Kelly's Stage Fright

• James Leber, Grade 6, St Luke's Catholic Primary School -
• Short Story
• 2018

Excellence Award in the 'Horizon of Dreams 2018' competition

Thud... Thud... Thud... the school door erupts open, as Kelly runs into the auditorium. "Wait!" she yells at the drama teacher, Mrs Buford. "Well well, Kelly, late again," Mrs Buford remarks, "I hope you have a very good song to perform if you want to get a role in this performance, especially the lead role, as I know you will want." Kelly shuts her eyes, breathing heavily. She was a great singer, but she could get stage fright easily. It was the moment of truth. Slowly, she walks up the steps onto the stage. Suddenly, she remembers back to when she was 6. It had been a lovely day so far. She had been enjoying a lovely meal with her mother, when the karaoke machine turned on in the middle of the restaurant. She asked her mum if she could go and sing. Her mother, knowing her daughter did love singing, but wasn't to good at it, declined. Kelly really wanted to go and sing, so, without her mother's permission, she ran up to the karaoke machine. She began to sing, but to Kelly, the strangest thing happened. People began hurling their food at her. "Boo!" yelled the crowd. Kelly had grown better at singing, but her confidence was still damaged. ‘This is the present, Kelly,’ she chided herself. She felt a wave of confidence wash over her. Finally, she belted out the song, "And I will always love you." When she finally finished her song, Mrs Buford looked astounded. "You got over your fright."
Finally, it was show night. Kelly peeked through the curtain. She had never had seen such a big crowd here just to listen to her sing. She had excelled in all her singing, but she was still scared. Mrs Buford came backstage. "Okay everyone, the shows about to start. Kelly, get onstage in your position." She obliged. The curtains opened. Kelly became very frightened. ‘Oh well,’ she thought, ‘I’ll just do what I learnt.’ She opened her mouth to sing, but nothing came out of her mouth. Oh no! She was choking (meaning you can’t do it even if you're good) Mrs Buford shook her head. Kelly couldn't do it. But then time seemed to slow. She thought about her friends, her family and the other cast members she was letting down by choking. She gathered up enough confidence to belt out the song at full force. This time, it was the best she had ever sung. Once she finished, there was silence. Had she done a bad job? But then, loud cheering erupted from all over the auditorium. She had done it.