Another day from the floor, looking on. I can say that things haven't gotten any better. The set is coming together nicely, with the New York skyline that I painted now on the stage. I look at the skyline and smile a little bit, knowing that my work was showcased in someway. Of course, no one would know that I had done the set. The only thing that would matter was the stars. The actors, the dancers, the vocalists. The ones who were good enough to matter. I look up at the spotlights. Red and purple for the sunset during the Cotton Club scene. I drag my feet along the hardwood floor of the stage. I was one of the first ones here, so I decided that I would walk along the stage until the stars arrived. I felt out of place on the beautiful stage. The cobalt curtains were closed behind me and Fiske waved at me from the control room. I waved back gently, getting off of the stage quickly. My presence there didn't matter. I couldn't make myself useful until some people arrived, so I went out to stand with my director.

The director was standing in the middle of the hallway, not doing much of anything, seeing as I was one of the only ones there, besides a few other members of the stage crew and the control room guys. I looked at the director and sighed gently. She was proud of her stars and she was proud of this play. It was her masterpiece, her chance to make a mark on our school. I was happy for her, but I wasn't happy for myself. The director turned around and smiled cheerily at me.

"Miss Hailey. Are you ready to run around and do a lot? Five hours we're talkin' here." She said enthusiastically.

I cringed at her use of my name. I didn't like hearing my name. The false sense of hope that I was something around these parts hurt me to an extent where I couldn't breathe, couldn't think. Couldn't manage. I mustered a small smile at her.

"Oh yeah. I was thinking about it all day Monday. Gonna be great." I lied through my teeth, putting on a pretty, misleading smile.''

The director clapped me on the shoulder as some of her stars walked in the door.

"That's the spirit." She said, running over to the stars.

I sighed and walked back into the auditorium, walking down the center aisle to take a seat in the extensive rows. The teal seats glared at me and I felt a little bit dizzy as I walked along. I took a seat in the center, towards the left of the all of the teal monsters. I was used to the auditorium. I loved it. The way it smelled, the way it felt to be in it. Everything about the room made me feel great. When I was with something other than the play crew. Choir, band, it didn't matter. Just not the play. My friends tell me that I shouldn't let the play haunt me so much and just let it go. Let it roll. Be the best at what I do. I've tried, it isn't working so great for me. I looked up as the director came running into the room. Her energy was enough to make anyone feel pepped up, but it wasn't working so much for me. She came bouncing over to me.

"Alright, Wonder. Here's the deal. I'm putting you on backstage direction duty. Take the cues from me, you know the deal. Stay on your marker." She said, running onto the stage.

I sighed at the usage of my classroom nickname. Hailey Wonder. Given to me for my tendency to wear large sunglasses to hide my face. I loved this nickname, wrote it on all of my papers. But when it was used during the play...I hated it with a vengance. I stepped onto the stage, my shoes brushing quietly against the hardwood. As soon as I got backstage, a vocalist handed me her lollipop.

"Here, hang onto this for me? I'll get it back from you after this act." She said, hurrying onto stage.

I sighed angrily. My job was becoming less glamorous every minute. From crawling on dusty floors to find a mic to holding an undoubtedly germ covered lollipop. A dancer ran up to me and handed me her MP3 player.

"Keep it safe, please. Catch ya after the act." She said, skidding after the vocalist onto the stage.

I shook my head, feeling the tears well up in my eyes. Being unappreciated was hard. Very hard. Sure, I'm just a girl, I'm just a stage manager, but don't I deserve the same respect as everyone else? I felt a hand on my shoulder. The director had come to check on me.

"Hey, Hailey. You alright?" She said.

I stayed silent for a moment, my lips pursed.

"What do you think?" I snapped, glaring.

She looked at me, taken aback momentarily.

"What happened to the girl that was falling on her butt in the snow this morning? The one that was happy?" She said to me.

I looked at her, not knowing whether or not to speak my mind. I decided against it, but the thought running through my mind was complex. The girl outside that morning wasn't inside, being treated like nothing, being abused. Being beaten down.

"I don't know. I'm sorry...it's just the stress." I said, shaking my head.

The director gave me her trademark sideways smile.

"Hey, you said you wanted to be a teacher, right? This is great practice for you!" She clapped me on the shoulder.

I looked at her, my lips folded down into an unsure frown. She looked at me with sad dark chocolate eyes. Suddenly, she slipped very close to me and I felt a shiver run up my spine.

"They're idiots. Don't let them get to you. They're just a bunch of crazy kids." She whispered into my ear, before disappearing.

Just another ordinary miracle from the floor.