The Secret Singer

Chapter 26

A/N: Hello everyone! So, I recently found that my book reached #212 in the what's hot list for teen fiction and I reached the 35K reads milestone!!!!!! That's super exciting for me, you guys have no idea how much that made my day! Also, my birthday is on Friday so WOOP WOOP FOR ME!!!! Anyways, enjoy the chapter!

**Picture: The dutiful debutante fair**

***For an early update: 30 votes and 30 comments (LETS REACH THE GOAL GUYS!)

Stephanie's POV

The aroma of heavily buttered popcorn swirls in the air, and children yell out to their parents to buy them the colorful cotton candy at the Dutiful Debutante fair.

Almost as if in preparation for today, the sky is a bright cerulean blue without a cloud in sight. Cruella couldn't have picked a better day for the fair, and I can see the nervous excitement of the girls in the program as they flitter around their escorts in their light sundresses making small talk. Everyone's worried about the talent show most of all, because it's one thing to mess up at the dancing class for a bunch of little kids and another very different thing to mess up in front of what looks like our entire town and the next three towns over.

Deep breath in. Deep breath out. No need to panic whatsoever.

I AM NOT PANICKING!

A hand touches my shoulder, and I jump what seems like a foot into the air. When I turn to see the owner of the offending hand, I see my oh so wonderful boyfriend laughing his butt off.

"I'm sorry Bambi," he says when he can finally speak without chuckling. "That was just too epic to not laugh at. Man, I didn't even know you could jump that high."

I glare at him, but he just smiles indulgently and hugs me to his side, leading me to the kissing booths for our shift. I frown when I see the long line of eager girls next to the tent Collin will sit in. Before I can ponder it too long, Collin swings me around and dips me dramatically, giving me a very thorough kiss before releasing me. My face feels like it's on fire, and I know I have to look like a tomato as I look into Collin's very satisfied eyes.

"That's so all those boys on your side know you're not single," he says firmly. He turns to leave, then stops and whispers in my ear, "And so all those girls don't drown me in saliva thinking it'll give them a shot with me."

I snicker, and he winks at me before going to his seat and motioning for the first girl to step forward. I take a deep breath, and go to my own seat in the tent next to his and get settled for what will probably be the longest hour of my life.

***

The sun is still in full blast when Collin and I finish our shifts and head toward the food tents. Delicious smells of greasy and sugary goodness envelope us, amd my stomach decides to let out a deep growl to show its discontent with being empty. Collin laughs and kisses my forehead, leading me to the line for Chick-fil-a.

"Hungry, baby?" He asks sarcastically. I roll my eyes and nod, thinking of all the boys I've had to kiss today.

It was honestly okay, mostly because each kiss just had to last five seconds. Still, there were some guys that wanted to lick my lips or stick their tongue in forcefully. All they needed was a swift kick to the shin or a nice stomp on their sneakers with my sharp and pointy heels.

The line diminishes quickly and once our food's delivered to us we sit and enjoy the wonderful fried chicken and perfectly crisp fries. We're having fun trading jokes back and forth in between bites, when two bags of food fall on our table and Amy and Naoh sit down. They both look flushed from their shift doing dance classes, but still somehow manage to pull it off. Unlike me, of course. The heat has made me look blotchy and red, and my pale skin is turning uncomfortably sticky with sweat. Amy simply looks like she's glistening and her olive skin tone has a beautiful glow to it.