Facing the Throng

A student volunteers to announce a friend who's running for class office.

Dave had always been stage-shy. It made no sense that he now stood peeking through the curtain at a crowd of high school classmates.

A week earlier, he'd made what now seemed like the worst mistake of his life. He'd volunteered to introduce a friend who was running for class president.

All he had to do was walk out, face the audience, and announce his friend's name.

It was time. The principal beckoned him from behind the curtain. Ever so slowly, he shuffled to center stage and turned toward the throng. And just like that, he forgot his friend's name.