Fashion but no Passion Chapter 2

Ruby woke up the next morning feeling dazed and confused until Misery knocked on her skull, decked in her favorite jeans and a comfortable tee shirt with a huge haversack strapped on her shoulders. She was raring to go... well, as much as she could show happiness without breaking a mirror... and were those magazines she was swinging in her hands? Ruby barely had time to throw on her clothes before she heard an incessant honking outside and had to fly out of the house with Iris' hang glider for fear that the impatient taxi driver would rouse the rest of the neighborhood. Frank and Len luckily had some iced latte and while it was not as soothing as her morning tea, it did give her a good sugar rush. It also unfortunately did the same thing to Iris as they headed to Gloomsville's most popular building. It was a shame that Doom Kitty was off to a fish convention and could not witness the hilarious sight of a bug-eyed Iris bidding her bug goodbye.

The mall, the abode that many a trinket, tchotchke, and heirloom could be found by the unsuspecting patron the moment they got out from their cars or in the group's case, a fishmonger's truck that still emitted a fishy that brought back fond memories for RIP... and brought back their omelette lunches to their mouths. It was their only mode of transportation however that would not fly off just because he saw Albert the mouse.

People were pouring into the two main entrances whose doors have long been left wide open. Heated air from the thermostats gushed out, an inviting signal for those freezing outside to what was awaiting within the massive shopping centre with its colossal structures.

While they had been to the place many times, they never could take it upon themselves to memorize the positions of each individual store, especially since most seemed to change location upon every other visit. Thus, as they walked up the hallway, the walls of which were lined by various different stores, they had one destination in mind... the map, and the respite of the 'You Are Here' sign. The map was a large plastic plaque facing the southern entrance; on it was labeled every store in the entire building, numbered, named, and color coded respectively. Having never been to the mall to shop for clothes as they often went to the flea market instead, everyone began to examine the map for their unfamiliar destinations. While the others tried to locate the proper stores on the map, Scaredy Bat sat down on the edge of the fountain and looked into the water. Leaving the map reading to the others, Ruby decided to sit next to him.

As the tiny bat looked at the water, cautious but curious, Scaredy noticed a multitude of coins beneath the surface, shimmering copper and silver in the sunlight. Hearing a nearby splash, he saw someone finish tossing a coin into the water. Curiosity piqued, he turned to Ruby, "Ruby, may I know why they are throwing away their money?"

"People sometimes throw coins into wells or fountains for luck, or to make wishes." She explained.

Scaredy Bat smiled and displayed his baby fang, "We make many wishes, yes?" He inquired, thinking about how many other ways there could be to go about making a wish.

"I guess sometimes... they feel like they need it... y'know, a little extra hope." Ruby clarified, realizing she could use a few good wishes. Noticing something shimmering in the corner of her vision, the perky goth looked to see a coin sitting right next to her.

Giggling as an idea came to her, she picked it up and turned to Scaredy, "Shall we make a wish?" She asked sweetly, holding the coin between his wing and hers.

Scaredy eagerly nodded in response before Ruby positioned their hands (or wings in his case) securely between them and began to swing their arms back and forth to create a good throwing motion, without realizing that she was also swinging the rather light Scaredy until he felt queasy.

"Okay. One, two... three." At that, she released her grip and watched in wonder as the coin flew out toward the water. Then, she watched in horror as Scaredy was flung along with the coin. Splashing in the water, he and the coin landed very near to the center display.

"Oh my gosh, Scaredy, are you ok? I'm so sorry!" Ruby asked before going into the fountain, and grabbing him before his tiny frame disappeared. Coughing, he replied,

"Oh yes, that was rather refreshing. Thank you Ruby though. I think that means our wishes will most certainly come true…"

Reminded of one of her blush-inducing wishes to have a moment with Skull Boy and make everyone happy by throwing them a pillow-smashing pillow fight party, she only gave him a terse nod before unwrapping her scarf and drying Scaredy with it as a towel before the others rushed towards them,

"Hey, what happened? We thought we heard some splash that was way too huge to be a tiny coin." Frank commented and Scaredy took great offense at that statement, the fur on his neck standing out of annoyance rather than anxiety,

"Well, a thousands apologies that my waist has gotten bigger. I have been eating a lot lately, I am not as small as people think."

