The excitement was in the air because it was so close to Thanksgiving break, but I felt nothing but worry and fear. My mom sent me a text saying that she needed to talk to me and that never meant good news. I spent the rest of the day wondering if my siblings blamed me for something they did and what did I possibly do that she was mad at me. When I came home from school, mom didn’t talk to me right away which meant she was waiting for my dad to come home to talk to me. I didn’t know what I did wrong, but I knew I must’ve done something really bad.

When my parents decided it was time to talk, I tried to look as calm as possible. My mom was sitting in the chair in the corner of the room. The lamp next to her was the only light in the room, which gave the room more of a serious tone. My dad was on the other side of our long couch, putting his phone away and taking off his glasses. This didn’t help my feeling that I was in a lot of trouble. He wanted to talk to me with nothing in his way. This was serious. On the inside, all I wanted to do was hide away in my room until they weren’t mad anymore. My mom assured me right away that they weren’t mad, they just wanted to talk to me together. While I was relieved that I didn’t do anything wrong, I couldn’t stay calm. I needed to know what they wanted to tell me. Seeing that I was still on edge, my mom asked me how the show I was currently in was doing. At the time, I was in The Little Mermaid and I was preparing for the spring musical, Fiddler on the Roof. My parents have been really big supporters of my involvement in my drama program and I had even gotten my younger sister involved. Talking about the show relaxed me, but I wasn’t sure where they were going with this.

My dad asked me how my job search was going. I responded that I was trying really hard but I haven’t received any calls. At that point, I was trying to find my first part time job and most stores were hiring for the holiday season. I could tell my parents weren’t happy with that answer and I wasn’t ready for the response they were going to give me. My parents had made the decision that if I didn’t get a job before auditions for the next show, I couldn’t be in the show. Immediately, I was mad. It was late November and auditions were the second week of January. That isn’t enough time to get a job! The only thing I could say was “Why?” My parents began to tell me that my involvement in my drama program was taking over my life and if I took a break for one show, I could get a job and be ready for the one after it. I didn’t want to miss one show! I wanted to be in as many as I could. However, I could tell that they were not going to budge tonight. For the moment, their word was final and I had one thing in mind; convince them to let me be in Fiddler on the Roof.

At first, I did try to find a job so I could do what they wanted me to do. I knew that ice cream stands would start their hiring process soon. I looked online and found two applications for two different ice cream stores. I sent both applications in and my parents were really proud of me for taking what they said into consideration. Neither of the ice cream stands got back to me so I tried applying to Krogers. Once again, I didn’t hear anything about an interview so I had to start thinking of ways to convince my parents to let me be in the show, even though I didn’t have a job. I decided I was going to play up the fact that they made this decision while every store was hiring seasonal employees. I also decided to tell them that if I could be in the show and be in the chorus only, that would make me happy. I knew that if I talked to my mom and my dad together, I would be tagged teamed and wouldn’t end well. I decided to talk to my mom when no one else was around and she was in a good mood. If I had mom on my side, dad would follow her lead.

Over Christmas Break, my mom wanted to take me the mall and I saw my chance. We were in the car with the heat on high, making my nervous sweat worse. I took off my coat and reassured myself I could do this. I know I could do this because I was prepared for her to ask about my job search and I knew exactly how I would respond. When she asked I said “Well, the ice cream stands will get back to me in January since that’s when ice cream stands start hiring for the summer and Krogers hasn’t gotten back to me, probably because they’re really busy for the holidays.” It was quiet for a moment, as if she realized that what I was saying was true, and then I asked the big question. “Mom, what if I was just in the chorus for Fiddler? I wouldn’t have to go to every rehearsal and I can focus my time on school and getting a job.” I knew if I pulled the school card, she would say yes. I could see that she was really considering it. She said that she would talk to my dad about it but she didn’t want to talk about it now. I can understand that. The rest of the day went by and nothing else was said. I trusted in my mom that she would talk to dad and figure out what’s best for me.

It was January and I still hadn’t heard anything about my offer. I didn’t think much of it because the holidays had my parents focused on family. A few days before school started back up, my mom and dad sat me down again. They asked how my job search was going and I told them that the ice cream stands will start contacting me in a few weeks and I went to Krogers about my application. I could see that they were impressed with me. They looked at me and told me I could be in Fiddler, as long as I was in the chorus and I was still working towards getting a job! I couldn’t believe it!! They actually trust me! I told them thank you so much and was really excited. I went upstairs and started practicing my audition song.