Free Play It Again by Laura Dower Page B

asked.
    “You want me to tell Mrs. Montefiore that you have your period?” Madison asked.
    “Noooo! Don’t tell anyone,” Aimee said. “I’ll be okay. I better just get into my costume.”
    “Are you sure?” Madison asked.
    Aimee put down the toilet seat and sat. She grabbed at her stomach and took a deep breath. “Cramp,” she whispered.
    “Aimee?” Madison was worried.
    But a heartbeat later, Aimee stood right back up. “I’m fine. They come and go, you know?”
    Madison realized she didn’t know. Not one bit. She was eager to get older and wiser, but Madison could definitely wait for her period. She wasn’t ready to enter the world of cramps.
    “Aimee, are you nervous, too?” Madison asked before walking out.
    “I don’t get nervous. I don’t get all weird when I have to go onstage. I go onstage all the time at dance camp. Why would right now be any different than then? I just think—”
    Aimee paused and took a deep, deep breath.
    “I’ve never been so nervous, Maddie,” Aimee finally admitted. “I don’t want to mess up. All those dance steps and—”
    “Aimee, you’ll be great,” Madison said. “You know you’ll be great. You always dance great, no matter what. Even with cramps.”
    Aimee looked straight into Madison’s eyes. “You’re the best.”
    “The Munchkins are waiting,” Madison joked.
    As she walked out of the girls’ bathroom, Madison was so lost in thought that she almost smacked right into Tommy Kwong. Once again, he’d come unstuffed. Madison restuffed.
    “Madison!” Mariah yelled. “There’s someone outside from the local paper. They want to take a picture of everyone in the show. Mr. Gibbons wants you and everyone else on the stage.”
    Sometimes the local paper ran human-interest stories about school events like this. This article was going to be about Mrs. Goode’s twenty years at the school and her various contributions to the Far Hills community. They wanted photos from a dress rehearsal so they could run the piece the day of the show. They’d be doing separate pieces on the seventh-, eighth-, and ninth-grade performances.
    Mr. Gibbons had turned up the house lights. “Uh, can I get everyone out here, please? All the seventh-grade cast members onstage.”
    The Montefiores stopped playing. Madison and Mariah helped to corral the witches and Winkies onto the set. They were standing in front of the city backdrop, and it looked so magical. The yellow linoleum squares twinkled when the lights hit them in just the right way.
    “Okay, now let’s line up,” Mr. Gibbons asked the cast.
    Amazingly, everyone got into rows and the photographer asked everyone to stand closer. Madison crossed her arms and watched everyone come together. It was so exciting!
    Fiona waved her over.
    “Here,” Fiona said. “Get in the picture! Stand next to me!”
    Aimee put her arm around Madison’s shoulder when she slipped in.
    “Hold on!” the photographer yelled. “Would the Tin Man please straighten his tin hat?”
    Egg fixed it.
    “No, no—I need the Munchkins to be in the same group, please,” he said raising his camera up to his eye again. “Yes, that’s better.”
    Mr. Gibbons yelled out, “Dan, would you please roll down your lion feet?”
    Madison helped.
    “Okay.” The photographer made little hand motions to tell kids to move in, move out, and then move in again. “Would the boy playing the Scarecrow please check his straw?”
    Madison looked over at Tommy. Mrs. Perez needed to work on that costume a little more.
    “Okay, now everyone smile,” the photographer said, lifting the camera up once more.
    Mr. Gibbons suddenly stepped in front of the camera. “Wait! Ivy Daly isn’t here. Ivy? How could we be missing Ivy?” he yelled backstage. “Madison, where did Ivy go?”
    “I’ll get her,” Mariah said, running to the back. Madison was very glad she didn’t have to go.
    In a second, Ivy was onstage, apologizing. She had finally found her Glinda