Pen to the Paper 3: The Announcement

The auditorium was nearly full. Pretty soon, Pen to the Paper will have to move to a much, much larger location. Dare I say, a football stadium? No. Don’t get too ahead of yourself…

The audience sat in silence, looking at the dark figure on the stage.

It has begun. Colored lights began dancing on the stage, smoke began pouring over the stage. “LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!” an unfamiliar voice called through a microphone. “WELCOME TO THE WINNER ANNOUNCEMENT FOR PEN TO THE PAPER 3!!!”

The auditorium went dark. The smoke in the room cleared.

A light was turned on, and everyone in the audience gasped as they looked on the unfamiliar man on stage. His bright red hair seemed to glow under the stage lights.

“BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!”

“GET OFF THE STAGE!”

“WHERE’S CALEB AT!?”

“I regret to inform you, but Caleb was unable to make it tonight… he’s in the hospital recovering from a trash compactor incident. My name is George, and I’ll be your host tonight.”

“Will he be okay? Will he ever be able to host again?” several audience members asked.

“Yes, he’ll be back. Though, from what I have heard, he may be a little… square.”

The sound of someone vomiting could be heard resonating throughout the auditorium.

“Yeah, it’s bad. On the bright side, he has vowed to never be late to starting this challenge again.

“Now, on with the show. The winner of the competition is--”

“HEY! WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND STARTS WITH THE WINNER!?”

George laughed nervously. “Oh, sorry. I’m new to this hosting thing. In third we have A Ride for Two by Sanjana S. In second we have--”

“Dude, are you even trying?” a man in the front asked.

“What did I do wrong now?”

“Why are they in third? Why are they so high? What did he like about that entry specifically?”

“Oh, let me check my notes… A Ride for Two is beautiful and he liked it a lot.”

“BOOOOOOOOOO!!!”

“GET OFF THE STAGE!!”

Tomatoes began flying towards the stage, sending George flying out of the auditorium.

The crowd fell silent. “What now?” someone asked.

“Maybe check his notes?” someone else offered.

Just as they came to this conclusion, they heard a noise from behind the curtains.

A box walked onto stage, picked up the notes and the microphone, and then walked back into the spotlight.

“Hey, guys! I made it!”

Everyone looked in horror at their favorite person in the world. I had been turned into a cube with arms, legs, and a face.

“If you don’t know, it’s me: Caleb.”

“Are you okay?”

“Not at all. I hurt in every way imaginable. But I deserved it, so,” I said. “Now, who’s ready for the announcement of the winner?”

The crowd cheered.

“In third place, we have Sanjana’s A Ride for Two. I loved this poem. It was beautiful, and the story it told was just lovely.

“In second, we have GLD’s outstanding Nature and Me. I absolutely loved how he compared nature to himself and to his emotions. It was incredible, and, if you haven’t already, I suggest that you read it.

“In first, we have blackbrain with THIS CLOUD, THAT CLOUD. In this, he sits down at a park and watches the clouds. He says this cloud looks like this, and that cloud looks like this. Towards the end, I will not lie, he almost had me in tears. One of his comparisons was very… sad. It was a pleasant read. I really, really enjoyed reading it.

“Now for some honorable mentions. Bring It Down by Raemares was lovely. Just so you guys know: mobile is the worst. She had it formatted in the loveliest way, and, due to me being on mobile, I had no idea how to read it until I logged onto a computer.

″The White Spot by Buzz54 was very touching. As someone who was unable to see his grandfather when he was in a diabetic coma, this touched me deeply. I thought I was going to lose him, and yet, I was too young to visit him.

“Last, but not least, for our honorable mentions we have Defy the Odds. Your works never cease to amaze me, nightscribbler. I loved your poem.

“Thank you, everyone, for coming out tonight!”

The audience cheered and congratulated the winners.

I began my walk off stage. On my way, I slipped on a tomato.

“Uhm, guys,” I said as I began struggling to get to my feet. “Can you help me up?”