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Chapter 23: Fright

I remembered the times that the spotlight shone on my face. The times that makeup illuminated my face, the times that the curtains had been pulled, the times that I almost forgot what I had to say. My stomach had churned inside me, but as the words flowed out, so did my nervousness. Hundreds of eyes watched in silence, waiting. But my time to wait was over, because someone finally realized I had had a talent for acting.

Jal stood at the door. He shook uncontrollably as I invited him inside."Please don't make me run that far ever again..."

I looked down at the young boy."You ran? From where?"

"I ran from the church to here..."he panted.

"Why?"

Jal sat down on the couch."There was rehearsal for a play I'm doing... It seemed like the whole world was sitting in the pews."

"Stage fright?"I asked, crossing my arms.

He sighed."Yeah."

Stage fright was the worst thing to get when acting. Your body locks up. You can't speak. All you can think about is messing up in front of everyone from your nervousness. It caused so many actors to step down. Thankfully, I hadn't been all that scared. I felt bad for Jal; it's the worst feeling.

I grabbed some lemonade for him to scare away his fear."What role are you?"

"Oh, I'm not acting. I'm stage crew, and I'm just scared I'm gonna do something wrong. Crafty's the one acting, and I really don't want to mess up in front of her. She's like my younger sister,"he said, starting to speak more quickly."If I mess up, she's gonna tell her brother, and I know her brother's gonna bully me."

"Well that jerk,"I said."You should take me down there, and then I can diagnose you."

Jal slumped over onto the floor."I have to run all that way again? Gosh dang it..."

---

I'd called Trey to see if he could come with us, but his greeting consisted of a few curse words and a complaint about a hangover. Jal and I decided to just ride our bikes on the mile path to the church. The place stretch about an acre with a field behind it and a few soccer fields off to the side. Across the street was a Dunkin Donuts that I wanted to get a treat from, but Jal wanted to tackle his problem head on rather than facing it drooling over the sweetness.

We walked along the path outside near the front doors. The parking lot was empty. My stomach churned and a chill ran down my spine. Jal skipped through the doors like the crazy guy he was. There was a long hallway with a nursery and a kids area down one hallway. At the end was a magnificent room with tables line in a perfect array. There were double doors at the end of the room, and Jal walked through them.

"Woah..."I said in awe as I looked around.

In the chapel, there was enough seating for over one thousand people. A large stage was at the front. A baptism pool was near the stage. It was completely empty, and the room was dark. I froze in my tracks at the beauty. Jal continued to run down to the stage, and he jumped up onto the stage. But even he looked scared. I walked down and sat in the first pew.

"So,"I said,"what seems to be the problem?"