A Silly Red Face and a Solitary Tear

By: Alex Keith

"Absolutely nothing good will come from this. I don't know why I signed up! I must be out of my mind!" I thought to myself as I slowly walked to my demise. The stage seemed like such a long way away across the hundred mile auditorium. Someone was singing quite beautifully as the door opened admitting me to the blinding spotlights and stentorian music of my utter destruction.

My story started out at the beginning of my fifth grade year. I was finally going to leave my coveted Osage behind and moved on to bigger and smarter schools. This year, the long awaited Talent Show was to finally occur and I couldn't wait! I still had yet to figure out my talent but I thought that I would probably do a little skit or sing one of my favorite songs, the Rainbow Connection. Also this year, I was to begin my dance lessons. I was going to take a mixture of hip-hop and musical theatre jazz. The class would be taken with my friends Brianna Holden and Kelly Dorman. It was going to be a great year!

My first dance class was definitely not what I expected. My dance teacher's name was Miss Deanna and she was the quintessence of a wicked witch. After getting everyone's name down, we did many complicated stretches that left every muscle in my ten-year-old body aching and crying out in pain. Kelly was equally sore but Brianna kept going and going like the Energizer bunny! Finally, the clock struck eight and we could leave at last. The next day I could barely get up! Becoming a decent dancer did not seem feasible.

Slowly, I progressed in my dancing talents and earned several smiles from Miss Deanna which was a very rare thing to receive! One thing scared me, though. At the end of the year, after the dance that we were learning was perfect, the building in which we practiced, Marcia Hyland, put on a huge, six-night production to display their pupils' talents. You had to get up on a huge stage and perform in front of hundreds of people watching your class. I never liked to present myself on any stage of any size and this would be no different. I was doomed.

Five weeks before the last day of school, a notice and sign-up sheet went up announcing the try-outs for the Talent Show. An immediate buzz circulated the fifth grade population and I grew very excited. I started looking around for Brianna and Kelly. There was a little idea in my head that I had been musing about since halfway through the year and I needed them for it. After seeking them out, I presented my idea to them. Brianna was already signed up for two Talent Show presentations and that was the maximum amount that you could be in. Kelly didn't really want to get up on the stage so she declined. It looked like it would just be me. Butterflies immediately appeared in my stomach. Still, my resolve was to sign up for the Talent Show and get a spot, whether my friends were behind me or not. I got excited, seeing my name written down for auditions. It was a great moment.

My first and only test was to perform in the Marcia Hyland dance recital. I was nervous but I knew the dance and was prepared for anything. As I stood waiting backstage, the butterflies increased their activity as the lights came up and I found myself in front of a whole lot of people, who came to be entertained. It seemed that the dance was finished in the blink of an eye. Soon, I was walking off the stage, thunderous applause ringing in my ears and an exuberant smile on my face. I had done it.

The moment I had been waiting for eventually arrived. The Talent Show was in three days. My act was perfected, my costume was in my closet, my name was on the performers' sheet, and my heart was thumping in anticipation like it had never thumped before. I was going to go up on the stage alone and dance better than any other time. Nothing could go wrong.

Famous last words. I walked down the side aisle heading for the stage, watching someone singing the end of their song. My costume was on and I was all stretched out. Only one act was before me. My face heated up as I felt the stares of those gaping at my interesting costume. It was almost entirely sequins and was one of the itchiest outfits ever imagined.

Suddenly, I was up next. Walking to center stage, I tried to take a deep breath to calm down. Everyone knows that it doesn't work. I found out a bit too late. The music blasted in a vociferous manner from the school's stereo that was provided for those that needed music. I began my dance. Everything went perfectly until my doom unexpectedly arrived. The CD started to skip. The song started over and so I was forced to do so as well. I felt my face become redder and redder as the CD distorted the song and skipped around so much it was hard to tell what the next step was. Throughout all this I kept dancing as I had been taught. The show must go on. The song ended and applause broke out. I smiled and bowed and made my way across the stage to the wings. A single, solitary tear ran down my cheek. My performance had been destroyed by a stupid CD player! I was disgraced. My mom suddenly came out from the door behind the stage.

"That was the best dance I ever saw," she said.

"It was a disaster!" I exclaimed.

"No. You did what any good performer would have done in your shoes. You just kept going and made it look like that was all part of the song. If I hadn't seen the real dance before, I could have sworn what you just did was exactly what the plan was. I'm so proud of you." My mother's extolling left me feeling rather happier.

My life changed then and there. I finally realized that even though life may not go exactly as you planned it to, you can make it work. Just think, this all happened because I just had to sign up for the Talent Show.