Back at home, Beth tried to find something to take her mind off of Amanda and the implications of her magic, yet she could not help but scroll over and over again on the AMA page.

'AmaBirdie' said that people need to understand how her magic happened in the first place. Beth recalled the details of the first time her magic appeared. Julianna walked away from the runway project; Simone and her group talked trash about her; she was left alone in the art room, dozing off from the lack of sleep a night before. The white dress she wore felt familiar to her. The moment her magic leaked to create the materials for her runway dress, she was in a state of hustle, scribbling her inspirations as they could be forgotten at any moment. She was frustrated with herself both times. The bracelet acted as a medium for emotional monsters to appear.

Now the bracelet is at Jade's place.

If the bracelet is a medium for magic to occur, will it happen remotely in front of Jade when the bracelet's triggered? Would my magic function in an abnormal way? Beth wondered about Jade's safety, as well as the stability of her magic. She was suddenly reminded of her cloud dress made out of materials from magic leaking. If the materials are magically active, the dress could potentially act as a vessel for magic to happen.

Before the runway show starts, the bracelet must be back.

Paige and Jade look daunting, but they are casually careless about their environment. They were glued to Simone every time they went to the art room. Jade never dressed sloppily. She would talk loudly in the corridor, her shiny earrings flying back and forth, her shoes clattering against the floor. Her hands were all over the bracelet when she got hold of it. It should appear valuable enough for Jade to carry around all the time.

Prior to the runway show opening, all the contestants stay in their respective waiting rooms for makeup and hair-do prior. Naturally, Beth imagined herself occupying one room with Julianna, while Paige, Jade, and Simone occupied another. To get Paige and Jade's room, she had to make an excuse to leave Julianna. Assuming Jade had the bracelet in her possession, she could simply sneak into her room. If they come back, she will move towards the backside of the closet. If Jade has the bracelet with her, she could just hide behind Jade and observe her movements.

Aww man, the runway competition had been such a mess so far!

Meanwhile, she thought about Simone. Simone looked intimidating with Paige and Jade by her side, but her actions were subtly distancing herself from them.

What is she doing right now? Will she be nervous about entering the runway competition? Is she still in a good relationship with Paige and Jade?

I had always seen her as the primary competitor and ignored that she had never really said anything wrong about me.

✨

The day of the runway show finally arrived.

"Welcome to the annual runway competition hosted by the Laurel High School association! Now let's welcome our beautiful contestants onto the stage." Everyone cheered as the host was announcing the opening of the runway show. Then, contestants started coming up to the stage one by one, exhibiting their interesting creations under the spotlight.

Meanwhile, Beth and Julianna were preparing for their performance offstage.

"Uh, Jules, is this the grand stadium? It doesn't look 'grand.'"

"Well, they are only using an indoor portion of the grand stadium for the show. So here we are."

Beth was ready to get her bracelet back.

"Jules, I wonder if my bracelet is still at Paige and Jade's place."

"Beth, I understand you, but now it's not the time to worry about this. It's much more important to concentrate on our upcoming show. Let's get the bracelet back later when the show is over, okay? Worrying too much is not the best thing to do now."

"Look, Jules, I need to go to the bathroom, and I will be coming back in a while. Would you mind if you could stay here and check over the time we are going on the runway?"

"Okay...but don't miss the time."

Just as Beth had expected, Paige and Jade stood and had the bracelet by them. They were wandering around in the hallway, trying to give Simone the bracelet as a decoration before she went on stage. As planned, Beth hid behind them at the end of the staircase.

"Paige, Jade, I think that we really need to be returning this bracelet to Beth." Simone waved the bracelet in her hand to remind Paige and Jade to return it. "It's her thing, and it's not the best course to do if we just keep it to ourselves."

"I don't agree with you. This bracelet looks so shiny and good on you! Besides, it gives your already stunning attire a plus in aesthetics!"

"Paige is right. We want you to be the shiniest star on the runway!" Jade agreed from the side.

"Okay, well then." Simone took in a deep breath and groaned. "But can we promise that we are going to give it back to her when the runway competition ends?"

What are you even thinking? This beautiful bracelet will definitely make you a better contestant on stage! Paige immediately gave Simone a contemptuous smile, with an "I don't understand you" attitude written across her face.

All of a sudden, Simone's mind became fuzzy. A vibration from her wrist triggered her. It was the bracelet--it emitted a squeaking sound while Paige and Jade were not noticing.

"Oh, no! What's that!" Simone screamed.

"What, Simone?" Paige looked back at her with annoyance. The bracelet squeaked again.

"Paige...it's...it's the bracelet!"

"Simone, honestly, nothing is happening with the bracelet. Just stop overthinking and overreacting! Okay?"

"Sure, Paige, my bad." Simone nodded her head in silence.

Jade came up to her and patted her on the back, seemingly encouraging her. "Good luck, Simone. All our hopes are on you. We need to get backstage immediately. It will be your turn very soon!"

✨

What was that conversation about? Did something happen with my bracelet?

Beth wanted to return to her room since she couldn't find a way to retrieve the bracelet yet. The cloud dress still sat on the mannequin near Beth's dressing table. Julianna was braiding her hair by herself with her suit already on.

"Beth, you are late. Did something happen in the bathroom?"

"Uhh, I...' Beth casually ran her fingers through the tip of her hair. 'I had a little trouble with, you know, answering the call of nature."

"Oh, I see. That's too bad. Just go put on your cloud dress and finish your makeup now.' Julianna pointed to a screen located between their dressing tables. 'We can see the contestants coming onto the stage from here.'

While fitting the cloud dress, Beth loosely peeked at the screen. The time for Simone to go onto the stage had come.

"Next up, let's welcome Simone Chandler!"

The voice of the host could be heard clearly. As Simone went on the stage, all the spotlights were focused on her. She was walking in a sea of luminescence. As she moved with swift steps, her pink hair danced in the air. Light silver contoured the tip of her nose as if sparkles were floating around them. All the gems on her dress start reflecting purple, blue, and pink like glass prisms, making her a walking kaleidoscope on stage. As for the bracelet, it casually dangled around Simone's wrist, acting as an excellent supplement to the already pretty outfit. The crowd cheered more loudly. Beth, mesmerized by the shiny sparkles and the gentle twirls of Simone's dress, clapped alongside the crowd as well. Her eyes were locked to the screen as Simone walked towards the end of the stage, ready to strike a pose.

Yet the worst still happened.

Simone's bracelet started jumping up and down her wrist when she was sticking the pose.

"Eek!!" Beth almost blew a huge sneeze towards the screen. She rose to her feet immediately. 'Simone's going to be in trouble!'

"What's your bracelet doing? It looks wicked!" Julianna said.

"It's magic. See, I didn't trick you!"

"Shall I come with you to see what is happening?"

"Not now, Jules. Wait here and I will find you later. It's my bracelet, and I am the person who can control it."

"Okay, just don't miss our time to come onto the stage!"

Beth rushed backstage, where Simone was struggling with the bracelet. Along with Paige and Jade, the three people watched the bracelet drop to the ground squeaking louder and louder.'