"Will. Hey, Will!"
William Haskins stopped in mid-stride and turned to see who was calling his name and found JDKiggins, his fellow finalist from the Absolute Idol competition, hurrying across the lobby of the Chicago's Palmer House Hotel.
"Hey, Joanne, you got the message, too?"
Joanne stopped as she neared him and glanced over her shoulder. Together, they started walking toward the bank of elevators. "Message? Wha… Oh, yeah. I got the message."
William laughed. "Nervous? Me, too. Who would've thought we'd have to 'be present to win' an online competition? That Jenna, huh? You never know what she's going to pull next."
Joanne ran her fingers through her long hair, tugging at the tangles put there by the wind. "Yeah. You never know quite what to expect."
At the bank of elevators, William reached out to push the button to call the cars. Next to him, Joanne shifted nervously, peering about the lobby.
"You looking for someone?"
"No. I… Ah…" At that moment, the light above a nearby elevator chimed on, indicating the car had arrived. William stepped toward it. Just as the doors opened, Joanne called out to him.
"William?"
"Yeah?"
"Would you hold the car for me? I need to go check on something."
"Sure," William started to step backward as he spoke, "just don't take…" His eyes grew wide as he realized there was no floor beneath his foot. His arms flailed out, looking for purchase. Joanne crossed her arms and shifted her weight, waiting. A second later, he lost his balance and fell.
"Thank goodness," BlueTexas stepped out from behind a potted plant as she spoke. "I thought he was going to catch himself for a minute, there."
"There you are! I was starting to think you hadn't made it in time."
BlueTexas rolled her eyes. Joanne smiled. "My laptop is set up in my room. Want to see if Jenna's posted the results yet?"
Arm-in-arm, the two finalists hurried toward the stairs.