Fiction Fantastic 2026 Winning Story: “All Mixed Up” by Emmalee Naylor

“All Mixed Up,” by Emmalee Naylor, Gilham Elementary School

Second Place, Elementary Level, 2026

All Mixed Up

by Emmalee Naylor

Gilham Elementary School

Chapter 1: Autumn Andes

Have you ever heard the term “sleep like a baby,” but babies don’t sleep through the night at all? Or wondered why cookies are baked and bacon is cooked? Should it be the opposite? Just some thoughts of mine. Well, my baby sister Clarabella cries her face off. I laugh at the thought of the ridiculous image that prints on my mind.

I sit up in my bed to check the time. It reads 11:32. Looks like I won’t be getting much sleep. First day of middle school with what looks like a case of pink eye. Darnit.

Click!

“Autumn, time for school!” booms Mom as she switches on the lights.

I shove my face into my pillow. “Ten more minutes, Mom!” My pet dog Floofy licks my face, which makes me open my eyes.

“No honey, now’s the time!”

“Fine.” I groan. I shoot out of bed once I hear my four-year-old brother Archie playing with my cookbooks. I quickly pull him away from my desk.

“Sissy, no!” he yelps.

I go to the bathroom mirror to check on my disgusting fat pimples. They look like giant mountains, or at least, ugly, fat, bumpy ones.

Archie waddles carrying poor Floofy the wrong way.

“Buddy, don’t hold him like that!” I say in an annoyed tone. I’ve always been embarrassed by Floofy’s name because Archie named him the second he could talk.

I comb my hair while humming songs from my mom’s Christmas playlist, even though it’s still September.

“Autumn! What hairstyle do you want today?” asks Mom.

“How about two braids?”

“Got it,” says Mom.

After she’s done with my hair, I go choose what to wear. I end up with white sweatpants and Nikes (my new pink and white ones), a cool striped yellow and white sweater, and two bracelets on my wrist.

I devour a toaster waffle, some strawberries, and take a to-go cheese stick. Pack my backpack and hurry off with my mom.

On the drive there, I get just a little nervous. Probably first day of middle school jitters.

Chapter 2: Amber Williams

We’re parked in the school parking lot, and I’m looking for Autumn. I really hope I see her.

“Momma, do you see Autumn?”

“No, honey,” Momma says. “Have a great day, honey.”

“Thanks, Mom! Bye!” I say as I climb out of the car.

I walk through the crowd of people. I call Autumn to see if she is here.

“Hello,” says Autumn.

“Are you here yet?” I say into my phone.

“I’m near the sign near the school, you know, like the O’Hena Middle sign!”

“Okay!” I say. “Bye!” I walk to the sign. There she is.

“Hi!” I say.

“Hey,” she says back.

“Hey! Pimple girl!” says a familiar voice. Travis Tate! I knew it!

“Shut up!” I say defending Autumn. Oh, how much I hate that guy’s straggly hair and burning brown eyes, his sweaty red palms and cheeks. Finally he leaves.

“You know he just wants to pick on you to feel better,” I say to Autumn.

“Yeah,” she says.

I just don’t get why he picks on her. When I look at her, I see silky hair the color of peanut butter, gleaming eyes, one brown and one green, and he just sees the pimples.

Also, she loves cooking and baking. She has literally won the kid’s baking championship. I mean the only thing I can cook is eggs and my long braids get all over the food!

“I wonder where Esme is.” I say.

Chapter 3: Esme Barnard

I rush through the halls. “Finally, I found you guys!”

“Where were you, Esme?” says Drew.

“I don’t really know. My dad took some wrong turn or something!” I say.

“Attention students. School starts in five minutes. Attend your classrooms!” booms Principal Hawkins on the intercom.

“Well, bye guys!” I say.

We all have different homerooms. Amber is the luckiest though. Amber is so outgoing and doesn’t care what people think of her. She’s so cool with her little braids. Sometimes pink, or blue or brown, or all black and blonde. Her braids are black and then fade into a different color. She says it takes seven hours to do her hair. Sometimes her mom lets her wear centimeter crop tops and put on makeup. She’s so cool. And…

“Esme? Esme?”

