So I wait around for an answer to appear

“And… it’s done!”

Gina finished stirring up her stir-fry, and turned off the heat of the burners. She leaned back and wiped the sweat off her brow, fanning herself with her open collar. She’d only finished a few minutes after Dani had; Rose’s dish had been completed first (after all, she’d done hers right to begin with, unlike the other three) while Morgana moved a little quicker than they had, due to not making any mistakes.

Gina poured the contents of her wok into a bowl and set it down next to Dani’s, and then stood back and waited to see what Mary had to say about it.

Mary had just finished tasting Morgana’s dish, and the goth looked at her anxiously.

“It’s very well-done,” Mary said, giving Morgana a warm smile. She knew how well the goth girl reacted to praise, and what criticism would do to her self-esteem. Which wasn’t to say that there was nothing to be critical of in the girl’s dish, not at all. But Mary was careful, and knew that stuff like this needed to be handled delicately.

“Really?” Morgana’s face lit up. “You really liked it?!”

“I did,” Mary said. “It’s not perfect, though. The flavor is just a little bit off… I think you spent a little too long on the chicken. And the vegetables could have been cooked a little more. But those are all things that you’ll improve on as you get more used to cooking. For a first time, this is remarkable, I would be happy to eat this if it was served to me.”

She waited warily for Morgana’s reaction, hoping that she hadn’t been too hard on the poor girl. The last thing Mary needed was for Morgana to burst out crying.

And it was clear she wanted to, also. Morgana looked rather crushed from Mary’s assessment. But she didn’t start bawling. She took a deep breath and then exhaled, and tried to focus. Then she **** a shaky smile to her lips.

“…Thank you for being honest,” she replied. “You’re right, Mary. I do have a lot to work on.”

“And I’ll be happy to help,” Mary said. “I hope you’ll be able to learn to cook as well! Anything to help you better serve Nick as a member of his harem!”

“Assuming she makes it into his harem,” Rose muttered under her breath.

Mary turned to her, shocked. “Rose?!”

“What?” Rose turned defensive. “I can’t be the only one thinking that! We have to be rational here! Morgana, you’re the auditionee. As someone who was in that position myself, I know exactly how stressful it is to not know if you have a place to belong in the harem.”

Her expression softened and she turned to Morgana. “I was in last place, you know, my first week here. And I was sure that nobody would pick me.”

Morgana winced. That was similar to the position she found herself in.

“What…” the words just slipped from her lips. “What did you end up doing?”

Rose’s smile turned solemn. Her eyes glanced over to Holly, and the shorter girl looked down.

“It was me, actually,” Holly said. “I took myself out of the game… I asked Dawn to pick Rose instead… and she did.”

“If not for those two, I would have been eliminated for sure,” Rose said. She approached Morgana and placed her hand on her shoulder. “So believe me, I know what it’s like to be in your position.”

She turned back to Mary. “And Mary, I know you’re trying to be nice, and encouraging, but I’m not so sure the reason Morgana came here was just to learn about cooking.”

Gina watched the discussion with just a mild bit of frustration in her expression. Her food was getting cold, damn it.

“I see…” Mary looked sadly at Morgana, who averted her eyes, feeling guilty.

“It’s not that I didn’t want to…” Morgana said quietly. “The truth is… I did want to learn how to cook, but part of why I wanted to was so I could get to know you better, Mary. Get to know everybody better… I just… I don’t want to be eliminated, so I thought… if I got to know everyone better and we became friends, then maybe…”

She was finally realizing what Kim meant by her advice not to ask people just to pick her. She felt awful, like she’d betrayed the budding friendships she’d been cultivating due to wanting to use them for her own gains.

That wasn’t okay.

“I’m sorry…” Morgana wiped her eyes. “I wanted to be friends, but… the way I went about it… it’s like… like I’m USING you guys. And that… that’s not okay. I’m sorry…”

“Hey, come on, you don’t need to apologize for that!” Rose exclaimed. “On a show like this, there’s nothing wrong with trying to be someone’s friend and hoping they’ll choose you. It’s about survival. As long as you genuinely like them and WANT to be their friend, as long as you’re being honest and upfront with them, then you’re not being manipulative. At least, that’s how I see it.”

