Chapter 8

Charlotte couldn’t believe the words Jessica was saying to her.

“You want me to join a beauty pageant?” She repeated for the hundredth time. Jessica nodded with great enthusiasm as she tugged at Charlotte’s sleeve.

“Come on! I know you’re a tomboy, but, you must want to be girly now and then too.” She insisted.

“There’s a huge difference between dressing a little girly and joining a beauty pageant. Why would I even enter? There’s no way I could win. I’m so, plain.” Charlotte complained. Jessica shook her head.

“See? That’s why you need to enter. You need to work on your self-esteem. There’s no reason you couldn’t win if you put your mind to it! But you’ll never know if you don’t give it a chance.” Jessica encouraged. Charlotte raised her eyebrow.

“What is this really about?” She asked. Jessica rolled her eyes.

“Fine. The winner gets a full scholarship. I don’t want to do it alone.” She confessed. Charlotte sighed.

“What would it mean, if I did agree?” She mumbled. Jessica started bouncing in her seat.

“Well, we get to do all kinds of fun things, like go dress shopping for one!” She screeched. Charlotte shook her head. She already didn’t like the sound of Jessica’s plans.

“Dress shopping?” She huffed. Jessica nodded.

“And you’ll need to get your hair done, and professional make-up. Oh, but don’t worry because my aunt is a stylist and she can do us both for super cheap. She already agreed.” Jessica explained.

“You already talked to her?” Charlotte questioned. Jessica just kept nodding.

“How did you know I’d agree?” Charlotte pried. Jessica looked up at the ceiling and started whistling.

“Jessica…” Charlotte scolded. She looked over at her friend and let out a deep sigh.

“Fine, I was going to beg you until you agreed. If begging didn’t work, bribing. I don’t know. I really want to do this competition. The scholarship would help me out more than you can imagine.” Jessica rambled. Charlotte was quiet again, but finally nodded.

“Okay, I’ll do it. For you.” She agreed. Jessica clapped loudly.

“Thank you so much. You have no idea how much this means to me!” She threw her arms around Charlotte then headed down the stairs in a frenzy. Charlotte could hear her rambling about which color palette would work the best. She rolled her eyes and dropped down on her bed. She couldn’t believe she agreed to enter a beauty pageant, of all things. She had no idea what she was in for.

The next day, Jessica dragged Charlotte dress shopping. It was the longest day of Charlotte’s life. They had gone to three different stores and it looked like Jessica was giving up hope. Charlotte couldn’t find a single thing she’d consider wearing. Finally, Jessica pulled a sleek floor-length gown from the rack and held it up. Charlotte was in love. It was long-sleeved, which was great. But it also had a very revealing neck line. The length of the dress meant her legs would be covered too. She wouldn’t have to worry about ankle exposure. Charlotte took the dress from Jessica and headed into the change room. It took her a few minutes to get out of the layers she was wearing. In hindsight, three shirts was too many to go dress shopping. When she finally got into the dress, she spun around for herself in the full-length mirror. The dress was a dark blue, with sparkles scattered throughout the fabric. The shoulder sat perfectly. The neck line was a little low, but it was only for a few hours. Charlotte strut back into the main area and spun for Jessica. She had found a dress she liked too. Both girls returned to the change room and Charlotte pulled back on all her layers. By the time she was finished getting dressed, Jessica was tapping her foot outside the dressing room.

“I want you to see.” She called. Charlotte groaned as she grabbed her shoes and opened the door. The dress Jessica chose was a plum purple. It went across the shoulders with short sleeves. The neck line made a V-shape to her nonexistent cleavage. It came in at the waist, then flowed out.

“You look like a Disney princess.” She commented. Jessica raised her eyebrow.

“Is that good or bad?” She questioned. Charlotte laughed.

“Normally, bad. But you’re trying to win a beauty pageant, so, Disney princess is exactly what you’re aiming for.” She answered. Jessica nodded as she headed back into the change room.

