Beauty Queens by Libba Bray Page A

country, she took crown after crown. It made everyone feel warm and hopeful, and they moved Shanti forward as if reaffirming their beliefs in all they stood for. It was great for everyone. It just wasn’t true. And Shanti wondered if her actual talent was fraud.
    Shanti stopped to catch her breath. She had never been so tired. More than anything, she wanted to stop and rest. That was what her grandmother used to say to her all the time. “You work too hard. You should relax and enjoy your life. Maybe play Ragnaroknroll 19 , like your nani. I made an avatar of myself — I’m Super-Kali-Fragilicious! I just laid waste to the Dungeon Master of Carpathia. It was fun.”
    “I can’t go another step,” Nicole said, panting.
    Shanti was relieved that somebody else had said it first. The rains had stopped. They’d reached a wide plain sheltered by tall rock walls. In the distance, the rock yielded to more jungle.
    “All right,” Shanti said. “We’ll rest.”
    The girls stretched out on the carpet of green and fell asleep.
    When Shanti woke again, the island sky had sneaked toward dusk, and she noticed that Tiara was missing. Quickly, she shookthe others awake, and they searched the surrounding area, shouting Tiara’s name. An almost ecstatic moan led them to a large bush adorned with a haphazard assortment of red, star-shaped fruit. Tiara was sprawled beside it, her mouth and hands stained with red juice.
    “Tiara, did you eat this fruit?” Nicole asked, frightened.
    “Uh-huh. Don’t tell my mom. She’ll make me go for a run.”
    “How many did you eat?”
    “I don’t know. Four or twelve.”
    “Which one was it — four or twelve?”
    “I don’t know. I’m not good at math. They’re really yummy. They taste kinda like gummi bears, but with dirt on them.”
    Shanti whispered to the others, “Those could be poisonous.”
    “Tiara, do you feel okay?” Nicole asked.
    “I feel … full,” Tiara said, tasting the word, which seemed as delicious as the fruit. “I can’t remember the last time I felt full. It’s awesome.”
    “It’s getting dark. We should get going,” Shanti said.
    “So tired,” Tiara muttered. Her eyelids fluttered.
    “I think we should wait to see if Tiara’s okay,” Nicole whispered.
    “It’s her fault she ate that fruit, not mine.”
    “Harsh much? I thought you were all about family and togetherness.”
    Shanti’s cheeks colored. “No one in my family would do something that stupid.”
    “She was hungry! Look, we’ll just watch her for a while. If she’s fine, then we know that fruit is safe to eat. We might have found a food source, okay?”
    “It beats cannibalism,” Petra said. “Plus, do you really want to be walking through the jungle at night? At least this place seems open.”
    “Remember that big zit I had on my chin this morning? It’s all gone,” Tiara said, rubbing her thumb over her chin. Tiara’s skin was, in fact, perfectly clear and dewy.
    “Wow. It looks like you just had a rock dust facial,” Petra said.
    “Are those good?” Nicole asked. “I’ve always wanted to try one.”
    Shanti examined Tiara’s face and looked more closely at the small fruit. She wished she had her botany book. “I’ll bet these have special properties that cause cell turnover in your skin — I did a science project on free radicals. I’ll bet I could turn this into my own skincare line and be Fortune 500 before I’m twenty-five. I’d call them Shanti Berries™.”
    “You can if there are any left.” Petra grabbed a handful and gobbled them down.
    “What are you doing?” Nicole asked.
    “Tiara ate those hours ago and she’s fine
and
her skin looks great. If I’m going to die, I’d rather go out with a full stomach and amazing skin.” Petra smacked her lips, tasting. “Oh wow. These really
are
good!”
    “Told you,” Tiara said sleepily.
    “Okay. Here goes nothing.” Nicole crossed herself and bit into one, squirting juice. “Mmm. Oh