The audience of the royal woods community centre watched as all the pretty little girls lined up in their high heels and makeup. The loud family cheered when they saw little Lola stroll onstage.

"There she is dude." Said Luna, holding up her phone.

"She's going to win again." Said Lori

"Hold on. Her makeup looks a little off." Lincoln noticed. Lincoln had been Lola's coach at one point and learned a great deal about beauty pageants. Including the exact combo of makeup and blush.

Little did he realize, the little girl onstage was actually a thirty year old woman who used a much lower ratio of beauty products and was now sweating most of that off.

"I can't do this." Thought Tatiana to herself.

It was funny, Tatiana had battled executives of billion dollar enterprises but here and now, on this little stage standing next to a bunch of six year olds she felt completely lost at sea. Even the crowd was making her nervous. Underneath the lights Tatiana could only see a sea of black shadows staring back at her. She felt someone bump into her and realized the line of girls was moving. She tried to follow but was so disoriented she tripped over her dress, and promptly knocked down the other contestants like dominoes.

Then she got back up and tried to continue the parade like nothing happened.

The crowd applauded out of sympathy and Tatiana ran backstage.

"I hope Lola remembered her boarding pass, because that was quite a TRIP! Hahaha. Seriously though, that looked painful." Luan expounded

...

"...and then the banner caught fire and you can probably figure out the rest. Now if you excuse me." Sally brushed past the security official and found Tatiana sitting on a chair looking despondent.

Now that the technology convention was back on track and everyone had recovered, Sally could get back to what was important. Namely, WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH TANYA?

No beer? Sure. Tatiana's done that before. When she gets depressed over a mistake she'll refuse to drink on grounds that she doesn't deserve it.

Ditching her responsibilities because she wants to go home and play with her plants? Done that too. Usually because a problem at work had become idiotic and Tatiana didn't want to deal with it herself.

Running off without warning and going on a shopping spree? That was weird. But in her defence, she's done stranger things. Like the time Tatiana put on a disguise and stalked Sally while she was on a date. Or the time Tatiana pretended to have a mental breakdown and stayed home for eleven days.

But the thing is, Tatiana is a genius. Sally knew this. It was part of Sally's job to keep Tatiana's genius from raging out of control. And the thing about Tatiana's genius is that there was always a method to it. She stalked Sally because she believed the gentleman she was seeing was an industrial spy (and he was. To Sally's disappointment.) the mental illness? One of Tatiana's directors got framed for drug smuggling. Tatiana faked a nervous breakdown to keep the media occupied while her agents got the director off the hook. (He WAS innocent. But it was his idiocy that got him there in the first place.)

But this? Sally couldn't figure this out. What was the angle? Was it a distraction? Was it some kind of tactic? Was she trying to get her opponents to think she's finally lost it?

It's one thing to be eccentric. But Tatiana could at least keep her assistant in the loop. Seriously? What was going on in her head?

....

"I wish I had someone to hug."

Lola sat in her grown up body and sighed. This was supposed to be her big pageant day. Not only was she not able to compete but someone else was doing it in her place. Someone who WASN'T her twin sister (Lincoln was SO lucky Lana took first place that day.)

And now Lola was stuck in a boring science thing, with boring science people showing off dumb sciencey stuff. She really wanted her teddy bear right now.

Lola felt someone sit down next to her and saw that it was Sally. "How's it going boss?"

"Good! It went Reeeeaally well. Exactly like I planned it would." Replied Lola with a big grin. Sally said nothing. She merely looked at Lola and nodded. After a moment Lola coughed and said. "Well. I think we'v done all we needed to do. I think we should return to the hotel and stay there till its time to checkout."

"What about your speech?"

Speech! Lola had almost forgotten. She was supposed to give some kind of speech in front of a bunch of people. "Well naturally I still have to give my speech! In fact we should go back to the hotel and run my lines a few times to make sure its good."

Sally got up to go but as Lola tried to follow her she felt a vibration in her pocket. Tatiana was trying to call her. "My pageant!" Lola gasped.