“Shame about the color.” She groaned.

“What’s wrong with purple?” Charlotte yelled through the door. Jessica threw the dress over the door.

“I just would have liked a different color. Maybe green. Or blue, like yours.” She whined. Charlotte looked at the dress in her hand. She really wasn’t crazy about how much the neck went down. They had been looking for hours at multiple stores and Charlotte was just sick of dress shopping. In fact, she was already sick of the whole pageant idea and it was only the first day. They paid for their dresses and went their separate ways for the rest of the day.

Jessica failed to mention she had signed them up for a modeling class too. She said they needed to learn how to “walk the walk”, like the runway models do. It could only help their chances. Charlotte thought it was stupid, but she agreed to go along with all of Jessica’s insane ideas. She wanted to help her friend. She figured the real reason Jessica wanted her to sign up was that she’d look better compared to Charlotte. Jessica wasn’t unattractive, but she had no unique features. Charlotte was even more plain-looking. She always made Jessica look great. She didn’t mind either. She liked being able to help in whatever ways she could. She wasn’t a great friend all the time, but she definitely tried.

Their first class consisted of standing completely still while the instructor placed textbooks on their heads. The books were not allowed to wobble, and you would be reprimanded if the books hit the ground. Jessica was unsteady at first, and one of the books fell. She was let off with a warning, but she didn’t let it happen again. She kept her back straight and her head held high. She was determined to get that scholarship. For Charlotte, the model walk came naturally. She had been in a commercial when she was younger, and wanted to get into acting. She knew how to walk and balance. Jessica seemed to be impressed, probably expecting that Charlotte would be a clumsy dork. Charlotte honestly expected it too. It had been so long since she paid attention to her walk, she didn’t think it would still be around. Luckily for her, she could glide with ease. She became the top of her mini-class, which got a few groans and grunts from the other girls. Jessica just kept to herself. She wasn’t an elegant person, so all of the etiquette training that followed that week was really hard for her. Again, Charlotte found it to be second nature. She didn’t have to think. She fell right into the role she had happily walked away from. After all, being an actress meant being the center of attention. Charlotte didn’t like to be looked at for too long. She didn’t really like to be noticed at all. She would rather sit by herself and people-watch than ever interact. Just because she was good at something didn’t mean she wanted to do it.

Every day reminded Charlotte why she hated show business. There is a constant pressure to do excellent, no mistakes tolerated. People are prone to making mistakes. It’s not fair to expect perfection. But that was exactly what this class was designed for. If you couldn’t rise to the challenges, you would be kicked out of the class. Jessica was determined to pass, no matter what. Charlotte tried to be encouraging, but didn’t really know how she could be supportive. Jessica didn’t want her advice because she felt like Charlotte was getting “high and mighty” since starting the class. It hurt Charlotte’s feelings, since the only reason she was doing any of it was for Jessica. At the same time, she understood the pressure Jessica was under. Jessica was used to being good at everything right away. She had a natural talent for academics and athletics. It did not translate to grace and etiquette. Both girls were thrilled when they passed the class. Mostly because that meant the class was over. The preparations for the pageant were not.

There is a rule in performance: The bigger, the better. Someone standing on stage would have to present themselves in a larger-than-life way in order to be noticed by the crowd. That meant the girls had to be wearing full jewelry if they wanted to sparkle. Charlotte didn’t even own jewelry because she found it annoying more than anything. Jessica was a bit girly for someone who claimed to be a tomboy. She had full eye shadow palettes in different color hues and matching lipstick. Any color she had, she had the full range of products in. Everything she thought they may need had been thrown into a giant bag and lugged over to the beauty parlor. They had to be there first thing in the morning because Jessica’s aunt said it could take up to six hours. Charlotte couldn’t remember if she had ever been to a salon. Sitting in the chair with the dome on her head felt familiar, but only vaguely. She knew she dressed up a lot when she was a little girl. She was very girly, always in pink and frills. Jessica knew that. She also knew why Charlotte started dressing like a boy. It wasn’t just because boys’ pants have more pockets. Charlotte didn’t like the attention. She was having a really hard time with Jessica’s aunt doting on the pair. She had two employees there, one to help with walk-ins and the other was just to tend to whatever the girls wanted. At some point, Jessica even asked for McDonald’s and her request was fulfilled. Both girls laughed about the unhealthy meal as they devoured it.

