Chapter Seven

Showtime!

On the morning of the play, I crawl into bed with Grandma Levine.

“Bubbe,” I say. “I’m worried.”

“Why, Lola Esther?” she asks with a smile.

“Because you flew here all the way from Florida to see me in the play, and I don’t even have any lines. I’m not important.”

“But, Lola, everyone is important, most ESPECIALLY you.”

“Well, Ms. Tinkle doesn’t think so—she thinks I’m afraid to be onstage, and I’m not! And these two girls, Alyssa and Makayla, are the stars of the show, and the truth is I dislike them very much. They aren’t ever nice to me.”

“Are you nice to them?” Bubbe asks me. I think about it.

“I try to be,” I say.

“Well, that’s what’s most important, my sweet. You are smart and special, and I’m sure Ms. Tinkle knows that. We can’t always get what we want at the exact time we want it.”

“Do you think I’m dramatic, Bubbe? Or am I just loud?”

“Lola Esther,” Bubbe says with a smile and a wink, “the truth is you are both—just like me.”

Later, when Dad and Bubbe drop me off at school, Bubbe blows me a kiss out the window. She’s dressed up for the play, with a long purple dress and a peacock shawl with gold fringe. She wears gold shoes to match, of course.

When I walk into the gym, Ms. Tinkle stops me first thing.

“Lola! We have a crisis. Juan is sick, so you have to say his lines,” she says. “Here they are—learn them!”

“You mean I’m Squirrel Number One now?” I ask.

“Yes!” Ms. Tinkle says. “You are Squirrel Number One AND Number Two! Just remember, Lola, the show must go on!” And then she’s off to adjust Makayla’s fairy wings.

Suddenly, I feel sick. I can barely breathe in my fur. I sink into the corner, holding the paper with my new lines, and Josh walks over to me.

“Josh!” Alyssa yells. “Come back. I need you to rehearse with me.” He ignores her.

“You’re going to do great,” Josh says, looking very kingly with his crown.

“Thanks, Josh,” I say, “but I only have an hour to memorize my lines, and what if I freeze again?”

“You can do it, Lola,” Josh says. “You are the smartest person I know, and since when is Lola Levine afraid of anything?”

“Josh Blot,” I say, “you are a super best friend.”

I am going to show Ms. Tinkle and everyone else that I, Lola Levine, can act and be dramatic, even up on a big stage.

I go over my lines again and again until Ms. Tinkle says, “It’s showtime! Everyone backstage. I’m going to open the doors and let the audience in.” Pretty soon the audience has been seated, the lights go on, and the curtain goes up. Josh gives me a high five, and the play starts.

Things go okay until it’s time for my important scene. I realize I have a problem, and it’s a big one. My furry tail is stuck! It’s stuck on one of the roots of the big tree in the center of the forest. And the roots are really just the metal legs of the round table from the teachers’ lounge wrapped in brown paper and duct tape, so it’s stuck good. I need help, or I won’t be able to make my offering to the King and Queen of the Forest and say my brand-new lines. I look around for help. Makayla is closest.

“Psst, Makayla! Help me disconnect my tail. It’s caught on this root!” I say.

“Lola, I’m about to present my fairy flowers!” Makayla says. “Leave me alone!” Then she flits over to the king’s and queen’s thrones, flaps her sparkly wings, and offers her basket of flowers with a bow.

“Queen Arden, I give you these flowers to nurture and grow,” Makayla says. “And I pledge the loyalty of fairies from high and low.”

I’m starting to sweat in my fur. I try to get my tail out from under the tree, which starts to tilt. It takes all my soccer muscles to make sure it doesn’t fall over.

The bluebirds flap over to Josh and Alyssa, the king and queen.

“A gift for you, our beautiful queen! A song of happiness to fill the forest green.”

The bluebirds start to sing, and sweat is dripping from my forehead. I have only until the end of the song to unhook my tail. The song ends. Improvise, I think.

“Greetings, Queen Arden, from your bushy-tailed friend!” I say from near the back of the stage. No one can see me, but luckily, I have a loud voice. I keep tugging as I talk.

“I come with a basket of nuts to lend.” I don’t know what to do, but I want Queen Arden to get her gift, so I come up with an idea. I pick up an acorn and toss it over the bluebirds’ heads toward the thrones. I hear it hit the floor, so maybe I missed the horn of plenty holding the gifts. I try again.

“OUCH!” I hear Alyssa say in a not-very-queenly voice. “You hit me in the head!” Now everyone is moving away from me, and suddenly the audience can see me. I’m sweating and pulling, and my tail is not coming unstuck. I need to think fast.

“Queen Arden, I’m sorry I hurt thee, but my tail is stuck on the root of this tree!”

I toss the last two acorns, and this time, Josh is prepared. He jumps up and catches them.

“A present from us squirrels…,” I start to say, and then—riiiiiip!—I fall down on all fours. “Ouch! My knee!”

There is a gasp in the audience. Then Olivia points to the place where my tail is supposed to be.

“There’s a hole in her pants!” she says. I feel the air on my skin and know she’s right. What am I going to do?

Then I hear it. A loud, dramatic voice. “My squirrel is hurt!” It’s my bubbe. I think of her crazy peacock shawl.

“Grandmother Peacock!” I say. “Come with your shawl and save the day!”

“I’m coming, my squirrel,” says Bubbe as she makes her way to the front of the gym. “Out of my way!”

All of a sudden, I hear Josh.

“Um, Grandmother Peacock!” he says. “Welcome to our forest. Do you have a gift?”

Grandma Levine looks at Josh and looks at me and says, “Yes, young king, I do,” and then she throws her peacock shawl over everyone’s heads toward me. I catch it, of course, because I am a goalie after all! I know exactly what to do. I wrap the shawl around my waist and turn to the audience.