Red (20 page)

“There’s nothing you can do about it now, so just try to forget about it,” Ivy said. “You only have to wear it for three minutes.”

“Hey, can I use this?” Haylie asked, reaching for Felicity’s lint brush. She bumped the black Sharpie, which fell off the table and rolled across the linoleum. As Felicity bent to pick it up, she froze, suddenly struck by a flash of inspiration.

There
was
something she could do about the jacket.

“Felicity?” Haylie asked. “Can I—”

“Yeah, go ahead,” Felicity said. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

She snatched her tap costume off the rack and took it into one of the three individual bathrooms off the dressing area. She could hear someone retching in the next stall—a common occurrence on pageant days—and tried her hardest not to listen. Sitting cross-legged on the tile floor with her jacket spread over her knees, she uncapped her Sharpie and very carefully started blacking out jewel after jewel.

Ten minutes later, the center of the heart was adorned with a large black skull and crossbones.

“Take that,” Felicity whispered, not entirely sure if she was speaking to Ella-Mae Finch, the pageant judges, Gabby, or her mother.

Fifteen minutes before the pageant began, Felicity was fastening her lucky shamrock necklace when her mom bustled in, clad in a gold cocktail dress. “The dressing room is now closed to visitors,” she announced. “Family members and friends, please wish your girls luck and take your seats in the auditorium. Enjoy the pageant, everyone!”

After a flurry of emotional good-byes, Ginger gathered all the contestants in a circle. “This is the moment we’ve been waiting for, girls,” she said. “You’re all ready for this, so hold your heads high, be proud, and respect yourselves and each other. I want to see humble winners and gracious losers out there.” She didn’t bother to say, “All of you are winners,” as most pageant directors would. She clearly didn’t believe that for a second.

“All right, everyone, hands in the middle,” she directed, and the girls squished together, piling up their manicured hands. “ ‘Go, Miss Scarlet’ on three. Ready? One, two, three!”

The girls shouted,
“Go, Miss Scarlet!”
no one louder than Ginger. “Five minutes till lineup, ten minutes till showtime!” she called as everyone flew back to their mirrors for last-minute touch-ups. Felicity’s stomach gave another lurch when Ginger blew her a kiss from the doorway, her smile full of warmth and pride. For a mad moment, she considered chasing her mom into the hallway and spilling out all her secrets.
I’m not the sweet, obedient daughter you think I am. I don’t even like pageants. I can’t stand your music, so I’m using my own. I tampered with the interview questions. Oh, and I’m about to fight my blackmailer in front of the whole town, even though you explicitly told me not to.

But confessing wouldn’t change anything—it would only make her mom hysterical. These were burdens she had to carry alone. But in just a few hours, it would all be over. Her hand automatically sought her right hip, where Jonathan’s note had been nestled all week, before she remembered she had no pockets in her skirt. She felt strangely unmoored without the little square of paper.

Haylie reached out to take Felicity’s and Ivy’s hands. “I love you guys,” she said, her voice weighty with emotion. “No matter what happens out there, I’m just so glad we’re all here together.”

“Love you too,” Felicity said. She squeezed Haylie’s hand. “Break a leg out there. You too, Ives.”

“You probably shouldn’t say that,” Ivy said, looking around at everyone’s spiky heels. “I wouldn’t be surprised if someone actually did.” True to her word, she was wearing flats.

Before she headed upstairs, Felicity took a last long look at her reflection. Her royal-blue blouse and black pencil skirt were crisp and wrinkle-free. Her makeup looked perfect, and her hair was as red as it had ever been. She gave a practice smile, and the girl who beamed back at her from the mirror looked relaxed, confident, eager to command the stage. She thought of Gabby sitting in the press section, prepared to expose her at any moment, but her reflection betrayed no anxiety. Her pageant-girl mask was flawless.

“Time to show everyone what you’re made of,” she whispered to herself.

The girls filed up the stairs and into the wings, an army of high heels punching the hardwood floor. When they were all lined up, Haylie in the lead and Madison in the rear, Brenda spoke into her headset. “I have all twelve girls stage right, ready to go. Stage left, do you have Ginger, Georgia, and the emcee?” There was a pause, and then Brenda said, “Great. Let’s get started. Send Ginger out.”

