Little Miss Stoneybrook...and Dawn by Ann M. Martin Page A

her eyes on poor Sabrina and watched her intently.
    Finally Ms. Bunting led the girls onto the stage. As soon as they were out of sight, the rest of us relaxed a little.
    â€œMyriah looks good,” I said to Mary Anne after a few minutes.
    â€œThanks,” she answered. “She’s rehearsed endlessly. She nearly had a heart attack this morning, though. She lost another tooth. It shook her up a little. I hope it won’t break her concentra —”
    Ms. Bunting and the girls returned and Ms. Bunting raised her voice. “The pageant will begin in exactly half an hour,” she announced. “It’s time to get ready for the first event of the afternoon — the introduction to the judges and the audience.”
    Claire and Margo ran to me.
    â€œTime to get dressed! Time to get dressed!” cried Margo.
    â€œI’m Popeye the sailor man!” added Claire.
    I produced the girls’ bags, and they began to change their clothes.
    In just a few short hours, one of the girls now getting dressed backstage would be crowned Little Miss Stoneybrook.

As you can probably imagine, the talent show was the best part of the Little Miss Stoneybrook pageant, so I’ll mostly tell you about that, but I won’t leave you in the dark about the rest of it.
    Picture this: You are backstage with a bunch of nervous mothers (or baby-sitters) and an even more nervous bunch of overdressed little girls. A heavy curtain separates you from an auditorium full of people — mostly the families and friends of the overdressed little girls. The curtain also separates you from the stage, on which is now standing an announcer who is saying, “Welcome to the first annual Little Miss Stoneybrook pageant, sponsored by the friendly folks at Dewdrop Hair Care, hair products for today’s youth.”
    â€œWhat about next week’s youth?” Kristy whispered to me.
    I tried not to giggle.
    The announcer went on to tell the audience how the pageant would work and how the judges would score the contestants. Then he introduced the judges (the owner of Bellair’s Department store, the woman who ran the Stoneybrook Dancing School, and some doctor). After that, the head judge, a woman named Mrs. Peabody, joined him on the stage. Mrs. Peabody had once owned a charm school. Finally he said, “I’d like to send heartfelt good wishes to each and every little miss who is backstage right now.”
    â€œOh, gag me,” whispered Kristy.
    Somehow, now that we were actually at the pageant, and it was as stupid as Mallory and Jessi had said it would be, I didn’t feel quite so serious or competitive. I could tell Kristy didn’t, either. I was glad for that.
    â€œThe girls have worked hard,” the announcer continued, “and I wish we could crown them all. Unfortunately, only one little miss will go on to Stamford to participate in the county pageant. She will receive a one-hundred-dollar savings bond and, of course, will be our grand winner. We will also select a first and second runner-up. The second runner-up will be awarded a fifty-dollar savings bond, and the first runner-up will be awarded a shopping spree in Toy City.”
    â€œOooh,” sighed every single contestant and every single child in the audience. I had to admit that the Toy City spree seemed like a pretty good prize. Even I would have liked it. I could get great stuff for our Kid-Kits.
    â€œAnd now,” the announcer continued, “it’s time to meet our lovely contestants.” He paused while somebody somewhere stuck a cassette in the stereo system, and a recording of marching music blasted into the auditorium, then was quickly turned down.
    â€œAll right, girls,” said Ms. Bunting softly.
    The contestants were lined up in their age order, and one by one, Ms. Bunting aimed them onto the stage, leaving just enough time for each to say her name and age, then curtsy and shake Mrs. Peabody’s hand