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Not long after polishing off her Coke, Sandra had to use the ladies’ room. Wanting to stretch her legs as much as possible and kill some time, she chose to use the downstairs one. As she passed the pile of tools at the top of the stairs, she thought about moving them, but decided against it. Most of the kids weren’t here tonight, anyway. And it might be overstepping her bounds to start moving things around, even if her intentions were good. The soccer momming she had down, but she wasn’t quite sure how to be a theater mom yet.
She met Gloria coming out of the bathroom and smiled at her. Now this woman was a theater mom. Her kids were in every Mountain View play that had kid parts. Maybe she should observe her more closely, try to get some pointers.
When Sandra came back out into the hallway, still wiping her hands on her jeans because there hadn’t been any paper towels, she heard Treasure cackle in the green room and noted that she would make a fantastic Wicked Witch of the West if she could find a production of The Wizard of Oz. Though she probably wouldn’t take a role that didn’t allow her to be beautiful. As it was, she was already insisting that Ma Walton get to wear bright red nail polish and her hair down.
“You’re just a kid!” Treasure said. “You’re not a real actress, and you never will be! You’re not pretty enough!”
Sandra’s blood boiled, and she flew toward the green room, almost smashing into Gloria, who beat her there. Sandra stopped in the doorway and surveyed the scene. Treasure was standing over poor little, adorable Corina, who was cowering beneath her pointed finger. What a load of bull! Corina was gorgeous. She had the perfect features for the stage: heart-shaped face; long, dirty-blond wavy hair; rosy cheeks; and pink lips. Sandra had no doubt that Corina would be beautiful for the rest of her life.
For a second, she feared that Gloria, in a full on mother’s rage, was going to strike Treasure. She was shaking mad, and Sandra wondered if she should intervene just to protect Treasure. She didn’t want to protect Treasure. She had come here to protect Corina, but she didn’t want Gloria to go to jail for assault.
She took a tentative step forward, just in case.
“Don’t you ever speak to my daughter like that.” Gloria’s words came out strong and staccato. Sandra made a mental note to never mess with Gloria or her children. Not that she ever would mess with anybody, but just in case.
Treasure leaned toward Gloria. “You’re not scaring me, Mama Bear. I’m just trying to give your precious baby a dose of reality. You tell her she’s a star, tell her she’s going to be a big star, but she’s not. No one from around here becomes a star of anything. You’re just setting her up for heartbreak.” Treasure brushed past her and started to storm out of the room, but Gloria grabbed her by the arm.
Treasure, her face aghast at the nerve of someone actually touching her, whirled back toward Gloria.
“I’m serious,” Gloria said, her voice low, her jaw tight. “You stay away from my daughter, or I will end you.”
Treasure hesitated, as if she couldn’t think how to respond to that. But then she tipped her head back and laughed at the high ceiling.
Sandra cringed. Of all the things Treasure could have done or said in that moment, Sandra thought that laugh was probably the most obnoxious and infuriating.
Treasure ripped her arm out of Gloria’s grip and left the room still laughing. Sandra hurried to get out of her way.
Corina promptly burst into tears, and Gloria took her into her arms, making Sandra suddenly the interloper in the room. She sneaked out, and followed Treasure up the stairs, keeping her distance. Had Otis really upset Treasure that much, that she had to go and take it out on a kid? Or was Treasure just that much of a jerk? And if she was that mean, why did people keep casting her? Did she really sell enough tickets to warrant that? She wasn’t that beautiful. Along with the disgust Otis had mentioned, Sandra found herself feeling something else for Treasure: pity.