I look around startled.

“Stop spacing out!”

Oh, it was my teacher Ms. Belhops.

“What is your favorite school subject!?” she booms.

“Well, ummm, I like, ummm, free time?” I say.

“Well, if you want any, stay focused!” she says, embarrassing me.

I go red-cheeked while I watch kids staring, smirking, and slightly laughing about me. Even Travis is eyeing me down. I hate Ms. Belhops with her thick glasses and pursed red lips, her wrinkles head to toe make me want to gag.

I check the time on the clock. 10:13. Lunch is at 12:25. Oh gosh, this is going to be a long day today.

Chapter 4: Autumn Andes

Finally, lunch! I rush down the halls. After lunch means Cooking 101. I love cooking; it is the best! One time I got to go on a show. It was awesome! I got third!

Once I get to the area to order I realize lunch is fish sticks. Eww! I really love fish. I swear they are amazing but just not here. They are slimy and icky, soggy, and I bet microwaved. I can make fish n’ chips better than they can I think. I know this amazing tartar sauce recipe.

Or maybe Alaskan cod with garlic lemon butter. That would hit the spot. But this smells like sandy seaweed puked out by a dead fish.

I look for open tables. There! That table has Amber, Esme, and Coby. Coby was in my fifth-grade class. He is nice and he has fluffy hair the color of leather and sand, also light blue eyes.

I sit down. They all stare at me like I’m crazy.

“Hey,” I say.

“Oh, yeah, hi,” says Coby.

We talk about random stuff. Esme has such a great lunch. Well, a pretty good lunch, better than mine. Obviously, it’s some sour cream and onion Lays, McDonalds fries, burger, and chicken nuggets, plus a twinkie. Even though that stuff is good, I’ll just eat when I get home.

Esme has very short hair as straight as a line. Nervous yet positive personality, big dimples, and emerald green eyes, tons of freckles, and always wears her hair in pigtails.

After lunch I rush to Cooking 101. I’m so excited. I don’t even stop by my locker.

Once I get there I notice a new girl I didn’t know at my elementary school.

“Class, meet Faye,” says my Cooking 101 teacher, Ms. Lindsay.

“Um, hi” Faye says.

“Tell us something about yourself,” says Ms. Lindsay.

“I’m eleven years old. I moved from a small town in Nevada because my dad got a job here in San Diego. Also I love cooking, baking, and reading, also collecting water bottle stickers, and I love my cat Snickerdoodle,” she says.

Faye is short and has wavyish blonde hair, thick glasses, braces, and pearl earrings, and tons of backpack keychains. She sits down after she’s done talking.

“The top two of you in this class will be able to get into a cooking contest with a prize of two thousand dollars,” says Ms. Lindsay.

That’s gonna be easy to get in the top two. Bet I’ll be winning the contest. I could buy a Nintendo. That would be awesome. I daydream. Bring it on!

“In a week, I will give you a quiz,” says Ms. Lindsay.

Chapter 5: Faye Woods

It’s been a week. I’m so excited! I hope I get into the top two, I think as I walk to Cooking 101.

“OK, class, I’m going to give you all a really hard quiz that some of you might have never heard of.”

She gives me the test. I write my name and get started.

Some of the questions are about stuff like butter basting and deep frying. To write step-by-step instructions to make different foods with different things. Like the easiest question is how to make croissants but to me all of the questions are easy. I’m the second person to finish. The first person is this girl named Autumn. She looks pretty nice.

Once everybody’s done, Ms. Lindsay looks at her sheet that has all the right answers.

“What a surprise, we have two people who got them all right. Autumn Andes and Faye Woods! Congratulations!”

I’m so happy! Autumn comes over and high-fives me.

“Great job!” she says.

“You, too!” I say back.

After school my dad takes me to my favorite ice cream place. He orders pumpkin pie flavor for a fall twist, and I order pistachio and chocolate.