It only took a couple of hours to finish the hair and make-up. Jessica insisted on using the free time to decorate them in jewelry. Charlotte really didn’t see the point. Most of the judges weren’t going to be looking at that kind of detail. Jessica was either really excited or really wanted to win. Charlotte felt like she was going a little overboard. She didn’t say anything. She went along with Jessica putting different things on her. She sat still, like a mannequin. It was fitting since she was starting to feel like a mannequin. She looked completely different as she stared at herself in the mirror. Jessica was moving around in the background, but Charlotte could only see this false version of herself. It was uncanny. Jessica finally found a necklace that matched the color and neck line of Charlotte’s dress. They weren’t in their dresses yet. That was the last thing they had to do before they took a taxi over to the event. Jessica had a good eye for knowing what matched. That was the reason Charlotte didn’t argue. She wouldn’t know what was going to look good or even be appropriate. Jewelry was really not her thing. Jessica dug around to find a set of matching bracelets. Charlotte rolled her eyes, but held her arm out so Jessica could decorate her further. Finally, Jessica set her hand down on Charlotte’s shoulder.

“Now, this is the really fun part. We get to see the whole look come together.” Jessica swooned. Charlotte looked at her dress, hanging in the corner. She forced a smile across her face as Jessica brought the dresses over. Charlotte took hers. They headed into the office in the back of the salon, locking the door behind them. Both girls stripped down.

“Ugh, I wish I had your boobs.” Jessica groaned. Charlotte quickly covered her chest.

“What are you talking about?” She squeaked. Jessica laughed at her.

“I mean, yours have a nice shape. Mine are, pointy.” She detailed. Charlotte shook her head.

“No they are not. They are perfectly normal.” She tried to reassure. Jessica was quiet as they finished getting into their dresses. Charlotte had to zip up Jessica’s because the sleeves prevented her from reaching backwards. Charlotte straightened out her own dress before following Jessica back into the salon. Her aunt and friends were all sitting around, waiting for the big reveal.

“Oh my god, you girls look amazing!” Her aunt screeched. She ran over and hugged Jessica. Then she turned and hugged Charlotte, which caught her off guard.

“Thank you.” She answered shyly. Jessica walked over to the mirror and spun around.

“I really do look like a princess. I feel like one too.” She gushed, putting her hand over her chest. Charlotte laughed as she walked up beside her. She had to admit, the dress gave her a figure she didn’t know she had. The way her hair had been done left a few ringlets loose, hanging down over her shoulders and drawing attention to the neck line. The necklace Jessica chose was actually a good distraction from the cleavage. Charlotte was happy about that.

“Let me get a picture of you two.” Her aunt called. Charlotte looked at Jessica. She pouted.

“Come on.” She insisted. Charlotte rolled her eyes, then followed Jessica towards her aunt. There was a forest scene painted on the walls behind the reception desk. They stood in the fake forest and posed with their fake smiles parading around as fake people. It was different, that was for sure. Both girls were careful as they loaded themselves into the waiting taxi. Her aunt waved as they drove away. She would be joining later, when guests were allowed to start arriving. Contestants had to be there a bit earlier so the organizers could go over the basic plan. That’s what Charlotte had been told, at least. She didn’t really know if that’s why Jessica wanted to be there early. She didn’t really ask. She didn’t want to be outside in the real world dressed this way. The sooner they got there, the sooner it would all be over and she could get back into her normal clothes.

