Chapter 99: Stunned by her transformation

At the performance stage, all the students and guests were seated in their designated seats. The judges were positioned at the front, while the audience sat at the back. The paparazzi’s cameras were already flashing, capturing the art performance students as they showcased their theater play on the beautifully decorated stage. Following their performance, the next event would be the selection of the queen and king, followed by a singing performance by a famous singer who had been invited.

As the drama unfolded on stage, the contestants prepared backstage, ready to take turns presenting their skills to the judges. The women would catwalk and showcase their beauty and intelligence to the audience, while the men would display their talents.

Afterward, they would return to the stage, and the audience would vote for who they believed deserved the crown of the year. The candidate with the most votes would be crowned, accompanied by their images taken by their photographer in the days leading up to the event displayed on a background screen. This would also provide an opportunity for the photojournalism student who captured the photos to establish their future career.

Carlos could been seen among the audience where he had given up on everything and was sitting in the far end. His expression look so down like he was going to cry as he watched the other photojournalism students getting excited about the next event that would take place, while his own partner, Mia didn’t even come to school.

"Serves you right, MacKenzie for choosing a plain Jane as your partner." Said one of Carlos’ classmates who stood over him, "We told you she’s going to let you down but you said you trust her. Mia Harrison is not fit for all this, she’s a coward!" Laughed the boy in mockery making Carlos clutch tightly to his camera to control his emotions from breaking down. He could cry at this moment for how disappointed he was at Mia and himself. He was doing this to prove to his family who were currently watching the show from home that he was good enough for something, even though they believed he could not do anything but be a loser for acting like a sissy.

"Aww, Carlos Mackenzie is going to cry. What a sissy you are. Don’t worry, watch as my partner Diane wins the show today and see how photography is done by experts." Said another boy from his class who was a team with Diane.

At the backstage room, the king and queen participatants still had the time to rehearse their walk and prepare for the question that would be asked of them before the theater play was over on the stage.

However, none of them were doing what was expected of them to do in the backstage as they believed their beauty and confidence was enough for them. Instead, they were gossiping and mingling with each other.

Diane could be seen among the others, where she wore a beautiful elegant mermaid orange dress that clutched her body in the right places, her face that was already naturally pretty was packed with heavy makeup, gaving her the appearance of an unrealistic doll. She stood confidently among the others with her head held high as she was confident she would win the crown today from the looks of the dresses of the others.

She glanced around, giving the rest of the female participatants around her a scornful look, as her friends weren’t part of the participants, she was just forcing herself to mingle with the others as she wanted nothing but their compliments and to boost her morale.

"Diane, you look absolutely stunning. I remember seeing that dress in a magazine last week - it’s one of Ellie Hamburg’s top designs from years ago. You must have spent a fortune to acquire it," one of the students desperately trying to gain favor with the popular girl remarked. The entire city was aware of the influence held by the Foster family, and Diane’s dress was a clear indication of their wealth. Ellie Hamburg’s designs were renowned worldwide, but only a select few could afford them or had the privilege of owning one of her earlier creations, let alone the latest ones.

Diane’s lips curved into a smile, although it seemed a bit forced due to her makeup. "It’s worth a fortune," she said. "I had planned to purchase one of her latest creations, but it hasn’t been completed yet, and I couldn’t wait for it to arrive in Zen." She boasted, however it was a lie. She did have the intention to buy it, but her family’s influence wasn’t as high to that extent for her to acquire the designer’s exclusive limited edition pieces, reserved only for the president’s family and A-list celebrities. However, she didn’t want to appear inferior to her followers.

"Wow, it’s incredible that you can even purchase her previous designs. I couldn’t even secure an appointment at the fashion house, let alone buy a dress. I must admit, you’re one fortunate princess," another student praised, her eyes filled with envy.

"Ah, it’s no big deal. My family and Ellie are close, if you want I can put in a few words for you and you can get an appointment with the fashion house." Diane suggested causally to make it seem like she knew the designer personally, while in truth she had never even met her in person and had only gotten the dress by luck.

"Well, that’s great. You’re so kind, Diane! I wouldn’t even mind if you win the crown today because I know our school activities will be more enjoyable with you as our queen."