"THAT'S GREAT!" Misery squealed. Almost everyone took a simultaneous step back except for Frank and Len who were delayed by Len's slow processing of the situation. The last time she was that hyperactive, it was when she had some sugar. They were wondering if she was the reason why all the chocolate chip cookies mysteriously disappeared at night as she excitedly pointed at Ruby's sodden shoes.

"A good reason to go to the Glass Slipper! Those shoes would not go with... err... anything."

At that comment, Iris and Skull Boy glared at the banshee, considering they were the ones who had painstakingly crafted those shoes for Ruby's birthday. Iris was desperate for help in creating a gift while Skull Boy was desperate for help in an idea. At that time, he had considered himself to be a shoemaker but had no idea what was the perfect design for Ruby. Eventually, they teamed up to conjure up a great pair of shoes. Their effort was worth it when Ruby's smile actually became wider and she began wearing the pair almost religiously.

Ruby obviously felt slightly miffed as she defended the cherished birthday gifts, "Misery, I really respect your advice as my mentor but those are my favorite and Iris and Skull Boy both went through a lot just to create them. Besides, they are waterproof and would most likely dry by the time the competition starts!"

"Ok, we'll save it for last then. For now, new shoes. And don't worry, they are going to be waterproof too. Hey, why not flame retardant...? And anti-spiders... no, cobwebs are cute..." Misery commanded, dragging her and the rest along to the aforementioned shop.

Colorfully decorated signboards shouted out the products that were on sale. It was clear that prices were the main draw as a unique palette of colors was used to emphasize product cost. There was a suffocating blend of smells emanating from the scents of perfumes to aromatherapy oils and even leather goods, with the last making Scaredy pale considerably. Customers were oblivious to the smells as they strolled along the path, browsing at well-packaged items on display and fingering delicate objects that seemed an unnecessary expense.

Ruby looked at the heels, her smile slightly crooked. All of them were at least three inches in height and Ruby was at the most, a two inch girl. Still, the designs were at least interesting so she grabbed a few pairs in different colors, then grabbed a pair of wedges and some flip flops. The purses were all sparkly, looking more like club purses than something she would walk down the street in. Thus, she only picked up two.

She turned and headed back to Misery but stopped when she laid eyes on the banshee who already had a pile of clothes in her hands, so big that she wondered if Misery could see over them.

She ran up to her. "Misery, that's way too much for me. You ought to put some of it back and…I am not wearing that shirt!" She stared in horror at a shirt she had just picked up, white and looked like a snug fit, the neckline plunging so low it would just cover everything that needed to be covered.

"Relax, you'll look great in it." Misery placed the clothes on the front counter by the register, the girl behind it staring in shock at the amount of clothes she had put down. Misery glanced around the store. "Do you need any jewelry or anything?"

Ruby shook her head with a small grin at the thought of her favorite necklaces and rings and added her shoes and purses to the pile. "I have a ton of jewelry at my house."

She left the store in a hurry, before her mentor could see anything else she wanted to buy. Soon, they decided to split up as Ruby needed to prim herself up.

True to their competitive nature, Iris, Frank and Len immediately made their way to the massive arcade upon entering, where they would waste countless quarters defending their high scores.

Misery needed to stock up her first-aid kits and headed towards the nearest pharmacist that was a floor below though considering how she fell from the escalator, the bandages from her new box would probably run out as well.

Skull Boy, Poe and Scaredy Bat, on the other hand, retreated to the opposite end of the spectrum, the book store; here they planned to spend the entire time, using it as a library. Poe and Skull Boy were nice enough to take her bags so she strolled down the mall feeling light and happy. Ruby was opposed to it earlier but she suddenly felt great about it. She had missed the feeling of excitement and anxiousness shopping brought along, walking into a nail salon and was ordered to take a seat. After a few minutes of enjoying a mani-curse and pedi-curse, she swiped her credit card, giving them an extra five dollars as a tip, and left to go get her hair done, standing at the front desk timidly.

"What can I do for you, honey?" A lady asked, walking up to her with a brush and scissors in her hand.

