by Maisy Morgan
Bradley, along with a number of other players from both the junior varsity and varsity football teams, were handing out small golden scarves to everyone. “What’s this?” Cindy asked as Bradley’s girlfriend, Stacey, handed her a scarf and smiled wildly.
Bradley presented Cindy with a bouquet of yellow flowers whose stems were decorated with yellow butterfly clips. “It’s for Hannah,” he said matter-of-factly. “So, we’re telling everyone that during the Titanic scene they’re supposed to put the scarves on. When the house lights come up, everyone in the audience is going to be standing up for Hannah.”
Cindy’s eyes filled with tears. Mary took one of the scarves—gold was the color for childhood cancer awareness. “Bradley, was this your idea?” Mary asked him.
He smiled. “Well, sort of,” he said.
Kara, Tripp’s ex-girlfriend turned friend, was also handing out scarves and telling people what to do with them as they entered. “Kara’s?” Mary questioned.
“No, not really,” Bradley said. “After the last football game, we all were hanging out at the Wing Shack—Tripp was there. He started talking about the showcase and about Hannah and how she was doing. Kara said she thought we should do something for her—to show her we’re supporting her, that sort of thing. I know she’s in remission, which is awesome, but she still went through a lot this year. I’m not really sure whose idea it was exactly, but it just sort of happened.”
“Yeah,” Kara said as she approached, handing a scarf to Preston, Lilly, and Matthew. “And, we talked to the coach and to Mrs. Smitz—”
“Kara!” Buck, a football player Tripp and Draco had befriended after a schoolyard brawl, smacked her in the side. “That part is a surprise for Ms. Cindy, shut up.”
“What is?” Cindy asked.
Charlie, Buck’s close friend, grinned wildly at her. “You’ll see. Don’t worry about it.”
Mary exchanged glances with Cindy. “I didn’t know about any of this,” Mary assured her.
Cindy smiled at the boys, and she threw an arm around both Charlie and Buck’s necks for a second before hugging Bradley, Stacey, and Kara as well. “I can’t believe you all wanted to do something like this for Hannah,” she said. “You are just too sweet… does Hannah have any idea?”
“Nah,” Kara said, laughing. “It’s a surprise. Though I know Tripp has had a hard time keeping his mouth shut about it.”
Becky, Stacey’s little sister, came trotting over. She had the informational booklets in her hands, which she gave out to each of them. She took their tickets and escorted them into the theater. The theater was done up amazing for the occasion. The theme of the showcase was Live, Laugh, Love. The curtains to the stage were opened, revealing a lovely set. There were three enormous wooden signs at the back of the stage, each one stating Live, Laugh, or Love. The rest of the set was fairly plain—consisting of black furniture, steps, and railings that could be used for a variety of scenes.
Mary sat down, Preston to her right and Cindy to her left—the Morrises sitting nearest Cindy. Lilly sat on Preston’s other side, Matthew taking up an end seat by Lilly. Sarah Jane was fidgeting excitedly in her seat. They hid the scarves they had been given under their seats as instructed by those handing them out in the lobby. “I’m so nervous,” Mary admitted as she flipped through the pamphlet Becky had given them. It gave a layout of the night, and she could see Tripp and Hannah’s scene would be finishing them off for the night.
“Tripp’s scene is last,” Lilly said with a groan. “That means I’m going to be anxious all evening for him.”
“He’ll do great, babe,” Matthew whispered.
The house lights went out. Stage lights up. The sign that read Laugh lit up—and Mary realized it was full of purple lights. A scene from the old black and white film Some Like it Hot, in which a couple of boys were wearing dresses sneaking around a women’s band, commenced. Mary laughed so hard, her stomach wretched by the end of the scene. The lights on the word Laugh went out, and the word Live was lit up; this one was filled with orange lights. A group of kids were seated around desks, and a scene from The Breakfast Club had the audience’s heart swelling. The lights went out on Live, and then some bright red lights lit up the word Love, and they were able to enjoy a rendition of The Notebook, complete with sound effects of rain and blue lighting across the stage that made them all feel like they were right in the middle of it.
Anna leaned over across Cindy, looking nervous. “Draco’s scene is up next…”
The word Live lit up the stage in orange light. A student dressed in military garb sat on the stand. Draco was standing, eyeing him. “Sometimes men take matters into their own hands,” the other boy said.
Draco stared him down. “No, sir. You made it clear just a moment ago that your men never take matters into their own hands. Your men follow orders or people die. So Santiago shouldn’t have been in any danger at all, should he have, Colonel?”
“You little…” the other boy hissed from the stand.
