Dark Horse

Stepping gracefully onto the stage, a vision of ethereal beauty emerges. Eleona’s long hair is a mesmerizing shade of blue, flowing like a shimmering waterfall. Her captivating green eyes hold a hint of mystery and depth. Adorned in an elegant green dress, the fabric drapes around her like a soft whisper. The dress boasts long sleeves that cascade down her arms.

Yutaka, Seko and Ares are revealed to have returned to their seats.

“Hmm, aren’t you hot in that long-sleeve dress, girl? Silence!” Silveria starts speaking, not giving Eleona any chance to answer her question, “It’s a 6 from me.”

“Oooh Eli!!” Zhang raises the card with a number 10, with a perverted tone of his voice.

Eleona lets out a chuckle before realizing she shouldn’t have done that. It’s not like she likes that kind of humor. Not at all.

Everybody is waiting for Diantha’s evaluation but her head is resting on the desk again, not paying attention to the contest. Zhang nudges her with his elbow.

She suddenly jumps from her chair and gives out perfect 10 points.

“Now this is what I’m talking about! The judges have clearly shown their favorite! Or maybe not? A big round of applause for Eleona from 1.B!” Liko stirs up the atmosphere with excitement.

In the backstage room, Fantasia is watching the TV that Ares’ group have brought.

“Yay!! She got 9 average points! That’s my girl~!” Fantasia yells overjoyed but then she notices Zinia’s look. “You’re glad, too, right, Zinia?”

Zinia remains silent, staring at the TV. Kanade is without uttering a word heading for the red carpet.

The illustrious three-time defending Vice Miss, illuminates the stage with her magnetic aura. Her luscious curls of chestnut brown hair cascade in artful disarray, adding a touch of untamed allure to her demeanor. Her warm, expressive brown eyes speak volumes of determination and confidence as she gazes upon the audience. Draped in a sleek, midnight black dress, Kanade exudes sophistication and power.

“Yeah ,yeah, whatever, we get it, you’re very pretty,” Diantha says annoyed while holding up the 10 points card.

“She doesn’t have any other card, just one and ten??” Yutaka asks angrily.

“But I get it, you either like someone or not, so those should be the only two choices,” Seko shrugs.

“She obviously uses the tens to further undermine the scores of the ‘inconvenient people that she targets with her ones,” Yutaka explains.

“Not yellow, doesn’t plead for attention, nothing for me. But still a solid 8.” Zhang tries to convince himself that he doesn’t like her at all but there is no man on the planet who wouldn’t like Kanade’s figure and face.

“A very good choice of a dress! As expected from my rival! I’m giving you a well deserved 9, my princess!” Silveria accepts Kanade in her ‘kingdom’ as an important figure.

“Oh, Kanade! Truly a sight to behold! I wonder if now that Silveria is-“ Liko freezes and corrects herself upon Silveria’s chilling glare, “I wonder if now that Queen Silveria is not participating, you’ll finally take that tiara for yourself!”

Kanade bows toward the judges, Liko and then the audience before seating herself among the other contestants.

Only two numbers left.

“Now, after Kanade, I would like to invite on stage another hot candidate for a Miss Bratislava High School Queen title! Please welcome our stunning young beauty, Zinia from 1.B!”

Liko announces Zinia’s turn with a little bit of personal bias. Despite the goat shenanigans, Zinia simply had it in her, she thought.

However, Zinia isn’t showing up. Tension fills the air as the students wonder what might have happened.

“Zinia? Are you not ready yet?” Liko calls out to her.

Damn, what’s going on? Only Zinia and Fantasia are left in that room, could something have happened? Ravel begins to worry.

“Did your girl freak out after seeing the Vice Miss?” Yutaka directs his well meant question at Ares still sitting behind him.

“She would never,” Ares coldly responds.

“Excuse the little inconvenience, my dear audience! I’ll go check up on her!”

Before Liko can interject, the door on the backstage room slowly opens. Zinia finally emerges.

“There you are! We may now proceed with this round, Zinia, the stage is yours~!” Liko invites her to keep the show moving.