Light flooded the stage, and Felicity watched her mom step up to the lectern, grinning and waving with both hands as the entire auditorium erupted in cheers. “Good afternoon, Scarletville!” she called. “I’m Ginger St. John, pageant director and the head of the Scarletville Pageant Committee! Welcome to the seventy-fifth-anniversary Miss Scarlet Pageant! The twelve spectacular girls you’re about to see are upholding a time-honored tradition today. They have some very big shoes to fill, but I have no doubt they’ll rise to the challenge.”

She introduced each of the five judges, and wave after wave of applause and cheering crashed through the auditorium. It sounded like there were thousands of people in the house. Felicity could feel the adrenaline starting to pump through her body, and she shook out her hands to release some nervous energy. In front of her, Ariel was breathing in shallow little gasps.

Ginger handed the microphone to the emcee, Donna Marie Sullivan, who had been crowned Miss Scarlet ten years ago. She stood at least six foot three in her heels and shimmered like a mermaid in her iridescent turquoise gown. Donna Marie explained how the pageant was scored—thirty percent for the interview portion, forty for the talent portion, and ten percent each for the personal introduction, swimwear, and evening wear portions. Then she introduced Georgia, who bounced onstage in a little black dress and belted out “Our Sacred Scarlet Home.” The crowd roared its approval, and then Felicity saw Brenda tap Haylie on the shoulder and nod toward the stage.

It was time.

A fast pop song blasted through the speakers, and Donna Marie shouted, “Ladies and gentlemen, I give you this year’s Miss Scarlet contestants!”

Radiant smiles in place, shoulders back, and chins held high, the girls looped around the stage, waving at the packed house and trying not to squint under the bright stage lights. The walk lasted only about ninety seconds, but Felicity heard voice after voice screaming her name. By the time she was back in the wings, her heart was pounding in her ears. She had forgotten how scary and thrilling it was to be onstage in front of so many people.

When it was time for her personal introduction, she strode toward the microphone, trying to radiate confidence and enthusiasm. She smiled at the judges first, then scanned the cheering crowd, taking stock. There was her mom, sitting next to the judges’ table and grinning so broadly Felicity feared her face might shatter. There was the mayor, his tiny mustache twitching with excitement. There was Gabby in the press section, her pen flying over her notepad. There were Andy and Tyler, sitting with her neighbor Victor a few rows back and waving madly. There in the back was a bored-looking Brent, his arm wrapped around the skinny shoulders of Gretchen Williams. There was Ms. Kellogg with a group of teachers.

And there, sitting just in front of her, was Jonathan.

Jonathan, who had no Scarletville spirit. Who couldn’t care less about pageants.

Who was smiling at her now as if they were the only two people in the room.

Felicity’s stomach did a little twirl, and it had nothing to do with being nervous.

She forced her eyes back to the judges and gripped the microphone. With a bright smile, she said, “Hi, everyone! I’m Felicity St. John. I’m seventeen years old, and I was born right here in beautiful Scarletville. I was first runner-up in the Miss Ruby Red Pageant when I was twelve. This year, I was the cocurator of the student art show and served on the prom committee, for which I designed all the decorations. I also helped organize and run the winter recital at Red Shoes Dance Studio, where I’ve been a student since I was three. I’m so excited to be here, following in my mom’s footsteps as I compete for the title of Miss Scarlet.” The crowd cheered, and Felicity made sure to smile at each judge individually before she turned and walked into the wings.

She headed downstairs to the dressing room, walking slowly so she’d have a moment alone to think. Why was Jonathan here? Had he come to see
her
? Tickets had gone on sale long before the two of them were friends, so maybe he was here for another reason entirely. But the way he’d smiled at her just now made her doubt he was here for someone else. The memory of it made her feel tingly all the way to her fingertips. His presence also anchored her somehow—having him here in person was so much better than carrying his note in her pocket. Everyone else was looking at her sparkly facade, but she knew Jonathan was looking at the real Felicity behind the mask.

She found her swimsuit—black with white polka dots, just like her prom dress—and joined Haylie at their table. “How’d your intro go?” Haylie asked as she tied her turquoise bikini top.

