Beauty Queens Chapter 18 Summary

  • When Taylor's mother left, she was scared until she saw Ladybird Hope on TV. She got her dad to sign her up for the Little Miss Perfect pageant, and loved the attention. She learned that "If you did everything right, they had to love you." (18.15) Kind of creepy, but at least it got her back on her six-year-old feet.
  • Taylor sees a flash of light and follows it, only to find men in black shirts. They don't look like military, so she hides and listens. She also watches some of the men go into the volcano.
  • Agent Jones explains to Harris that they can't rescue the beauty queens because then people might take a closer look at their operation, and maybe find out about their deal with MoMo ChaCha.
  • Taylor steps out of hiding and kicks them, then runs to warn the other girls. Agent Jones chases her. He can't keep up, but he throws darts at her.
  • Taylor manages to yell "Danger!" before she's taken down.
  • The agent stuffs the hallucinogenic fruit in her mouth and puts some in her hands, hoping to keep her nonsensical long enough to form a plan.
  • The chapter ends with a commercial for a plastic surgery center called Breast in Show. A harrowing end to a tense scene.