Assassination Day
Page 22
[Keep mid range shots for the first two dances. In the waltz, get close ups of their steps and how they hold each other. Show their faces. Near the end, pull gradually away so that you can see the couple dancing. Fade stage lighting almost to black but keep a little back light on so that Will and Izzy will be in a silhouette. In the final seconds of the dance, Izzy will rise onto the toes of her front foot, raise her back foot and lean towards Will's face. Freeze on the silhouette just as their lips touch, hold for 5 seconds, and fade to black. For the special ending, add the different background at the end of the dance, hold on the silhouette for 5 minutes, and fade to black.]
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Chapter 28
My readers will be very aware of Assassination Day, so I don't have to tell you about it or how it became an established holiday in Alberta. But you may not know that in Coronation, an evening of barn dancing has been held faithfully every September 1 since 2082. At 10:45 p.m., Coronation citizens gather in an open field, form a circle, hold hands, and watch the sky while the kiss that woke the province is replayed on all of their electronic devices. If you ask the right people politely, they may show you the actual pair of moccasins that Izzy wore that summer day in 2082 when she and Will visited the community.
But on the evening of September 1, 2082, nobody knew how popular the Assassination Day celebration would become. As word spread of their promo show ending with Will and Izzy waltzing, some watched just to see what everyone else was talking about. Then, when news spread quickly about Will's Assassination Day gift to Izzy, people from all over watched the WZBN website's clip of that dance over and over as the couple kissed passionately while a shower of coloured sparks of light cascaded down out of the sky, each exploding with tingling concussions only to create even more cascading flashes of light until the sky was full of multi-coloured sparkles.
For years afterwards, people would still watch the famous 5-minute clip, and share with friends where they were, what they were doing, and who was with them at 10:55, September 1, 2082. Now I am given a granny chair to sit in as the little girls in my family gather around me to celebrate the day. Their mothers, grandmothers and I join hands, form a circle, and watch the clip. I still remember my first Assassination Day with the full moon forming the romantic silhouette against the dark mountain background where I lived and then the sight of Will and Izzy kissing passionately under the cascade of what some refer to as Melissa's diamonds. I must confess that even in my advanced years, I still get tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat.
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Other Novels by David J. Wighton
It would be best to read the novels in the Wilizy series in order.
I Got'cha: Book #1 in the Wilizy Series (July 2081 to October 2081
If you think being a teenager in today's world is tough, try being one in 2081. In Alberta's It's Only Fair society, your brain-band will zap you just for chewing with your mouth open. One boy pried his brain-band off to see what living with emotions would be like. Being chased by the entire Alberta army was bad enough. It became worse when another 15 year old kid offered to help him escape.
The Get-Even Bird: Book #2 in the Wilizy Series (November 2081 to April 2082)
Will and Izzy are forced to flee from Zzyk's army. After months away from Alberta, they fly their sailing ship into B.C. thinking that they would be safe there. Bad mistake! Izzy is captured. All Will has to do to save her life is turn himself in for a free brain-band fitting appointment. That's what happens when you wear a Zorro costume to a dance.
Assassination Day: Book #3 in the Wilizy Series (May 2082 to September 2082)
A DPS technician offers to defect if the Wilizy will rescue his daughter from The Citadel – some super smart military people who are friends with Zzyk. Izzy thinks that their new recruit is an assassin, but Yollie insists that he's a decent man. Can assassins be decent men? It will take a hair-raising experience to find out.
Hoist the Jolly Lucas: Book #4 in the Wilizy Series (September 2082 to March 2083)
It's bad enough that Zzyk pins the blame for two assassinations on Izzy and launches a full out assault on their home compound. But then, another enemy takes advantage of a security lapse to get revenge for a war that happened 20 years ago. The Wilizy are left reeling with two key members kidnapped and stashed where they can't be found, let alone rescued. For the family to survive, everybody must enter the battle. The story is as much about the past as it is about the present.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Torpedoes: Book #5 in the Wilizy Series (March 2083 to September 2084)
Mac disappears and doesn't want to be found. Will and Wolf use time-travel to search for her and discover secrets she wouldn't want them to know. The Alaskans attack when Will is finding out what happens to a submarine's air when it is lying helpless on the ocean floor. Between the Alaskans' impenetrable fortress and their bubblegum weapons, life is going to get a little sticky for the Wilizy.
Bob, the Invisible Dragon: Book #6 in the Wilizy Series (September 2084 to May 2085)
Raging hormones as well as Raging Gardeners play key roles when young Wilizy warriors are attacked and the Wilizy's scientific marvels offer no protection. The youngsters' future will rely on a different kind of warrior protecting them. Warning: events at the end of the story will move quickly. They certainly won't drag on.
Nary, Nary, Quite Contrary: Book #7 in the Wilizy Series (May 2085 to December 2085)
Theo and Lucas move to Toronto to live on their own. Both meet girls but neither is brave enough to introduce his new friend to the family. They wouldn't have the time anyway, what with villains trying to assassinate them and Voodoo royalty greeting them as though they were Voodoo gods. At the end of the story, Lucas receives a surprise Boxing Day gift that leaves him speechless.
Maddy's a Baddy: Book #8 in the Wilizy Series (December 2085 to May 2086)
Maddy had escaped from Big Momma only to find herself all alone in the cold and begging for food in Eastern Canada. While she's trying to return to her home in Seattle, the Wilizy have their own problems. Everybody in the family is intent on bringing the judge to justice for what he did to Lucas. It would have been so easy for them to rescue Maddy, but they didn't know anything about her.
Bite Me! Book #9 in the Wilizy Series (May 2086 to July 2086)
Spurred on by Marie's desire to eat a meal with her former slave masters, the Wilizy plan to put Safe Haven ranches out of business. In the process, they encounter two foreign assassins intent on abducting Maddy. Theo and Nary become closer but a red-eyed chaperone does not approve. The Wilizy's war with Safe Haven starts with a bang but ends with a whimper.
Wheelchair Moccasins! Book #10 in the Wilizy Series (July 2086 to November 2086)
A 13 year old girl pretends to turn to prostitution to gain her freedom from her crime boss father. In Wilizy family news, Winnie agrees not to meddle in Mathias' love life. No, the world isn't ending, so long as you don't have a green vegetable for your name. Best advice ever? If somebody wearing moccasins and sitting in a wheelchair offers to sing you to sleep... run!
Yes, there'll be an eleventh book in the series.
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About the Author
David J. Wighton is a retired educator who enjoys writing youth novels when he's not on a basketball court coaching middle-school girls. The books in his Wilizy series peek at how people lived after the world's governments collapsed in the chaos that followed the catastrophic rise in ocean levels and the disappearance of the world's last deposits of oil. Luckily today, in the 2080s, the citizens of Alberta are safe because their It's Only Fair society uses brain-bands to zap people whenever they break a rule. That way, all children grow up knowing the difference between right and wrong. Unfortunately, they're also taught that women's ankles need to be covered so that men can't see them and turn into perverts. Plus, nobody in Alberta can have babies any more because the governm
ent manufactures them in a way that ensures that no child has an unfair advantage over any other child. All of this makes sense to Alberta's dictator, but not to Will and Izzy – two teenagers who are decidedly different from everyone else.
Wighton's novels have strong teenage characters driving the plot and facing challenges that, in many respects, are no different from what teenagers face today. His novels are intended to entertain and readers will find adventure, romance, suspense, humour, a strong focus on family, plus a touch of whimsy. Wighton also writes to provoke thought about life in today's societies and what the future might bring. Teachers may find the series useful in the classroom and the novels are priced with that intent in mind.
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