Seasons

Showtime

Anntonia's POV:

"Quick! Go! Go! The show will be starting in five minutes." The head of the technical team yelled at the staff.
 

The other girls who are not yet lined up in their respective groups were rushing to fix and iron out everything before leaving their vanity tables.
 

This is the day. I did know it would be too nerve-wracking, but I wasn't informed that it was to the extent that I was freezing. I am feeling so much chills that I even had to request heat pads to warm my hands.
 

I observed how the girls were all nervous; all of us were filled with anticipation of going out and presenting ourselves to the audience as they loudly cheered for us. The staff is also running as fast as they can from one place to another to make sure that everything is under their control. The hosts were also assisted to their places, so they would not be staying with the candidates.
 

I saw R'bonney earlier. She was so stunning. Her jawline was so defined that I even got starstruck. She was nice enough to wave at us, even though she was already hurrying because they must enter the stage before we do.
 

"Girls! Remember your blocking! Be careful on the stage, okay?" The head choreographer reminded us before she left the backstage.
 

"Livebash is still not working." Miss Trinidad and Tobago, who was behind us, whispered to Miss Switzerland, who was standing beside me.
 

"Really? Why?" Miss Spain suddenly joined.
 

"No idea. I just accidentally heard it from the technical team when I was on my way here. Their head director was so mad." Miss Trinidad and Tobago responded.
 

"For sure, they'll broadcast the preliminaries on YouTube instead." Miss Spain mumbled while shaking her arms.
 

"But the people paid for virtual tickets." Miss Switzerland worriedly said, "If so, I hope the organization will provide a refund."
 

"That's for sure. Anyway, let's not be too worried about it. They'll fix this before the show airs." Miss Trinidad and Tobago said to clear the atmosphere.
 

"Okay, ladies, let's enter the stage carefully." The staff said and guided the first batch of ladies to where they should enter. There are people holding flashlights to light the way we are stepping, and there are men offering their hands to help the girls get up on the stage.
 

The lights became quite dim, and the crowd started to scream so loudly. We are not yet signaled to go follow the first batch, so we stayed in our position for a while.
 

I took that time to process everything. I made it sink into my mind that this was it. I must focus and go off there, showing nothing but the result of my preparation.

I've been feeling so pressured for the past few days. This is the time to use that pressure as fuel and a reminder that I am doing what I'm good at.
 
 
The staff instructed the first four ladies to walk forward, and they went to the center stage together. The fans were getting louder and more hyped because of everyone's appearance.
 

The staff checked if everything was good and if the girls' were all ready. When they were done, the staff signaled something, and the cameras started to roll, starting from the camera above that was taking a bird's-eye shot that provided an elevated vantage point to capture the stage and the crowd at the same time.
 

"Live from El Salvador; it's the 72nd Miss Universe Preliminary."
 

Cheers are heard over here as we check the monitoring TV to watch the girls. The camera focused on Miss Albania and she introduced her name and their country so proudly.