"Welcome back, young ladies and gentlemen!" Dana Dufresne greeted all the pageant children as they listened. They all stand on stage ready for yet again another day of pageant practice, wearing their usual gowns and makeup; even Dana herself is wearing her usual blue dress. Little did they know, however, that Dana is planning something different for this pageant. Something that will astonish many of the usual pageant competitors, especially two well-known royal pairs that had a long history of rivalry even before they first became official pairs of princess-and-prince pageants. A rivalry that started over competing for first place, and another rivalry that began over who is more of a gallant gentleman. Though, they might not...take it so well.

"It's nice to see all you beautiful young ladies and gentlemen again."

All the girls and boys, especially Lola and Winston, smiled as a response to Dana's compliment.

"Now for this pageant," Dana proceeds, "things are going to be a bit...different."

The young pageant participants are hit by a wave of confusion after Mrs. Dufresne mentioned the word "different." What did she mean by different?

Lola, plagued by curiosity, raises her hand, waiting to be called on by Dana.

"Yes, Lola?"

"Mrs. Dufresne, what do you mean this pageant will be different? Aren't we gonna perform the princess-and-prince pageant the same way as we usually do? I mean, I assume this is gonna be a princess-and-prince since all the boys are here on stage. But I'm still willing to participate!"

"Um, no," Dana replied. "In fact, we're not doing any of the previous pageants."

"HUH?!" The pageant children are now more bewildered.

"I know. I know. You are all confused about what the pageant is going to be about. Well, I'm about to tell you! This pageant will only involve talents. No dress ups, no posing, or anything but talents; also, instead of performing your talents alone you will be performing the talent of your choice with a partner!" Dana clarified.

The pageant participants began whispering amongst one another after Dana explained the pageant they are about to practice for. They are wondering why this pageant will involve partners performing a certain talent, especially Lola. This is something she and her friends never expected. This is something new, something Lola had never done before. The more she wondered, the more intrigued she got. This is getting interesting!

Finally, Lola spoke up, curbing the whispers. "Wait, we're performing a talent with a partner?!" she said rather excitedly.

"Exactly, Miss Lola Loud!" Dana confirmed. "To be more specific, pairs, aka two people, will be performing the talents of their choice. Of course, the two will have to agree on a specific talent to avoid any bickering. I'd hate to separate a pair just because they can't agree on something."

The mere thought of performing on stage in pairs plagued the many minds of the pageant children. Instead of becoming more puzzled, they became more excited. They would be happy to perform a talent with a companion. This is something that is definitely new, not something redundant like a Little Miss Perfect pageant.

"Now," Mrs. Dufresne resumed, "before I let you kids decide what talent you will perform, I need to tell you which person will pair up with which person." She reaches into her purse and pulls out a long list of names that are going to be pairs of this pair-based pageant. Dana adjusts her glasses and began reading the names of top to bottom:

Charlene "Chinah" Zapkiel and Jane Fitzgerald
Jackelyn "Jackie" Johnson and Claudette Marseille
Carlino "Carl" Casagrande and Adelaide Chang
Roxanne Waters and Jacqueline Carmichael
Patricia "Patty" Huxley and Alexander "Alex" Huxley
Alfred McAlister and Arthur Stauton
Jesse Marshall and Rhonda Roys
Helen Holliday and Miriam Blythe
Oprah Winry and Sally Sweetheart

As the pair of names were read the people whose names were read either gave each other happy glances or simple smiles. By this point, Dana had read most of the pairs of names. There are only two left to read. After a short hesitation, Dana finally reads those two last pairs:

Lola Loud and Lindsay Sweetwater
Winston Milbourne and Francis Stewart

Lola, Winston, Lindsay, and Francis all gasp in utter shock as they heard their names; the rest of the children also gasped as if echoing the gasps of the former four. A sense of shock shook the entire auditorium. The four rivals stood there in complete disbelief as the names of their archenemies echoed in their minds. They are paired with the people that they are rivals with for the past four years.

After remaining silent for a short time, Lola finally broke the silence, "Me and Lindsay?! Together?! As partners?! Are you crazy, woman?!"

"There is no way I'm going to be partners with this spoiled brat!" Lindsay complained to Dana, pointing at Lola.

"I'm not gonna be with a showoff who thinks he is more of a gentleman than I am!" Francis glared at Winston. "Everyone knows that I'm the true gentleman."

"Says the guy who once tried to sabotage Lola and I's dance performance during the dance competition and talks smack about me in front of my friends," Winston muttered to himself in a sarcastic tone, clearly referring to Francis.

"I've heard that!"

The rivals then approached Dana and bombarded her with complaints. She knew it was a bad idea to put people that loathe each other into pairs, but she knew it had to be done.

"Children! Children! Please calm down!" Dana ordered, trying to calm the complainers down. As Lola, Winston, Francis, and Lindsay reverted back to silence, Dana explains her reasons for putting the long-time archenemies together, "I know you four have a long history of strong animosity towards one another, but I think it's time to end the rivalry. The reason is that your rivalry is getting in the way of how you perform the pageants! Your four enter these pageants not just to look as pretty and handsome as possible, but also to try to one-up each other, forgetting about the true purpose of pageants: having fun." She glares at Lindsay. "And you Lindsay, you need to cut down on the traps. Your jealousy against Lola is really starting to get into you." She averts her eyes back to the rest. "So I concluded that by pairing you guys up, you will learn to work together and get along."

"No way! There's no way you're pairing me up with this Miss Universe wannabe!" Lola pointed at Lindsay.

"Yeah! I would rather get my dress dirty and messy than be with this brat!" Lindsay pointed at Lola.

"I demand you give us different partners!" Francis demanded, the rest agreeing with him.

"Um, sorry, but it's too late to make changes. The producers already made the pairs official. And if you're planning to quit, well...you've already signed up, so it's also too late to quit. Deal with it."

Dana then faces the rest of the pageant children, "And with that out of the way, that concludes this pageant assembly. You adorable boys and girls will now go home and decide on a talent because tomorrow is the first day of practice, so you better come prepared. With that in mind, I'll see you boys and girls tomorrow!"

And with that, the pageant children began leaving the stage while discussing with their partners what types of talents they could do. As everyone left the auditorium, Lola, Lindsay, Winston, and Francis all remained on stage looking shocked. They still can't believe they are forced to be partners despite their rivalry, and they can do absolutely nothing about it. They have no choice but to accept their "companions."

"My pageant career is ruined!" Lola cried in despair, dropping to her knees.

"We said, my princess," Winston, by this point, lost hope.

"I don't think I'll be able to survive this," said Francis.

"Me either, Francie," agreed Lindsay, her head lowered towards the floor in hopelessness.