Hi, everyone! Sorry to keep you waiting so long for the next chapter. Life just kind of got in the way, you know? Anyway, I hope that this makes up for it!
Disclaimer: I own nothing except the idea.
Kyle, the Pageant King.
Chapter 5
The next morning, Gerald and Ike slept in while Sheila, Tony and Kyle headed downstairs to get ready in the rooms set aside for the contestants' to prepare in.
Sitting in one of the corners, Kyle, all ready in his new white tux, could not believe what he was seeing; rows upon rows of tables littered with makeup, brushes, Styrofoam heads bearing wigs and hairpieces, rolling racks with elaborate costumes hanging from them, false teeth and eyelashes littering the floor, endless cans of hairspray, crinkled bags of snacks, nail varnish, jewellery, safety pins, hair pins, little hand mirrors, shoe polish and much more that made the room look very cluttered.
Kyle was sat in a chair, while Tony did his makeup, and Sheila watched over them. Tony had already powdered his face, and reached into his bag and pulled out some eyeliner. Moving towards Kyle, the boy once again cringed away out of instinct.
"Kyle, keep still," Sheila commanded as Tony moved forward again.
"I don't like it," said Kyle, still trying to avoid the pen.
"I know, but you need it," said Sheila, reaching in and grabbing his chin once again. "Stop squirming!"
"Look, Kyle, I'm not going to get it in your eye," said Tony gently. "If that's what you're worried about, then you don't need to be; I've been doing this for years, and I've never poked someone in the eye."
Upon hearing that, Kyle stopped fidgeting and Sheila let go of his face. "Okay, now just look down," said Tony, and Kyle obeyed, and then Tony swept the pen along Kyle's eyelid. "Great, just keep looking down for a few seconds while it dries," Tony told him, which Kyle did.
"His make-up's smudged," Sheila observed. No-one mentioned it was from where she had gripped her son's face, and Tony only took up the brush once again, and began to dust more powder over Kyle's face, taking care to blend it where the smudges were.
"Okay, I've just got to put some lip balm on you, and then we're set."
Hearing the phrase "lip balm," caused Kyle to balk.
"What do I need that for?"
"To make your lips look soft," said Sheila.
"I'm not gonna be that the close to the judges, am I?"
"No, but every little helps. You'll thank me for this when you're older."
Kyle seriously doubted that he would, but he remained silent, and allowed Tony to apply the lip balm, as he had no other choice. Thankfully, it wasn't scented.
When he was ready, the three of them made their way to the ballroom, where the pageant was already in swing. Kyle had never seen so many people in one place; this made his other pageants look like a church picnic. Many contestants had brought their entire families, so they had a cheering entourage; mothers were standing behind the judges' table as their child performed, watching intently for any mistakes, gesturing wildly when they spotted one. There were contestants' of every age filling the room, with glittering dresses of every colour, their hair curled, sprayed and teased to perfection. Many of the younger children were having last minute touch ups to their makeup and spray tans while they waited for their turn to impress the judges.
Gerald was sitting at the very back of the room, arms folded and scowling. Ike was next him, looking bored and climbing over the seats. The crowd were cheering and clapping as one little girl performed her beauty routine up on the stage. The other girls in her age group were waiting by the side of the stage, their dresses sparkling under the lights. "This time, you line up after you've performed," Sheila told him as they hung around near the double doors. "And you just do what you usually do."
"We line up after?" said Kyle, looking over at the stage.
"Yes, that's right. You know what to do."
All too soon, it was time for the 7 - 8 boys beauty wear category. Kyle was the fifth in his group out of seven, and he was watching the preceding contestants. They were very good, he realised, very professional and poised; he didn't think he could stand a chance against them. Then again, he didn't want to win, but he knew his mum wanted him to, so all could Kyle could do was perform to the best of his ability and just wait and see what would happen.
As contestant number four finished his routine, the emcee, a middle aged man by name of Mr. Jones, thanked him, and the audience applauded, Kyle hitched his smile into place.
"And now, please welcome number five, Kyle Broflovski!"
Gerald gasped in horror as his perfectly coiffed son stepped out on the stage to polite applause. His normally unruly hair had been smoothed down, straightened and styled, and he was wearing a little white tuxedo with emerald green (to match his eyes) satin lining the lapels and jacket pockets, and a matching emerald green waistcoat, which peeked out from underneath his buttoned up jacket. Tony had suggested the waistcoat to help break up the white. He was also wearing a white satin bow tie, and white, shiny shoes.
"Kyle has vivid red hair, and emerald green eyes," said Jones as Kyle made his way to his first X, spotting the judges, and smiling charmingly at them. He posed and then twirled, before moving onwards to the second one. "His hobbies include playing basketball, reading, and helping to take care of his little brother."
His smile never faltering, Kyle walked down the runway and turned perfectly on the spot at the end, tilting his head. Before making his way back up the catwalk, Kyle blew a kiss to the judges and smiled adoringly. Back on the second X, Kyle turned around once again, before walking over to the fourth X, keeping his face turned to the audience, and his eyes on the judges. On his fourth X, just before he left, Kyle saluted, pointed at the judges, and turned to his left, placing his hands on his hips, and looking over his shoulder at the judges, smiling. "With an ambition to play professional basketball, this is contestant number five, Kyle Broflovski! Thank you, Kyle!"
Gerald scowled again as Kyle left the stage to more applause and made his way over to Sheila and Tony, who were waiting for him just off to the side.
"You did good," Sheila told him, as they walked over to where Gerald was sat. Kyle waited for the inevitable 'but,' only it didn't come, and he was confused.
