Pen to the Paper 14: The Announcement

"You ready?"

"For awesomeness? Yes, I'm ready, Nick."

"Well good," he replied. "Straighten your bowtie, and get rid of that crease in your jacket."

"Aye, aye, cap'n," I said, exaggerating a salute. 

"The show goes on in 5… 4… 3… 2…" 

"I didn't realize we were shooting an episode of iCarly. Wait… if you're Freddie…"

The floor beneath me shook lightly. I stumbled forward a bit, then regained my balance as the platform that fit snugly into the ground began to slowly lift upwards.

"That's right," he said with a wink and a big, cheesy grin. "You're Carly."

I stomped my foot on the ground and crossed my arms on my chest. "Hmph. I don't wanna be Carly," I said indignantly. 

As I disappeared into the ceiling above me, Nick said, "If you don't cut that attitude, I'm not taking you out for ice cream later, mister!" 

Once he finished, the platform fully submerged itself into the ceiling. "Dang it," he said. "Total missed opportunity. I shoulda said 'sister.' "

⇔ 

The Pen to the Paper Arena looked beautiful. It looked like a football stadium, if a football stadium had a roof that never opened, was an actual circle, and--instead of grass--there was an elevated round stage in the center. 

Lights danced, music shook the building, and smoke rolled off the stage, settled on the ground below, and slowly dissipated.

As the music reached a crescendo, movement could be seen from the stage: a hole began to open, and more fog rolled onto stage. The crescendo held itself, everyone in the audience leaned forward, popcorn (sold for 50 cents a container because I'm nice like that) spilled. You could feel how everyone was holding their breath.

After toying with the audience's suspense, I finally emerged with a spotlight shining directly on me. The music broke, slowly quieting down as the audience erupted in cheers. 

"Thank you," I said into the microphone. "Hard to believe, i'n'it? A year of Pen to the Paper has passed, and we're in season two! Amazing.

"But you're not here to listen to me say that. I mean, you've already heard me say it ten thousand times. Who's ready for the announcements!?"

Cheering erupted once more. 

"Awesome! Let's do this. I had an incredibly difficult time deciding tonight! But I believe I can say that without a doubt… third place is… Mystery Man by booklover_2020!!!

"Your entry was spectacular. The descriptions within were absolutely amazing, and the story was great as well.

"In second place is GLD's Used to Believe! It. Was. Amaaazing! Incredibly emotional. And, to quote booklover, 'this hits hard.'

"In first, we have one of the most fantastic veteran Pen to the Paper-ians." 

Five minutes passed, and I didn't say a word. I just stood there, as still as a statue. Unblinking. 

"My eyes burn. Why have you guys just sat there for five minutes?

"First place is… Sanjana_S! The Summer of Love was sensational! The descriptions and the amount of detail you put into this was outstanding. You are, by far, one of the most bestest writers I know! Thank you so much for contributing to my challenge! Your skill far surpasses the majority of the people on this platform. You, my friend, provide significant proof that writing is an art form.

"But enough fan-girling, I'm sure you guys want to know who the honorable mentions are.

"Scratch77. Question: was hilarious. I absolutely love your sense of humor!

"Same goes for you, Danceinsilence, with your write Directions. You had me laughing pretty good!

"SharondaBriggs, Shadow Walker was beautiful. Thank you for entering!

"How could I forget? HelenaTherese, Boys was pretty funny too. I absolutely loved it!

"Lulit, your work Simulation, I felt, was creative and very intriguing. 

"Thank you, one and all, for entering my challenge! I will see all of you in a couple weeks!" Fog erupted on stage, and, hidden from view, the trap door beneath me quickly opened, and I fell a few feet down before landing on the slowly descending platform.

As I emerged into the room far below the stage, Nick stood there, waiting for me. 

"How was it?" he asked.

"Man, you had a total missed opportunity earlier. You should have said 'sister' instead of 'mister.' That's all I could think about on stage, man. Totally threw off my game."