Member-only story
All the World’s a Stage
And timing is important
Running as fast as she could, Cynthia made it to the auditorium in the nick of time just as the event organizer and master of ceremonies was ending sign-ups for the singing competition. With a little begging she was allowed to sign up.
“Okay, I’ve got to get the show started now,” said the master of ceremonies. “You’ll be the first one up.”
“What? No! I can’t go first. I’m still out of breath from running eight blocks.”
“Sorry, that’s how we do it. The last one to sign up is the first to perform and the first one to sign up is the last to perform. We’ve always done it that way.” With that he turned and walked out onto the stage.
Cynthia went into panic mode. She had less than a minute to catch her breath and relax. Her hands began to shake. She was feeling dizzy and a little nauseous. She took a couple of deep breaths but that seemed to make things worse. Her heart was pounding like crazy.
After being introduced she walked very slowly across the stage to the microphone. Her heart was still pounding as she adjusted the microphone. A tingling sensation raced throughout her body. As she looked out at the audience they began to blur. Suddenly everything went black.
