Loving Wright

Chapter 44: And the Award Goes To...

P.S: This is not the last chapter! The final chapter I wrote ended up being a little too long so I decided to split it. So you lucky readers got your wish, there's still another chapter to come! Enjoy!

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Eli...

1986.

My 4th Grade's Christmas play.

I was an elf. And I had 3 lines! One more line than all the other elves.

I was so excited. I practiced those three lines until I could say them in my sleep. I told everyone I could that I was going to be in a play and that I had lines. No one could tell me that this wasn't going to be the best night of my little nine-year-old life.

But then the night came, and I was crying in my mother's arms because I was too afraid to go on. The show was about to start in ten minutes, and she couldn't calm me.

She wiped my tears and held on to my tiny cheeks, telling me that whenever I was scared that I should run headfirst into something not caring how frightening it might be.

That may have been a bit too much for a nine-year-old, but it did the job. I stopped crying, wiped my face, and walked right onto that stage with a big grin.

That was supposed to be the last time I ever got scared. I thought then that there could be nothing scarier than a Christmas play.

But here I was, standing at the back of a stage, again, scared as ever.

I could see Kyle and his teammates sitting in the front row of the school's auditorium, showing off the trophies they had all just gotten a few minutes ago.

A few rows behind him, I saw her. Eyes glued to him, making sure he was behaving. Her mother was sitting next to her, talking up a storm with the woman sitting next to them.

I had been trying not to stare. I can't help that whenever we are in a room together, all I want to look at is her.

She looked calm, at peace. Part of me wondered if she was happier now that we weren't together anymore. But I brushed the thought out of my head, grateful that the last image of her in my head wasn't of her crying and stomping away.

"We'll now have principal Thompson come up on stage and announce the final award of the night," said the host at the podium.

The audience clapped, waiting for him to come on.

"Are you ready Mr. Grant?" He asked, standing next to me.

"Yes sir," I nodded.

I returned the nod and headed to the podium.

"Good evening parents, guardians, and students," he said into the mic and the audience responded. "It's finally that special time of the night. The Student of the Year Award!"

The auditorium erupted in claps and cheers. Apparently, this was a big deal at this school. The award didn't just come with a cool trophy. The prizes ranged from prize money to full-on scholarships. Not to mention how much an award like that would look on a college application. Every kid wanted that award, and every parent wanted it for their child.

"This year's recipient started the year off on the wrong foot. I would know cause I saw him quite a few times in my office. This was all new to him, and it was hard for him to find his place. But he found his footing and found where he belonged. Since then, his contributions have been making this school proud. Not just by helping his mom at school events, but by helping his team bring this school its first basketball championship trophy in over ten years. This year's recipient is none other than Kyle Wright!"