Lola pulled out the phone too fast and it slipped out of her hands. When she tried to pick it up she kicked it across the floor and under a table.

Lola growled with anger but before she could pick it up someone reached under and grabbed it for her.

"Thank you so much! This is a really important-" and Lola's mouth turned to jelly as she stared into the bluest eyes she had ever seen in her life.

"Well god damn. It's the queen of Silicon Valley herself! I was hoping to meet you!" The blue eyes said as they grabbed Lola's hand and gave it a firm handshake.

Lola looked down and discovered the eyes were connected to a broad manly chest wearing fitted blue T-shirt, which was tucked into some very stylish black jeans, and sporty looking sneakers. Also, the hand that had gripped hers appeared to be connected to a thick strong arm with a noticeable bicep.

"Ms Tiche?"

Lola looked up at the eyes and her vision broadened to see the tanned face, mocha brown hair and well shaped jawbone of the man she was planning to marry as of three seconds ago. The eyes smiled at her. "How may I work you sir?- HELP me sir- Help YOU! May...I...Help....You....with....anything....Mister?" Lola babbled.

"Micheal Gardner. CEO of Kilotech industries. I've been wanting to meet with you and discuss your companies AI technology for quite a while now.

The phone rang. Lola blocked the call and turned the phone off. "What perfect timing. My schedule for the day just opened up."

.....

Tatiana tried the number again. Nothing.

"What are you doing kid!? THIS IS AN EMERGENCY!!!" Tatiana almost shouted.

"Lindsey Sweetwater is up next for the runway. Lola Loud is on standby." Called the flamboyant host.

Tatiana's mind raced furiously. Bluff her way through it? Injure herself? Cause an accident and get the pageant postponed? Just tell the host she isn't feeling well at all? Just up and leave? No. The illness is the only rational option. "Move now and tell the host your about to barf." She thought to herself.

Tatiana Moved but fate was really not on her side this day. Just as she opened her mouth the director said, "your up!" And pushed her through the curtains.

The speakers were blasting some thumping pop song agin. Cameras were flashing every which way. The stage was empty. What the heck was she supposed to do here?

Screw it.

Tatiana walked down the runway in her best imitation of a model. Gave a slight wave and a nod and then walked right back to the curtain without looking at anyone. It took five seconds and felt like five hours. When the curtain came down the announcer said, "ooooookay. Next up-"

She obviously botched it. Who cares? She's not doing this. Time to force puke in a bucket and get out of here.

Tatiana went to her dressing table and began putting eveything in the pink gym bag she had brought. All the time just thinking angrily about how much longer this humiliation was expected to last. She heard footsteps approaching and assumed one of the staff was coming to check up on her but when she looked up she was amazed to discover the entire Loud Brood had come backstage and had surrounded the makeup table like a bunch of wolves smelling a carcass.

And honestly. Tatiana was genuinely frightened. It reminded her of the time the kids at the orphanage ganged up on her, pinned her to the floor, and shaved her head. "What do you want?" She demanded a little louder than necessary.

"Dude? What the heck was that?" Asked Luna.

"There seems to be an alarming decrease in your usual balance and poise." Said Lisa

"Are you not feeling well?" Leni asked.

Before Tatiana could say yes, Lynn interjected with, "You've always ruled at the runway portion!"

"Yeah, the way you were today it was more of a walkway! Hahaha." Luan laughed.

"I could give you my lucky crickets!" Said Lana

"If you feel sluggish I could get you a booster smoothie." Lori said.

'WOULD YOU ALL JUST BE QUIET!" Tatiana roared

An angry shush came from the crew behind the curtain. Tatiana lowered he voice. "I don't feel well today. I am in no shape to go out there and..."perform" in this condition. If that is not good enough for you people, so be it. I'm going home."

"Oh. okay. Do you want us to carry your bag?" Said Leni.

That threw her. After all the flattery and praise these people heaped on her all morning, "Okay." Was the last response she expected. Tatiana looked at leni like it was some kind of gag but after scanning the faces of the other siblings it looked like they all meant it.

