Class Play, Page 3

  “Yes.”

  “Okay. Then I will not tell.”

  “And I will talk to my mother tonight. I will tell her I am not going to be in the stupid play.”

  “Good.”

  “Oh, by the way. I am not your friend anymore, Jannie.”

  “Double good. I am not yours either.”

  MRS. GRAFF AGAIN

  “Mommy?” said Leslie that night.

  “What, sweetie?” replied Mrs. Morris.

  Dinner was over. Barbara and Mr. Morris were cleaning up the kitchen. Leslie’s mother was sitting at her desk.

  “I need to talk to you,” said Leslie. “About the play.”

  Leslie had kept her promise to meanie Jannie. She had returned the key and the playbook. (She had done those things in secret.) And Jannie had kept her promise to Leslie. She had not told on her.

  “About the play?” repeated Mrs. Morris. “Okay. Come sit on the couch with me. You look upset.”

  Leslie did not want to look upset. At least, not too upset. She took a deep breath. She calmed down. “Mommy,” she said, “I have something important to tell you. I want to drop out of the play.”

  “Drop out!” exclaimed her mother.

  “Yes. I — I do not like playing Tweedledee.”

  Mrs. Morris frowned. “Hmm,” she said thoughtfully. “All right. I will call Ms. Colman tonight and tell her.”

  “Thank you,” said Leslie.

  Leslie waited for her mother to call Ms. Colman. When she did, Leslie stood outside the kitchen. Very quietly, she listened to her mother’s phone conversation. She knew she was eavesdropping. But she could not help herself. She wanted to make sure she did not have to be in the play.

  “Hi, Ms. Colman,” said Leslie’s mother. “It’s Mrs. Morris. I am sorry to bother you, but we have a little problem. It is Leslie. She says she does not want to be in the play anymore. She says it is because she does not want to be Tweedledee. But I think it is really because I am directing the play. I think that has been hard on her. So … this is very difficult for me to say, but I have to say it. I have decided not to continue directing the play. Maybe — maybe you should ask Mrs. Graff back. I have a feeling Leslie will join the play again if you do.”

  A long pause followed. Mrs. Morris was listening to Ms. Colman. Leslie wanted to run into the kitchen. She wanted to tell her mother that she had everything all wrong. But how could she do that? If she did, her mother would know that Leslie had been eavesdropping.

  In school the next day, Ms. Colman said, “Class, I have some bad news and some good news.” Ms. Colman was not smiling.

  She looks as if she has all bad news, thought Ricky.

  Leslie squirmed in her seat. She knew what Ms. Colman was going to say.

  “I had a long talk with Leslie’s mother last night,” Ms. Colman went on. “Mrs. Morris said she is very, very sorry, but she cannot direct our play any longer. Something — something came up.”

  Leslie could feel the other kids staring at her.

  “And so,” said Ms. Colman (she tried to smile), “and so Mrs. Graff agreed to take over again. Wasn’t that nice of her?”

  Oh, wonderful, thought Sara.

  Just fantastic, thought Bobby.

  A few kids sighed. No one said a word.

  “All right. Please take out your reading books,” said Ms. Colman. “Natalie, may I see you for a moment?”

  Leslie listened as Ms. Colman told Natalie she would be taking over as Tweedledee. “Just until Leslie changes her mind,” Ms. Colman added quietly.

  “But I do not want to play Tweedledee,” said Natalie. “He has too many lines.”

  “Just for a day or two,” said Ms. Colman firmly.

  Natalie shot Leslie a very dirty look.

  And the rehearsal that day with Mrs. Graff was horrible.

  TELLING THE TRUTH

  Leslie watched the rehearsal from a seat in the auditorium. Her classmates were not laughing. They were not having fun. They were not even working very hard. They just did the things Mrs. Graff told them to do.

  Jannie and Natalie tried on the Tweedledum and Tweedledee costumes. Leslie thought, At least I finally brought in my costume. But Leslie’s costume was too big for Natalie.

  “I am going to trip in this stupid thing,” said Natalie.

  “Well, that is not my fault,” said Jannie.

  “Kids!” Ms. Colman called. “Will everyone please settle down? Natalie and Jannie, stop arguing. Hank, leave Ian alone. Nancy, that tree looks just fine. Do not worry about it.” Ms. Colman heaved a huge sigh. “Mrs. Graff, I think the kids have had enough for today. We will start over tomorrow — when everyone is in a better mood.”

  The kids in Ms. Colman’s class walked silently to their room.

  “Cheer up!” said Ms. Colman.

  But no one did.

  Leslie could not stand it. When school ended that day, she waited by Ms. Colman’s desk. “Can I talk to you?” she asked her teacher.