"I did good?" he repeated, sitting down next to her. "Just good?"
"Considering this is your first National pageant, I think you held your own up there," she said, causing Kyle to grin in genuine delight. "With some more hard work, imagine how much better you can become."
The smile dropped from Kyle's face. He had put his all into his routine, and he wasn't sure what he could have done to make it better.
"It wasn't bad, bubbe, just I know you can do better." Sheila must have noticed the look on his face.
Kyle didn't have much time to dwell on this, for the last contestant in his group had finished, and now they were due to line up on stage. After making sure that he was in numerical order, Kyle and the rest of the boys climbed back on stage and lined up along the back, smiling out at the judges. He stood up straight, the way he had been taught; chin up, shoulders back, hands placed by his sides, (or behind his back, if he wished), one foot placed slightly in front of the other, and, of course, a smile on his face.
"Ladies and gentlemen, presenting your 7 – 8 boys," announced Mr. Jones, and the crowd whooped and clapped. Sheila was standing and observing Kyle; apart from being the shortest, he looked as though he belonged up there with the other boys.
"His tux looks good; it stands out," she said to Tony, who nodded and smiled. Kyle was the only one wearing a white tuxedo, and even from the back of the room, the emerald satin was visible, drawing attention to his eyes. Again, he was the only redhead in his group, which helped him to stand out even more.
"Contestants, please make sure you are in numerical order, numerical order." The emcee paused for a moment to allow the boys to correct themselves. "And now, contestants, please turn around now, and face the back of the stage."
Okay, that was weird, Kyle thought, turning along with the others, and allowing the smile to drop from his face. No other pageant had done this before. Maybe it was because it was a National. "Contestants," continued Mr. Jones after a moment, "if you would give us your best smiles, turn around and face the judges. Once again, here are our 7 – 8 boys, please send them off with a nice round of applause, thank you!"
The crowd clapped and Kyle followed his group off stage and headed back to his mother.
The next round of competition was the interview, and as Kyle didn't need to change his outfit, he remained in the ballroom with his parents, and continued to watch the rest of the pageant. Tony was with his other client; Kyle had only caught a glimpse of him in the dressing room; a little blonde-haired, blue eyed child, who was full of energy, but Kyle hadn't seen him compete yet.
Kyle watched as the 9 – 10 girls battled it out for the beauty round, disinterested. Because he was staring up at the stage, looking bored, he didn't notice the parents of the other contestants turning around and looking at him. As Kyle was new to the National circuit, nobody knew who he was, and so everyone was sizing him up. It was soon decided, silently, unanimously, that although he was good looking, he was no threat.
Kyle was growing extremely bored with watching, but he had left his phone, and books upstairs in the hotel room, and he doubted Sheila would let him leave to go and get them. He was just about to ask his father, when Sheila turned to him.
"You'll be going up for the interview soon," she told him in a low voice, so as not to disrupt anybody. "You remember what you have to say?"
"Yeah." Kyle knew his interview questions and answers off by heart; Sheila had been researching the typical and not-so-typical pageant interview questions and had given Kyle answers for almost all of them. He was just going over them in his head, when the interview category for his age group was due to start, and so he lined up with the rest of his group. Just as before, they went on one by one, and the emcee asked them just a few questions.
When he was on stage, Kyle focused on sitting up straight while the emcee picked an array of questions for him. This time, the emcee was sat on a chair next to him.
"Hello, there," Mr. Jones smiled, and Kyle smiled back politely. "Can you please tell me your name, and how old you are?"
"My name is Kyle Broflovski, and I'm eight years old."
"Hello, Kyle. What is your best friends name? Why do you like him or her?"
"My best friend's name is Stan, and I like him because he's a good friend; he's kind, always there for me and is fun to be around." Kyle didn't need to be coached for a question like that; he and Stan were super best friends.
"What is more important - beauty, wisdom, or wealth? Why?"
"Wisdom, because beauty and wealth will fade, but you can always learn new things."
Hearing Kyle's answers lifted Sheila's hopes; her son's eloquence would probably receive high scores,
"What do you want to be when you grow up?"
"I want to be a basketball player, because I love playing basketball, and.. it's a really fun sport to play." Kyle forgot the rest of the answer, and had made something up, pausing only momentarily. He had supposed to say "it's a good hobby because it keeps you active and healthy."
"Thank you so much, Kyle. Let's give him a big of applause," said the emcee, and Kyle hopped down from his chair and left the stage where Sheila was waiting for him.
"You forgot the answer," was all she said, taking his hand and leading him out of the ballroom.
"Only part of it," said Kyle, trying to match her pace.
"You still forgot! How could you forget?" she barked. "You need to really start focusing, bubbe."
They had arrived at their hotel room, where Kyle began to change into his talent wear. He had a new outfit, which consisted of a white vest top and shorts, with orange and emerald green piping down the sides of the shorts. His name was emblazoned on the chest in matching green sequins and he had new white trainers decorated with more green sequins. He also had white sweat bands for his head and wrists with green piping. He actually liked the new outfit; it was a nice change from his boring school issued uniform. Kyle grabbed his basketball and headed back down to the ballroom with Sheila.
Tony was waiting for them; his other client was done for the day, but he stayed to give Kyle support.
"Hey, Kyle" he greeted happily upon seeing the boy. "Ready to kick it?"
"Yeah," said Kyle, smiling back. The 7 – 8 girls talent category was already in full swing; most of the little girls sang or danced, but there was one who played a slightly out of tune rendition of "God Bless America," on the violin, and another who did magic tricks.
