Coming of Age: My Story

The Girl

December 13th, 2019, Harby Junior High. The day of Region Choir auditions. I have been practicing for months. All of my hard work, sleepless nights, and even sore throats have prepared me for this very day. Sadly, none of my friends have my confidence, so they didn't compete. Well, one of my friends did, but as for whether or not he could back up his confidence with talent... Let's just say my buddy Calvin needs a couple of pointers. Not even just musically, but he apparently needs relationship advice. His ex apparently would be competing as well. I had never met her before, but I didn't give it a second thought.

When I arrive, I find myself going through the maze my Alvin JH calls our rival. I find myself walking into Harby's choir room and see my choir director, mentor, and great friend, Ms. Tucker. She welcomes me with open arms and congratulates me on trying such a high-level contest. I smile with the response, "Glad to be here." I'm going through my music one last time, no pain in practice, am I right? Whenever the bus arrives, Calvin is nowhere to be found. Probably found some other girl to simp for, I think to myself. I find myself sitting beside a girl I've never met before, and don't exactly plan on changing that, so I pull out my notebook and start cartooning.

In my composition notebook, two little stick figures appear on the paper, one with BlueTooth earbuds, and one without.

"Hey, man, look at my new earbuds!" The one would say.

"Wait... so, you're poor?" The other would ask.

"What? What makes you say that?"

"I mean the people who buy AirPods buy them because they can't afford the cord."

I laugh in spite of myself and tap the shoulder of my neighbor. "Hey, check this out," I say, completely forgetting I don't even know who I'm talking to. She reads it slowly and then gives me a smile that says, funny, but leave me alone. I try to hide my reaction and go back to my own world of pencil and paper.

Shortly before we arrive, I hear it. The sound that would change my life forever. I hear the music playing on the radio of the bus, then above the tune itself, I hear an angel, singing a different tune. I look up trying to see who the human is that received this godly gift. Then, right beside me, I hear her. The girl that I never quite looked at before. Her reddish brown hair. Her headphones. And lastly, a hoodie that encases an entire universe of stars, but her eyes adhere even more than that. Her voice was beautiful. No, it was beyond beautiful, it was heavenly. Then, I realize, this is my competition.

We arrive at Friendswood High School, the location for the All-Region Choir auditions. I have been practicing my music for months. All of my hard work, sleepless nights, and even sore throats have prepared me for this very day. So, why do I feel so hopeless? I look over to the human angel who doesn't even know who I am. After we are all signed in, we go to our school's table. Calvin, Makayla (another friend of mine), and The Girl sit together. I see her, Calvin and Makayla are all talking.

"How do you two feel about the music?" Makayla asks them.

"Oh, I'm not all that confident," The Girl says, which surprises me.

"Well, that's too bad 'cause I know I'm going to region!" Calvin says, overconfidently. I snicker in response. "Oh, what? Do you have an objection?"

"What's the last word of our song Jonah?" I ask him.

"Pfft, that's easy, at the end, we hold the word whale," he scoffs with his regular confidence.

"That's exactly the word before the last word. But of course, someone meant for regionals would know that," I say back in response. He rolls his eyes, but we can all tell he is embarrassed.

"Come on, Calvin, you don't have to act so pridefully just because your ex is here," The Girl says snickering. I laugh as well, then stop in the middle of a laugh. I look up.

"Where is she?" I ask. "I wanna know who was actually able to make Calvin back down for real!"

Calvin rolls his eyes and points to The Girl. "This is her."

She walks up to me and holds up her hand. "Hi, I'm Marie," she introduces herself with a smile.

"Davian, the one other guy who knows Calvin's real weakness," I respond.

"What's that?"

"Everything."

She giggles and opens up her binder to look at her music, back in her own world. No, Galaxy.