Page 1 of Baking Battles

The ultimate bucket list of Mattias Strømme, aged seventeen.

10: Zipline down the Holmenkollen ski jump—and not wet my pants in front of the whole school.

9: Travel to Australia, and see Ayers rock—and not die from a poison snakebite.

8: Buy my own house, so I don’t have to pay rent ever again.

7: Learn to drive so I can buy an Audi TT.

6: Become one of those people who gets along with their parents.

5: Meet some nice, cool friends who can be like my own crew.

4: Get a really good job which I like that will pay me loads of money.

3: Have kids. Or maybe, just one.

2: Have sex properly—and actually like it.

1: Kiss someone who is hot AF and not drunk.

The last line has been struck out with a pencil until the paper has almost crumpled. Then, replaced with new writing underneath in a different pen.

1: Kiss someone who is not a girl.

He scrunches up the piece of paper, then sighs and flattens it back out, carefully letting his fingers stroke the edges, before placing it back where he found it in the bottom of his memory box. A battered old shoebox filled with stupid things that were once important. The naive ramblings from ten years ago that still makes his stomach curl with angst.

Bucket list. What a load of old bollocks.

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