Sophie took a deep breath before entering the choir room for another Wednesday night practice. Sunday’s rehearsal had gone well, once she’d awakened from her daydream and gotten to work. Thinking about it still made her face burn.
She held up her hands for silence. Nothing happened. Other than the first graders in the front row, the kids ignored her. She clapped her hands. A few turned to look at her, and then went back to their conversations. Time for Plan C. She put her fingers to her lips and blew. The talking stopped and she started in on instructions before they could recover.
“First graders, thank you so much for being in your places and ready to work. You guys will get a special treat later. Second and third graders, you need to get to your seats now. Your feet and hands should NOT touch anyone else. You have sixty seconds. GO!”
Kids scrambled. She watched the second hand on the wall clock and counted. “Forty-five seconds. Thirty seconds. Fifteen seconds. Five, four, three, two one. FREEZE!”
All but two were in place. The twin terrors, Jordan and Josh, continued to run. They chased each other, oblivious to everyone else. The other kids started to react, either cheering them on or complaining.
Mrs. VanMeter had given Sophie a few tips for managing their behavior. She’d anticipated trouble from them, so the minute the sixty seconds had started, she’d maneuvered herself around the group to where the twins ran. She caught each twin by one arm.
“Josh and Jordan, you did not make it to your assigned place in sixty seconds. You must now pay the penalty.” She led them to the front row. The rest of the children froze in place, wanting to see what horror they would be subjected to if they didn’t follow directions.
“Since you didn’t find a place to sit, I will find one for you.” She plopped one boy in an empty spot in the front row, and the other one in a spot in the second row.
The first twin popped up immediately. “I don’t wanna sit there,” he complained. “I’m not gonna sit by a couple o’ girls!”
“You had sixty seconds to find the right row to sit in. Since you didn’t bother to follow directions, you lost the right to choose. Sit.”
“No.”
“Okay.” She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and started dialing. Thirty kids froze, their eyes wide.
“Are you calling Grandma Longton?” one of the twins asked.
She didn’t answer. “Hi,” she said into the phone. “I need you.” A pause. “Thanks.” Putting the phone back into her pocket, she smiled at the frightened children. “It’s okay. I just asked a friend of mine to stop in.”
“A friend? Aww, she probably didn’t talk to anybody. She was just pretending. Mommy does that sometimes.” Jordan puffed out his chest, displaying his bravado.
Josh wasn’t so sure. “What if she really did call Grandma?” he asked his brother. “Remember what happened last time, when she was here? Remember what she said after practice?”
Jordan reconsidered. Apparently, the possibility of his grandmother coming to discipline him again was enough of a threat, because he sat where Sophie put him.
“Let’s review the Three Wisemen Song,” she told the group.
Things went fairly well for about ten minutes. Sophie started to relax as the kids sang a rollicking song about riding a camel across the desert. She taught them to bend their knees and then straighten up on alternate beats of the song, illustrating a rough ride. But the cooperation was short-lived.
“I don’t wanna sing that song. It’s stupid.” Jordan got up and headed to the door. “I’m gonna call Mom. I wanna go home.” He pulled open the door and ran smack into a pair of khaki covered legs. He looked up and grinned. “Uncle Nolan! Can you take me home?”
Nolan DeSmit, dressed in his police uniform, was a formidable figure. He knelt down so he was face to face with his nephew. “Sorry, buddy. I can’t do that. You need to stay here and do what Miss Sophie says without running around. Unless she says to run around.” He looked up at Sophie. “Did you tell Jordan to run around, Miss Sophie?”
Sophie shook her head.
“Then I guess we’d better sit quietly like the rest of the kids here.” He stood, took Jordan’s hand, and led him back to the chairs. “Why don’t you show me where you’re supposed to sit? I’ll watch. I’ll bet you’re the best singer in the bunch. But if you want people to listen, you’ve gotta be doing what you’re asked to do. And afterwards, if you behave yourself, then I’ll take you home, if you want.”
“I wanna sit by Uncle Nolan, too,” Josh cried, leaping up out of his chair.
“Josh, Miss Sophie probably had you sitting over there because you were getting into trouble with your brother. If you want to move, you’d better clear it with her. Otherwise you need to stay where you're supposed to sit.”
Josh turned pleading eyes toward Sophie, and she managed to keep a serious face as she nodded her consent.
Sophie mouthed a thank-you to her high school friend. Running into him after church, she’d been eager to ask for assistance from both sides of the twins’ family. Though having their grandmother there the previous week had been helpful, she couldn’t ask the lady to sit through all the rehearsals. Not surprisingly, only a few of their other relatives had been willing to help. Fortunately, Nolan had agreed, and having a big policeman there encouraged the rest of the children to behave.
Seeing the twins settled, she proceeded with the rehearsal.
“I am going to play some Christmas songs you might know, and I want you to sing along,” Sophie said. “While you’re singing, I want you to use your best voices, because I’m going to come around and listen. You don’t have to sing louder when I’m nearby, because that just makes your voice sound bad. But while I’m listening, I’m going to find out who has the best voices for singing, and who has good voices for speaking.” She started up her mp3 player, which she had plugged into a portable speaker. Strains of familiar Christmas songs began, and some of the kids sang along. A lot of them were monotone, and Sophie made mental notes to give those kids speaking parts. But one voice soared with clarity. Josh Longton. Jordan wasn’t bad either, but not quite as good as his brother. She’d have to speak to him later about singing a special song for the program. Again, she wrote frantically on her notebook.
The song ended, and another one started. This one was a bit cheerier. She started a simple dance step, side to side, encouraging the kids to join her. Most obliged her, though several stopped singing when their feet started to move. Again, she made mental notes about the kids who caught on quickly, and who needed more direction. She added a hand jive, and again the kids cooperated.
A half hour later, she had a better idea of the songs and moves that would work. Now all she had to do was put them together into a pageant.
~~~~
“I haven’t heard anything from you in weeks. Are you still on the case, or shall I have my accountant take you off my payroll?”
Duncan grimaced. Too bad he hadn’t checked the screen before he’d connected the call. If he’d known it was his demanding client, he wouldn’t have answered.
“There’s nothing to report. He takes pictures, he sleeps, he spends time with his girl. I haven’t seen him do anything shady.”
“There must be something. Does he care for his daughter himself, or does he hire people to do it?”
“He does it himself. The only time he’s not with her is when she’s at school or at church.”
“He’s going to church?”
“Twice a week, it seems.”
“What about female companionship? He’s a healthy male, and I’m sure he’s begun keeping company with someone by now.”
“There’s a local girl I’ve seen him with twice. She had coffee with him at the grocery store. And she goes to that church he takes his daughter to.”
“There must be more to it than that. Keep a close watch. And don’t forget to contact me the moment you find anything.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He disconnected before he could say anything that would get him fired. Those rich women thought they owned the world and everyone was their servant. He wondered if her husband knew what she was doing with his money.
It would be interesting to find out. But for now, he needed to keep the lady happy.