Chapter 47

Getting into the back dressing room a frantic woman checked her name off on a list, running off to do something else before any questions could be asked. Leah glanced over to Miss Megan, the room was packed with young women and their mothers, the room itself wasn't that big and the air was so full of hairspray nothing else could be smelled. With enough looking around they were able to find where Leah was to set up her things to get ready. As they hung up the outfits and pulled out the makeup they would need, one of the other mothers took notice.

“Hello there, I’m Brook. It looks like your daughter…” The woman looked at the name tag, then took another second to look over who she thought was a young girl. “Leah, will be neighbors to my Aspen.” Looking past her as she motioned to her daughter, Megan could see a teen girl with long blonde hair that went well past her shoulders. The girl didn’t move her focus from her task using makeup to enhance her blue eyes.

“She isn’t my daughter, I’m just here to help her out.” The woman gave a slight frown for just a second.

“Aww that is too bad, but it is so nice she has someone to help her out. With her being up against my Aspen, she will need all the help she can get.” Megan put one hand on Leah’s shoulder, disliking the fake woman.

“It was nice meeting you, good luck to you Aspen.” Megan said looking past the woman. Being in a room full of teen girls in different states of undress felt odd for Leah. On one hand being in the backroom of a beauty pageant was the dream, and while she was supposed to be back here. She was sure the show runners would say differently if they knew what was tucked between her legs. It felt odd, like she was trespassing in an area that felt suffocating with the heavy smell in the air. Still, Leah gave a smile to the girl sitting next to her as she turned to look at Miss Megan when she gave her the well wishes. Leah was taken aback when she got a sneer as they looked at one another.

“Braces… really? You have braces and you entered a pageant? The standards must be so low… wait. Mumsy did she say she didn’t have a Mom?” The girl's voice was light and airy, it sounded more like a stage voice, but Leah couldn’t judge the girl on that considering how her own voice sounded. “I just hate it when they use girls like you for filler out of charity, it is just so cruel to make you think you have a chance.” Right away Leah put one hand over her mouth, she really had no idea how these things worked or how one got in a pageant, but the girl's words suddenly amplified Leah’s feelings of not belonging here.

“Brooke.” Megan said in a friendly tone and with a smile on her face. “It looks like your daughter is a massive bitch. See to your barking dog before someone else disciplines it.” The girl's face looked shocked, eyes wide and mouth open. While Brooke’s face turned red with rage.

“HOW DARE YOU TALK TO MY DAUGHTER THAT WAY!” Megan’s eyes were half lidded, while she had a smirk on her face looking at the woman in front of that looked more like one of those women on the real house wives with how she dressed and acted. She didn’t expect what happened next, as Brooke shoved her. Megan stumbled back, took a deep breath before looking to Leah.

“Sweetie, I will be back.” She said quietly, it was still loud enough that those right around them could hear. It left Leah shocked that Miss Megan would just leave like this, she was a strong and intimidating person and for her to just back down and flee like that was baffling.

“It looks like you are all alone now, I wouldn’t want you to drop out just because that… that woman wasn’t here to help you. If you want I can assist you a little today, give you some tips for the future.” Leah blinked a few times at Aspen’s mother, then looked back to the door. This was all too much, she was unsure about this to begin with and every second in here made things worse. If Miss Megan wasn’t here that meant she wasn’t forcing the participation. Thoughts of running off filled her mind, but were put to the side when Miss Megan walked back into the room. Behind her a man in a security uniform, moving right over to Brooke as Miss Megan pointed her out.

“What are you doing!?” Brooke cried out as the tall, but overweight man reached for her forearm.

“Ma’am, you are causing a disturbance and have assaulted another guest here. Please come with me so I can get your side of the story.”

“I WILL DO NO SUCH THING! I AM HERE TO WIN AND WILL NOT HAVE THIS BITCH SLANDER ME!”

“Ma’am, I will have to ask you to lower our voice and refrain from cursing, this is a family event. Now please come with me.” While his words were calm, Leah could see his face was much more serious. By the time he got the woman to leave the room with her he had **** other than to frog march her.

“Sorry Aspen, I may have went too far when I spoke to you, but I am rather protective of those I care about. Though it seems your Mom is learning about discipline and the consequences of her actions.” The blonde girl looked aghast, looking from Megan to the door and then back to Megan.

“What am I supposed to do now!?” Leah thought for a second, the girl wasn’t very nice, but like she used to be mean a lot too.

“I Umm like have a few friend’s coming that are great with hair and makeup, they do youtube videos all the time. I could ask them if they could help you.” Leah say the look of anger and disgust on the girls face. Like the very idea of getting help was not only beneath her, but made her feel sick with how disgusting it was.

“Yeah, I. Am. Not. Taking. Charity. From. A. Charity. Case.” She said as she stood up, giving one last sneer before leaving the room.

“Ignore her Leah, just forget everything that stuck up girl and her mother said. You worked hard for this, harder than most of the girls here. You can do this, I believe in you.” Megan tried to sound as reassuring as she could and keep her own rage hidden.

Leah ran her tongue across her braces, something she didn’t think she really needed, but at the same time didn’t think a dentist would just put them on someone because they asked. Having metal wire in your mouth wasn’t the best thing for self confidence and what little she had in herself had been shaken. Miss Megan had done so much to her, yet had been one of the few people that had been giving her encouragement. Leah didn’t want to let her down, and wanted to continue to hear that someone believed in her. Believed she could do better, to win. “I won’t disappoint you Miss Megan.”

