Free Doughnuts

I love doughnuts! All kinds from a simple glazed to a cream filled long john with sprinkles. My specific favorite seems to change from month to month depending on my moods. This month I am partial to the apple fritters. That warm apple cinnamon flavor covered in delicious icing. Oh man… They are so good! I usually go to my favorite bakery every morning before school for some sort of breakfast pastry.

Things changed one day when I saw they were doing one of those food eating contests. All you had to do is eat a cake with in sixty minutes and you will win a dozen of their famous glazed or chocolate covered doughnuts every week for a whole year! Oh my gosh! A dozen doughnuts every week for a year? Yes please!

Then I saw it. The monster cake that the challenger had to finish with in the sixty-minute time frame. This thing was huge! Soft, airy chocolate cake. With a creamy caramel crunchy center, smothered in a milk Chocolate icing. All topped off with shavings of dark and white chocolate. It is a chocolate lover’s dream and a diabetic’s nightmare.

This set me back… I may be a young 13, but that is a big cake with a lot of chocolate. But the free doughnuts for a year… Ugh… I had to at least try this tasty confection first and see if I could even go the distance on something like this. I asked my mom to buy us some cake so we could try it. I also asked the baker if anyone has tried the challenge yet.

“Well we’ve only had it up for three days so far. However, we’ve had 3 people try it.” Said the baker

“Did they finish the cake?”

“No darling, they did not. One guy came close, he was down to the last slice.”

“He couldn’t finish one more slice? How sad.”

“Well you see, his body told him he had enough. Let’s just say…” He paused to look at me like I was some little child. “…He didn’t have enough room for that final piece.”

Mom and I made it home and I asked her if I could try the cake now.

“What’s your hurry, can’t we at least eat dinner first?”

“Mom there’s a dozen doughnuts on the line here. I have to try this cake and decide if I am up for the challenge.”

“Hunny, try not to get discouraged. You heard the baker, a grown man couldn’t finish that cake.”

“I guess it’s a good thing I’m not a grown man then.”

I eventually conceded and ate my dinner first. I would take my mom’s advice and save that decadent chocolate cake for a desert. When I took that first bite, I was glad I waited. The taste of all that chocolate melting in my mouth. The softness of the cake, the smoothness of the icing. It was so rich and delicious. I see now why people had such a hard time finishing this thing of beauty, this masterpiece. The baker had really outdone himself. But I was determined to win that prize. I mean really, what better prize for a kid in middle school then a dozen doughnuts every week?

That night I did some personal research on competition eating. Trying to learn some tricks of the trade. I found a website all about professional eating filled with info. I took all kinds of notes and started putting them into practice right away. I spent the next two days or maybe three training for my big day. There were only two days left of the contest at this point and the one day I was completely busy. So, the last day of the contest was my last chance. My last chance for free doughnuts!

The day came when it was my turn to take on the cake challenge. Surprisingly enough only one person at this point was able to finish off the cake. Of course, it was someone who wants to be a professional eater and doesn’t even live in town. She just did it for the practice. I guess she travels the country doing all kinds of eating contests like this one. I sat down at the table with my mom and two of my best friends. The baker comes out of the back room with a covered plater. Even the platter looked big. Now I am getting nervous. Is this worth a years’ worth of doughnuts? The fear started setting in along with the doubt. He sets the platter down on the table.

“Let me take a moment to explain how this will work. When I say go you will have sixty minutes to finish this cake. If you are able to finish in the time limit. The prize is yours.” He pauses and looks at me with his judgmental eyes. “Are you sure you are up for this?”

This time I paused; I was frozen. Am I ready for this? I turned to my friends smiling and giving me two thumbs up. I turn to mom who is smiling, but I could tell she was just as nervous as I am. I took a deep breath. “Let’s do this!” I exclaim “I’m ready!” The baker lifts up the cover revealing my chocolaty foe. This one looked just as delicious and rich as the one I got to taste just a few days ago. With the clock ticking I grabbed for the first slice and began to chow down. Oh man, this cake is just as good as the last one. I was in heaven with every bite of this creation. I kept a fairly good pace all the way through the first half of the cake. Surprisingly with in only 15 minutes too. I thought to myself I could actually win this thing. Then I started eating the second half. I could feel my stomach getting angry with me. I was barely two bites into the second half of this, I cannot be done, I thought to myself. As the clock got to the thirty-minute mark I still had three quarters of the cake left to eat. The clock was ticking and I was getting slower. My stomach was filling quickly. My head wanted to keep eating, but my stomach was screaming. “STOP!” I suddenly had an image of Bruce in my favorite book. This must be how he felt when he was forced to eat the cake in front of the whole school. I turned to my friends, and just like that school cheered on for Bruce they were cheering on for me. I felt a renewed energy and kept going. Slice after slice I kept eating. With every minute that past I would keep eating until I was down to the final five minutes. I had one slice left. I wasn’t sure if I had it in me, but I was too close to quit now. I could see me picking up my doughnuts every week. With the last ounce of energy I had, I ate that last morsel of cake. As I swallowed that last bit the clock struck zero!

I had done it! I was the only kid to not only take on the challenge but finish it as well.