Hi, guys, here is the next chapter. I hope you enjoy reading

"So, are you excited, bubbe?" asked Sheila as she drove toward their destination. Kyle, who was sat in the back with his earbuds in, did not answer her. Sheila reached behind her and tapped him on the leg, causing him to jump slightly.

"What?" he said, removing his earbuds.

"I said, are you excited?" she repeated, as Janet panned the camera back and forth between them, as if she were filming a tennis match.

Kyle pulled a face and shrugged. He put his earbuds back in, and turned to look out of the window. Sheila frowned at him in the rearview mirror, but said nothing.

Kyle spent the journey gazing out of the car window, although not really taking anything in, and only removed his earbuds when Sheila pulled up outside the building.

"This is amazing!" said Sheila, as they headed towards the glass double doors. "Think of the people you'll be able to help!"

"Yeah, that's me(!)" Kyle muttered sarcastically. "How did they even find out about me?"

"They contacted me after one of the directors told them about you. They thought you would be good."

"But why is a pageant director telling people about me?" asked Kyle. Sheila shook her head; she couldn't believe how Kyle still didn't know how well-known he was in the pageant world.

The building itself was tall and modern, with lots of glass windows. A sign mounted outside read 'Kreative Kids'.

They went into the lobby and met the receptionist.

"Hi! Can I help you?" she smiled.

"I'm Sheila Broflovski; we're here to meet Barbara McCarthy."

"Oh, yes. Come with me, please." She stepped out from behind the desk, and led them down a well-lit hallway, and into a little room. "Miss McCarthy will be with you in just a moment." The receptionist told them. "In the meantime, make yourselves comfortable, and help yourselves to the food and drink."

Giving them one last smile, she excused herself, and shut the door behind her.

Kyle sat down in one of the chairs, leaning back against the cushions, and looked around. The room was warm and comfortable; there was soft lighting everywhere, there were toys and board games on the mahogany bookcase, sofas with lots of cushions, pictures on the wall. Well, it wasn't the worst room he'd been in.

"Do you remember what you have to say?" asked Sheila, as she sat down on another chair.

"Yes," Kyle sighed, still observing the room, and resolutely looking anywhere except the camera.

"Don't look so miserable," Sheila said. "This is a great opportunity for you."

"If you say so," Kyle said.

Sheila could not say anything else as a young, friendly-looking woman entered the room, smiling at them.

"Hi!" she beamed, as Sheila stood up, and they shook hands. "I'm Barbara McCarthy, but just call me Barb. It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you, too, Barb," said Sheila. Barb and turned to Kyle.

"And is this Kyle?"

Kyle stood as well, and politely shook her hand. He was surprised; she was a lot younger than he thought she would be. "Really lovely to have you here. Shall we get started?"

"Sure, we'd love to," said Sheila, and then Barb noticed Janet with her camera, and though she kept smiling, she looked a little confused.

"Hello." She approached Janet, and shook her hand, too.

"Hi, I'm Janet Cooper, and I'm filming the Broflovskis for a documentary. Is it all right to record you guys? If you don't consent to being on camera, that's absolutely fine."

"Oh, you can record, it's fine," said Barb, and then she turned back to Kyle. "Are you ready?" she asked, and Kyle nodded. "Well, great, let's get started." She gestured for him to sit down, and then did so herself. "Okay, so before we start, I just want to explain that this isn't going to a be proper, formal interview," she told Kyle. "Just think of it as having a casual chat, okay? There's no need to be nervous, just relax, and be yourself; that's what we want."

Kyle felt instantly at ease; she was so warm and kind, and although he didn't want to do this interview, he found himself warming to her.

So, they sat opposite each other; Barb had a notepad and pen, and they casually spoke about diabetes. Barb also had a little tape recorder, which had been set up on the table next to Kyle's chair. They spoke about how Kyle managed his condition with his busy schedule, how he tested his blood sugar, what it was like growing up with diabetes, how other kids handled it, etc.

Kyle found that the informal setting really helped, and he spoke more freely about it than he ever had done before.

Still, there was a small part of him that was annoyed. It wasn't that he was ashamed of being diabetic; he had literally known nothing else his whole life, he just didn't like talking about it. If you saw someone with a missing arm, you wouldn't ask them why it was missing. Well, some would, but that was beside the point.

Yes, raising awareness was good, but shouldn't it be his decision? It wasn't like he was the only diabetic kid in the world, couldn't they have picked someone else?

At least, Kyle told himself, none of his friends would read this, so he could comfort himself with that.

~ X ~

"Well, that was fun, wasn't it, bubbe?" said Sheila during the drive home a few hours later.

