I take the stairs two at a time, then turn to walk toward the podium where there’s already a live mic mounted and waiting for me. It takes a few minutes for all the chatter to die down after I step in front of the podium with Mrs. Cyprus right behind me, but when it does, she steps up and taps the mic a few times to make sure it’s working.

“Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for coming,” she says, her voice booming throughout the auditorium. For some reason, I didn’t take into account that I’d be hearing my own voice while I was speaking. That makes me flinch a little, but I’ll get through it. No one likes the sound of their own voice.

“While I’m sure our guest today needs no introduction—he’s a bit of a local hero at the moment—I’d like to formally welcome Declan Murray, the newest member of the Denver Aces. Let’s give him a warm Bear River welcome!”

The students clap as requested but don’t go crazy, which makes me wonder if they really do know who I am, or if they just think I’m some random guy who came to lecture them just like the rest of their teachers.

Mrs. Cyprus keeps hyping me up, giving a bit of backstory to the kids about how I spent years grinding before I finally got my big break with the Aces. I try to stay focused on her words, but my nerves are getting to me and making it difficult to stay right here in this room. I don’t know where I’m going, but I feel like I’m drifting away.

It’s not until Mrs. Cyprus extends an arm and beckons me forward that I realize it’s showtime. Panicked, I reach into my pocket for the folded piece of paper with my speech scribbled on it and step up to the podium to drop the piece of paper on the little shelf. I clear my throat and take a look out at the crowd, which is a mistake because it makes my palms even sweatier than they already are.

It’s fine. They’re just hundreds of copies of Hannah, remember?

Nodding to encourage myself, I discreetly wipe my palms on my pants and lean closer to the mic.

“Hello, everyone. Thanks so much for having me.” The auditorium instantly falls silent, and every pair of eyes in the place locks on to me. It’s so quiet in the cavernous space that I can hear a faint buzzing coming from somewhere, probably the audio system. Someone at the back of the crowd coughs.