Afraid (3 page)

I
t was six-thirty on Friday night and Donna was in her room getting dressed for the fall play. Tonight was opening night, and they were sold out. Her flyer had been a huge success and several of the surrounding schools had called to order blocks of tickets.

In previous years, the ushers had worn white blouses and dark skirts, but this year the policy had changed. Tammy had suggested that the ushers dress up in formal clothes to add a touch of elegance to their production. But Tammy had made her suggestion this morning, and that left Donna in big trouble.

Donna didn't have any formal dresses. Most of her clothes were school clothes and they were much too casual. Her best dress, a light blue silk that she wore for special occasions, was at the cleaners. It was too late to buy something new, and Donna frowned as she examined the contents of her closet. There had to be something she could wear . . . but what?

She did have a black velvet jacket that she'd made last year, for the Christmas concert. Everyone in the chorus had worn black velvet jackets, but that had been at her former school, and no one at Jefferson High would know that it had been part of a chorus uniform. With a pair of black slacks and a white silk blouse, the velvet jacket might be perfect.

Donna dressed quickly, and stood in front of the mirror. She was supposed to look elegant, but her outfit was much too plain. She needed some accessories to dress it up, and there was a whole box full of costume jewelry in her great-grandmother's trunk.

The wooden trunk was under her window with cushions on top to make a window seat. Donna took off the cushions, lifted the lid, and took out the antique jewelry box. Great-grandmother Anna must have been very fond of pins because there were dozens of brooches inside. Perhaps she could attach them to her jacket and make her own design. With all the glittering, multicolored stones, her jacket might pass for elegant.

Donna took off her velvet jacket and hung it on the back of a chair. She was smiling as she pinned on a butterfly made of green and blue stones. A heart with fake rubies was next, and then a cat made of rhinestones with yellow eyes. There was a turtle made of pearls, a horseshoe with double rows of purple stones, and a large daisy with pink glittering petals. Donna covered the front and the back of the jacket with pins of every shape and color. Then she slipped it on and stood in front of her mirror again.

It was perfect! Donna smiled at her image in the mirror. And it was also an original. No one else had a jacket like hers.

A love song was playing softly on the radio, and Donna sighed as she sat down at the dressing table to fix her hair. Steve and Tammy were still going together, but the rumors were flying fast and furious. They weren't about Steve and Donna. Donna hadn't seen him since their lunch on Monday. The rumors were about Tammy, and how she'd be bound to ditch Steve if she made it to instant stardom.

Tammy had announced in the cafeteria on Wednesday that the curse was working. She'd been wearing the red shoes to rehearsal and her acting had really improved. She reminded everyone that Keith Michaels, Jefferson High's most famous graduate, was coming to the play on opening night.

Lisa had leaned close to whisper in Donna's ear. Keith Michaels was a director in Hollywood, and he always attended their fall play. He'd be in town anyway, for his mother's birthday, and he did it as a favor to their drama teacher, Mr. Carlson.

But Tammy's next announcement had shocked even Lisa. Tammy had told them that if Keith Michaels was impressed with her, he'd promised her a part in his next movie!

At first, no one had believed Tammy. Keith Michaels had never offered any Jefferson High student a part in one of his movies before. But Mr. Carlson had confirmed Tammy's story. Keith Michaels was casting a teenage actress, and Tammy would be auditioning for him on opening night.

The whole school had been buzzing about Tammy's good fortune, and that worried Donna. She'd seen Tammy in rehearsal, and Tammy hadn't been that good. What had changed her? And how could such a change happen overnight? Did it mean that the curse of the red shoes was true?

The wind was blowing as Donna walked down the street and turned the corner toward the school. It was a cold, bitter wind and there was a sense of evil in the air as it kicked up the dry leaves and rustled them across the sidewalk like scurrying demons. The clouds were low, whisking across the full moon like ghosts.

After her cold, solitary walk, it was a relief to step into the heated lobby of the theater. Donna hung her coat on a hook behind the concession stand, and took a deep breath of warm air. The smell of the theater was a pleasant change from the dank, foggy air outside. Donna was glad that she was here, behind closed doors, where the wailing wind was only a whisper and the bright lights chased away the shadows.

