That weekend was the tri-school talent show. Aimie had practiced for weeks and weeks. Luke would be there, Eddie would be there. Luke let Aimie borrow his red striped sweatshirt for the occasion, as a token of good luck. “I’ll be up there on stage with you in this sweatshirt,” he had said.

Aimie waited backstage to perform. The brown hallway was filled with chairs of people. Some had musical instruments, some had dance shoes, some had puppets or circus acts, some had magic tricks, and one person even had a unicycle. She was very nervous, as she had never performed in front of such a big group. Eddie had wished her luck before, and she tried to act totally natural and make him think she was brave to go onstage by herself. Finally her name was called. She slowly stood up, took a deep breath, and went to go wait in the wings. The bright stage lights shone in her eyes while she waited. Finally it was her turn.

She stepped onstage and took a seat at the piano. She scooted her chair closer, fumbled with her music and took another slow, deep breath. She lifted her hand and played the first chord and began to sing. She sang it and played the piano just as she had practiced it many times before, earned a round of applause and a cheer from Eddie. As she stood up she searched the audience for Luke, but she couldn’t find him. She exited the stage doors. As she walked, Eddie appeared. “You did great. I had no idea you had such a good voice.”
Aimie blushed. “Thanks.”

They walked down the hall together towards the back of the Auditorium, as the wanted to watch the rest of the performances. Suddenly a tall brown-haired lady with square glasses stopped them. “Aimie, your brother Luke was found outside of the auditorium having an allergic reaction. Neither of your parents are answering their cell or work phones, and he was found without any allergy medication.” Aimie gulped. In a flash of sudden bravery, before the lady could say any more, she dug into the sweatshirt pocket and to her relief, found the medication still where he left it. She started to run. Eddie followed her. They ran as fast as she could to the hallway outside of the auditorium, and an emergency scene of ambulance people and a stretcher, with her brother in the middle was right in front of her. She ran through everything and everyone, and handed the medication to the closest doctor there.
*****

“Wow, you were brave.” Eddie said on the way home.

Aimie smiled the biggest smile she could.