Acting Up by Kristin Wallace Page B

her blond, blue-eyed perfection.
    â€œDon’t take my arm too much…”
    She’d picked the same musical as Joe, only this time the person singing was good. Very good, and oh boy, did she know it.
    â€œYou almost want her to be terrible, don’t you?”
    Marjorie bit her lip to keep from laughing. “Bad girl. We want all our students to excel. We love them all the same, just as God does.”
    â€œSometimes I wish God would spread out His blessings a little more. She’s the best one of the bunch, too. She’ll do for Ellie, though how I’ll ever get her to look like a country bumpkin, I don’t know.”
    Lisa finished her number to a healthy round of applause. Like any good diva she accepted the praise with utmost grace.
    â€œMichelle Cerillo!” Marjorie called out.
    If Lisa was the diva, the girl who walked out on stage next was the backup singer. Thick glasses obscured most of her round face, and a severe ponytail did nothing to enhance any good features she might have possessed. Whereas Lisa acted as though she owned the stage, Michelle shuffled onto it, as if fearing someone would come and drag her off at any moment. She didn’t have sheet music, so she bypassed the piano and went to the center of the stage and began to sing.
    On the first note, Addison’s head came up.
    â€œOh, my word,” Marjorie breathed.
    â€œDid you know about her?”
    â€œNo, Michelle doesn’t speak much in class.”
    Addison couldn’t believe the voice emerging from the stage. Michelle’s meekness had vanished. She seemed to transform right before their eyes.
    As the last note faded, the auditorium went silent. Then applause began. Addison thought she might have even started it. Then the whole place erupted in a thunderous ovation, and Michelle came back to earth.
    After several minutes the applause died out, and Michelle left the stage.
    Addison turned to Marjorie and grinned. “Methinks we’ve got ourselves a play.”
    ****
    Addison spent the rest of evening hammering out the cast list with Marjorie. Narrowing down the prospects from the hundreds of hopefuls to the handful of kids who wouldn’t cause oratory nerve damage and had some stage presence wasn’t so difficult. Casting Luke Mitchell and Michelle Cerillo as leads was a no-brainer. Slotting the remaining students into the correct roles took a lot more effort.
    In the end, Addison chose golden-haired Lisa as Ellie Dooley’s scheming rival. The character of Bree Sommerville was the resident manipulator. Popular, pretty, and not about to yield her status to an outsider from the country, the role was perfect for the young diva-in-training. Then the rest of the cast fell into place.
    The next afternoon, Addison went to the school to post the final casting. Marjorie was waiting in the parking lot, and she hurried over the minute Addison stepped out of her car.
    â€œCome with me,” Marjorie said, even as she scoured the lot.
    Addison glanced around as well. “Are we under surveillance?”
    Without a word, Marjorie took Addison’s arm and started walking her around the side of the school. It wasn’t a stroll either, more like a near gallop.
    â€œYou want to tell me why we’re practically running?”
    Marjorie opened a heavy door and peeked inside. After a second she pulled Addison inside and slammed the door shut.
    â€œYou’re leaving a bruise,” Addison said. “What’s going on?”
    Marjorie chuckled. “Sorry, but the students have started to gather at the bulletin board. The crowd was getting big, and if you went in the front door, I was afraid you’d get mobbed.”
    Marjorie started down the hall and stopped in front of a room marked Teachers’ Lounge. She shoved the door open, and Addison followed. She’d never been inside the inner sanctum of the teachers’ universe and took in everything with great interest.