So far, out of all the pageants he had done, Kyle had never seen another basketball player. He lined up with his group, actually looking forward to the event; he'd been working hard with his coach, and had learnt some new tricks. Although, technically, if he had to be pedantic, what he was doing was considered 'street basketball,' as it had lots of fancy tricks, but nothing that would help win a real game. Still, the purpose of the talent category was to show off one's skill, and the tricks he had learnt would impress his friends, so Kyle couldn't really complain.
"Okay, that was contestant number 18, Sarah Barker, thank you, Sarah!" said Mr. Jones, as Sarah, who had tap-danced, stepped off the stage to cheers and applause. "If I could have our 7 – 8 boys line up next to the stage for the talent round? The 7 – 8 boys, please?"
Being sure that he was again in numerical order, Kyle lined up with the rest of his age group. This time, he noticed the people in the audience staring at him, and looking at his outfit. Some of them were smiling, but Kyle didn't think it was because they were happy. Some of them were whispering to their neighbours, covering their mouths, some were sniggering, and one or two even pointed. Kyle directed his attention to the stage as the first contestant stepped on, trying not to think about what they could be saying, but he overheard some snippets of conversation.
"Does he know we're not doing sportswear?" one woman muttered just loud enough to be heard, causing her and her friend to erupt in giggles.
"Hope he's got something prepared."
"Man, he needs to get more prepared."
Kyle bit his lip nervously even though he had no reason to be nervous; he had a routine for talent, and he also had one for sportswear. He had different outfits, so he definitely didn't mess them up; he was prepared for the correct category, and he knew that, but he just couldn't stand to be laughed at.
Sheila and Tony then approached him, and Sheila made some final adjustments to his clothing.
"You nervous?" Tony asked, and Kyle shook his head, hoping that he hadn't heard the comments.
"Kyle never gets nervous for talent," Sheila told him, straightening Kyle's vest.
"Great; well, good luck," Tony grinned, clapping Kyle on the shoulder.
"I'm gonna get your hoop ready," said Sheila, referring to Kyle's basketball hoop, which she placed on the stage before Kyle's routine so that it was ready for him. "And I'll be behind the judges, okay? Good luck, bubbe."
As she left, Kyle turned his attention back to the stage, where number four had just finished his street dancing routine, and the crowd were cheering.
"Thank you, Steven, number four!" cried Mr. Jones. "And now, please welcome with a nice round of applause, number five, Kyle Broflovski!"
The crowd applauded politely as Sheila quickly set up the hoop on the far side of the stage. Kyle waited until his music, "Get Ready For This" by 2 Unlimited, began to blare out of the speakers, and he stepped onto the stage, stopping at his first X and smiling at the judges.
His routines didn't vary much from when he had first started out, but for the talent category, Kyle added two more tricks that he had learnt. First, he bounced the ball, as usual, swinging his legs over it, and changing hands, then he dribbled over to his second X, and began to bounce the ball once again, this time through his legs in a figure of eight pattern, and the crowd began to clap.
He then balanced the ball on the back of his hand, and rolled it up his arm, letting it rest on the back of his neck for just a second, before rolling it down his left arm, and catching it in his hand. The audience cheered, and Kyle repeated the move, sending the ball back the same way.
Kyle then half-ran down the catwalk, bouncing the ball between his legs every so often, and paused on the third X, being sure to keep the smile on his face. He took a step back, and did what was known as the "arm roll," where he would place his arms in front of him in a circular position, and roll the ball up one arm, across his chest, and down the other arm, keeping the ball circling. The crowd were enjoying it, but when Kyle spun the ball on his finger, they lost their minds, cheering, whooping, clapping as loudly as they could.
Giving his best smile to the judges, Kyle turned and made his way back up the catwalk, dribbling the ball all the time, and went over to his fourth X. There, he spun the ball on his finger again, and the crowd went wild, before performing few set shots and jump shots.
As the music ended, Kyle caught the ball one last time, and turned to face the audience, grinning widely. They were still applauding and cheering, and Sheila came running up to the side of the stage. He had to admit, it felt good to have people cheering for him.
"And that was contestant number five, Kyle Broflovski! Thank you, Kyle!"
Kyle stepped off the stage as Sheila grabbed the hoop, and they walked to the back of the room where Gerald was still sat.
"Well done," she smiled, the compliment causing Kyle to grin up at her. "I think that was the best you've ever done it."
"That was great!" a little girl piped up as Kyle passed her. He noticed now that nearly all of the people in the audience were smiling, and this time they looked happy.
"Thanks!" he beamed, as Tony came running up to him.
"You did amazing!" he gushed, giving the boy a high five. "Just amazing!"
Kyle looked over at his father, who was no longer scowling.
"You did great," he said, "Those are some cool tricks."
"Thanks," said Kyle.
He didn't have much time to relax, however, as Mr. Jones was calling for his age group to get ready as they would be lining up after the girls. Kyle placed his basketball on a chair, and re-joined his group and they lined up along the back wall at the little girls had their turn on stage.
"Okay, give it up for your 7 – 8 girls, ladies and gentlemen!" called Mr. Jones as the little girls exited the stage, and the audience clapped and cheered. "Okay, now if I could have the 7 – 8 boys line up on stage, the 7 – 8 boys, please."
Kyle followed the rest of his group and again lined up along the back of the stage, smiling out at the audience. He could see Sheila standing behind the judges' table, along with a few other parents, watching them.
Just as before, Mr. Jones asked them to turn and face the back, and Kyle did so, letting the smile drop from his face to relax his aching cheeks. "Once again, your 7 – 8 boys; give it up for them!" said Mr. Jones after the boys had turned around once more, and they walked off the stage.
