Sadie’s Audition

By Stacie Eirich

Sadie stood underneath the brightest lights she had ever seen before.  She stood very still in silence.  She couldn’t see anything in front of her except a huge black hole.  She couldn’t see her mother.  She felt alone and scared.

She dug her shoe into the stage floor as she stood, suddenly shy and unsure of what to do.  From below her came a voice, a female one, although not her mother’s.

“Little angel, what is your name?” the voice asked.

“Sadie,” she almost whispered.

“Hello Sadie!” the voice greeted her enthusiastically. “Could you take two steps forward please?”

She stepped forward slowly, shyly.

“That’s good, Sadie.  Now, are you ready to sing your song for me?”

She shook her head yes.

“Just look at Ms Baxter for your cue to begin.  She’ll count the beats with you.”

Sadie shook her head yes again, wondering what that voice might look like in the blackness.

Then she heard the music begin, the piano clanging loudly behind her.  She turned to see Ms Baxter smiling up at her from the top of her music, nodding the beats as she spoke them.

Sadie felt a chill crawl up her neck as she looked out at the auditorium; it seemed much larger now than when she first walked in with her mother.  She had held her hand tightly as they walked past rows of velvet-cushioned chairs and up the red-carpeted aisle to the front.  She had bounced a bit in those chairs, they were squeaky – and when you felt them they were worn and ripped in spots.  Her mother said that was what made it a less scary place because lots of other people just like them had been there.

“And 3 and 4 and!”  Ms Baxter came back into focus. But Sadie wasn’t listening anymore.  She stood looking at her own reflection in the doors at the back of the auditorium.  She had begun to sing “The sun’ll come out, tomorrow…” without even knowing it.

And then, an amazing thing happened. Her legs stopped shaking, and the butterflies in her stomach disappeared. She didn’t feel scared anymore. In fact, she was having fun!

“When I’m stuck with a day, that’s grey, and lonely – I just stick out my chin – “as the verse went on, she sang louder and louder, holding her head high. She puffed out her chest and grinned wider, feeling as if her voice could soar out of the building – all the way to the clouds!

“Tomorrow, Tomorrow, I love ya, tomorrow – You’re only a day away!” She sang, holding her arms up high with happy giggles for her big finish.  Then she heard clapping, and she knew it was for her.

Sadie walked to the edge of the stage, and what had been blackness turned into people.  She looked at the woman who had called her angel; she had brown eyes and curly brown hair to match.

“I’m Mrs Newton,” she said, her eyes sparkling. “The director. Thank you for having the courage to audition. You did a wonderful job! Tell your mother she can expect to hear from me soon.”

“Thank you.” Sadie blushed, hopping down from the stage.

Then she ran down the aisle to hug her mother, her face full of smiles and eyes full of stars.

- Total nr. of readings: 1,634 Copyright © The author [2020] All Rights Reserved. This story may not be reproduced without the express written permission of the author except for personal use.