Shai & Emmie Star in Break an Egg!

by Quvenzhané Wallis

  The ice cream and froyo arrived, and the girls dug in.

  “You know what?” Emmie said through a mouthful of peach ice cream. “Our three characters are like a triangle!” She took three gummy bears and formed a triangle on her napkin. “Ti Moune is at the top of the triangle. She’s super-independent. And here’s Erzulie. She’s the Goddess of Love, so she understands that Ti Moune wants to be with the boy she loves, even if it’s dangerous or whatever. And here’s Mama Euralie, who wants to protect Ti Moune.”

  Gabby laughed. “I like that! We’re a gummy bear triangle!”

  Shai sat up. A smile tugged at her lips. She had never heard Gabby laugh in a happy way. This was a small victory.

  “Hey, new topic! What do you guys think of Ms. Englert’s choreography?” asked Shai. She looked right at Emmie when she said this and sent her an ESP mind-reading message: This is unstructured improvisation! Pretend the choreography is hard!

  “It’s so hard,” Emmie replied immediately. “I wish we had more dance rehearsals! But next week is blocking and scene work.”

  Great improvising! Shai thought. “Hey, do you guys want to come over to my house tomorrow? Our living room is perfect for practicing dance steps,” she said out loud.

  “That’s an amazetastic idea!” said Emmie. “What about you, Gabby?”

  “No, thanks,” said Gabby. She picked up the Ti Moune gummy bear, studied it, and set it down again. “Well, maybe. Yeah, all right. I don’t have anything better to do, I guess.”

  Under the table Shai gave Emmie a double thumbs-up sign. Another small victory! At this rate Gabby would have a total personality change and become as sweet as ice cream in no time.

  Or maybe froyo.

  Or maybe Shai was getting ahead of herself.

  SCENE 11

  Curtain!

  The three girls met several times a week to rehearse on their own before opening night. Ms. Gremillion told Shai that she was really pleased with Gabby’s progress.

  When opening night finally arrived, Shai, Emmie, Gabby, and the rest of the cast were ready.

  Well, kind of ready.

  Half an hour before curtain, the backstage was complete and total chaos. “Curtain” was theater language for when the show was due to start.

  “I can’t find my head thingamabobber!” someone shouted.

  “I forgot my vest!” someone else shouted.

  “Has anyone seen the sewing kit?”

  “I can’t remember any of my lines!”

  “I think I’m going to throw up!”

  Shai sat very still on a wooden crate while one of the parent-helpers, Sarah Swanson’s mom, did her hair and makeup. People swirled around them—arranging the set pieces, searching for missing stuff, double-checking everything. Rio was eating a banana. Nya was doing jumping jacks. Gabby was pacing and drinking honey.

  The stage had been transformed into a beautiful tropical village. A construction-paper tree and a ladder towered in the background. Fake vines hung from the rafters. Hand-painted flowers sprouted from the wooden floorboards.

  Mrs. Swanson uncapped a makeup crayon. “Just a few more worry lines on your forehead, Shai, and . . . Voilà! You look just like a stressed-out mom. Here, check it out.”

  Shai gazed at her reflection in the mirror. Thick creams and powders caked her face. Stage makeup was heavier than regular makeup, since the audience had to see it all the way from their seats. A rainbow-colored scarf covered her hair.

  “Thank you, Mrs. Swanson!”

  “You’re welcome, honey. All righty, who’s next? Ezra, you’re up. Let’s transform you into Papa Ge! I just need to find my sly demon makeup. . . .”

  Shai got up from the crate and walked over to the velvet curtain. Her silk skirt made swishy noises as she moved. She touched her head covering and then her lucky not-matching socks, which were in her pockets because of the everyone-has-to-go-barefoot costume rule.

  She had considered trading them in for new lucky socks, but had decided at the last minute to give them another chance.

  Besides, she wasn’t “sangry”—sad and angry—anymore about having to play Mama Euralie.

  On the other side of the closed curtain, the orchestra warmed up and the audience buzzed and whispered. The scene reminded Shai of opening night last year, and the year before, and the years before that, all the way back to when she’d played a busy ladybug in preschool. Opening nights always made her palms sweaty and her stomach churny and her heart thumpy-racy. She remembered, though, that as soon as the curtain went up, her palms and stomach and heart would grow suddenly calm. Something deep inside her knew exactly what to do. Her brain and body stopped being Shai for a while and became her character one billion zillion percent.

