Chapter IV - The Performance

The day had come for the children to perform, the day that they waited for a long time. The practices that they endure and work hard for, to be better actors and actresses in an early stage of their lives and discover themselves and the passion that they possessed.

Chelsea was seated at the front and first line of the row, near the stage where the children and some adults will perform. Pamela was seated beside her right waiting for the act to start. Chelsea was excited at the same time nervous for her daughter, she didn't know how to feel.

Since it's November and Children's Day, following the tradition and Michael being the head of theater in the school, he decided to make a play about the famous book called The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.

She turned her head back to see people entering the theater and getting their own seats. She widely smiled at this and she returned to her previous position.

"How are you feeling, dear?" Pam asked Chelsea, facing her to know the expression displaying to the person she's talking to.

"I'm happy to finally see my daughter in the spotlight with these people watching her," she said with a sparkle in her eyes, smiling to Pamela and pointed the people behind her to emphasized her statement. "I'm also scared how people judge her and yet I know that she will do great," she said truthfully to the old woman to her side.

Pamela nodded understanding the overflowing emotion of her companion. She smiled then faced the closed curtain in front of her. "I think that your daughter values your opinion than the people she didn't know," she said focusing on a certain line of vision with a thoughtful gaze.

Chelsea followed the way of her gaze and saw her daughter nervously peaking at the side of the curtain looking at the people who kept entering the theater. She saw her daughter moved the irises of her eyes so, Chelsea raised her hand and waved it for Rebecca to noticed. Her daughter smiled nervously at her but suddenly changed her expression to a relief one when Chelsea displayed an assuring smile on her lips and gave Rebecca her two thumbs up.

"You're always right, Pam," Chelsea said after seeing her daughter leave and got back to prepare.

"I'm always damn right! Having three children and one of them teaching acting," Pam said getting back to being a fun woman. Both of them laugh at this and after a while, they calmed themselves.

The sound of a door being closed made Chelsea focus on the curtain facing her. "Good day guests, I'm here to inform you that the performance will be starting in 5 minutes, if you want to take a break, you may do so, thank you." Chelsea heard an announcement echoing around with the booming sound produced by the speaker. She smiled knowing that the man behind that voice was Michael.

After five minutes another announcement was made. "Ladies and gentlemen! I would like to present to you a play entitled The Little Prince performed by voluntary children of the school for celebrating Children's Day," Michael said cheerfully, earning applause from the adult audiences. "Seat tight and enjoy..." he continued and all of the lights were turned off, giving a dark atmosphere inside the theater.

The play started with a light focused on an actor, this person played the role of being the narrator. He began telling the story of the little prince, how he lives on a planet alone until a rare species bloomed in his land. While the man narrated on the side of the stage, a boy was acting as a little prince in the center and a light followed wherever he went.

Chelsea noticed her daughter, wearing a rose costume. She remembered this scene when she was watching her daughter practice days ago. The light was not on her yet until the boy playing as little prince spoke.

"Oh, how beautiful you are!" the little prince exclaimed to the rose he taken care of until it grows.

"I'm only half awake," Rebecca as a rose in the story yawned to the little prince. "Forgive me, I'm still quite disheveled," Rebecca acted facing the other with half eyelids and a small smile displaying on her face indicating that she was still sleepy.

"You're perfect," the boy commented looking lovingly to the rose.

Chelsea watched the scene admirably, she was proud of her daughter, the warm feeling she felt in her heart that makes her want to shout. She thought that Rebecca acted like she was not nervous at all which was incredible, seeing that this was her first performance in front of many people.

The play continued, the little prince accompanied the rose until he decided to leave the rose due to misunderstanding of each other. They act the different scenes of the journey of the prince, discovering different planets or asteroids and meeting the ruler, asking them how they live their lives.

Chelsea watched the flow of the act and how genius it was created. The Little Prince was one of her favorite stories she had read. Fascinated by the messages that it delivers, and very educational for all, not just children but adults too.

The play came to end, most audiences stood up and clapped their hands to the performers of the act. Teachers and the head of school were proudly looking at them and joining the applauses that still kept going. Performers were being called up bowing at the people and lastly, the director/instructor, Michael came and bowed.

