(unedited)
She was there alone. The other performers had family members or friends or both standing around them, encouraging them to do their best.
She didn't have any family after the incident and she had lost all of her friends because of the way she began acting due to the incident.
Applause filled the auditorium as the girl who had just performed waved to the crowd and walked off the stage.
The announcer walked back onto the stage and glanced down at the small paper in his hands.
"Next up, we have September Snow!"
The crowd began to clap again, and September took a deep breath before walking out onto the stage, trying to look as calm and collected as she could. She watched as the announcer gave her a nod of encouragement. It was the first and only one she would get that night.
The applause died down. She waited for exactly thirty seconds before taking a step closer to the crowd.
"Did you hear that? Most of you would say you heard nothing, that it was silent. Except that's not completely true. Sure, I hadn't started talking yet. But how many of you heard the squeak of a chair or the quiet vibration of someone receiving a text? Listen again."
Another thirty seconds passed, and September was beginning to gain more confidence. She may not have had anyone to encourage her, but she knew this was something she was good at.
"Did you hear that? Let me tell you something. This is a trick question. I'm not talking about something you can physically hear, I'm talking about something that is almost like a faint buzz in your ears. You have to listen extra hard to hear it, but it's there. Listen just one more time, I promise it's the last."
She hoped that the audience wasn't getting irritated with her, but this was all part of her intro. She had planned it carefully and she wasn't backing down now.
"Okay, I'm guessing only a small number of you actually heard what I was talking about. That's because I haven't told you what exactly this faint buzz represents.
"That buzzing is every dream, passion, and talent you have, had, or ever will have. The ones you had, those are the faintest part of the buzz. You can barely hear it, especially because it's covered up by the ones you have. Those are the loudest part of the buzz, they're the part that is most present in your ears.
"The ones you will have, those are the ones you have to be careful of. They lie dormant in the air around you, and they'll sneak up on you whenever they want. When they do appear out of what seems like nowhere, you have to be ready to catch them. You have to add those on to what you focus on. They'll easily become a part of you, and who doesn't want to pass up that opportunity?"
September walked around the stage, making sure to look at each part of the audience. She wanted them to know that she was glad they were here, glad they were supporting her even though she was a complete stranger to them.
"Those dreams and passions and talents that you have and will soon gain, you have to hold them close to you. Hold them in your hands and never let them go. Place them on your chest and let your heart feel them, test them out, get a feeling for what it will be working with.
"Let your heartbeat crash against them, giving your life to them so that they turn from ideas and thoughts to living, breathing parts of your soul.
"Mixed in with those dreams and passions and talents, is creativity. Creativity helps your heart bring the ideas and thoughts into your soul. Let it help you, don't take on the burden alone. No one wants to do anything alone, and that speaking from personal experience.
"Creativity is your friend. It will help you through the good and the bad. Never let that go either, you want it with you for the rest of eternity."
She pauses, lets the words hang in the air.
"My name is September Snow. My parents named me September simply because my last name is Snow. They thought it sounded pretty. Giving me the name they gave me was their mistake. It was like they had jinxed it.
"I wasn't going to let that tragedy stop me. At first, I released my emotions through rude words and actions. But then, I let my creativity help me. I let it pull in those dreams and passions and talents and help me put my emotions into something good and something powerful.
"When you leave here tonight, you won't remember me. You might remember something about my weird name or how I made you sit in a quiet room for almost two minutes, but you won't remember my face or my story. And that's okay.
"There's only one thing I have left to say. Do you want to live your life ignoring the buzzing of your opportunities, or do you want to take hold of them and make them part of who you are?"
As she asked her last question, September grasped at the air and pulled her hands to her chest as though she was grabbing something in front of her and bringing it to her heart.
Twenty-two seconds later, she pushed her arms away from her body and waved to the crowd. As she turned to walk off the stage, the applause roared through the auditorium.
She didn't have anyone back stage to congratulate her on her performance, but she still felt like she was on top of the world. This is what she had always dreamed of.
Word count: 973
