Notes: Thanks to Mari and Sammy for the squeal-inducing feedback. You're the best, ladies!
Readers and REAL McRollers - Thank you for your amazing support! It is always appreciated.
Hope you enjoy!
Nerves (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)
"Here you go, keiki," Kamekona said as he handed DJ his shave ice.
"Thank you," DJ said immediately, eyes wide at the size.
"Might want to use two hands, buddy," Cody said, one side of his mouth quirking in a smile.
"Yeah," DJ agreed.
"Thanks, Kamekona," Cody said, taking his own treat.
"Enjoy!"
"We will," DJ said seriously.
"Pick a table," Cody told him, nodding to the few that were empty.
DJ bit his lip, looking at each one thoughtfully. Finally he motioned toward a table with his full hands. "How about that one? It's closest to the beach."
Cody smiled. "Perfect."
The two walked over and sat opposite each other.
"Okay, dig in before it melts," Cody said with a smile.
DJ beamed and they commenced eating the cold treats with gusto, pausing only to remark on how good they were.
Once they were finished, DJ sat back and said, "That was so good. Thanks, Cody."
"You're welcome," Cody replied. He looked around. "You know, your dad and I used to come here a lot."
DJ's eyes brightened, clearly interested. "You did?"
"Yep."
"Did you get shave ice?"
Cody chuckled. "Sometimes. But usually it was fish tacos."
"Fish tacos are really good. Daddy loves them."
Cody smiled. "Yeah."
DJ's eyes were caught by someone in the water momentarily and Cody used the opportunity to change the subject slightly.
"You know, your dad told me how you were asked to give a presentation to the school board about the clothing drive at your school."
DJ looked back at him, his expression shifting. "All the classroom leaders will be there," he said. "The principal said that's a lot of kids, so only some of us will talk. Jakari, he's in fifth grade, he said me and Michael should talk about all the extra donations we got and Mr. Roundtree said that was a great idea."
"That's really awesome, DJ," Cody said sincerely. "Your school did an amazing job and it's great that the school board wants to hear about it. I know how hard you and Michael worked getting all those donations."
"Yeah …" DJ said slowly.
Cody studied him a moment. "Are you feeling a little nervous about the presentation?"
DJ bit his lip. "A lot nervous," he said. "I feel a little nervous when I have to give a presentation at school. But that's for Ms. Lane and my class. This is for grownups."
Cody nodded. "I get it. It's definitely different than talking in front of your class."
"Yeah," DJ said, his shoulders slumping a little.
Cody gave him a small smile. "You know, I was really nervous the first time I had to give a presentation when I was an intern at the governor's office."
"To Governor Lea?" DJ asked. "But she's so nice."
Cody smiled. "She is. But she wasn't actually the governor at the time. Governor Denning was. But Governor Lea was there, along with all the other important people in the governor's office."
"Like Mommy?"
"This was before your mom started working there."
DJ's eyes widened. "You worked there longer than Mommy?"
Cody chuckled. "I never really thought about it, but I guess I have." He smiled. "Anyway, I had this idea for a new initiative–"
"What's that mean?"
"Like a project to help solve a problem."
"Ohh," DJ said. "What was your idea?"
"It was an advertising campaign to encourage teenagers not to text while they drive."
" 'Cause that's dangerous. Mommy said you have to focus on the road when you're driving."
"That's right. So my boss thought it was a good idea and told me to present it at the next meeting with the governor. I was so nervous."
DJ's eyes widened. "What did you do?"
"I wrote out what I wanted to say and practiced. I thought about what questions people might ask and what I would say if they did."
DJ nodded. "Those are good ideas. When I have a presentation at school, I practice in front of Mommy and Daddy and Angie. And sometimes Grandma and Grandpa and Grandma Ang."
Cody smiled. "That's great. And I bet all those people you just said you practice in front of will be there at your school board presentation. Maybe you can just pretend you're talking to them and there just happen to be some other people there."
"A lot of other people," DJ corrected.
Cody's lip quirked and he smiled in acknowledgement. "Okay, a lot of other people."
"And Mr. Roundtree said there's a camera because school board meetings are on TV."
Cody nodded. "I bet that makes you even more nervous."
"Yeah, 'cause lots more people will see it. Mommy and Daddy said it's okay if I don't want to do it, but I think it's important to tell people about the clothing drive because maybe then they'll want to donate to places that help people, too."
Cody smiled softly. "That's what makes you so special, DJ. Even when you're nervous, you're thinking about how to help others. And you know something else, all those grownups are going to be really amazed by what a great job you all did with the clothing drive."
DJ looked up at him. "You think so?"
"Absolutely."
DJ bit his lip, thinking. "When you were nervous about your presentation … did it still go okay?"
Cody paused, thinking back to how Governor Denning had left the meeting abruptly after Cody shared his idea, showing symptoms of early onset Alzheimer's, unbeknownst to the rest of them. He sighed a little at the memory before refocusing on DJ's question. "It did," he said. "Governor Lea really liked the idea, and she had me start working on it right away."
"And did it work?"
"We think it helped. The number of accidents involving teens and texting went down after we started the initiative."
DJ smiled. "That's good." His expression sobered as he thought of his own presentation again and he bit his lip. "Do you still get nervous when you have to give a presentation?"
"I do," Cody admitted. "Not as much, but yes, I still get nervous. But you know what? I actually think that's a good thing."
"You do?" DJ asked, confused.
"Yeah, because that means I care about what I'm presenting. That it matters, so I want to do a good job."
DJ looked up at him with a hopeful gaze. "You think I get nervous because I care and want to do a good job, too?"
"That's exactly what I think," Cody said.
DJ paused, thinking that over, and smiled, straightening a little more in his seat.
Cody smiled back. "So you might as well get used to being a little nervous from time to time, 'cause I know you're going to keep doing amazing things that other people want to hear about."
DJ ducked his head slightly at the compliment, but smiled. "Hey Cody?" he said after a moment.
"Yeah?"
"Could you listen to me when I practice my part of the presentation?"
"Sure, DJ. I'd love to."
DJ smiled. "And … could you come to the school board meeting with us?" he asked hopefully. "If you're not too busy."
Cody smiled softly. "I'll be there, buddy. Count on it."
DJ beamed.
Cody nodded at the empty shave ice bowls. "Now how about you throw our trash out and then we'll play a little catch in the sand?"
"Okay!" DJ said, jumping up excitedly.
As the almost nine-year-old ran over to the trash cans, Cody sent a quick thumbs up emoji to Steve. He smiled when a moment later the reply came.
Knew I could count on you. Thanks, Cody.
Cody looked over at DJ who was carefully depositing their trash in the receptacles so as not to drop anything.
Anytime, he typed back. After all, I learned from the best.
Hope you enjoyed!
Note: The story with Cody's presentation to the governor is called Just Another Day at the Office.
Find all our stories (in chronological order!) on our website: marirealmcroll dot wixsite dot com backslash real-mcroll
Or in the McRoll in the REAL World community here on fanfiction dot net
Find us on Tumblr: mcrollintherealworld dot tumblr dot com
You can still join our mailing list by emailing us realmcroll at yahoo dot com with Add me, please! in the subject line.
And find Mari on Twitter at Mari21763 and add #REALMcRoller