Ruby stood silent for a few moments before she replied, "Um, I, uh, honestly have no idea. I've never gotten my hair done before so, uh, I don't really know." She fumbled with the hem of her shirt. "I just entered the model show," She muttered.

The lady smiled and laughed. "When I'm done with you, you'll walk out with a first place ribbon on a gorgeous dress." She led Ruby over to a chair and sat her down.

Ruby watched her while she worked, brushing the curls out and straightened her hair. "Thank you for this. I'd honestly be lost without you."

"Don't thank me, honey. I do this for a living. Now, close your eyes and let me work my magic."

Ruby nodded her head and did as she was told. "Okay, as long as you don't cut it Miss...?"

"Jade."

Ruby smiled at the pretty name, relaxing as she felt Jade's fingers work through her hair. It was quite nice. She'd always liked her hair being played with. Her mother used to do it all the time. She would brush her hair for a whole thirty minutes before Ruby went to bed, and she remembered how calm and relaxed it would make her. She would be half asleep by the time she was walking up the steps to her bedroom. It used to be hard to think of her mom, but now she could not help but smile. Her mother was above her watching her, and Ruby strived to make her proud.

"All done," Jade squeaked.

Ruby opened her eyes and gasped. A beautiful young woman stared back at her. She had no idea how much hair made a difference. Jade had layered her hair…a lot. She had a lot of layers now, and she had even styled her hair. It was wavy and cascaded down her back and over her shoulder. She was not cocky, but glum yums did she look drop dead gorgeous. Her usual innocent look had been flipped and something about her look radiated confidence and allure.

She smiled. "Wow, you're a miracle worker!"

Jade grinned. "Everyone will love it. Get out of here," She playfully commanded.

Ruby was confused. "Where do I pay?"

The woman laughed at her and shook her head. "Consider it a gift, free of charge. Now go!"

"Please, at least let me give you a tip."

"Your money isn't welcome here." She laughed. "Run along. Besides, ain't it lunch?"

The hawker center, of course, was on the polar opposite end of the mall, making for a long trip. At the notice of her own hunger, Ruby placed a hand over her stomachs, attempting to quell the rumblings. Thanking her profusely, she dashed off.

Several seconds later, Ruby was at the hawker center. Unlike many others who seemed to have an innate preference for processed food, she found herself gravitating towards hawker fare whenever there was a need to satiate her hunger and talk with her friends while enjoying some noodles or even the local cuisine.

Before she could decide whether she should have fish ball soup or good old French Eyes, she heard a familiar muttering. Well, honestly, his sudden posh, British accent was not familiar but the slight clicking of his teeth grinding together in an effort to determine how comfortable he was in his new persona was certainly a neon signboard that it was Skull Boy mumbling as he sniffed his beverage, in a rather good-looking tuxedo that made her blush slightly.

"Strong hints of South-African Blue-Mountain coffee beans, I think it's Classic Javanese Tribal beans," He then took a long sip of the bitter drink with an unreadable expression like a judge would have in order not to mislead anyone, "very lovely after taste. The sweetness of the beans coupled with the robust bitterness lingers, like a beautiful maiden strolling in cool breeze."

"Does that mean I should beat the guy to get more instant coffee?" A rather burly man with tattoos all over his body grunted at the skeleton who unflinchingly replied,

"If you are a man, do it." The skeleton was beside himself with pride when he heard the screams of pain.

Ruby quickly tossed a frisbee at the harassing werewolf of a gangster to distract him and let the canine run right into the handcuffs of the security guard and allow the poor shop owner to flee. Rather pleased with herself and that Skull Boy remained oblivious to her presence, she could not resist the urge to put her hands in front of his eyes. She cleared her throat, trying to make her voice as deep and as seductive as possible when she said,

"Guess who?"

"Ummm, Ruby?" He did not sound so sure, unused to Ruby's weird change in her usually sweet, soft voice.

She giggled and moved her head so her mouth was right beside his ear.

"Guess again."

Where was this confidence coming from? She felt like a new woman! She felt beautiful, so much that it seemed to be radiating from her. Maybe the makeover thing would actually give herself a boost of confidence even though she went the minimalist way.

