"Man, I thought I'd never finish with that woman." Nadine hurried into the back room, where a portable television set had been set up in a curtained alcove. "Who's the tubby girl dancing the spotlight with today?"

"Girl, it's even better than that!" Kamilah scooted over on the bench and pointed to the screen. "Today's request was for Miss Bitchy Britches and the brainiac."

Nadine peered at the screen, trying to make out the picture through the veil of static. "They look pretty good together. He's making her look like she might be alive and not one of the dummies in a store window."

Tossing a doughnut at the back of Nadine's head, Shayna called, "Down in front! I wanna see when Bitchy Britches notices where the heartthrob is."

The camera was still focused on the pair dancing something fancy and slow, but then it turned and Nadine could see the heartthrob, totally ignoring the dancing couple in favor of smiling at and talking to the new girl. "Ooooh, she better not get between Bitchy Britches and some moving traffic. Our girl will find herself flat as a pancake under a truck."

"Look out, look out, look out, look out!" sang Kamilah.

Amidst giggles, Shayna added, "You better lock up your man!"

"Tell Miss Ultra Clutch to hold on to her crown!" Nadine started dancing to the tune they were playing with. "Cause she's going to lose it, too!"

"The boys want to rendezvous--" Kamilah frowned, as the line didn't quite fit, but went on with, "Bitchy Britches is so blue!"

"Cause the new girl's in town!" Shayna finished with a flourish, her arms in the air, completely oblivious to the curtains being opened behind her.

With a significant clearing of the throat, Mr. Pinky said, "And if she was waiting for service, she'd die of old age."

"Yes, sir." The three girls scattered to roam the store in search of something to do that would make them appear busy. As he went to turn off the television, Mr. Pinky got a good look at the screen. "Girls!"

Two out of three came back, Nadine having been buttonholed by a customer looking for a girdle that would make her appear to lose three dress sizes. Mr. Pinky jabbed a finger at the screen. "Who's that?"

"Er, Corny Collins?"

Kamilah coughed and nudged Shayna a bit harder than strictly necessary. "The tu-- talented girl with the blonde and black hair is Tracy Turnblad. She's new on the show and really popular."

"She's really pretty hefty, isn't she?" Mr. Pinky was rubbing his chin. "Can you get her phone number?"

Kamilah really dug her fingernails into Shayna's side to stop the other girl from commenting before they could figure out what the old goat wanted with the girl. "We can try, sir."

"Good, good." He smiled hugely, waving his arms in the air. "Can't you just see her on billboards all over the city? We'll start bringing in the younger girls, who'll bring their mothers. Do a lot of kids watch this thing?"

Shayna nodded, despite the feeling that her ribs were bruised. "Almost all of them."

Rubbing his hands together, Mr. Pinky said, "Great, great. I'm going to go call Irv to see if he can put a contract together. You girls keep an eye on the store in between working on that catchy little song of yours."

They waited until he was out of sight to crack up. "Can you imagine Miss Bitchy Britches once she sees those billboards?"

"I swear, she's going to drown in her own tears," Shayna giggled.

"Write that down. Maybe we could make this into a good song."