The lights faded, while the spotlight stayed on me. I sang several songs, mostly pop from the mid-90's, some Soul and R&B, 1950's rock, country ballads, and one or two Latin hits. Boy was I nervous at the start. But after each song, I got less and less nervous and more and more excited. And when I finished, I mean they were going crazy. There were screams, cheers, whistling, applauses; the whole nine yards.

After I finished, I thanked everyone and went backstage again. It was all a blur. I mean, it happened so fast. Lilia and my family came and congratulated me and shook my hand and hugged me and Lilia kissed me on the cheek, and yes, I blushed.

Then we got home, after dropping Lilia off at her house.

All through the whole drive and through dinner I kept hearing the same phrases over and over again: "You did great, man!" "It was unbelievable!" "You did real good!" "You sing wonderful!" "I really liked the way you sang!"

It was…it was really great actually. I felt really flattered. I mean, really flattered. I hadn't felt this good since I was enthroned as the new King of Amarkia. Or since back in 1990 when I was chosen to be on the permanent list of the Most Beautiful People in the world in People's Magazine.

I'm not making that up. Anyways…I went to bed feeling just great. Feeling magnificent. So much that, well, I really couldn't sleep. I was too excited and happy.

Next day, I went to work instead of school. I was greeted much better than usual as many of the student's parents who had gone to see me also worked in the federal offices. They said that everyone had just loved me. Why, one mother said that her daughter liked me so much that she wanted to start a fan's club and make other girls sign up for serenades.

She wanted for me to serenade something like 78 girls! That's crazy, right?

Well, it was later during lunch, when it happened. Larry and I were laughing about some crazy story. The phone on his desk ran and still laughing he grabbed the phone and said, "Hello. Hello? HELLO!" The idiot had grabbed the banana instead of the phone. "Oh, uh, oops."

I rolled my eyes. It was all I could do. Larry was hopeless.

"Don't bother, Larry. I'll answer it on mine." I dialed the line on my phone and answered. "Hello?"

"Hello? Is this King Spiny?"

"Yes, this is me. What can I do for you?"

"Well, my name is Henry Moran. Mr. Henry Moran."

"Well, what can I do for you Mr. Moran?"

"Ah, might it be possible for me to meet you in person? Perhaps we can meet in some café? I'd like to speak with you personally."

"Well, uh, how about Dillard's Café? It's right next to the highway overpass. You can't miss it. It's world famous. Famous for its donuts."

"Sounds great. Be there in ten minutes." Then he hung up.

"Who was that?" said Larry.

"A Mr. Moran. Said he wants me to meet me in Dillard's Café. He said it was a personal matter."

He raised his eyebrow. "You don't suppose he's a killer or a sniper or a suicide bomber."

I looked at him annoyed. "Gee, thanks, Larry. That makes me feel a million times better."

He shrugged. "Just being realistic."

I stood up and put on my jacket. "Well, I'd rather be optimistic than realistic in this case."

On the way out, uh, just in case I took my sword, which was hidden under my clothes. I mean, you can never be too careful. Well, I got to the café, and sat a table by the window and waited. I was playing with the spoon and the coffee cup, when a tall guy in a raincoat and beige hat came in. He was…whoa! He was big. He was six-foot, two-inches tall and he had thick arms and strong-looking legs.

He walked over to my table. "Mr. Moran. Glad to make your acquaintance."

I shook his hand. "Likewise. May I ask why you asked for me to meet you in person?"

He nodded. "Yes, well." He reached inside his jacket. At first I thought, Oh, well. I'm dead. He's got a gun and I'm dead. I fell for the oldest trick in the book. Wait, that's not a gun. It's a card.

He handed over to me. HUH?! It said, "Henry Moran. Licensed Hollywood Talent Scout."

Talent scout?

"Talent scout? Well, I warn you Mr. Moran, I don't know any talented people. No singers, no comedians, no actors, no nothing. Just a bunch of show-offs, goofballs, school flirts, and nerds."

He chuckled. "Well, I appreciate your modesty, Your Majesty. I was here visiting from California and my niece took me to your performance last night. I was very surprised. I mean, I was astonished by your voice."

I shrugged. "Well, what can I say? You gotta use your gifts, right?"

"I'll bet that with a little of time and training, your fame could reach even higher than that of One Direction, Katy Perry, Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift, Selena Gomez, Ariane Grande, Nick Jonas, and Bruno Mars combined."

"Oh, no, really! I mean, they've had it made."

"Yes, but none of them have your voice. I mean, your voice is truly unique. And believe me I have seen and heard a lot of the best singers in just about everywhere in the world and yours is the best so far."

Well! This was surprising. "Well, thank you. But, I think I have all the money and fame that I want. I'm pretty well known, even at the international level. And I'm pretty sure I have all the money my family and I can handle."

He laughed. "Oh, I'm sure you do. I'm sure of it. But just for a minute, will you, just for a minute close your eyes."

I looked at him strange. "You gonna shoot me or something?"

He laughed again. "Do I look like a criminal?"

I sighed. "All right. I'll trust you."

