SPECIAL MENTION

::Nyperold and Naavah enter from opposite wings. Nyperold carries a footstool. Halfway to the lectern, he looks at the audience, grins, and lifts the footstool noticably as a silent gesture.

Naavah, meanwhile, carries a bottle of soda and a roll of candy. Nyperold sets the footstool down on Naavah's side of the lectern. Naavah steps up onto it. Nyperold notices the food and soda on the lectern.::

NYPEROLD: Naavah, shouldn't you have left your concessions at the seat?

NAAVAH: But I thought you said we were doing the Pepsi and Mentos trick.

::Nyperold facepalms.::

NYPEROLD: No, I said we're giving the award for Special Mention. That's what I get for telling you when you're half-asleep...

NAAVAH: So we're not doing the Pepsi and Mentos trick?

NYPEROLD: If you do, you're cleaning up.

NAAVAH: ...Oh.

NYPEROLD: Anyway, the Special Mention takes those unsung -- or little sung -- members who have done things deserving of thanks for the community and draws attention to them. Sometimes there's a category for their efforts, and sometimes, well, there isn't.

NAAVAH: The nominees for the Pepsi & Mentos -- er, the Special Mention award are:

Sinclair for his efforts on "The Rangerillion" editing and breadboarding

Zaptiftun for starting more birthday or welcome threads than anyone else I’ve noticed

Sara and Racebest – for best couple

Gyrotank for translating "Under the Bridge" into Russian

RangerReady for organizing the 2008 East Coast RangerCon

Tamira for hosting the 2008 Euro RangerCon

::A drum roll begins.::

NYPEROLD: And the winner of the Pep -- AHEM, the Special Mention award goes to... hey, Naavah, do you have the envelope? They didn't give it to me...

NAAVAH: Well, I don't have it...

::The crowd starts murmuring, but then Gadget emerges onstage, eliciting cheers from the audience.::

GADGET: Hey guys! ::whispering:: The envelope is in the first Mento. Just put it in the Pepsi. Don't worry, we'll clean it up. W'lachually, the janitor's on standby. He'll clean it up.

NYPEROLD: Well, okay. Go ahead, Naavah... Naavah?

::The sound of a soda bottle opening is heard, and Nyperold turns to see Naavah drop four Mentos into the bottle and quickly back off. A geyser of Diet Pepsi erupts into the air! A small capsule arcs over the Nyperold, who catches it. He opens it.::

NYPEROLD: Huh. And the winner of the Special Mention award is.. RangerReady for organizing the East Coast RangerCon!

::RangerReady mounts the stage again, waving at the crowd, partly in pleasure, partly out of nervousness::

RR: Gol-ly...a special mention? All I did was get us all together...although getting everyone home in one piece was an effort, given this lot. But seriously, credit doesn't just go to me, for making East Coast RangerCon 2008 happen...it goes to all the great people who worked with me to get the accommodations set up, those of us who traveled and the braved the roads together, and those who braved the air and airport security to get there.

Race...Lane...Crash...Zap...Rose...this is yours as much as it is mine.

Thanks for making our time together a great one, and thank you, Acorn Cafe, for giving us an excuse to get together in the first place! Here's to a great time at East Coast RangerCon 2009!!

::The two start offstage as the winner leaves::

NYPEROLD: Say, don't they usually use Diet Coke?

NAAVAH: Huh? I suppose, but "Coke" and "Special" sound nothing alike, so I wouldn't have made that mistake.

NYPEROLD: True.

::They disappear into the wings::