"Just so we're clear. I'm not saying I'm done with pageants. It's just that today, I am not in a suitable place." She said.

Lori shrugged her shoulders. "Yeah. We heard you. If your really not up to it then we'll go home and you can try again next season."

"I'm not saying that I'm quitting pageants..."

"No worries sis. We know your not a quitter." Luna said as she mussed Tatiana's hair.

"Stop it. You don't have to patronize me!"

"Lola its okay!" Lincoln said as he put his hands on her shoulders. "Seriously. Your the one who loves doing this. If your not feeling well then we'll take you home."

"It's not like we come to these because we like them." The black haired shadow girl said. "We came to see you. If your not going to perform then there's no point in staying."

Tatiana was speechless. Leni took her sisters bag and the entire clan patted Tatianas back as they led her to the exit. Luan made jokes. Lori offered to buy everyone burgers. Lincoln explained how he could feel something was off from minute one and apologized for not asking if Tatiana was feeling alright.

But Tatiana wasn't happy. All she could hear was the voice of her foster mother in her ears. "I'm not paying for you to quit anytime the mood suits you....You made this choice and you WILL see it through to the end. That's final....how do you expect to get anywhere in life with these half hearted attempts? Do you WANT to be mediocre?...I adopted you because you have great potential. I'll be damned if I let you squander it."

"Lola what's wrong?" Lincoln stopped and brought everyone to a halt. Tears were rolling down Tatiana's cheeks and she couldn't seem to control it. She hated this beauty pageant trash but she felt like a failure. She felt a warmth understanding from these people but it just made her angry and disgusted with herself for liking them.

Part of her longed for the exit right in front of her. But that nagging hateful pride in her heart wanted to win this blasted pageant and that pride wouldn't shut up.

"I've changed my mind. Get back in the audience."

"You sure? You really don't have too." Lori said

"I want to. Confound it, I really, really want to."

The loud sisters looked at one another and smiled in unison. "Well you can't go onstage looking like that."

"I can fix your makeup for you."

"I'll get that smoothie I promised. You're going to need it."

" I can give you some mental excersises to keep you focused."

"And I'll walk you through your routines again." Lincoln proclaimed with pride.

Tatiana's mouth curved upward half an inch. "Luna? I heard something about a talent portion to this event. I'm going to need you to do something for me if you could."

....

"... which is why I came to see you. I think with my companies new rail technology and your AI system we could completely change the face of the transportation industry. Maybe we could set up a meeting sometime this week and go over it in more detail?"

"How about dinner?" Lola practically drooled

Micheal laughed, his voice full of rich mirth. "That's a little forward but sure. We can make it a dinner meeting if that would work best for you."

Micheal gave her his business card and Lola fished around in her purse and found Tatiana's cards and gave him one. He departed and Lola sighed with longing. She had always dreamed of meeting a real gentleman who knew how to treat a girl properly.

"Tanya.."

Perhaps being a grownup wasn't so bad after all. Lola was about to go on a real live date. What would her sisters say?

"TANYA!"

"Wha?"

Sally came racing up to her. "Where were you?!"

"Sally! The speech! I'm so sorry, I completely lost track of...where am I?'

Lola had been so focused on Micheal that she hadn't paid attention to where they were walking. There was a harbour next to her and park full of families not to far away. She couldn't even see the convention centre anymore. Moreover, the sun was setting and Sally was breathing like she had run miles.

"Do you have any idea what I've been through?" She panted. "I couldn't find you. You didn't answer your phone."

"oops." Lola blushed with embarrassment. "Yeah, sorry about that. But what can I say, a fair maidens heart can take her all sorts of places." She sighed again.

Sally just looked at her with fury.

"Sally, Have you ever heard of Micheal Gardner?"

