From the time he was a little boy, Jake Castle loved to sing. He loved to sing silly songs with his Daddy. He loved to sing Christmas songs with his Mommy. He loved singing along to the radio in the car with his brother and sister on the way to the beach. He loved singing songs from movies while his Gram played piano. Most of all, he loved singing to his little niece. (His big sister Alexis said that Katie went to sleep with a smile on her face whenever her Uncle Jake sang to her.) He loved to sing all sorts of songs.
But the one thing he didn't like to do was to sing in front of an audience. When he thought about it, his heart started to go really fast, his tummy started to feel funny, and his throat got all dry. The only times in his life he had to sing in front of an audience, he was in pre-school, and he remembered being okay when they practiced, and when he and Reece sang the song with Mommy and Daddy and Gram. But when the big day came, he got scared. If it wasn't for Reece, who grabbed his hand and held on tight, he wouldn't have been able to sing. (He never knew how Reece figured out he was scared, but he thought it was because he was his twin brother. Daddy said they were magic twins.)
Now he was five years old, and in kindergarten at Marlowe Prep. Every year, they had a talent show and all the grades got to sing. Some kids – the big kids – got to sing and dance by themselves. (Gram called those acts solos. Gram knew lots of stuff about singing and acting, since she was an actor herself.) He remembered a few years ago his sister Lily got to do a solo, and she was fantastic. And she did a solo every year and every year she was great. But he was worried that Ms. Lopez - the music teacher - would think he would like to do one too. He knew she thought he had a good voice because she would smile whenever he sang, and she didn't think he did anything wrong.
Today, he was in his room reading one of his favorite books when he heard a knock on his door, and then he heard his Mommy's voice. "Jakey, can Daddy and I come in?" He got out of his beanbag chair and went over to open his door. Daddy had a big smile on his face, but Mommy looked serious. He didn't think he did anything wrong, so he didn't know why they were coming in to talk to him.
Mommy went over to his bed and sat on the edge, patting the space next to her. Jake knew that meant she wanted to sit down next to her, so he did. She leaned over and kissed the top of his head, while Daddy came to sit down next to Jake. "So I bet you're wondering why we're here, buddy," Daddy said. He nodded as Daddy continued to talk. "We got an email from Ms. Lopez today, and she'd like you to do a solo," but before Daddy could say anything else, Jake stood up.
"No, Daddy! I don't want to!" he said as he ran over to the chair and threw himself on it. Since his face was in the chair, he didn't see Mommy and Daddy sharing a look, and Daddy leaving the room. But soon he felt Mommy's hand rubbing his back. It felt good, and he started to turn around. When he dared to look at her, he saw that she had a look on her face. He threw his arms around her neck, and put his face into her neck. He could smell her lotion and it made him feel better. His Mommy always understood. "Mommy, please don't make me do it!"
"You don't have to do it, honey. Daddy and I won't make you." He looked at her face again, and saw that she was serious, and his tummy relaxed a little bit. "But do you want to tell me why?"
He was afraid he would disappoint her. His Mommy was so brave; Daddy always said so. She was a super hero, and she helped people every day. How could he tell her that he was too scared to sing in front of an audience? She protected people from bad guys, how would she feel if she knew he couldn't do something so simple? And what would Daddy think – he talked to big audiences of people all the time when he signed books. Gram sang and danced and acted in front of audiences too. He was going to let them all down. But then Mommy started to talk.
"Can I guess? Is it because your heart races? Do you start to sweat a little bit? And then your throat closes up and you can't sing?" Mommy looked at him, and he realized she knew – and she understood! He nodded his head, and then he put his head down. Mommy put her hand on his chin, and lifted his head. He had his eyes closed, but he had to look at her after a little bit. When he opened his eyes, Mommy was looking at him with a little smile on her face. She didn't look mad, or disappointed or anything bad.
"Oh, Jakey, I know how you feel! Because I feel the same way! I can't sing in front of an audience either; all of those things happen to me too," she said as she rubbed his back. He was so surprised his mouth dropped open. His mom laughed at the look on his face. "So if you don't want to do it, that's fine. Ms. Lopez will understand too." Jake felt so much better, and he hugged his mother hard. She suggested that they go downstairs and have some ice cream with everyone and he was happy.
So when the day of the talent show arrived, Jake and Reece and their kindergarten class entertained everyone, and all of the solo acts were great. From the wings, Jake watched his big sister close the show with her song and he thought she was the best. Maybe someday he would be able to do that too, but for now, he was happy to sing for his family. After all, they were his favorite audience.
A/N: I have had some writer's block the last few months, so even though I've had this story in my head for a while, I wasn't able to get it out until now. I was inspired by two of my niece's performances (in her high school play as a gossip-y lady in "The Music Man" and as one of the Silly Girls in a community theater production of "Beauty and The Beast"). Something made me wonder if one of the Castle kids inherited their mom's stage fright, and this idea came to me. I hope it's not too rusty, but I'm glad I finally got it out of my head!