He turned around. "RUBY?" His mouth flew open and he looked her up and down, making her blush. As if to make his earlier illustration of the coffee come true, he saw a spotlight behind her figure, and she was reduced to a glowing silhouette, her hair glistening crimson red with the light of the lamp a clumsy technician had dropped. Then her figure faded, to meld with the light. She stepped backwards to give him space, a golden figure in the all-consuming rays.

"You look like you've seen a goddess." She remarked and Skull Boy could not help but smile.

"Maybe I have."

Unfortunately, that was when Iris, Frank and Len came moping towards them with the boys on one side and girls on another.

"Hey, I thought you guys were gonna spend the entire time at the arcade..." Ruby giggled nervously until her eyebrows furrowed in concern when Len said glumly,

"They kicked us out."

"Yeah, they said we were 'taking the games too seriously' or something like that." Frank added, quoting the mall security guard's words.

"I swear, break one little machine and everyone's against you." Iris finished, leaving both human and skeleton wide-eyed and wondering what in the world they had done, and whatever it was, at least Skull Boy thought, would they be paying for it? Ignoring the last thought however, Ruby cheered them up,

"Look on the bright side, it means you guys will go down in history for having epic scores that a machine couldn't handle!"

At that, they all lit up like the screens of their favorite arcade machines, particularly Frank and Len,

"Hey, I wonder if Poe keeps that book of records still. Maybe we can actually set a new record!" Iris exclaimed.

"And you will get angry and Ruby and we all try to bring you guys back together which only works during a precarious situation."

"Hey, Frank, Len, will you go and sneak into the arcade? I forgot to get my purse earlier."

"But Iris…we…" She stuck out her bottom lip and batted her eye. "Oh, alright," They left the table and Skull Boy gave her a skeptical look while maintaining his new accent, "Do they even know what your purse looks like? If you have one?"

"Oh, good point. Skully…" She stuck out her lip again.

"That is not going to work on me."

"I'll give you five bucks."

"Nope."

"Heard they need someone to sample their French Eyes."

"Frank, Len, wait up!"

She turned to face Ruby.

"Alright, spill: what happened just now?"

Ruby spluttered and tried to come up with a good excuse. "Happened? To what are you referring?"

Knowing her, Iris would blow it all out of proportion and make a big deal out of nothing. But logic was not her best friend right now as the grateful store owner from earlier gave her a huge stash of instant coffee that Ruby was using a cache right then, stirring hot water inside the free kettle that came along with each packet.

"Mmm hmm," Iris smiled as Ruby recounted the story, glancing behind her every few minutes to make sure the guys were not within earshot. "Called it."

"Now don't get all excited, it's not like it was a date we had there, Iris. It was not even a moment under the Skullby section. I still have no idea how you came up with that ship name."

"Sure it's not." Iris and surprisingly Misery said at the same time before Iris cheered,

"Jinx! You owe me a soda! Particularly the grape-flavored one." Sighing, Misery gave up her remaining five dollars to a gleeful cyclops who quickly rushed out of the mall to find a vending machine.

"She does realize the nearest vending machine from here is five kilometers away right?" Misery asked flatly.

"Maybe, better try helping her," Ruby chuckled and tried to call a Iris but the one-eyed girl had switched her mobile phone off.

"Guess it's just you and me until the boys come back with Iris' purse."

Misery only pondered on the peculiar possibility of the adventuress owning such a feminine item for a second before turning to face Ruby, and attempting a shaky smile, only resulting in a broken glass and making the blue lips form an upside crescent moon instead before they parted to release a sigh and her broken hands gave Ruby a beautiful gift... one Ruby wished she could understand as she stared at a misshapen lump of clay though the sock-cladded lass figured that it was the beginnings of Misery's new sugar bowl to replace the one she broke a couple of nights before. Ruby smiled and said encouragingly, "Wow Misery, thank you so much for the new bowl. You really showed the spirit. If at first you don't succeed, try, try 362 more times."

Misery actually giggled slightly before shaking her head, "No, it's a special kind of clay. Think about something you really like."