She glanced warily at Mary and Dani. She wasn’t so sure that two straight arrows like them would see things the same way.

“I get what Rose is saying.” Help came from Gina of all people. She took her opportunity to cut Dani in line, setting down her bowl of stir-fry. “Like Rose said, Morgana’s in danger of elimination. She wants to stay with us, so she’s trying to be our friend. I totally get it. And if that’s all it is, I don’t see anything wrong with it… more or less.”

“H-huh?” Morgana looked warily at her as Gina cast a scrutinizing eye her way.

“Tell me something, Morgana,” Gina said calmly, acting remarkably more mature than she had been just a little while ago. “The reason you’re trying to be our friend, is it only because you don’t want us to eliminate you? Or do you really want to be friends with everyone?”

There was an obvious difference between those two things, at least, that was how Gina saw it. She had a cynical eye, and wouldn’t really hold it against Morgana either way, but she knew the other girls might not be so forgiving.

Morgana’s response was immediate.

“Of course I really want to be your friends!” She exclaimed. “It’s not… it’s not JUST about getting chosen as someone’s buddy! I just… I…”

She looked desperately around the room, and her eyes made contact with the one person she knew would share her position.

Dani.

“I don’t really have any friends…” She admitted sadly. “I’ve never been good at making them. So… when… when I came here… I thought… I thought that I’d finally found people that I could be close with… people I could think of as my friends… we were all in the same circumstances, in Nick’s harem, so I just…”

“I understand,” Rose said, patting her on the back. “And it’s fine. At least, I’m fine with it. But I’m the most mercenary one here. Mary? Dani?”

“Morgana,” Mary said calmly, “I don’t like being lied to.”

“I never lied!” Morgana exclaimed. “I just…”

She slumped over. “I was just… afraid of telling everybody…”

“No, no, that’s not it!” Mary shook her head quickly. “That’s not what I’m upset about!”

Morgana tensed. “Then… what?”

“I’m upset that you didn’t tell me sooner,” Mary confessed, approaching her. “You always acted so detached, all up in your own world, obsessed with your witchcraft and stuff, I had no idea that you were concerned about something like that. I’m not blaming you! I’m really not! I’m more upset with myself than upset with you! It’s not that I think you’re a liar, it’s just…”

She was getting off to a rocky start. And it didn’t help that Mary felt guilty herself. “If you wanted to be friends, then you could have asked.”

Morgana blinked, surprised. “I… I thought I did?” Everything in her mind was a jumble, and now it was Mary’s turn to be embarrassed.

“O-oh… you did? I just… with the wedding and everything…”

The two girls had a lot on their plate. Something like that had just slipped through the cracks.

“I tried to tell you,” Gina said, nudging Mary in the arm. “Morgana just needs a little bit of understanding, isn’t that right?”

With a grin, she reached over and tousled Morgana’s hair. The goth’s mouth dropped open in shock.

“H-hey!” She exclaimed. “My hair!”

“I’m just playing,” Gina teased.

“You don’t have to lie or hide yourself from me,” Mary promised, taking Morgana’s hands. “I invited you to my bachelorette party for a reason, you know. Because I wanted to be your friend. You always seem so alone, so… well, I’m glad things are straightened up.”

She winced. “Just… please keep that satanic stuff to yourself? I don’t… I don’t like dealing with that… it’s wrong, and wicked, and…”

Morgana winced too.

Neither girl really knew what to say to move forward. There was still some definite tension between the two of them.

Dani cleared her throat, drawing the attention of both girls to herself.

“Don’t I get to say my part?” She asked, turning to Morgana.

Morgana looked weakly at her. She thought she’d made good progress with Dani, but if the other girl thought she was just trying to use her, then…

“I-I swear, I didn’t lend you help just because I wanted you to pick me!” Morgana pleaded. She was pretty sure if Dani was able to choose this round, then she’d choose Carly anyway. “I just wanted to help, I swear!”

