Sugar and Spice (8 page)

“Hey! I've had those cupcakes and they're awesome!” shouted a boy's voice from the back of the audience.

Lexi blushed. “I used to be really shy, and I've learned that everyone needs to find her voice. Everyone has something to say and deserves to be heard. So that's why I'm here today. To prove that no one can hold you down if you speak up for yourself.” She glanced at Meredith in the wings before adding “thank you” and strutting down the runway confidently. She tried to remember everything Delaney had told her—especially the part about looking the judges in the eye and “sparkling.” When she reached the far right corner of the stage, Mr. Jim nodded at her and she stepped off.

“Thank you
,
Lexi,” he said. The judges applauded and jotted down notes.

“You did it, girl!” Harleigh cheered as Lexi made her way backstage again.

“Your turn,” Lexi said, hugging her. “Go get 'em!”

“Hi, y'all,” Harleigh said brightly. “I am the gymnastics queen! With my flips and twists, I love to soar. My dream is to win a gold medal at the Olympics and make my parents and my country proud. I have faith that I can change the world, and I will do my best to help those in need. My guilty pleasure is making homemade pumpkin pie with my granny—it's the best! From Atlanta, Georgia, I am Harleigh Park.”

“That was so good!” Lexi congratulated her after her runway walk. “You're so relaxed and real. I wish I could be more like you.”

“You were perfect,” Harleigh told her.

“Perfectly awful,” said an icy voice behind them.

Lexi steeled her nerves and ignored Meredith's snarky comment.

“That's right,” Harleigh whispered. “Don't you listen to anything she says. You're way better than her.”

“Oh, we'll see who's better,” Meredith smirked. “My talent routine is up next.”

“Now
that
's a costume,” Ava remarked as Meredith stepped onstage. She was dressed in a black-velvet catsuit covered in gold stars. The lights dimmed, and the stars lit up and flashed to the beat of the music.

“You must be my lucky star!” Meredith sang the Madonna hit as she tap-danced across the stage while simultaneously twirling a pair of batons in the air.

“A totally electrified costume,” Herbie marveled. Jenna shot him a nasty look.

“I'm not saying she should win or anything—just that from a technological standpoint, it's nifty,” he added.

“Her singing and dancing isn't nifty,” Delaney groaned, holding her ears. “It's awful. Lexi is way better than her.”

But the judges didn't seem to mind. They were mesmerized by Meredith's impressive backdrop—a black sky that flashed the words “STAR” in neon lights. In the center of the stage was a giant silver crescent moon.

“What do you suppose that thing does?” Sadie asked. It was a split second before she had the answer. The moon suddenly floated up in the air as Meredith performed below it.

“Amazing,” Herbie gushed. “Hydraulics as well.”

“It's all flash and no substance,” Kylie insisted. “Typical Meredith.” But she watched the judges' faces and saw how easily impressed they were. As much as she hated to admit it, Meredith was stiff competition.

At the end of the song, Meredith bowed and tossed her baton high in the air. It flew up, up, up, right over the moon, but as it came down, it just missed her grasp. The audience watched in horror as it landed with a
thud
right on one of the judge's heads.

“Oh! My head! My head!” the judge cried.

“Do we have a doctor in the house?” Mr. Jim announced in a panic over the microphone. “Our judge, Kat Grabel, needs a doctor!”

Lexi's mom raced from her seat. “I'm a doctor,” she said, examining the judge, a former Miss Georgia. There was a huge goose egg on her forehead.

“How many fingers am I holding up?” Dr. Poole asked her.

Kat squinted. “Two? Maybe four? I don't know, y'all!”

“Let's get some ice on that bump,” Dr. Poole said. “I think you'll be okay.”

Kat looked at Meredith's backdrop. “But I'm seeing stars!” she moaned.

“That's the set—not your eyes,” Dr. Poole assured her.

Meredith looked terrified—not that she had hurt Kat, but that she'd hurt her chances of winning the pageant. “It just slipped out of my hand,” she pleaded. “It's not my fault.”

Kat glared at her. “And it's not my fault if I deduct ten points from your score for assaulting a judge!”

Meredith tried to sweet-talk her. “Miss Grabel, I am your biggest fan. I watched your winning aria as Miss Georgia on YouTube a gazillion times.”

That seemed to calm the furious judge down. “You don't say?”

“I would
never
purposely hit you on the head with a baton,” Meredith continued, crossing her fingers over her still-glowing costume. “Cross my heart.”

When she returned backstage, Miss Jen quickly pulled her to a side. “Nice save,” she said. “You played that judge like a violin.”

“Of course I did,” Meredith said. “There's no way she's going to deduct any points. In fact, I bet she gives me a perfect score for that perfect suck-up speech I just made.”