Raising a slight eyebrow, Ruby allowed her mind to drift away as she looked through happy memories of hang gliding with Iris, playing leap frog with Doom Kitty, doing a rain dance with Misery, being the dance partner of the handsome descendant of hip-hop musicians, inviting bogeyman for tea and letting Scaredy befriend him, hosting many concerts and parties that boosted RIP's popularity, helping Boo Boo scare anyone other than Scaredy Bat, and singing many odes about the moon with Poe by the swamp.

Much to her amazement, she felt the clay's shape shifting until it produced exact replicas of the wondrous days she spent with her friends.

"Oh my goodness! That is something certainly special! Thank you Misery, that's very nice of you." Ruby gasped in amazement.

"Actually, I think it may save your life if you are somehow trapped somewhere. But you're welcome." Misery concluded before Ruby offered her a hand,

"Best friends?"

Without hesitation, the banshee gripped the human's hand tightly,

"Forever even with the disasters along the way."


Ruby spent most of the day laughing at Iris' adventure of 'wisdom in gaining a delicious beverage' and handing her towels before being drilled by Misery on how to properly answer interview questions even while the redhead had a seaweed mud mask on her face and her hair, soaked with deep conditioner, up in a shower cap at the backstage just before Luna made her appearance, in her tiny dressing room.

"Try to restate the question in the answer. And for everyone's sake, try to make the answers pleasant. No saying stuff like 'If I could go anywhere, I'd go to Botswana and help decontaminate the water." No one wants to think about parasites even though I would. Luckily, you're not me. It's all about keeping it upbeat and happy. And undamaged systems in body."

It went on for hours. She had tried a pair of the new high heels and practiced walking around the dressing room in them since they were the earliest by 7 hours (What would posses someone to want to wear those things on a daily basis?). After a while however, she got used to it, and came to like the feeling of power that came with clicking around and being a few inches taller.

Five girls each had their own dressing room, complete with personal shower stalls. Their wardrobes, which the girls had selected before entering the dressing room, were separated into different displays. Most of the girls were either stick-thin or possessed impressive curves, while a majority of the boys who accompanied them as either relatives or love interests looked undeniably athletic. It was evident they were all products of undoubtedly good genes: great bone structure, silky hair, flawless skin, and straight, pearly-white teeth. Ruby wondered why they were all staring at her, even the hologram vision of another pretty face that belonged to the group. Shrugging her shoulders, she smiled at them. Most of the boys winked back flirtatiously until their respective girlfriends slapped them and promptly ignored her. One lady however, had an eye on her.

Unsurprisingly enough, the girl had sparkling blue eyes and enviously long, natural blonde hair that flowed down her model-thin body. Judging from her hard facial expression, Ruby had the distinct feeling that Blondie was sizing her up. All Ruby remembered about her was Misery looking rather annoyed at her pressence. What could she possibly have to say to Ruby?

Deciding it was better to have new friends, Ruby offered her hand to the strange girl, "Hello, my name is Ruby. It's great to meet you. May I know who you are?"

The weird girl first sprayed not only her own hands but Ruby's hands too with disinfectant before putting on a glove and briefly shaking Ruby's hands,

"Denise Demise. Top model. Heard you were joining and for once, I do have some competition."

Behind her, a devil girl with heterochromic eyes just looked at the ceiling, utterly bored out of her mind and trying to find amusement in her charm bracelet that spelt 'Samice'. Another girl, whom Ruby recognized as Fiona Flee, the latest model in the entire fashion industry who had posed with many bags Ruby had been eyeing, was apparently doing another photoshoot as she hugged a Puur-daa bag tightly as if it was her life, her cyan-blue locks draping over it like strangling vines. The hologram waved slightly, whether it was because the girl in another spiritual plane was attempting to greet her or the connection was faulty, she had no idea. All she could read on the projector was that her name was Sarah Yale.

"I guess I am. It will be fun trying!"

Denise glared at her slightly before smirking, "May the better model win."


Almost everyone, save for Frank and Len who literally breathed crowds after many performances by them or other talented music artists, was taken aback by the multitude of creatures that greeted them. The purple grass was almost invisible beneath the colored mats that had been spread out over most of the field that was near the stage. They walked over bodies spread-eagled on the ground, dead or alive. They tried not to trip over tottering children or couples deep in conversation as they made their way to an empty spot in the centre of the activity. They gladly opened their mat, nonchalant about those around who clearly had to squeeze closer to one another to make room for the group.

