Seth and Samona (12 page)

Finally, the skinny lady stopped talking about this girl who visited old ladies every Saturday and that girl who tutored after school and announced that the questions would begin. She went up to each girl and asked three questions of each one. The first two were the same of everybody:

“What would you most like to change about our society?”

“If you were on a desert island, what book would you most want with you and why?”

And all the girls gave the same kind of stupid answers. You could tell they must have spent weeks watching recordings of the old Miss America pageants. Everybody was talking about world hunger and AIDS and even American patriotism. She asked one girl about welfare and she said she didn’t know anything about welfare ’cause her family supported themselves and she figured everybody should do that and get off welfare. Most of the audience booed her.

Chiquita Arnold said the one thing she wanted to change about the world was school, which everybody laughed at but I thought was the most honest answer. Everybody was making up all that other stuff just so they could look good. Bessie Armstrong said that she wished everybody would be nice to one another. Even
Samona made some stuff up about bringing along Lorraine Hansberry’s
A Raisin in the Sun
to a desert island cause she thought it was “moving” and “inspiring.” I knew Samona’s never even read that play. We saw it on TV one Sunday at Samona’s house with her aunt Mary, who is crazy about Sidney Poitier movies. That’s who Samona’s aunt Mary would want on a desert island with her. The real Samona would have asked if she could have an air conditioner or a pool or something more practical than a book.

After the questions, the skinny lady said there would be an intermission while the judges tabulated the votes. Then she said they’d be selling Kool-Aid and cookies right outside the door and everybody started jumping out their seats and rushing up the aisle.

I decided to get up and say hi to Mrs. Fabiyi. She was sitting dead center in the front row and watching the stage like the pageant was still going on. I sat down beside her quietly.

“So, Seth,” Mrs. Fabiyi said, still not looking away from the stage. “Samona do good job, eh-eh?”

“Yeah,” I said, leaning back against the chairs. “She had the whole thing planned and everybody fooled.”

“It good surprise,” Mrs. Fabiyi said with a nod, “no?”

“Yeah, I guess.” I nodded. “You helped her with all that stuff, didn’t you? The speech and the hair? Why didn’t she tell me?”

“I help with outside.” Mrs. Fabiyi turned her head
away from the stage and stared at me with her old black eyes. “You help with inside. You and Samona good friends.”

I swallowed. A good friend wouldn’t try and change someone.

“Samona want surprise everyone. You not believe unless you see. No?” said Mrs. Fabiyi.

“No,” I admitted. I didn’t know Samona could act so well. Maybe I would be nice and go congratulate her after the contest.

“You go with me—behind, after the contest over,” Mrs. Fabiyi said, as if she could read my mind.

“Okay.” I stood up as the lights started to go down again.

By the time I got back to my seat, the skinny lady was talking again. This time she was saying all this stuff about how every little girl who entered the contest was a winner and how she wished she had fifty-five crowns to give away. The audience started to boo and she shut up and started announcing the winners in a high, excited voice.

“Honorable mention—Miss Bessie Armstrong,” she screamed into the microphone.

Everybody started clapping, then Bessie came up to the front of the stage and got a bunch of flowers and a certificate. Her lips were shaking as if she was about to cry. I looked around and saw Mrs. Armstrong leave her seat to rush backstage. I felt real sorry for Bessie.

The skinny lady pulled Bessie over to one corner and made her stand there. Then she read off the next name.

“Second runner-up—Chiquita Arnold,” she said, screaming again. This time everybody covered their ears from the screeching of the microphone.

Chiquita walked up to the front of the stage with a big grin on her face. She took the flowers and the certificate and waved to the audience like she had come in first place or something. Then she took her place next to Bessie and started pulling her face into one of those scary faces like she did in the talent segment.

“First runner-up—Samona Gemini,” the skinny lady said in a lower voice.

“First runner-up!” Leticia jumped up out of her seat. Then the whole audience was booing and talking. No one could believe Samona hadn’t won first place. I heard Granmè shouting in Kreyol that they needed to count the votes again. Nigel and Anthony were saying that it was fixed.

But Samona just walked up to the front of the stage and grinned at all the noise everyone was making. She took her flowers and her certificate and went over and started talking to Bessie Armstrong. Whatever she said must have worked ’cause Bessie stopped crying and started giggling and the two of them hugged each other.

Practically no one heard the skinny lady announce
the winner. Her name was Rosalie Aubry. The skinny lady had all but lost her voice and could barely say her name. And the audience was still talking about fixes and bribes and how Rosalie looked like the judge with the purple dress.

Mrs. Fabiyi came over to get me to go backstage with her and then my whole family and Samona’s whole family all decided to go backstage too so there were a bunch of us waiting when Samona came off the stage.

Everybody started hugging and kissing her and telling her that it was a shame she didn’t win and how pretty she looked. Samona was smiling and laughing and talking.

Mrs. Gemini kissed Samona on both cheeks. “You conducted yourself like a sunflower.”

“Like queen,” Mrs. Fabiyi pitched in.

“Like a Nubian princess,” Jean-Claude said, tapping her on the shoulder.

Then Samona’s family said they were gonna celebrate by going out to the Charthouse, which was a fancy restaurant, and that everybody should come.

In the middle of it all, I got two seconds to talk to Samona.

“I wanted to say congratulations and you should have won,” I said real fast. Then I looked her dead in the eye. “Guess you’re not
completely crazy
, Samona Gemini.”

Samona’s eyes were shining straight back into mine. She looked like she was getting ready to say something
but Mrs. Whitmore suddenly broke through the crowd and swallowed up Samona in a hug.

“There she is! My star student!” Mrs. Whitmore yelled, squeezing the life out of Samona until Nigel rescued her. Mrs. Whitmore started pulling on Samona’s arm and asking her a question and I figured Samona had forgotten all about what I said. Then, right before answering Mrs. Whitmore, Samona turned to look at me and stuck out her tongue.

That’s when I knew for sure the old Samona was still there.