  “Of course,” said Ms. Colman.

  Leslie watched the other kids leave the room. When she and Ms. Colman were alone, Leslie said, “I have something to tell you. My mother was wrong. I did not quit the play because she was the director. I quit it because I did not want to play Tweedledee. I only wanted to play Alice. I was mad that Karen got the part. So then I decided to wreck the play. I took the key Hank found. And I hid Karen’s playbook. I was even going to ruin some scenery. The Cheshire Cat’s tree. But Jannie caught me. She stopped me. She was going to tell on me, so I decided to drop out of the play instead. Only I overheard Mommy when she called you that night. She thought I dropped out because she was the director. That was not true. But I did not say anything, because then she would have known I was eavesdropping. But —”

  Leslie paused. She took a deep breath. Then she went on. “But now I see how unhappy everyone is. I do not really want to wreck the play.”

  Ms. Colman had been watching Leslie. She was not smiling, of course. But she was not frowning either. At last she said, “Leslie, I am very unhappy about the things you have done. I am glad you told me the truth. But you have caused a lot of problems for a lot of people.”

  “I know,” said Leslie.

  “One of those people is Mrs. Graff.”

  “Mrs. Graff?”

  “Yes. First I asked her to be our director. Then I asked her not to be. Then I asked if she would be our director again after all. She may be strict. But she has been very patient with me.”

  “Hello?”

  Leslie turned around to see her mother in the doorway.

  “I was getting worried about you,” said Mrs. Morris. “I have been waiting outside. I did not know where you were.”

  “Sorry,” said Leslie.

  And Ms. Colman said, “Leslie and I have been talking.” Then she told Mrs. Morris everything Leslie had just said.

  Mrs. Morris looked a lot unhappier than Ms. Colman had looked. “We will talk about this at home,” she said.

  “Okay,” replied Leslie. “But I have to ask Ms. Colman a question.” Leslie turned to her teacher. “If it is okay with you and Mrs. Graff, could Mommy be our director again? I would like her to be. And I would like to come back to the play.”

  “As Tweedledee?” asked Mrs. Morris.

  Leslie sighed. “Yes.”

  BAD AND GOOD

  For Leslie, the next few days were both bad and good.

  Driving home from school after the talk with Ms. Colman was (mostly) bad. At first Mrs. Morris drove silently, looking straight ahead. Finally, she said, “Leslie, I am very disappointed in you. And I am proud of you. I am disappointed that you could not be a good sport about your part in the play. I am disappointed that you tried to ruin the play. And I am disappointed that you listened in on my phone call — and then let everyone believe something that was not true. However, I am proud of you for telling the truth, for asking me to direct again, and for agreeing to play Tweedledee.

  “Still,” Leslie�
�s mother went on, “you are going to be punished.”

  Leslie almost said, “I knew it.” But she thought better of it. Instead, she said simply, “Okay.”

  “No TV for a week,” said Mrs. Morris. “Also, I would like you to write a note telling Ms. Colman you are sorry. You should probably tell Mrs. Graff you are sorry, too. But I will let Ms. Colman talk to Mrs. Graff. That is a bit more complicated.”

  “Okay,” said Leslie again. No TV for a whole week? Monster Marathon — six monster movies in a row — began on Saturday morning. Everyone in Ms. Colman’s class was planning to watch it. Leslie would have to miss it.

  That night Leslie wrote her letter to Ms. Colman. She gave it to her the next morning. And that afternoon, Mrs. Morris came to the play rehearsal.

  Leslie felt bad for Mrs. Graff. And she felt bad for Ms. Colman, who had had to tell Mrs. Graff that Mrs. Morris was taking over as the director — again.

  But Leslie was glad that the rehearsal went very well. Nobody argued or teased or worried too much.

  And Natalie said to Leslie, “Thank you, thank you, thank you! I am so glad you are going to be Tweedledee again. Here is your old costume. I cannot wait to put on my Dormouse costume again!” Natalie flung Tweedledee’s silly jacket and goofy tie and floppy shoes at Leslie.

  Leslie looked at Jannie. She was standing nearby, holding the parts to her Tweedledum costume. She turned her back on Leslie.

  Leslie glanced sadly at her mother.

  “Well,” said Mrs. Morris cheerfully. “Speaking of costumes, guess what?”

  “What?” said the kids in Ms. Colman’s class.

  “It is almost time for our first dress rehearsal. We will be performing the play in just one week, you know.”

  “One week?” cried Karen.

  Half the kids in the class looked alarmed. The other half looked excited.

  “Are we going to be ready?” asked Sara.

  “Yes, I think so,” replied Mrs. Morris. “You have found all the props. The scenery is nearly finished. Your costumes are almost ready. And you know your lines very well. After a few dress rehearsals, you should be ready to go.”

