Sequel: I Won't Give Up ›
A Blend of Fear & Passion
Greg
I was standing on the stage as Dawson walked around the place with a look of awe the entire time. The first time I was up here, I faltered a bit, the notes shaky. Now, with a new found determination, I took a few deep breaths. With all the power in me, I started to sing, not knowing the same woman who saw me ten years before was in the seats up on the balcony.
"This is the moment. This is the day, when I send all my doubts and demons on their way. Every endeavor I have made ever, is coming into play, is here and now today." I closed my eyes and imagined people here, the light on me. "This is the moment. This is the time, when the momentum and the moment are in rhyme." The thrill of the stage over powered me and I felt myself burn with excitement. "Give me this moment, this precious chance. I’ll gather up my past, and make some sense at last."
Moving to the center of the stage, I turned and faced the crowd and belted out, "This is the moment, when all I've done; All of the dreaming, scheming and screaming become one. This is the day, see it sparkle and shine. When all I've lived for becomes mine."
The thrill of everything that's good that happened to me in the last five years pushed to the surface, making me find the confidence I could never find. "For all of these years, I've faced the world alone; And now the time has come, to prove to them, I've made it on my own. This is the moment, my final test. Destiny beckoned, I never reckoned second best." I opened my eyes to see Dawson looking at me with admiration, causing me to feel so much of the rush I have missed in the last ten years. "I won’t look down. I must not fall. This is the moment, the sweetest moment of them all."
Not taking my eyes off of him, I belted out, "This is the moment, damn all the odds. This day or never, I’ll sit forever with the gods. When I look back, I will always recall, moment for moment; This was the moment, the greatest moment of them all." I held out that last note for a good twenty seconds or more, my voice pushing through every fiber of my being.
Once I stopped, I fell to my knees and looked around, taking a deep sigh of happiness. "The first time I sang to that song in this hall, I faltered over some of the lines, causing me to get booted," I said, looking at Dawson with a look of sadness. "I was so nervous and excited, I couldn't think straight. Now," I said, letting out a small laugh, "singing it without trouble would have got me into this place. Thanks to your pushing me, I would have never found my true voice."
"Thanks to him, Mr. Phillips," said the one voice that's haunted my nightmares for a decade, "you're a shoo-in for my next play." I looked up and saw the face of Doris Mikels, one of the most influential people of musical theater. "You were so good all those years ago, and if you hadn't faltered on the notes then, as you said, you would have made it. Does the young man with you have any Broadway-star-like qualities?"
"Like you wouldn't believe," I replied genuinely. "During my classes back home in Michigan, he wiped the floors with me most days."
"Is this true, young man?" she asked, looking down at Dawson. He gulped before answering.
"Yes, ma'am," he said, his voice shaking a bit.
"Prove to me that you can sing to equal or better quality than Mr. Phillips here, and I will set you up with the best schooling and make sure you get on Broadway immediately afterwards." Dawson looked at me with a look of shock and fear.
"Listen here, Andrews," I said, grabbing his shoulders. "I've been teaching you for three very long, very hard years. Prove that you have that dead-set determination from three years ago, when you walked through my door for the first time." Nodding, Dawson stood where I was standing, and I stepped off the stage.
"Remember, push yourself until you can no longer go," I said, sitting down and looking up at him. "Imagine this place filled with people, cheering you on. Let that feeling fill your entire being and belt it out like your life depended on it."
I looked at Dawson square in the eye, smiled, and mouthed, 'I love you.' His determination was back.
"This is the moment. This is the day, when I send all my doubts and demons on their way. Every endeavor I have made ever, is coming into play, is here and now today." I closed my eyes and imagined people here, the light on me. "This is the moment. This is the time, when the momentum and the moment are in rhyme." The thrill of the stage over powered me and I felt myself burn with excitement. "Give me this moment, this precious chance. I’ll gather up my past, and make some sense at last."
Moving to the center of the stage, I turned and faced the crowd and belted out, "This is the moment, when all I've done; All of the dreaming, scheming and screaming become one. This is the day, see it sparkle and shine. When all I've lived for becomes mine."
The thrill of everything that's good that happened to me in the last five years pushed to the surface, making me find the confidence I could never find. "For all of these years, I've faced the world alone; And now the time has come, to prove to them, I've made it on my own. This is the moment, my final test. Destiny beckoned, I never reckoned second best." I opened my eyes to see Dawson looking at me with admiration, causing me to feel so much of the rush I have missed in the last ten years. "I won’t look down. I must not fall. This is the moment, the sweetest moment of them all."
Not taking my eyes off of him, I belted out, "This is the moment, damn all the odds. This day or never, I’ll sit forever with the gods. When I look back, I will always recall, moment for moment; This was the moment, the greatest moment of them all." I held out that last note for a good twenty seconds or more, my voice pushing through every fiber of my being.
Once I stopped, I fell to my knees and looked around, taking a deep sigh of happiness. "The first time I sang to that song in this hall, I faltered over some of the lines, causing me to get booted," I said, looking at Dawson with a look of sadness. "I was so nervous and excited, I couldn't think straight. Now," I said, letting out a small laugh, "singing it without trouble would have got me into this place. Thanks to your pushing me, I would have never found my true voice."
"Thanks to him, Mr. Phillips," said the one voice that's haunted my nightmares for a decade, "you're a shoo-in for my next play." I looked up and saw the face of Doris Mikels, one of the most influential people of musical theater. "You were so good all those years ago, and if you hadn't faltered on the notes then, as you said, you would have made it. Does the young man with you have any Broadway-star-like qualities?"
"Like you wouldn't believe," I replied genuinely. "During my classes back home in Michigan, he wiped the floors with me most days."
"Is this true, young man?" she asked, looking down at Dawson. He gulped before answering.
"Yes, ma'am," he said, his voice shaking a bit.
"Prove to me that you can sing to equal or better quality than Mr. Phillips here, and I will set you up with the best schooling and make sure you get on Broadway immediately afterwards." Dawson looked at me with a look of shock and fear.
"Listen here, Andrews," I said, grabbing his shoulders. "I've been teaching you for three very long, very hard years. Prove that you have that dead-set determination from three years ago, when you walked through my door for the first time." Nodding, Dawson stood where I was standing, and I stepped off the stage.
"Remember, push yourself until you can no longer go," I said, sitting down and looking up at him. "Imagine this place filled with people, cheering you on. Let that feeling fill your entire being and belt it out like your life depended on it."
I looked at Dawson square in the eye, smiled, and mouthed, 'I love you.' His determination was back.