Zinia, with her celestial beauty, graces the stage with an otherworldly allure. Her enchanting emerald green hair fall delicately around her angelic face, artfully concealing her ears that she is so sensitive about. Her bewitching gaze, framed by long lashes, holds a captivating depth within her hypnotic green eyes, drawing others into their depths. Clad in a seemingly unassuming dress, the fabric drapes softly against her graceful figure, accentuating her spellbinding presence. Though her attire may lack opulence, her radiant aura emanates an irresistible glow that transcends the material realm, leaving the audience in awe.

“What the hell, girl? That dress is awful! How could you wear something so cheap to one of the most important events at our school? I almost wanna throw up, geez.” Diantha doesn’t pull any punches but despite what she says, she awards Zinia with perfect 10 points.

“You see? I told you,” Yutaka feels proud that he from the look of things read Diantha completely right.

“Hey, rich boy, but seriously. Her dress looks like a potato sack, why didn’t you buy your girlfriend some elegant clothes?” Seko turns to face Ares.

“Not that it’s any of your business, but for your information, Zinia doesn’t want my money. Now, turn away and watch the damn show,” Ares isn’t as irritated as he intended to make himself sound.

“Well, I don’t care about how people dress anyway…” Seko turns away as instructed by Ares.

“Fuck the peer pressure! Indifference to outcome! 9, bam!” Zhang supports Zinia in his own way.

“Uhm, Barbie, did Zinia choose such a plain dress just to emphasize her natural beauty? I mean, she looks so great even in those clothes,” Ravel marvels at Zinia’s appearance. Impressed by her subtle makeup that enhances her facial features.

“No… This was probably the best dress Zinia could afford. Her family is very poor. There are not many high schools in Bratislava that require school uniforms but Zinia was sent here so that she would be spared of bullying for her cheap looking clothes…” Eleona explains to Ravel.

“Oh, I didn’t know that. The way she treats everybody felt like she was more from Ares’ social circles.”

“She just doesn’t want any pity and so she chooses to redirect the attention elsewhere. Zinia’s desperately trying to fit in somewhere… she’s… she’s a good girl inside,” Eleona’s eyes start to well up slightly.

Could it be…? They don’t actually hate each other. They… care. But they’re both so haughty they refuse to make the first step. Ravel has been a witness to both of the girls getting emotional due to the other one.

“It’s true your dress is absolutely hideous, but you have more than enough of natural beauty to make up for it. If there’s anybody who could potentially defeat my rival, it’s definitely you,” Silveria holds up a card with 9 points.

Zinia has been very silent. It’s as if she’s still processing something, lost in her own thoughts. She doesn’t even realize the judges have already awarded her with points. Only after Liko pokes her in her shoulder it seems she snaps out of it and heads for her seat, avoiding eye contact with the other contestants. Her blank stare fixates on the floor as a big round of applause, much bigger than what the audience produced from previous contestants, still echoes through the whole vestibule.

“Alright and now, dear audience, get ready for the dark horse of this year’s contest! The best handygirl far and wide! Fantasia of 1.B!”

The applause is even stronger and louder than it was the last time. The students appreciate that Fantasia saved this spectacle.

The ‘duckling’ takes her first steps onto the red carpet. As the stage lights from above are missing her face, the only recognizable thing is that her eyes are closed. She heads for the stage relying only on her memory. While she walks on the carpet reminiscent of field of thornless red roses, the loud cheering from the audience doesn’t tone down.

Once she finally reaches the stage, she thinks to herself that she has made it.

BAM!

Only, she places her foot wrong, not accustomed to wearing heels, and she falls down right in front of Ravel’s face, inadvertently revealing the color of her panties to him.

After what happened with her father, this can’t faze me, Ravel doesn’t even blush as he remains stuck on his seat, not realizing Fantasia would appreciate help. The students finally halt their applause.

Both Leanna and Eleona attempt to help her stand but Zinia of all people immediately hurries to her aide faster, offering her hand so that Fantasia can stand up.

Eleona smirks as Ravel finally comprehends what she meant by calling Zinia a ‘good girl inside’.

CHAPTER 24: END