Tomorrow

They've been promoting the Broadway show, Annie quite frequently on the radio. And everytime the ad came on, they'd play the song "Tomorrow".

Last week, while I was driving around with Mae, the song came on. As it did, I responded to it like the rats in the Pied Piper of Hamlin. My eyes just glazed over and I sang along hypnotically to the tune. "The sun will come out, tomorrow, betcha bottom dollar that tomorrow we'll have sunnn......"

Mae broke out in an evil cackle. "How come you know that song?" she enquired as her laughter subsided. Why would any manly man, such as myself, know the words to that soppy little girly tune?

But yes, I do know that song. In fact, I know it all too well.

I was ten and in Standard 4 at the time. It was our school's Annual Elocution Contest. It was a time when kids would go up onstage and recite poetry. The teacher-in-charged decided to have some of us kid give a little performance while the judging was taking place. And as fate would have it, I was one of those kids picked to sing a song. And yes, you guessed it. I decided to sing "Tomorrow".

As I got up onstage that fateful day, the butterflies in my stomach were fluttering like there was... erm, no tomorrow. I took the mike, tilted it down to my mouth and started, "The sun will come out..." accompanied only by the thumping of my heart. And it was as good as can be expected. Students and teachers alike listened intently as my lone voice filled the hall. (Okay, it was a shitty little school and nobody thought to play the piano or anything!) But there I was, vowing them with my vocal. I was killin' em!

And then it happened! Since there was no instumentation backing my singing, I was pretty much left to my own devices. And thanks to my nervousnous, I had started the song on a key too high. I STARTED TOO HIGH!!!! It was too damn high!

By the time I got to the chorus of that song, the key was simply too high for my vocal range to hit. So I had no choice but to sing it falsetto!! Oh my God! I was singing like Bee Gees, except that I was not as cool (they were cool back then, okay!) and I looked pretty dopey up onstage singing like a little girl. Oh my God.

By then, chaos had swept the entire school. Everyone was pointing and laughing at that sissy boy singing falsetto up onstage! Kids were rolling all over the floor. Teachers cupped their mouths to hide their laughter. I wanted to run off the stage and never come back but I was only halfway through the chorus and my conscience deterred me from quitting. So I sang on. And the damn chorus felt like it would last forever. *sigh* Oh God.

Hahahah! That was the longest day in my childhood life. It was a day I thought tomorrow would never come. Hahahhah!!!