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Printed from https://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/902179-The-Beauty-Pageant
by Shaara
Rated: 13+ · Short Story · Fantasy · #902179
A young witch feels that she is plain and ugly.
The Beauty Pageant



“I can’t believe it! George, I’ve just been selected as a participant in the first annual Wizard and Witch’s Beauty Pageant!”

My husband looked up, briefly, before he turned the page of the newspaper. “That’s nice, dear. What’s for supper?”

“How can you speak of eating at a time as this? Don’t you understand? They’ve chosen me!”

George rustled the paper a bit, raised it up, and read out loud. “Listen to this, Greta. The police department has decided to host this year’s haunted house. Can you believe anything so silly? A haunted house in a police department? What are the children supposed to do, practice jailing the ghosts? I suppose they could put handcuffs on the skeletons, or maybe they’ll hang bats from the jail cells…”

“Yes, George, I agree. It is silly, but were you listening to what I just said?”

“What?” George looked up, just long enough to catch the expression on my face. “Greta,” he said, sighing. “I hope you don’t want to go to that pageant. You know you don’t like things like that.”

“You’re right. I hate beauty pageants! They’re beastly -- parading men and women about like new cars in a showroom. But, this one is different. They’ve asked ME.”

George sighed. “Greta. The pageant organizers probably asked everyone, at least all the registered wizards and witches in the state.”

“You’re just jealous,” I pouted. “They didn’t ask YOU!”

George put down his paper. “You know, you’ve got a point there. I wonder why they didn’t. I can spiff up just as nice as any of the other wizards. Do you think it has something to do with the fact my hair doesn’t have the traditional white streak? In my family, we never go white or bald. You don’t mind, darling, do you?”

I laughed, slid into his lap, and cuddled up against him. “Mind? Of course not, George. You’re the most handsome wizard in the whole state, as far as I’m concerned. They should have invited you. I don’t understand why they didn’t."

George laughed and tickled me under my chin.

I jerked away. “Well, that’s that, then,” I said. “If they don’t have the common decency to invite the handsomest wizard in all California, why then, I just won’t go.”

”Good,” George said, giving me a squeeze and a kiss. “That means I have you all to myself.”

George didn’t seem to mind I was sitting right on top of his newspaper. In fact, I think he'd forgotten all about this year's local haunted house. His lips were tantalizing the tiny hairs on the back of my neck, and his hot breath was blowing stirrings of desire clear down to my curled up toes.

The next day, I mailed my “Sorry, I can’t make it card” and promptly forgot about the pageant . . .until a strange envelope arrived in the mail. It was addressed to my husband and gave as its return address, the Wizard’s and Witch’s Beauty Pageant.

It would have been easy to assume the day's post only contained an invitation for George, but the envelope it had come in was engraved with fuzzy green ink, a sign from the Magic World that something inside was extremely important. Why would George be getting something from the Pageant Hosts? Why had they used Magic Ink?

George probably wouldn’t have gotten mad if I’d ripped the envelope open to see what the contents held, but I didn’t. I sat down and had a cup of tea and thought about the pageant, speculating who would win the witch’s division. Would it be Jessica Catwalker with her beautiful white hair and wrinkled skin, Danielle Witchler who had teeth with blackened cores, or maybe Francine Cauldron because of her perfect, hairy warts. I sighed. How could I ever have thought to compete? I could never win -- not with blonde hair down to my waist, a nose more cute than wicked, and sparkling white teeth.

Tears of self-pity were falling rather hard by the time George came home. He swept me up into a teddy bear hug and said, “What now, my love? Have all the black widow spiders deserted our corners?”

I shook my head and swabbed at my tears.

“Your magic cauldron has sprung a leak?” he asked.

I sighed. “No. Don’t guess. Just open the envelope and see what they want.”

George’s eyes watched me worriedly as he used his magic sword to slit the top of the envelope. A puff of smoke sprang out, and a witch genie rose and spread upward and outward across the entire kitchen ceiling.

“George Warlockness,” the genie said, managing to bow his head slightly while at the same time looking down at us with the cold and haughty expression all witch genies assume on official duty. “I have been sent to ask you to convince your wife to come to the Wizard’s and Witch’s Beauty Pageant,” the genie said.

“That’s impossible," I sighed, wiping a stray tear. "I can’t compete with all the other witches. They’re beautiful, while I’m so ugly, I look NORMAL.”

George took my hands away from my face and kissed my fingertips. “Greta, my darling. I never knew you felt like this. Don’t you know I adore the way you look?”

“You’re just used to me, George. You probably never noticed I blend in with all the non magicals.”

George coughed. “Blend in? You?”

”Okay, Genie,” George said, “Return to the Pageant Organizers. Tell them my witch lady will be there, even if I have to shoot her through a wormhole.”

The genie didn't question it. He just immediately puffed out.

George didn’t even let me grab my broomstick before he whisked me off to the pageant. When we arrived, Awards were already being given out. Just as we entered, I heard my name: “Greta Warlockness wins the award for Most Beautiful Eyes.”

George pushed me up onto the stage. I removed my sunglasses and blinked as the lights hit my tomato-red eyes. Then I cried because everyone was cheering and clapping for me



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


© Copyright 2004 Shaara (shaara at Writing.Com). All rights reserved.
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Printed from https://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/902179-The-Beauty-Pageant