"No," said Kyle, leaning back in his seat, holding his earbuds, waiting to put them in. Again, Sheila frowned at him.

"No? You didn't like it? You don't like the fact that people – children – will read it, and realise that having diabetes is nothing to be ashamed of?"

"I'm not ashamed of it," Kyle protested. "I just didn't wanna do this."

"You sound really ungrateful," said Sheila, and Kyle's jaw dropped. "You know, I go out of my way for you; not only will this interview raise awareness for diabetes in children, but the money is also going into your college fund. I'm only trying to help you, bubbe."

"I know you do." Kyle didn't know why he was trying to placate her; it would only end with him having to apologise for something that was completely out of his control anyway. "I don't like interviews."

"That was only your first one, how can you say you don't like them?"

"What? I do interviews all the time; in competitions."

"Those don't really count, do they? This was an interview for a magazine, and it was a great opportunity for you."

"Yeah." Kyle, in no mood to argue, put in his earbuds in, and Sheila dropped it, like he knew she would.

~ X ~

The following month, Tom and George were filming Sheila, who was sat at the kitchen table. Janet was sat out of shot, and Sheila was choosing new photos of Kyle for his portfolio.

"The idea is to give the judges some variety," she said, as she spread out some of Kyle's head shots on the table. "So we got the real formal, elegant ones.." she hesitated as the camera zoomed in on the appropriate photos, "and we got more natural ones, some in the studio, some on location. Choosing the right pictures can make the difference between winning and losing."

"So the pictures are factored into the final score?" Janet asked.

"Yes. It's a side category, and all the points from the side categories are added up in the final score. It's not just about the photoshoot, though," said Sheila. "It's almost like a biography, or a career in photos. I've got photos of him competing in here, along with him winning. So does everyone else. I also have pictures of him volunteering; when you win a title, you have to do volunteer work otherwise they'll take the crown away." She leaned back and allowed the camera to pan in on a picture of Kyle reading to a room of kindergarteners.

"Do you use the same photos for every pageant?" asked Janet.

"Yes, and no," said Sheila. "Some of them, we use for every contest, because they always score well, like this one." She pointed to the head shot of Kyle that had won him the National Cover Model title the year before. "We try to choose the photos that show his personality. I'm going to look them over with Tony later, and we'll choose them together."

"Does Tony usually help you choose?"

"Sometimes. He's been doing this for a lot longer than I have, so I trust him. But this pageant will be different. ... I am nervous." Sheila admitted. "This is a brand new system; we've never competed there before. It's the biggest pageant in America. I don't think Kyle realises how tough it's gonna be." In fact, Sheila wasn't sure who was more nervous, her or Tony! Everyone there was going to be at the very top of their game, and Kyle had to be, as well. He was already having extra coaching, extra basketball lessons, and she was making sure he kept on top of his skincare routine.

"Is there a reason you've never entered Kyle in this pageant before?"

"He wasn't ready. He didn't have enough experience, and now that we've been doing this for a couple of years, I feel confident now to put him forward. But we've still got a tonne of prep to do."

"Do you think he can do it? I mean, do you think he'll do well?"

"Yes, I do. He can hold his own up there with the best of them, and I think he's gonna do great. The only way for Kyle to succeed is to know what's expected of him, and surpass that."

~ X ~

"Hi, Kyle!" Ivy, the cosmetologist at the salon, beamed as Kyle, Sheila, and the film crew stepped into the salon three days before the big pageant. "Nice to see you again."

"You too," replied Kyle politely.

"I've got him booked in for a full treatment?" Ivy confirmed to Sheila, who nodded. If Ivy was surprised at seeing a miniature film crew with them, it didn't show on her face.

"This is a really important pageant, so Kyle's got to look his best," Sheila explained, as Ivy led Kyle over to the chair.

"We'll take good care of him," Ivy assured her.

Kyle pulled his new Switch out of his pocket, and started it up as his hair treatment began. He felt lucky that Ivy was clearly a professional; he hardly noticed her applying lotion to his hair. Or maybe his new game was just that interesting. "So, this is a Keratin treatment, which keeps his hair soft and smooth, and in good condition," Ivy explained to Janet, as she gently massaged Kyle's head. "His hair is so curly that if he doesn't take care of it, it'll become damaged."

Kyle tuned the adults out as Ivy continued her treatment, far too invested in his new game. As always, he paused it when his hair had to be washed, and he rested his head against the basin, closing his eyes. As soon as Ivy gave him the okay, Kyle sat up, and unpaused his game, while Ivy gently blow-dried his hair. He knew he was being filmed, but at that moment he didn't care; he was engrossed in battling Stan on this new video game. Now that Kyle had finally got a Switch, he was determined to catch up, and that meant demolishing Stan at every multiplayer game there was. So far, he was doing well, but Stan had played this particular game a lot more than Kyle had, and so he had the upper hand.

