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LIZZIE, THE DIVA

CHAPTER 10: AND THE WINNER IS…


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"Ladies and gentlemen!" Lizzie heard the host say. They were behind the curtains, which were shut. "It is now my honor to present to you.. our ten finalists, for the last time!"

The curtains soon opened and all the girls beamed. They had to sing and dance along to "Fame" by someone Lizzie couldn't care less about. She thought the song was stupid, even if she knew it was somewhat appropriate. They had to sing at least two lines each but Lizzie got to sing four. She knew that was a good sign.

Lizzie was all out in her performance – she was one of the strongest voices, after all, and she could dance a storm. She saw her schoolmates from Hillridge and they were again holding a banner, only this time it read "Lizzie, 2002 Star for A Night."

The song came to an end and Lizzie gave the audience a smile. The crowd was in an uproar – with people jumping up and down, different sections screaming names of the finalists. They all gave a bow and proceeded to exit the stage.

Once she was out of sight, Lizzie sighed. She was getting bored. After all, she knew that she was going to win already, and she couldn't wait for the moment of truth to come. Lizzie proceeded to her dressing room where a team of stylists were, and they gave Lizzie yet another look for the final announcement.

Lizzie smiled as she thought of nothing but winning as they were lead out once again to the stage about fifteen minutes later. I am so the winner. I love you too Gordo! Lizzie had no idea why those two completely unrelated thoughts were intertwined, but she knew they'd meet up somewhere. She smiled.

The curtains once again opened, and a dramatic sound followed. There was a big screen behind them and she knew that videos of them being interviewed and performing, kind of behind the scenes was playing. She heard herself say, "Lizzie McGuire" and she knew it was followed by clips of her in the recording booth and acting candid. They were all made to do that the previous week and each of them had to say their name to the camera and act candidly, but of course it was all rehearsed.

The host cleared his throat. "And now ladies and gentlemen, the moment we've all been waiting for." A thunderous applause followed.

"Second runner up goes to … " She could hear the other contestants hold their breaths. Lizzie just smiled. "Maria Victoria Armas!" A fair-skinned brunette broke out from the line and went to the center, where she accepted her trophy. Lizzie was happy for her, she thought that Victoria, who was half-Spanish, was actually very nice and had a good voice. She sang "Something Stupid" by the actress Nicole Kidman.

"And now for our first runner up. Let me tell you that the champion had only a few points ahead of our first runner up. Our first runner up has an average of 96.25, while our champion has an average of 96.30! Would you believe that." The crowd went into an uproar. Lizzie's heart skipped a bit.

"Our first runner up is…"


A drumroll.

"Lizzie McGuire."

Lizzie's heart sank as she felt the world drop on her shoulders. This can't be happening… I am not a second placer! She wanted to have an unhappy face going on but she knew the memories would last forever, so she pretended to be happy as she took her trophy, her flowers, and every other thing that didn't seem important to her now. She gave a little wave to the audience - the HillRidge people were all smiles, but Lizzie could sense they were surprised at the result. I let them down. I let myself down. Lizzie thought. I let Gordo down.

She was then asked to move a bit to the right, as the winner was going to be announced. Her heart was pounding. She couldn't believe she placed only second and was ecstatic to know who'd won first.

"Our 2002 Star For A Night is… Hilary McLean!" The crowd erupted into cheers as confetti and glitter fell from the ceiling. Oh, her. Lizzie thought. She then realized she was so self-absorbed for the past few weeks, she wasn't able to size up the competition. She forgot about the others and was over confident that she'd win. She felt miserable.

I am such a loser, she thought. Gordo couldn't possibly like me. I'm just a first runner up, a no-match for that Jessica Moore – a champion. Lizzie thought. Through all of this, she had to smile – pictures of her with the other two winners were being taken.

When the ending cue was made, the curtains shut, all the girls made their way out of the stage. Hilary was crying, but they were tears of joy, and so was Victoria's. Some of the other girls, like that snooty Hannah Galloway, were crying too, but it was obvious it was because they didn't make it.

Lizzie, on the other hand, was crying because she placed *only* second. That means I'm not good enough, she thought. She was crying tears which others assumed were tears of happiness, but in reality, aside from the fact that she lost, she didn't know how to face her family and friends, whom she let down, as well as Gordo.

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Oh yeah, 2002 winner, because this story was first published in May last year.