It was a perfect night for a curse.
Donna shivered slightly, even though the lobby was almost too warm. Her grandfather had always said not to borrow trouble, and that was exactly what she was doing. Instead of thinking about all the dire and horrible things that could happen, Donna took out the packages of cookies the home economics classes had made and began to arrange them on a tray. They were selling punch and cookies at intermission, and she was in charge of the concession stand.

There was a faint burst of laughter from backstage, and Donna could imagine the cast of the play putting on their makeup before lighted mirrors and checking their lines one last time. The boys had one large dressing room, and the girls had another. Of course Tammy wouldn't be in the dressing room with the other girls. Since she had the lead, Tammy was entitled to use the private dressing room with the gold-painted star on the door.

How did Tammy feel about the curse? Was she getting a little nervous, now that opening night had arrived? Donna doubted it. She suspected that Tammy wasn't even giving the curse a second thought. If Tammy was nervous at all, it was about impressing Mr. Michaels and getting a part in his movie.

The play was scheduled to start at eight-thirty and people began to trickle in around eight. There was a flurry of activity at eight twenty-five. Mr. Michaels and Mr. Carlson took their seats at eight-forty, and then the curtain, predictably late, rose at eight-forty-five.

Donna slipped into her seat in the darkness. She shut her eyes, and wished with all her might that nothing bad would happen to spoil the performance. Then she opened her eyes to watch as the lights began to come up on the set.

“You really look great tonight, Donna,” someone whispered in her ear. She turned, and then smiled as she realized that Steve was sitting next to her. “Hi, Steve. I thought you'd be in the front row.”

Steve didn't say anything. He just shook his head, and that made Donna wonder. She'd heard that, traditionally, at Jefferson High, girlfriends and boyfriends of the cast watched the opening night performance from the front row. Did Tammy know that Steve wasn't there? And would she see him sitting in the back row with Donna?

A doorbell sounded on stage, and Donna turned her attention to the play. There was a moment of silence, and then it rang again.

“Who's there?” It was Tammy's voice and Donna's eyes widened. She was much better than she'd been in rehearsal! Tammy was supposed to sound as if she'd awakened from a sound sleep, and she actually did!

Tammy gave a very realistic groan, and then she began to sit up from the couch. Since the audience could only see the couch from the back, this was a very funny scene. Tammy had never managed to get it right in any of the rehearsals that Donna had seen, but tonight she was perfect. First one arm came up, and then the other. They weaved slightly, as if it was too much effort to lift them, and then Tammy's right arm threatened to slide back down again. Her left arm caught it, pulled it back up, and then the back of Tammy's head appeared. She turned very slowly so the audience could see her face, stared at the door with an expression of pure disgust, and then flopped back down on the couch again. “I don't care who it is. Go away!”

The audience reacted with a swell of laughter, and Donna turned to whisper to Steve. “Tammy's really good tonight!”

“I know.” Steve whispered back.

“Maybe I'm crazy, but it makes me worry about the curse.”

“I'm a little worried, too.” Steve nodded.

“I've watched a couple of rehearsals and Tammy's never been
this
good before!”

As the play went on, both Steve and Donna were spellbound. Tammy had turned into a fantastic actress. Every line was perfect, every gesture was flawless. It was really a commanding performance. When the curtain went down and the lights came up for intermission, there was a thunderous round of applause.

Donna glanced at Mr. Michaels, and then she turned to Steve. “I think Tammy impressed Mr. Michaels. He's still applauding.”

“She'll get the part in his movie. And she deserves it. She really
was
great.”

“I'll see you later.” Donna got up from her seat. “I have to run the concession stand.”

“I'll help you.” Steve stood up, too.

“But don't you want to go backstage to congratulate Tammy?”

Steve shook his head. “Tammy can't see anyone between acts. Mr. Carlson said that her dressing room is off-limits. He wants Tammy to stay in character.”

