The notice was posted on Friday. "End-of-Summer Talent Contest August 25 at three o'clock. Auditions Tuesday at four. See Jeri to sign up."

Beth read the sign over again. Did she dare? She knew she could sing, but could she sing in front of everyone else at the Boys and Girls Club? "What are you looking at?" asked someone behind her.

Beth spun around, startled. Her twelve-year-old cousin David and his girlfriend Natalie were there. "It's a sign about the talent show," Beth told them. "It's in two weeks."

Natalie pushed past Beth to read the notice. "We almost won that last year, remember, David? Let's go see Jeri about trying out."

Beth's mind was made up by the annoyance she felt toward Natalie. "I'm trying out, too," she announced.

"Don't be dumb," snapped Natalie. "You're only eight. You won't get in."

"I'm not being dumb!" retorted Beth. "I have as much right to try out as you. Why, are you afraid I'll make it and you won't?"

"I think you should try out, Beth," David said. "Are you going to sing?"

"Third graders can't sing," muttered Natalie.

Ignoring Natalie, Beth went to look for Jeri. She checked everywhere except Jeri's office. Jeri was almost never in her office, but she was that day. Unfortunately, when Beth found her, Natalie was already there. "You and David will be auditioning at four-fifteen," Jeri was telling Natalie. She saw Beth in the doorway. "Hi, Beth. What can I do for you?"

"I- I want to try out," said Beth. "Um, for the talent contest, I mean."

"She's too young, isn't she, Jeri?" asked Natalie, smirking at Beth.

"The contest is open to all club members, Natalie," Jeri replied. She looked at the schedule in front of her. "Beth, you can try out right after Natalie and David, at four-twenty on Tuesday. Is that all right?"

"I guess so," said Beth. "Thanks."

All weekend, Beth practiced by singing along with a song by her favorite singer. Somewhere, she had read that the singer practiced in front of a mirror so she could see how she looked when she sang. Beth did the same, practicing as often as she could in front of the full-length mirror in the bathroom. The trick was to practice without her parents finding out. Until her audition was over, Beth didn't want anyone to know about it. She was afraid she would jinx herself if she told.

On Tuesday, Beth almost forgot to bring her CD to the Boys and Girls Club. She remembered it as she was about to get into her mother's car, and ran back inside to get it. "Hurry, Beth!" her mother called. "I have to take your sister to her appointment after I drop you off!"

Beth ran upstairs to her room, grabbed the CD, and ran back down to the car. As they drove, she tried to catch her breath. She was still panting a bit when they got to the club, but she ran inside anyway. "What are you in such a hurry for today?" asked Diane, the woman at the front desk.

"The auditions for the talent show are today," Beth replied breathlessly.

"Not until four o'clock," said Diane.

"I know, but I'm nervous," Beth panted. "I need to run around to get the energy out before my audition."

Diane laughed. "Then you'd better go in the gym," she replied. "You know Scott and Mark don't like you guys running anywhere else in the Club."

Beth signed in, then went to the gym. There was a basketball game going on, though, so she went upstairs to the art room. She spent some time coloring until finally, it was time for her to go to the conference room for the auditions.

The three acts before Beth were all very good. Besides David and Natalie's clown act, there was a teenage girl singing, and four girls a couple years older than Beth doing a dance routine. When Beth's name was called, she took a deep breath and handed her CD to Jeri. She looked at David, who was sitting in the audience, and began to sing, pretending that she was the singer on the CD. When the song ended, everyone cheered. "That was great, Beth!" Jeri exclaimed.

In all, twenty acts tried out. After the last act, everyone had to wait fifteen minutes while Jeri and the other judges decided who would be in the show. Finally, Jeri called for quiet. "All of you did a good job," she announced. "But we decided that only seven acts will be in the talent contest. Those acts are, David and Natalie the clowns, the Dancing Princesses, Sari-An's dance routine, Calla and her saxophone, Annette's singing, Peter and Abdul's rap, and last but not least, Beth's singing."

Beth couldn't believe it. She had made it into the show! "Those of you who are in the show, there will be a practice time here every day at three," Jeri said. "Please try to be here. And thanks to all of you who tried out today."

