"A Bake sale?" Amber asked. "Seriously, our first contest is going to be a bake sale?"

"For a local elementary school, yes," Roger said. He handed to Paul and Amber each a packet of papers, before reaching into his coats for some pens.

"Where is Vanessa?" Paul questioned, "I was expecting her to be our guide thru this whole thing."

"She is at the studio," Roger said. "She needed to coordinate with the researchers to go over how to properly use the Shrinking technology."

Roger made sure Paul and Amber took a pen from him. "Please sign the Non-Disclosure agreement."

Amber took the pen offered and quickly flourished her name on the papers - before neatly printer her full name next to it. "So is the shrinking going to start? Are we becoming smaller?"

"Actually, Not yet," Roger said. "We planned that there wouldn't be any shrinking until the 2nd episode of the series. This first contest is just to familiarize you with the rules."

"Then what's the point of it?" Amber asked. Nobody offered an answer.

"What are all these rules," Paul asked. "I'm not a lawyer, do I need one?"

Roger shrugged before taking back Amber's Pen & her paperwork. "Mostly these rules are for the competitions themselves. You agree to participate in the activities we assign to you... The Prize money will only be given at the end of filming... And, that you're not allowed to tell people you are going to be part of a Netflix series. - Normal Stuff"

Paul did not look impressed by this answer. His pen was limp in his hands and he stared at the papers without reading them.

"Of course, you absolutely can consult a lawyer," Roger offered. "That is not a crime, nothing here is..."

Amber leaned over to look more carefully at what she had just agreed to.

Roger continued, "The whole point,is that this is a Reality show, that we, I, am going to be filming your life for Television. You are signing that you want to participate - and to not let anyone know what is happening until we are finished." 

Roger laced his fingers and folded his hands. He also was not a lawyer, he just wanted to get started filming. The sooner he captured the story the sooner he could start editing.

Paul regripped his pen and scribbled his name. He laid the pen on the papers and handed them back. 

As Roger took them Amber pipped up, "Obviously people will notice if I became shorter... Are you saying I cannot acknowledge if I shrink in public."

"You could say that," Roger said. "Just that you cannot say that it is happening for a TV Show." Then he imagined a better answer, "Maybe says its part of an experiment, or that something strange is happening. But Netflix demands privacy until the show is ready for debut."

Amber and Paul looked at each other.

Roger continued, "But as I said, None of that is happening yet. I'm not asking you to lie, just be discrete."

Roger filed away the NDAs and then extracted a new red envelope. "This," he said handing the card to Amber, "Is the rules for the first task."

_ _ _

The first task was very straightforward - a proper trial run. Amber and Paul were asked to bake cookies for a local fundraiser. Whoever sold the most, would raise the most money, and thus would win.

Vanessa’s magic device was out of sight - but bragging rights were on the table. Which was plenty to encourage the two lovebirds. 

The first thing Amber did was browse Pinterest. Her eyes catching on the best and most beautiful as she browsed. The very next morning she woke up very early to start her ensemble. Cinnamon Pinwheels, Molasses with a Caramel Center, Gingerbreads in the shape of a pinecone with almond décor.

By the time Paul pulled himself away from the bedspread, Amber was covered in flour, brown sugar in her hair. Her kitchen apron barely protecting her at all.

Paul helped her place, by hand, the last of the Almonds on her gingerbreads. They really did look like little pinecones. Almond slivers sticking up like little snow covered bristles. 

"These do look really good," Paul said. Giving his wife a little hug. 

"Thank you," Amber said taking a deep breath. Her cheeks were red from all the effort. "I think I need to lay down before we try to put them away." Amber sank into Paul's hug, letting him hold her up. "We should put the cookies in a decorative box, do we have something like that?"

"Maybe with our Christmas ornaments," Paul said. I'll dig around when my cookies are in the oven. 

"What are you going to make?" Amber asked.

"Just the regular sugars," Paul said. "Everyone always says they like them."

"They do all say that," Amber replied. She gave him a tiny kiss, washed her hands in the kitchen sink and went back to bed.

Paul opened a window to help cool the kitchen down. He changed the oven temperature to 400 and walked over to the bookcase. "Where did I put that..."

He ran a finger along the titles until he spotted the familiar red spine. "Perfect," Paul said as he pulled the book off the shelf, "Right where I left you."

Paul brushed some dust off the old book. Its red cover faded with age and stained on the edges. Betty Crocker's Cooky Book. The front covered adorned with a hundred varieties of sweets, simple and complex, big and small.

However, Paul only needed one of them. He opened up to the usual page and returned to the kitchen.

The first thing he needed was butter.

_ _ _

"So who won?" Vanessa asked walking into the editing booth.

Roger's Computer screen was full of film clips from the weekend. Interviews with happy consumers of cookies and patrons of Music Education. 

"Paul," Roger said flatly. "Easily, by about a hundred fifty dollars I think."

Vanessa leaned in to the better view some of the images.

"I think a lot of people spent more time taking pictures of Amber's cookies than they did eating them. Simply Paul sold more, he ran out. I think one guy bought 19 of them."

"That a good angle," Vanessa said. I think I'll make that as voiceover for the episode."

Vanessa watched as Roger scrolled thru his footage, browsing for clips. "Do you have anything of them arguing?"

Roger moved his cursor across the screen, to an open window he had minimized earlier. "I did capture this." He pulled up the clip and turned up the PC's volume. "Before I shot this, I had just asked her how she felt about her odds. Amber I mean."

Amber's face came into Focus on the computer monitor. Roger had perfectly captured her red hair. Roger pressed play and Amber said, "I don't think Paul has taken this seriously enough, he cannot expect to win if he doesn't put in the effort."

After a few seconds the clip stopped, Roger Minimized it again. "She was wrong," he said. "Paul did take it seriously. He made something that tasted good, over what was photogenic."

_ _ _ 

Fun Fact - Ethel is my Mother’s Mother’s Mother - No Joke. I am her Great Grandson. The family owns an original Betty Crocker Cooky Book. Ethel won a contest and immortalized her name.

_ _ _ 

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.