Georgette Misty Ballard entered the world on May 15th
2004; but her proud parents-George and Marietta-received startling news about
her:
“Something’s
wrong.”
Those two
words that the doctor said, brought a lot of fear to their eyes,
“What is?”
they asked anxiously.
“Because
she was born a month late; her brain grew a little too much.” The doctor
explained; he showed them two charts:
A baby brain.
An oddball brain.
“The brain
on the left is a normal child’s brain; but the brain on the right, is your child’s
brain.”
The couple
was astonished. “It won’t hurt her, right?” Marietta asked.
The doctor
shook his head, “No, but she will grow up differently then others.”
“How so?”
George asked.
“Well,” the
doctor started, “Your daughter, will grow up to be smarter then average.”
The parents
looked at each other. “That’s a good thing, right?” George asked.
The doctor
nodded, “It could be. It could be.”
○○○10 years later○○○
Georgette
woke up one morning with a tingling in her brain, she sighed; her brain has
been tingling all ten years of her life-so it was nothing new to her-but the
problem was, that nothing ever came of it; when someone was doing something,
Georgette expected something bad-or good-to happen to them because of it; so
when her brain tingled, she expected something to happen: but nothing ever had.
Just then,
her mom entered her room,
If only Georgette was born in the ninth month instead of in
the tenth month!
“Good morning Georgette,” her mom said pleasantly.
Georgette
was in shock; was that what she thought it was? was that her mother’s thoughts?
But all she said was;
“Good
morning Mom.”
“How did
you sleep?”
“Fine.”
I ask her this every morning, I thought for sure
that her brain would do something remarkable during the night!
Now
Georgette was confused; what was happening?
“Breakfast
in a few minutes.” Her mother said, “Remember, it’s the first day of school.”
Then she left.
Georgette thought things through, is
this why my brain tingles? Because I…I can mind read? She was confused-but
curious-of her new-found power. Sighing, she got up, got dressed, made sure she
had everything she needed for school, and walked out her bedroom door.
When Georgette climbed on the bus,
she turned to the front-left seat, and smiled at a girl with a blonde Boy-cut,
“May
I sit here?”
The
girl looked at her,
Who does this girl think she is, to ask Miranda
Retro-daughter of the mayor-if she could sit here?
“Oh, you’re the mayor’s daughter?” Georgette asked,
surprised.
Now
it was Miranda that was surprised, “How-how did you know?”
“I-I-I’d
better go sit down.” Georgette stuttered as she walked to the back of the bus
and sat down.
Maybe
I shouldn’t have read her mind. But I can’t control it yet.
When
Georgette got off the bus, Miranda came up to her and said in a bossy tone;
“Did
you tell anyone?”
Georgette
was confused, “Tell them what?”
Miranda
lowered her voice, “That I’m the mayor’s daughter.” Georgette shook her head,
Miranda smiled slightly, “Thanks.”
I think
we might be friends, but she must think I’m bossy-I guess my father was right when
he said that power changes you to what you are not.
Then she
left.
Georgette
was surprised again, I thought she would be mean; but now it seems like she
wants to be friends.
When school started,
Georgette’s teacher; Miss Falsetto, said to her students,
“Welcome
to Hilltop School; I am Miss Falsetto, and I expect all my students to work
hard this year.”
Not me.
Georgette turned to the boy next to her, who had deducted
that thought; he had short, black hair, and he was leaning with his elbow on
his desk. Shrugging, she turned back to the teacher:
Jason Garnet is not paying much attention to me; I have a
feeling that I’ll have trouble with him this year.
“Now, on your desks, you will find a math worksheet; when
you are ready, please get started on it. Oh, and after you have completed your
worksheet, give it to me; and then you can go to the office and check off the
extra classes you want to take-don’t wait-the classes will be up until lunch.”
As
Georgette worked on her worksheet, her thoughts were swirling in her head, unless
she was thinking about someone behind me; this Jason, just might be the boy
next to me.
When
Georgette finished her worksheet, she brought it up to her teacher; she looked
it over quickly, and nodded to her,
“You
may go Georgette.”
So
Georgette left to pick out her classes.
When
she got there, she looked at the class list:
Classes
Soccer; 3:00,
Ballet; 3:00,
Baseball; 3:15,
Rugby; 3:15,
Drama; 3:30.
Hmm,
which one should I choose? I know! Ballet, Baseball, and Drama!