"I would like to thank all children who participated in this," Michael said in a microphone, facing the kids with a smile. "The staffs," pointing at the backstage. "I also would like to thank you Antoine de Saint-Exupéry for creating such a masterpiece book, and, of course, the audience who came to watch the play," he said appreciatively and encourage the performers to bow again but this time with him. This resulted for the audience to applause again.

"Creating this play, reminds me of how our childhood disappears when we became adults, and today, Children's Day, I want us to remember the pleasant memories of your childhood, the feeling of youth and fun," Michael instructed to the adults who were confused. "Then, compare it to how you had become, of course, it was different, we became serious, mad at life, and bitter to the world. But, learning to children or from own experienced, your childhood, sometimes being carefree and innocent is a great thing once for a while." he continued, earning from the audience another applause for him, he smiled hearing this. "And children, do best enjoy your childhood to the fullest and keep it in your mind when you grew up," Michael advice the children who admiringly looking at him while he talked. "That's all, I hope you enjoyed it with a message intact in you," he lastly stated and they all bowed again and left the stage to went to the back.

The people started to leave calmly until the parents of the performers were only left in the theater. Chelsea was waiting for her daughter to finished dressing in the backstage so she talked to Pamela about the beautiful message Michael said earlier.

"It was nice for Michael to said those things," Chelsea said to Pam who was just silently staring at the stage, breaking the peaceful silence around them.

"What?" Pamela questioned confused at Chelsea.

"The message Michael said on stage," she clarified to the old woman.

"Oh, yes dear, I was just thinking about it too. Not just my childhood but his childhood too," Pamela said now looking straight at Chelsea. "His childhood surely was pleasant but it was ruined when-" she was cut off by her son shouting for her to hear.

"Mom!" Michael shouted looking for her. "There you are, woman. You always went missing when I'm not around," at this, he chuckled at his mother with a boyish grin plastered on his face.

"Well, you young man should be guarding this woman," Pamela said sharply looking at her son and pointed at herself. Chelsea was laughing quietly on their side, Michael noticed this and commented about it.

"What are you laughing at?" he said raising his right eyebrow. Chelsea stopped laughing and looks like a dear caught in a headlight. She composed herself and looked at Michael.

"Oh, are you still mad at that?" Chelsea realized that his raised eyebrow means something. He still wouldn't forget the 'lemon juice' situation.

"Of course!" he exclaimed exaggeratingly. "Your saliva was all over me!" he continued with frantic hand movements moving in front of him, giving a point in his demonstration.

"Your such a diva," Chelsea said smirking at Michael. "Maybe you should be friends with Tom," she mumbled to herself but Michael heard it. Pamela was just silently watching amusingly to them bicker at each other.

"I'm not!" Michael exclaimed but all Chelsea heard was a whined from a grown man. "and... who's this Tom?" he said having a glint on his eyes and looked confusingly to her.

"And a whiner too," she commented to Michael, still smirking at him. "Tom is my editor slash best friend who is a diva and a food molester," Chelsea said immediately, and looks like she had been waiting for a perfect time to say those words. She smiled happily getting one of her goals done.

"What kind of description is that?" Michael said taken aback by her early statement and almost laughed at her.

"Only for my best friends," she answered flashing her smile, then changed it into a smirk. "I haven't got a description for you yet," her smirked got larger when she saw Michael's reaction. Pamela laughed at this, getting their attention to her. Michael was horrified when Chelsea uttered her last sentence.

"Ok, I have my entertainment from the both of you, let's get Rebecca," Pamela said and got up from her previous sitting position, displaying a smile and twinkling eyes to the both of them.

Michael and Chelsea followed Pamela without an argument and the old lady led them both towards the backstage. Pamela heard them whispered from each other uttering 'You will do no such thing!' from Michael and 'no worries, no need to be impatient, this brain will just gather more information regarding you...' from Chelsea. Pamela thought that Michael hadn't had a friend for a long time and she was glad that he met one.

Michael grows up isolated from everyone outside his safe place. His only friend was his siblings and parents, and if you count painting and reading as a friend, then it was considered. He was quite comfortable in his life when he was a kid but some part in life, it's necessary to go out in our safe place and explore. That's why people judge him as cold, rude, and a person who doesn't care about the things happening around him when he started his schooling.

He grew up not having a friend in school and even in his workmates or colleague, they just saw him as an intelligent person who doesn't need communicating and some felt intimidated by his poker face. Even in his acting, everyone just avoided him and was always given the role of a villain or the lone guy in the story. He just has the aura that made people cower away from him but meeting Chelsea was different. He was excited about having a first friend that's not a family member and not a hobby. He just hoped that she remained his friend and be a true friend to him.

