333 Announcing the Winner


    “Don’t act so nervous. We’ll be fine…” Ace whispered close to my ear.


    “But you said that we’ll never know what could happen until the results are announced…” I whispered back as I recalled his words from earlier.


    “I just said that to keep the reporters on the edge of their seat,” Ace replied in a low whisper so that his words were for my ears only.


    “Even if you say that…” I muttered softly.


    There were good reasons why Ace was so optimistic about the result of thepetition, and I could understand where he wasing from. I tensed in my seat as my heartbeat quickened. The host kept on speaking but all his words were lost to me. It was apparent that dealing with too much suspense wasn’t something that I had a talent for. For our industry, this award was sort of like the Oscars when it came to movies.


    “Now, the time that everyone has been undoubtedly waiting for…” the host said before he shed the audience a bright smile.


    A woman dressed in a sparkly gold dress walked onto the stage and handed the envelope that must have contained the verdict of themittee members to the host. The host held up the envelop as if to show everyone that he now had the results in his hand. I could hardly breathe as I got so excited. The anticipation was killing me, and I realized that because I was so desperately hoping and expecting that we would win, I was feeling this mix of torturous emotions. Harboring high expectations could truly be a dangerous thing.


    It didn’t help that there were so many awards that the host had to dish out before it came time to announce the winner of thepetition. After going through a few rewards for creativity and for being environmentally friendly for the production phase, the host began announcing thepanies that came in third ce.


    “That’s quite unexpected…” Ace said before he began pping his hands together quite loudly.


    .....


    “I agree. It is indeed quite unexpected,” I murmured in reply.


    I turned my head as my eyes followed the movement of the CEO of thepany that had just won third ce in thepetition. Both Ace and I were surprised partly because thepany was a small and very new one that had just opened less than a year ago. The CEO of thepany was also quite young, and he probably wasn’t more than a few years older than I was. Once again, there was fresh and young blood making ripples in the creative industry that we worked. It made everything more interesting and exciting but also brought with it a harsh reminder that nothing was steady or set in stone.


    “I guess themittee is really out for something new this year,” Ace said as he continued pping his hands together.


    “I think so. I have to say that theirmercial is very creative although it didn’t seem to ring a bell with the majority of the audience. The donation figure that they managed to secure is pretty low,” I pointed out while recalling some stats that I’ve seen from the reports.


    “I don’t know if that’s because of the messaging in theirmercial or because theycked the budget to really generate enough traffic to drive the donations,” Ace replied before he turned to grin at me.


    “We better keep our eyes on them for next year,” I said as I narrowed my eyes slightly.


    The host presented the young CEO with a small trophy and a certificate. The young CEO then made a short award eptance speech where he adequately thanked everyone in his newpany. That must have added much-needed publicity to thispany. If I were him, I would be super satisfied with what mypany had achieved in apetition of this scale.


    I didn’t have much time to dwell on the results of the other rewards because it was finally time to announce the winner of thepetition. All I could hear for a moment was my heart thumping hard and fast in my chest. Unconsciously, my hand reached out in search for Ace’s hand in the dimly lit auditorium. As if he was also seeking for my hand, Ace’s hand reached for mine and held it. I gave his hand a squeeze as if I wanted to reassure him that everything was going to turn out fine. In fact, I was the one who needed reassurance andfort.


    Nothing was certain but so much had happened leading up to this moment that raised my expectations that we would emerge as the winner of thispetition. I had no idea how crushed I would be if the result turned out differently from what I had expected. Ace pulled my hand closer to him before he patted the back of my hand with his other onefortingly. I turned and tried my best to smile at him but all I could manage was a slight tug of a corner of my mouth which probably help out a strange expression on my face.


    “Thank you everyone for your patience. It is finally time to announce the winner of the Ashfordpetition for this year. With careful consideration from all of ourmittee members, I have the honor to announce the winner for this year’spetition…” the host said before pausing for effect.


    The host slowly opened the envelope which undoubtedly contained the name of thepany that was the winner of thepetition. It felt like time stood still in that moment as everyone seemed to hold their breath in while they waited for the announcement of the winner. For me it felt like time was ying a trick on me. It felt unbelievable how long that momentsted and how the host seemed to move in slow motion and everything that he did was too slow for my liking. In short, I was just too impatient to find out the result.


    “And the winner of this year’spetition is…” the host announced before taking another pause.


    –To be continued…