Later that night, at six, the concert had started. We were singing "She Will Be Loved" first. All of the soloists lined up at the side of the stage. We had practiced this many times throughout the week.
I was nervous, getting ready to sing my solo. Almost a thousand people were in the audience, mostly parents of the hundreds of kids on stage. Some parents and family members were standing in the sides and in the back of the auditorium. The room was so full. I looked out at everyone while I stood, and I almost threw up. I was fine afterwards, though.
I walked back to my place on the risers and Luke looked back at me, blowing me a kiss to tell me I did great. I smiled at him. He was up next now.
He sang amazingly, like usual. He came back onto the risers beside me. I kept singing, but I grabbed his hand, my way of telling him he did great. I let go, remembering my promise to Mr. Murphy. I looked at him to see if he saw. He did, but he was smiling at us. I'm glad he was that kind of teacher.
———
We sang the other five songs, making a total of the six we practiced. We got a standing ovation from the audience. Mr. Murphy turned around and bowed. He motioned to us and we all bowed. There were screams from the crowd saying, "Wooo!!" There were also people who screamed, "Go..." saying there son or daughter's name after that.
We filed off the stage in lines as we had practiced many times. Once we were off the stage and out of the auditorium, in the hallway, I grabbed Luke's hand and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.
"That was so fun! It sounded great!" I was filled with adrenaline.
"You sounded great," he complimented me.
"Thanks babe.. But you sounded better," I complimented him back.
"I don't know.." He said as parents came rushing down the hallways to see their teens. Before I knew it, my parents and Luke's parents were rushing down to see us.
"Sweetie, you did great!!" Mum exclaimed.
"That was awesome!" Twelve-year-old Bella complimented.
"Thank you guys," I smiled, looking over at Luke who was with his family. His mum was hugging him tightly. He was hugging her back. Michael ran past my family and me to Luke and his family.
"Mumma Liz!!" He said loudly, hugging Luke's mum, who I guessed was Liz.
Once Michael walked away from Luke and his family, I motioned my family to come over and meet him.
"Luke, this is my mum, Patricia. This is my dad, Elias. This is my twelve-year-old younger sister, Bella. This is my seventeen-year-old older brother, Hudson. And mum, dad, Bella, Hudson, this is Luke, my boyfriend," I introduced everybody.
They exchanged "it's nice to meet you"s with each other before Luke looked at me and began to introduce his family to me.
"Addie, this is my mum, Liz. This is my dad, Andrew. And these are my brothers: nineteen year-old Jack and twenty-one year-old Ben. Mum, dad, Jack, Ben, this is my girlfriend, Addison or Addie."
Like Luke and my family, I exchanged "nice to meet you"s with his family. His mum was nice, and she pulled me in for a hug. She whispered into my ear as she hugged me, "He's a mumma's boy, just letting you know."
I giggled as we let go of the hug. Luke looked at me then his mum.
"Mum, what'd you tell her?" He whined.
"Nothing that you don't know.." She told him, and I laughed again. I was already loving the Hemmings family, and I was glad to be a part of it.