The Education of Hailey Kendrick - Eileen Cook [57]
“I’m not sure we should be taking life advice from him. Thoreau lived in the woods, like some kind of crazy hermit,” I said.
“Call him crazy if you want, but the guy is immortal because of what he did. He took risks. Did you know he was part of the Underground Railroad that helped sneak slaves north toward freedom? This was a guy who marched to the beat of his own drum. How many line followers are immortal?”
“How many people who don’t stay in the lines cross into oncoming traffic and end up getting hit by a car?” I countered. This was something I knew from personal experience.
Drew rolled his eyes. “Singing in public isn’t going to kill you. It won’t even maim you. The only thing that’s going to get bruised is your ego.” Drew pulled the song list back over to his side of the table. He used the pencil on the table to scribble a song number on a sheet of paper. He pulled me up from my chair. “There you go. Now it’s done. Come on. We’re up.”
“Wait, what song did you pick?”
“It’s a surprise. I know how you love surprises.” Drew winked. He pulled me by the arm toward the stage, handing our slip of paper over to the DJ running the music.
“What if I don’t know the words?” I dragged my feet, trying to slow our process.
“That’s why they have them on the TV.” Drew motioned to the small screen to the side of the stage. “You haven’t been going to that fancy school for this long without learning to read. All you have to do is follow along. Now, once we get going, I expect you to belt it out.”
The DJ called our names, and Drew jumped up onto the stage as if he couldn’t wait. He handed me a microphone and took one for himself. A few people in the crowd hooted while we waited to start. I prayed that there would be some kind of natural disaster. A small earthquake would work, anything that would stop what was about to happen. All I needed was for the ground to split open and swallow me alive. It would also work if Drew were swallowed alive. Either option was fine with me.
The music started. Drew had picked “What a Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong. I’d heard the song before, but I had to follow the lyrics on the TV to sing along. At least it wasn’t as bad as some things he could have chosen. Looking out at the audience made me feel like I was going to pass out, so I focused on a flashing Budweiser sign at the back of the room. Drew stood next to me, throwing his arm around me so that we could sway in tandem back and forth for the final verse. Drew motioned to the crowd, and they yelled along with us, “I think to myself, what a wonderful world!”
Everyone cheered for us when we were done. Drew held my hand, and we bowed to the audience. Drew waved to the people in the back. I was starting to think I was going to have to drag him off the stage. I found myself smiling and taking a few extra bows while pulling him toward the stairs.
When we sat back down, some people a few tables over bought us a round of Cokes. Drew leaned back in his chair and put his feet up on the chair next to me.
“Admit it. You had fun.” He shook his finger at me.
“It wasn’t as bad as I thought it might be.”
“Not bad?” Drew waved off my comments. “Coming from you that’s practically a giddy endorsement.”
“Unlike you, I’m not a karaoke pro. It would take more than one song to make me feel comfortable.”
“I’m not a pro. I’ve never done this before just now.”
The chip I was eating fell out of my mouth. “What do you mean?”
“I mean I’ve never done it. I saw the flyer at the Laundromat that they do karaoke here, and it sounded like fun.” Drew noticed my expression. “You’ve heard of Laundromats, right? It’s where the average people go to air their dirty laundry, instead of in tabloid magazines.”
I looked down my nose at him. “Ha, ha. Yes, I’ve