Once settled, Skull Boy stared in awe at the looming black structure that was supposed to be a stage. Already, colored light bulbs in their aluminum casings adorned the top and bottom of the stage, ready to burst into action once the show started. For now, Poe was strangely up on stage as the emcee, being the only one who could talk or hours in Gloomsville. At that moment, he was fondly reminiscing about his time as a roadie in the Gloomapalooza to the point the audience nearly fell asleep as Poe droned on and on until,

"The first competition today will be the Truth Contest," Poe announced to renewed cheers. "A lady deserving the title of Miss Gloomsville should possess beauty, honesty, kindness, loyalty, talent, poise, and good taste. Those wishing to get past the first round must show all three. Contestants will appear on stage one by one wearing a dress of their choosing, not too casual and not too formal where they shall be judged on their fashion sense, how they hold themselves, and their natural beauty. So! Now we begin!"

Everybody cheered.

"...By waiting for a while, as the contestants prepare themselves in the dressing room backstage."

Everybody groaned.

After the long waiting period that involved Iris throwing fireballs just for the heck of it, he sang into the microphone, "Here they are, the ladies of horror. Only one can make the bogeyman go bogga! And, entering first, Samice Dábel!"

Samice stepped onto the stage in a shimmery, flame-like lavender dress, her violet locks glittering in a messy bun. Her leathery, retractable wings were shown off as a result of her spook-tacular hairdo and the backless dress which ended right below the knees. Samice's midnight blue heels made a rapid staccato on the runway that would have been heard were it not for the audience cheering their lungs out. The corners of her unusual heterochromic eyes crinkled slightly as she smiled with glossy lips when she sat down and drank the small portion of truth potion given to her.

"Next, we have Denise Demise!"

Some people applauded tepidly as Denise strutted in, her canary-blond hair in an impeccable side-bun as she showed off a sequined, blue-black dress that poofed out at the waist and was faux-fur-lined, like her sequined, black heels. Soon, the crowd roared as her fans began screaming at the top of their lungs. She daintily got herself comfortable on the plushest, velvet sofa and took it all for herself as she stretched out her long, delicate limbs, downing the concoction in one gulp but dabbing her lips to prevent it from smudging her orange lipstick.

"Coming up, Sarah Yale!"

The hologram stumbled onto the stage in a simple lavender gown that ended in the middle of her knees. The sleeves were white, as was the lining of her dress. Her lavender heels matched perfectly, as did the strands of lavender fabric in her braid. She had to type in numerous instructions to her computer to teleport the truth potion and drink it.

"Fiona Flee walks in!"

Fiona bounced on stage and waggled her fingers at the audience. Luckily for her, she had chosen to wear the right dress: a cute light blue gown with honey-colored accents. Her blonde locks were bunched into two girlish pigtails, giving her an idol-look that only highlighted her background as a show star. Her fans cheered and snapped pictures of her, and Fiona obliged them by making various model poses even while holding the truth potion and exaggerating how thirst-quenching it was.

"And, we have Ruby Gloom last but she certainly is not the least."

The dress Misery's great, great, great aunt had worn before the Titanic sunk was breathtaking in every way, made of the finest materials imaginable. A silken gown that fell to the floor in rippling ebony with a top that fastened about the neck with a silver circlet that dangled with obsidian jewels. A slit ran clear up to the hip and was covered with a sheer, fishnet-like material. While she was in the changing room, Ruby had had no mirror to check her appearance and was completely unaware as to how stunning she looked. All she noticed was the the form-fitting silk that she constantly tugged at. Unlike the others, she was completely cosmetics-free but nobody seemed to mind as she flashed her luminous, heavenly-white teeth and nervously twirled a scarlet lock from her glorious tumble of magma-red and her nebulous, kohl-dark eyes captured all souls with their 'joie de vivre', appearing like two jet-stones melted onto the snow her impeccable, smooth skin resembled.

Skull Boy watched her form glide down the hall, perfect in her black silk while she received the most outstanding ovation.