"Yes, I agree with that, Maya. Diane is the perfect fit for the position," added another person, trying to start a conversation with the popular girl. She then asked, "I thought Plain Jane was supposed to be here with us. I don’t see her anywhere. Did she get intimidated by us?"

"It’s good she’s not even here today. I can’t even believe that someone as plain as that girl was going to participate in an event that was meant for beauties like us. She has no class or any sense of fashion, she dresses like my grandma." Laughed one of the girls with the others laughing along with her in agreement.

"I would have loved to see her come today so we can rub it in her face how plain she looks. I bet she plans to wear one of those used dresses sold in local markets. The poor thing saved herself the embarrassment by not showing up. What do you think, Diane?"

"Well, what can I say, I have nothing against her but the girl is an ungrateful bitch. She must be embarrassed to show up, which I totally understand judging from how poor her family is. Tsk, I can’t believe she thought for a second that she can stand a chance against someone like me." Said Diane with an arrogant air she carried around her. She then looked behind the girls where the boys were standing and noticed Alaric, "Excuse me, ladies, I will be right back." Saying that she walked towards the boys while the other girls gazed at her in envy.

"She’s so beautiful." Remarked one of the girls with the rest nodding in agreement.

"It seems our plan did work out as the bitch didn’t show up today." Whispered Alaric who approached Diane halfway and stood beside her, where he was also dressed in an expensive suit custom made for only him.

"Of course she won’t show up and even if she dares to show up, she would have no where to be on the stage unless she would come out without any clothes." Remarked Diane as she looked up at her ex, who they had stopped talking but because of the mutual hate they shared towards the plain Jane, they had started to talk. She took in his attire and realize it was breathtaking. He looked handsome with the suit hugging his lean, muscular build. He was tall and had a face that would make a girl drop dead, but ever since Diane had set her eyes on their new professor, she belived no other man could come close to his aura and looks, and her taste in men changed completely.

But the fact that the professor had looked over someone as beautiful as herself and went after a plain Jane, that was a big insult to Diane’s ego. She would never let the girl take everything away from her like she did in the past. In highschool, the girl had done nothing but made her life a living hell. However, the fact that Mia kept acting like they had never met until in Ivy Grove, irked Diane to no end. And she would be dead to allow Mia compete with her today on the stage.

"What else did you do apart from the thing I gave you to put in the wine yesterday?" Asked Alaric as he took in the appearance of the beautiful woman before him, who he now regretted breaking up with.

Diane smirked, "I took away her clothes." She declared while keeping away the part where she had planted a camera in the dressing room and told someone to manage it as she intended to ruin Mia’s image completely today in school if she were to strip naked before realising her clothes were gone. That would be if she dared show up, which Diane doubts but just to be safe, she had gone and made arrangements to destroy the girl completely on a live show event.

"By the way, what is that thing you gave me to put in the wine?" Diane asked in curiosity as the liquid he gave her yesterday was black but she hadn’t questioned it and only did as she was told. Alaric had said they just needed a drop of it to fall into her mouth and that would do the work for them.

As Alaric was about to reply, surprise gasps broke out from the other students in the backstage room, making Diane and Alaric turn at the same time only for their eyes to widen in astonishment at the sight of the person who walked into the room.

"What the fuck, how is she here?" Muttered Alaric in disbelief as he took in the appearance of the school’s plain Jane, who had now transformed into a complete elegant woman.

Diane stood frozen in place as she couldn’t believe her eyes at the sudden appearance of the girl they had all believed wouldn’t make it today and would be laying somewhere on her sick bed. To make things worst, she had walked in completely transformed. Diane’s knees almost gave away as she recognized the gown Mia was wearing at the moment and her eyes widened even more as if it would fall out of their sockets. Wasn’t that...

"Oh my goodness, how did she get her hands on an Ellie Hamburg latest creation? That dress costs more than millions!" Whispered someone among the girls in the room where the words fell on Diane, who couldn’t believe that someone below her was wearing something she hadn’t been able to buy despite using all of her family’s connection in the country. She would have called it a fake if it wasn’t for the small gold logo sign on the waist line that made people distinguish the fake from the real design, furthermore, this had just been released a day ago, which made it even more impossible for its fake to be available in malls.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read