Free Death by Tiara by Laura Levine Page B

believe how ridiculous she looks?”
    We followed her gaze to where Gigi stood, dressed like Cleopatra in a diaphanous harem costume and black wig, her eyes thick with liner, an asp bracelet snaking up her arm.
    In her hand she held a piece of paper from which she was reading. Thanks to my years as an English major, I recognized it as a bit of chatter from Antony and Cleopatra .
    I listened as she mangled Shakespeare’s lines with gusto:
     
Give me my robe, put on my crown! I have
Immoral longings in me. Now no more
The juice of Egypt’s grape shall moist this lip:
Yeah, yeah, good Iris; quick. Methinks I hear
Anthony call!
     
    The whole thing might have sounded a lot better if she hadn’t been chewing gum at the time.
    “Yee-uck!” Heather exclaimed, just a little too loudly, prompting some curses from across the room. “Taylor’s going to put that airhead to shame! Wait till you hear her, Jaine. She’s got the voice of an angel. Which reminds me. I left her throat lozenges in our room. I’ll be right back. Stay calm, honey. Deep breaths! Positive thoughts!”
    The minute she was gone, Taylor turned to me, a desperate gleam in her eye.
    “Got any M&M’s? I’m famished.”
    I was beginning to feel like a drug dealer supplying a junkie as I dug into my purse looking for the bag of M&M’s I’d had the foresight to stash there. I quickly retrieved them and handed them to Taylor, who was famished, all right. She actually put five in her mouth at once.
    “I can’t wait till this whole thing is over and I can go back to my AP English class,” she said, chomping down gratefully.
    She continued inhaling the chocolates until she saw Heather heading back into the room, then stuffed the remaining M&M’s in my purse and asked, “Do I have any chocolate on my teeth?”
    “No, you’re fine.”
    Breathing a sigh of relief, she pretended to be studying her song lyrics as Heather bustled to our side.
    “Here we go! One-calorie cherry-flavored cough lozenges!”
    “One whole calorie, huh?” Taylor said. “What a bonanza.”
    “Now let’s try on your headdress,” Heather said, choosing to ignore Taylor’s dollop of sarcasm.
    She lifted a cornucopia of plastic fruit and strapped it on Taylor’s head.
    “Mom, this thing weighs a ton!”
    “Just pretend it’s the winner’s tiara. Keep your eyes on the prize, hon! Keep your eyes on the prize!”
    “Yeah, right,” Taylor sighed, gazing longingly at my purse.

Chapter 10
    F ifteen minutes later, we were back in the Amada Inn’s rooftop ballroom, waiting for the talent competition to begin.
    Sitting alongside Heather in the front row, I had the uneasy feeling that there was something important I’d forgotten to do, but for the life of me, I couldn’t think what it was.
    Up on stage, Candace had wrestled the mike away from Eddie and was now tapping on it to make sure it was working.
    “Welcome back, everybody,” she said, her pageant smile firmly in place. “Before we get started with the talent show, I just want to remind all our contestants that we will be rehearsing the musical production number for tomorrow’s crowning ceremony here in the ballroom from two to three p.m. this afternoon. So I expect to see you all back here at two o’clock. Promptly!”
    She glared out at her subjects to drive home her point.
    “Then the rest of the afternoon, it’s fun in the sun! You’re free to take advantage of all the fabulous facilities here at the gorgeous Amada Inn and rest up for tomorrow’s grand crowning ceremony.”
    Fabulous facilities? At the Amada Inn? I could only assume she was referring to the vending machines.
    Having delivered her marching orders, Candace thrust the mike into Eddie’s eager hands and headed back to her seat.
    “And now,” Eddie said, beaming from under his toupee, “one of the most exciting events of the competition, the Miss Teen Queen America Talent Show!
    “Do your best, gals,” he winked, “because there just may be