'Perfect, but it's not the Ruby I know... and I'm pretty sure same goes for all of the guys... as a group…'

After the crowd calmed down, Poe was about to begin asking questions, "They're more than pretty, each had a brain of a Doom Kitty. Let's see what they know, great questions from beloved Poe! That's me! HAHA!" He briefly cheered until his excited movements caused the stack of cards he was holding to fall. Strangely, Denise rushed to get them and arranged it for him. Thanking her briefly, the crow got down to business, posing a question for her,

"Denise, here's your question, why are you so beautiful… huh? That was not even a question any of the judges came up!" Despite Poe's protests and the judges raising their neatly trimmed eyebrows, Denise answered it rather happily.

"A completely legitimate question. I personally believe it's because I have boys, grace and a symmetrical head."

Almost everybody in the audience had no idea what to make of her narcissistic reply and even Denise cringed at her reply provoked by the truth potion until she looked in the deepest recesses of her apparently existing heart that was still true but only slightly. She only had to reveal a portion of it, not everything. Thus, she hastily added, "Oh, and I believe in world peace!"

Soon, the crowd went wild, obviously pleased with her selfless answer. Slightly nodding hesitantly at the tablet which announced Denise scored a relatively high score of 8, Poe decided to ignore the weirdness of the situation… until he asked Ruby that almost everybody knew was not on the list for the beauty pageant,

"In the world of molecular physics if you take the simplest integer ratio of the chemical elements of Doomcakes you make and create an empirical formula, what would the smallest particle of the chemical substance called?" Poe would have squeaked out the absurdity of the questions written but he actually had to catch his breath and much to his surprise, Ruby actually answered correctly within the seconds he took panting furiously,

"None. Doomcakes are not related to any branch in molecular physics."

The judges actually broke their stoic expressions by cheering loudly along with the rest of the audience. Poe could not help but beam in delight was his warden received a perfect ten according to his tablet.

Fiona struggled with the question on why she wanted to model in the first place and why she was good at posing but the truth potion worked its magic with sparkled and made her mouth to form the words,

"Cuz the photographer is cute and charming."

Likewise, Samice hated to reveal why she liked blue and devil's curry,

"Cus my mum hates it and I hate parents."

Sarah apparently lied numerous times to mask her talent in art by fibbing she liked swimming, hide the embarrassing fact she slept with a stuffed toy baptized as FeeFee when asked about her night routine, and that she hated Terror Quick much to the horror of Quickies who quickly whipped out their iPads, already knowing who they were going to vote out.

The only one who answered the questions honestly without the aid of magic was Ruby. One of answers stood out the most though; when they asked what she thought society needed the most, Ruby only debated for a minute before answering,

"More emphasis on friendship. Nowadays, everybody talks about not having close friends to talk to, and that having a true friend is extremely rare and I cannot blame them. Partnerships and relationships are usually formed out of convenience's sake and true friendships seem to be outside of the norm. However, with the friends I have had from kindergarten to now, you just need a little glue to mend any kinks you have and to have a good friend, you need a good friend."

A lot of people nodded silently, amazed at how sharp she was for the youngest one out of the rest of the older and more experienced models. The judges also seemed somewhat refreshed by her sincere sentence.

Eventually however, Poe had the last question that would prove to be Ruby's downfall. In truth, he did not want to ask her that at all to save her the embarrassment and drama should her secret he revealed but on the other wing, he was a huge shipper. Scanning the faces before him, he faced Ruby Gloom. "Last question of them all: Do you have a crush?"

Ruby's cheeks were set aflame while Skull Boy suddenly leaned in nervously, finally interested in the modeling business and intrigued by what she had to say.

"I don't have a crush." The crowd sighed until she continued when the potion bedazzled her. "I am in love, and I just didn't know it until now." The crowd went wild.

Poe continued down the line of fire. "Who are you in love with? The potion will make you reveal."

Unfortunately (but luckily for the redhead) the timer dinged. That meant that the truth potion ran out of effects much to Ruby's relief. Poe faced the panel of judges, "Have you made a decision on who to eliminate?"

One of the vampires of Vitality stood up and spoke. "Yes, sir, and we choose..."