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  Isabel reached up and pressed each switch back. They could hear clapping upstairs.

  “Thanks, Dad,” said Katani.

  Her dad smiled and said, “I’m hungry—let’s go eat empanadas.”

  Suddenly, everyone heard a squeak.

  “Omigosh,” grimaced Isabel. “I think it’s a mouse.”

  Squeak…Squeak…

  There was a rush for the door. Not even Mr. Summers, who was over six feet two, wanted to meet a mouse. There was something about rodents that made even grown men squeamish. Mr. Summers was no exception.

  Upstairs, Elena Maria, with her father’s help, had laid out the first course of empanadas. They were a Martinez family favorite, small pastries with chicken or beef as filling. Elena Maria served them with a cilantro salsa she had made.

  Avery and her mother found themselves seated at the same table with Charlotte and her dad.

  “This is quite a special event,” Mrs. Madden said, looking around. “I understand that Isabel did all the decorating and that Elena Maria is doing the catering.”

  Avery thought her mother sounded strange, as if this were some fund-raising event she was attending, and not simply a brunch for some friends.

  Mr. Ramsey bit into his empanada. “These are fantastic. You all have to take a bite.

  “Charlotte told me that Elena Maria and Isabel dream of opening a restaurant someday,” Mr. Ramsey added. “Judging from this feast, I’m sure it would be a success.” Everyone chatted for awhile about their favorite foods. Mr. Ramsey made them laugh when he told them about his visit to a rain forest, where he ate something that he thought was fish, but later turned out to be some kind of rodent.

  “Have you ever been to the Rainforest Café?” Mrs. Madden asked, “Out at the Burlington Mall? It’s got a rain forest theme—I quite enjoy it.”

  Mr. Ramsey had to admit he never had been there.

  Avery was surprised to think of her mother going to a mall at all, much less outside of Boston. Avery’s mother was strictly Newbury Street, with the occasional side trip to Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.

  “What?” Avery’s mother said when she noticed the look her daughter was giving her.

  “I just didn’t know you had ever been to the Burlington Mall,” Avery said.

  “I have a whole life you know nothing about.” The words were formal, but her voice was playful.

  Mr. Ramsey laughed.

  Avery looked at Charlotte.

  “In which rain forest was it that you ate the rodent?” Mrs. Madden asked. There had been a lull in the conversation so the rest of the room heard the question.

  “You ate a rodent!” Sam said with enthusiasm. “That’s so awesome.” Everyone cracked up.

  “Charlotte and her father have been to a real rain forest,” Avery said. “When they lived in Australia.”

  “I wasn’t aware that there were rain forests in Australia,” Mr. Taylor said.

  “Oh yes,” Mr. Ramsey said, and he was off. He loved talking about travel. Every once in a while, someone would comment on how interesting it all was. Charlotte was getting nervous that her dad was acting like a teacher and everyone would get bored. But, just as she was going to nudge him under the table, Elena Maria said it was time to change tables.

  It was like a big game of musical chairs. In fact, that’s exactly what it was. The guests milled around, weaving in and out of tables while Elena Maria played music. When the music stopped, everyone sat at the table closest to them.

  The second course Elena Maria served was huevos rancheros.

  This time, Charlotte found herself at a table with Mr. Taylor and Mr. and Mrs. Martinez and Isabel. The adults hit it off immediately. Mr. Martinez was a bit of a movie buff; he had taken a film course while in college at Michigan. They talked about Cocteau’s Beauty and the Beast, which Charlotte had seen when she was living in Paris. Everyone at the table thought it was brilliant, even Charlotte.

  “Not that there’s anything wrong with the Disney version,” Mr. Martinez said. “It’s terrific, actually. And you know that I am, of course, a big fan of animation.” Isabel loved daily cartoons, and she often entertained her family and friends with her own cartooning skills.

  “You could show some of the old cartoons in the Movie House,” Mr. Martinez suggested to Mr. Taylor. “As a nonprofit, that would be a logical way to go. There are good film schools in Boston, you might be able to come to some kind of arrangement to show those movies to their students.”

