AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Under Taylor’s direction, her group of girls found their way back to the damaged beach, which resembled a dorm room after an island-themed kegger gone wrong. Broken trees and fractured palm leaves littered the sand. Belongings were strewn about. But the sea was now calm and the sky forgiving. The girls fell into the sand, exhausted and groaning.
“How long have we been stranded here?” someone asked.
“About three days,” Miss Ohio answered.
Mary Lou looked at the hair on her legs. “Four.”
“All right, Miss Teen Dreamers. Let’s get this place a little cleaned up and get us a signal fire going. Tomorrow morning at sunrise sharp we’ll practice the opening number. Just lettin’ y’all know, we might have to make a few more adjustments to the choreography if the other girls don’t make it back.”
“I’m so hungry,” Mary Lou mumbled. “So, so hungry.”
“I can’t move,” Miss Arkansas cried. “I’m too tired.”
Taylor had already begun clearing plant debris into a tidy pile for burning. “This is not the Miss Teen Dream spirit, ladies.”
Miss New Mexico tried scooping a handful of sand into her mouth, but Adina stopped her.
“We need food!” Miss Ohio cried, and the others moaned in agreement.
“Miss Teen Dreamers. It is time to get ahold of ourselves. Miss Alabama, I did not mean that literally. That is gross. Stop it.” Taylor scooped up seawater in a large shell and poured it over the ends of her hair, rinsing out the mud. “Remember: We are Miss Teen Dreamers. We are not victims. We are not cowards. We are bright shining stars, beacons of hope to all who arrive on the shores of our beauty.”
Mary Lou pointed to the surf. “There’s an ocean full of fish out there if we could find some way to catch them.”
“I hope there’s salmon,” Brittani said. “Salmon has a lot of omega-3. My consultant, Tricia, says it’s really good for your skin and nails.”
“Right. Because I’m really worried about my FUCKING NAILS AT THIS POINT!” Adina screamed.
“Language, Miss New Hampshire. You owe me twenty-five cents for that potty mouth.” Taylor took the lip gloss from her zippered pocket and slicked it over her mouth. “Let’s ignore those who would bring us down and affirm, Teen Dreamers: How are we gonna get us some fish?”
Everyone shouted at once. “We could try grabbing them!” “Fishing pole.” “Laser gun!” “Think positive thoughts!”
“We could spear them,” Mary Lou offered.
“With what?” Miss Ohio asked.
Mary Lou blushed. “Um, with a … spear?”
“Oh my gosh! My bad. How could I have forgotten to pack my spear for my beauty pageant?” Miss New Mexico snapped. The tray in her forehead shook.
“Because you probably left it in your competition’s back,” Miss Ohio snarked. Miss Montana high-fived her.
“Well, your evening gown looks like it was put together in the dark by a bunch of dyslexic sweatshop workers!” Miss Arkansas gave Miss Montana a small shove.
Miss Montana shoved back. “Oh really? Says the girl with flotation device boobs.”
“These are one hundred percent real!”
“So’s Santa.”
“At least my talent isn’t totally lame,” sniffed Miss Ohio.
Miss Arkansas laughed a loud HA! “Your talent? Are they letting people perform o**l s*x in these pageants now?”
Taylor clapped three times for attention. “Ladies! Ladies! My stars! That’s enough. Now. We all know Miss Arkansas’s girls are fake, Miss Ohio’s easier than making cereal, and Miss Montana’s dress is something my blind meemaw would wear to bingo night. And Miss New Mexico — aren’t you from the chill-out state? Maybe you can channel up some new-age-Whole-Foods-incense calm right about now, because we have a big job ahead called staying alive.”
“What do we do?” Brittani asked. She lay in the sand with her arm over her forehead.
“We need something we can use to turn these sticks into spears.”
