The Next Big Thing [#Wattys2016]

Chapter One

"At a first glance, the Hawking School of Arts doesn't seem all that intimidating. It just looks like a regular school. Then again, it's the students that really make up the school. There are tons of students that come here from all over the country to grow in their talents and maybe- just maybe- get noticed. Is that why I'm making this? Maybe. Or maybe it's to show people the truth about schools like Hawking. Most shows paint it as glamorous and dramatic- and while it can be both of those things- it's actually like a lot of other schools, but it just focuses more on the arts part than other schools do.

"What you need to know is that, for this documentary, I am focusing on thirteen different students from four different divisions of the school. Of course, there are more than four divisions here, but these ones are the departments with the biggest enrollment rate. You have the Art Department, Music Department, Theater Department, and Dance Department. All thirteen students are taking part in the Next Big Thing Competition, which is one of the reasons they were chosen. The other reasons they were chosen were due to their specific backgrounds, or personality traits. I do assure you that I have tried to represent all students fairly and accurately in this documentary, and this is not edited to make anything more dramatic or intriguing.

"Now, without further ado, I present to you, The Next Big Thing: The Secrets Behind the Glamour of an Arts School, and it starts, as it always does, during the first day of school."

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A person could tell that it was a new school year at Hawking just by the nervous amount of students in awe of the way the facility looked. Covered in artwork from generations of students, and by the way the music blared from the courtyard inside the school, one could tell that it was not your average school. Freshmen and new students looked in awe, as they were not quite sure what to expect once they had gotten their acceptance letters if they passed their auditions. Returning students were looking for their friends, since they hadn't seen them since last year. Once inside the school, one could be in even more awe of the masses of suitcases just thrown aside, since their owners were dancing in the middle of the courtyard to the music blaring from the laptops of different students, some even having speakers plugged into them.

This was the scene as a red-haired boy, a returning student named Jay Lucas, filmed the student body from every angle he could. Some did shy waves at the camera, and others went all out in front of it, showing off their best moves. A mix of sounds came through the camera's tiny speaker, as the boy wasn't able to get out and set up his sound equipment, but even that wouldn't be able to fully showcase the atmosphere of the school. Besides, it was said a picture, or in this case a video, was worth a thousand words, or in this case, a thousand emotions and a million different sounds. Jay was so into his world of filming and observing, he didn't notice the boy sneaking up behind him. He was so into it, he screamed slightly when the boy jumped on him, and almost dropped his camera. When Jay was able to start breathing again, and had a grip on everything, he saw his best friend, an artist who went by the name of Dana Alexander.

Dana was a tall, usually quiet, kid, who had long black hair running past his shoulders and tan skin. Currently, he was laughing at the prospect of scaring Jay. Jay and Dana had been best friends since they were paired up as roommates last year when they were first enrolled as freshmen at Hawking. They had connected pretty quickly, especially since they didn't often get in the way of each other. They were both happy when they told each other they were returning to Hawking for their second year of high school.

"Hey, man, how are you?" Dana asked Jay, "How was your summer?"

"It was great." Jay said, "I spent most of it down in Cape Cod with my grandparents. I made a whole video about it. I have to show you. How about you?"