“Yeah, no, I know.” Dani’s acceptance of Morgana’s words at face value was so blunt it felt like Morgana had been hit in the face with a hammer.

“You… you do?” Morgana’s eyes brightened with hope.

Dani nodded. “Of course. You’re really not good at hiding stuff like that. And yeah, if you were really just playing us, like Rose did before, then I’d be pretty upset. But you weren’t doing that, right? You were just trying to make friends. Just like I did.”

Dani knew what it felt like to have no friends. To be absolutely horrible at making them. To be too scared to even try.

The feeling she got from Morgana was similar.

Morgana hadn’t done anything wrong. She was just being herself, and trying her best. Even if there were ulterior motives, they were understandable ones, and they didn’t take away from how genuine her attempts were.

Morgana stared at Dani in surprise, and then smiled a little.

“Thank… you?” She asked hopefully.

She’d expected this whole thing to come falling down around her with Rose’s little outburst, but the fact of the matter was that Rose had been more helpful than anyone.

“I think you’re great, too!” Holly butted in, surprising everybody. She’d been remarkably quiet before now. Morgana turned to the little maid, grateful for her support. She had a bit of kinship with Holly, due to their shared fantasy of being Nick’s sex ****, even if the two hadn’t really had any real conversations.

The apron reading “Cuck the Cook” was probably a step further than Morgana was willing to go, however.

“You want to be Nick’s sex ****, right?” The ponytailed pervert continued. “If that’s the case, then you’re alright in my book, Morgana!”

Morgana beamed at her.

“Aww! Tres bien! How sweet!” Rose cheered. “Group hug!”

She dragged everyone in for a hug, which made Morgana start freaking out for a different reason. All this direct contact with other people!? She wasn’t used to that! She had no idea how to handle it! She started breathing hard.

“Okay, I think that’s enough,” Gina said, breaking free. Dani had started getting a little handsy. And while she might not have been doing it on purpose (Gina DID have a transformation that compelled people to touch her ass, after all) it was better to nip that in the bud right here.

“Sorry,” Dani said lamely. “I didn’t really have control of my hand for some reason.”

To punctuate the point, Rose gave Gina a spanking that caused everyone to laugh. Even Mary, who loathed humor like that.

“Okay, so, we ready to move on?” Gina asked hopefully. She presented her dish up to Mary. “I want to know how good I did, before it gets cold!”

Mary smiled. Gina was already using positive language. “How good I did”? That wasn’t something you said if you thought you were going to screw up.

Maybe Morgana’s advice was more helpful than she’d anticipated.

“Okay, let’s try it,” Mary said, getting a fork. She made sure to get some mushrooms and a carrot slice, as well as a nice bit of chicken speared on the tines. A great sampling of flavor.

She put it in her mouth and tasted it.

Gina leaned forward in anticipation. She even surprised herself by how badly she wanted this. Usually, Gina didn’t care about things this much.

“Well?” Holly asked, interested herself. Gina was also in the running for sex ****. But while Holly was an all-purpose ****-of-all-work, Gina had relegated herself to the “banging” category. But if she learned how to cook, then she might be a threat to Holly’s job security!

…She probably shouldn’t have found that as hot as she did.

“It’s good!” Mary’s eyes lit up, and Gina practically came on the spot. “I’m surprised! It’s definitely sloppy, and your sauce is a little runny, but this is perfectly passable! Good work, Gina!”

Morgana wasn’t sure that “perfectly passable” was very high praise, especially considering how much Mary had gushed over Rose’s meal, but it seemed to be good enough for Gina. Or at least, good enough for her transformation, because she stumbled backwards, holding her legs together as her jeans started to moisten in the crotch.

“Come on…” Dani rolled her eyes and sighed. This was just about what she’d expected, if she was being perfectly honest. And she was actually having a bit of trouble tamping down on her own feelings, too. She glanced warily at Mary as she handed over the last dish.