Kyle was now done for the rest of the day, and so the four of them decided to head back to their rooms.
Once there, Kyle changed back into his everyday clothes, and shoved his hat over his coif. Gerald came into the bathroom while he was scrubbing his face clean.
"Do ya wanna go out and do some sightseeing?" he asked in a low voice, and Kyle turned around.
"Really?" he asked.
"Yeah. Why not, we're in New York. Come on."
Kyle followed his father to the door. Ike was sat on one of the beds, playing on his phone. "Honey, we're just going to have a look around; I need to stretch my legs!" Gerald called as he opened the door.
"Okay, well don't be too long; Kyle needs to get some practise in for tomorrow!" Sheila had her back to them, and was arranging Kyle's clothes for the following day; he was going to be competing in Sportswear, Wow Wear, and Casual Wear.
"We won't!" Gerald called, and closed the door. "Where do you want to go first?" he asked his son as they walked quickly through the halls.
"Um, the Statue of Liberty – no, the Empire State Building! No, the Natural History Museum!" Kyle almost ran through the hotel lobby towards the front doors. He couldn't wait to get out and start exploring.
Gerald had to laugh as his son waited impatiently for him; it was nice to see Kyle excited and acting like a kid for once.
"Well, we'll find out which one's the closest and do that one," he decided, stepping out onto the bustling street, and looking for a map of some kind.
As they were the closest to the Empire State Building, that was where they decided to go, and to perhaps visit somewhere else the following day.
Luck seemed to be on their side that afternoon as there was only a minimal wait after Gerald had purchased tickets, and they were soon in the queue waiting to up to the observational deck.
"I wanna go right to the very top, and then we can see everything!" said Kyle, his eyes glowing with happiness. "And they even have these binoculars you can look through! I'm gonna see if I can see the Statue of Liberty; I'll bet we can see it pretty close up!" Kyle barely stopped chattering until the they had reached the very top, and he exited the lift as quickly as he could, and ran onto the deck. Gerald spotted him over by the railings, looking out at the skyline. "Wow!" Kyle's eyes widened as he looked over the city. Being born in South Park, he had never seen a major metropolitan city before, whereas Gerald and Sheila had, and he realised what a treat it was for Kyle to see something like this. "I never knew it was so big," he admitted; he could never have imagined people living in a city this size. They probably never got bored.
"It's amazing, isn't it?" said Gerald and Kyle nodded. For a while, the both of them continued to gaze out over the skyline, silently. "So..." asked Gerald after a few moments, "what is it you like about pageants?"
"Look! You can see even better through here!" Kyle had moved over to where the binoculars were and was looking through them intently. "The Statue looks really close," he observed, changing the angle, so that he was looking at the people on the ground waiting to go up to the famed statue.
"Kyle, what do you like about pageants?" Gerald repeated, turning to face his son.
"I just like them," Kyle said, still looking through the binoculars.
"But what is it?" Gerald pressed. "Is it the being on stage? The awards? What? I don't understand."
"I just like them," Kyle repeated, not looking at his father. "I mean, without them, we would never have gone to New York; so I get to travel. That's good. And," his voice grew quiet, "I suppose it's nice to hear people cheer for me."
"So, that's why you like them?" asked Gerald. "Because people cheer for you? You know, you get that if you join the basketball team. Why don't you do that?"
"I can't join the team," muttered Kyle angrily. "I'm too short, and I'm not black."
"That doesn't mean anything," Gerald said a little sharper than he had intended. "Look, just because you're short and white doesn't mean you can't play basketball. You're good at it! You are! I have no idea where you get it from, because your mother and me are both terrible at sports." He saw that Kyle was refusing to look at him. "All I'm saying is, if you want people to cheer for you, you don't have to do pageants. There are other things."
"You don't understand," Kyle muttered, but Gerald heard him.
"So, help me understand," said Gerald. "I just don't get why you're doing this just to please your mom!"
"That's why I'm doing it!" Kyle snapped suddenly, finally turning to face his father. "Don't you understand? This is the most time she's spent with me since I can remember! I like that, didn't you know? So, I don't really care that I have to do these stupid things, at least I get to spend time with my mom!" Kyle turned around and resumed looking through the binoculars. Gerald was slightly stunned. He understood now.
"Okay," he said, looking down at his son. "You do what you gotta do." And no more was said.
They arrived back at the hotel a few hours later, as evening was falling. As they had left the Empire State Building, Gerald had quickly glanced at his phone, and noticed the missed calls and unread messages from Sheila. He checked the time, and realised that they had been gone for at least three hours.
As soon as they had entered the room, Sheila was standing there, waiting for them, glaring, with her hands on her hips. Gerald felt Kyle shrink next to him, quavering under his mother's stare.
"Just going to have a look around?" she said, and Kyle's gaze turned to the floor.
"That's what we did," said Gerald brightly, not quite meeting her gaze.
"You didn't say you were leaving the hotel; I've been looking for you for ages."
"Kyle wanted to go sightseeing."
Kyle's head whipped up to look at Gerald. He was not going to let his dad pin this on him.
"You asked me if I wanted to go!"
"Well, we're in New York," Gerald directed this at Sheila. "Why shouldn't we go sightseeing?"
"That's not the point; I didn't know where you were! I kept trying to call. I didn't know where my son was!"
"You knew I was with him! Kyle's not gonna go wandering off with a stranger – he's not stupid!"
If Kyle were a little bit younger, he would have covered his ears the way he used to when his parents argued.
