Fabulous Five 020 - The Witches of Wakeman Read Free Page A

school, and the
last time she'd been in a play, he'd been jealous of all the time rehearsals
were taking. It felt good to hear him congratulate her for her part in the
Halloween production.
    Beth didn't concentrate very well in math or in any of her
classes that day. She was too excited about the first rehearsal scheduled for
the end of the day. She had managed to put thoughts of the Macbeth curse
out of her mind. She didn't believe in that sort of thing anyway.
    Finally the time came. Immediately after her last class, she
gathered up the books she needed for homework and headed for the auditorium.
She saw Melanie in the hall on the way.
    "Beth, good luck at the rehearsal today," Melanie
said. "Say hi to Chet for me."
    Beth rolled her eyes and smiled. "Yeah, right."
    Melanie giggled. "I sure wish I was good at acting so I
could work with him."
    "Why don't you work on one of the backstage crews?"
Beth asked. "You'd be around him that way."
    Melanie's eyes got big. "That's a terrific idea. How do
I sign up?"
    "Come with me. Mr. Levine will be happy to put you to
work."
    "Just so long as I can work with one eye on Chet,"
Melanie said.
    The girls walked to the auditorium. Some of the cast members
were already there, sitting in the front seats.
    "There's Molly McHugh," Beth said. "She's
working on the crew, too."
    The girls approached Molly, who was sitting alone in one of
the back seats. Molly turned and grinned at them.
    "Hey, B.B.," she called to Beth. "Congrats on
your casting."
    "Thanks," Beth said. "Do you know Melanie Edwards?"
    Molly nodded and said hello.
    "Melanie is interested in working on one of the crews,"
Beth said.
    "Well, you've come to the right place," Molly
said, pushing her glasses up on the bridge of her nose. "Mr. Levine is
going to assign some jobs to us today."
    "Great," Melanie said, and sat down next to Molly.
    Molly sighed. "I love the theater. 'The roar of the
greasepaint, the smell of the crowd.'"
    Melanie giggled. "Don't you have that turned around?"
    "That's the name of an old play," Beth told her,
then turned to Molly. "Have you ever acted?"
    Molly shook her head. "I like working behind the
scenes—you know, helping the show run smoothly. Most people don't know how
important the crews are to the success of a show."
    Beth nodded. "That's for sure. I needed all the help I
could get with my props and costume changes during the Ronnie and Julie play."
    The auditorium door opened then and Mr. Levine walked in,
along with Laura McCall.
    "She would walk in with the director," Beth
grumbled. "Still trying to score brownie points, I see."
    Molly shrugged. "Don't let that snob get to you,"
she said. "She's a cipher."
    Beth stared at Molly. "A what?"
    "A cipher. You know, a zero, a zilch. In the grand
scheme of things, Laura McCall is a nothing."
    "Yeah, but in the Wacko scheme of things, she's a big
deal," Melanie said sourly.
    Molly shrugged again. "She has no imagination."
    Beth was curious about Molly's remark, but she didn't get a
chance to ask her what she meant. Mr. Levine was calling everyone down front to
begin the meeting.
    "Welcome, everyone," Mr. Levine said. "Please
move down here so I don't have to shout at you." The three girls got up
and moved to three seats in the fourth row.
    "Dekeisha!" Beth called out to the pretty black
girl sitting in the row in front of her. "Congratulations!"
    Dekeisha turned and smiled. "Congratulations back!"
    "All right," Mr. Levine said. "Those who
signed up for crews, please meet now with Mr. Mendleson, who will be
supervising and organizing backstage activities while the rest of us rehearse."
    "That's our cue," Molly said to Melanie. They got
up and moved, with about a half dozen other kids, to the side of the auditorium
with Mr. Mendleson, the shop teacher.
    "I'm going to announce the casting of the show now,"
Mr. Levine said. "You all know that you've been cast in our production.
Remember, there are no small parts. If each one of you gives his all, this will
be