“Yum!” I say once I take my first lick.

“Your cooking contest is on Sunday, or at least round one,” says Dad.

“It’s Friday, so not too long” I say.

I get home and read and pet Snickerdoodle until dinner, then eat some tacos, take a shower, and watch Food Network until bedtime.

I open my eyes while yawning. Morning already? I throw some clothes on, and eat some breakfast and then watch more Food Network with Mom, Dad, and my younger sister Chloe.

I can’t wait until tomorrow, so wish me luck! I write in my diary.

Chapter 6: Autumn Andes

It’s Sunday! I jump out of bed and go to the mirrors. “Another day, another slay!” I say to my reflection.

My family heads off to the cooking place. All of the people are there already so I must be a little late. I see Faye and about twenty different kids from different schools.

“Hello, everyone!” says a booming voice. “I’m Mr. Joe, one of three judges.”

“I’m Ms. Marletts,” says a thin woman with pricey designer clothes, the kind of person who would spit out good food.

“Hey, I’m Chef Michael,” says, well, Chef Michael. “You are all here for your skill and talent. A winner will win. Others… well, better luck next time. You will have an ingredient you will have to use every time today. That key ingredient is broccoli! You will have one hour to finish. There are stations with names.”

“Ready, set, go!” said Mr. Joe.

I rush to my table. I know what I’m making, broccoli cheddar soup in a bread bowl.

“Faye, what are you making?”

“My great grandma’s beef and broccoli with rice.”

“Yum!” I say.

I gather all of my ingredients for my soup, make some bread, cut a hole in it. Make my soup, pour it in, make it fancy and…

“Time is up!” says Mr. Joe. The judges get their first meal. A rice noodle Thai curry. It’s a broccoli curry. They seem to enjoy it but I can’t tell that much. The next dish is some air-fried garlic broccoli. Third is just normal broccoli, fourth is Faye’s beef and broccoli. Fifth is alfredo with broccoli, and last is mine.

“Yum, very good,” they say. And so on with other dishes.

“Today, we will be sending three of you home. After that, there will be seventeen contestants remaining. Okay, Sam, your plain broccoli was not the best. You will be my pick to go,” says Ms. Marletts.

“Sorry, Jessi, your garlic broccoli was too crispy and burned,” Chef Michael says. “And last, sorry Gabbie, you are a talented cook, but the alfredo was the main dish. The broccoli did not shine,” says Mr. Joe. “See you all tomorrow. The next twist is pizza. Cool, fun, get creative!”

Chapter 7: Faye Woods

I wake up bright and early. I know exactly what I’m going to make. I can’t go to school. I’m going to skip today so I can cook. I’m going to make deep-fried pizza onion rings! Trust me, they will be delicious!

Once I finish breakfast, I hurry off with my family. I see Autumn when we get there. That’s good! I’m so excited because we are kind of friends. Now that’s awesome.

Then the judges remind us about the challenge and blah, blah, blah, until they say that we’re working in pairs! I rush over to Autumn.

“We’re a group!” she says, clarifying.

“Ready, set, NO! Just kidding, GO!” Mr. Joe says. We rush over to our station.

“I know what we can make,” says Autumn.

“What?” I say.

“Mini deep-fried calzones.”

“Okay,” I say. I don’t mind. I will just make onion rings another time.

Sometimes I think Autumn can be a little bossy. She wants a Nintendo. I want cooking supplies, but she’s just trying to win.

She gathers all of the ingredients and we start. She gets some dough. We make sauce with chopped basil, shredded cheese, and sausages and olives in it. I wrap them up and she deep-fries them.

“That’s time!” said Mr. Joe. People bring in their dishes.

“First up, Daniel and Abby,” the judges say. They have pizza roll up dippers with ranch. Number two is Cam and Alisha. They have pizza French fries. Next is mini pineapple pizzas, also some Thai curry pizza and dip. Next is ours. They seem to kind of like it.

“We have decided four groups will be eliminated this round. Then there will be nine people left,” says Mr. Joe.