“Oh.” Donna lifted the shelf to duck behind the concession stand, and Steve took his place beside her. A line had already started to form, and Donna was so busy serving customers, she didn't have time to ask the question that was burning in her mind. Was Steve sitting with her because Tammy didn't want him in the front row? Or was it just another one of Mr. Carlson's rules to keep Tammy in character?

 

Tammy leaned back in her chair and propped her feet on the dressing table. She knew she was doing a fantastic job and she was sure she'd get the part in Mr. Michaels' movie. She wiggled her toes and grinned as her shoes caught the light. Their brilliant shade of deep red reminded her of rubies. Perhaps she had the charmed ruby slippers that Dorothy had worn in
The Wizard of Oz.

The thought was so funny, Tammy laughed out loud. She didn't believe in magic, or charms, or curses. But she did believe in good luck, and her luck was fantastic tonight. The first act had gone perfectly, even better than her wildest hopes. She hadn't blown a single line and the audience had adored her. When she'd looked at Mr. Michaels, right before the curtain had fallen, he'd been smiling and clapping right along with the rest of the audience. And then Mr. Carlson had raised his hand and made a little circle with his thumb and forefinger. It must mean that Mr. Michaels had liked her.

She'd seen Steve, sitting in the back row with Donna. Tammy couldn't understand what Steve saw in her. Of course, that was none of her business now. She couldn't care less who Steve dated.

Right before the play had started, Tammy had broken up with Steve. Now that she was going to be an actress, she needed to be seen with someone more important, someone rich and famous. There was no way Tammy wanted to be linked romantically with a small town, high school football player like Steve!

It was time to get ready for the second act. Tammy glanced down at her red shoes and her eyes widened in surprise. She'd planned to take them off for the second half of the play. She'd been sure that they'd clash with her costume, but the beautiful ruby red color had darkened to a shade of bronze that exactly matched the dress she was wearing.

How strange! And how wonderful! Tammy's face lit up in a smile. She didn't actually believe that the red shoes had helped her acting, but now there was no need to take any chances. She'd wear them, just in case.

Tammy checked her makeup. She was ready, and she could hardly wait for the next act. But when she tried to open her dressing room door, it wouldn't budge. The knob turned and the latch clicked, but the door simply wouldn't open.

“Oh, great!” Tammy glared at the door. When she didn't appear backstage, someone would be sure to come. But Tammy didn't want to wait to be rescued by one of the stagehands.

Luckily, the door opened out. It was against fire regulations, but the maintenance man hadn't gotten around to fixing it. Tammy put both hands on the door and shoved, but nothing happened. It really
was
stuck, and that made Tammy so angry, she kicked it.

That was when something totally unexpected and awful happened. Although Tammy didn't kick that hard, her red shoe connected with the door with incredible force. There was a loud snapping sound, and for the briefest of moments, Tammy was puzzled. Then she felt a rush of blinding pain, and she started to scream.

Tammy fell to the floor, writhing in agony. Her leg was broken! Her last thought, before she lost consciousness, was about the red shoes. She should have believed the old woman. And she should have listened to Donna's warnings. The red shoes really
were
cursed and this was her bad luck!

 

There wasn't time to talk during the fifteen-minute intermission. The concession stand was swamped with people, and Donna and Steve served punch and cookies until they'd sold out. They'd just finished wiping the counter when the lights flickered for the start of the second act.

“Let's go.” Steve lifted the shelf and held it up so Donna could step through to the lobby. “If we hurry, we won't miss any of the second act.”

But there was no need to hurry. Donna and Steve sat in the darkened theater for a full five minutes and the curtain still hadn't risen. And then Donna heard it, the wail of a siren in the distance, coming closer and closer to the school.

Donna didn't think. She just reached out to take Steve's hand. “Oh, no! I hope nothing bad has happened!”

There was a low murmur in the audience that grew louder and louder as people began to talk about the delay and the siren they'd heard. By the time the murmuring had grown to a loud buzz of excited voices, Mr. Carlson walked out on the stage.