Occasionally biting his lip, and cursing under his breath every so often, he didn't look up from the screen as Ivy gave him a deep conditioning treatment, and applied various hair masks.

"So, does Kyle have this for every pageant?" asked Janet, turning to Sheila. The two of them were sitting in the chairs by the wall, where Sheila was flipping through a magazine. Tom had one camera on them, and George had the other on Kyle and Ivy.

"Not this much," said Sheila. "He'll usually get a hair treatment, because as we use a lot of hairspray I want to keep it in good condition, but as the stakes are so high for this competition, I want him to have every advantage, and that's why he's getting extras."

Meanwhile, Ivy was explaining to George that this particular hair treatment she was now doing was to remove product build up, hydrate the scalp, and cure broken cuticles.

The only times Kyle looked up from his game were to snack on the fruit, and cheese and crackers that were laid out for him. He made sure to pace himself, knowing he was going to be there for most of the day, and he felt glad that he had remembered to bring a charger. Luckily for him, Janet did not ask him any questions, so he was able to relax as much as he could while getting a full beauty treatment.

Sheila kept chatting to Janet, keeping one eye on Kyle, as they discussed the upcoming competition, and Sheila made no effort to hide her nerves about the weekend.

~ X ~

It was Sunday evening, and the crowning ceremony of the National Majestic Pageant, AKA, the 'biggest pageant in America' was about to start.

The judges were sat at their table, and the emcee was playing music while they waited for the previous years' Royalty to come on stage and perform. Balloons and streamers littered the floor, and the room was filled with excited chatter.

Sheila was sat with some of her friends, one of whom had a young baby, who was a contestant.

"Hi, Melody!" Sheila beamed. The 15-month-old, in a blue, sparkly Beauty dress, reached out her arms, and Sheila took her. "Oh, you look so cute!" Sheila bounced the baby on her knee, while admiring the curly hairpiece that had been attached to her sparse locks.

"Thanks!" grinned her mother, Olivia. "So, first time; you nervous?"

"Yeah," Sheila admitted. "I hope Kyle gets something; he really tried hard."

"He did amazing," said Olivia.

"Thank you. Did you manage to fix Melody's dress? Sorry I wasn't there to watch her." With so many categories – Beauty, Swimwear, Sportswear, Talent, Western Wear, Casual Wear, and Interview – Sheila had found herself very busy not only making sure Kyle's costumes were all ready, but making sure he squeezed in some practise whenever he had a spare moment.

"Yeah, the skirt was still too big, so we just pinned it, hoped for the best, and it turned out okay, thank God." As was common with the babies, Melody's Beauty dress was comprised of two separate parts, in order to allow for easier changing. Luckily for Olivia, that meant she only had to pin the waistband of Melody's puffy, sequinned skirt.

"Did they like her?" asked Sheila.

"I think so," said Olivia. "I could see them when I took her up there, and they were laughing when she blew kisses."

"I saw a bit of her dressed as Pebbles for Outfit of Choice, and she looked so precious!" said Sheila.

Before Olivia could reply, the music died down, and the emcee walked to the centre of the stage, microphone in hand.

"Right, I'm gonna go sit with Kyle," Sheila whispered, handing Melody back. "Good luck!"

"Thanks, you too," Olivia whispered, as Sheila stood and discretely made her way across the aisle to where Tony and Kyle were sitting. She passed them both, and sat in the empty chair.

"Good luck, bubbe," she said, as the music started up again, and the Royalty came bounding on stage.

Kyle, sat in his tuxedo, hair and makeup styled to perfection, did not reply, but Sheila was busy watching the ceremony, and did not notice. It had been three very long, tough days, with seven different categories to compete in, and he was absolutely exhausted. He had gotten separated from Jake and Brianna, and they were somewhere on the other side of the room.

Janet, and Tom, were standing to the left, not too far from where Kyle was, and on Janet's nod, Tom zoomed in to Kyle looking all but mentally checked out. George was on the other side, filming some establishing shots of the stage, the crowd, the prizes, plus the ceremony itself.

It was only when Sheila nudged Kyle that he realised he was supposed to line up on stage with his age group.

On stage, he had no idea whether or not he was in numerical order, though nobody was shuffling him about, so he supposed he must be. Kyle did the one thing he felt like he knew how to do any more, and smiled as the emcee started announcing the divisional winners.

"Your Best Hair for the 10 – 12 Boys is... Kyle Broflovski!"

