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On the big screen
Contributed by: Anna Thorne on 6/2/2006

Sighing with sleepiness after a long day at the stock show with Jess, Michel, Amie, Rachel, Chelsea and Mitch, I sank into the chair at the computer desk. Yawning, I double-clicked on the blue triangle that would bring up the AOL sign-on screen so I could check email before going to bed. Smiling, I watched as my home page on MySpace.com loaded a few moments later, showing I had new messages and new comments.

Clicking on the line that read "New Messages," I saw that Caleb had messaged me.....what I read jerked me out of my half-awake fog. I skimmed over the words and groaned, knowing I had yet another person to set straight about the real story. Caleb's message read: "So, I just wanted to ask you when I'm going to see you next? And.....what's this with the perfect moment and the kiss? Just wondering."

I soon saw that my latest comment was also from Caleb, along the same lines as his message: "Hmmmm. Hmmmm. A kiss? Hmmmm. Well, if it was the right moment, then...." I rolled my eyes and groaned again as I set to replying.

It all started when Jess invited me to spend Sunday afternoon and evening with her at the National Western Stock Show. At first, it was going to be just us girls and one of her guy friends, Dawson. At the last minute Dawson's parents decided he couldn't go, so she asked me if I wanted to invite Mitch.

Approximately 24 hours later, I found myself sitting between Mitch and Michel as the 7 o'clock rodeo began. Suddenly the arena went dark and music began to blare from the loudspeakers. The audience of 6 or 7,000 people sat in awe as pairs and trios of giant green laser beams shot through the darkness, hitting first the ground and then random points on the stadium walls in time to the music.

As if that weren't impressive enough, fireworks sporadically exploded from two points on the arena floor. First, red sparks flew high into the air as the music climaxed. A few minutes later, we were surprised by twin towers of blinding white embers that rose and fell like the giant water fountain at the State Fair. All too soon the incredible music and light show was over, and the enthusiastic audience burst into applause as the lights came back on. The rodeo had officially begun.

Over the next two hours, we watched as daring cowboys conquered the bucking bulls and broncos, and crazy clowns made us laugh with their jokes and antics.

The last event of the night was barrel-racing, and the announcers explained a new twist to the 15- or 20-second long periods between riders: During each break, the camera operators would pick one lucky couple whose faces would appear on the two giant screens, framed by a red heart with the words "kiss cam" underneath. The expectation was that the couple would kiss on camera for the entire stadium audience to see.

After the first couple was put on the screen, Mitch quickly hopped over the armrest on his right so that there was an empty seat between us, in an effort to minimize the chances of our being selected for the kiss cam. Although we are more than 'just friends,' we have made a commitment not to kiss until if and when we're engaged -- obviously, Mitch was willing to do anything not to risk being put in the hot seat.

I laughed at his nervousness and confidently assured him that there was no way they would pick us out of the thousands of possible couples and that even if they did, we wouldn't have to do anything--we could just sit there and let them watch us. I was positive it wouldn't happen to us and didn't worry about it, and he moved back next to me.

Six barrel-racers later, it was time for the next couple to appear on the screen. I looked up at the screen to see who had been chosen, and my first thought was, "Oh, that guy looks sort of like Mitch! Isn't that funny!" Then as I heard Mitch gasp and say "Oh no," I realized why the guy looked like Mitch -- it was Mitch! Out of thousands of possible couples, the camera guy had chosen Mitch and me as his next victims!

I tore my eyes away from the screen and looked straight ahead while Mitch's and my faces turned red with embarrassment. Unlike us, the announcer seemed to be enjoying the moment and commented "Ah, young love, how cute! Come on, give her a kiss! You didn't come with your sister, did you?"

On my left, Jess and Michel were doubled over with laughter and I vaguely realized that elsewhere in the crowd, Chelsea, Amie and Rachel were probably howling too. Thankfully, the spotlight only lasted 10 seconds or so and we were forgotten as the next racer tore around the barrels.

Of course, that was the longest 10-second period of the whole night --my heart didn't calm down for the next five minutes. As soon as the rodeo ended about 20 minutes later, Chelsea, Amie and Rachel along with Jess and Chelsea's parents, Mr. and Mrs.Vinyard, made a beeline for where Mitch, Michel, Jess and I were sitting and began laughing at us all over again.

"That was quite the hot seat you were in for about 10 seconds, Mitch!" teased Mrs.Vinyard. Chelsea, Rachel and Amie were laughing so hard they could barely speak, and Amie declared, "It's a sign! You're meant to be!" before collapsing back into giggles.

"Why didn't you just kiss?" asked Rachel. "It was the perfect moment! You could've at least kissed her hand," she added to Mitch. He shrugged in embarrassment and laughed good-naturedly along with everyone else as they took turns retelling the story, making sure that we knew just how red our faces had been.

Chelsea promised us that she will never let us forget that moment, and I know that she was telling the truth. I don't think we could forget it if we tried, but as long as we have the group who witnessed the event, I know for sure we will be reminded frequently. At least once a week, if not daily. I wonder if that camera operator has any idea what he put us through!


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Showing 1 of 1 comments
Submitted By: Steve Shultz
posted on 6/1/2006 @ 9:23:30 AM
Rated Story
Ha! Great story. That must have been awkward.
[Report as objectionable]
Showing 1 of 1 comments
CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

Anna Thorne

Highlands Ranch , CO

Anna Thorne has posted 5 stories and 4 comments since joining on 5/31/2006. Anna Thorne 's average story rating is 5.
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