“I’m going to play the piano,” Linnie said. “Ms. Sanchez said I can play the piano that Mr. Peters uses for music class.”
“You’ll be wonderful,” I said. Linnie has been playing since she was five. She’s very good.
“I’m going to show off my yo-yo skills,” Tommy said. “I can do three tricks with my yo-yo.”
“That sounds amazing,” I said. I turned to Daisy. “Will you dance?”
She nodded. “I’ll ask my ballet teacher. I’m sure she can help me plan a short dance for the show.”
Maggie Milsap leaned over from her table. “I’m going to play the violin,” she said, even though none of us had asked her. “My teacher says I’m a natural talent.”
“What are you going to do, Jasmine?” Linnie asked.
“I am having a hard time choosing one of my talents,” I said. “Maybe I will make a collage.”
“I can make great collages,” Maggie said. “But playing the violin will probably be more interesting for the audience.”
I thought about my friends. Their talents were perfect for sharing onstage. I tried to imagine making a collage onstage, sitting at a table and cutting out pictures and words from magazines and gluing them onto cardboard. That might not be very interesting.
I couldn’t bring Mrs. Reese’s apricot tree to school and show off my climbing skills. I was very good at pounding mochi, but that took a long time and Ms. Sanchez said that we each had only two minutes to perform.
“At my old school, I was the best at many things,” Maggie said. “I’m going to be the best at the talent show, too!”
“It’s not a contest,” I said.
“I’ll bet it is,” Maggie said. “I’ll bet Mrs. Tasker is going to judge us and pick who is the very best. My daddy says, ‘Life is a competition.’”
I imagined Maggie standing onstage with a huge trophy.
Suddenly the talent show didn’t seem as fun as I thought it would be. Everyone had a perfect talent except for me!
Walnuts!
By the end of lunchtime, my head was full of worries.
3
WHAT TO DO?
After lunch, we had silent-reading time. I opened my favorite book, Charlotte’s Web, but I couldn’t concentrate. I was at one of the best parts of the book: when Charlotte the spider comes up with a plan to save her best friend, Wilbur the pig. I wished my best friend, Linnie, could come up with a plan to save me from the show. But she didn’t even know that I didn’t have a talent, and I was too embarrassed to tell her.
The rest of the school day dragged on. Finally I heard a happy sound.
Bing bong bong bing!
Ms. Sanchez was playing the end-of-the-day song on her xylophone. That gave me an idea. As everyone got their backpack and coat from the closet, I went up to Ms. Sanchez.
“Do you think I can learn to play the xylophone in time for the talent show?” I asked.
Ms. Sanchez nodded. “I’m sure you can. Is that what you would like to do?”
“May I try?”
She handed me her special xylophone mallet. Nobody in class was allowed to touch it.
I hit the xylophone.
Bong bong BONK clooong CLINK bong bing.
“What is that awful noise?” Maggie Milsap asked, poking her head out of the closet.
I handed the mallet back to Ms. Sanchez. “I guess I don’t have talent on the xylophone.”
“It just takes a little practice,” Ms. Sanchez said. “I can show you a tune to play.”
“I don’t need to practice the violin,” Maggie said. “I’m already great.”
“It’s okay,” I said to Ms. Sanchez. “I have other big talents, but I wanted to see what the xylophone felt like. I will surprise all of you with my talent!”
“I’m looking forward to seeing what it is,” Ms. Sanchez said. “Now, class, let’s go out to our meeting spot. It’s almost time for dismissal.”
As we stood by the tree, waiting to be picked up, Linnie came over to me. “I’m so happy you figured out what to do for the show,” she said. “What is your talent?”
“It’s a surprise,” I said. That was the truth. It was going to be a surprise for me, too, since I had no clue what my talent would be. Everyone else knew what to do. I wasn’t ready to admit that I didn’t know yet. Even to my best friend.
“My parents always give me a prize for being the best,” Maggie said, standing close to me. “At my old school, I always got perfect scores on my tests and homework. When I win the talent show, my parents will probably take me to a fancy restaurant for dinner.”
I had nothing to say to Maggie Milsap.
I was glad Mom showed up right then to walk me and my big sister, Sophie, home. I didn’t want to listen to Maggie anymore. She was making me feel bad.
“Guess what?” Sophie said to Mom. “We’re having a school talent show on Saturday and you and Dad are invited to watch us!”
“We’ll be sure to be there,” Mom said.
“What are you going to do?” I asked Sophie.
“We’re doing a class play,” Sophie said. “We’ve already been practicing, so it’s a great way to show off our talents!”
“How exciting,” Mom said.
“I need a costume,” Sophie said. “I’m the queen.”
That was the perfect part for my sister, actually. She was super-bossy.
“I’ll bet Mrs. Reese has something you can wear,” Mom said.
Mrs. Reese was our neighbor and my friend who lived two houses down. She was older than my mom and dad, but she listened to me, made me brownies with no nuts, and let me climb her tree. Best of all, her garage was full of costumes. Linnie and I played dress up in there.
Mom squeezed my hand. “What will you do, Jasmine?”
“I haven’t decided yet,” I said.
When we got home, I went to my room and pulled out a flat box from under my bed. I couldn’t do a collage onstage, but maybe I could
