The big event would happen two weeks later, at a special assembly held in the evening so the parents could come.There was plenty of other programming: scholastic awards, athletic awards, a farewell presentation for Mrs. Clairmont, who would be retiring at the end of the term. The music event would not occur until almost the end of the assembly, which gave three unlucky participants all the more time in which to sweat.
And through it all, Mrs. Weiler stayed by me, whispered little encouragements in my ear, ran her fingers affectionately through my hair making me melt as her power coursed through my body like an electrical current. She was kind enough to Johnny and Tina, but her attentions were on me, an attempt,I suppose, to cast a spell upon me like none she'd ever casted before. It must have worked, for by the time i was to sing my song, my heart was thumping and my knees were weak, yet I went out on stage after Tina and Johnny had done their numbers with only the desire to please Mrs. Weiler in my heart. The numbers of eyes on me, and all those expectant faces, including my mom's and dad's were nothing. Only the green eyes behind the stage curtain gazing at me with such tenderness had an influence on me whatsoever.
The record began playing over the loudspeakers,an instrumental version that left the vocals to be provided by entirely by me. I glanced at my teacher, who nodded at just the right moment, giving me the cue to begin. I stepped up to the microphone and the voice that came out was no longer mine. It was a rich, soft stranger's voice, entirely on-key. "Time of my life", I sang, surprised and shocked by the identifiable existence that msut have entered me for the sole purpose of releasing its voice via my mouth. I saw my teacher leave her place behind the curtain and make her way down the stage steps, coming slowly to stand at the edge of the platform before me. Her eyes flashed and this thin of Mrs. Weiler's making, it seized my lungs and my vocal cords and it had its way with me until the music ended and I stood there alone .
