Words for Wednesday - April 13

As I told Wednesday, this months prompts are given by Messymimi at her Meanderings.
This week she told us: 

It's my month to provide the prompts for Words for Wednesday.  Since it becomes Wednesday in some parts of the world while it is still Tuesday here, i am providing the prompts today, so you can work on them and post them when it's Wednesday where you are.

This week the prompts are the following words

prize
conversation
smell
citizen
vegetable
fail

and/or the following phrases

mountain out of a molehill (to make a big deal out of nothing)
a cut below (something inferior to the surrounding others)
a cold fish (someone who lacks empathy or emotion)

Please use these as a springboard, not a chain, and if you write a story, leave a link in the comments today or tomorrow so we can all come visit.

I went back in time to the first summer at Unicorn  Farm, to the everyday teaching and getting to know the apprentices, which is necessary for the story. I did not use all the prompts, citizen just did not fit in. I  know what to use the last two for, but this will make the story tooo long. Maybe in the coming days.

***

The transformation prize was the talk of the day for the apprentices. Jon and Taavi had gathered them all in the yellow room under the roof. Then they had announced the transformation test - with a prize. The apprentices stood in small groups in the yard, trying to find out more about the test. Heidi was unperturbed. "I'm sure you're going to win," Susan said, "Or are we competing free for all, it seems a bit unfair. Some of the older Icelandic apprentices have been using their magic for so much longer than the rest of us. And the older ones like Tage and Lis, too, It's kind of unfair."
"Tage and Lis are actually only one year older than you," Heidi said, defending her elder siblings, "But Sif and Elvin, they're old."
"And Helge and Harald, the two Swedes!" Susan said.
"Yes, but they're not in the purple group either," Heidi said. "My worst competitor will be Ingrid, she's good and have lots of practise. She's more than half Saami, and almost as old as Sif and Elvin. Even if they're Icelandic both of them, they are not that good at transformation."

The smell of delicious food reached them and the lunch-bell rang. All apprentices streamed into the barn and waited for the professors to come along.
For some time only munching and soft whispers asking for this and that was heard. Magic was hungry work and the Nisser were great cooks all of them. But as appetites were stilled, the transformation test once again surfaced.
"Are vegetables still alive, when they're not growing any more?" Susan asked, looking at the left over lettuce leaf on her plate. "I mean could we be asked to transform a lettuce leaf like this one into say a match or a paper umbrella."
"I'm sure we could,"Lis answered, while Tage, still chewing, just nodded.
"I'm sure I'm going to fail the test," Susan said despondently.
"So am I" Veronika said. "It would be easier to find a paper umbrella than transforming one."
"Yes, and even easier to call a mouse or two to then eat that lettuce leaf for me," Susan added.
"You're making a mountain out of a molehill," Lis said. "the test is not a big issue, even if I would be happy to win, of course."
"What is the prize?" Fiona asked. "Does anybody know?"
Nobody did and Jon rose and clapped his hands.