A girl seated to the side, playing the opposing lawyer, spoke. “Your Honor, I have to ask for a recess—”
“I’d like an answer to the question, Judge,” Draco said quickly.
The girl playing the judge leaned forward from her seat. “The court’ll wait for an answer.”
Draco nodded approvingly. “If Kendrick told his men that Santiago wasn’t to be touched, then why did he have to be transferred? Colonel? Kendrick ordered the code red, didn’t he? Because that’s what you told Kendrick to do.”
The next moments happened fast. Back and forth objections and shouting across stage, each performer full of passion and excitement. Finally, the scene ended as Draco shouted in the other boy’s face. “Did you order the code red?” and the other boy stood up from behind the stand, his whole body convulsing angrily, “You’re right, I did!” and the lights went out. The audience cheered loudly. Glancing over, Mary could see Anna and Roy both looking stunned and clapping wildly. Draco had been pulled far from his comfort zone with this scene, and he had absolutely nailed it.
“That was incredible!” Preston said. “I had no idea how talented he is!”
Mary smiled. They watched several more scenes. There was a brief intermission, and they came back for act two. Mary was thoroughly impressed with each scene; these kids had worked incredibly hard to make this a fantastic end of the school year. At last, Tripp and Hannah’s scene had arrived. The sign Love lit up. A sunset backdrop was displayed. A small spotlight appeared, and Mary could see Hannah. She was in a beautiful period dress, and she was standing—gripping a railing for support. Mary hadn’t expected to see her out of her chair, but the girl was committed to the scene, it seemed.
In the background, Mary could hear the gentle, familiar music she associated with this scene of one of her favorite movies. Then, out stepped Tripp from behind Hannah, he too dressed for the part. “Hello, Jack,” she said, the soft music building ever so slightly. “I changed my mind. They said you might be out here—”
“Shh…” he said, approaching her. “Gimme your hand.” He reached around her, and now Hannah was using Tripp for support as opposed to the railing. “Now close your eyes; go on. Now step up. Now hold on to the railing. Keep your eyes closed; don’t peek.”
“I’m not,” she said, amused.
A fan, though Mary couldn’t quite see it, had evidently been cut on. Hannah’s short, choppy hair was flowing, as was Tripp’s. “Step up onto the rail. Hold on… hold on…” Tripp said, whispering into Hannah’s ear. “Keep your eyes closed. Do you trust me?”
“I trust you,” she said, and it felt so real to Mary. She was up high on that platform, standing there with her eyes closed, Tripp seeming to be the only thing keeping her from falling as she had abandoned her chair or any means of keeping herself upright except for him.
Tripp held Hannah up. She leaned back into him as he playfully extended her arms. “All right. Open your eyes.”
The music continued to build. It was the quietes
t the audience had been all evening. Not a single person was fidgeting in their seats, not even Sarah Jane—the little girl was on the edge of her seat. Beside Mary, Cindy’s eyes had filled with tears again. “I’m flying, Jack!” Hannah said.
Tripp wrapped his arms completely around her, and he began to sing softly to her. “Come, Josephine, in my flying machine, going up, she goes up, up she goes…” Her arm went up around him, and their lips met. The music continued to play, and slowly, the stage lights went out.
Cheering erupted. Everyone stood up, and as the lights came back on at last, the entire cast started to make their way back onto the stage. Someone had helped Tripp get Hannah down from the podium and into her chair, and he wheeled her into the lineup for curtain call. She hadn’t noticed yet; she was concerned about getting to the lineup. Tripp and the other young actors had all thrown yellow scarves on themselves. Hannah looked around, a bit flabbergasted. She gazed out into the audience, and she covered her mouth. Everyone was standing—some wearing their scarves, others waving them and cheering, “Go Hannah!” and someone in the back shouted in a screechy voice, “Hannah, we love you!”
Hannah looked up at Tripp, and he smiled down at her. He leaned down and kissed her forehead, and she bowed from her chair as the rest of the lineup did the same. “That’s my son up there! The one who played Jack…” Lilly was proudly telling a couple seated in front of them whom they had chatted with during the intermission.
Mary smiled at Lilly; her eyes had tears in them. Matthew was looking up at Tripp with this incredible look of pride as well. Mary breathed deeply, looking up at Tripp, who locked eyes with her for a moment and shot her a thumbs up before the curtains closed. Mary wiped a few tears from her eyes too. “He was so good—they all were,” she said, and she turned to look at Preston.
“Ladies and gentleman!” a voice came over the intercom. “Please stay in your seats.”
