Snow Queen

The 10th annual Snow Queen pageant is being held at Chamberlain Ski Resort and Spa, and the narrator has been pulled into it against their better judgment. Every contestant must attend all rehearsals in suitable outfits. Practice time can be booked in a rehearsal room for anyone who wants to prepare a talent act, and questions go to Grayson Chamberlain, the assistant director.

The narrator is determined to beat Layla Chamberlain, whose smugness is a constant irritation. Grayson, however, is harder to dismiss. He is kind and easy to like, which leaves the narrator puzzled that someone so pleasant belongs to the same family as Layla.

One contestant will be crowned the new Snow Queen at the end of the competition, though the narrator jokes that the prize would be far more appealing if Grayson came with the tiara.