Beauty King [boyxboy]

Chapter 4

After lunch, it was time to meet our stylists for the pageant. There were 30 stylists, one for everyone, which was pretty impressive. Mine was called Marco, and he had a multi-coloured mohawk. He was funny, loveable, straightforward and just blunt. "First of all, I'm gay. Second of all, throw away all the clothes you brought. We have ze best selection here. Ohkay maybe not all, some could be nice too. Anyways you are a very handsome young man. What you doing in beauty pageant? You could be model."

I couldn't help but laugh at Marco's random remarks. He was a really good stylist, helping me plan my look for every event and considering my suggestions seriously. "Ohkay, here is how pageant night go," Marco told me.

1. Dance -- opening number

2. Introduction of contestants

3. Spring wear contest

4. Summer wear contest (aka Swimsuit contest)

5. Talent segment

6. Autum wear contest

7. Winter wear contest

8. Question & Answer segment

9. Formal wear contest

10. Dance -- closing number

11. Revelation of results

"For ze first dance, François mentioned jazz. So everyone will be wearing about same thing. No exception. You, boy, wearing long-sleeve black shirt, with flashy red vest, very shiny, so black dress pants to tone it down. Ze ladies wear black and red jazz dresses, lots of ruffles and flair." I nodded, letting Marco take my measurements. I wasn't sure if I looked good in red, but Amber always said I looked good in anything.

"And for today we will sort out your Spring and Summer clothes, any ideas?" "Ummm," I fumbled, "how about something blue? It would match my eyes." "Excellent choice, boy, I was thinking that too. So for Spring, I suggest a lighter look. Sky blue shirt and... Yes, Pantone Fashion Colour Spring Report 2013 says Grayed Jade, so that colour for your khaki shorts. Marco says perfect!" Marco was waving his hands in the air excitedly, clearly half-certain that we could win this.

I sure hoped so.

***

I trudged my way to the dining hall, exhausted and really famished. Marco and I had decided on Goldenrod for the swimwear component, a yellowish-golden colour listed on Fashion Snoops' Summer 2013 Runway Colours. He had wanted fuchsia at first, because he felt it was bold, but I convinced him on goldenrod, which I felt would look warm and stunning.

I was about to dig into my ham and cheese sandwich, when a shrill voice filled the room. Oh right, we were going to have the orientation talk this morning, but Mrs Metzger had fallen ill. Guess she was feeling better now, because she was standing at the door, clad in a boisterous orange pantsuit that was blinding to the eye.

She cleared her throat and spoke, "Good evening ladies, and gentleman." With that, she swerved her head to look at me, causing my face to flush. Karinne patted my shoulder sympathetically. "I am your discipline mistress for the pageant. Funny, isn’t it? That we have one in a pageant? Well we do, and it is my job to ensure you follow the rules. Let me enlighten you on what is expected of your behavior this next week."

I mentally took down the rules in my head.

1. No member of opposite gender is allowed in one's hotel room at any time.

2. Lights out after 12. (There was loud whining and booing at this, but hey I appreciated this, beauty sleep!)

3. No arriving at any rehearsals or events late.

4. Active participation.

5. Be courteous and gracious at all times to all, no cursing.

Breaking of rule 1 or breaking other rules 3 times will result in immediate disqualification. On the day of the real pageant, being late for any single component would mean one forfeits that segment.

I personally felt that it would be pretty easy to follow the rules, after all, there was no need for any females to enter my room, I was a stickler for punctuality, and my mother had raised me to have great manners. It was sure to be a breeze, now I just had to figure out whether I should return to my room to sleep or wait till Stefon was out.

***

It was free and easy the night since it was only the first day, so we could do whatever we wanted till curfew, but my eyes were ready to shut so I retreated to my room. I decided that I probably should sit outside the room till Stefon went to bed, so I leant against the door and shut my eyes to take a quick nap since I was worn out. But I couldn't fall asleep, drifting out of the room was soft guitar strums. I recognized the chords immediately, it was Taylor Swift's "Begin Again", which I was so in love with.

I let myself be serenaded by the music and Stefon's melodic singing, till I finally drifted to sleep. But just as I was about to be unconscious, the door swung open, causing me to fall backwards onto Stefon's feet. "Whoa dude!" He caught me, heaving a sigh. "You sure have a way of catching me off guard." I blushed, cringing and crawling shamefully to my bed.

"What were you doing outside? Wait, did you hear me playing the guitar?" Stefon groaned, plopping onto his bed. "Yeah, I thought it was beautiful. Uh I mean nice." Stefon rolled his eyes, rolling onto his side so he wouldn't have to face me. He grunted.

I puffed my cheeks and pulled my covers over myself. "Well you have a great singing voice," I mentioned quietly, not quite sure whether I wanted Stefon to hear or not.