The moment Lucy saw the crowd already gathered, she buried her face in her hands.

“Hey!” I yelped. “Your makeup!”

Lucy stopped herself just in time. “There’s so many people,” she whispered.

“You’ll be just fine, honey,” said Mrs. Bishop. She met her daughter’s eyes in the rearview mirror. “You look beautiful.”

Lucy hunched her shoulders and didn’t reply.

I squeezed her knee. “You’ve got this.”

Parking was impossible to find, so Mrs. Bishop dropped us off near the raised stage where the clamshells were being arranged in a row. Some of the pageant contestants were already up on the stage, posing for the cameras. As we got out of the car, Lucy froze.

“Honey?” Mrs. Bishop called from the front seat. “You okay? You can just get back in the car if you’ve changed your mind.”

“No, I’m going to do it.” Lucy pressed her lips together.

We waved as the car drove off, but once the car was out of sight, Lucy fidgeted with her curls. “Penny looks gorgeous,” she said. “And Dad put my clamshell right next to hers. Ugh.”

Penny was playing up her pale skin and black hair with a striking red silk qipao. There was a slit in the side of the Chinese-inspired dress that went all the way up to her hip, golden chains underneath for a hint of modesty. Gold fish scales were painted on the fabric from the waist down, reaching her pointy golden heels. Mrs. Wang had outdone herself this year.

But so had Mrs. Bishop. She’d designed Lucy’s dress with chiffon, dying it in a gradient of black to turquoise to white. The bottom was flounced with fabric, made to resemble frothy waves. The pretty ombré dress flowed like water itself, and was offset with tiny white pearl beads stitched over the bodice. Lucy had even made herself a wire crown, stringing the same pearls onto them and forming a coral-like creation.

“Babe!”

Lucy and I both swung around in surprise to see Lorcan jogging over.

He shot me a wink. “Sorry, not you,” he said, wrapping an arm around Lucy. “You look incredible,” he said, kissing her temple. “What are you still doing down here?”

“I feel a little sick,” said Lucy, pressing a hand to her stomach.

“Want me to get you some water?” I suggested, pointing to a cold-drink vendor who’d set up his cart nearby. I could see Chad farther away with Penny’s parents, buying hot dogs. Mrs. Wang caught me looking and waved. After a slightly guilty glance at Penny, I waved back.

Lucy shook her head and nestled into Lorcan’s chest. “No, thanks. I’m trying to remember I have more confidence than this,” she said with a laugh. “I don’t know how you did it last year, Babe.”

“I thought Penny won last year.” Lorcan glanced at me.