Since both girls were nervous, the ride over was silent. Even the driver could sense the tension and just hummed to himself. It was actually soothing Charlotte thought. When they got to the event, they were ushered into a room with a bunch of other girls from different schools. So many of them were dressed better than we were. They had put real time into everything, even buying real fancy gowns. Charlotte guessed that a few of these girls were regular pageant girls. Those were the ones they needed to avoid. They ended up standing beside a girl who looked just as uncomfortable as they were.

“Is this your first one?” Jessica asked softly. The girl nodded nervously.

“Yes. I’m Chelsea.” She introduced. Jessica nodded.

“Jessica. It’s my first time too. Charlotte’s done this before.” She motioned over. Charlotte faked a smile. Chelsea looked her up and down and then started nodding.

“I can see why.” She complimented. Charlotte may have blushed, she wasn’t sure. She wasn’t used to compliments, especially from other women. She shied away from most of the conversation, but listened enough to hear that Chelsea was also going for the scholarship. She had come from a poor family, and this may be her only chance to go to post-secondary school. The more Charlotte overheard from other conversations the girls were having, the more she knew it was Chelsea who really deserved to win. This contest had boasted about it being the best speech, not the actual look of the contestants. That was one of the reasons Charlotte believed Jessica was actually excited to dress up this fancy. It wasn’t really required. Chelsea was wearing a black dress with white horizontal stripes. She had bought it second-hand. Some of the other contestants were wearing ball gowns and others were showing off expensive jewelry. At least Jessica had been right about the importance of jewelry at the pageant. It looked liked the girls were heavily judging each other based on jewelry alone. The room went quiet as the organizer called for everyone’s attention. He went through the rules. He went through the process. Then, all the girls were brought to see the audience through a side door. There were way more people there than Charlotte had expected. She thought it was a small community event, but there was a news team on site to broadcast the show. Charlotte could feel the color drain from her skin. She backed up slowly and grabbed Jessica’s arm. She pulled her away from the other contestants.

“I can’t do this.” She started panicking. Jessica grabbed her shoulders and held her in place.

“It’s going to be fine. It’s just like we practiced. Read the speech, and don’t think about the audience. There’s no pressure.” Jessica tried to reassure. Charlotte shook her head.

“There’s a news team. It’s going to be on TV!” She screeched. Jessica nodded.

“It’s okay. No one is going to recognize you.” She assured. Charlotte took a deep breath. She assumed Jessica was right about that. She didn’t even recognize herself. Charlotte exhaled and followed Jessica back to the group. The event organizer called all the girls up on stage at the same time. This was the walk they had practiced and Charlotte had mastered. One of the girls who had been bragging about her jewelry waved to the crowd, but bracelet slipped down her arm and caught a bit of her hair. She was trying to fix it as she continued her walk. Jessica executed her walk perfectly. Charlotte was proud. After the girls were lined up, they were instructed to leave the stage again. A different girl tripped on her gown on her way back down the stairs. Another girl caught her though. The girls were told to wait behind the curtains, just off the stage. Half of them were on the left while the other half were on the right. Everyone was watching the announcer explaining what the scholarship was and what they were judging contestants on this evening. Charlotte couldn’t help but look out at the crowd. She could see Jessica’s entire family sitting in one of the rows. In the row behind them, Kevin was sitting with his brother. As she scanned the crowd more, her heart fluttered in her chest. Sam and Robert had come into town to see the show. Although the crowd was making her nervous, seeing her friends in the audience gave Charlotte a bit of a confidence boost. As long as she didn’t make a fool out of herself, she would have no complaints. Everything was going great.

