As the sun rose on the morning of the day the award ceremony was to be held Elias was feeling quite excited & nervous. He was excited because he was going to meet the President but nervous because he wasn't sure how everything would turn out.
"I can't believe I'm actually going to meet the President. This is insane. Not many people my age get this opportunity so I better make the most of it" thought Elias as he got dressed. Elias went out to the balcony & took in the view. He could see the White House, the Pentagon & the Washington monument in plain sight. He stood there watching the sun rise for 10 minutes before going back inside. By this point Angel & his parents had woken up. Angel was sitting around waiting, Ella was getting dressed & Ethan had gone to check when they were expected to arrive.
"Good morning Elias. How are you feeling about today?" asked Ella.
"Excited & nervous. It's crazy that we're going to meet the President but at the same time I feel really light since I don't know how things are going to turn out" said Elias.
"I'm sure we'll all be fine. Just stay calm & don't work yourself up over it. None of us want to see you panicking like it's a catastrophe or anything" said Angel.
Minutes later Ethan returned.
"We meet the President, his family & the other nominees at 10:00, the ceremony will be broadcast live across the country & the world at 12:00 & immediately afterwards there's an after party that goes on until 6:00. We have a few hours to get ourselves ready" said Ethan.
"OK good. Let's go have some breakfast" said Ella.
Everyone went to the restaurant. Angel had some bacon, Elias had pancakes with syrup & orange juice, Ella had raisin toast & milk & Ethan had eggs & sausages with champagne. After they finished eating they went back to their room to fill in the time before they needed to get going. All of them decided to watch some TV. At 9:45 they left to go to the ceremony. A limousine was waiting for them to take them there.
"This is so cool. I feel like a celebrity right now" said Elias.
"I have to agree with that. You don't see this everyday" said Ella.
The ride didn't take very long but nobody seemed to mind. The limo pulled up out the front of the White House. The President & his family were waiting by the front door. As Elias & his family hopped out of the limo he became awestruck at what he saw. Everyone walked over to where the President was standing.
"Hello there. You must be Elias" said President Obama as he extended his hand.
"Yes I am. It's an honour to meet you Mr President. This is Angel. She can talk. Show them Angel" said Elias.
"Hi I'm Angel. Nice to meet you all" said Angel.
President Obama & his family were surprised. They had never seen anything quite amazing as a talking pup before.
"Now I've seen everything. Anyways the other nominees are waiting inside. We shouldn't keep them waiting" said President Obama.
Everyone went inside. They were directed to a holding room. Albert Jones & the other nominees & their families were inside waiting. There were only 3 other nominees. There was a woman in her 30s, a man in his 20s & a girl in her teens.
"Welcome everyone. My name is Albert Jones. The 4 of you have all been brought here for 1 thing: all of you committed acts of bravery & courage that aren't seen very often. Today 1 of you will be awarded America's Bravest Citizen. Good luck to all of you. You have 2 hours until the ceremony. Feel free to mingle with each other" said Albert as he left the room.
After Albert left everyone mingled with each other. The names of the other nominees were Geneva Maribell, Norman Tate & Scarlett Logan. Geneva was 16 & was nominated for saving her younger brother during a house fire that almost killed both of them, Norman was 25 & was nominated for throwing himself on a grenade while out at war that left him paralysed & took both his lower legs & lower arms & Scarlett was 34 & was nominated for saving her children after they crashed their car which exploded seconds after they got to safety. The 2 hour interval between the arrival & the ceremony went by pretty quickly. At 12:00 the nominees, their families, the President & his family went to the conference room. There were lots of journalists, reporters & other media correspondents in the crowd. President Obama, Albert Jones & the nominees went on stage while everyone else sat in the audience. After everything was in place the ceremony began to broadcast.
"Hello everyone. My name is Albert Jones. I'm the main man behind the ABC Awards. 4 very brave & courageous people stand behind me right now but only 1 of them will be awarded America's Bravest Citizen. Our 1ST nominee escaped a serial killer all by himself & brought him to justice, our 2ND nominee saved her younger brother from a house fire that almost killed them, our 3RD nominee threw himself on a grenade that left him paralysed & caused him to lose the lower parts of his arms & legs & our 4TH & final nominee saved her family her family after a car accident seconds before the car exploded. Put your hands together for Elias Vincent, Geneva Maribell, Norman Tate & Scarlett Logan" said Albert.
Everyone clapped & cheered for the 4 nominees. President Obama took over to announce the winner.
"This year the decision was quite tough. These 4 people are all heroes in their own right. Choosing just 1 of them to win was extremely difficult. Without any further delays I am proud to announce that America's Bravest Citizen this year is… Elias Vincent" said President Obama.
Everyone clapped & cheered. Elias gasped as he walked over & accepted the award. He couldn't believe he actually won. He had just made history by becoming the youngest winner ever. After accepting the award he addressed the crowd.
"Wow thanks. I can't believe I actually won. I never would've thought I'd actually win. Having become the youngest winner ever is also quite an accomplishment. I shouldn't be the only person here to be recognised for what I've done. Geneva, Norman & Scarlett deserve recognition as well. They did things nobody else would likely ever do & they were just as brave as I was when I saved my own life. I want everyone out there to know that if you look inside yourself deep enough you will find the courage to do amazing things. I hope that everyone looks up to not only me but the other nominees as well as role models. Never take anything in life for granted since there's no way of knowing when it could all be taken away. Just remember that you don't really know about the things you have & what they mean to you until they're gone. We should all be grateful for what we have & never let ourselves forget what's important. In conclusion all I have to say is that I'm grateful for everything everyone has done for me in life & I couldn't ask for anything more. Thank you everyone" said Elias.
Elias received a standing ovation from the crowd. It was such a liberating moment for him. President Obama then gave his closing statement.
"Congratulations Elias. Thank you everyone. We will now begin the after party. If you could all please follow me to the reception room we can get things going" said President Obama.
Everyone in the room followed the President to the reception room. It was an extravagant set up. There was lots of food, A dance floor & wonderful decorations everywhere. It was an amazing sight.
"Well done Elias. How do you feel right now?" asked Angel.
"I feel fantastic. This is the best day of my life. I can't wait to tell everyone at home about it" said Elias
"We're all really proud of you. Your acceptance speech was quite touching. I'm sure a lot of people will be inspired by you" said Ella.
"I'm sure they will be. Let's enjoy ourselves & make this day even better" said Ethan.
Elias went over nominees & spoke with them about how they were all just as important throughout the whole ceremony & its process. He was congratulated by everyone in the room throughout the afternoon. Elias had a wonderful time enjoying the food & dancing along to the tunes being played. It was a spectacular event. Eventually 6:00 rolled around & everyone left the White House. After saying goodbye to everyone Elias & his family returned to the hotel they were staying at. They had dinner in the restaurant before retiring to their room for the evening. Angel & Elias browsed the internet while Ella & Ethan. As Elias got into bed that night he thought about how everyone in Adventure Bay would react when they learned about the results of the ceremony.
"I can't wait to get home & show everyone my award. I really think that the other 3 should've gotten an award as well. I don't think it's fair that only 1 person wins this award every year. I think everyone who is nominated should get an award as well. At least that way they'll get more recognition for their actions. I suppose all I can do now is just move on in life & continue with what I want to do" thought Elias as he fell asleep.
