Molly's Promise (12 page)

She took a deep breath and said, “Mom, this is for you.”

Molly smiled. She closed her eyes, and the audience disappeared. Her body filled with music, and she began to sing. “
Summertime
,
and the livin' is easy
…”

When she was finished, the announcer said, “Wow, that girl's got music.”

Veronica met her offstage and grabbed her hand. “I think you've got it, Moll. That was unbelievable.”

“Thanks. I wish I could have seen you. How did it go?”

Veronica said, “Great, but from the performances I saw, you're it.”

Earlier, Molly hadn't wanted to think about winning, but now she imagined how wonderful it would sound to hear her name being called—as a runner-up, maybe.

After the last contestant had finished, the announcer said, “It'll be about ten minutes for the judges to come to a decision. Hold on to your seats. We'll have the winners coming right up.”

The soundman blasted a mix of audio clips of everyone's performances into the crowd. The contestants, sweating with excitement, began to dance.

Molly was startled when she heard her own voice on the sound system. It sounded like her mom's had on the phone. Exactly.

It felt more like half an hour before the announcer jumped back up onto the stage. He grabbed the microphone and held up a piece of paper.

“It's all here,” he said. “I have the names of the top five contestants in my hand.”

The crowd screamed. The contestants gathered in front of the stage and joined hands to form a line. Molly grabbed Veronica's hand. When she turned to see who had picked up her other hand, Paige squeezed it and said, “You were amazing.”

The announcer hollered, “Let's hear it again for all the contestants.”

When the noise of the crowd had died down, he said, “Fifth place goes to”—and then he paused while the soundman played a drum roll—“Jason Lawson.”

Jason jumped up the stairs to the stage two at a time. Earlier, Molly had mistaken him for a parent. He was as big as her dad and carried his guitar as if he were a rock star.

“Fourth place”—the announcer waited for the drum roll—“Margo McLeod.”

A tall girl floated gracefully up the stairs.

When the announcer said, “Third place,” Molly began to worry that she was too young to win.

Off to the side, she heard Grandma chanting, “Mollgirl, Mollgirl, Mollgirl.”

Molly's skin felt too small for her body. Her blood was rushing through her veins so fast, she thought she was going to explode. She wished she didn't care about winning, like before, but it was too late. She squeezed Veronica's hand so hard, her fingers hurt.

The drum roll lasted what felt like forever. “Devon Dempster,” the announcer hollered.

Devon jumped up onto the stage without using the stairs.

Molly sized up the three winners standing in a line behind the announcer. She tried to picture herself standing beside them, but she didn't fit. She was too small. Too young.

There were only two more spots and a lot of contestants who looked like winners.

“Second place…” The announcer stood back and motioned to the soundman. The drums rolled.

The crowd went crazy. Murphy was standing on his chair, waving his notepad in the air. Molly's dad was taking pictures with his cell phone. Albert had held his hands up to his face as if he was too scared to see what would happen next.

“M—” For a split second, when the announcer's lips formed the letter
M
, Molly's heart stopped. “Melanie Yang.”

The beautiful tap dancer stepped behind Molly and said, “Excuse me.”

Molly moved aside to let Melanie past. Her heart sank. She had let herself imagine being in the top five.

“Are you ready, Valley people?” the announcer asked. He stood back and let the sound of the drums fill the hall.

The audience was on its feet. The announcer took the mic and tried to drown out their screaming. The remaining contestants had huddled so close together that Molly could hardly move.

“Quiet now. Get ready for the moment you all have been waiting for,” the announcer shouted. He waited until the crowd had calmed somewhat.

“The winner of the Central Valley Youth Talent Competition iiiiiisssssssss Mmmmmolly Jacobs!”

Molly didn't know how she got to the stage. Later, Veronica said that she and Paige had pushed her toward the stage and then the line of performers picked her up and carried her up the stairs. Molly found her feet and walked to the announcer, who high-fived her so hard that she almost fell over. He draped a blue sash over her head and handed her a large envelope with a gold rosette on the front.

The soundman played a track of Molly singing. It was Billie Holiday. It was Mom. It was Molly, and it was wonderful.

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Maddy, my lovely granddaughter. You are truly an inspiration. Orca Book Publishers, as usual, trusted in me and supported me, even though the first pass at this story needed a lot of work. Thank you also to Christi Howes, who provided the much-needed editing.

Sylvia Olsen is a writer, storyteller and public speaker living on Vancouver Island in British Columbia. She is the author of several picture books and a number of first readers and novels for young adults, including
Murphy and Mousetrap
and
A Different Game
. She has also written one nonfiction book for adults. For more information, visit
www.sylviaolsen.ca
.