CHAPTER 3: Dawn

Dear Dad, Carol, Mrs. Bruen & Jeff,

Greetings from cold, snowy Stoneybrook, Connecticut! How are things going with you? I've been doing all right, considering the fact that I miss you guys a ton. I also miss the warm and sunny weather, but I'm getting used to the wind, ice, and snow. I'm glad to say that so far, the roads have been pretty good. I don't plan on living where it's this cold, though.

Granny and Pop-pop say hi, and told me to tell you thanks for the DVD of It's A Wonderful Life. In fact, I still remember when we watched that movie for the first time, and Jeff did his impression of Jimmy Stewart when he gets his second chance. How old was he? Two? Three? I don't remember now, but I think that's the hardest I've ever laughed in my life. (If he sees this, tell him not to worry, I won't tell anyone. But he still looked pretty funny.)

Hey, guess what? SMS is going to do Carnival this year. (I'm still kicking myself for not telling you about Peter Pan.) In case you don't remember it, it's based on this old movie called Lili. Mary Anne and I saw the show in Stamford last month, and it was great. I think you'd really enjoy it if you saw it.

And yes, I promise to send you a video...

For the rest of the weekend, the only thing any of us could think about was what parts we'd gotten. For the leads, these were my predictions:

Lili—either Cokie Mason (AKA the poor man's Paris Hilton) or me.

Paul—probably that mega-cute guy, Jason Everett (who Claudia likes, but don't tell her I said that).

Rosalie—most likely Stacey.

Jacquot—either Pete Black or Jason.

Schlegl—definitely Charlie Thomas.

Marco—hmm. If he doesn't drive Stace to justifiable homicide, maybe Sam Thomas.

On Monday, I caught up with Kristy and Claudia on my way to lunch. "Hi, you guys!" I called, waving.

"Hi, Dawn," Claud said. "Oh, I heard the cast list was going to be posted sometime today."

"Really?" I asked.

Kristy nodded. "It'll be on the wall outside Mr. Taylor's office. If I were you, I'd definitely try to beat the crowd."

"Well, easier said than done, but I'll give it a shot," I laughed.

"So, what do you think will be on the menu today?" Kristy grinned wickedly. She's notorious for having the smelliest locker, because she leaves gym socks in there for months at a time, and for making disgusting comments about the school lunch. "Hopefully, it'll be something that's easily identified by science."

"Well, just in case, I've got enough peanut butter, honey, and banana sandwiches for all of us," I said.

"Thanks, but I think we'll take our chances," Claudia said.

Sure enough, as soon as the last bell rang, there was a huge mob outside the office, trying to see who was in the play, and my friends and I were all the way in the back. What a surprise, huh?

When we were able to get a closer look, here's what we saw:

Carnival

Lili Daurier-DAWN SCHAFER

Paul Berthalet-JASON EVERETT

Jacquot-PETE BLACK

B.F. Schlegl-CHARLIE THOMAS

The Incomparable Rosalie-STACEY McGILL

Marco the Magnificent-SAM THOMAS

Grobert-JIMMY BOULOUKOS

Bluebird Girls-KRISTY THOMAS, KERRY BRUNO, BEBE EVERETT, PAMELA HARDING, ROSIE WILDER

Roustabouts-BART TAYLOR, LOGAN BRUNO, LINNY PAPADAKIS, JACKIE RODOWSKY, JEFF ATKINSON

Dr. Wilhelm Glass-BART TAYLOR

Angelo-DAVID MICHAEL THOMAS

Zuwicki twins-MARIAH & MIRANDA SHILLABER

Wardrobe Ladies-ABBY STEVENSON & BARBARA HIRSCH

Olga-SHANNON KILBOURNE

Greta Schlegl-NATALIE SPRINGER

Sign Girl-MARILYN ARNOLD

Clowns/Vendors-KAREN BREWER, RICKY TORRES, HANNIE PAPADAKIS, NANCY DAWES

Fortune Teller-JENNIFER ABRAMS

Oh. My God. I was Lili! I couldn't believe it!

"You guys!" I cried. "I got it! I can't believe I actually got it!"

The three of us were jumping up and down in a circle and whooping it up, like we'd just won the lottery. And by that, I mean like we'd gotten all six numbers!

"Well, I wonder who put a No-Doze in your Pepsi?" a sarcastic voice said.

We turned around and saw Cokie Mason. She'd apparently seen the list, and she was as far from a happy camper as anyone could get.

"Oh, don't worry, Cokie," Claud said with mock-reassurance. "I'm pretty sure there's a part for you."

"Maybe you can be the bearded lady," Kristy suggested.

"If you'd like, I can talk to Mr. Cheney and see if he can pencil you in," I added.

"Oh, wow," Cokie said, even more sarcastic than before. "That is just too, too funny. If I laugh any harder, I'll simply go into cardiac arrest." And with that, she turned around and flounced down the hall.

After we finished laughing ourselves, not to mention exchanging high-fives, we headed outside to wait for the other BSC members. It must have been twenty below out, but for once, I didn't mind, mostly because I was glad to have gotten the part of Lili.

Just as I got to the front door, I saw Mr. Cheney. "Dawn, can I talk to you, please?" he asked.

"Sure," I said. "My friends can wait."

"Good. Let's get out of the hallway."

I followed Mr. Cheney to his classroom, and just when I thought to myself, No, he wouldn't, he did.

"Do you remember what you did during Peter Pan rehearsals?"

Oh, no. He just had to bring that up, didn't he? "Yes," I answered.

"I just wanted to remind you not to ad-lib or change your lines in any way this time, okay? If you do any such thing again, I'm afraid I'll have to replace you with Cokie, your understudy."

Like we couldn't have seen that one coming.

"I understand," I said. Hell, if he does have to replace me with Cokie, the show would fold like yesterday's laundry. I thought about saying that to Mr. Cheney, but I changed my mind.

"Good. See you at the first rehearsal."

"I'll be there."

As I left Mr. Cheney's classroom, I knew I had a lot to tell Mary Anne: getting the part of Lili, our encounter with Cokie, and Mr. Cheney's little talk with me. As the stage manager, I knew I could count on her to help me make sure I didn't do something I shouldn't.

Well, that's my story. Like I said, I'll send you guys a program and a copy of the video. I'll tell you more about it when I see you guys this summer.

Well, I'm sitting for the Barretts' (formerly known as the "Impossible Three"), so I should wrap this up. Say hi to the We Love Kids Club and our clients for me, okay?

Love and sunshine,

Dawn