  Shai’s fingers searched for an opening in the curtain and found one. She peeked through . . . and there was her family! Momma, Daddy, Grandma Rosa, Aunt Mac-N-Cheese, Jamal . . . even Jacobe was there, wearing his dinosaur pj’s so he could fall asleep in his stroller later. Samantha was moving her lips and pretending to read the program.

  Shai let the curtain drop shut. Nearby she saw Emmie singing softly to herself. She looked very Goddess-of-Love in her crimson dress and pink flower wreath.

  “Break an egg,” Shai said, joining her.

  “Break an egg!” Emmie replied.

  Gabby overheard them. “Um, guys? It’s supposed to be ‘break a leg.’ ”

  “ ‘Break an egg’ is better,” Emmie told her.

  Shai nodded. “Way better. It’s a super-secret good-luck phrase. Only two people in the universe know about it. Well, three, now.”

  Gabby considered this. “Huh.”

  “Break an egg, Gabby. And don’t forget what we talked about for Ti Moune’s last scene. When she turns into the magical tree? Stand with your arms stretched out like this,” Shai said, posing.

  “Right. Thanks,” Gabby said. She resumed her pacing and honey-drinking.

  In the last couple of weeks, Gabby had been a wee bit nicer. She had started to act more comfortable and confident in her Ti Moune role too. Shai liked to think that she and Emmie had helped her with that. At yesterday’s dress rehearsal Gabby had gotten all her dance steps right. She’d sung the songs without adding extra notes. She’d delivered her lines in a really convincing way.

  “Has anyone seen my top hat?” someone yelled.

  “I just spilled grape juice on my shirt!”

  “We need more blue face paint!”

  “Where are the safety pins?”

  “This microphone isn’t working!”

  And then it was curtain time! Ms. Gremillion asked the cast to gather around her. Mr. Martinez and Ms. Englert showed up too, as did the fifth-grade crew members who were in charge of the sound and lights and sets.

  “You guys have worked hard these past four weeks. I’m very proud of each and every one of you,” Ms. Gremillion said. “Now the hard work is over, and it’s time to go out there and have some fun!”

  Everyone held hands and gave a loud cheer.

  Then they all took their places. The stage went dark except for a few dim pools of light. The orchestra began to play, and the cymbals made thunder sounds. A hush fell over the audience.

  Shai’s palms and stomach and heart grew calm. Her brain and body became Mama Euralie one billion zillion percent.

  The curtain went up. The Storytellers and the Gods spoke their first lines.

  Then the cast burst into song.

  SCENE 12

  The Cast Party (with Extra Cheese and Pepperoni)

  That night everyone showed up for the cast party at Shai’s dad’s pizza restaurant.

  The opening night performance had been amazetastic! There had been a few tiny problems, like Ruby, Isabella, and Glenn missing their cues, and Capone tripping in the ballroom scene and knocking down a couple of set pieces. But overall the entire cast and crew had done an incredible job. Even Mr. Martinez had clapped at the end and sort of smiled in his squinchy, head-tilty way.


  Shai had gotten lots of applause as Mama Euralie. And that hadn’t even been the best part! The best part had been when the whole cast had taken a bow together, and the audience had given them a standing ovation.

  “We are so proud of you,” Momma said, hugging Shai for the billionth zillionth time.

  “I couldn’t have played Mama Euralie better myself,” Grandma Rosa chimed in.

  “Same!” Aunt Mac-N-Cheese agreed.

  “I could’ve,” Samantha said, which made everyone laugh, although Shai knew that her little sister wasn’t joking. “Can I have a piece of the congraduation cake yet? I’m done with my dinner. I ate one and one-quarter triangles of pizza!”

  Later Shai and Emmie went around the restaurant with trays to help pass out seconds of pizza. Shai spotted Jamal hanging out at a corner table with some of his friends from middle school. Jacobe was playing inside tag with Emmie’s twin brothers; all three boys were covered with tomato sauce.

  Shai and Emmie stopped at Rio and Garrett’s table. The boys were in their regular clothes, but their faces were still smudged with makeup, which was pretty much how the rest of the cast looked.

  “Good job, Rio!” Shai said as she put another slice of pizza on his plate. “You too, Garrett. Hey, Rio. Are your parents here? I haven’t seen them.”

  Rio fidgeted. “Actually, they both had to work tonight, so . . .” His eyes lit up. “Hey! Who’s got the present for Ms. Gremillion? Wasn’t Nya in charge of it? We should give it to Ms. Gremillion when we cut the cake, right?”

