Aphrodite's Beauty

Chapter Forty-Six

I walk into the filming area with my head held high and the knowledge that genuine beauty is found within; I walk up to the platform and take my seat. While we wait for the host to come out from her dressing room, I sit wanting to finish filming the show as soon as possible; I just want it over with sooner rather than later.

After twenty minutes, the host, a lady named Emma Wright, comes on stage and gets into position so we can film the announcement of the winner in front of the lie audience.

"Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen," Emma greets the audience, putting her charismatic personality on display for all to see. "How is everyone tonight? Are you excited to find out who our winner is?" Everyone cheers and claps like crazy.

"Okay, we will find out soon but first we need to ask our beautiful contestants some questions," Emma announces, taking her seat between Alice and I. "Hello, girls."

"Hello," We reply in unison.

"Alice, I want to go to you first." Emma turns her attention to Alice. "How are you?"

"I'm nervous but I'm excited to find out the results," Alice replies with a smile.

"Who do you think will be the winner tonight?" Emma asks, with a smile back.

"I would love to win but I think it could go either way. Ella is a great competitor and we've both made it this far," Alice says, diplomatically.

"Where do you think true beauty comes from?" Emma asks. This is the important question; the one that everyone wants to hear us answer.

"I think genuine beauty comes from being comfortable with who you are." Sincerity ringing true in Alice's voice.

"That's lovely Alice. And what about you, Ella? How are you, tonight?" Emma asks me, now turning her full attention to me.

"I'm nervous; I just want to know who won," I answer being as truthful as I can.

"And who do you think will win?" She asks me, giving me an encouraging smile, telling me to speak.

"I agree with Alice. I think we both deserve to win and no matter who is chosen, we are both winners because we have both learned and grown from our journey on the show," I tell her and audience, smiling at Alice and everyone else.

"And one last question for you Ella. Where do you think genuine beauty comes from?" Emma asks, growing serious.

"I think we find true beauty within. Like Alice said you have to be comfortable with who you are but true beauty comes from your personality and how you treat other people." I pour all my emotions and feelings into my answer.

"That is a beautiful way to tell people about inner beauty," Emma says, giving me a friendly smile. "Now how about we get to the voting. Everyone at home has voted now it is time for our audience to vote. Everyone has a buzzer on the sides of their seat you use to vote with. I want you to press A for Alice and B for Ella. Go."

I watch as everyone grabs their buzzers and votes. It seems like forever before all but one person has voted. Someone sitting in the front row. When I glance to see who, I see Reed siting there with his buzzer in his hand watching me. He holds the buzzer up, so it is facing me and presses the B button. I mouth a 'thank you' to him, trying to convey how grateful I am that he still believes in me. After another minute, Travis comes to the end of the stage and hands Emma an envelope. I sit with my head down while Emma read the results.

"The votes have been tallied, and the winner is," Emma pauses for dramatic effect and opens the envelope. "Ella."

I look up, shocked, that I won and I've decided I don't want to hide anymore. Standing up, I move to the centre of the stage and stand next to Emma, while Travis and James meet us on stage. Travis with a small tiara and sash, James with a bouquet.

"I need to say something, please." I tell James and Travis when they give me the prizes. They exchange a quick peek before nodding; Emma swaps me the flowers for the microphone, having heard our exchange.

"Everyone, I need to tell you all something." I take a deep breath, calm my nerves and collect my thoughts before plowing on. "I'm not who I said I was." Taking off the tiara and sash I pass them to Travis. "My name isn't Ella, and I don't have blonde hair." Next I take off the wig and pass it to James. "My actual name is Aphrodite. I wanted to do this show to help people understand that it is what is on the inside that matters but I also didn't want people to know it was me on the show. I wore the wig and used the name Ella so that no one would know it was me. I didn't want to be treated differently because I was on the show. I was bullied and judged at school for who I was but when I put the wig on to be Ella, on the show, people didn't bully me or judge me. I felt more confident as Ella then I did as myself for a little while. That was until someone special entered my life and reminded me I need not care what other people think, that I'm the judge of my beauty." I glance over at Reed with a small, teary smile on my face and take off the heels they told me to wear. "Other than my name and my hair colour, I'm still the same person on the inside but I'm better because of the show. I think all of the girls who competed alongside me deserve to win just as much as I do. There are unique kinds of beauty and everyone is beautiful in distinct ways, no matter what."

I hand the microphone back to Emma and walk down the stairs and away from the platform as everyone claps.