I took a deep breath as I watched my best friend Sadie Walker finish her last magic trick. She took a bow, followed by applause from the crowd, then walked downstage. She hadn't made a single mistake.
Knowing the next turn was me, I waited for my name to be called. I clutched my lucky charm inside my pocket: a small key chain shaped like a heart. I reassured myself that as long as I had my lucky charm, everything would be just fine. Mama had told me so, just before she died and when she gave me the key chain. "My jewel," she had whispered, using the extra-special nickname she made up for me. Mama had always called me that because of my name: Jade. A type of jewel.
"My jewel, my baby. I hope this will be a lucky charm for you, like it was for me." She feebly laid a key chain, a little bright-red heart dangling from it. Then, without saying anything else, she slowly closed her eyes, and went to sleep, forever.
Thinking about Mama's death made my eyes water. Until her last moment of life, she had been terribly ill, suffering with cancer. Dad had said that Mama was a brave woman, fighting with cancer for five years. I felt betrayed when Dad told me about Mama's illness a year ago, when her health got a real lot worse than it was before. For four years Mama and Dad had been hiding the fact that Mama had cancer from me.
I had hoped that my parents would have told me earlier about it. If I knew Mama didn't have much time left, I would have helped her any way I could, instead of acting like a foolish baby. I would have tried to spend more time with her, instead of slamming my bedroom door shut to play computer games when I arrived home after school. Oh.. Mama. I missed her so much.
I still can remember how much I cried after Mama passed away. When I noticed that Mama wasn't breathing shortly after she gave me the lucky charm, I had totally panicked. I called Dad, who quickly came home from work after I told him that Mama wasn't breathing in a trembling voice. He called the doctor, and when the doctor came, we heard the dreadful news. Mama, was dead.
I had practically cried my eyes out when I first heard that my dear old Mama was dead, so my eyes had been all swelled and bloated and puffy for several days. At first, I couldn't believe it. I had checked her heartbeat by putting my ears on her chest and tried to hear her heart thump. Instead of the thumping sound I expected, I heard nothing.
Then I screamed in her ears and slapped her back, doing everything I could to snap Mama back to life. But she didn't wake up or open her eyes no matter what I did. Dad tried to make me feel better by telling me that Mama had gone to Heaven and had become an angel. He said that since Mama was so nice, God had chosen her to be an angel and to help him at his side in Heaven.
"But.. I don't want Mama to be an angel," I had said, my eyes filling up with tears as I recognized that Mama was dead. That I couldn't see her ever again. "I want Mama to be with me. Right now."
A long, long time ago, when I was a little girl, about your age, I had performed in the school talent show. I was going to sing in front of the whole school! My friend had bugged me to be part of the show, telling me that I had real talent, so I was sort of forced to do it. I had prepared to sing 'Over the Rainbow.' Anyways, when it was my turn and stepped onstage, it was like my mind had turned blank, even though I had practiced a real lot for it. I couldn't remember the lyrics nor the melody! I was about to run downstage, feeling humiliated, when a miracle happened. As I clutched my key chain I got for my birthday in my shirt pocket, I could suddenly remember how to sing the song. I never knew why, but it was like the key chain had some sort of magical powers. I totally revved up the crowd with my singing, and I got first place in the show.
Mama had always told me the story of how her old key chain had worked as a lucky charm for her when she was young before I went to bed every night. It was like a special bedtime story. Although I had known the story by heart because I had heard it so many times, I begged her to tell the same story every night. That story felt special to me.
"My jewel," Mama had said one night, when I was about five or six, after telling me the story of the lucky key chain again. "I still have the key chain, well hidden in my jewerly box. I hope I can give it to you when you're older. To bring you luck." I was totally excited about the idea of possessing Mama's lucky charm. Little did I know that she'll give me the key chain in such a sad time then.
"Presenting Jade Listerman.. and her amazing vocal skills!" Mr. MacGuire, the eighth-grade art teacher who had been asked to broadcast the talent show. I inhaled, then exhaled, and adjusted my attire: a pink leather jacket with sequins and a slinky black dress. My stage clothes for the show. I walked slowly onstage.
"Why, hello, Jade," said Mr. MacGuire. "How are you feeling today?" I forced a smile, to calm the butterflies in my stomach down. "I'm good, thank you."
"That's cool! Now, Jade, do you know the rules of the show?" he asked. I nodded. Of course I knew. I had read the instructions paper a gazillion times at home. "You try to showcase your talent, the judges judge you, and the best three among the contestants get to be on America's Got Talent." "That's exactly right," said the art teacher. "You can start whenever you want to."
I cleared my throat and swallowed hard. I glanced at the three judges that was sitting at the side of the stage. Two of them were women, and there was one male judge who had the eyes of a hawk. I soon recognized him. It was Frederick Alister. The Frederick Alister. The host of Top Idol show.
My heart started to thump like mad. I wanted to give him- and the rest of the judges, too- a good first impression. Ignoring my nervousness, I grabbed the mic and started singing Santa Tell Me by Ariana Grande. It wasn't Christmas season or anything, but it was the only song I was confident about. When she was alive, Mama had always complimented me when I sang it.
