Paralyzed with fear, Jude stared at the audience. He tried not to blink against the bright floodlights illuminating him in the center of the stage. Three bleary-eyed children behind him in beds stared expectantly. The almost invisible earbud crackled to life, and he forced himself to remain still and not jump at the overwhelming sound.

Someone whispered the next line to him, and he let the persona of Peter Pan come over him as he lured the Darling children to join him on a magical adventure. Once lost in the world of Neverland, hot on the trail of Captain Hook, Jude understood why his mother encouraged him to try out for the play.

It was a long-standing tradition for his family to participate in the middle school production, and he’d only gone to auditions to follow in the footsteps of his siblings, parents, and grandparents. No one had ever gotten the lead role before, though, not until Jude came along. When the final curtain call came that night, the standing ovation exhilarated him as his family beamed from the front row. 

Afterwards, Jude joined fellow cast and crew members for pizza backstage. They relived their performance, sharing all the near misses and discussing crazy audience members until Mrs. Pim, the theater director, reminded everyone to put costumes and props back in their places for tomorrow night’s performance. 

Jude froze while everyone else cheered. “We’re doing this again?”

“Of course,” Mrs. Pim replied, smiling at him. “And two shows on Saturday.“

Word: footsteps | Action: following