Little Moments

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

A moment.

That's all it takes, really; a moment. A single, small, act.

It might not even seem very big at the time, but it brings with it a snowball effect that has the power to change everything. And then I mean everything.

Cracked up on caffeine two months ago after having been turned down for a spot on the school's newspaper I had been possessed by this need to prove myself — a need that was not entirely a stranger in my life. I'd submitted a piece for a newbie competition hosted by Clash TV for aspiring journalists and then thought nothing else of it. At the time it had seemed meaningless, a distraction from the big pile of textbooks that were demanding to be read.

Little had I known that it would take me here; to the Caesars Palace in Las Vegas in time to present an award during the annual Marquez Awards.

"Shayna James," a female voice rang out loud and clear, courtesy of the portable speaker attached to her headset. I sighed from the common mistake people did when saying my name, it really wasn't that hard.

"It's Scheana," I clarified. Oh crap, that's me. I stood up from the seat I'd claimed as mine and wiped my sweaty palms on my jeans.

"That's me," I supplied and walked up to the blonde assistant as she made a mark on her clipboard. She adjustd the mic on her headset and smiled at me; it was as flawless as the rest of her.

"Hi, I'm Helena. I'll be guiding you through what you're going to do, where you need to be and when. If you have any questions then I'm your girl. Did you receive your cards beforehand?"

She gave me a reassuring smile and I nodded. The small amount of words I was being instructed to say was imprinted into my brain, no amount of nerves could wipe away their presence.

"Great. There'll be a teleprompter there as well, but it's always good to have some idea on what you're going to say, it eliminates the stuttering. Did you find your room okay?"

"Yes," I answered and had to catch myself from laughing. "It's a little bigger than I expected." Understatement. I grew up on a ranch and shared a room with my sister whenever I came home from boarding school, the only reason I didn't any more was because she had moved out. It was safe to say I was not used to the luxury that was my hotel room for the next few days.

Helena turned her head to smile at me. "It's a standard. The companies involved rents a certain number of rooms for the events, depending on how many people they're housing. It's good advertisement for the hotel. Ah, here we are." She stopped in front of a door labelled Hair and Make-up.

"This is where all of the announcers get ready who have not arranged anything privately." Subtext being people like me who lacked both the connections and the money. "I'll come get you for your fitting in about two hours. Is there anything I can get you in the meantime? Coffee? Tea? Water?"

"I'd love some coffee if that's alright."

"Yes, you just go on inside and I'll have someone bring it to you!" 

I smiled at Helena while knotting my hand into the hem of my bag as I tried to keep my nerves at bay.

I stood silently as I paid attention to the man that was pointing in different direction while giving me instructions, or I tried to pay attention. I was slightly distracted by the vast number of red velvet seats that were staring me in the face as I stood on the stage. Every single one of them couldn't possibly be filled up by tonight, could they?