Harleigh's silks routine was next, and it was flawless. She whirled and twirled in the air to the song “Amazing Grace,” wrapping the silks delicately around her arms and legs.

“You did great!” Lexi applauded her.

“It was okay, not my best.” Harleigh shrugged. “I kinda slipped up at the end.”

“I didn't notice,” Lexi assured her. “And at least you didn't give any of the judges a concussion like
some
people.” She knew Meredith was standing right there and heard her.

“Up next,” Mr. Jim called, “please welcome to the stage contestant number fifteen, Lexi.”

“Oh my gosh! That's me!” Lexi panicked.

“Deep breaths!” Harleigh tried to calm her. “And here's a little trick: Don't look at the entire audience. Just find one face and focus on it—one of the judges is a good idea. That's what I do.”

Lexi crept out onstage and cleared her throat.

“She looks terrified,” Delaney whispered to Kylie. “Shake it off, Lex! Shake it off!”

“I hope she doesn't faint…again,” Jenna said, crossing her fingers. “We don't need a repeat of
Romeo
and
Juliet
on local Connecticut TV.”

Lexi felt queasy. There were so many people, and they were all staring at her! She tried to focus on Kat Grabel's spiky platinum-blond hair, but the room started to spin. She couldn't catch her breath or steady herself. Just then, she saw a hand shoot up from the back row. “Lexi! Over here!” shouted a voice. The person stood up on his seat and waved.

Lexi's eyes met his—it was Jeremy! He had come to cheer her on. He was there for her, not for Meredith. He was still her boyfriend and he cared! She focused on his face as the music began to play.

“You make me happy when skies are gray,” Lexi sang sweetly, right to Jeremy. Everything else blurred away. All she could see was him. “You'll never know, dear, how much I love you…”

When she was done, she looked at the judges. Kat Grabel was sobbing, and she was pretty sure it was not because her head hurt. In fact, a lot of people in the audience were teary—especially Lexi's mom, who had taught her that song so many years ago.

“Oh, Lexi,” Harleigh said, hugging her as she came off stage. “That was absolutely beautiful.”

Lexi shrugged. “You think so? I kind of zoned out and did what you said. I just focused on Jeremy. Do you think the judges liked it?”

“You sang from your heart,” Harleigh replied. “How could they not?”

Lexi barely had a chance to catch her breath. There were still two more categories left to complete: fitness and interview. She ducked back into the dressing room and came out wearing a Blakely Bears basketball uniform that Sadie had lent her. Meredith spotted her and started laughing.

“Are you kidding me? You call
that
a fitness outfit?” She was dressed in a flashy Zumba costume.

“Come on, Lexi,” Harleigh said, stepping between them. She was wearing a royal-blue ice-skating costume with a pair of white figure skates tossed over her shoulder.

“Thanks for rescuing me,” Lexi whispered as they made their way backstage.

“What are friends for?” Harleigh smiled. “That Meredith certainly has a bee in her bonnet.”

Lexi watched as Meredith exploded onto the stage chanting, “Shake it! Shake it!”

In the audience, Jenna winced. “She looks like she's got
hormigas
en
sus
pantalones
—ants in her pants!”

Kat Grabel looked confused as Meredith spun wildly across the stage.

“I think the judges agree with you,” Delaney told Jenna.

“Kat's probably scared she's gonna get conked on the noggin again,” Lexi's dad piped up. “That girl is a health hazard.”

Meredith ended her routine without incident—and blew kisses to the crowd.

“Top that!” she dared Lexi as she pushed past her. “I know you won't, Lexi the Loser.”

Lexi gulped, then heard Mr. Jim announce her number. She walked out onstage, basketball in hand, and stood there, frozen.

“Dribble it! Dribble it!” Sadie willed her telepathically from the audience.

Lexi's music, Pharrell's “Happy,” was playing, but she didn't seem to hear it, nor did she look too happy. Finally, as she reached the end of the runway, she bounced the ball once.

“She forgot everything I taught her!” Sadie groaned.

“It's that evil Meredith,” Delaney said. “She must have said something to freak her out.”

“Pass it here!” Sadie suddenly shouted. She stood up on her seat and held her hands up for Lexi to throw her the ball.

Lexi looked like she was in a trance.

“Come on, Lex,” Sadie yelled. “Shoot the ball! You can do it!”

Lexi took a deep breath and tossed the ball high in the air, aiming for Sadie's voice. Sadie reached up and caught it effortlessly.

“Now that's what I call a slam dunk,” Kat Grabel whispered to her fellow judges, who seemed equally impressed.

Lexi scrambled off the stage just as Harleigh was walking out into her routine. She pretended to whirl around the stage in her jazz shoes, shifting the skates from shoulder to shoulder and posing.

