After roll call, Dr. Calhoun enlisted Juliet’s help in handing out scripts.
“Friends, we have less than a month to put this show together,” he told us as she moved through the hall with the stack of booklets. “It’s going to be tricky, but I know we can pull it off.”
Belinda Winchester offered to help distribute the rehearsal schedule and the sign-up sheet for costume fittings. When she got to me, she reached into the pocket of her overalls and handed me a kitten along with a clipboard.
I looked down at the ball of fluff in my hand and blinked. “What am I supposed to do with this?”
Belinda shook her head sadly. “Truly,” she said, “it’s a kitten, not a major appliance. It’s not that complicated.”
Augustus waited until she trundled off down the row of chairs, then took pity on me. “Here,” he whispered, leaning over and holding his backpack open. “It’s kitten proof—and kitten friendly.”
I peeked inside. Sure enough, in the bottom of his backpack was a fleece vest covered in cat hair. Augustus had obviously been down this road before. I deposited the kitten gingerly inside and watched as it curled up on the fleece and started purring. The kitten had been down this road before too.
After all the handouts had been distributed, the three groups scattered to different corners of the Grange.
“Okay, huddle up, stage crew!” said Bud Jefferson. “In a nutshell, our work is pretty much everything the actors don’t do. We’re in charge of set design, getting props on- and offstage, lighting, that sort of thing. It’s hard work, but we always have fun. Right, guys?”
Belinda gave a thumbs-up.
“RIGHT SIZE?” said Elmer, puzzled.
“I SAID ‘RIGHT, GUYS’!” Bud repeated loudly, and Elmer gave a thumbs-up too.
Bud had mapped out a schedule of his own for us. I looked it over and winced. At this rate, we’d all practically be living at the Grange.
“When am I supposed to have time to do anything else this summer?” Lucas stared at the schedule gloomily. “The only reason I signed up for this is because my mother begged me to. She’s hoping it will be a ‘bonding experience’ for me and Bud.”
I gave him a sympathetic glance. Lucas didn’t like change any more than I did. And change was definitely in his future. Bud was probably going to marry his mother and become his stepdad. At least that’s what practically everyone in town said. Pumpkin Falls was holding its collective breath waiting for Bud to propose.
“Okay, everyone! Good kick-off meeting,” said Dr. Calhoun a few minutes later. “Actors, I want you all off book by the beginning of next week. The faster you memorize your lines, the faster things will start to come together. And speaking of coming together, tomorrow evening we will gather here to clean the Grange before we do a read-through. Bud Jefferson and the stage crew will be in charge. Please come dressed appropriately, and bring brooms, mops, cleaning rags, and any supplies you can spare from home. See you at seven o’clock!”
As we left, I turned to my friends and moaned, “How did I get myself roped into this?”
Calhoun gave me a sideways glance, a smile playing on his lips. “Technically, I got you into this. I didn’t want you to miss out.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“Let’s get ice cream,” Jasmine suggested. “That will cheer you up.”
“Um,” I replied. My father had been quite clear about the fact that I was still grounded. Helping out with stage crew was part of my punishment, but I was to go directly home after every rehearsal. I explained my predicament to my friends.
“If we run into your father, we’ll just tell him that we kidnapped you,” said Scooter.
I snorted. Like that would fly with Lieutenant Colonel Jericho T. Lovejoy.
“I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!” Jasmine teased in a singsong voice. “Mmmm—chocolate chip, your favorite!”
“Fine,” I said, giving in. “But keep a sharp lookout for my father.”
In the end, there was no sign of him, but I couldn’t dodge Ella Bellow.
“Yoo-hoo!” she called, swooping down on me as we mounted the steps to the General Store. Her dark eyes gleamed. “A little bird told me that your aunt is engaged!”
The rocking chairs that lined the porch stopped in their tracks, and a row of gray heads all swiveled in my direction.
I sighed. “Yes, ma’am, that’s right.”
“Have they set a date for the wedding?”
“Not that I know of.”
Ella tried to pry more information from me as the onlookers strained to hear. I didn’t have any to give her, however, and wouldn’t have shared it with her if I did. I finally managed to extricate myself and follow my friends inside.
Where I immediately froze.
“What is she doing here?!” I whispered, grabbing Cha Cha and ducking behind the postcard rack.
Cha Cha looked around, mystified. “Who?”
“Shhhh! Keep it down! She’ll hear you!”
We peered out from behind the postcards featuring all the wonders that were Pumpkin Falls—the church steeple with the Paul Revere bell, Lovejoy College, and of course the covered bridge.
Cha Cha’s green eyes grew round as she saw who I was pointing to. “Amanda Appleton? What’s she doing here?”
“My question exactly.”
Jasmine, who had trotted off after the boys to the ice cream counter, came back looking for us. She frowned when she spotted us behind the postcards. “What’s going on?”
“She’s what’s going on,” I told her, pointing to Dr. Appleton, who was browsing the General Store’s selection of local guidebooks.
“No way! What’s she doing here?”
“That’s what we want to know.”
“Should I just go over and ask?”
I clutched Jasmine’s arm. “No! I don’t want her to see us.”
The boys came around the corner with
