HIP #2: Summer Of Love

Chapter 37

Peter's POV

I thought that if I would sign Charlie up for Miss Mancheston, she would be happy and grateful for it. She wasn't yet ready. I didn't notice I should have consulted her first if she wanted to join. But if I did, then it wasn't a surprise anymore. I wanted to keep it a secret first, so she would be surprised. Turns out, she was worried for herself that she wouldn't be able to compete well. She feared failing.

I felt like I was manipulating her when I asked her to join, so when she asked for a favor involving money; I stopped because I didn't want her to feel controlled. At least now we're good. She told me she's joining, and she really wants to. Not because I suggested it to her, but because it's her dream and she believes that it's her passion. I've also been secretly watching her every time she practices. The way she falls from her high heels, the way she struggles with the blue shiny gown she chose, and how she slays it when she answers different questions she searches for on the internet.

I can see how much she excelled, from scared to confident. The efforts she made in the past few days show how determined she was to win the crown. She's very hardworking and I know she deserves people to cheer her up tonight.

Tonight's the night when she'll show us what she got.

"When is it starting?" Chance asked. I invited him. Because I know that Charlie would feel more confident if she sees her boyfriend watching her. We've been standing here for an hour already and the show hasn't begun yet.

Until the lights dimmed, the low music stopped and was replaced by a slowed intense one as Amber walked into the stage. "Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome this year's Miss Mancheston candidates," I smirked. This is it. The moment she has been waiting for in her life. The first beauty pageant she joined. "Not it is," I spoke as we both kept our eyes on the stage.

The stage was big enough to let all the girls fit in and the lights are just right for the audiences to see each other. The beat of the background music changed into an upbeat one as the whole crowd began cheering for their bets. Some were screaming names, some were raising banners, as all the girls came from nowhere after a blue smoke held on the stage.

There were lots of girls who came out and when they did, I didn't have to search for Charlie because the first time I looked at them I found her immediately smiling with her teeth as white as paper, lips as pink as a rose, and her black hair bouncing through her back, tied into a ponytail. I've never seen her this way before. She looks... fantastic.

It looks like a different Charlie is in front of me. The green shiny dress looks good on her and she doesn't seem like she's struggling with her heels. It's like it's what she usually wears. She proves that when a person loves what they're doing, they'll be good at it. I was already frozen and couldn't do anything anymore when I saw her walk with her right hand on her waist as she was holding a thick smile on her face. Chance was cheering so loud but I was stars trucked when she introduced herself saying, "Charlie Brahms, 20, Mancheston Building Number 4!"

The way she speaks sounds like her real voice but the tone is a total beauty queen. Seeing her live her dream fulfills me. It's like getting water after walking in a hot desert for several hours.

I don't recognize the song playing but I think I've heard it before. They danced along with it using the same steps. This one's what they've all been practicing in the past two days when she gets too tired. She said how much she hated dancing but she looks like a complete dancer by now.

"Let's clap our hands for our sixteen candidates," Amber screamed. Sixteen is a huge number of girls. But that doesn't mean she doesn't have a shot of winning. For the first time, I clapped my hands after seeing Charlie show her real self; who she always wanted to be.