They had found Rebecca in the dressing room struggling to her costume looking desperate to get it off of her. Chelsea immediately came to her rescue and get her daughter out of the costume. Rebecca was dripping in sweat, staying in the thick costume for a long time. Chelsea got a towel that she carried in her bag.

"Oh, hon, why you didn't call me outside?" Chelsea worriedly asked her daughter while bending down and wiping the sweat that sticking to the skin of Rebecca. Michael and Pamela chatted busying themselves while they waited for Rebecca and Chelsea.

"I was embarrassed in my costume," Rebecca admitted to her mother not meeting Chelsea's gaze.

"You wore that in your performance," she said looking at her daughter confused about it.

"Yeah, but I'm not in the performance," her daughter said sheepishly at her mother.

"Chelsea, you must understand that a performer and the role is very different from each other. When in costume some activated their role in a play, so Rebecca might think that it was foolish for her to get outside and others saw her out of the character," Michael suddenly said behind her and explaining deeply about the situation.

"Yeah! Mommy, Michael's right," Rebecca beamed to Michael, she thank him mentally for explaining more about her situation.

"Oh, ok, now I understand," Chelsea said thoughtfully, processing the knowledge that she just had learned.

"Now... WHO'S UP FOR CELEBRATION DINNER!!!" Pamela shouted near them so suddenly that made the three cover their ears and flinch over it.

"Mom, no need to shout, we're just a meter away from you," Michael said removing his hands from his ear and rolled his eyes discretely for his mother not to notice.

"Oh, shut up, and I felt your rolled eyes on me," Pamela said and huffed at the same time. Michael looked at his mother with disbelief displaying in his eyes after his mother's comment. "We can go to one of my friend's restaurant," she suggested to them.

"That's fine with me," Chelsea commented to Pamela's suggestion. She nodded towards the old lady confirming that she agreed but before that Chelsea placed her daughter's costume down to the table provided in the room and faced Pamela.

"Then wonderful, let's go," Pamela lead again the group. They got out before Michael locked the theater. Chelsea noticed that it was already dark and lights were now turned on inside the school. They got in their own car and Chelsea followed Michael's car to lead the destination of the restaurant.

They arrived at the restaurant, Chelsea was surprised that it was rather a fancy or expensive place.

"Wow..." Rebecca muttered, fascinated by the outside fancy design that's displayed.

They began to walk inside but stopped by a well-uniformed man.

"Do you have a reservation, madam?" the man asked Pamela with raised eyebrows.

"I do not need a reservation, can you call your owner?" Pamela asked getting impatient with the man in front of her.

"I'm afraid that I cannot do that, madam. She is busy at this time of the day," the man said with a faked smile plastered on his face, Pamela could see that the man has clearly lied to her.

"I will just call her myself," Pamela said with a smug look on her. She reached out for her phone and dial her friend's number. Michael just smirked at the man, Chelsea was busy talking to Rebecca, trying to entertain her, and Rebecca who's hungry over the waiting but focus on talking to her mother.

"Hey, Lou! You see I'm outside your restaurant," Pamela said loudly while looking intently at the man. "Oh, yes, that's the thing, we can't go through," she continued. "By the way are you busy? Really? You're not busy? Oh thank God, can you do me a favor? Thanks. Can you come here outside? I also wanted to invite you to eat with us, we were celebrating something, if you don't mind? Oh, wonderful! See you here! Bye," Pamela put down her phone and the well-suited man was now drained of color due to nervousness.

"It will just take a few minutes for her to get here," Pamela said smirking at the man.

As Pamela said, Louise went out inside the restaurant and was confused about why 3 adults and 1 child staying outside her place. "Rus, why are they staying outside on a cold night?" Louise asked the man who was now shaking from nervousness.

"M-ma'am, I'm so- sorry, I-I didn't know, they didn't have reservatio-" Louise raised her right hand to make him stop talking.

"We will talk about this later," she said sternly. Pamela was laughing inside but she only displayed her smirk.

"Come in," Louise said politely to them and finally they were now inside the restaurant which was more beautiful than the outside design.

They found the right table and place, started to order food with the owner, and began to celebrate the accomplishment that they achieved today.