A few girls made minor mistakes in their speeches, but nothing that would lose them votes. Charlotte was so nervous that she was going to stumble through the short speech she had written, but, she didn’t. She was able to ignore the cameras and the crowd and just do it like they had practiced. Then she took a bow, and headed off the stage to join the other girls. When everyone had finished their speeches, the organizer had every girl come back on stage. The girls were just standing there, holding their numbers. They voted on numbers instead of names. Only the winner’s name would be announced. which Charlotte was thrilled about. She really didn’t want her name being on the news. She knew there was no way she would win. After the girls left the stage for the final time, three winners were called. The third place winner was one of the snobs. The second place winner was a girl Charlotte hadn’t paid much attention to. The winner was Chelsea. She screamed so loud when her name was called. She immediately hugged Charlotte and Jessica before running out to accept her title. Jessica was a little bummed she didn’t end up ranking, but she was so happy for Chelsea. Everyone was. There were rounds of applause and cheering back stage when Chelsea rejoined the group. Everyone was hugging her and congratulating her. She was overwhelmed by all the attention, but elated at the same time. She had cried all her make-up off since winning. One of the girls was helping her clean it off with a wet wipe. Charlotte dipped away from the commotion and went to look for Sam and Robert. She found the two of them in the hallway and waved them over.

“Hey, I wasn’t sure we’d get the chance to see you!” She giggled. Charlotte nodded.

“Thanks for coming guys.” She looked up at Robert. His eyes were twinkling.

“You look, amazing.” He exhaled. Charlotte blushed and looked away bashfully.

“Stop it. You’re embarrassing me.” She whined. Robert stepped forward and pulled her into his arms. He hugged her tightly, then leaned down and kissed her. She giggled as a bit of her lipstick smeared onto his lips. He laughed as he rubbed it off.

“Grandma would kill me.” He apologized. Charlotte nodded.

“She’s waiting outside, by the way.” Sam piped in.

“Well, I’m glad I got to see you.” Robert groaned. Charlotte hugged him again before the two of them disappeared into the crowd. Charlotte headed through the hallway, trying to find her way back. She jumped as she felt a strong hand on her shoulder. She spun around, causing a few more strands to fall from her up do. James was standing in front of her. She stumbled back a bit and swallowed hard.

“What are you doing here?” She tried to hide her shock.

“Craig saw your name on the bill. His girlfriend volunteers.” He explained. Charlotte nodded as she stepped closer to him. The hallway was still filled with people, though they were starting to thin out.

“That doesn’t really explain what you’re doing here.” She corrected. James smiled.

“I guess you’re right.” He agreed. She raised her eyebrow.

“So, what are you doing here?” She asked softly. James took a deep breath.

“I had to see you.” He answered. Charlotte nodded.

“I hope it was worth your while.” She shrugged. James smiled, looking her up and down.

“You look like the night sky. I could make a wish, but I think it’s already come true. I’ve never seen anything more beautiful.” He rambled. She smiled as she took a step closer to him.

“That was really poetic.” She complimented. He nodded.

“I started writing poetry.” He chuckled. Charlotte smiled.

“I’d like to think I was an inspiration for that. Don’t burst my bubble if I’m wrong.” She joked.

“You are my inspiration for everything.” He exhaled dreamily. Charlotte bit the side of her lip. James closed the space between them and put his hand under her chin. He lifted her chin up and kissed her passionately. When she pulled back, she noticed her lipstick had also gotten on James. This was one of the many reasons Charlotte hated make-up. No one liked getting marked.

“I think I got lipstick on you.” She mumbled. James shrugged.

“I don’t care. People will just think I have a girlfriend.” He dismissed. Charlotte looked down.

“Do you?” She asked under her breath. James shook his head.

“No. There’s only one girl I want to be with. But I let her get away.” He hinted, pressing his lips against hers. Charlotte let out a whimper as she melted into his kiss. He had to force his lips away from hers, holding her to his chest. Both of them were struggling for air.

“I’ve missed you so much.” He confessed. Charlotte nodded against him.

“I’ve missed you too James.” She sighed.

“Would you, I mean, consider, giving it another chance?” He stumbled. Charlotte stepped back and looked up at him. He looked at her with such love in his eyes, it made her weak. For a minute, she completely forgot she already had a boyfriend.

“Absolutely.”