“I think we should go check on her before interviews,” Delaney suggested. “She could probably use a little PLC pep talk.”

“Allow me,” Herbie said, getting out of his seat. “I believe I can help.”

“That's what you said before you covered the entire teachers' lounge in frosting!” Kylie protested. “We're Lexi's friends. We know her best.”

“But I was a shy kid with an older sister who overshadowed me,” Herbie insisted. Then he looked at Kylie. “Like you always tell me, ‘I got this.'”

When he found Lexi backstage, she was pacing the floor.

“Feeling a bit wonky?” he asked her.

“Beyond wonky. I'm a wreck,” she admitted. “I can't go out there and answer questions on the spot!”

“Because?” Herbie questioned.

“Because I don't know what they'll ask me. And I don't know what I'll say.”

“You should simply say what comes to your mind—whatever it is,” Herbie replied. He pulled up two chairs for them to sit down.

“Did I ever tell you about the Vancouver Robotics Competition?”

“Nope.” Lexi shook her head. “But what does that have to do with me making a fool of myself at a pageant?”

“Well, it was a pageant of sorts—for robots though, not people,” Herbie explained. “I built this brilliant robot named R23P-Ono who could hit golf balls.”

Lexi sighed. “You've lost me, Herbie.”

“Anyway, R2 should have won first place—clearly. Except that my big sister, Juliette, won an acting award the day before—a huge six-foot-tall gold trophy, no less.”

“Again, I'm lost.”

“Well, I thought, ‘There's no way I can ever compete with her,'” Herbie continued. “‘She's the winner in this family, not me.'”

Lexi started to understand. “So what happened to R2?”

“I overloaded his circuits. I doubted myself and tried to rethink all the programming right before the competition. I should have just believed in myself.”

Lexi nodded. “You're saying I should just believe in myself. Not worry about Ava or Meredith or anyone else.”

“Precisely,” Herbie replied. “You shouldn't have to live up to anyone's expectations except your own.”

Lexi stood up. “Okay. I'll try.”

“Atta girl!” Herbie said, beaming. “And for the record, I think you are way more talented than my robot.”

“Thanks—I think.” Lexi smiled. She heard Meredith giving her response to a question—something about what she wanted most in the world.

“I want world peace!” Meredith said, clutching her hands to her heart. “I want an end to hunger. I want justice for all!”

In the audience, Jenna made a gagging noise. “I want to throw up. She is so phony.”

Just then, she noticed Meredith's pageant coach in the row in front of them. Miss Jen was gesturing in the air, trying to tell Meredith something.

“What's with the charades?” she whispered to Delaney.

“Beats me,” Delaney replied. “I don't speak sign language.”

The coach continued waving her arms over her head and wrapping them around her shoulders.

“I want…I want…” Meredith tried to figure out what her coach's strange moves meant. “I want big hair? A hot-air balloon? A cashmere shawl?”

Miss Jen looked as nauseated as Jenna.

“Oh! I want to give a big hug to every kid who needs one! That's what I forgot!” Meredith finally got it.

The judges jotted notes as she skipped offstage. Miss Jen collapsed in her seat with a huge sigh of relief.

Lexi waited for Mr. Jim to call her number, then slowly made her way to the microphone. The host held an index card in his hand.

“Lexi, here is your question: What is your favorite thing to do in your spare time?”

Lexi gasped. That was it? That was the question? Nothing about politics, world peace, or global warming?

“We didn't practice that one,” Kylie whispered to the girls. “I hope she's okay with it.”

“That's easy,” Lexi spoke confidently. “My favorite thing to do in my spare time is make cupcakes with my best friends in our cupcake club. We have an amazing business—in fact, we created an awesome display of one thousand cupcakes, and you can taste them at the pageant party…” She noticed Kat Grabel licking her lips. “I made the big pulled-sugar crown on top.” The crowd oohed and ahhed.

“I'm really proud of how our club has grown, and how I've grown too,” Lexi continued. “If it weren't for Peace, Love, and Cupcakes, I would never have figured out how to believe in myself.” She looked at the audience and saw Herbie, who was giving her a thumbs-up.

“Thank you, Lexi,” Mr. Jim said.

When it was Harleigh's turn, she cleared her throat and looked straight at the judges. “If you could be anyone in the world, who would you be?” Mr. Jim asked her. Harleigh thought for a minute, then replied. “I would be me,” she said simply. “I don't think you should ever try to be someone you're not. You should always be true to yourself and celebrate what makes you unique and special.” She glanced at Lexi in the wings and winked.

The judges applauded and Harleigh walked gracefully offstage. She found Lexi waiting for her. “You rocked it!” she said.

