Instead of waiting for it to bounce around, she climbed a marble statue and caught the ball before anyone else had a chance. Ghostie cut the music.
“Wow,” I said once she’d climbed back down and made her way over to the stage. “That was quite a performance. Name?”
“I Slavanka.”
“Interesting name. What do you for a living, Slavanka?”
“Russian.”
The guys were already cheering for her, so I didn’t need to ask what they thought. “Alright ladies, we have room for one more girl in today’s contest. Good luck.” I tossed the final ball towards Zoraida. And it was a freaking perfect toss. She jumped up and plucked it right out of the air. Ghostie cut the music and I called her up on stage.
But instead of Zoraida holding the ball, it was some random blonde chick.
“Shit,” grunted Ghostie. “What the hell happened?”
“Sorry,” said Zoraida. “That bitch came outta nowhere and snatched it from me.”
I switched my mic off. “It’s fine,” I whispered. “This is why we put Teddybear in the audience.”
The girl got to the stage and took a little bow to the cheers. I had to admit, she looked pretty hot in her tank top and daisy dukes. But I knew my girls would still bring home the victory.
“Looks like the boys are already excited about you,” I said. “What’s your name?”
“Karmen. But my friends call me Karma.”
“And what do you do, Karma?”
“Marketing Major at Florida.”
“Very nice. Well, I wish all three of you the best of luck today. Please head backstage to get ready for the main event.”
They walked off stage and I picked up the final volleyball.
“Now we need a judge.”
“Make sure you get this, Teddybear,” said Ghostie.
“I got it,” he replied.
I tossed the ball into the crowd.
Someone jumped in front of Teddybear and caught it, but Ghostie kept the music playing. The guy got swarmed immediately by like five other dudes. There was quite the scrum, but eventually Teddybear came out on top. He held the ball in one hand and stiff-armed some guy with his other.
Ghostie cut the music. But just like Zoraida, Teddybear lost it at the very last second.
“Damn it!” yelled Ghostie.
“Dude, I had it,” replied Teddybear. “Why didn’t you cut the music sooner?”
“It’s not my fault your hands are made of butter.”
I cut the mic again. “Boys, boys. Relax. Slavanka and Esme have got this.”
“They better,” said Ghostie. “And if they don’t, I can always fudge the numbers.”
I gasped. “Don’t you dare. I refuse to host a sham goddess contest. Did you not hear that girl say her nickname is Karma? We have to win this thing fair and square or this whole operation is doomed.”
Ghostie grunted.