The Boy Who Refuses to Sing
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Curtis is not a fan of the limelight.
When he was a Sunbeam, every kid had a part in the program. One by one, they walked to the microphone and said their line.
Not Curtis.
He walked up to the microphone, turned his back to the crowd, and said nothing. Then he sat back down.
And forget about singing. In his 10-year church career, I doubt he’s ever sung a single note. At this year’s Primary program, he and each of his buddies had a bunch of speaking parts, so they were given several pages of script. He delivered each of his lines, but during every song he held his papers directly in front of his face.
Earlier this week, I took a few hours off of work to go to the kids’ Christmas concert at the elementary school. I thought he’d be a little less grumpy at school — maybe even sing a few lines, or at least mouth the words.
I was wrong.
While the other hundred-or-so 5th graders were happily singing Mele Kalikimaka, Curtis stared — or rather glared — straight ahead, completely stone faced. Not a smile. Not a smirk. Barely even a blink.
Today all of the Primary kids had to sing two songs during Sacrament meeting. I’m Curtis’s teacher, so I had to come to the stage, too. Since I was standing right behind him, I leaned down and whispered in his ear, “Don’t forget to sing.”
“No.”
“I’ll pay you a dollar.”
Even though he whispered his reply, the disdain was still loud and clear.
“A dollar is nothing.”
“Two dollars then. You could buy a pack of baseball cards with two dollars.”
He wouldn’t even dignify that comment with a response.
He ignored the offer. And stood silently until the songs were over.