The phone rang on the other side of the room. I held a finger up to my lips, signaling for them to be quiet.

"The phone is ringing! What does that mean?" I said in a loud whisper.

"Quiet time!" The room full of five-year-olds said almost in unison. Little fingers shot up to little lips and they froze.

"Good job! Now stay quiet until I say you can talk again." I hurried my way over to the phone on my desk. I could feel the eyes of all twelve children boring into my back as I answered the phone.

"Miss Snow's room." I said, holding the phone to my ear.

"Yes, Miss Snow? This is Mr. Tomlinson, from the high school." A young British voice answered.

"The drama teacher, right?" I asked. His name sounded familiar, which wasn't too unusual in a town this small.

"I actually prefer the term theater instructor." He said, I could hear the joking in his tone and the smile in his voice. I giggled in response. "I was calling about the play my drama club is putting on, The Wizard of Oz."

"You mean your theater organization." I smiled. I could hear him chuckle.

"Exactly. I am in need of munchkins for the play, so I talked to Mr. Meyers and he suggested you might be willing to donate your kindergarteners to the cause." I turned to look at the class. A few were still staring at me, fingers placed on their lips, some were staring but let their hands fall in their laps, others had continued to work on the picture we were coloring a moment ago.

"I'm up for it, but I have to ask their parents permission before I can garuntee anything."

"That's fine, can you let me know by next week?"

"That would be fine."

"Okay, you can contact me at the school when you find out."

"Alright, I'll let you know."

"Okay, goodbye, Mademoiselle Snow." I could almost see the dramatic bow that would've gone with that farewell. I could see why he was the drama teacher.

"Goodbye, Monsieur Tomlinson." I giggled before hanging up the phone.

I turned back to my class. They were all staring now, hands placed back over their mouths. I walked out from around my desk and stood in front of them, smiling.

"Simon says… stand up!" They all stood, grins spread across their faces. "Simon says you can put your hands down, but don't talk!" Hands fell. "Simon says line up!" They scrambled to get in a line. "Simon says jump once!" They smiled and did what I said. "Simon says clap twice!" Claps rippled from the line of children. "Simon says take three steps forward!" The zigzagged a bit as they moved forward. "Simon says touch your toes four times!" Heads bopped up and down and a few giggles rand through the group. "Stay quiet!" I warned them. "Simon says stomp your feet five times!" They started stomping, grinning from ear to ear. "Simon says you can talk." I smiled. They cheered in delight.

"Who's ready for lunch?" I asked after glancing at the time. 'I am's' erupted from the line of children. I quieted them down.

"Girls, if you brought cold lunch, go get your lunch boxes!" Six of my seven girls ran to their cubbies to grab their lunchboxes and returned to the line.

"Boys who brought cold lunch may get their lunch boxes!" Two of my five boys got theirs out of their cubbies and got back in line. "Are we ready to go?" I asked. Various sounds of conformation answered me. "Okay, but we have to be quiet when we walk down the halls, okay?" I put my finger back up to my lips. They followed my example and I led them out of the room and down the hall.

We entered the cafeteria and I walked them to the table that was reserved for them. "Boys on the left side, girls on the right!" I called over the other children in the cafeteria. They climbed onto the picnic table type seats as Mrs. Tape walked over.

"I have them from here, Shannon." She said smiling and waved at them.

"Thanks, Mrs. Tate." I smiled back to the other kindergarten teacher. My kindergarten teacher. She had been doing lunch duty since I was in her class, and she constantly reminds me now that we are both teachers that I was her favorite student.

I hurried back to my room to eat my lunch and write out permission slips. I plopped down in my desk chair and pulled my lunch out of the mini fridge that sat semi-hidden in the corner behind my desk. I sunk my teeth into my peanut butter and jelly sandwich and cracked open a bottle of water.

I grabbed a piece of paper and a pin and began to write as I chewed.

"Miss Snow's Kindergarten class has been invited to play munchkins in Browning High School's production of 'The Wizard of Oz.' Please sign and have your child return this slip back to school before Friday, 24th, if you give them permission to participate in this activity.

Parent/Guardian Sign Here:_"

Satisfied with the letter, I took a swig of my water before grabbing my chocolate chip cookie and rushed out of the room and to the teachers' lounge.

I placed the paper in the copying machine and ran off fourteen. As I waited for them to finish scanning and printing I slowly ate my cookie.

"Your lunches are like the kids' lunches, Shannon." Someone laughed from the other side of the room. I turned to find Dan laughing at me from the table in the middle of the room. He slurped up a fork full of spaghetti. I cringed. He was discussing. "Maybe you should let me take you out to dinner sometime so you can try adult food." He suggested, spaghetti sauce dripping from his beard.

"No, thanks, Dan. I like my food." I said, not trying to hide the irritation in my voice. I angrily took a bite of cookie.

"Fine then, we can go to McDonalds and I'll get you a Happy Meal." He tried to sound seducing. He didn't realize he just sounded sickening.

I sighed, "Aren't your third graders about done with lunch?" He stood up, his round belly almost knocking the table over. He stretched, revealing the pit stains under his arms. He patted the fat that surrounded his stomach and moaned.

"See, this is what real, adult food does to you." He said, smiling. I shoved the rest of the cookie in my mouth before I grabbed the papers out of the machine and rushed out of the room.

I was relieved when I was safe inside my own room. I could sit and finish my apple slices in peace and quiet for the next ten minutes.

I walked back down to the cafeteria and gathered up my class, saying a quick thanks to Mrs. Tape before walking them back to the classroom. I gave them all their slips of paper and told them to give it to their parents as soon as they got home.

I could hear that British accent again and again every time I thought of the play. I couldn't help but wonder what he looked like. I knew one thing for sure, he hadn't been here for long if this was the first I was hearing about him. After all, gossip spreads like wildfire in small towns.