morgana’s lips before she even realized what was happening. When the two girls looked at her curiously, she just blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

“I think, um… Mary’s saliva might make it taste better for Dani. You know, because she’s a lesbian?”

Mary’s jaw dropped. Morgana winced at that response, but Dani, to everyone’s shock, burst out laughing.

“Okay, that’s rich, I’m going to remember that!” The tomboy cackled, slapping Mary on the shoulder. “What do you think, Mary? Morgana here’s a real riot, huh?”

Mary smiled awkwardly and nodded. “Um… yeah. I guess so…”

“Hey! Missy Mistress! I finished mine over here, you want a taste?”

Mary’s eye twitched at Gina’s latest attempted to get under her skin. She took a deep breath and exhaled, then turned and walked over to taste her food.

But not before stopping to get a clean tasting spoon, of course.

While she was doing that, Dani turned back to Morgana with a contrite expression on her face.

“Okay, Morgana, seriously, that tasted amazing,” she said. “Do you think you can show me how you measured the ingredients? I don’t mind a little extra honey.”

Morgana was stunned. Not only was she being praised, but someone was actually asking her for help?

What had happened? Who was this strange person who had begun inhabiting her body?

“Okay, yeah, sure,” she nodded. She followed Dani over to her station, and helped show her the order she added the ingredients to mix.

While that was happening, Mary approached Gina like a cowgirl sidling up to a shoot-out at the O.K. Corral. Her tasting spoon at the ready, she eyed the cocky expression on Gina’s face. Knowing that punk, she’d probably spit in it just because she could.

Gina’s workspace was a mess, as anticipated. Baking powder was everywhere, and there were obvious stains of soy sauce and sesame oil in various places. A dollup of honey was doing a great job of staining the punk’s combat boot.

“Want a taste?” Gina offered, holding out the milky brown concoction for Mary to sample.

Mary stuck the spoon in and swirled it around for a moment, just to be sure. Knowing Gina, she might not have mixed it at all, and there could have been a layer of honey on the bottom. But no, the mixture was smooth.

She removed the spoon and stuck it into her mouth.

The flavor was unbelievable.

“Well?” Gina asked eagerly.

“It’s… good!” Mary had a harder time believing it than she had with Morgana. “Really good! I’m surprised, Gina, you followed the recipe perfectly! Good job!”

Gina grabbed the counter and shook slightly, a pleased smile stretching across her flushed face. “Oh… yeah… that’s the stuff…”

While Gina was nearly orgasmic from Mary’s praise, the farm girl herself thought that if Gina could make something that tasted this good, would it be too much to ask that she do it without making a massive mess?