username; winged-backpack
name; Dean
gender; Male
Story: (562 words)
"But mother, I can't. You know I can't sing in front of so many people!"
Dean stood behind the stage trembling. He had never sung in front of an audience before, and the butterflies in his stomach were slowly turning into angry wasps.
"Dean, baby, you have a wonderful voice!" his mother said, in her soft, calm voice. "Why do you think you got the lead?"
"But I'm scared, mother. What if I mess up?"
Dean was beginning to feel hysterical. Panicking he started to pace around on the spot. His soft, brown hair falling in front of his eyes. The auditorium was filling up fast. His choir was performing second.
It was all too much.
"Dean!" his mother yelled.
Dean ran out of the backstage area and didn't look back.
He ended up hiding out in front of the school. Panting, he sat down and leaned his back against the wall. The night air had a little chill to it. He heard the cheers from inside the building. The first choir had started singing.
"Damn," he thought angrily to himself. He looked up at the stars, which became reflected in his moss green eyes. His choir was going up in less than five minutes and he wasn't there. They might even lose without him there. He was the lead after all, and no one else knew his part. There were no backups.
"Dean?"
His best friend, Arthur, walked through the doors.
"There you are. What's going on man?"
Dean looked at his friend. Tears began to well up in his eyes, but he refused to let himself cry.
His voice only broke slightly as he spoke. "Just a little stage fright." He tried to smile.
"I thought it might be that. Come on man, everybody gets that. Even the great Ozzy Osbourne gets stage fright!"
Dean stifled a laugh. Arthur always found a way to bring up his insane music tastes. Despite his light, funny exterior, Arthur actually listened to Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden behind closed doors. Arthur smiled back at Dean.
"Come on, man! You've got an awesome voice, you gotta go."
Dean couldn't even move to stand. He looked at the floor, feeling ashamed at his own cowardice.
Arthur sighed.
"Listen, I was going to give you this after the show but somehow I'm thinking I need you to have this now."
Arthur reached into his bag, and pulled out a silk bow tie. It was the same colour as Dean's eyes. He held it out, and Dean took it, tears welling up again.
"Might help you with that stage fright, huh?" Arthur looked at his friend, smiling.
Dean pounced forward and hugged his friend. "Thank you," he said, crying,
*
A minute later, Dean was on stage. His mother was beaming up at him from the audience, and Arthur was in the seat next to her. The choir started to sing, and his solo crept slowly closer. His bow tie shimmered in the stage lights, and the fear he felt was being channelled into excitement. This was his time to shine!
Dean sang his heart out that night. His confidence soared, as did his heart and spirit. The crowd cheered as the song ended, louder for them than any other choir performing that night. As his choir left the stage, Dean was the happiest he'd ever been.