Catching up a bit, Joey Rovinsky runs a quick fiction competition between a group of friends and acquaintances. A few people write a story for a prompt, then we all read and rank our favorites, leading to a winner who sets the next prompt, and so on.
Here was my first entry, from back in June or July 2013.
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Awards Night
Tonight is the big night...
My good man Jack spent
many weeks, months, and years toiling in obscurity and hoping for a big
break. At long last he finally lucked into some Hollywood connections
that put him on the list for casting directors who knew how to find
critical acclaim. Although it still took a few big appearances to get
noticed, Jack is finally at the top of his game and everyone knows the
academy will award the highest individual honor to him for all his years
of work and accomplishment tonight.
The minor awards just take so
long...
Jack spent hours with me, honing me into the stroke of genius
that would cement him as a legend of his time. Night after night he
revised and cut away only to build me back up, block by block. Of course
the dissertation must start with a brief thank you to all of the people
who believe they have played a role in Jack's success. The key is to
bring the audience in with some quirky beginnings while staying well
within the known parameters for an acceptance speech.
Finally, the
presenter for our award is taking the stage...
Although Jack's
parents never truly supported him in his California dreams, he will
still begin by thanking them because that's what everyone does.
Remember, the key is to draw the audience into a comfortable spot, let
them hang on every word. He will follow that with some curt words of
thanks for the staff and crew who put in a good effort, but nothing like
the days and weeks of sacrifice of good old Jack. This long process was
all a means to an end, an end that will be critical.
Oh, come on
with the small talk already, open the envelope...
As I sit here in
the pocket of the well-tailored tuxedo of the man about to be a legend,
the path is so clear and yet so simple. Jack will spin a trail of thanks
and then jump right into the heart of the matter. He has been waiting
so many years to finally make this stand. A stand for what is right, and
for what really matters in this world. There will be no music that can
play Jack off the stage because even the stodgy producers of this show
will realize the importance of this message. Nothing can silence the
importance of this moment and the ending to this night.
"The Award
Goes To..."
Jack takes the sip of champagne that will smooth his
vocal chords for the upcoming victorious moment. A charismatic smile
crosses his lips as the images of him and the soon-to-be-losers go up on
the massive screen on stage. They will end up rejoicing by the end of
the night when they see that their failures led to this fateful moment
when Hollywood changed forever. All the years Jack put in to the
business, the many sleepless nights with me at the writing table, and
the long minutes and hours of this ceremony
have finally come to
this. Jack will triumphantly hold me up next to the statuette when he
stands in stark glory to finally tell the world...
"Brady Drieson,
for Together Among Us!"
What? How could this be? This was supposed to
be the moment for Jack, the moment we told this world exactly what
needed to change to reach the next level. There must be some sort of
mistake.
But now here I sit, crumpled up and thrown in anger under
the table. All that effort, gone to waste. Just like me, a broken letter
in a trash can of history. Pity these fools will never know...
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