Inside the competition

You walk around the convention center where you pass by lots of college cheerleading teams here for the competition. Some of the girls look nervous while others are pumping themselves up. Apart from the cheerleaders, the convention center is packed fellow students, parents and family, event organizers and sponsors, and spectators. You're about to head over to the main hall when you hear a commotion nearby, coming from the direction of the registration desk by the entrance.

You see a stern looking woman in her early 40s arguing with the registration staff and she's yelling at them in anger, frustrated that they can't find her judge's badge. It takes you a second to realize that you've taken her badge, so you activate your magic rings to pause time and then go over to the woman and tell her to forget the issue and leave, using your mind control powers. After that, you go back to where you were and deactivate your rings. Just like that, the woman abruptly shuts up, surprising the registration staff she's yelling at, and turns and leaves without another word.

Satisfied, you head into the convention hall where it looks like the first round of competition is about to start. As you stand by the sidelines, looking around for a place to sit, a team of cheerleaders in gold and green walk by you, followed by a slender blonde woman in her 30s who must be their coach. The coach notices your judge's badge and flashes you a wide smile, and you smile back. As her team walks away, the coach taps the shoulders of a few of the girls and says something to them out of your earshot, although they do turn back to look at you. You act like you don't notice, but you can tell that the coach was definitely telling them that you're important. One of the girls, a pretty redhead, even waves at you until one of her teammate stops her.

You chuckle to yourself, amused by the power of the judge's badge around your neck. You spot the judge's table not far away and you walk towards it, taking the empty spot at the end next to the other 4 judges. They all turn to you, and an older woman with grey hair next to you asks, "I'm sorry, who are you? Where's Diane?"

"Oh, I'm John. Diane couldn't make it. Last minute emergency. She asked me to fill in," you respond. The 4 judges look at each other, then shrug and welcome you, not questioning your story. They must not be close to Diane, supposedly the woman you had sent away earlier. Regardless, you're all set to become a judge, and you sit back and relax to enjoy the show.