Her heart raced and her cheeks flushed as she saw Mary get another fork. Would she like it? Would she hate it? Would it even matter? Dani got a rush of arousal just from seeing someone try her food; did they have to like it for it to count?

She didn’t have a great memory, and couldn’t say exactly what the transformation read. But she was pretty certain that Mary would have to enjoy it.

So when Mary took a bite, Dani was standing on the tips of her toes.

“Delicious!” Mary turned to Dani, her eyes wide with amazement. “…I mean, not the parts that are overcooked, but the rest of it? Delicious!”

What happened next was hard to explain. Dani felt a rush of pleasure from Mary’s praise, but at the same time, her conscious self felt disappointed that she didn’t do better.

Maybe she shouldn’t have done better, though. Her transformation said it was capable of working her up to orgasm; did she really want to cum in front of everyone? So yeah, maybe it was a good thing that her meal was only “okay”.

“Keep up the good work,” Mary encouraged her. “I’m sure if you stick with it, you’ll become a really great cook! You just need to practice, practice, practice!”

Dani smiled a little at that. She was happy to hear such encouraging words coming from the other girl. Mary was probably one of the most “girly” girls she knew, even if the redhead was dressed as a farmhand.

Getting praised for her hard work by someone she looked up to as a chef really meant a lot. Dani’s heart swelled with pride and she held her head a little higher; it almost felt like she was back to her original height!

“Now then, it’s almost time for lunch,” Mary said, checking the clock on the wall. “Which means it’s time for the most important part!”

She clapped her hands together. “Finishing the meal you prepared!”

That took the wind out of Dani’s sails considerably. “Wait, seriously?”

“I have to eat this?!” Morgana panicked. She wasn’t sure if she’d be able to taste all the things that Mary found wrong with it or not, but having gotten used to the luxurious food the hotel had to offer, it was like going back to heating up a TV dinner after eating at a 5-star restaurant.

“Come on, guys, it’ll be fine! It’s not like anybody created a plate of nuclear waste or anything!” Rose tittered.

“That’s easy for you to say,” Gina glowered at her. “Yours probably tastes like gourmet cuisine!”

Rose shrugged, and flashed a smirk at the punk.

“I think you’re making too big of a deal out of this,” Dani said, digging her fork into her bowl and taking a bite. Mary was right. It really WAS good! Not on the level of the pot roast she’d made with the help of her other self, but definitely not something you’d spit out in disgust.

It tasted far better than Dani ever expected she’d be able to prepare, and that’s what was important.

“I chose something healthy specifically for you two,” Mary said, turning to Dani and Gina. “Dani, stir-fry with chicken and veggies is really good for keeping trim while building muscle!”

Dani nodded in agreement, there was nothing but healthy ingredients in here. Although thanks to her transformation, building muscle wasn’t a big priority.

Mary turned to Gina next. “And as for you, Gina… well…” She rolled her eyes warily up and down the punk girl.

“…You really need to work on your diet. I was talking with Dawn, and we agreed that you should also be cutting back on your drinking. You know, for your health.”

Gina winced. “Come on, seriously?”

“Eating healthy is the first step to being a good girl,” Mary encouraged, having no qualms about using Gina’s implanted triggers to get her to comply. It was for her own good, after all!

Gina shot her a dirty look in respond and jabbed her fork into the bowl, taking a bitter bite. “It tastes… okay, I guess.”

It probably tasted as good as Mary said it was. But Gina wasn’t exactly a “chicken and vegetables” kind of girl. Unless they were bathed in grease and scattered on top of a pizza, and even then…

“Oh!” Holly clapped her hands together. “I just had a great idea! What if we call Nick back in here, and we have him shoot his semen into the bowl? That should taste really good, right, Gina?”

Gina’s face lit up. “Oh, yeah! Now we’re talking!”

Dani looked down at her own bowl and made a face. “…And with that I think I just lost my appetite,” she muttered, setting it down and shaking her head.