Pride

I peek out of the curtains. It's a full house. Everyone is on their feet. The team that I sent to warm these guys up is working hard. Must remember to raise their pay. It's almost my moment. I get jitters every single time. This is 7th tour. I have released 15 albums and won a lot of big awards that sit on shelves in my two houses. But every time I have to perform I get nervous. Almost like they will hate me if I don't do well. Almost as if I might get booed off stage.
My cue is here. I signal for the lights to go out. I have asked them to keep the lights off for 10 seconds. I get to my place. Go to my pose. The audience quiets down. They don't know what to expect. My show differs every day. That's part of my strategy. And the lights start coming on from the back of the hall. They turn to see me there. But then the light slowly reaches the center stage and here I am. Quiet. The audience expectant.  There is a buzz that slowly starts.

I start off on a high note. They start cheering immediately. They go mad. I make my voice hard, soft and hard again. It quivers, becomes breathless. My pauses are calculated. The slightest tremor in the chord is designed to show my voice off. I am the queen. I know how to rouse them. I know exactly what song I will sing, what legs will look like, what my face will look like. I know exactly who I am going to point at. They are going to be my clay. I shall twist and  turn them as I wish.

Booed off?! As if!! My stage, my songs, my audience. They are my slaves for the next few hours. I ask them to listen to what I sing. They do and some even faint. Some try getting on stage. Not likely. I have heavy bouncers in place. I love my fans...I really do,but from a distance. The untouchable distance, that is where I belong,
Like I said, I am a queen...The Queen.