The Talent Show Read online

  “Chanda! Chanda! Chanda!”

  Justin turned to Mary.

  “That little girl missed the talent show,” he told her. “She told me she’s a singer. Do you think she would sing with me?”

  In the audience, the school nurse was cleaning Elke up and tending to her wounds. It didn’t look like her leg was broken, but someone had been dispatched to the nurse’s office to get a pair of crutches anyway. Mary Marotta jumped off the stage and went to whisper something in Elke’s ear. With a little urging from her mother, Elke was brought up on stage with Justin.

  “Elke! Elke! Elke!” chanted the crowd.

  “Will you sing a song with me?” Justin whispered in her ear.

  “I was going to do ‘Over The Rainbow,’” she replied. “Key of C.”

  “That works for me.”

  The crowd got quiet and believe me, those two sang just about the prettiest a cappella version of “Over The Rainbow” that has ever been sung. By the second verse, everybody was holding up flashlights and waving their arms back and forth.

  And just after they finished the last line of the song—If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow, why, oh, why can’t I?—the lights in the auditorium flickered back on.

  * * *

  What Happened to Everybody Afterward?

  * * *

  The kids …

  Elke Villa toured the world the next summer as one of the backup singers for Justin Chanda. He is now producing her first solo album. Her parents stayed together.

  The BluffTones were not kicked out of school. They got a few birthday party gigs after the talent show, but split up the next year due to “creative differences.” The other boys gave up music, but Paul Crichton plans to attend Berklee College of Music in Boston.

  Julia Maguire became the top dancer at The Fontaneau Ballet Studio the next year, and performed as a solo in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. She wants to become a ballet teacher.

  Richard (“Raccoon”) Ackoon decided to give up rap music and become a poet. He is working on self-publishing his first batch of poems in book form.

  Don Potash began to write jokes and scripts and send them to famous comedians. His goal is to become a writer for Saturday Night Live.

  The grown-ups …

  Honest Dave Gale gave another Hummer to Don Potash after the first one was crushed. Then he sold all the Hummers in his lot at bargain prices, closed down Hummer Heaven for three months, and reopened as Honest Dave’s Hybrid Heaven.

  Laurent Linn was hired by Justin Chanda to do the lighting and sound for his worldwide tour.

  Mary Marotta got the acting bug again. A local theater company was holding auditions for a production of The Music Man, and Mary tried out. She got the role of Marion the Librarian.

  Justin Chanda donated a million dollars to repair the damage to Cape Bluff Elementary School and fill the library with new books. The day after the talent show, he called up Mary Marotta and asked her if she would like to have dinner with him that night. She said yes.

  About the Author

  Dan Gutman is the author of The Homework Machine, The Christmas Genie, Nightmare at the Book Fair, Getting Air, and many other books for young people. You can find out more about Dan and his books at dangutman.com.