In this chapter, the narrator laments the fact that the festival committee has to select a candidate for the beauty contest. He's worried that he'll be judged on his outward appearance, and he's also worried that his girlfriend will be one of the judges. He asks the festival executive if he can skip the contest, but the executive says that he can't, because he was wrong the other day about what he said. The festival executive then tells the narrator that he should be happy that he won't have to compete in the contest. The narrator is all, "who the hell is this aida ?" . He then asks if she's going to go with anyone, and the executive laughs at him, saying that she'll probably go with someone else. He says that's too cruel, and then he asks the executive why he makes so much noise in the hall. The executive replies that it's because of his friend's beauty contest, and that he wants to paint over his "dark past." The narrator realizes that he has no choice but to do what's best for the festival.