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There is a warm June breeze at the close of the second night of the competition inside historic Hotel Roanoke. Twenty-five young ladies get to rest after enduring the preliminary swimsuit, evening gown, and interview competitions; they’re in their own hotel rooms now, mentally rehearsing for tomorrow night’s final performance in the talent category. One contestant, having put the day’s hard work behind her, sneaks a midnight snack of graham crackers. Tomorrow, after rehearsing for several hours, she—like the others—will go on stage yet again. Before judges and 1,000 fans of the Miss Virginia pageant, she will sing "With One Look" from the musical Sunset Boulevard.
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But the next morning contestants and guests see an alarming sight as they fill the hallway. A gurney props open the door to that one contestant’s room. Two paramedics blur past. The contestant’s parents are praying for their daughter’s life as they feverishly try to work a glucose monitor, ripping their daughter’s finger with a needle in a desperate attempt to get some blood on a test strip to read her blood sugar. The father bolts into the hallway and elbows his way back into the room, his arms full of soda and orange juice to pour down his daughter’s throat. The drinks mostly dribble all over her pajamas. No response. Her eyes are open, but coldly fixed.
After nearly 40 unresponsive minutes, Nicole Johnson at last awakens. Her first words are: "Does anybody know?"
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