CAN'T DO THIS

                                       Story by: Avani Pullela

       I was eating lunch with my friend, Mina in the loud cafeteria filled with people waiting in line to get lunch and searching for seats. A teacher went up on stage in the front of the room and revealed that there’s some exciting news.

             “We will be having a talent show in about 3 weeks. Anyone willing to participate can write their name on the sign-up sheet in the library,” she announced, “I can’t wait to see all the amazing talents we have in this school. Auditions are this Friday, but your name needs to be on the sign-up sheet by Wednesday, which means you have 2 days to decide. The actual talent show will be next Friday.” She got off the stage and everyone started whispering to each other about what they are going to do for the talent show.

“What song are you going to sing for the Talent show this year?” Mina questioned.

“Um…I don’t know if I want to participate in the talent show this year,” I replied, “You remember what happened last year?”

“What? You are an amazing singer! Plus, you need to move on from what happened last year,” Mina stated.

“How could I move on from it? I literally forgot all the lyrics to the song I was supposed to sing right when I went on stage. It was so embarrassing,” I responded.

“It happens! Remember the talent show before that? You sang so beautifully that even the teachers got emotional,” she argued. I knew Mina wasn’t going to let me go anytime soon, so I just kept nodding like I was listening to what she was saying, but inside I knew there is no way I’m going to perform in that talent show.

             When I got back home, I finished my homework and went downstairs to see what my mom was making for dinner.

“Mm…something smells good. What are you making, mom?” I asked.

“It’s mac and cheese. Your favorite.” she answered.

“The cheesy smell is making me hungry!” I said, drooling at the delicious mac and cheese my mom was stirring in the pot. My mom giggled and told me to set up the table.

             After I finished setting up the table, my mom placed the pot of mac and cheese on the table and I heard the doorknob turn of our main door. It was my dad coming home from work. As soon as the door opened, I ran to go hug my dad. He hugged me back and went upstairs to go freshen up.

“Jennie, go wash your hands,”my mom demanded.

“Okay!” I said as I walked upstairs to go wash my hands.

             I chewed on my mac and cheese happily while my dad was talking about how his office work was going to my mom. After their conversation ended, my mom looked at me.

“How’s your school going, Jennie?” she asked.

“It’s going good,” I spoke, still looking at my food.

“Anything new happening in school?” she inquired again.

“Um…not really,” I replied.

“What about the talent show? Your music teacher from school called us and suggested you sing in the talent show,” she said. I finally looked up from my food and into her eyes.

“I don’t know if I want to participate this year,” I responded, looking down again. My parents looked at each other and then back at me.

“We know that your still embarrassed about what happened last year,” she added, “Why don’t you just give it a try again? Forget about what happened last year. We both know you have an amazing talent in singing.”

“Can we talk about this later?” I said, standing up to put my plate in the sink.

“Okay,” she sighed.

----------------------------------- THE NEXT DAY -----------------------------------------

“Wait up!” Mina shouted as she was trying to catch up to me from the bus.

“Oh hi!” I said.

“You want to go to the library?” she asked.

“Why?” I questioned.

“You know…to sign up for the talent show?” she said, with hope in her eyes.

“I already said I’m not doing it,” I told her.

“Oh, come on! What is it going to take for you to get up on that stage?” she whined.

“Nothing,” I stated. I felt bad saying no to her so many times, but I really can’t get on that stage.

             During music class, the teacher asked me if I had signed up for the talent show yet and I had to tell her no.

“Why?” she inquired.

“Last time I went on stage, I totally embarrassed myself. I don’t want to go through that ever again,” I responded.

“That’s okay. We’ve all done something embarrassing in our lives. The important thing is to move on from it,” she replied, “Let me ask you something. Do you like singing?”

“Yes. I love singing,” I replied.

“Then use that passion to go up on that stage and sing your heart out,” she said.

“Okay… I’ll think about it. Thanks Ms. Lee!” I exclaimed.

“Anytime,” she said, smiling.

             The school bell rang and it was finally time to go home. I ran to catch up with Mina, who was already at the front of the school.

“Hi!” I said, trying to catch my breath from running.

“Hi! Wow! You ran fast!” she giggled.

“Yeah. Do you want to go the library?” I asked.

“Why?” she said, with a confused expression.

“That’s where the sign-up sheet is, right?” I hinted. A smile came on her face and she got excited.

“YES! Finally!” she shouted. We went up to the library and I wrote my name as well as what I was doing for the talent show. I CAN DO THIS.

             It was the day of the auditions and everybody lined up behind the stage waiting for their turn. I stood fifth in line, so I watched as the 4 people in front of me went forward one by one. When it was finally my turn to go on stage, I took a deep breath and stepped up. There weren’t too many people there, so I wasn’t too nervous. There were 3 teachers and 2 students who supervised the talent show.

“Start when you are ready.” one of the students said. I took another deep breath and started singing the words out of my mouth. I finished and everyone clapped.

“Wow! Good job!” one of the teachers exclaimed.

“Please sit in one of the chairs until all the auditions are done,” another teacher stated. I got off the stage and sat in one of the empty chairs. I waited until everyone was done performing. There were so many unique and amazing talents that all deserved to win.

             All the acts were done and the teacher went on stage to announce the names of the people who had got in. I closed my eyes and prayed for them to say my name. And after many names were called on, they said it! I had got in! I did it! All that is left now is the actual talent show.

             ------------------------- THE DAY OF THE TALENT SHOW ----------------

             A week had somehow passed by quickly and it was the day I was both dreading and waited for. Everybody seated down in the auditorium and waited for the show to start. I was backstage with all the other students performing. I peeked out of the curtain and spotted Mina. She noticed me and waved to me with a huge smile on her face and I waved back to her. I scanned the room and saw about 500 students. I was slowly starting to panic, but I had to remember to stay calm. I closed the curtain again and took deep breaths.

             It was time for the show to start and everybody backstage quickly formed a line. I was the fifth person to go again. As more and more people finished their acts, I got nervous. The last person in front of me had just gone on stage and I started thinking about all the bad things that could possibly happen while I was on stage. I tried to distract myself, but it was too late because it was now my turn to get on stage. I stepped up and adjusted the microphone to my height. I looked up and saw Mina smile at me. I wanted to smile back, but all my brain thought about was all the horrible possibilities. The auditorium was silent. I closed my eyes, so I could imagine no one was there and it was just me. I took a deep breath and sang the words. All the lyrics just poured out of me. Before I knew it, I finished singing the song. Everybody clapped and I slowly smiled as I was starting to realize that I did it! I FACED MY FEAR! The feeling of relief made me feel so good. I stepped off the stage and went backstage again to wait.

             After all the performances were done, the vice principal went on stage once again to announce the winner. All the students sat up in their seats hoping they win. I relaxed in my seat because I didn’t really have hope for winning. I was proud of myself, but I hadn’t thought about winning much.

“And the winner of this year’s talent show is…JENNIE PEARMAN!” he announced. I was still looking at the ground until I realized he had called MY name. I was confused and got on stage looking around to see if this was some joke, but everybody just smiled at me and clapped. I took the trophy and looked up at the audience. I saw Ms. Lee in the corner of the room giving me a thumbs up and I mouthed the words “Thank you”. Mina was still standing up and clapping. I giggled and this time, I gave her a huge smile.