  “Boy, that’s an interesting idea,” Mr. Taylor remarked.

  All of a sudden, Sam started coughing violently and had to drink a glass of water. Elena had mistakenly given Sam her father’s rancheros, which were heavily spiced. He spewed his eggs and salsa half way across the table at Maeve, who stood up and yelled, “Gross.” Her mother gave her a look and told her to go to the kitchen and wipe her top off with a wet paper towel and club soda. Katani said she would help her. That was all Avery, Isabel, and Charlotte needed to hear. They leapt out of their seats and started to rush after their friends.

  “Isabel, bring Sam some ice cream. Ice cream is the best way to cool off from too spicy a dinner. People think they should drink water, but they should really drink milk products,” said Mrs. Martinez.

  Ms. Kaplan pounded her son on the back and helped him drink a cool glass of milk. In a few minutes he was perfectly fine. So fine that he jumped up and waved his fists in the air. Kelley, who had been sitting at the same table, jumped up as well, and yelled “Yay!” Sam went to high five her and she reached over and hugged him. Sam had such a look of surprise that all the adults started to giggle.

  Kelley let go of Sam, put her hands on her hips, and said to the group, “You are not being very polite.”

  Mrs. Fields, who had been sitting next to Kelley, nodded toward Katani’s mother and then stood up.

  “Kelley,” she asked in a very quiet voice. “How would you and Sam like to join me in the TV room? I have Shrek. We could eat our breakfast in there and watch Shrek. What do you think of that?”

  Kelley looked very serious for a moment before she answered, “Is that polite?”

  The adults bit their lips to keep from laughing. In her own way, Kelley had impeccable comic timing.

  Mrs. Summers smiled at her daughter from across the room.

  “Darling, it’s very polite because you asked so nicely.”

  Katani breathed a huge sigh of relief as she watched from the kitchen. Her family knew that once Kelley got wound up, it was difficult to get her to settle down. Her grandmother had averted a potentially embarrassing scene. Katani knew these were all her friends and no one would care, but still, some -times she just wanted everything to go smoothly.

  Sam, who was relieved to be released, looked over at Maeve, who could see him from the kitchen. She just rolled her eyes.

  She whispered to Katani, “I think there really ought to be a law that you don’t take little brothers out in public until they are at least fourteen.”

  The music started up again. It was time for the third course. They all stood up.

  “I’d like to talk to you more about your theater plans. I might have some ideas that can help you,” Mr. Martinez said to Mr. Taylor.

  “That would be super,” Mr. Taylor replied. It was amazing, when he thought about it, to see how many people were reaching out to help him. Even Maeve’s mother was doing her best to come up with ideas to keep the Movie House afloat. It was touching. She suggested that they have a Valentine’s weekend special and show the most romantic movies ever made. Everyone tossed out their favorite choice. Maeve’s mother announced that her favorite was a sweet, funny little English movie called Enchanted April. Maeve’s father was the only other person who had seen it. He nodded ever so slightly in his wife’s direction as she spoke.

  Katani soaked a towel in club soda and gave it to Maeve, who dabbed at the salsa stain.

  “It looks okay, Maeve. Let’s go. I don’t want to miss that dessert,” Ka
tani said, pointing to the tray of little custard bowls on the counter.

  The last course Elena Maria served was dessert. There was fine Mexican coffee, and more chocolate for the girls. And she served a coconut flan that melted in your mouth.

  Elena Maria had stopped the music at just the right time so that all five BSG sat together for the final course.

  “This is cool!” Charlotte said.

  “It was so nice of Elena Maria to do this,” Avery said.

  “And your parents are really nice,” Katani added.

  “Your whole family is wonderful,” Maeve said.

  Isabel looked around. Sitting here with her family and her new friends, Isabel was happier than she ever remembered being.

  If it had taken getting on stage with the Queens of Mean to bring her father here, then that was just the price she had to pay.

