AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“And brought back a?” I supply.
“Right. And brought back a banana.”
“And what else?”
“Oh, yeah. My Uncle Ted went to the store and brought back a banana and a paperclip!”
“Amazing! Now the next person repeats that sentence and adds an item.” I look at the next girl in the circle. “Do you want to give it a try?”
For the next couple of minutes, I listen as we go around the circle. The kids can make it to eight items, but when they try for nine, they burst into giggles. I grin and look around the stage, spotting Lucy sitting in the front row of the auditorium. I get up, urging the kids to continue while in the capable hands of Jess and Meg and jump down to meet her.
“Do you have the scripts?” I ask in a hushed tone.
Lucy grabs the stack of photocopies from the ratty red velvet seat beside her and walks them over to me.
“Thanks! And thanks for bringing Charlie.”
“Are you kidding? The kid was born to be on a stage. Putting on a version of The Wizard of Oz is a great idea.”
My smile grows and I wink at her.
“Don’t tell anyone, but I spent a couple of sleepless nights trying to think of how I could prove the community center’s worth to your brother Cole. It had to be something good.”
That cracks Lucy up. “You are a diabolical genius.”
“That’s me. An absolute assassin when it comes to protecting the people and places I love,” I joke. “Hold on, I’ll be right back.”
I clamber back on the stage and clap my hands to get everyone’s attention.
“Okay. Does everybody know what part they are playing?”
A chorus of yeses arise, followed by the sound of pages turning. Dexter frowns as he sits on his hands.
“I got Toto.” He looks up at me. “Is that a good part?”
“Every part is a good part. Everybody gets to speak and act equally.”
A girl raises her hand. “I’m The Wizard. But the Wizard is a boy.”
“Only in the movie. In this play, the Wizard of Oz is whoever we want to play the role.”
She looks thoughtful. Another kid starts to shout a question, but I raise both my hands.
“Meg here will help you all do a line reading of the play. If you can read, read along, and participate. But for those who can’t read, Meg will let you know what your lines are when the time comes. Okay? If you aren’t satisfied afterward, you can switch roles with each other.”
Meg tosses her raven head of hair and smiles at the group.
“Who’s Dorothy?” she prompts.
A little girl raises her hand. “Me!”
“Well, then you have the first line, Sarah Ann.”
“Oh! Okay.” She flips to the right page and starts reading, her words slow as she sounds some of the larger ones out. “I don’t like living in T-- …Tex-- …Texas, Auntie Em.”
I leave them to it and head back to the auditorium. Lucy is now seated by a young woman I don’t know. The stranger has dark hair and gray eyes and is wearing a dark wool coat over a shimmery gold romper. Her makeup is dark and dramatic, but beautifully applied. She smiles at me as I approach.
When Lucy makes eye contact with me, she sits up and makes introductions.
