Homicide and Halo-Halo (Tita Rosie's Kitchen Mystery #2)(71)
Everyone in Shady Palms lived for the talent show, but it was my least favorite part. Yeah, some of the contestants had awesome skills, but it was like Naoko said: Not everyone had a talent they could perform. It was painful to watch these girls, already at such a self-conscious age, fumbling their way through routines they’d obviously learned just for the competition. There were also some wonderfully creative performances that made me proud to be part of the pageant: Sharon Randall displayed amazing athletic ability as well as choreography in her cheerleading routine, Naoko did a traditional ikebana demonstration as well as showed how to create origami blooms that were inexpensive and lasted year-round, and Sara Colon, the teen mom who blew us away during the group interviews, recited some of her own poetry.
Each contestant had to give a brief explanation of why they were performing their chosen talent, and when it was Joy’s turn, she held up her ukulele and said, “Music is a great escape. It’s something I do only for myself. It’s fun. I don’t have to be good at it. I don’t plan on making a career of it, so it doesn’t matter how bad I am or how long it takes me to learn a new song. I might even try writing my own music someday. But I don’t want that pressure yet. For now, just the feel of the strings against my fingertips is enough.” She strummed the instrument, the pleasure radiating from her face. “Today, I’m performing Israel Kamakawiwo‘ole’s version of ‘Over the Rainbow.’ I know it’s kind of cliché now, but I’m originally from Hawaii and this song reminds me of home. And for me, home was my grandfather, who taught me to love music. So this is for you, Lolo.” Joy’s voice would never be called technically perfect, but she sang with her usual sweetness and earnestness, and the emotion of the song made its way into my heart. I didn’t even bother hiding the tears streaming down my face this time and was gratified to see that Sana was in a similar state. Beth’s eyes remained dry but riveted on the stage, a slight hitch to her breathing the only sign she was equally affected.
When she was finished, Joy quickly bowed and exited the stage to tumultuous applause. It wasn’t a standing ovation or anything, but she was clearly the crowd favorite so far. Which made it extra tough when Katie came out to play the piano. Anyone following such a strong performance would’ve had a hard time, but considering her injured arm and that she’d come on the heels of her best friend, Katie’s performance was extremely lackluster. She had the technical skill Joy lacked, but none of the passion—it was like she was just going through the motions. After the last chords of Debussy (I knew enough classical music to recognize the composer if not the song) drifted away, Katie got up and hurried offstage to polite applause, not even acknowledging the crowd or judges’ panel.
Once the last contestant completed their really quite decent hip-hop dance routine, Sana and I huddled around Beth with our scorecards. Even though today’s events were the showiest, they were no longer the deciding factor for a pageant win. The volunteer portion was worth the most, point-wise, followed by the talent portion, then Q&A, and then the rest of the events. As usual, there were a few who dominated in every category, but there were always some falls from grace and rises to glory at this last event. Because there were only ten girls, the lowest in Shady Palms history, it didn’t take long to tabulate the scores. Beth had Sharon Randall in the top spot, followed by Joy, then Sara Colon. Sana had Sara at number one, Joy at number two, and Naoko at number three.
As much as I loved Naoko’s energy, she really only excelled at the creative side. She kind of fell flat in other areas for me, but Sana just shrugged when Beth voiced what I was thinking. “She’s got entrepreneurial spirit. That always calls out to me.”
I had Joy in the top position (Sara had originally been my frontrunner, but Joy’s song pushed her to number one), followed by Sara, then (grudgingly) Sharon. Looking at the numbers, I couldn’t believe it, but it was there—Joy had won. Bernadette had coached a champion.
Beth called Mayor Gunderson over and handed him the envelope. He glanced over the results, quickly confirmed it with us, and then moved back to the stage.
“Shady Palms! Are you ready to meet this year’s Miss Teen Shady Palms?” He paused while everyone cheered. “In third place . . . let’s hear it for Miss Sharon Randall!”
Sharon smiled and made her way over to Valerie, who presented her with a lovely bouquet. Over the applause, I could swear I heard Mary Ann Randall scream, “What?!”
Mayor Gunderson continued. “And our runner-up, who will take over as Miss Teen Shady Palms in the event that our winner can no longer carry out the responsibility . . . Miss Sara Colon!”
Happy screams and cheers and blaringly loud air horns greeted this pronouncement, as Sara stepped up to receive her bouquet. She blew a kiss toward the section of the crowd that must’ve been her family, considering the giant banner they proudly held up. Mayor Gunderson tried shushing them, which only made them cheer louder (not going to lie, this made me cheer along with them).
Once it finally quieted down, the mayor cleared his throat and did his impression of (what was later explained to me by Jae) the announcer calling out the starting lineup to the 90s Chicago Bulls team. “And finally, this year’s Miss Teen Shady Palms . . . let’s give it up for Joy Munroe!”
Chapter Twenty-five