  Rio and Garrett began discussing the present, which was a T-shirt with the words world’s best director on it.

  Shai and Emmie moved on. At the next table Gabby was holding court with a bunch of people.

  “—and when you gave up your life for Daniel’s and morphed into a magical tree, I just cried and cried,” somebody’s mom was saying to her.

  “Oh, thank you! Did you like the way I posed when I turned into the tree?” Gabby stood up and held out her arms. “That was my idea!”

  Shai made an O mouth at Emmie. Emmie O-mouthed back. Shai had come up with the tree pose idea and had convinced Gabby to do it.

  Gabby waved to Shai and Emmie as she approached them.

  “Good job, guys!” Gabby said.

  “You too, Gabby,” said Shai.

  “You were really good,” Emmie added.

  Gabby regarded them. She had sparkly green eye shadow on her eyelids and magenta blush on her cheeks.

  “Yeah. So. I wanted to, um . . . That is, I should probably say thank you for . . .” Gabby’s gaze dropped to the floor. “What I mean is, thanks for letting me help you guys out. With your acting and stuff. And I guess you kind of helped me, too, so thanks,” she blurted out.

  “No problem,” said Shai.

  “Yeah, you’re welcome,” Emmie added.

  A sweet, comfortable silence settled among them. Then Gabby glanced at the trays Shai and Emmie were carrying. “Hey, why are you hogging all the pizza?” she demanded suddenly.

  Crabby Grabby Gabby is back! Shai thought.

  “What kind do you want? Pepperoni or extra cheese?” asked Shai.

  “Well, pepperoni, obviously. Extra cheese is boring.”

  Extra cheese was Shai’s favorite. “No, it’s not!”

  “Yes, it is!”

  “No, it’s not!”

  “Yes, it is!”

  Emmie held up her hands. “Hey, guys? Why don’t we just sit down and eat? Then we can decide.”

  “Fine.”

  “Fine.”

  The three girls sat down and dug into their pizza.

  It was an almost-perfect ending to an almost-perfect opening night.

  About the Authors and Illustrator

  Quvenzhané Wallis knows a thing or two about creating memorable characters. For her feature film debut, Beasts of the Southern Wild, she was nominated for an Academy Award. Shortly after, she received a Golden Globe nomination for her work as the title character in Annie. She has also appeared in 12 Years a Slave, The Prophet, and Fathers and Daughters. Quvenzhané has many talents and is always willing to try something new. She lives in Louisiana with her family. Shai & Emmie Star in Break an Egg! is her first book. She is also the author of A Night Out with Mama, her first picture book.

  Nancy Ohlin has written more than a hundred books for children, teens, and grown-ups. She lives in Ithaca, New York, with her family (which includes a professor, a Juilliard student, a future veterinarian-superhero-author, and many, many pets). Learn more at nancyohlin.com.

  Sharee Miller grew up on the island of Saint Thomas before leaving to study at Pratt Institute in New York, where she earned a BFA in illustration. Though she has remained in New York, she is still very much inspired by the colors and patterns of Saint Thomas. Learn more at shareemiller.com.

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  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Text copyright © 2017 by Jarece Productions, Inc. • Illustrations copyright © 2017 by Sharee Miller

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  Book design by Chloë Foglia

  The illustrations for this book were rendered in watercolor and ink.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Wallis, Quvenzhané, 2003– author. | Ohlin, Nancy, author. | Miller, Sharee (Illustrator), illustrator.

  Title: Shai & Emmie star in Break an egg! / Quvenzhané Wallis with Nancy Ohlin ; Illustrated by Sharee Miller.

  Other titles: Shai and Emmie star in Break an egg! | Break an egg!

  Description: First edition. | New York : Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, [2017] | Series: A Shai & Emmie story | Summary: When Shai Williams, who plans to become a star on Broadway, loses the lead role in the third-grade musical at her performing arts elementary school in Atlanta, she learns an important lesson about adaptability, from her mother, aunt, and grandmother, all actresses.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2016005374| ISBN 9781481458825 (hardcover : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781481458849 (ebook)

  Subjects: | CYAC: Theater—Fiction. | Acting—Fiction. | Friendship—Fiction. | Schools—Fiction. | African Americans—Fiction.

  Classification: LCC PZ7.1.W35
7 Sh 2017 | DDC [Fic]—dc23

  LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016005374