Public Debut

It was a busy day. Men and women kept going in and out of the building, all in a rush to get to somewhere quickly. James sweated as he saw the crowds of people moving in and out. With every person that left the building, it felt to James like three more would walk in. No matter how long he waited, there would be an audience waiting for him.

His mom paid no attention to the waves of people surging in, and was completely focused on applying her stage makeup. It was James’s public debut, but to his mother, it was just another one of her many performances. She was a master of the craft and had years of experience under her belt.

James remembered being a little kid eager to hear his mom’s story about her latest show. While he could have just seen the reports about her on TV, it was an entirely different thing to ask the performer herself what it was like. 

His mother was always patient with him and glad to recount her stories. James sat on her lap and heard her talk about what she did, the lines she repeated for every performance. But what James looked forward to hearing about the most was the crowd’s reaction to his mom. 

Initially, their reaction was inevitably confusion over what was going on. The hallmark of his mother’s shows was that people would never know where the next one would take place or when it would take place. In addition to adding to her mystique, it made each performance more exciting for his mother and kept the public guessing.

When the crowd finally recognized his mother’s signature makeup, they would gasp and realize that they were her newest audience. Next his mother would bellow her lines to her captivated crowd, who hanged onto every word like their lives depended on it. Sometimes her mother’s performance would be too much for someone and cause them to burst into tears or even scream. These were the moments his mother lived for, and what James promised himself he would one day live for.

At the end of every show, his mother bowed and accepted her laurels, leaving the stunned crowd changed forever. His mother was a very wealthy lady due to the generous donations given to her by her audiences over the years, but riches wasn’t why she did what she did. She performed to make the lives of everyday people more exciting, and to leave them with an experience they would never forget. 

For the first time in his life, James was beginning to wonder if he had what it took to carry on her legacy.

“James,” his mother said, “are you ready? It’s almost time to go in.”

“Yeah, Mom,” James said, trying to keep his voice steady. “I’m ready.”

“James, what’s wrong?” she asked, concerned. “You look sick. Are you sure you’re ready to perform?”

James watched two more people enter the building. “Were you nervous the first time you performed?”

His mother smiled. “Of course I was, James. It was the most nerve-racking experience in my life.” Looking nostalgic, she said, “It also became one of the best experiences in my life.”

“Can...you tell me about it?”

His mother blinked in surprise. James hadn’t asked her to tell a story about a performance, especially her first performance, in years. But smiling again, his mother said, “Of course, sweetie. It’s been a while...okay, I was in my car…”

James had heard her story over thousands of times, but it still felt good to hear it from her own mouth. It felt like he was a kid again, his excitement about performing in front of a crowd growing with every detail in her story. Once she finished, James felt his nervousness abate a little. 

“Okay, Mom,” James said confidently. “Let’s go in.”

“Are you sure?” she asked. “Because if you’re still not feeling well, we can put it off for another day.”

James shook his head. “No, I can do it today. I’m ready.” 

His mother looked at him intently and then nodded. The two went out of the car and quickly ran towards the bank’s front entrance. Like they had rehearsed, she kicked the door open, and James saw the crowd he would be performing for today. It was a mixed crowd of workers wearing business suits, casually dressed individuals trying to make a quick deposit, and families who had come together for a short detour. For that split second, James saw their lives before he and his mom had entered into it. Now it was time for the after.

Everyone faced the entrance when they heard the door being roughly opened. There was that initial confusion about what was happening that quickly turned into fear and horror once they saw the makeup worn by James and his mother. 

Like she had done many times before, she shouted, “This is a robbery, everyone get on the ground!” 

Most of the crowd immediately obeyed her commands, but the few that were brave enough or dazed enough stayed standing. Expecting this, James and his mother shot their guns simultaneously at the ceiling, and soon enough, everyone was on the ground waiting for further instructions.

It was now James’s turn to say his lines. For a moment, he was afraid that he had forgotten them, but as he faced the cowering audience, they flowed out of his mouth. “No one be a hero! If everyone does what we say, no one will get hurt.” More threateningly, he added, “But if even one of you falls out of line, no one here is getting out of this bank alive.”

To James’s amazement, a man near him began to sob. James felt like going into the crowd and hugging that man, but he stayed in place and took out his bag. One by one, everyone threw in their wallets, watches, purses, and jewelry into his bag. But what stuck out to him was the various expressions he saw in each person as they did this. Some came to him with a plain look of disgust, and others were clearly afraid of him and wanted to get the whole thing over with quickly. 

There were a select few that appeared completely shocked by what had happened, shocked that something like this could happen to them. These were the people that would never forget the performance they saw today. It didn’t matter how much therapy they went to or how much they would drink, they would always remember.

James silently thanked all of these people for making his public debut so special as he robbed them.