So she
checked them off and returned to class.
○
At
recess, Georgette looked around for Miranda; she found her sitting on the
steps. She was about to walk over there when she was stopped by the boy in
class who was bored,
“Hi,
I’m Jason Garnet.”
Georgette
turned to him, “I’m Georgette Ballard.”
They
shook hands.
“What
classes did you take?” Jason asked.
“Ballet,
Baseball, and Drama. What about you?”
“Soccer,
Rugby, and Drama.” He smiled, “Great, we’ll see each other!” Just then, some of
the other boys called him over to the soccer field, he waved, “Well, I’ll see
you around.”
Sweet.
The guys are gonna be so jealous that I have the prettiest girl in the school
to hang out with!
Georgette
was disgusted.
“See
you around.” Georgette answered as he left, then she walked over Miranda.
Miranda saw her coming and stood
up to meet her;
“Hi
Georgette,” she said shyly.
“Hi
Miranda,” Georgette answered.
“What
classes did you take?” Miranda asked.
“Ballet,
Baseball, and Drama.”
Miranda
smiled, “Same here!”
“Great,
we can see each other.”
“Can-can
we be friends?” Miranda asked, “I’m sorry I was mean; it’s just that the power
of-“
Georgette
smiled, “Of being the mayor’s daughter; I
understand. Yes I will be your friend.”
Then
the new friends hugged each other to seal their friendship.
I’m glad she forgives me.
Georgette was glad too.
That
afternoon-after her second class, Georgette met up with Jason, Miranda, and 25
other kids in the theater room; their teacher was a pretty, young woman with
golden curls, she smiled warmly at them and began;
“Hello
class! I am Miss Queen, and you have a lot to learn about drama. We will be
putting on a play at the end of the Fall semester, the play is one I wrote
called; Shield of Honor. Here is a script for each of you.” Then she
handed one each to them. “I want you to study this, and next Monday I want
everyone to tell me their parts. Any questions?”
One
of the kids raised their hand, when Miss Queen called on her, she asked, “Can I
be the star?”
I might ‘get discovered’ out there by someone famous, like
girls in stories.
“We’ll
see how you do in auditions, Julia.”
Julia
sighed.
“But
if you practice the part enough then you at least have a chance of getting it.”
The teacher assured her.
Julia
smiled, “I’ll practice everyday!”
I like Julia’s enthusiasm I think she might be the best in
class so far.
Georgette
looked at her script; it had an interesting plot: this police girl, named Acra,
is a perfect image of what all police should be, she stops at nothing, but she
doesn’t herself being on the news. Georgette liked it, she raised her hand;
“Yes,
Georgette?”
“Can
girls play boy parts?”
Miss
Queen smiled, “If that’s what you want to do; then go for it!”
Georgette
smiled; she loved her teacher!
○
Georgette
read the script all week thinking of who she wanted to be; she also thought of
her new friend: Julia, after class she went to talk with Julia; soon they
became fast friends.
On
Saturday, Georgette decided she wanted to be the Giant; she really wanted to
say those words: Oogy, Boogy. They were so funny!
On
Monday; after everyone wrote down what parts they wanted, Miss Queen showed
everyone the list:
Acra: Julia, Sally
Chief: Tommy
Mr. Punch, Punch: Fiona
Drugger: Gary
Romeo: Jason
Juliet: Renee
Todd: Hans
Peter: Timmy
Alice: Kit
Wolf: Francine
Bear: Bert
Cadence: Katie
Calla: Allison
Cam: Pamela
Amber: Miranda
Steve: David
Spiky Sam: Manny
Strongman: Sam
Pirate: Pete
Giant: Georgette, Jimmy
Elderly Man: Veronica
Stockbroker: Steve
Prisoners:
Policemen:
Crowd: Cindy
“We are
pretty much covered, but we need at least one prisoner and one policeman, and I
see we need to audition for Acra and the Giant, so let’s do that now: Julia,
Sally, Georgette and Jimmy please come to the stage.”
They
did.
“Let’s
have the people auditioning for the Giant go first, since he has only two
words, Jimmy, you may start us off.”
Jimmy
growled, “Oogy, Boogy!” he said scarily.
“Brava,
now Georgette, you may go.”
Surely
a girl couldn’t be as scary as I was.