"You should have said you were leaving," said Sheila. "I told you Kyle needs to practise for tomorrow; now he doesn't have time!"
"It's okay, Mom; I know my routines," Kyle told her, wanting them to stop.
"I know, bubbe, but there's no such thing as too much practise," Sheila said, sighing. "We're just gonna have to make sure you get some practise in tomorrow."
When Kyle nodded, having no other alternative, she smiled. "Good; now get to bed. You need your sleep."
The next morning, Kyle was awakened several hours earlier than he would have liked in order to practise his routines. He, along with Sheila and Tony were in the hallway, and Kyle was going through his steps. It was too early to play music, so instead Sheila counted to four over and over again, to help Kyle keep his time.
It was Tony who had introduced the counting. Kyle's lack of rhythm was still atrocious; he couldn't seem to move in time, no matter what he did, and he couldn't hear the beat of the music. So, Tony had begun counting, and Kyle's sense of timing had improved slightly.
"Don't forget to make that spin nice and sharp," Sheila instructed quickly, before resuming counting. Kyle only kept quiet as he did as he was told.
When Sheila was satisfied that his routines were up to scratch, the three of them then went back to their room to get ready. Kyle's first category was Wow Wear, and he was getting into his costume. He really disliked the outfit; the sparkles, the ridiculous tailcoat and waistcoat, all of it, really. But he didn't have a say in the matter, that was plain, and so all Kyle could do was get into the costume and hope that he would never have to wear it again.
When he was dressed, they headed down to the dressing room to do Kyle's hair and makeup. They sat in the same corner they had the previous day, and Tony got to work on Kyle's hair. Sheila always wanted them to be ready with plenty of time to spare, because her son's hair took almost half an hour from start to finish, and there was always that chance that the pageant could start early. If a contestant was late, points were deducted, and one or two points could mean the difference between winning and losing.
When he was finally ready, Sheila and Kyle made their way to the ballroom to watch the pageant, while Tony remained in the dressing room to prep his other client. The pageant had not long begun, and the babies' category was in full swing. Music was playing, and the crowd were cheering as one little girl was paraded around on stage by her mother.
Kyle had managed to grab his phone, and so he was playing that as the pageant progressed, becoming completely engrossed in his game that he forgot all about the competition.
However, all too soon, it was time for his age group to line up, and Kyle reluctantly put his phone down, and made his way to the side of the room, Sheila following him, and Gerald and Ike remained in their seats. As he waited for his turn, while Sheila fussed over his clothes, Kyle observed the other boys and what they were wearing. As Wow Wear was more or less the same as Outfit of Choice, the costumes were rather varied. There was a Peter Pan, an Elvis, a Spiderman, Mick Jagger, amongst other well-known characters. Once again, Kyle felt rather out of place, but there was nothing he could do, as it was time for him to go on stage, and he hitched his smile into place.
He stepped onto the stage, smiling brightly as the crowd applauded. Taking a moment to spot the judges and make eye contact with them, Kyle posed and then twirled. He then marched over to his next X, saluting all the while, before twirling again, hoping he didn't look as ridiculous as he felt.
The crowd were applauding politely, and Kyle spotted his mother standing behind the judges, watching him. He couldn't read her expression, so he continued with his routine, and made his way down the catwalk. Once at the third X, Kyle bent down on one knee, placing his right hand on his left shoulder, smiling all the while. Standing back up, he turned around, and walked back up the runway. Back on his second X, he turned and paused with his back to the audience, and looked over his shoulder at the judges, smiling, before completing the turn. He then placed one hand on his sparkling lapel, and turned again, before walking over to his last X. There, he did another salute and winked at the judges, before waving and walking off stage to more applause.
His mother was waiting for him as usual, and he followed her back to where they had been sitting. Gerald was again scowling, and Ike was playing on his phone, completely disinterested in the whole event.
"How did I do?" he asked, as they walked to their seats.
"Okay. You looked a bit bored up there," she told him. "We need to work on that."
"Well, I still feel silly," he said, as they sat down, lowering his voice.
"If you'd just put some effort in, then you wouldn't feel silly, bubbe," she said, facing him."Trust me, it looks sillier when you're up there doing it half-heartedly, than when you're putting 100 per cent in."
Kyle only looked back up at the stage, where the last boy in his age group was just finishing up to applause. "We'd better get changed for Sportswear," said Sheila, standing up and Kyle did the same.
Fifteen minutes later, Sheila and Kyle returned to the ballroom, with Kyle now dressed in his white trousers, his black leather jacket lined with red with Formula One logos dotted on it and matching cap, along with a black and white chequered flag.
A lot of the boys were dressed similarly to him, with racing themed outfits, although there were a few wearing football and wrestling outfits.
After this, Kyle only had the Casual Wear category to compete in, and then he was free until the crowning ceremony in the evening. The Portfolio category had already been completed that morning, as all the judges did was review photos of each contestant, and the results were tallied onto the scoring sheets.
Kyle was wondering what he would do to pass the time after his final category when his age group was called, and so he lined up with the rest of the boys. Sheila and Tony were standing beside him as the first contestant stepped onstage.
All too soon, it was his turn to perform once again. His routine was pretty much the same as his previous one, except the saluting was replaced with flag waving, and Kyle did as he had been told and posed and twirled and smiled, trying to forget where he was. He was counting to four over and over again in his head, trying to keep in time with the music, and also to make sure that he didn't go over the time limit. Kyle made his way back up the catwalk, and turned around to face the judges, smiling at them.
