11
When Miranda got home from school that usual Thursday, she stopped for a quick snack with her parents.
“How’s Apple Skirt going?” KD asked.
“Banana Pants,” Miranda corrected. “Our play is called Banana Pants. I’m the prop master. Miss Kinde said I have a wonderful eye.”
“And not just because of your new glasses.” KD chuckled.
“Sounds exciting,” QM said.
“It is,” Miranda said. And the play would be even more exciting if Miranda could use it to show Maude how happy Walt and Miss Kinde would be together! Then Maude would agree that love was an important cause.
But how could she get this to happen? She looked up at the chandelier, but the only idea she got was that it would make an excellent prop for Banana Pants.
“Can I bring the chandelier to school?” Miranda asked.
“Absolutely not,” QM said. “It’s screwed into the ceiling!”
“But feel free to use anything that isn’t nailed down,” KD said.
QM gave KD a look, but he missed it.
“Great,” Miranda said. “I’ll go look for props right now.”
Miranda wandered around the castle, ducking in and out of rooms. She turned left down a long hallway, then veered right at a winding staircase. Eventually she found herself in the East Library, where she’d never been. Miranda liked how the dimming afternoon sunlight filled the room and how the books were arranged by color. Then her eyes stopped on a gleaming typewriter in front of a large window.
Miranda had never had any interest in writing before, but the typewriter was so lovely that she couldn’t help walking over to it. If only it were yellow, she thought, then it would make a great prop. (Miranda’s first decision as prop master had been that all the props for Banana Pants would be yellow.) Miranda wondered whether she should let Maude know about the typewriter, since she loved letter writing so much. She’s probably writing letters right now, Miranda thought.
Ugh. She’d never understand why Maude wanted to spend so much time writing a letter about the leatherback turtle when turtles couldn’t even read or understand that they were endangered.
Letters should be written to people who would be excited to read a letter, Miranda thought, putting her index finger on the shiny W key. Then she put her finger on the K key. Miranda could think of two people who would love to read a letter. Especially one that was written on such a beautiful typewriter. And hadn’t Miss Kinde herself said, “Sometimes ideas need to happen before others can see how good they are”? Miranda looked around to make sure she was alone, and then she did an extremely unusual thing. She wrote two letters!