Georgette
vowed to prove him wrong. She disappeared behind the curtain, then she jumped
on stage, ran to the center and said in her scariest and loudest voice: “OOGY
BOOGY!!!!!!!!!!” She even included hand motions.
Miss
Queen clapped, “Brava! I think Georgette won that round!”
Georgette
smiled inside, but outside, she shook Jimmy’s hand, “Well done Jimmy.”
“You
too.” He said, then he turned to Miss Queen, “Can I be a prisoner then?”
Miss
Queen smiled, “Certainly,” and she put his name down:
Prisoner:
Jimmy
Then she announced,
“Why don’t our Acras read the part where she defeats the strongman. Sam, why
don’t you be in here. Julia, you may go first.”
Sam
stepped on stage and pretended to lift cars,
This is easy-and fun!
Julia
walked on stage, she stood in front of Sam and said calmly/shakily;
“The
strong will be weak and the weak will be strong.”
Breathe, act naturally.
Sam
laughed, “You said that a million times and it still hasn’t happened!”
Julia
frowned and said with strong emotion;
“We’ll
just see about that!”
She
sprinted towards him and grabbed him as he tried to dodge-but failed.
“Cut.”
Miss Queen said, “That’s enough, thank you. Sally, it’s your turn.”
Such strong emotion Julia has; Sally is going to have to
really get into her act to beat her!
Sam
took his place and started, Sally walked on stage and said;
“Strong
is weak and weak is strong.”
I think that’s what the script, I didn’t really read it
because I had better things to be doing-like getting a Mani-Pedi at the local
salon.
Sam
laughed and said his lines.
Hasn’t this girl read the script?
“Umm,
we will see!”
should I have said; ‘we shall see’?
Sally
hurried towards him in a slow jog; Sam dodged.
“Cut.”
Miss Queen said, “I think I chose my Acra; Julia, congratulations.” On the
sheet she wrote:
Acra:
Julia
Then the teacher
continued, “Sally, you will be a policewoman.”
Policewoman:
Sally
Sally was shocked;
How can I get discovered if I’m not the main character? I
have no lines at all!
Georgette came up to her, “Sally, actions can speaker
louder than words, and I know that your actions will be great.”
Sally
smiled, “Thanks.”
And
Georgette felt very proud.
○
When
she got home, Georgette wasted no time telling her parents that she got the
part she’d wanted, Mr. Ballard was happy that she got the part that she liked,
but Mrs. Ballard was upset,
“You
should have gone for the main character.”
I want
my daughter to be a star! Not a giant!
“But
Mom, I didn’t want to be her, I liked saying, ‘Oogy, Boogy’,”
Mrs.
Ballard sighed, “Who did get the main character?”
“My
friend Julia. She’s really good at acting. The play is December 8th at 4:00 pm, you’re coming, right?”
Mr.
Ballard nodded and smiled, “We wouldn’t miss it.”
I’m proud of Georgette.
○
Many
months later, the cast of Shield of Honor, waited eagerly offstage,
Georgette and Miranda made her way up to where Julia stood-she was nervous,
Miranda squeezed her hand,
“You’ll
do fine, Julia.”
Julia
smiled weakly,
Easy for you to say; you’re not the main character in the
play.
Georgette
smiled at her friend, “I know you’ll be the best person out there Julia.”
Julia
smiled at Georgette, “Thank you, Georgette,” then she turned to Miranda, “And
you too Miranda-you are good friends.”
Then
the friends hugged, as Miss Queen entered, “Are you ready class?”
The
actors and actresses nodded eagerly, Miss Queen, “Then get out there-and as the
movie people always say: Break a leg!”
And
the play began.
○
“That
was great!” Georgette told everyone at the Cast Party after the play,
Jason
smiled, “You were a great Giant. I think everyone loved you. You should be an
actress when you grow up.”
Georgette
smiled at Jason, “Thanks,” then she turned to Julia, “You were great Julia! But
you know, that if this play were a reality instead of a play, then you never
would have caught me.”
Julia
laughed, “I doubt that!”
It feels good to laugh!
As
Georgette looked around the room at her classmates, and her two good friends;
Miranda and Julia, she felt that this was the best thing she had ever done,
maybe she would be an actress when she grows up; or maybe-just maybe-she
could be a superhero-and stop bad guys’ plots before they happen.
Georgette
smiled-yes-she would be a hero: a superhero!
The End.
Comments
Post a Comment