The curtains opened again, and Mrs. Smitz and Coach Lawson were suddenly standing together, center stage. Mrs. Smitz had a microphone. “Ladies and gentlemen, we have an announcement for you all tonight,” she said. “As many of you know, one of our young actresses has had a rather rough year. We are so happy to learn that Hannah, our lovely Rose from our Titanic performance tonight, is in remission.”
The audience clapped wildly. Cindy looked a bit confused—as confused as Mary felt. Mary wondered, since Coach Lawson was up on stage, if this was what Kara had been muttering about in the lobby. “I am Mrs. Smitz, the drama director here at school. This is Coach Lawson, the varsity football coach here. Our students came to us about a month ago, wanting to do something for Hannah. Ms. Cindy, can you come up here, please?”
Cindy looked mortified, but Mary and the others pushed her along. Soon she was standing up on stage with Mrs. Smitz and Coach Lawson, looking quite embarrassed to have so many eyes on her. Tripp was rolling Hannah out on stage; she too looked confused. The coach took the microphone for a moment. “Tripp is not only a drama student, but he’s part of our football team here at the school. These two kids right here have more heart than anyone I know. I’m so proud to have had the opportunity to have gotten to know them this school year. As Mrs. Smitz was saying, a group of students came to us about a month ago, wanting to do something for Hannah.”
Mrs. Smitz took the microphone back. “We know that there have been a lot of bills coming your way, Cindy and Hannah, and so we have taken everything we earned from the performances this weekend, and it will be going to help you pay off some of those medical bills.”
“And,” Coach Lawson said, taking the microphone back. “Our kiddos have elected to take the money that would have been going towards new uniforms for next year to go to you as well. All of the proceeds from the last three games for tickets and concessions will be going to help as well.”
Cindy was crying. Hannah was covering her face in embarrassment. “Hannah, you make our lives so much brighter,” Mrs. Smitz said. “You have made such a wonderful impact on the students at this school. We love you, and we certainly hope you’ll continue to be a part of the drama program here as well. There will be an afterparty in the lobby, everyone!”
Mary and the rest of the audience clapped wildly. They all merged at the apron of the stage. Hannah was gushing with embarrassment. Cindy was hugging Tripp, Mrs. Smitz, Coach Lawson, and just about anyone else she could get her hands on. They settled in front of the stage, talking excitedly about the scenes they had just put on. Lilly hugged Tripp around the neck, telling him how proud she was of him. Mary was a bit overwhelmed with all the excitement and learning about what all the students had done for Hannah that she almost didn’t notice the smirks on everyone’s faces.
Tripp was staring at her, smiling eagerly. Hannah and Cindy were too. Roy and Anna were clutching onto one another, staring right at her. Lilly and Matthew were doing the same. Draco had his arms crossed, a wide grin on his face. Sarah Jane giggled wildly and then pointed. Mary turned to see what the little girl was pointing at and what had everyone so on edge suddenly. She turned around. Turns out, everyone had one more surprise that evening. Preston was down on one knee. “So,” he said, opening up a small box and revealing a ring. “I had a bunch of stuff I wanted to say, but I’m kinda freezing up here, Mary,” he said embarrassingly.
Mary laughed. She had had a feeling this was coming. She wiped her eyes. “Of course, Preston,” she said, and he jumped up, slipping the ring onto her finger and kissing her—she could hear the music from Titanic playing in the background while Tripp, Lilly, and the others cheered excitedly.
They had managed to make it through the school year with only a few hitches along the way. Now, a new chapter was about to begin, and Mary was looking forward to it.
Thank you!
Thank you so much for making it to book four of this wonderful cozy mystery series. I had a blast writing it! I hope you loved it and that you find the time to leave an honest review.
If you’d like to find out about my latest releases, you can join my Maisy’s Mysteries Club here!
About the Author
Maisy Morgan is a retired nurse and single mother of a set of pre-teen twin boys. She has been an avid reader since she was a child. After retirement she tried writing and found mysteries fascinated her. Some of her best work came from real life stories when she had worked in the ER. Patients who find themselves in unplanned and serious situations didn’t mind sharing their stories with a kind face that is willing to listen.
Over the years she has traveled to the locations where her stories are focused. She felt a closer connection to the people by having gone there herself.
The one ‘valid and consistent’ feature that is not fiction in her books is her precious cat Sweet Feet.
He is just as portrayed a rescued polydactyl cat that loves being spoiled by his owners. Generally, when she is writing he is lying close by, as if to offer his help. And to sometimes type a few letters in. Hopefully you don’t find too many Sweet Feet induced typos.
You will find him in all of her Sweets Shop Cozy Mysteries books.
Hope all of you enjoy my adventures as much as I enjoy creating them!
