School was coming to an end, and the annual talent concert was closing in. I wouldn't be competing in the contest, of course. I'd hated acting in front of people from the first moment I stepped onto a stage; but there were a few people who had high hopes of becoming famous thanks to this show.
The office ladies' voices came over the intercom and called our class down to the auditorium. We formed a single-file line, but the moment we passed through the doorway everyone smashed together into a disorganized stampede.
We plowed into the auditorium doors, but the room was already dark. A few dim spotlights overhead cast silhouettes of dark, plastic chairs. I snuck into the nearest empty one in the hopes of not being crushed. I ended up in the back near the doors. They finally shut and the stage curtain rose, mere crinkles against the nearly non-existent light.
I believed it was the principal who stepped on stage then, but I was blinded by the spotlight that suddenly switched on. I couldn't remember an auditorium like this in our school, but I didn't bother to question it.
"Please welcome..." the principal began into his microphone, but by that time I'd already switched my selective hearing ablity into Off Mode and was slinking down into my chair to catch some shut eye. I expected to hear clapping or yelling or some kind of cheering, but nothing came. Only concerned whispers.
"The new guy is singing...?" they buzzed. "But he's so weird!"
"Yeah... he'll sound terrible."
"We should boo him right off the stage!"
I remembered the new guy. He was tall and skinny, with long light brown hair that fell into his eyes just the right way. Everyone else, including my friends, thought he was unusual- but I thought he was intriguing.
I craned my head to look for him when a slight cough made me turn my head. I caught a swish of brown hair from the corner of my eye, and the bright, yellow light lit the face of the new guy. He was sitting right beside me.
"You think... I'll sound terrible too," he said, and hung his head. His hair fell into his eyes. I noticed he was wearing a nice tuxedo with a red tie. A pang of guilt hit me in the chest. Before they announced his name, I had been thinking that all of the kids who tried out in the contest sort of... well, sucked.
"Um," I started, nervously biting at my bottom lip. "Not at all. I think you'll do great."
The new guy tossed his head forward and looked into my eyes. I nodded my head and a smile broke through his saddened expression.
"Thanks, wish me luck," he said, and climbed out of his chair.
I nodded and wished him a quick and quiet, "good luck."
The new guy ascended the stage stairs at the right, and my eyes stuck on him the entire time. He whisked himself center stage effortlessly. I imagined myself in his place: a thousand eyes blinking up at me from the dark seats like little monsters picking away at my flesh, the bright light blinding me, my knees weak from standing up there on my own... I bit at my lip again and tasted the bitter sting of blood against my tongue.
The new guy took the microphone from the principal and held it to his lips. My heart skipped a beat and the hair on the back of my neck stood up. I expected a voice that screeched and whined, induced by the static from the microphone. The principal rushed offstage and sat in one of the chairs closest to the front.
The new guy drew a breath and the world seemed to stop.
And then, an angel sang.
His voice was soft and melodic, every breath that escaped his lips full of his heart and soul. My eyes grew wide and my ears opened to take in every decibel of his sound. No music played in the background, and yet it was the most wonderful thing I'd ever heard. I listened intently until his breath slowed and the last word he sang faded into an echo that pressed against the walls of the auditorium and floated away.
The room burst into a surreal fit of laughter, shock, and clapping from everyone. People got out of their seats, girls rushed to the stage to get close to the new guy, and the principal paid his due respect to this boy's amazing talent. I smiled and I clapped silently, unable to clear my mind of how incredible he was!
The principal climbed onto the stage beside the new guy, put his arm around him for a moment, shook his hand, and then shoved him back toward the seating area. Girls stuck their hands out as he passed by, trying to catch a glimpse of him or brush him with their fingers. They all knew, and I knew, he would be something big someday. Someone famous and mentionable. Someone with a name.
The new guy stumbled across the seats on the outside and fell into his seat beside me. My eyes opened wide. I congratulated him and gave him a high-five. Then, to my surprise, he stood up and opened his arms. I was hesitant until we waved me closer. I hugged him back. Some other girls started to talk to him, and it was announced that he was the winner of the contest by default. No one else had entered.
The office ladies called everyone back out of the auditorium, but a handful of girls stayed behind to talk to the new guy. I followed the crowd outside into the hallway and I was separated from him. I began my way back to class, unable to get his face out of my mind.
I felt someone tap me on the shoulder and I spun around. "Do you want to go outside for a few minutes?" he asked me.
"Me?" I asked stupidly. He laughed and nodded. I agreed and he led me through the swarm of girls and toward the front door. The sun was shining brightly unlike the dark atmosphere of the theater, and a slgith breeze ruffled the sunlit leaves. We sat down on a cement box that held greenery just outside the school.
The front doors were nearly shut when a rush of girls headed straight for us. They offered praise and begged the new guy to date him. Saddness panged my heart when I saw that he was nearly engulfed by the crowd. I stood up from my place and pushed my way back toward the school, but the new guy caught my hand.
"Where are you going?" he asked. I didn't know what to say, so I didn't say anything. "Are these girls bugging you?"
I felt my cheeks growing hotter and I sunk down, but he smiled warmly, pulled me closer to him, and laughed.
"Are you kidding? You were the only one who supported me before you heard me sing. I know you're a nice person and I don't want anyone else but you."
A rush of heat swirled around me and my body tingled from my head to my toes. A smile crept across my face and I knew from that moment I was in love. The girls swept away as if on cue, leaving the two of us alone. We sat together on the cement block in the courtyard long after school ended, but no one came to make us leave. We didn't say many words, but every few minutes he would whistle or hum me a beautiful little song and my heart would drift away.
The sky grew dark and the new guy still held tightly onto my hand. I leaned into him more, and he leaned into me. The stars had drifted behind a cloud, leaving us in the dark. But I still felt him beside me.
Then, he stopped singing.
"Can I... tell you something?" he asked at last.
I nodded slowly.
"I- I'm not who you think I am..." he stammered nervously.
I sat up and pulled my hand away, staring deeply into his unblinking eyes, concerned about what he was going to tell me.
"Will you still... love me... if I tell you?"
I didn't nod or shake my head. I couldn't promise anything. I wouldn't promise anything. I just sat there. I just waited.
"I'm actually... a woman."
The body heat beside mine faded away and before I could turn to answer, he was gone. The air was heavy with a golden brown dust, like pollen; it was as if he'd blown away. The cement block dissolved beneath me. I felt the world around me slipping away and forgot everything I'd just heard, memories of his entrancing whispers carrying me through oblivion.
YOU ARE READING
Dream Journal
De Todo"Dreams are the illustrations of the book your soul is writing about you." - Anonymous.