Tessa sits nervously in the jury, holding the sign in her hand.
The president of the committee greets the audience with a short speech, and then the competition begins. The first contestant is the Air-Hammer-Bang, who starts gently and then gets louder and louder. Tessa feels the chair shaking beneath her. She raises the sign high. The sound confidently walks off the stage, having improved its personal record.
One contestant follows another, and toward the end comes Chalk-Squeak-on-Board, one of the favorites. As soon as it starts, Tessa raises her sign. She can't stand that terrible creaking.