“I was going to say I wanted to be an Olympic gold medalist,” Harleigh admitted. “Then I heard what you said, and it inspired me.”

“Me? I inspired
you
?” Lexi asked. “But you're the one who's won so many pageants.”

“And you're the one who has great friends who care about you and the coolest club I've ever heard of,” Harleigh replied.

“And now I have another great friend,” Lexi said, hugging her. “And you have an open invitation to come bake with us anytime.”

• • •

The judges deliberated for more than an hour. They handed out the awards for the youngest contestants first—the babies, toddlers, and five- to seven-year-olds. Lexi could barely stand still as Mr. Jim next went through the list of eight-, nine-, ten-, and eleven-year-old divisional titles.

Harleigh looked just as nervous. “I always think this is the hardest part of the whole pageant,” she said. “The waiting.”

Finally, it was time to announce the preteen queens. Lexi, Meredith, and Harleigh all took the stage with seven other girls as Mr. Jim held up a list from the judges. There were so many categories: Miss Congeniality, Miss Photogenic, Best Smile, Best Hair, Best Eyes. Lexi watched as one by one, girls went up to receive a trophy and a tiara. She, Harleigh, and Meredith were still standing there, crownless.

“For Best Costume, number fourteen, Meredith Mitchell,” Mr. Jim read.

Meredith raced forward and snatched the trophy out of his hand.

“I'm not surprised,” Harleigh whispered to Lexi. “Hers was very flashy—literally.”

“Next, we have the award for Preteen Ultimate Talent,” Mr. Jim read. Lexi squeezed Harleigh's hand. “You got this one,” she whispered.

“The winner is number fifteen, Lexi Poole!” Lexi was stunned—there had to be some mistake! She had won for
singing
? It was crazy! She saw her parents, sister, friends, and Jeremy in the audience, jumping up and down and cheering.

Harleigh gave her a little push forward. “Go on!” she whispered. “I'm so proud of you!”

“Congratulations!” Fitzy said, pinning a huge, sparkling rhinestone crown on her head. As the cameras flashed, Lexi felt like she was having an out-of-body experience. Could this
really
be happening to her?

The rest of the crowning ceremony felt like a dream. Harleigh won Best Interview and Best Fitness, while Meredith took Best Gown.

“Do you think Lexi has a chance of winning the whole enchilada?” Jenna asked Delaney.

“Crazier things have happened,” Delaney replied.

Jeremy moved up to the front row and sat there with his fingers and toes crossed.

Mr. Jim opened the envelope from the judges and prepared to the read the name on it—the Ultimate Grand Supreme for the entire pageant.

“Ladies and gentleman, please welcome your new Miss New England Shooting Starz, Harleigh Park!”

Harleigh opened her mouth to scream, but Meredith beat her to it.

“
Nooooo
!
” she howled.

“Yes!” Lexi cried. “Harleigh, you did it! You won! You won!”

She watched as her friend received her banner and huge crown from Fitzy and Laura. As Mr. Jim serenaded her, she walked the runway, waving to the crowd.

“It's not fair,” Meredith complained. She tossed her tiara on the floor. “I should have won.” Lexi was enjoying seeing Meredith utterly miserable, until she noticed the tears in Meredith's eyes.

“Hey,” she said softly. “It's no big deal.”

Meredith sniffled. “My coach and my parents are going to be furious.”

“But you did your best,” Lexi insisted. “And for what it's worth, Meredith, I thought you did a really great job.”

Meredith's jaw dropped. “You did? You do?”

“Yeah, I mean the baton accident wasn't your finest moment, but you look really pretty.”

Meredith looked down at her red ball gown. The skirt was now dotted with her tears.

“You too. I mean, you look better than you usually do. And your speech and talent were pretty good—for an amateur.”

Lexi smiled. From Meredith, that was a major compliment!

Jeremy and the PLC girls raced to the edge of the stage to greet her.

“Give the woman some room,” Delaney said, holding them back. “Make room for the Ultimate Talent Queen.”

Lexi blushed. “Oh, it's no biggie.”

“Are you kidding? My girlfriend is a pageant queen!” Jeremy said, planting a kiss on her cheek. Lexi loved the sound of the words “my girlfriend.”

Ava was the next to grab her and pull her into a bear hug. “Lex, you were incredible! Who knew you had it in you?”

“I did,” Herbie said. “But does anyone ever listen to me? Noooooo!”

“Maybe we should—once in a while,” Lexi teased. “For an advisor, you do give pretty good advice.”

“Then may I advise you now to go wheel in your cupcake tower before this crowd mutinies?” he said. “We have hungry people here who need Peace, Love, and One Thousand Cupcakes!”