"Twinkles, jump and use water gun!" Imogen commanded, watching in satisfaction when, just as they had practiced, her Totodile launched himself into the air, managing two full flips in the air as a stream of water poured from his mouth, before landing nimbly on his feet. The move was met with applause, and thankfully Twinkletoes managed to wait until he had taken his bow and stepped offstage to collapse in a dizzy heap. "Great job out there, Twinkles" Imogen said softly as she gathered the water Pokémon into her arms, turning to the panel of judges to see their score as Totodile scrambled out of her arms to perch on her shoulder, nearly falling off and clutching the bun atop her head for support. She smiled in relief as the numbers began to roll in, nodding in thanks to Nurse Joy’s kind words and grinning in response to Mr. Contesta’s analysis of their performance ("remarkable!"). Heading backstage, Imogen accidentally brushed arms with the contestant who was clearly up next, waiting for her name to be called. "Oh, sorry!" She whispered softly, lips parting slightly in surprise as she took in the features of the girl she’d just run into. She was, in a word, beautiful. Her eyes were a striking blue that complemented her porcelain skin and light brown hair that fell in long waves around her. "Up next, we have Jacqueline Jones!" The emcee announced from up onstage, causing Imogen to snap back to reality. "Guess that’s you, huh? Good luck" she told the other girl, Jacqueline, as she stepped aside, shy smile on her face.
She knew that she was supposed to head back to the contestant waiting room now, but found herself instead rooted to the spot, instantly captivated as Jacqueline took the stage. The girl looked to be perhaps a little younger than her, but there was something about the way she carried herself which exuded a confidence that made it clear the girl knew what she was doing. Sure enough her performance was absolutely stunning, and Imogen found herself ooh-ing and ahh-ing along with the crowd despite herself. The notion of moving from where she stood didn’t even occur to her until she saw the other girl taking her bow, causing Imogen to give a startled jump before scampering off to the contestant waiting room before Jacqueline returned and saw her still standing there like some sort of crazy fangirl.
Back in the waiting room, Imogen watched the television screen absentmindedly as some boy with a a Buizel began his performance, though she paid so little attention that had she been asked, she wouldn’t have even been able to say which moves had been used. Hearing the door open Imogen turned to look, bright smile appearing on her face when she saw who it was. She wanted to invite the girl to come sit with her but was worried that doing so might weird her out, so instead Imogen simply offered her friendliest smile in hopes that Jacqueline would choose one of the available seats on either side of her to sit in.