"Telecom giant. Broke into the industry by making a cell phone that could integrate with computer systems five times more efficiently than any other. When he was twenty five he invented the first DNA digital lock for cell phones so not only was your information finger print protected but you couldn't even press the keys on the phone unless it was your personal skin cells making contact with them. The government loved the idea and bought the patent. Has a reputation for being a internet sensation. Lots of videos of him doing rich kid stunts. Twitter followers in the billions. Brief relationship with hip hop singer Keisha Bonner. Now the rumour is he's moved into the transportation business. He recently bought an airline and is supposedly building a new form of railway transportation that would be economically viable and environmentally safe. Also, he's allergic to shellfish."

Lola's jaw dropped. "Keisha Bonner!? Why the heck would he date her?"

"Tanya, I don't know what drugs your experimenting with but if you don't get a move on your going to be late for the dinner."

"Right. The dinner. The speech. When is that again?"

"Fifteen minutes."

.....

Tatiana watched closely as the other contestants answered the questions from the host. "That's a great question Harvey. I think Six year olds can do a lot to impact the world. Like using less electricity at home so as to lessen the impacts of climate change."

The crowd sighed with love.

"So its not about having the BEST answer. It's about telling the people what they want to hear and looking good while doing it. Just like political theatre. This contest might be closer to the real world than I thought." Tatiana mused. Thanks to the Louds she had pulled herself together and finally started taking the pageant seriously. If she hadn't been so frantic she would have been watching the other contestants from the beginning and come up with a strategy long ago.

Well. Now it was on. She finished her smoothie, adjusted her dress, and walked onstage for the Q and A.

"Now Lola. Your question is, what do you think a young girl like yourself can do to encourage children to stay in school and get a great education."

Tatiana smiled wide. Just like how Lincoln showed her. She cast a glance over the crowd and said. "Well, To be perfectly honest Harvey, I think the best way to learn anything is to find the thing you really Love and learn as much as you can about what makes you happy." She cast a glance over to the loud family, "Whether its science, or music, or poetry, professional sports, mechanics, cute animals or even video games. If you love something enough you'll want to learn as much as you can about it and the best place to learn that stuff..." Tatiana paused for dramatic effect "...Is in our American school systems!!"

The crowd went nuts. It was the perfect combination of free choice, loving what you do, pursuing your dreams and patriotism. Tatianna blew a kiss to the audience and waved as she departed. "Little do these idiots know I never attended an American school in my life. I spent elementary school in an orphanage, went to Sweden for my high school education and England for college. Lola's second grade class was my first experience with an American education. " She thought to herself with relish.

"Alright folks! Hold onto to your seats because the talent portion is about to begin!"

...

The dinner was the most delicious thing Lola had ever had. Everything was fancy and gourmet. Roast duck. Grilled steak. Stuffed clams. Mushroom risotto. And a bunch of dishes with French sounding names. And for dessert, a creamy baked brûlée filled with fruit and spices.

The smells made her mouth water and the portions were kept small so that everyone could have a dish of everything.

The waiters even bowed their heads as they brought the dishes to the table. When the wine was being passed around Lola worried she might embarrass herself by saying she didn't want any but the waiter merely said, "very well" and brought her sparkling water.

It was like eating in a royal court and once again Lola felt she was right at home with all these fancy people.

"And now ladies and gentlemen, as is the usual custom. One of our members will stand and give a short speech on the technological and scientific improvements that have been made this past year. Put your hands together for miss Tatiana Tiche!"

Lola took a deep breath. This was okay. Sally gave her the written speech. Lola just had to read it and sound like she knows what she's talking about. "If you all don't mind I'm going to go ahead a read off the page this evening." This got a laugh from the crowd. Feeling more comfortable Lola looked down and her blood froze.

"Start by talking about the frienze discovery in January."

"The spring was mostly about the breakthroughs in Eastern Europe"

"Mr. Robo by Saitomo Sukiyama, June."

"China's new float systems."

"Russia. Be brief. Sensitive topic."

"Medical breakthrough in Scotland."

"The rest is about America's contributions. Go state by state starting from Florida, New York, the farming innovations in the Bible Belt and ending in Silicon Valley."

Lola looked through the peace of paper and then gazed back at the anticipating crowd. This wasn't a speech. It was a bunch of notes. Where was the speech?

Lola looked at Sally. Sally looked back with confusion.