~ Lauren's P.O.V. ~
'Work it, baby!' I watched my mother mouth to me offstage. She was prancing around like this was some kind of a joke.
Broadening my smile and lifting my chin up, I made eye contact with my judges. So far, so good. I pretty much had this one in the bag.
"And that was contestant number 37, our very own Pageant Princess, Miss Lauren Anderson!" A deep baritone voice echoed through the speakers as I waltzed off the stage, somewhat proud of my efforts.
"Oh, darlin', that was amazin'!" My mother exclaimed with a thick Southern drawl.
"Thanks, Ma." I responded bluntly, like after every other pageant she had ever forced me into. She had no idea how much I hated being all dolled up only to parade around in front of a bunch of ancient old women and men.
I stayed at the back of the room to watch the other fourteen year olds strut their stuff as my mother took my hair down, re-styled it and fixed my smudging makeup.
"Oh, babycakes, you're so beautiful." She smiled tearily. I grunted and kept my eyes trained on the boy that just walked onto the judging platform.
"He's cute," I heard one of the other pageant girls giggle. "VERY cute."
Her friend agreed, and they continued to fawn over the gorgeous boy.
I smiled as he twirled around the stage, absolutely oblivious to the girls snickering and calling him hot.
"Do ya wanna go grab your bags, honey, and we can be ready to go after the awards? You have thirty minutes so you better get that little booty movin'." Ma told me, shuffling me off of my chair.
I nodded half-heartedly, disappointed that I couldn't watch the entrancing boy anymore, as I stalked over to my satchel.
'If only some interesting kids would bother enrolling for a pageant.. Then maybe I might enjoy enduring this torture.' I thought bitterly. My mind drifted to the boy again.
"There was contestant number 74, the incredibly talented Jakob Reynolds!" The announcement voice roared over the loudspeakers.
"Jakob Reynolds." I rolled the name over my tongue, liking the way it flowed.
And before I knew it, he was standing beside me. Staring directly at me.
"Um.. Hi. Can I help you?" I asked him, flashing a bright smile.
He simply shook his head. "Nope, continue what you were doing."
I looked confused for a moment, wondering where Ma had run off to. She wasn't far off, just talking to another parent.
"Ahm.. Okay, then."
I pulled out my curlers and clapped as my hair fell around my shoulders in beautiful golden ringlets. My mother gave me a nod of approval at this and turned to conversing with the other mothers.
"How old are you?" Jakob asked me.
"Fourteen and a half." I responded, rejecting the urge to spill all of my questions to him. He'd think I had verbal diarrhea or something.
"Oh. Me too." I felt a little down as he turned away from me, understanding that I was busy. Shrugging off the desire to turn around and cuddle him until he turned blue, I traced my eyes with liquid eyeliner and completed my dolling up.
"Let's announce the winners, shall we?" Miss Loudspeaker boomed through the auditorium.
Award after award was announced until, finally, it was time for the Ultimate award.
"It is my great pleasure to announce that the Pageant Princess, Lauren Anderson, is this month's Ultimate!" Loudspeaker Lady cried.
I walked slowly to the stage and allowed a crown to be placed on to my head. Okay, it was a little big.
The auditorium was filled with cheers and clapping - mostly from Ma - as I strolled down the aisle to my bag.
"Let's go, Ma." I snatched up my bag, stuffing the stupid crown into it and scurrying to the awaiting SUV.
Let's just say that pageants aren't my cup of tea.
A/N:
Why, hello!
I know it's not the longest or most interesting chapter, but I promise that I'm working on it. Just doing intros, you know?! :3
Please leave any feedback down below in the comments, or send me a message. I'll get back to you with my gratitude.
The first person to give me some constructive feedback will get a dedication on the next chapter.
I thank you for reading + bless your face. :D
(Updates every week unless otherwise specified. Ciao bellas!)