Sheila was watching from her usual spot behind the judges' table. She felt that Kyle had as good a chance at winning than everyone else. Even though he was still new to the circuit, she was certain that the judges' would look past this and score him on his looks and personality. Although, she had to admit, Kyle still wasn't showing his personality. It was embarrassing, she thought, as she watched him pose and turn on his last X before stepping off stage. She was hoping for a "King" title, as Kyle hadn't won one yet, and if he won his first King at a National pageant, she would be beyond overjoyed. It would be a huge deal for a newbie to win that title, and Sheila was sure that Kyle would do it.
When he had finished, she was waiting for him at the side of the stage, and she wasted no time in telling him what he had done wrong.
"Honestly, Kyle, it's like you're not even trying," she said as she marched him back up to their room, so that he could get changed for the last category. "Don't you want to win? The stakes are so much higher now; you've gotta put everything into it."
"I'm trying, Ma," Kyle said, as they entered their hotel room.
"You could try a lot harder, bubbe," she handed him his clothes, and Kyle went into the bathroom. "I just want what's best for you," she continued. "This will do wonders for your confidence!"
Kyle privately thought it would do nothing of the sort, but he didn't say this. He came out of the bathroom, wearing his blue plaid, short-sleeved shirt with blue jeans and white trainers,and Sheila smiled at him. "You look great," she said, before heading over to the door and gesturing for Kyle to follow her.
When they arrived back in the ballroom, the eldest age group was just finishing up, and the nine young ladies stood on stage in their group line up.
"Ladies and gentlemen, these are our 16 – 19 girls, and it's a pleasure to present them to you one more time! Give it up for them!" Mr. Jones encouraged, and the audience applauded as the young women left the stage. "Okay, up next, we have our last category of day; Runway Model, so could I please have our 0 – 18 month contestants lined up next to the stage, please?"
As he waited for his age group, Kyle again took out his phone and resumed his Terrance and Phillip game. He was more than halfway through it now. He became so engrossed in his game, that he didn't hear the emcee announce for his age group to line up. It was only when Sheila took the phone from his hands and nudged him.
"You've got to go up there!" she whispered, gesturing for him to stand, and so he and Tony followed her to the side wall, where the other boys were already lining up. "Remember to just do your best up there," she told him, as Tony smoothed down a stray lock of hair, quickly whipping out his hairspray can to fix it in place. "Don't let your smile slip," Sheila reminded him as the first boy stepped on stage.
"I'll try," said Kyle honestly. He had been practising, but his cheeks started to twitch after about a minute, and then he struggled to hold it in place, especially without it looking fake.
"Well, just keep it natural," she said. "You know how to do that."
"Okay, Ma," he said, as the emcee announced his name.
"And presenting our next contestant, Kyle Broflovski!" Mr Jones called, and the audience applauded as Kyle stepped onto the stage, smiling.
Standing on his first X, he spied the judges, and he smiled at them. Placing one hand on his hip, he turned, and then moved on to the next X. He stood there for a moment, still smiling, before making his way down the catwalk. Once he reached the end, Kyle twirled again. He then placed both hands on his hips, and turned to the left, looking over his shoulder at the judges and nodding, before completing the turn.
Kyle walked back up the catwalk, allowing the smile to drop from his face. When he returned to the second X, he resumed smiling before looking back over his shoulder, and turning back around. Despite him doing this, he was beginning to struggle with his smile, and Sheila noticed.
"His smile's starting to look a bit strained," she said to Tony, frowning. Tony nodded in agreement and continued watching the boy.
"And that was contestant number five, Kyle Broflovski! Thank you, Kyle!" called Mr. Jones, and Kyle stepped off stage to polite applause. Sheila was waiting for him, looking displeased.
"Hey, Ma, I'm done; can I take the makeup off now?" he asked
"Not just yet," she told him, as they went back to their seats.
"Why not?"
"Because I said so. Now, sit down."
Kyle did as he was told, and he sat there silently as the pageant progressed. "Now, crowning will start in a few hours," said Sheila, completely ignoring Gerald and Ike. "I want you to be ready nice and early; which means we'll have to redo your makeup. It'll be easier if you left it on."
Kyle thought about this. Having the makeup on was awful, and he would rather not take it off, and then have to put it on again, and take it off again.
"All right, I'll leave it on," he relented.
"All right, then, bubbe. Come on then," Sheila stood, and the rest of her family followed suite, and they left the room.
When they were back in their room, Kyle changed into his regular clothes. Ike had flopped down on the bed, playing on his phone, and looking bored out of his mind, and Gerald was talking with Sheila.
"So, after this, you'll be done? No more pageants?"
"Well, Kyle is really starting to get into this now, so we're going to keep doing this for a little while longer."
"How long? I don't think Kyle's enjoying this as much as you think he is." Gerald tried to get her to see reason. He didn't want to mention his conversation with Kyle yesterday just yet; he didn't think that Sheila would listen.
"Oh, he is, Gerald," said Sheila earnestly. "He's really enjoying it, and once we get into the swing of things, it'll be even better."
"If you're sure," said Gerald, sighing inwardly. "I just don't want you pushing him too hard; he's only a kid."
"I'm not pushing him!" Sheila sounded slightly defensive, "I just want him to do his best, and at Nationals, you have to be the best of the best, and what's wrong with that?"
"I'm just saying, go easy on him," Gerald kept his voice low. "It's not the be all and end all, if he doesn't win."
"I know that, Gerald; I just want what's best for Kyle."
A few hours later, the Broflovskis, plus Tony, were back in the ballroom for the crowning ceremony. Kyle was back in his tuxedo, and Tony had touched up his makeup before they re-entered the ballroom. Kyle was just waiting for the ceremony to be over and done with so that he could wash his face.