  CHAPTER 24

  Showtime

  It was ten minutes to curtain time. Charlotte looked out at the faces of the audience. The place was packed. Katani had been right. Maeve declared it officially SRO, which in theater speak meant standing room only. There were actually several people standing toward the back of the room. Isabel and Avery stood behind the curtain with Charlotte.

  “Look at how cute your parents are,” Maeve said to Isabel.

  It must have been the fourth time Maeve had said that to her today. Isabel smiled. Sitting there in the third row, they were cute; holding hands and chatting with each other. Somehow, it made Isabel feel happy and secure.

  “Omigosh,” whispered Maeve frantically. “Is that her? Is that Razzberry Pink? The front row on the left…look!” Katani, Isabel, and Avery struggled to see. Charlotte looked over Maeve’s head.

  “That’s her. Isn’t she…amazing? And she’s really, really nice, too,” Charlotte added.

  “That’s more pink than I ever wanna see in my life,” retorted Avery. Pink was definitely not her color.

  “I think she looks awesome,” said Katani.

  Ms. Pink was wearing pink jeans, pink cowboy boots, and a pink tweed jacket with a pink boa around her neck, and of all things, she was engaged in a very animated conversation with Mrs. Fields.

  They were talking away like they were old friends.

  Funny, thought Katani. She’d never seen her grandmother with anyone like Razzberry before.

  Katani could see Kelley in the front row. Kelley gave the girls a thumbs-up. Katani returned the gesture and walked with her clipboard back to the dressing room to tell the cast that the show was about to start.

  “Five minutes!” Katani announced as she read the list of acts in order of appearance. Just this morning, Katani and Ms. Ciara had made some last-minute changes to the list, and Katani wanted to run through them, just to be sure everyone knew.

  Katani had enlisted her father to help backstage in case any electrical problems came up. He’d already helped Dillon with some last-minute modifications for the Hip-Hop Honeys’ number.

  Avery and Charlotte were surveying the audience, trying to see if Miss Pierce had shown up.

  “I don’t see her anywhere,” said Charlotte, sounding disappointed.

  “I don’t think she came,” Avery said, shaking her head.

  “Places, everyone,” Katani said.

  At exactly seven p.m., the curtain opened and Mrs. Fields, who had left her seat, stepped onto the stage.

  “Good evening everyone, and welcome to the Twenty-Third Annual Seventh-Grade Talent Show,” Mrs. Fields said. “As you know, this year’s class has mounted the show despite some major setbacks, including a problem with the school auditorium. For a while, it looked as if there would be no seventh-grade talent show this year. But some very resourceful students persuaded us that the show must go on. And so, here we are.”

  The audience applauded.

  “As you are well aware, this is a charitable event. And, unlike in other years where audiences had little opportunity to see the effects of their donations, this year, you can see those effects right in your own community. Look around at this historic old theater. I’m proud to announce that your presence tonight will solve a short-term crisis that the theater is facing. With your ongoing support and the help and determination of young people like these, I have no doubt that we will be seeing movies here for a long time to come, and who knows, maybe even more events like this one.

  “What you’re about to see tonight hearkens back to the days when the Movie House was a legitimate theater. A magical transformation has taken place here. Tonight’s show will start out with the teachers making terrific fools of themselves in an effort to break the ice—another school tradition. Later, you’ll see a cheerleading squad made up of some very unusual characters. There’s a rock band, hip-hop dancers, a ventriloquist, magic, and music, music, music. So relax, let the lights come down and enjoy the show.”

  As announced, the teachers went first. This year, the theme was vaudeville, complete with bad jokes, pratfalls, and a soft-shoe number performed by several of the homeroom teachers. After each segment, Ms. Ciara would bounce across the stage carrying a sign that said LAUGH, APPLAUD, or BOO. By the end of the number, the audience was laughing and booing at everything. The icebreaker worked.

  Riley’s band went on next. They played rock, traditional stuff, and they played well. By the end of their number, the audience was clapping to the downbeat or at least tapping their feet. Maeve looked at Riley with admiration. He was a very good performer. Maybe even good enough to be a rock star someday, a dream he confessed to her once in the library when they had been working on a history assignment together.

