Chapter Eighteen

Twenty-seven was the girl wearing the sports bra. She put a warm smile on her face, climbed the stairs, went to the emcee at the front of the stage, then walked slowly to her right, turned slowly with her arms raised, then walked back across to the left corner of the stage, ensuring that everyone was able to get a good look. Returning to the emcee, she made a curtsy to the crowd and then threw out her arms.

Scoring was being handled by an applause meter borrowed from somewhere. The needle moved to about the halfway mark, hovered there and then sagged back. The girl smiled warmly and took a position at the back of the stage near the steps.

One after the other, the next eight girls repeated essentially what the first girl had done. It was clear that each was watching the others to pick up any tips that might result in a higher rating. Their scores, however, were in the lower third of the scale, significantly below the girl in the sports bra.

Because of her height, Dace could see across