Unlike the previous pageants, the youngest boys group would be awarded first, followed by the youngest girls, and then they would move on to the next age group. Tony's other client, Bobby, had been crowned Prince of his category, and had been given a crown and a trophy. Tony and Bobby's overjoyed mother, had both hugged him when he got off stage.
Before too long, his age group was called, and Kyle got in line with the other boys. Sheila followed him. "Good luck, bubbe," she said, and Kyle looked up at her. "Congratulate whoever wins, and keep smiling, okay?"
Kyle only nodded, and she left to go and sit down. He truthfully didn't know what was going to happen; one on hand, he felt as though he had as good a chance as anyone else, but on the other hand, he didn't feel experienced enough to have competed in a prestigious national pageant.
"Could I please have our 7 – 8 boys on the stage, please? The 7 – 8 boys!" called Mr. Jones, and Kyle and the others climbed on stage, and lined up along the back. Kyle made sure to smile at the judges; he wasn't sure if he was supposed to, but that's what he had been doing at every pageant so far. "We will first give out the side awards," announced Jones. "Then we will crown our Prince, and our King. Okay, your Best dressed is... Zack Greene!"
Zack, the last boy in the line up, raised his hand, and a medal was placed around his neck, while the audience clapped and cheered. "Your Most Photogenic is..."
Sheila held her breath. "Sean Atkinson!"
Her jaw dropped as the blonde haired, blue eyed boy raised his hand and accepted his medal. She had been certain that Kyle would win that; his new photos were amazing, and she thought they really showed off his looks. She was barely able to stop herself from scowling. "Your Best Eyes is... Kyle Broflovski!"
Kyle did what the previous winners had done, and raised his hand as a gold medal was placed around his neck. He looked up, still smiling (although it was looking more and more fake by the minute), and spotted Sheila standing off to the side. She didn't look happy, he noted, and he was sure he knew why; she wanted him to win a crown. He felt slightly upset that he hadn't done a good enough job. He stood there, as Jack Collins and Ethan Kelly were crowned Prince and King, respectively. "Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for your 7 – 8 King, Ethan Kelly!" called Mr. Jones, and the audience clapped and cheered as Ethan stood front and centre, a crown on his head, and a sash, grinning widely. "Let's have a hand for all of our boys!" Urged Jones, and the audience applauded loudly as the boys stepped off stage.
Kyle made his way back over to Sheila, who was still looking disappointed.
"Well, come on then," she said. "Let's go back to the room."
"Aren't we going to stay and watch the rest?" Kyle was confused; Sheila had always insisted on staying until the end; it was good sportsmanship, she said.
"We have an flight in a few hours, and we need to get packing," she told him, heading to the back of the room, with Kyle following.
"Is that it?" asked Gerald when his wife and son approached him. He felt quite shocked when Sheila nodded. They had seriously flown to New York and shelled out hundreds of dollars... for a medal? "Do you really think that it was worth it?"
"It's all trial and error," said Sheila, crossing over to the window and closing the curtains. "Nobody wins big at a National first time; you gotta work for it. Besides, he still won something."
"Yeah, a flimsy little medal," Gerald muttered under his breath. He rolled his eyes and sighed. "Well if you think you know what you're doing," was all he said, heading off to the bathroom, where Kyle was washing his face. "How was that for you?" he asked quietly, and Kyle looked at him in the mirror.
"All right," he said. "Pretty much the same as usual."
"And do you think it was worth it?"
Kyle hesitated.
"Yes and no," he said. "I got to see New York, didn't I?"
Gerald didn't say anything, and instead left the room, shaking his head.
The next morning, the Broflovski family were back in South Park, and Kyle was back in school. They had arrived home at 4:00am after a six hour flight. Ike had pretty much slept throughout the entire plane ride, and had only awoken when he was put into the car. Kyle had fallen asleep on the plane, as well, and had awakened when they had landed. He'd fallen back asleep in the car, and had woke up again when they arrived home. Kyle had then dragged himself up to his bed for a much needed extra two hours sleep.
Stan made no comment on his absence over the weekend; he knew where Kyle had been, and what he had been doing, and he wasn't going to mention it in front of Cartman.
Kyle had simply said that he had been sick, but he was feeling better now. He was actually still tired from the journey home, so it was easy for him to be convincing.
Cartman claimed that he didn't even know that Kyle had been gone over the weekend. All in all, it was a normal Monday morning.
Kyle just carried on as normal, which was mainly arguing with Cartman, who seemed to be trying extra hard to push Kyle's buttons that morning.
Whenever Kyle spoke, Cartman would mimic him in a high-pitched voice, and he constantly kicked the redhead's chair. Just one of those things was enough to drive Kyle crazy, but the combination of both made him snap.
"God damn it, leave me the fuck alone, fat ass!" Kyle twisted around in his chair and screamed in Carman's face. Cartman opened his mouth to retaliate, but before he could say anything, Mr Garrison spoke.
"All right, that's it! Kyle, Eric – counsellor's, now!" Anything to get them out of his hair.
"Ay! That's not fair, why should I have to go?!" snapped Cartman. "Kahl's the one that disrupted class!"
"Oh, for God's sake, Eric, just get out!"
Cartman purposely kicked his chair over as he stormed out of the room, with an equally angry Kyle following him. Stan could only pinch his nose and groan.
Both Kyle and Cartman were sat outside Mr. Mackey's office. Kyle was fuming, but Cartman couldn't care less; this was a weekly occurrence for him, and he got to skip class, so he was happy about that.
