he minute I stepped into the hallway, I found myself surrounded by boys who like me had been drafted, volunteered or had been volunteered into dawning a dress for charity. Most of them tried to pass and most did pass. Many of them where being interviewed by the varies reports that where covering the event. Lana Lightcap of WBT had just finished interviewing somebody when she spotted me. She smiled and motioned for the cameraman to follow her as she approached me.

“Hey, sweetie, do you have a few minutes to spare?” She said smiling toward me. She paused and then in a friendly tone of voice she added. “And I love the gown.”

I blushed and smiled. Rolling the mental dice, I decided to go with it. I mean, I had signed up for this event to have fun. And being interviewed seemed like it would be fun enough. So pushing a few strains of my golden hair back and tucking it behind my ear I nodded my head and said. “Sure.”

“Cool, so let's start with your name.” She said as she placed her microphone in front of me.

“Daisy Bell,” I said smiling.

“Cool, so Ms. Bell, could you please tell us a little about you.” She said holding the microphone out in front of me again.

“Sure, I’m like twelve, going on thirteen. I attend St. Katherine’s Episcopal Academy.” I said naming the basic information. Trusting that she’ll poke or prod me if she needed more information. But right now, I wanted to start with the bare minimum. You know, name, rank and social.

“Do you have any hobbies, and why did you decide to enter the pageant?” Lana said as she placed the microphone in front of me again.

“I like reading Manga, Light Novels and watching Anime,” I said into the microphone, chiefly aware that my words where being broadcast into televisions scattered through all of the fifty-two counties of Mississippi. “I also belong to the Anime Club, and I joined because I wanted to help raise money for the Delta. I have family in Benton, and we’ll the flood water is really putting the squeeze on them right now. I mean the whole town of Benton is really feeling the squeeze. With most of the surrounding farmland sitting under seven foot of water.”

Lana nodded her head and smiled.

“Alright, Ms. Bell. We wish you luck and we hope you take home the crown.” And with that Lana and her cameraman moved onto somebody else. As I watched them go, I took a deep breath and tried to control my racing heart. And I mean racing like I could hear it thumping and echoing deep in my chest.

“Hey Dork!” A voice behind me called out. I quickly turned around and there in the hallway stood a collection of people, a teenage girl with sandy brown hair and blue eyes stood there dressed in a simple button-down white blouse and a black pleated skirt. Standing beside her was a girl with brown hair and pink eyes, she wore a floral print sundress. Standing behind them was a woman who appeared to be in her early twenties. She was dressed in a simple blouse and jeans and standing to the side was a tall man who wore a charcoal gray suit.

“OMG!” The teenage girl with sandy brown hair cried out as she rushed toward me and threw her arms around me and pulled me close to her chest. “DAISY! LIKE YOU CLEANED UP, AND YOUR LIKE TOTALLY ADORABLE.” Her shrill voice echoed down the hallway. Causing the heads of a dozen or so people to turn and face us.

“I gotta say,” The teen with the pink eyes said. “When you dress up, you dress up little sister.” She said in a teasing tone of voice as she started to circle me in a manner that reminded me of a lioness circling around her pray before she moved in for the kill. “Make-up looks spot on, dress suits you. Nice blooming chest, the only problem I see are those shoes.” She said pointing down at the heels. “Like, I can understand wanting to wear some really high heels, cause high heels are sexy.” She paused and folded her arms under her chest and lowered her head. “But like, the way you walk in them. And I’ve seen you trying to walk in them, kind of reminds me of a fawn learning to walk. That cute and all, but that’s something the others will use to like shake you up. They're going to get catty with you. So, don’t be afraid to get catty back.”

I nodded my head.

“Daisy, don’t listen to Susan too much, for what it's worth, I think you're doing something amazing. Your mom and dad welcoming me and Kayla into your home without a second thought, you and Sue treating us like family. And now you're doing this silly pageant to help raise money to provide relief from the flood.” The older teen said as she hugged me tighter.

