Drop Dead Gorgeous [PAGEANT THREAD]

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Watching Fawn stumble through her question, Tallow had to remind herself that she still was out on stage and smirking at the obvious failure of the other contestants wouldn’t do her any favours probably. But the calibre of question put her mind at ease, for herself and especially for Swallow Anne who’d made such a pig’s ear of talking the first time she’d had to do it. Her creation had gotten the crowd back with her performance- and a couple of the judges too probably- but she didn’t want to end up losing them again by throwing up words onto the microphone. Tallow should have seen it coming though- it was Elias- the questions he’d picked or cooked up were bound to be light, full of double entendres, trying to trip the girls up and make them say filth. Which was perfect for Swallow Anne and Tallow and probably put them at a significant advantage against the little virgins onstage and the one probably riddled with crabs who Tallow could easily see taking a double entendre too far and offending a few people in the audience. It was a delicate tightrope and Tallow was pretty sure she knew how to walk it, smiling so her sharp little teeth showed, flashing a little wolfishly when Elias called her name.

Where does the concept of fate belong in a woman’s life?

She was going to kill him. Carefully keeping her smile from slipping down her face, she let out an affected giggle, her eyes darting towards Elias- smile still fixed as she said, slipping between her teeth, “Are you serious?” He was though and the fold of his arms and the way he grinned told Tallow that he wanted her bent over barrel, struggling. Tallow would bet any money he was the kind of guy that got off on choking people during sex. Well he was shit out of luck then.

They called her sharp at school because she was smart, quick and because she had a painful sting- the kind that could break skin and draw blood- Tallow had no plans to bend over for Elias again. Tossing her hair and casting her head up to the sky, in thought, she let out a soft ‘Uhm,” and smiled as the answer came to her. “Nowhere. A woman has choices, she makes her own destiny- and if anyone wants to get by and succeed they should forget about fate and predetermination. Nothing is destined to happen, there’s no higher plan or natural order…its all chaos and choice, isn’t it?”

She tossed her hair, shifting her weight onto one hip and casting through the crowd, finding Scutcher and smiling. Two people from the same family couldn’t be destined to be together otherwise it wouldn’t be so tied up in taboo and they wouldn’t have to keep sneaking around. No…Tallow had wanted him, had chosen him when if she wanted she could have picked almost anyone else. Their father was a big proponent of choice too- especially when you were the one limiting the choice for other people.

“Some people would say that a girl's – not a woman's -or a boy’s life is tied up in fate, you know…with the reapings,” sentimentality, Tallow grinned to herself, pretty sure she could get at least one other judge on her side.“But to me the bowl in the district square sums up exactly how random and arbitrary everything is. And look at Mace...and Mr Bryze…they wanted to win the Hunger Games so they made it happen. And I know for a fact you’re the same- when you see something you like, Elias, you go out and get it,” she bit her lip and let out a little giggle. “That ain’t destiny…chaos and choice.”

It wasn’t long until all five contestants were pushed back on stage, the same line up as before for their introductions. She didn’t hurry to take her place as last; rising from the chair she had flung herself on slowly, and leaning back on them she waited for the others to settle into their own places until taking her own. The final portion of the pageant was imminent to begin, and her personal little experiment had turned out well – no one had so far booed, spat or thrown anything at Teal, and to be honest, the fact was a little victory in itself. They went on for the final time, Teal being located on the far right. It was the same as before, look pretty while making minimal movement, looking to the crowd or the judges with a collected smile, never the ground. Still, she found herself stealing glances at her worn leather boots, feeling her newly-found confidence dwindle as the questions progressed. Fawn, the youngest of the group, winced at every word, and at hearing her question Tallow looked as if she was going to devour the host whole. Still, she and her sidekick answered well, meanwhile Motel sputtered words making absolutely no sense to his own question. She glanced at him, struggling not to put her face in her hands at his blunder.

She felt a little sweaty, knowing the crash course the competition had become. If she got a respectable question and replied with some decency, the judging stage would be over and she would escape unscathed by embarrassment. She was about as innocent as Fawn when it came to relationships, and as knowing as Motel on politics. Hoping her luck was still intact she smiled and cavorted like all the others waiting their question, stealing sideways looks at the two prima donnas for inspiration. Unlike them she didn’t have flowing dresses that showed off tan legs at every moment, but her own jeans presented enough of her figure to look attractive enough. She was taller than all the others, too, but she was used to that; most girls in District Ten wouldn’t reach six feet in a blue moon. Though she wouldn’t grow much taller, she already towered over her five foot nine mother; but despite achieving most of the height she would get out of puberty those curves of hers were still a little behind. She was painfully aware of this standing close to the likes of Tallow and Swallow-Anne, and she smoothed down her shirt self-consciously, wishing her hips and breasts had miraculously grown within the last few minutes. At the mention of her name dark eyes looked up in slight apprehension, though a slight smile still remained on her as a precaution. Natural, healthy happy; that was what they were looking for, right?

As she braced herself for the question, warm words from the host hit her ears. Her carefully maintained composure turned into mild confusion at the flattery that had roused a kindly response from the crowd. She had no idea to respond to it, having rarely been complimented so, and so a horrible and instantaneous blush erupted from her cheeks, and an oddly forced giggle escaped her lips. Feebly trying to recover, she nodded in the vague direction of the noises with gratitude, but her gaze quickly returned to Elias, anxious to gain knowledge of her next challenge. His pupils look huge she thought distractedly, but she dismissed it quickly, far more keen on to hear what he had to say.

How are you darlin’? She took a breath, ready to speak, but before she can answer he quickly corrected himself. Another laugh broke out of her mouth, but she listened carefully; If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be?
Oh, the options! Compared to what the others went through, she should be relieved, but the question burned a hole through her mind. There were so many things she wished she could change, from poverty to the faulty fence line in their main paddock. But what, and who, would benefit from it most? Her hard consideration left her silent for a moment, weighing the choices as if her life depended on it. Well, there was one thing that set her teeth on edge, something that was provocative enough to even get the odd simpleton thinking, but something that most of District Ten would wholeheartedly agree with. She started out slow, but became faster and more confident with each word. However, she steered clear of mentioning or accusing the Capitol, knowing there were harsh punishments if she did so.

”Well, I guess that would be...to balance out the wealth of all the districts. I mean, how is it fair that District One sit pretty while us in Ten, Eleven and Twelve shovel all the shit? I think we deserve a bit more for work. Uh, if it were up to me, I’d think...”

She faded off, knowing that any details of her thoughts could get her into hot water. Taking a good breath and flashing a grin in the hopes to diffuse any tension, Teal stepped back, feeling a little giddy at the fact that within the next few minutes the judges would chose a winner.