Confessions from the Principal's Chair Read Free Page B

find a place I like, not that it matters to you. I like it here. Besides, we picked on Marcy Willis for her own good. Someone had to show her how pathetic she is. It's like a no-brainer to see we did her a favor."
    Rendi didn't say anything else, just ate her sandwich. I picked at mine for a while, then got up, ran back to my room, slammed the door behind me, threw myself on the floor, and cried into my pillow (generously not given away by Rendi to the two weird people). The tears were real enough, but I took my face out of my pillow, and I scooted over to open the door too. Rendi needed to hear how she had broken my heart. I cried, and I cried.
    It worked. In almost no time, she was knocking at the open door. I decided to play it sweet this time. "Come in." I raised my face just enough so she could hear me, then dropped it back, this time into the pillow. I could afford to be comfortable now.
    Rendi came over and got down to sit beside me. She reached out to touch my hair, sort of wrapping a strand around and around her finger. "Bird," she said, "I hate to see you so unhappy." She started to tousle my hair, which is a thing that has always felt good to me and helped me relax. "Just think how it will be to go to school in a little town. You will know every kid in your class, and, oh, think about acting. They will be amazed at how good you are. You'll have the lead in every play, and we'll look for a place that has a nice little community theater. Why, you could even end up giving acting lessons to younger kids. Wouldn't that be fun?"
    Rendi knew what would appeal to me. I didn't want her to know I was interested, but before I thought about it, I raised my head just a little. I realized real quick what was happening, and I dropped back against the pillow fast. It would be fun to give acting lessons. I'd been studying acting at Miss Deirdre's Studio since I was just a little girl around five. Miss Deirdre is an actress who used to be this big deal on Broadway. She starred in all sorts of plays with famous people, but then she was in an awful car accident. She lost the use of her legs. I guess there aren't a lot of parts for people who can't walk, so Miss Deirdre came to Denver and started an acting school. She said looking at the mountains made up some for not being a star anymore.
    I started off in a class with some other little kids. They mostly couldn't even talk loud enough to be heard and couldn't even really pretend to be rabbits or elephants. Let me tell you, I could do a really mean elephant impression, my arm all drawn up to my face and waving like a trunk. I guess my bunnies must have been good too because it wasn't any time until Miss Deirdre told my mother she would like to give me private lessons, and that she wouldn't even charge us. Everybody said how good I was, and I had just packed away all sorts of trophies I got for being actor of the year at Miss Deirdre's school. Just a couple of months ago, Miss Deirdre told my mother and me that I could be in movies or on the stage in New York right now. She had called Rendi and said that she would like to talk to her privately about my future, but Rendi said I should come along. I heard her tell Miss Deirdre that she didn't keep secrets from me, that we discussed everything and made decisions together. Boy, that turned out to be a big joke, didn't it?
    Anyway, Miss Deirdre said she still had some connections that would help me break into movies or plays in New York. Rendi turned to me right then and said, "Well, Bird, do you want to give it a shot?"
    "We'd have to move, huh?"
    "Yes," said Miss Deirdre. " You would have to move to the coast, either east or west."
    We were in her office, Miss Deirdre behind her desk and Rendi and me on the love seat across from her. "Would I still have to go to school?" I asked.
    "Yes," said Rendi.
    "Well," said Miss Deirdre. "After you got a good-size role, arrangements could be made for you to be taught on the set, but I suppose it would