“Don’t be silly Madeline,” I said as I pulled my face away from Madeline’s chest. “Your family girl,” I said smiling softly.

Madeline smiled and released me front the hug. Her older sister Kayla then approached me and smiled as she reached down and wrapped her arms around and likewise pulled into a rib-crushing hug. She cradled me there between her breast as she wrapped her arms around me.

“Daisy, no matter what happens. I want you to know, I think you're amazing. So many people have lost everything. And it's going to be a while before we can even think about returning. This season’s crop is ruined and most of the seedlings I’m sure where been washed away when Deer Creek jumped her bank. But none of that matters, we’ve been blessed to have you guys take us in. And I’m sure the money raised from this little thing will really bless people who're livelihood been stolen from them by this flood. And I’m sure you're going to be blessed for helping them.”

“Honey,” The man said as he walked up to me and placed his strong hands upon my shoulder. “I’m very proud of you. I think once we're done here, a little treat would be in order. How about this, once this little show is over. I take everybody over to Kyoto’s Japanese Steak House, would that suit everybody?” He said smiling as he peered down at me.

“Steak sounds good to me!” Cried Madeline as she dropped her arms from around my shoulders.

“I like their seafood.” Kayla chimed in.

“The grilled vegetables are to die for, the grilled fish and rice amazing, a pure treat for the taste buds.” Mom chimed in.

“I like everything! The sodas are super tasty!” Susan added in.

I said nothing and just looked down. My dad took a deep breath and walked over to me and folded his arms around me and pulled me into a hug. It was a tight hug, he pulled me close to his chest and held me there for a good three minutes. Finally, he pulled me away from a little and his face was looking down at mine, and then in a loving voice, filled with the tenderness he said.

“We’ll talk later. But I would love it if you could wear the dress your wearing now. And no matter what happens, no matter if you win or lose. You’ll always be my child and I’ll always be proud of you. No matter what.” With that, he bent down and kissed my forehead.

I blushed and smiled at the kiss. My mother appeared again on the scene, she smiled at me and nodded her head once more in approval. But it was my father’s approval I sought more than my mothers. My Father was a lawyer, and a former commissioned officer in the army. He attended St. Katherine’s Episcopal Academy, the same school my sister and I attend, he graduated valedictorian and from there went on to attend that fable school of Episcopal southern gently Sewanee, his brother younger brother followed a year later and was later ordained to the priesthood in the Episcopal Church, he is the current rector of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, a medium size Anglo-Catholic parish located in Benton, some sixty miles west of Vicksburg. But returning to my father, once he finished at Sewanee he then traveled up north to receive his law degree from Harvard. He then returned home to his native city of Vicksburg and opened up a law firm.

What I’m driving at is this, my father was what I wished to be, A well-educated man, respected in both the community and in the church, and one who had power and connections. The Bell’s have always been a mysteries kind of family. Our roots run deep and our family tree often overlaps other family trees of sizable power and wealth. From a very young age, I’ve always carried the cross that one day, I will take my father's place and lead this powerful family. A task I feel ill-suited for.

“Hey, Daisy,” I felt somebody touching my shoulder. They were rocking me back and forth, that gentle rocking knocked me out of my pondering. I blinked and there standing before me was my cousin Madeline, who was staying with us. Madeline came from Benton, she and her sister had moved in with us a week or so ago. Both she and her older sister Kayla were among the thousands of refugees escaping the rising flood waters.

“Its almost time girl!” She said smiling toward me.

“She right honey, the time has kind of slipped up on us.” My mom said as she reached down and took me by the hand. “Come on, we need to get you signed in.” And with that, she started to guide me down the hallway. Feeling poetic, I looked over my shoulder and noticed my family, Dad, Sue, Madeline and Kayla all standing together. Waving me off. I felt like a soldier going into battle. Only nobody had mentioned coming home carrying my shield or upon it. I suppose that was for the best.