Recognising his name, Kyle raised his hand, and a medal was placed around his neck. Soon another one was, and then another one. Then he won three small trophies for Most Handsome, Best Dressed, and First Runner Up.

Once the emcee gave the okay, Kyle gathered his trophies, and walked back over to his mother. He placed the trophies on the chair next to her, and sat down, removing his medals. Once he had also placed them on the chair, he grudgingly accepted Tony's high five, while Sheila neatly arranged the trophies, standing them up, and gently hanging the medals over the back of the chair.

The ceremony seemed to drag on to Kyle, even more so than usual. Robotically, he clapped for every Supreme winner that was announced. The further into the evening they got, the more he could sense Sheila's anxiety and worry growing, as he hadn't won a single Supreme title. Not Portfolio not Talent, not Photogenic, not Personality, nothing.

Sheila didn't think he had done that bad. She slumped in her chair a little bit, keeping her eyes on the stage. She had truly thought he was ready for this pageant, and he really had done well. They couldn't even come back next year and try again, because then Kyle would be too old.

Biting his lip, Kyle looked down at his knees, wanting the event to be over and done with already.

"And now, silence please, ladies and gentlemen."

The room fell absolutely silent. It seemed that everybody in there collectively held their breath. There was not even a drum roll, for this was far too serious.

Sheila grabbed Kyle's hand and held it tightly, leaning forward slightly. "It's a pleasure to announce this National title. The winner will receive a $10,000 cash prize, plus this beautiful crown, trophy and sash; ladies and gentlemen, your Grand National Ultimate Grand Supreme is... Kyle Broflovski!"

An explosion of music. People cheering. Applause. The sound of his mother sobbing. Someone had scooped him up and was running towards the stage, hugging him tightly, and he looked up and saw that it was Tony. He placed Kyle on the end of the catwalk next to the eight-foot-high trophy and straightened out his tux before slapping the boy a high five, beaming.

Kyle did as he had been instructed to do countless times before and smiled graciously as a satin and velvet customised sash was placed over his shoulder and a heavy fourteen-inch high crown adorned with jewels was placed atop his head, confetti falling all around him. This time, however, a fur-lined robed was draped around his shoulders and a perfectly fanned wad of hundred dollar bills was handed to him.

Head held up high to stop his crown from falling off, Kyle held the money up at chest height as he smiled for the cameras. The lady who had crowned him, dressed in her pageant finery, bent down and hugged him, pausing for yet more photos, while the crowd cheered and clapped.

A flash of red caught his eye, and the lady stepped back as Sheila leapt onto the stage, enfolding Kyle in a rib-cracking hug, knocking his crown askew, and he quickly grabbed it to stop it from falling. Tears were streaming down her face. Readjusting his crown, she stepped back off the stage, still crying.

As he stood on the stage, looking out at the cheering crowd that was partially obscured by the bright lights, his smile dropped just a tiny bit. He wasn't sure if this was really happening or not. It was all a little overwhelming, and he wasn't sure of what to do. His eyes darted around, still not quite believing it.

The cameras kept flashing, and the resulting photos, which caused him to look something akin to an animal trapped in a cage, would eventually become the ones Janet would use for promotion.

Despite this, part of him felt quite happy, Kyle thought, as he was helped off of the stage and made his way over to the winners' section, where the Kings, Queens, and the Supremes were. He sat down, his trophy being placed next to him, and he immediately took the crown off. He had won the highest title. There had to be at least 300 contestants and he had beat them all. He couldn't help but feel accomplished, which was strange, considering how much he hated these contests. Kyle guessed he couldn't deny that the feeling of winning first place – no matter what it was for – was a great one.

After the crowning ceremony, while the emcee and the director were trying to clean the stage up a bit for photos, Kyle and a few other boys were playing with the balloons that littered the floor, trying not to let them touch the ground. Finally able to relax for what felt like the first time in years, he was not aware that he was being filmed. The camera took a moment to focus on the chair that housed Kyle's crown and robe, before showing Kyle looking so happy playing, and just being a normal kid.

~ X ~

"Ma?" said Kyle from the back seat as they drove home from the pageant. His Ultimate Grand Supreme crown was in the front seat. "I can stop now, okay? I did it; I won first place. We don't do any more," he hoped he sounded confident and assertive. "We can stop," he repeated.

"I'm so proud of you," Sheila gushed. "We did it; we finally did it!"

"We did it," Kyle repeated, "and we don't need to do any more. No more."

"If that's what you want, bubbe," said Sheila. "Although, we have to return next year to crown the winner, or else they'll take the title away."

"... Okay, Ma."

~ X ~

Kyle actually did it! Although this is technically the final chapter, I do have an epilogue written out, and will be posting that next week.

What did you think? I'd love to know!