Coral Madison's Arc

Chapter 8 of 4

The night before the live shoot, Coral spread her teal bikini on the bed. The gold and pink trim had gone dull. Weeks of salt and water tests had faded the fabric. A brown stain marked one hip. She held it under the lamp and knew it would not survive a camera and a crowd. She had no other suit. Tomorrow the brand picked its face, and she had nothing to wear. She drove to the one place open late. Crystal Kline stood in her car wash, hosing suds off a black sedan. Crystal had given Coral the ride to the audition beach, trading a seat for detailing work. She shut off the water when she saw Coral's face. "What's wrong?" Coral held up the faded suit. "The final shoot is tomorrow. This is all I have. It's ruined." Crystal looked at the stain for one second. "Come with me." She led Coral past the glossy bays to a back room. On a shelf sat a shopping bag. "Raven dropped this off. Said you'd need it." Inside was a bright neon bikini, pink and blue and yellow in bold stripes. A note sat on top in sharp handwriting: Your old one won't read on camera. This one will. Don't thank me. Just stand up straight. Raven, the clerk who had taught Coral to carry herself, had sent the suit through Crystal. Coral's throat tightened. "Why would she do this?" "Because she thinks you'll win," Crystal said. "So do I. Now try it on. I need to know it fits before you walk into that crowd." Coral changed in the back. The neon suit fit clean. No stains, no fade. In the mirror it looked loud and new. But a problem hit her. Madison wore neon too. Bold stripes, tiny cut. Tomorrow they would stand side by side in nearly the same look. The judges would compare them inch by inch. Crystal read her face again. "You're thinking about her." "We'll match," Coral said. "She wears this exact style." "Then don't try to beat her at being polished." Crystal crossed her arms. "You already beat her in the water. Bring that into the room. Let her be the picture. You be the one who means it." Coral looked at herself again. The suit was ready now. That part was solved. She folded it into the bag with Raven's note tucked inside. "Thank you," she told Crystal. "Don't," Crystal said, echoing the note. "Just show up." Coral drove home with the bag on the seat. She had a polished look at last, sharp enough for any lens. But the fix carried a new weight. Matched against Madison in the same bright stripes, she could not win on appearance. She would have to win on something Madison could not fake. Tomorrow the crowd and the live camera would watch her face, and she would have to show them who she was.