Chapter 38

-14-

"We are going to have a little fun and mix things up a bit," Gordon announced. The ballroom swallowed the little group of twenty contestants. "We will give you a word and you sing something using that word. Instead of giving you five second to start we'll time how long it takes you to sing. As long as the word is a legitimate lyric the time stops when you start singing."

Marilyn let the song in her head run to a close. She'd need some luck and an uncluttered mind.

"Colin. Balloon." The game started and soon they were laughing at each other's choice of songs. The judges appeared to be laying side bets on the outcomes and their antics were almost as funny as the songs. Distracting too, Marilyn almost missed her name and word being called, but she managed. At the end of the game the judges called out names of people to go and stand with them. Even grinned broadly and Tiffany pouted as he called out Marilyn's name.