I closed my eyes. Then he started to say, "Imagine, it's late evening. About 8 pm. A huge concert stadium, filled with thousands and thousands of anxious fans. Then, strong, upbeat intro music starts to play loudly. The people start to cheer, and blue lights appear from the top. They change to green, then to yellow and finally to white. Then, you appear right in the middle of the spotlight, unveiled from behind a curtain. The entire crowd goes wild! They're crazy! Screams, yelling, cheers, excitement, applauses, whistling! They throw roses and pictures of your albums! You start to sing. They get even wilder and crazier! Some even try to jump onto the stage! They want to hold you, kiss you! Teenage girls cry and beg for you to blow kisses at them. And when you finish your song, they scream 'ENCORE! ENCORE! ENCORE!' Your songs and albums hit the charts and just shatter all the records! You've got two of your songs tied for number one on Billboard Chart. And you even have about ten nominated for the other places. You get offers, invitations for the Emmy and Grammy awards. It's all there!"

He was quiet for a while, and then he said, "Now open your eyes."

I did as he said. By this time, I was in la-la land. I blinked for a while. I tried to knock myself back to reality. When the vapors shook out of my head, I came down back to Earth. I was sitting down in a café, having lunch with a Hollywood talent scout.

"You think that's all possible?"

"I'm sure of it. All you need is to find a good, reliable record company to start your debut album. That's actually the most important album for any singer. First impressions, you know? And also, you need a manager, a legal agent, a booking agent, a publicist, a business manager, an independent promoter, the whole nine yards!"

Hey-hey-hey! The more I heard, the more I was starting to like this! Hmm. "What do you think?" he said.

I rolled my eyes around and thought of it. "How much time do I have to think this over?"

"Well, I leave in three days. I'd have to know before tomorrow evening."

I nodded. "Oh, I see. Why don't you give me your number? I have to discuss this with my family."

He nodded. "Of course, of course. I'll be in the Terra Hotel on 5th Street. You can look me up at reception." He handed me his card. "Here. And, uh, I hope to get a yes from you."

I shrugged. "Well, we'll see. I'll let you know tonight."

He shook my hand. "Very well. I have to go now. Goodbye." He grabbed his hat and left.

I stayed there thinking over the whole thing. Just imagine! Me a famous singer! Like, an actual celebrity! Doing albums, concerts, tours, music videos, etc. Wow! Sounded great!

(A FEW HOURS LATER AT HOME.)

"But, Spiny!" Robert complained. "I have a lot of things to do," he complained as I pushed everyone into the living room. I had come home and told everyone to be there because I was going to break the news to them.

I looked at him. "Yeah? Like what?"

He made some nervous gestures with his arms. "Well, uh, uh. You know…stuff. I, uh, I had other plans for this evening. I was going to hang out with some of my friends."

"Look, Robert. I assure you that what I say will not take all night. So sit on the sofa and just listen." He groaned and sat next to Greeny. Patty and Kathy came in and sat next to them. Larry was also there, in a chair. I mean, he's part of the family. He's practically my brother.

"All right, everyone. I have very exciting news!"

Kathy's eyes popped open. "You kissed Lilia?"

HUH? "No! Of course not!"

Then Patty said, "You asked her out?"

Then Greeny said, "You going to marry her?"

"WHAT?!"

Robert rolled his eyes. "If this is going to get mushy I'm leaving."

"It's got nothing to do with Lilia and nobody leaves!" I sighed and clasped my hands together. "All right. Now, remember my performance last night? Well, apparently this talent scout from Hollywood happened to be there. And he told me that he can get me into, you know, the Celebrity Department! You know, I'd be recording albums, making music videos, and I'd have an agent, a manager, everything!"

Larry looked…well, shocked. It was the first time I'd ever seen him shocked. "You're not kidding?"

I shook my head. "No, I'm not. This is on the level."

Patty jumped up and ran to hug me. She almost knocked me down! "Oh, Spiny, I'm so proud of you!"

Kathy was almost in tears. "That's great, Spiny! I knew you'd make it some day!"

Robert was shaking my hand. "Wow that is so awesome!"

Greeny was jumping up and down. "You gonna take me when you sing in Los Angeles, Spiny?"

We were all laughing and talking. I held my hand up. "Hold it for a minute, though. I didn't say yes to him. I still have a lot of responsibilities. I have a family to take care of. I have to finish school. I have a country to run. And, I need leisure time to be a teenager."

They were all nodding and saying "Yeah. That's true."

"Well," said Patty, "now I'm only suggesting here. What if you can get some record company here in Amarkia to record your album? And, you can make your first concerts here. And, like, maybe you'll only go international once or twice a year. That could potentially work."

I jumped up quickly. Then I ran over to her, hugged her, and swung around several times. "Thank you so much! Thank you! I'll never be able to make it up to you!" I ran up to my room and grabbed my cell-phone, dialed the number and waited while I held my breath. "Hello?"

"Hello! This is King Spiny talking!"

"Oh, hello young man. Have you come up with an answer?"

"Where and when do I start recording my album?"