Derek felt a shot of pure happiness run through him. He knew there would be tough moments during the basketball season. But right now he was sitting on top of the world!

For the first time in two weeks he could relax and take pride in his accomplishments—at least for a little while.

The basketball season would not be starting for another week and a half. In the meantime, there would be practices, of course—but from now until next Friday night Derek’s laser focus would be on the Fall Talent Show.

He owed that much to Vijay. But even more—he realized now that he owed it to himself.

That weekend the family watched Sharlee and her karate class put on a demonstration for the students’ families. Sharlee was one of the youngest students, but she broke boards just like the rest of them—with an extra loud “Kee-yah!” to boot.

Derek and his parents stood and cheered, and Sharlee could not suppress a grin as she took her solemn karate bow.

The whole experience made Derek really look forward to Friday. He’d never competed in a talent show before. In fact, he’d never been onstage at all. The only time he’d ever performed was on a baseball field—and that was different.

But watching Sharlee do her thing had kind of given him the “bug.” She seemed so relaxed up there, so sure of herself.

Derek couldn’t picture being that comfortable onstage. But during his and Vijay’s rehearsals now, he was starting to get a sense of what it might be like to just perform and enjoy the experience, instead of getting all nervous about it.

“Mommy! Daddy! Ciara is doing indoor soccer this year! Can I do it too? And can we be on the same team? And can we be the red team? And—”

“Whoa! Whoa, there, girl!” said her dad, laughing. “Slow down!”

“What about your dance classes? And karate?” said Mrs. Jeter. “Are you going to be able to do everything and still get your schoolwork done?”

“Yeah, Sharlee,” Derek agreed. “Don’t you think you’re maybe taking on too much at once?” “Like I did recently,” he added silently.

“I can do everything!” Sharlee said, still floating on air from her demonstration of strength and power.

“Well, everything isn’t free, you know,” said Mr. Jeter. “But we’ll talk about it. It sounds like something that might be a good fit.”

“Plus it’s on Saturdays!” Sharlee pointed out. “Right before Derek’s basketball games.”

“Sounds like you’ve already done your research,” Mr. Jeter said, raising a surprised eyebrow.

“Uh-huh! Ciara is on the red team, so I want to be on it too.”

“Well, we might not be able to arrange that part,” Mrs. Jeter said with a laugh. “We’re not all-powerful, you know.”

“You can do it,” Sharlee said with an air of certainty. “You and Daddy can do anything!”