Tug of War 68.3

After parading in gala and bathing suits, now it was time for contestants to show their talents to the public. It had been decided a long ago that Tiffany would do a singing number, and Alyssa kept insisting she should sing some trendy pop song. Tiffany even rehearsed some of the Ariana Grande and Taylor Swift's hits, but in the end she decided to try something different...

Since Martin reappeared with Tiffany's old guitar, the two of them started playing together. In truth, Martin was the one playing, as Tiffany soon realized – to her frustration – that it was simply impossible to play the instrument with her long nails. But she could at least sing, and they spent many afternoons at their favorite spot, by the lake outside the city, playing and singing.

Things progressed quickly and soon they were writing a few songs together. Tiffany was always surprised at how creative Martin's mind could be, although she sometimes needed to bring him back to reality when he started to have a little too absurd ideas, like when he suggested they should work on a song about a bee with honey allergy.

More often, though, he gave good suggestions for the songs they were working on, and Tiffany was especially proud of a song they wrote called "Simple like love". In fact, she liked it so much that it gave her an idea...

"Oh my gosh, Martin! What do you think about performing this song on Miss Charming Beauty?" Tiffany asked, on one of the afternoons by the lake. "Would you take the stage with me?"

"Wait ... are you serious?"

"Absolutely! Gosh, I think that would be, like, much better than singing one of those songs that Lyss suggested... So, what you say? It's okay if you think this is... umm... a bad idea."

"You kidding me, right? No, I don't think this is a bad idea, at all. This is fantastic! Of course I would take the stage with you!"

"Oh, Martin, you are, like, super awesome!" Tiffany cried out, throwing herself into the guy's arms, and, before she knew it, they were kissing. That had been happening with an alarming frequency since the football game, although Tiffany kept telling herself that it meant nothing, and that they were still just friends. Everything would be back to normal when she managed to be a guy again...

At first, Alyssa wasn't very pleased about the idea of Tiffany doing an acoustic number in the contest instead of singing some upbeat pop song, but even she had to give in after seeing Tiffany and Martin playing together. It was obvious that they had a lot of chemistry, and the performance would be sweet and sentimental, just perfect for touching the audience's heart.

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...Tiffany changed her outfit once again. For the talent show, she put on a golden dress that, according to Alyssa, would make her glow; and nude sandal heels with clear straps. "Are you ready for this?" she asked Martin, when the guy approached carrying the guitar.

"Wow! You look..." Martin started saying, gaping. "So, so incredibly beautiful..."

"Focus, Martin" she giggled. "But thanks! That's, like, very kind of you.

"Yes, I'm ready... Let's do this."

Tiffany felt her heart racing when she stepped on stage once again. This time, she wasn't there to parade or pose, but to do something she truly loved, and she had never sung to so many people before... she was nervous, but definitely looking forward to it...

...now was the moment of truth.

She waited for the audience to stop applauding and nodded to Martin, who started strumming the guitar strings. Then, she started to sing the song...

Something so easy to see

But impossible to explain

Something that makes me feels carefree

Like when watching the afternoon rain

Simple like love (x4)

Something no Mayan could predict

Beautiful and pleasant as singing

Something that makes me feel

Like Quixote daydreaming

Simple like love (x4)

Something so rare to have

Like a life without pain

Something that exists in you and finally

I could understand who I am

Simple like love (x4)

The public remained silent throughout the whole performance, as if mesmerized by Tiffany's angelic voice. In the end, though, even the jury stood up to give them a standing ovation. Tiffany could barely contain her excitement. The performance had been a huge success...