Putting her hands on both of Leah’s shoulders, Megan made sure Leah was making eye contact. She had broken Liam down, and had been building Leah up to crush Liam, but more and more she wanted to build Leah up because it felt like the right thing to do. Leah was like any person, wanting validation, wanting someone to be in their corner, someone to say they were good enough as they were. “Leah, I need you to hear me when I say this. So long as you do your best I will never be disappointed in you. I am proud of the young woman in front of me, I am proud of you.” She could see Leah’s lip start to quiver, so she pulled her into a tight hug. Thinking how Liam wasn’t able to come out and say that he was no longer the person he was before, and was only Leah, but Leah’s actions told her the truth.

Ending the log hug, Megan brushed her fingers over Leah’s cheek. “Leah, are you happy? I mean with yourself right now.” Leah blinked a few times at the heavy question of how she felt. Anxiety at everything was at the top of the list, worry that she wasn’t good enough, how could she when she wasn’t even really a girl? Worry at letting Miss Megan down. Sad that the girl Aspen didn’t understand how much her words hurt. Then she thought of how Miss Megan stood up for her, how she was just told about how proud she was. That her friends were coming to support her and how Jeremy got her flowers.

“I’m… I’m happy.” The reply did not sound very strong to Megan, but still she smiled and gave a few slow nods.

“Good, I want you to think about the things that have made you happy when you go out there today. I want that smile on your face to be real, I want you to come back after each segment of today and be proud of yourself no matter what happens. We all make mistakes in life, but you need to know deep down that you are worthy of being loved.” Leah did her best to keep her emotions in check, she only wore light makeup here knowing she would have to do something more here, but still she hated seeing her mascara run when her stupid emotions wouldn’t listen. Leah gave the pretty older woman a few nods, not trusting herself to talk and not start balling.

Getting ready for the first event was done in relative peace, Aspen and her mother Brooke never came back, not even to pick up their things and after the disruption it seemed no one else wanted to speak to them. Getting undressed in the room felt odd, but Leah changed into her strapless red satin bra that matched the panties she was already wearing. Slid the twenty denier pantyhose up her legs and slipped into the strapless red gown that had a large bow over her chest. The top of the gown hugged her body, while the skirt flared out, ending an inch or so below her knees.

Leah had practiced with updos, but today she needed help getting it just right. Miss Megan had added hot curlers to her hair, and then assisted with her makeup. Seeing herself come together made Leah feel like she didn’t have enough time to finish. With Megan’s help she ended up having more than enough time, her hair up in a curly updo with just a piece hanging down in front that curled off to the side. Dangling gold earrings, a gold necklace with large onyx gems, a thick gold bracelet and her feet securely buckled into her four inch red stiletto, rounded toe heels with a small platform that had been dyed to match the dress. It wasn’t long before Leah was standing just behind the scenes in line waiting for her turn for the first part of the content. Everyone was going to be introduced to the talent portion of the event. “I’m soooooo nervous.” Leah bounced up and down on the balls of her feet, causing her chest to jiggle with the movement.

“You will be fine, you have practiced, you are ready and you are beautiful. Remember this is thirty five percent of your total score, and you got this.” Leah gave her a smile, blowing out the air in her lungs before looking down at her alto saxophone sitting in the open case ready for her.

“You have two people in front of you, about ten minutes.” Again, Leah had no time to ask any questions before the frantic woman moved on. Her words giving Leah a spike of that anxiety, mixed with a heavy dose of dread that she had to swallow till it was her turn to walk from backstage, it building slightly more as the minutes went by.

“Your turn.” The voice caused all the dread in her body to cause her to stop breathing and lock her body in place. Megan could see the woman’s eyes almost bug out when Leah didn’t move. She gently touched the center of her back, giving a light push. “Leah sweetie, you're up.” Leah looked over her shoulder, biting the inside of her cheek and trying to build up her confidence. It took Megan pushing a little harder for Leah to step forward and onto the stage. With all the hours of practice Leah had no problem striding out, at least looking confident as she moved to the center of the stage.

With the lights overhead she couldn’t see the audience, couldn’t find anyone she knew in the audience. She smiled, holding the instrument in one hand while she posed with her other on her hip. While someone was talking over the speaker introducing her, all Leah could really hear was her own heartbeat. When things started to go quiet she shifted her stance to hold the saxophone, took a calming breath. Thinking about the things she was happy about in her life to try and focus on the good. Pressing her lips to the saxophone, Leah blew into it as he fingers held her keys. Closing her eyes she let the music flow through her, the fingers easily moving over the keys in a practiced movement. The song was a sweet old song that Liah thought fit with her current life, she was over the rainbow and for just over four minutes everyone in the audience got to hear her tell everyone.

Leah didn’t open her eyes till the song was over, giving a huge smile to people in the audience as they cheered and clapped. The anxiety hadn’t gone away, but had all been pushed to the side while she played and with the outpouring of applause only a fraction of it came back. The smile hadn’t disappeared as she left the stage. “I did it!” Leah said as she was enveloped in another hug.

“You did, you did wonderful. Now I have another question for you.” Megan saw the massive smile on her face like it was plastered there. “Are you happy?”

“I’m so happy!”