  The curtain closed and the rock group broke down their set and packed up their equipment. While the magic show was setting up, the cheerleaders went on in front of the closed curtain. Henry Yurt was out in front leading the cheers, and the rest of the cheerleaders tumbled onto the stage and performed the strangest acrobatic act anyone had ever witnessed, complete with wigs, pompoms, and the megaphone from the prop room. Legs and arms flew everywhere as the boys gave their best imitation of a girls’ cheerleading squad. Red-wigged Henry cheered in the loudest girl’s voice he could muster, and, though the others tried to follow his lead, their voices kept cracking, and it was all they could do to keep from busting out laughing.

  They finished the ragtag act with a pyramid. Henry got a running start and overshot the pyramid completely, his red wig flying off his head and into the lap of a dignified older woman who was sitting next to Avery’s mother. To her credit, the woman didn’t scream, but held the hairpiece at arms length and wiggled it so that Henry would reach it. He did, and thanked her politely; he even bowed. Then he stuck the wig back on his head, although it was kind of twisted around, with the pouffy sides in front and the bangs over one ear. When he had it securely back in place, Henry ran across the front row and up the stage-left stairs to try the pyramid again. This time he nailed the landing. The pyramid was complete. Then, on Henry’s cue, they collapsed onto the stage and got up to take their bows. The audience was laughing and clapping enthusiastically at Henry’s antics.

  “What is going on out there?” Avery asked Maeve.

  “Two words,” Maeve said. “Henry Yurt.”

  They all laughed.

  Maeve poked her head through the curtain to get a better look. “I see your mother, Avery,” Maeve said. “She’s sitting with Charlotte’s dad.”

  “Is Miss Pierce here?” Charlotte asked.

  “I don’t know. I don’t see her, but it’s really dark,” Maeve said.

  “Kelley is giving the cheerleaders a standing ovation.”

  “They’re going to be a tough act to follow,” Maeve said.

  “Don’t worry about it,” Charlotte said. “Your solo is going to be faaaabulous.” Maeve chuckled, because as good a writer as Charlotte was, her talent didn’t transfer into acting. Maeve crossed her fingers. After the last fiasco with Dillon and not telling anyone where she was, she really wanted to make everyone proud tonight.

>   Marty barked.

  “Shh,” they all said, turning to him.

  He looked so cute. Katani had made him the most adorable little suit. He wouldn’t tolerate the pants, and had long ago shredded them, but he wore the jacket, which matched Avery’s. They looked like a matched set.

  As promised, the girls had tied Marty up, something he didn’t seem to understand at all. The applause was getting to him. Every time he heard it, he wanted to run down into the audience and collect some treats. So it was probably a good thing he was tied up. But the real reason they had to keep him tied, of course, was Kiki and her allergies. That was the agreement they had made with Ms. Ciara.

  “Our little Marty is about to become a star,” Charlotte said and kissed the top of Marty’s head. He gave her a sad look and glanced at his leash. “Sorry little guy,” Charlotte said. “That’s the price of stardom.”

  Maeve helped Charlotte drag the Houdini Box over the trapdoor, which was at the back of the stage. The show had been using the rear curtain as a backdrop, partly because it was old and velvet, and partly to hide the movie screen. The trapdoor was so far to the rear of the stage that it was almost off stage all together, which was the general idea, since this was originally a way to access the orchestra pit during the vaudeville years. But with the rear curtain partially opened, the trapdoor stood center stage, just where they wanted it for the Houdini trick. When Avery emerged from the tunnel, she would come out behind the closed portion of the rear curtain far over at stage left where the lighting and sound systems were set up. It was the perfect trick. And they couldn’t have done it anywhere but here.

  “Everybody ready?” Katani asked when she heard the applause dying down.

  “Yessireee,” Avery said.

  “You bet!” Maeve said.

  “Let’s go!” Charlotte said.

  Avery strapped the new set of rabbit ears onto Marty. This time she’d gotten him used to the headgear, and Marty seemed much more comfortable in them.

  “Down,” Avery said and he popped back down and disappeared inside the huge hat.