"There is not much to see," Ciara assured him. She gestured for him to take his seat, and then she sat beside him. Not long after, Driggs came and sat next to Ciara with a small, mousy-looking woman sitting next to him. A large man sat next to Dark, and he gave him a grim nod, looking rather uncomfortable in the average-sized seats.
After a couple of minutes, everyone had neatly and efficiently filed into their seats and sat down. Exactly five minutes after the announcement, Thompson mounted the podium, all smiles. He went through the usual motions of thanking everyone who'd come, made a joke about it having been mandatory but glad they'd come anyway, and then drew attention to the fantastic job done by the decorating committee. He thanked Kimberly and a few others for their hard work, and then began giving out the awards. There were three total, and those receiving them seemed truly pleased at their recognition. The actual award part was over in fifteen minutes. Then Thompson spent a further ten on an uplifting speech. It was not a bad speech, but for someone who was not a part of the particular crowd, there was not much of interest. Ciara sat stone still and practically unblinking through the whole thing. Thompson wrapped it up by thanking everyone once more, had them give a round of applause for the award winners, and they were dismissed.
"Shorter this year," Ciara mused as she stood and waited for Driggs to move so she could step out.