Chapter 9
DAISY
I paced nervously back and forth, hating this part of the competition. And after the high of my flowers and toadstool sculpture last week, I had a lot riding on the new one, and I wasn't as happy with how my pond creature had turned out compared to some of my others.
I popped my earplugs out, putting them in the carry case and taking advantage of the fact it was quieter without all the equipment buzzing.
"Here," Thor said, holding out a cup of coffee to me.
I smiled at him. "Thanks."
Our fingers brushed against one another as I took it, making all kinds of feelings stir in me that I should be ignoring. And not just because of the competition either. He was Thor . If I accepted that, then I had to accept that there was nothing that could ever happen between us, despite the fact that sometimes it felt like it could.
"You've got nothing to worry about," he said.
I raised an eyebrow. "There are seven talented artists in the room, I have a lot to worry about," I countered.
"Your frog is great, I loved the lilypad you made for him to sit on."
My heart skipped a beat at the compliment, even if I wasn't completely enamoured with my own creation. "Thank you. I liked your heron too."
He smiled. "It could have been better, the work on the feathers is sloppy..."
"In six hours, it was excellent," I countered. "I'd normally spend more like six days on a sculpture like that."
"Mmm, fair."
"Which makes you wonder why I thought this would be a good idea," I muttered. I took a sip of my coffee, enjoying the boost it gave me even if it didn't do anything to relieve the worry building within me.
"Because you normally take six days on a sculpture?"
"Exactly. None of what I've made here is actually sellable."
"So see it as practice," he said. "You're thinking on your feet, trying new things, and working with new methods. It's all part of the learning process."
"That's easy for you to say, you've probably been doing this for a few centuries."
"Try a decade," he responded.
"Oh."
"Not what you expected me to say?" he asked.
"Well, no. You're Thor. Or you say you're Thor."
To my surprise, he laughed in response to my expression of doubt, even though it wasn't really real. He'd done enough to prove to me that he was Thor. "You still don't believe me?"
"I do," I assured him. "It's just such a surreal thing to get my head around."
"Well, that's me." He shrugged. "And as for sculpting, I got into it about ten years ago. Now blacksmithing, that's a whole other story. If this was a forging competition then it wouldn't be fair."
"Something tells me that you wouldn't enter a forging competition." I wasn't sure how I was so certain of that, but I was. There was no way Thor would do something underhanded like that.
"I wouldn't. Unless it was against other gods."
"I bet that show would have ratings through the roof." I'd certainly watch it, and I knew Danny would be tuned in constantly, and probably looking up all the contestants online as he did.
Thor laughed. "Oh, definitely. You should pitch it to Mel next time she comes through here."
"Yeah, because I'm ever going to have a conversation with one of the Muses," I responded. "They're the epitome of beauty, grace, and all that, and I'm..." I waved my hand down myself, trying not to feel too self-conscious while I was wearing old-washed-out jeans and a shirt that had several burn marks on.
Thor looked me up and down, making my body heat more than it should.
"You've got nothing to worry about when it comes to the Muses," he murmured.
I let out a small noise that was very unlike me, but impossible to avoid doing in the circumstances. There was no doubt in my mind that Thor was hot, and here he was acting like he found me more attractive than women whose lives had been dedicated to beauty. Maybe it wasn't the fact that he was Thor that I found surreal, but the fact that he was Thor and wanted to talk to me.
The bell that told us all that filming was about to start went off, and I cursed inwardly at the bad timing.
"Let's go find out what the judges have said." I gestured towards the staging area, trying not to sound too disappointed that our time to chat with one another was already over.
The four sculptures had been brought back into the room, and it was a good chance to look at them properly. I hadn't really seen any of them apart from Thor's heron, and I already knew that one was stiff competition.
Carlos' sculpture caught my attention almost immediately. I wasn't sure how he'd done it, but it almost looked as if the duck was really swimming across the metal and fishing for food. I wouldn't be surprised if it was enough to win him Judge's Choice .
"I hope you're all ready for the judging," Rosie said brightly, not in the slightest bit aware of how tense this situation was for those of us competing. "The judges said that it was a difficult round to judge, with some of the best work they've seen from you all so far."
"Unfortunately, we still have to say goodbye to one of you," Duncan said.
"But first, the best bit," Rosie said. "The judges are awarding Judge's Choice to the sculpture that they didn't believe could be created in the time allotted and looked as if it was straight out of real life. Congratulations, Carlos, your duck has won Judge's Choice !"
"Congrats," I said to Carlos while he beamed with pride. Which was warranted, his sculpture was truly beautiful, and I was envious of the talent he clearly had.
"Now comes the part none of us like," Duncan said with false solemnity. "The judges were impressed with all of the sculptures this week, but we have to say goodbye to someone."
"Kenji, while the judges liked the way you used colour this week, they thought that the application was a bit amateurish," Rosie said.
I looked over to my fellow competitor, noticing how serious he looked even as he nodded his head to acknowledge the criticism. It was hard to take at the best of times, but knowing that this was going out on TV to so many people definitely made it worse.
"Daisy," Rosie said
The sound of my name made my stomach drop. Considering they only gave critique to the bottom two, it sounded as if I was in real danger of going home.
I swallowed hard and looked down at my sculpture of a frog. I thought I'd done a decent job, and I hadn't even leaned into flowers. Maybe that was where I'd gone wrong, and I should have done a lily to go alongside the frog, but I'd been worried I'd end up penalised for not allowing the animal to shine through when that was the brief.
Rosie gave me an insincerely reassuring smile and carried on with no regard for the thoughts going through my mind. Which was fair, this was her job. "You were the Judge's Choice with last week's flowers, but this week, the judges felt like your frog sculpture was rushed and didn't have the finesse they've come to expect from the competition."
Tears sprang to the corners of my eyes, and I looked down hoping that no one could see them. I didn't want anyone to think that I was overly emotional, especially compared to the others.
Thor shifted from one foot to the other beside me, clearly wanting to say something, but I hoped he wouldn't. There was nothing to say.
"I'm sorry, Daisy, but your time in the competition has ended," Rosie said.
I let out a deep breath. "Thank you. It's been such a great experience to be here. And I wish everyone else a lot of luck." My voice cracked as I said the words, and I was surprised I even managed to get them out.
Without even thinking about it, I turned towards Thor and he put his arms around me. I wasn't usually the type to seek out comfort from people I barely knew, but I supposed I was starting to feel like I did know him.
"You'd better win now," I told him.
He laughed, the warm sound travelling through me pleasantly despite the situation. "Is that what you're thinking about?"
I nodded. "Got to throw my support behind someone." I pulled away from him and wiped away the threat of tears, grateful that he didn't mention them, even as he watched me.
Carlos appeared at my side to express his regret, and I was grateful that he wasn't just trying to gloat over his success at Judge's Choice . Kenji wasn't quite so subtle with his relief, but that was to be expected considering he narrowly avoided being in my position.
I said my goodbyes to the other contestants and headed out of the studio, acutely aware of the cameras following me and the fact I didn't want to break down before I got out of there.
But the reality was already sinking in. I'd been sent home from the competition, which meant there was no chance of me winning now, even in my wildest dreams.