Norma L

by Jeff Moberg

  ***

  The play was surreal. It was like a dream. All of my lines were there when I needed them. I knew where to go, what to do, and what to say. I knew how to feel, too. I felt Anne’s joy and wonder--and I also felt her apprehension and fear and terror. But most of all, I felt Anne’s hope. The play was alive and I was a part of something bigger and more special than I had ever experienced. Then came the line before the kiss.

  The kiss.

  And for a few seconds, I was frozen in time.

  In all the world, there was only the two of us.

  And even though there were over a hundred people watching in the audience, including all (well most) of our family and friends, it was like Luke and I were the only two people on the planet.

  Luke leaned over to kiss me.

  My BFK.

  Then the lights went out.

  And the fire alarm went off.

  It took me a second or two to realize what was actually happening. The power had gone out and the fire alarm was ringing. Fortunately, the emergency lights came on so there was enough light to be able to see and find our way off the stage and out of the cafeteria. A few people screamed, but Mr. Looney was soon up on the stage, calmly giving instructions. “Everyone remain calm. Please go quietly and calmly through the south doors and continue down the hall to the outside exit.”

  Soon we were all outside. The Haywood Fire Department was there within a few short minutes and after going inside to check things out, they soon returned telling Mr. Looney that it had just been a false alarm and that there was no fire.

  The power being out was another problem. With the storm getting worse and the Haywood Power and Light already busy checking out other outages in the city, Mr. Looney decided to cancel the rest of the performance. Everyone groaned and complained, but we all knew that there was really no alternative.

  And to make things worse, The Pancake Hut had closed early, so the after-the-show party was cancelled too. My mom and my four grandmas and grandpas and six uncles and aunts and five cousins and Kletch all hugged me quickly and said congratulations and goodnight in the cold, snowy, December air.

  Mom gave me a shoulder hug as we got into the car and said, “I’m sorry honey. I know how hard you worked. But at least you got through most of the play. And you did a wonderful job playing Anne. I’m really proud of you.” I gave her the, ‘Thanks, Mom’ smile and put on my seat belt. It was true. I had worked really hard and it didn’t seem fair that we didn’t get to finish the play.

  And it especially didn’t seem fair that I still didn’t get my BFK with Luke. I had been trying immensely hard to stay mad at him for the last couple of months, but when he told me that he loved me, I just couldn’t be mad anymore.

  Claudia Hanrahan had asked Mr. Spinoza if we could just do the play again tomorrow night, but since we did finish most of it, Mr. Looney and Mr. Spinoza felt like it would be too hard to re-schedule. Plus, the weather was terrible—and Christmas break was starting tomorrow. I sighed out loud and Mom gave me that worried mom look. I was a little sad and disappointed that we weren’t able to finish the play. And I was more than a little sad and disappointed that the power had gone out before my BFK. But I also knew that something important had happened that night--something more important than power outages or missed BFK’s. We had told Anne’s story in a positive and respectful way. And I knew that somehow, Anne was looking down on me. And somehow, I also knew that she was proud of me.

  Mom looked at her watch suddenly and said, “Hey… I know what we can do… let’s drive around and look at all the Christmas lights in town!”

  I glanced at her sideways and said, “Are you serious, Mom? It’s a blizzard out here.”

  “Yeah… well… come on… it’ll be fun! And we can make some hot chocolate when we get home!” I kept looking at her sideways. She was acting awfully suspicious, but the hot chocolate part did sound good, so I rolled my eyes and nodded OK.

  As we were driving around, I got a text from Samantha. She had gotten a text from Emily, who had gotten a text from her boyfriend, Ryan, who had gotten a text from Double G.

  She forwarded Double G’s text to me. It said:

  TheoneandonlydoubleG: It was Sperry and McGurk. They cut the power lines and pulled the fire alarm.

  40

  The Best Presents in the History of the Whole World

  After about 20 minutes or so of driving around in the snowstorm in Mom’s beige minivan, her phone beeped. It was a text. She glanced down at it and said, “Well, that’s enough for me. We better head home.” Then she did the highly suspicious fake yawn. I knew that she had been stalling for some reason and that she was up to something, but I was way too tired to try and figure it out.

  Then I got a text from Luke. I hadn’t read a text from Luke in months. If I saw his name on my phone, I just deleted the message right away. But I didn’t delete this one. It said:

  LukeK: Merry Christmas, Norma L.

  Me: Thank you, Luke. Merry Christmas to you too.

  LukeK: I got you a present.

  Me: Really? When are you going to give it to me?

  LukeK: I already did.

  I smiled and thought of what he had told me right before the performance.

  Me: Thank you. What you said to me was very sweet.

  LukeK: Huh?

  Me: You know. The L word.

  LukeK: Oh yeah. No, not that. You’ll see. Look out your window.

  Just then, we pulled into our driveway—and I saw right away what had been going on. There was a HUGE Christmas tree, right in the middle of our front yard. It was tall and straight and full—and it had been decorated with red and green and blue and orange and yellow and white lights from top to bottom. It was the most spectacular, beautiful thing I had ever seen.

  I looked at my mom, who was smiling from ear to ear. Then I slowly got out of the car and slowly walked over to Luke, who was standing next to the tree, also grinning from ear to ear. I looked up at the magnificent tree and then back at Luke and then up at the tree again. “OMG Luke,” I half said, half whispered. “It’s beautiful! How did you do that?”

  He was still smiling. “Bob and Bob Jr. came by and planted it during the performance. I was worried that they wouldn’t be able to do it with the bad weather and all. But you know them—once you ask them a favor, they’ll do anything to help.

  “And what about those two suspicious characters?” I pointed at the smiling moms over by the Jeep/truck/Scrambler thing. “I suppose they were in on the whole thing?”

  “Yep. I couldn’t have done it without my two accomplices.”

  I looked back up at the tree. “Thank you, Luke. It’s the best present in the history of the whole world. I wish I could give you a hug right now.”

  “Really?”

  “Yep.”

  “You mean… you’re not mad at me anymore?”

  “Nope.”

  Before he could say another word, I grabbed him and hugged him tight.

  “Alright, you two,” my mom said as she passed us and walked up the front step, with Luke’s mom following. “Let’s go inside and have some hot chocolate before we all freeze to death.”

  Luke watched them go in, and then, before I could say another word, right there, in the middle of a blizzard, in the middle of my front yard, and next to the best present in the history of the whole world, Luke kissed me.

  My BFK.

  And I was truly frozen in time.