"Seriously, though, what's your problem?" asked Cartman, as Kyle stared ahead, scowling. "Too much sand in your vagina?"
"There's no sand in my vagina!" Kyle snapped.
"Kahl, your vagina is so full of sand right now, I'm seriously. It's falling out!" Cartman gasped dramatically and pointed to the floor. Fortunately, he was saved from Kyle's wrath by the voice of Mr. Mackey calling them inside.
"All right, boys, what seems to be the problem, m'kay?" asked the counsellor as both boys sat down.
"Oh, nothing, Mr. Mackey; just that my friend Kahl here has a load of sand trapped in his vagina."
"Shut up, fat boy!" Kyle snapped.
"I'm not fat, you anorexic Jew!" Cartman snapped back, and Mackey only buried his head in his hands.
"M'kay, boys, you need to understand that treating people like that is bad, m'kay? Are you going to start being nice to one another? Can you just try?"
"Fine. Whatever," Kyle muttered, crossing his arms and scowling. Cartman merely placed his hands behind his head and grinned.
When they were dismissed, it was break time, and so they headed out to the playground. Finding Stan and Kenny by the roundabout, they made their way over to their friends.
"What's up, dudes?" asked Stan, looking up from his phone.
"Just Cartman driving me crazy, as usual," said Kyle, kicking the snow bitterly.
"Not my fault you're as uptight as a horny nun!" snapped Cartman, causing Kenny to burst into laughter.
"Shut up, fat boy!" said Stan, rolling his eyes, and Cartman and Kenny continued to laugh. "You okay?" he asked Kyle quietly.
"Yeah," said Kyle, "just feeling a bit tired, you know?"
Stan nodded.
"You got any more coming up?" he asked out of curiosity, and Kyle shrugged.
"I don't think so," he said.
How wrong he was.
Over the next two months, Kyle competed in five more pageants, two of them National ones, and lost them all. To his surprise, Kyle was feeling rather upset over this, and he was ashamed.
He knew he shouldn't be as upset as he was, but he couldn't help it. The whole idea of the pageants was for Sheila to prove that he was good looking, and in Kyle's mind, because he hadn't yet won, then it must mean that he wasn't good looking.
Deep down, Kyle knew he shouldn't care, but he couldn't help it. With every loss, it was like being slapped in the face with that list over and over again, and he hated it. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stop himself from feeling down, and Sheila noticed.
"Don't feel bad, bubbe," she had told him, after driving him home from one Colorado pageant. "Just because you don't win,doesn't mean you're not good; it just wasn't your time. You just need to work harder next time."
But how could he work better on being good-looking, Kyle wondered miserably. He was already wearing nice clothes and makeup, what more could he do?
He had taken to inspecting himself in front of the mirror when he brushed his teeth at night, scrutinising himself. On the surface, he couldn't see a problem, but once Kyle started mentally dissecting his face, he began to see flaws. On first viewing, he saw that his eyes were big; a trademark of good looks, or so he'd heard, his skin was smooth and pale, his lips were plump. But on closer inspection, Kyle began to think that maybe his eyes were too close together, or maybe he was too pale, or maybe his mouth looked swollen.
His nose wasn't all that big, in all honesty, but Kyle still felt like it was too big to fit on his face.
That evening, he frowned at his reflection as he brushed his teeth.
"What am I doing wrong?" he asked himself, hating the fact that he cared.
At the end of the week, Kyle, Sheila and Tony were back in Denver for the Colorado Beauty National pageant, and they were in the ballroom.
Kyle had spent the weekend competing in the Beauty, Talent, and Casual Wear categories, and now he was waiting for his age group to be called. He didn't think he had done particularly well in this pageant, but surprisingly, Sheila had disagreed, saying that it had been his best ever.
All too soon, Kyle was lining up on the stage with the the other boys. There were six, including him, and he was second in the line up.
"Ladies and gentlemen, our 7 – 9 boys, give it up for them, they've been great!" called the emcee, whose name was escaping Kyle, and the audience applauded and cheered. "We will first announce our Optional titles. Your Best Hair is... Milo Jenkins!"
Milo, a little dark haired, cheeky looking boy, raised his hand, and a small, knee high trophy was placed in front of him.
Best Eyes went to another little boy, Best Smile went to.. not Kyle. Most Photogenic was not Kyle, and the redhead couldn't help feeling disappointed. He mainly wanted to win something so that he could quit, but now the desire to prove that he could win was burning. Just one title, and then he wouldn't care. He hated the fact that he wanted to win, but if he did, then at least he would have proof that he wasn't ugly.
But today, that seemed unlikely, as the last of the side awards were given out, and Kyle hadn't won anything.
The Prince, Robert Haddely, an exceedingly handsome nine year old, crowned, and Kyle sighed inwardly. Robert had wavy, golden blonde hair, piercing blue eyes, and a charming smile. He had also won Most Photogenic, which Kyle knew he would, and he couldn't understand why Robert hadn't been crowned King.
"And your 2018 King is... Kyle Broflovski!"
Kyle froze, the smile slipping off his face. He looked over at the emcee, who was smiling and clapping, as were the other boys. Following a gentle nudge, Kyle stepped forward as a lady approached him, holding a rather elegant imperial-style crown with a red velvet cap with a gold frame, along with a sash. Kyle stood on the second X, looking out at the applauding audience as he was crowned King. He couldn't help himself.
He smiled.
~ X ~
And that's chapter 5 finished! I'm not done yet; I'm about halfway through this story, and I can't wait to show you the rest. I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter!