The mix of humanity at the Budapest bus stop included backpackers, Spaniards, grandmothers with grandchildren, and the Miss Eden Contestants of 2011.

Several of the teenage girls stood by pink rolling suitcases.  Nearly all were clenching their hands or tugging at their clothing. As new competitors arrived, each received stares and hair flips and thin smiles, all mannerisms stolen from the movies and executed with a lack of skill. One girl broke the facade completely and exhaled while looking sadly up at the clouds.

A guy with hipster glasses and Converse shoes kept a cell phone at his ear and a strained look on his face.  It was his job to gather the girls and half-embrace them as he put on their sash.  He took pains to make it appear painful. Their private bus slowed and parked behind an idling discount line to Prague, whose ticket-holders slowly realized they would…