Meet Avea

Chapter 1: The Music Inside Me

I've always had music flowing through me. Even when I was little, I knew I wanted to sing. When I grow up, I want to be a singer, like my Grammy was. Dad thinks music is a waste of time. He tries not to mention it in front of me, but I've heard him tell Mom multiple times. Mom loves music, and hearing me sing. I get my love of singing from her side of the family. And then there's Kaylee, my older sister. It's hard to make my Dad proud. I've never truly done it personally, but Kaylee's a pro. She works as an anchor for Mornings in the City, a major news network. When I see her smiling on T.V., and know that thousands, maybe even millions of people around the country are watching my sister, I know that I'll never escape her shadow. After all, I'm not anything special. I mean, I've been complimented on my singing voice, but compared to the attention that Kaylee gets, it's nothing.
"It's so cold!" I hear my mom say from the living room. "Ben? Is the heater working?" "It's just this room." My dad answers. "Avea?" I hear Mom call. "Can you help me clean the kitchen? Kaylee's coming home for dinner!" "Sure, Mom!" As I unload the dishwasher, I wonder why my parents are so neat when Kaylee comes home for dinner. She comes twice every single week. It's almost as if they're trying to impress her, even though she's their daughter! I'm helping Mom toss the salad when I hear a key turning in the old, creaky lock of our front door. Mom and Dad jump up to greet Kaylee, and I walk behind them. Kaylee is more beautiful than anyone I've ever met. She is tall and has sleek brown hair with blonde highlights and dazzling blue eyes. She smells of strong perfume and is wearing a short blue dress I saw her in on the news last week. I wish I could be on the news. "Avea!" Kaylee gives me a tight hug and sizes me up. "Have you gotten taller since last week?" She uses that same line every week. It used to flatter me, but now I know she's just saying it because she doesn't know what else to say. "Hi, Kaylee." I say, just waiting for her to start telling us about how it is being on the news and taking our parents' attention for the night. Sure enough, the next thing she says is, "I've had a crazy time at the studio this week! Bob's been out sick, and the replacement cameraman doesn't know a thing about camerawork. And Garrett nearly messed up the whole episode by stuttering yesterday, but we saved it." "That's amazing, Kaylee!" Mom gushed. I don't understand why she gets so much attention for being the newslady. All she does is sit and read the news off a little screen by the camera. Big deal. While we eat, Kaylee talks about news. News news news. I just sit and silently chew my chicken. After dinner, Kaylee hugs us all goodbye and hops into her shiny red car and drives off. I go to my room and start working on my book report. I read Number the Stars by Lois Lowery for my report. I do my best drawing of the Star of David in the corner of my paper and I draw two girls in the other corner. One light haired and one with dark hair. Annemarie and Ellen. I loved the story, and book reports were my favorite school projects to do. I loved coming up with words describing the characters and imagining what would have happened if it had ended differently.
The next day at school, my best friend Sadie and I talk about music. My favorite thing about Sadie is the fact that she loves music just as much as I do. We talk about our solos in the local schools talent competition. "Did you hear that the winner gets to go to America's Got Talent? Isn't that so cool?" "Really? That's awesome!" I exclaim. "Wouldn't that be a dream come true?" "Yes!" Sadie says. "And it's gonna be you." "No way!" I say. In language arts, I present my book report, but all I can think about is the talent show. My solo. It has to be perfect. I can't wait to practice more. All through gym, and math, and science, my worst subject, I think about the chance to be on America's Got Talent. I shiver with anticipation. Only a few more weeks. That night, Sadie comes over to spend the night. We watch a few episodes of America's Got Talent to see what we're up against. We talk until two A.M. about our solos, and my last thought before I close my eyes is, it has to be perfect.