“My elimination will be Daniel and Abby. Your dippers were oily,” says Ms. Marletts.

“Mine will be Julie and Morgan. The pineapple made it soggy,” Mr. Joe says.

“Cam and Alisha, I’m sorry—your sauce was not the best,” says Chef Michael.

“And now, we all agree on Charlie and Natasha. Your pizza was good but not prize-worthy,” says Mr. Joe.

I’m so happy I hug Autumn. “Want to have a sleepover for tomorrow’s competition?” I ask.

“Ah, sure, I think. I’ve never had one. Let me ask my mom.” She calls her mom.

“It’s a yes!” she says. We drive back to my home. On the way we stop at Olive Garden for dinner.

Back at my house, we play games, eat kettle corn, peanut butter cups, gummy bears, and sip hot cocoa. Watch Disney movies until we’re tired. Right as we start putting pjs on and brushing our teeth my dad comes up.

“Autumn, change of plans. Your mom is picking you up. Now.”

Chapter 8: Autumn Andes

Next thing I know I’m in the car. My mom is driving straight-faced.

“What’s wrong?” I ask. “Why did you pick me up?”

“Floofy got hit by a car!” she says, tearing up. “I don’t have enough money to pay for vet bills. I need money to pay for our food and running water and our car and everything.”

I’m shocked. I cry. I’m frozen and heartbroken.

When we get home, I check on Floofy. He’s still alive, luckily he only broke his leg. Maybe I can win money to help him. Floofy looks at me with his dachshund eyes filled with sadness. I cry myself to sleep that night, hoping things won’t get worse.

Chapter 9: Faye Woods

My dad tells me what happened on the way to the competition. I feel bad and sad for her.

“Hello, children. Today is dessert day. Make desserts,” says Mr. Joe. “We will eliminate seven of you. One, two, three, go!”

I’m going to make peanut butter pie. It is such a good recipe plus my favorite food. I make the pie crust, make the filling and…time’s up!

First up is brown sugar pecan cookies, two is cookies and cream fudge, three is coconut macaroons, four is lemon poppy seed cake, five is my peanut butter pie, and six is Autumn’s dessert. She’s made chocolate hazelnut brownie bites with ice cream dip. Seven is red velvet cupcakes, eight is cookie ice cream sandwiches, and nine is candied flower petals.

“The two chefs who will be in the championship round are Autumn Andes and Faye Woods! The Championship is Friday. Good luck!”

Chapter 10: Autumn Andes

Click.

“It’s morning,” Mom says. “You have school today.”

I wake up. No Floofy licking my face. Just the light feeling of nothingness surrounding me. Floofy is snoring in the kitchen.

I get to school. Esme and Amber look different. Esme got contacts! Her hair is in a high pony. They’re talking to a group of girls and laughing like best friends.

“Hey, Esme and Amber!” I say going up to them. They walk away going off with Brittany and Charlotte, AKA the mean girls, taking selfies and laughing.

Then I realize my best friend have dumped me.

I’m mostly with Faye that day. Who knew so much could happen in four days?

Chapter 11: Faye Woods

It’s the big day of the final competition. I’m excited-ish and nervous-ish.

“Welcome, girls. Cook or bake something special to you. Three, two, one, go!” says Chef Michael.

I’m cooking pizza onion rings, like I said I would.

I gather my ingredients and get started.

Chapter 12: Autumn Andes

I’m cooking Alaskan cod with garlic herb butter. Hope it’s the winning bite because I better win for Floofy. I’m his only hope. We finish cooking. Time goes by fast.

“Three, two, one. That’s time!” says Ms. Marletts. They try our dishes. “And the winner is…Faye Woods!”

My heart skips a beat. She won and I didn’t!

She looks so happy.

“Hey, Autumn” says Faye. “This belongs to you.” She hands me the money for Floofy.

Now it is October. Me and Faye trick-or-treat together. We love going to each other’s houses, and Floofy is healed. Our favorite thing to do is play our favorite games on my new gift, a Nintendo.