“Good, I think.” Felicity unbuttoned her blouse and stepped out of her skirt, then draped a robe over her shoulders before swapping her underwear for her bikini. “How was yours?”

Ivy rushed into the dressing room and grabbed her swimsuit off the rack. “A whole bunch of swim team girls are here,” she said, obviously distraught. “They’re wearing these stupid T-shirts that spell out ‘Go, Ivy, go!’ It’s so embarrassing.”

“Only you would be upset that people came to cheer for you.” Felicity started applying Topstick to her butt.

Ivy gave her a horrified look. “Are you
taping
your suit to your ass?”

“Yeah, everyone does. There are some things the entire town doesn’t need to see.”

“There’s nothing worse than a wedgie onstage,” Haylie stated with great authority.

Ivy shuddered. “I sincerely hope I never have to experience that firsthand.” She pulled on her full-coverage tank suit, which was emblazoned across the chest with the Scarletville High School Rubies logo. As Haylie rolled her eyes, Ivy accessorized her outfit with flip-flops, a rubber bathing cap, and goggles.

Brenda called six minutes to lineup, and Felicity went over to inspect herself in the full-length mirror. She stretched and shimmied for a minute, making sure her tape held and everything stayed securely in place. When she glanced around the room, she found that nearly half the girls were wearing shades of turquoise. Cassie’s suit was covered in ruffles, as if she were going underwater salsa dancing, and Madison was struggling into something that looked more appropriate for the bedroom than the pool. No one else had a pattern on her suit, and Felicity smiled, pleased that her polka dots would stand out.

It wasn’t until she was standing in line in the wings that she realized she was about to parade out onstage, nearly naked, in front of Jonathan. Somehow, the hundreds of other people in the audience didn’t bother her—the swimsuit competition had never seemed scarier than walking around at the public pool. But even when Felicity was fully dressed, the way Jonathan looked at her was sometimes so penetrating that she felt unclothed. Her palms started to sweat, and she wiped them on her bare thighs as she watched Ariel pose and turn.

Ariel headed off into the wings, and Donna Marie called Felicity’s name. Felicity took a deep breath, smiled, and ordered her feet to move forward.

She strode out onto the stage, one hand cocked on her hip, and kept her eyes on the judges for her first set of poses and pivots. And then she moved toward the other side of the stage, where Jonathan was sitting. He sat on the very edge of his seat, staring intently with his lips slightly parted, and the moment Felicity locked eyes with him, a delicious heat suffused her. She forbade herself to blush—even the slightest pink tinge would be obvious on the exposed, milk-white canvas of her skin. Even when she forced herself to break eye contact and turn around, she could still feel his gaze hot on her back. She spun once more, gave him a final dazzling smile, and walked offstage, breathless.

“You looked great out there,” Haylie whispered as she got in line for the full-group walk. “Way to flirt with the audience!” Felicity felt the blush she’d been holding back rush to her cheeks, and she was grateful no one could see it in the dark.

During the full-group walk, Felicity caught her mom’s eye and saw that Ginger was teary with joy—so far, everything was going just as she had hoped. Felicity felt sick as she pictured what her mom’s expression would look like when “Cookie-Cutter Girl” started blasting through the auditorium. But the judges would probably love her edgy new tap routine, and if she scored well, Ginger would have to forgive her subversion. Maybe she’d even respect Felicity for taking charge.

The thought buoyed her, and Felicity felt strong as she changed into her tap costume. She looked forward to being out there on the stage, showing off who she really was for the very first time. After she did some quick warm-ups in the hall, she found Ivy, and together they went upstairs to watch Haylie’s talent routine.

Felicity and Ivy both hugged her for luck, and then Haylie ran out onstage in her red toe shoes, gave the crowd an enthusiastic wave, and struck her opening pose. When her music began, Haylie was transformed. Felicity had watched her friend dance countless times, and she had never doubted that Haylie was talented. But today’s performance went far beyond anything Felicity had ever seen. Haylie seemed to feel the music down to her core, and emotion radiated from her tiny body all the way to the back row. When she jumped, hair flying and legs stretched to their full extension, she embodied reckless abandon and precise control all at once.

When the routine ended, the audience leapt to its feet. Haylie took a gracious bow and ran offstage. “Was it good?” she asked, her face glowing. “It felt really good.”