Chapter 21: Lacey's Poem

"Can you taste my words upon your tongue?

Can you feel my pain as though you've been stung?

Can you hear the whispers of my shadows of night?

Can you smell the blood from my wounds and my fight?

Has the eerie sight finally reached your eyes?

Can you see the man meet his demise?

Can you smell the cleanness of the inky night sky?

Can you touch the stars I have not put too high?

Has the sweet song finally reached you ears?

Can you finally hear the shouts and cheers?

Can you feel the shiver go up your spine?

Do you now crave the words that you know are mine?

Does my poetry make you hunger for more?

Do you crave like you have never craved before?

Are you trapped within my magic word spell?

Have you found I have taken your voice to yell?

Do the images come as quick as a flash?

Do you see the blinding light of the crash?

Have my words spiraled up and trapped you beneath?

Do you pray for my words' silent but cleansing relief?

Can you taste the magic upon your tongue?

Do you see yourself twenty years young?

From my worlds of words you know you cannot escape.

For they are mine and mine only to create and shape."

At first, Lacey was met with silence. She stared out at the crowd; they stared back blankly. Her heart sank to her stomach and her stomach sank to her feet. Her worst fears had come true. They continued to stare. And then Dickie, smiling broadly and proudly, stood up and began to clap loudly. The rest of the table joined in, and Elliot stuck his fingers in his mouth and whistled. The rest of the auditorium suddenly burst into applause as well, as if broken out of a spell, and Lacey found herself being the center of a standing ovation.

She smiled broadly and stepped down from the podium, cheers still ringing.

"You did great!" Olivia smiled, pulling her into a tight hug.

"Way to go, kiddo!" Elliot grinned, ruffling her hair as they sat down.

"You got talent, kid, no doubt about that," Fin grinned proudly.

"You wrote that yourself?" Casey inquired.

"Yeah," Lacey smiled, blushing slightly. "Let's see what the judges say though."

"Psh, judges," Munch scoffed, leaning back in his chair and looking at the ceiling. "If ya ask me-"

"We didn't," Fin cut in, and Munch gave him a nasty look that made Lacey giggle.

"You did great," Dickie informed her, giving her an affectionate look.

"Thanks," Lacey smiled, and they all went silent as another writer went on to read her poem about the sun.

When all of the writers had finished reading, Lacey had butterflies in her stomach again. A lot of the poems that had been read aloud had been good- really good.

"You're better than them," Ana told her friend reassuringly. "By a long shot. There's no way the judges are gonna put someone else in first place."

"I hope so," Lacey replied, her breath light and raspy from the excitement. She could barely catch her breath.

"After this we are going out and celebrating," Munch announced to the table, "my treat. Even if she doesn't win, we will still go out."

"That actually sounds like a good idea," Olivia smiled, looking over at Ana and Lacey. "And then you guys and I can head back to the apartment for a movie. We can pick one from Netflix."

"Awesome!" Ana shouted.

"May I have your attention please?" A small woman with platinum white hair was standing by the microphone, trying to get everyone's attention. Eventually everyone quieted down to hear what she was going to say. "Thank you. Now as you all may already know, the process for choosing these fine young authors was a brutal one; there were so many talented authors! Out of the two-hundred people that entered, the few fifty that sit here have been chosen not only because of their talent, but because of the passion they put behind every word, and the time they took to make it perfect."

Ana and Lacey exchanged looks and giggled.

"But," the lady continued, "there can only be one winner, not counting the runner-ups. Now if you don't mind, me and my fellow judges are going to deliberate, and when you are all done with your refreshments we will announce the winners! Sound okay?" The group murmured their agreements. "Good! Snacks and drinks are on the back table, as well as the roster for all of the entries! Please enjoy, and we will be with you soon."

She was met by a soft applause, and she and a few other official-looking people followed her out into the hallway. Elliot and Fin went up to get food, and Cragen smiled at them from across the table.

"This is such a nice turn-out," he announced, looking around.

"Yeah," Lacey replied, not really listening. She was too intent on trying to read the judges' lips from behind the door. She failed, however, and turned back around to ace the table. "So what's up?"

"I'm hungry," Ana announced. "You?"

Lacey laughed. "I'm kinda thirsty. I'm gonna go get a drink. You want something?"

Ana shook her head, so Lacey shrugged and got up to get some water from the package at the back of the room. She was met by another reader, who grabbed her arm and smiled.

"Hi," she smiled, "I'm Anna."

"I'm Lacey," Lacey smiled back. She recognized this girl as one of the girls who had written a very good poem. "I liked your poem about the earth. It was very descriptive and fluid."

"Thanks," Anna smiled, blushing slightly. "I really liked yours too. I loved the thought you put into it."

"Yeah, well," Lacey shrugged, "I wasn't really sure about how it was gonna turn out. But I'm glad you liked it."

"I did," Anna grinned. "You should enter it in other contests; I bet you'd win."

"You too," Lacey smiled. "You're a really good writer."

"Well, we both have a knack for that," Anna shrugged. Lacey noticed her new friend's eyes light up at the mention of her clear writing gift. "But having a gift for writing's just what makes us awesome!"

"Absolutely," Lacey laughed, grinning broadly at her new friend. "Without a doubt."

Their brief conversation was soon interrupted however by the woman's voice coming in through the microphone and telling the assorted people to please take their seats, and that it was time for the judges to announce the winners.

"I guess that means us," Anna shrugged with a smile. "It was nice meeting you, Lacey. Good luck!"

"You too, Anna," Lacey smiled, and walked back to her own seat. It was judging time.

Notes: Hehehehe... ;)

I was able to update today because I wrote this chapter with my few hours of spare time last night (10pm-12am :P), and wanted to be able to post today. You're welcome. ;)

Thanks for reading and please don't forget to press that pretty blue button down there and reviewww! :D