  Omar raised his hand. “Um, what is a dress rehearsal?” he asked.

  “It is a rehearsal when we put on the entire play. You wear your costumes, we use the props and scenery, and we rehearse the play from beginning to end, every scene.”

  Leslie felt a flutter of excitement in her stomach.

  Three days later, the kids in Ms. Colman’s class held their very first dress rehearsal. They found that they knew their lines better than they thought they did. Leslie was even having fun. When it was time to sing her duet with Jannie, they walked onstage hand-in-hand in their matching costumes. But Jannie refused to look at Leslie. When their song was over, she stepped away from her.

  Bad and good, thought Leslie.

  BRAVO!

  “Are they out there?” whispered Bobby.

  “About a million of them,” Tammy replied.

  “What are they doing?” asked Audrey.

  “Just sitting,” said Karen. “And waiting. Waiting for us.”

  “What if we are not ready?” asked Bobby.

  “We are ready,” said Audrey. “We had four dress rehearsals.”

  “At the last one, the Cheshire Cat’s tree fell over,” said Tammy.

  “Well, that will not happen today,” said Karen firmly. “Not during our very first performance.”

  “Kids!” Ms. Colman whispered loudly. “Come away from the curtain. It is almost time for our play to begin. Please find your places. And make sure your costumes are ready.”

  Leslie took one peek out at the audience before she ran to find her place. The auditorium of Stoneybrook Academy was full. Each of the seats was taken. Every single student and teacher in the school was waiting to see Ms. Colman’s class starring in Alice in Wonderland.

  Leslie let the curtain fall into place. Then she ran to find Jannie. Jannie still was not talking to Leslie. But they had to perform together.

  “Okay, I need Alice and the White Rabbit,” Mrs. Morris said. “Karen and Sara, where are you two? It is time to find your places onstage.”

  Leslie watched as her mother led Karen and Sara to their places. In just a few moments, the curtains would open and the play would begin. Leslie felt the flutter of excitement again. Now that is just silly, she told herself. You are wearing a dopey costume. And soon you are going to have to play Tweedledee. And dance around with Tweedledum.

  “Boys and girls and teachers,” a voice called from the stage.

  It was Ms. Colman.

  The audience quieted down.

  “Please get ready for our first performance of Alice in Wonderland! Our class has worked very hard on it. We hope you enjoy it.”

  The audience clapped their hands politely.

  The curtain parted.

  And Sara ran onstage, followed by Karen.

  Leslie held her breath. No scenery fell over. Sara and Karen remembered their lines. The audience was silent. They could not take their eyes off the stage. Slowly, Leslie let her breath out.

  Leslie watched from backstage as Alice fell down the rabbit hole, met the Dormouse and the Caterpillar, went to the mad tea party, and chatted with the Cheshire Cat. Soon her mother was pushing her and Jannie toward the stage.

  “Okay, Tweedledee and Tweedledum,” said Mrs. Morris. “You’re on.”

  To her surprise, Leslie felt nervous again. As she ran onto the stage she glanced at Jannie. Jannie looked terrified. Leslie was already holding Jannie’s hand. Now she squeezed it. Jannie squeezed it back. So Leslie smiled at Jannie, and Jannie smiled back.

  Tweedledee and Tweedledum began their song. The kids in the auditorium giggled. They liked the song! Leslie stopped feeling nervous. She was having fun. Jannie was having fun, too.

  When Leslie and Jannie ran offstage, the audience clapped.

  Jannie grinned. “We were good!” she exclaimed.

  “We were great!” said Leslie. Then she added, “Jannie? Are you talking to me again? Is our fight over?”

  “Yes and yes,” replied Jannie.

  “I am sorry about all the things I did.”

  “That is okay. I am sorry about all the things I did.”

  “I am sorry I got mad at you.”

  “That is okay,” said Leslie.

  When Alice in Wonderland was over, the kids in Ms. Colman’s class ran onto the stage. They took their bows in one long line.

  “Bravo!” yelled the audience.

  Leslie whispered to Jannie, “I cannot wait for our next performance.”

  About the Author

  ANN M. MARTIN is the acclaimed and bestselling author of a number of novels and series, including Belle Teal, A Corner of the Universe (a Newbery Honor book), A Dog’s Life, Here Today, P.S. Longer Letter Later (written with Paula Danziger), the Family Tree series, the Doll People series (written with Laura Godwin), the Main Street series, and the generation-defining series The Baby-sitters Club. She lives in New York.

  Copyright © 1996 by Ann M. Martin

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  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, place
s, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  First edition, 1996

  e-ISBN 978-1-338-09253-0