The Intern

Chapter 1 - Getting The Job

In the sprawling, sun-baked expanse of Hollywood, where dreams are both made and shattered with equal ferocity, there lived a young man named Jake. At twenty-two, Jake was as broke as anyone could be in this city of stars, his dreams of becoming a screenwriter fading with each passing day. His once lean physique had now turned skeletal due to too many skipped meals and not enough auditions turning into roles. Desperate times called for desperate measures, and so, when Jake stumbled upon an ad for a food taste tester on a popular cooking competition show, "Culinary Masters," he saw it not just as a job but as a lifeline.

The audition was unlike any he had experienced before. Instead of reciting lines, Jake was handed a slice of cake - a decadent, multi-layered, chocolate monstrosity - and told to eat it, all while the judges, with their full plates, merely pretended to take bites. There was something odd about the setup, but hunger and desperation made Jake ignore the red flags waving in the background.

To his surprise, he got the job. The contract was thick, filled with legal jargon that Jake skimmed through in his excitement. His eyes caught the basics: pay, hours, responsibilities. It seemed straightforward - or so he thought until he met the director, Mr. Harrison, a man whose girth belied his sharp, scrutinizing eyes.


Mr. Harrison had an acute sense of humor, especially when it came to the ironies of life. When Jake handed over his resume during the interview, among the usual qualifications, there was one line under "Special Skills" that stood out: "Can eat anything without gaining weight." It was meant to be a light-hearted quip, a nod to his former days when food was abundant, and his metabolism was his superpower.

The day Jake signed his contract, Mr. Harrison made an offhand comment about Jake's slender frame, saying with a chuckle, "You sure you can handle all this food, skinny?" Jake laughed along, assuming it was just part of the camaraderie of the set. But as he later pondered over the words, a chilling realization crept in.

The contract signing had been a blur, with Jake more focused on the promise of steady income than the fine print. Now, reflecting on Mr. Harrison's words, Jake understood that perhaps there was a darker intent behind that laughter. What if that remark was not just playful banter but a prelude to what was to come?

The clause, hidden among the dense legal jargon, wasn't just about eating - it was about proving a point, exacting a subtle revenge for a perceived slight. Jake's light-hearted boast on his resume had not gone unnoticed or unforgotten by Mr. Harrison. What Jake had intended as humor was now the basis of a contract that was anything but.
"Finished the whole cake, did you?" Mr. Harrison's voice boomed across the set on Jake's first day. Jake nodded, a bit puzzled by the emphasis on the word 'whole'. The director's smile was more of a smirk, "Good. Because you'll need to do that for every episode. It's in your contract."

Jake's stomach dropped. He glanced back at the contract, flipping through the pages, only now noticing a tiny clause buried deep within the legal text: The Intern shall consume every dish presented on the show in its entirety for payment to be processed.

The revelation hit Jake like a ton of bricks. His new job, which he had hoped would be a step towards a better life, was actually a punitive measure for a light-hearted jab at his own expense. As the cameras rolled and the contestants presented their culinary creations, Jake realized that each bite was not just a test of taste but a test of endurance and, perhaps, a punishment for an unintended slight.

This new job would test his resolve. The episode count for this contract was revealed to him and he seemingly signed on for the entire lifespan of the show, 100 episodes. Yet, he had to eat, for the money was too crucial to lose, and his pride wouldn't allow him to back down from this bizarre challenge.

As the first chapter of his new life in Hollywood unfolded, Jake learned that in this city, every bite could be bitter, and every contract could hide a clause as sweet and deceptive as the cakes he was forced to consume.