Page 3 of Inside Out
“No, we’re not,” Ellie replied, giving Clara a reproachful look. “I’m sure Mrs. Frazier will be back in plenty of time.”
I knew that wasn’t true but didn’t think it was my place to make that announcement yet. Tammy Frazier had just talked to the board earlier that morning and requested a leave of absence for the school year.
“Ellie, she’s not coming back until next year. We’ll have graduated by then.”
“I’m sure there’s someone qualified to direct the school play,” Curtis said drolly. “How hard can it be?”
“Harder than you think,” I told him. “There’s a lot more to it than holding auditions and telling people where to stand.”
“Yes, there is,” Ellie agreed, studying me closely. “You sound like you have theater experience.”
“Some,” I acknowledged with a slight tilt of my head. I had decades of experience, but I played it cool. “Had Mrs. Frazier picked out a play for this year already?”
Ellie and Clara smiled at one another while Curtis groaned miserably. I suspected he was sick of hearing the theater talk.
“We wrote our own play, Dr. Bradley,” Clara said. “It’s kind of like a modern version ofThe Outsiders, but it delves deeper than just the differences between income brackets.”
“Right,” Ellie added. “We looked at things like gender, race, and sexual orientation too.” She leaned over and patted Curtis on the shoulder. “Curtis wrote the music.” Ellie smiled at her friend and added, “They’re the most beautiful lyrics I’ve ever heard.”
“That’s amazing,” I said. “I’ve worked in several school districts, and never once have I seen a group of kids write their own production.”
“We’ve been working on this since eighth grade when Curtis came out,” Clara told me. “We’ve tweaked and fine-tuned it until we felt it was perfect.”
“We even got the school board to approve the production,” Curtis told me. “And now…”
The three kids wore matching looks of disappointment on their faces. They were so close to seeing their dreams realized and felt that Mrs. Frazier’s leave of absence would prevent it from happening.
“Surely there is someone else qualified to direct the play,” I said. “What about the music teacher, Mrs. Hoffenburger?”
“She’s like seventy or something,” Curtis said with a slight sneer.
“She doesn’t need to be able to do backflips to direct a play,” I replied mildly.
“Her taste in plays concerns me more than her age,” Ellie injected. “If she takes over the theater department this year, we’ll be stuck doing an old play that no one our age can relate to or will want to see.” I hated that her positivity from earlier had disappeared.
“The woman hates me,” Curtis whispered.
“Who will be Mrs. Frazier’s substitute?” Ellie asked hopefully. “English teachers make excellent directors. They understand the nuances hidden in words.”
“Mr. Weatherby.” Clara answered her friend. “That’s not going to work either.”
“Oh, hell no,” Curtis said. “Anyone who sounds like Ben Stein doesn’t inspire young actors to get into character.”
“It’s a lost cause,” Clara said.
“I’ll direct the play.” I should’ve thought more before I spoke, but the temptation of directing a play written by them was more than I could resist. I had both the skills and time to devote to the project. It felt like it was meant to be.
The three of them looked at me silently for a few heartbeats while they tried to determine if I was teasing them. Once they decided I was serious, the girls jumped up and hugged each other while squealing happily. Curtis leaned forward, offering his fist for a bump.
“You won’t regret this, Dr. Bradley,” Clara said once she settled down. “I promise you.”
“We need to go create casting sheets for auditions. Let’s set up a Facebook group once we pick a cast so we can share all the information in one place,” Ellie said.
“Great idea!” Clara exclaimed.
“I need to find a few more musicians who can help me create melodies to go with some of the songs.”
“What about Mr. Shepherd?” Clara asked. My ears perked right up.