David and Natalie came over to Beth. "Congratulations," Beth said.

"You, too," replied David. "You really did a good job."

"Now you just have to do the contest," added Natalie. "There'll be a lot more people there, you know."

"Leave her alone, Natalie," David said. "See you tomorrow, Beth."

Beth left the Club. Her mother was waiting out front. "So how was your afternoon?" she asked.

"I'm going to be in a talent show next Friday," Beth replied. "We had to try out for it, and I got in."

"That's wonderful!" her mother said. "Is it all right if your sister and I come see it?"

"I guess so," said Beth.

That night, Beth told her father about the talent show. She then went downstairs to her grandparents' apartment and told them. On the phone, she told her other grandparents about it. Beth was excited and nervous. She would be the youngest person in the contest. She had to work hard on her song. If she did well, she might even win the contest. Wouldn't that make Natalie mad!

For the next week and a half, Beth was busy singing. She practiced at the Boys and Girls Club with the others who were in the show. She practiced in front of the bathroom mirror at home. She practiced in her bed at night when she was supposed to be asleep. Finally, it was August 25. Beth was up early that morning because she was too excited to sleep. She went through her clothes four times, trying to find a perfect outfit. It seemed like forever until two o'clock, when Beth's mother drove her to the Club. "Good luck, sweetheart," her mother said. "Your sister and I will be back at three to watch you."

Jeri was at the front desk. "Good, you're here!" she said when she saw Beth. "You're going to be the third act in the contest."

"Can I use your office to practice?" Beth asked.

"Not right now. David and Natalie are in there getting their clown makeup on," replied Jeri. "You can practice in the gym if you want. I'm going to need some help in there in a few minutes anyway, because there are some things that need to be set up."

The next hour was a blur. People scurried around, trying to help Jeri set up the gym or helping their friends practice one last time. Jeri started to get worried at two thirty, because two of the acts weren't there yet. One of them came in at the last minute. The other one, the girl who had played the saxophone, never showed up.

While the first two acts performed, Beth sat and mouthed the words to her song to make sure she wouldn't forget them. Then it was Beth's turn. She went to the stage and found her mother and sister in the audience. Seeing them calmed her down enough to begin. As she sang, it didn't matter that there were people watching her. The song was the important thing, and Beth knew every note. It felt like the song was just coming out of her, without Beth doing anything. She knew she was doing well, but it still surprised her when some of the audience stood and clapped at the end of the song.

After the contest acts were done, everyone had to wait for the judges to decide who had won. Mark and Scott did a comedy routine to entertain the audience. Then Jeri came forward and said, "All of our acts were wonderful, weren't they?" The audience cheered. "Everyone will get an award, but there is only one overall winner. I'll give the other awards first. For funniest act, David and Natalie!"

Beth didn't pay much attention to the rest of the awards. She just listened for her name. She tried to figure out what her award might be. Youngest singer? She certainly couldn't be the overall winner. The other performers were older, and Beth thought that some of the other acts had been better. As Jeri called the names, the performers went to the stage to receive their awards. Soon, Beth was the only one still waiting. She looked around, wondering if she had missed hearing the name of the overall winner. But then why hadn't her own name been called yet? It didn't seem possible, but then Jeri said, "And now for our overall winner, Beth!"

Beth went forward and took the certificate and trophy that Jeri held out to her. Jeri hugged her and whispered, "You did great, Beth. I'm proud of you." Beth couldn't believe it. She really had won! She had been nervous, and she had been the youngest act in the contest, but she still had won!

The other contestants came up to congratulate her. Even Natalie said, "Well, you did OK, I guess."

"Thanks," replied Beth. "Now you know. Third graders can sing."

The End

Kimberly Ramsey lives in Poland, Maine, with her husband and two daughters. Her older daughter, who is eight years old and loves to sing, was the model for Beth. She has previously published the Stories from Somerville phonics-based reading program, which consists of 75 short stories with comprehension questions (Oxton House Publishers, LLC, 2002), and the Say Read Spell phonics worksheet packets (Oxton House Publishers, LLC, 2003).

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