Santa, tell me if you're really there
Don't make me fall in love again
If he won't be here next year
Santa, tell me if he really cares
'Cause I can't give it all away
If he won't be here next year..
It was so strange. The second I started singing, I forgot that the whole school was looking at me. I forgot that I was nervous. All that I was thinking was that nothing bad would happen as long as I had the lucky charm.
The whole song ended in a blink. As I sang the last verse, I realized that I was enjoying it. I finished singing the song and did a small bow. "Thank you for listening," I said quickly, then walked downstage. The audience broke into loud applause. Even Mr. Alister looked satisfied.
"Oh. My. God. Jade, you were great!" Sadie gushed as I slumped on the chair backstage. I couldn't believe this. I had sang the entire song without making a single mistake! This was all from virtue of the lucky charm.
While others were performing, I waited while talking with Sadie. "Do you think you made it?" Sadie asked.
"Made what?" I asked.
"I mean, do you think you made it to America's Got Talent? Do you think the judges will choose you as one of the three lucky kids?" Sadie said, all excited. I shrugged. "I dunno."
Finally, Mr. Alister stood up. "I enjoyed watching every of you contestants of Benjamin Hodkinson Elementary. All of you girls and boys have real talent. However, I have to choose only three of you. The decision was terribly difficult, because I said before- all of you are so talented. So please don't be so depressed if you didn't make it to America's Got Talent."
He cleared his throat, coughed a few times, then declared, "The first finalist.. Anna Walsh!" A red-haired kid with braces jumped up and down in delight. Mr. Alister gestured her to come onstage.
"The next finalist is... Dave Moore!" A tall boy dressed in a tank top with a skull drawn on it and ripped jeans stood up and walked to the stage. I recognized him. He was the boy that had performed a few turns before me, and he was crazily good at playing electric guitar.
"Finally! Our last finalist! The name of the last finalist is..." I held my breath. I knew that there were heaps of talented kids in Benjamin Hodkinson Elementary, so I had given up hope. Sadie, who was sitting right beside me, looked anticipated.
"Jade Listerman!"
Sadie poked me, who was sitting in my seat, frozen with disbelief, with a puzzled and daft ex-pression. "You, idiot!" she whispered with a giggle.
"Who, me?" I said stupidly, which made the audience laugh hysterically.
"Yes, you," said Mr. Alister with a smile, which surprised me, because he looked very stern and scary. "Can you please come up the stage?"
"Uh, sure." Looking like a fool, I slowly walked to the stage and stood beside Anna Walsh and Dave Moore. Everyone clapped for us. I couldn't believe this was happening. Me? Me getting to be on America's Got Talent? Me, among all the talented kids?
"Please come to the New York City Broadcasting Centre next Saturday for appearing LIVE on America's Got Talent!" He gestured us to return downstage.
I sat down in my seat again. Sadie congratulated me by hugging me tightly and clapping her hands.
The following week passed in a blink. I spent all day, all week, practicing. Once an angry old lady in the neighborhood complained that my singing was too loud and she couldn't sleep. Even so, I continued practicing.
Finally, it was Saturday. Dad gave me a ride to the Broadcasting Centre. "Good luck, Jade," he whispered as I got off the car. "Thanks," I said with a smile. I stuffed my hand in my shirt pocket and tried to grasp my lucky charm for the last moment of luck- when I realized the horrible truth. My key chain. It was gone.
I reached deeper inside my pocket, but I felt nothing. I bit my lower lip. This was a disaster! How could I never notice my lucky charm missing? I had it with me the previous night. Where could it be?
"Dad?" I called. "Can you search the car for my lucky key chain? It's urgent!"
Dad shook his head helplessly. "Jade, you're shooting in the studio in five minutes! I can't find the key chain now. You have no choice but to sing without it."
I was about to cry. "Dad! You don't understand. It gives me good luck just like it did to Mama. I can't sing without it!"
"Jade Listerman! Jade Listerman there?" called the staff. "It's time for you to shoot!"
"Go," said Dad quietly. "You'll do fine without it. I'll do my best to find it at home, okay? Just focus on your singing. I believe in you."
I wanted to throw a tantrum like I did when I was little, but I didn't. Instead I just followed the TV staff to the broadcasting area, butterflies all bouncy in my stomach.
"Presenting the talented teen... Jade Listerman singing Santa Tell Me!" said the host, followed by the four judges of the show clapping. I reached inside my pocket, and gulped. That was my habit: squeezing the lucky charm before a performance. Now I couldn't do that.
More nervous than anytime else, I looked around helplessly. Then I remembered something: my first vocal performance when I was four. I had sang in my preschool play. Did I have the key chain back then? No. Did I fail? No. I revved up the crowd of my soulful singing although I didn't have my lucky charm with me. If I had sang successfully back then without my lucky key chain, why couldn't I now? The thought of it made me feel a lot better. I clutched my mic and started singing the song.
I had a great feeling about this.