Like Carrot Juice on a Cupcake (15 page)

and once for Ainsley.

When everyone was in costume,

Mrs. Quaid said, “Let’s begin with scene two.”

I closed my eyes for a second

and shook my head,

knowing what was coming.

And sure enough,

as soon as I said my first “Honey Bun,”

Ben said,
“Oooh.”

I stopped reading my lines then

and put my paws on my hips

and
glared
at him.

“That’s
enough
, Ben,”

Mrs. Quaid said,

very sharply.

And Katie said, “Definitely.”

And Nicholas said, “Yeah—
definitely
.”

Which was very nice of them.

Ben shrugged

and started pulling on one of Adam’s ears.

“Be careful, Ben!” Mrs. Quaid said.

“Those ears rip!”

Adam put his hand on his bunny ear then

and said,

“It’s bleeding! It’s
bleeding
!”

Everyone laughed.

And

from that moment on,

nobody paid any attention

to my lines.

It was so much easier, too,

to remember that it was just a play

when I was dressed as a rabbit.

So I read my lines loudly and clearly

and felt braver and braver.

Even the hugging scene went well,

because Nicholas and I just waved at each other

instead of hugging.

Mrs. Quaid shook her head and said,

“We’ll let that be enough for today.”

Then we kept going.

Best of all,

once again,

I didn’t have to sing my solo.

“We’ll focus on your song next time,”

Mrs. Quaid told me.

“But here’s your job, from now until the show.

You must practice convincing yourself

that you are
not
Eleanor.

You are a famous singer

who performs in front of crowds.

Do you have a favorite singer?”

“Not really,” I said.

“Give it some thought,” she said.

“My dad likes the Beatles,” I said.

“They’re famous, right? I could be one of them.”

“That would be perfect,” she said.

We took off our bunny costumes then.

And I realized

that my sweatshirt had gotten a little sweaty.

It was hot under all that fur!

I have to ask Mom to wash it
, I thought.

Because I was still determined

to wear that sweatshirt every single day

until Ainsley forgave me.

I worried the next morning as I walked to school,

wearing my clean sweatshirt.

What if Ainsley didn’t like my no-secrets plan?

What if she stayed mad?

Would Pearl be friends with me anyway?

Would she ever play with
me
at recess?

And be partners with
me
in science?

Or would she always choose Ainsley?

My dad told me everything would be okay

as he kissed me good-bye.

I didn’t believe him.

But then I walked into the classroom

and saw Ainsley and Pearl.

They were both wearing pale pink sweatshirts.

Ainsley’s was covered in sparkly rhinestone bows.

And Pearl’s had sparkly rhinestone stripes.

They waved at me

and I hurried to them,

wearing my own rhinestoned sweatshirt.

We stood together,

smiling at one another—

a very glittery trio.

And then Pearl said,

“I am as happy

as a puppy gulping down

a whole bag of treats.”

And I thought,

That’s my best friend, Pearl.

She’s going to be a famous poet someday.

I just know it.

The next week flew by.

Rehearsals lasted longer and longer,

and Ainsley and Pearl both started teasing me.

Because I kept humming bunny tunes during class,

and pretending to be one of the Beatles,

and muttering my lines.

But then,

Friday came.

The day of the show.

The only thing I muttered that day was,

“I feel sick.”

I wasn’t going to be able to do my solo.

I knew I wasn’t!

I couldn’t pretend to be a Beatle!

They were
men
! And they were
ancient
!

Some of them were even
dead
!

That idea had been ridiculous.

I felt even sicker and shakier after school,

as the cast got ready for the show.

Nicholas burped a few lines of my solo for me.

I knew he was trying to make me laugh,

so I’d be less scared.

But still. It was disgusting.

So it made me feel worse.

And I couldn’t eat one of the delicious

golden vanilla cupcakes

decorated with bunny faces

that Mrs. Quaid gave us, as a pre-show treat.

Maybe if they’d been brookie cupcakes—

which I’d never gotten to try—

I could’ve overcome my feelings of sickness.

But they weren’t.

So I wrapped my bunny cupcake in napkins

and set it on a table backstage, for later.

I did
not
save

the carrot juice

that Mrs. Quaid also handed out.

“What drink could be better for rabbits?”

she kept saying.

And I thought,

Who would want
carrot juice

anywhere near

a yummy cupcake?

What if it spills?

That would be a tragedy!

After snack time, I zipped into my bunny suit.

Which made me sweaty
and
shaky.

And then Mrs. Quaid said, “Everyone, backstage!”

So,

wearing our furry costumes,

we all crammed into the little space

behind the curtains at the back of the stage.

It was crowded and loud back there.

Mrs. Quaid kept shouting things like,

“Check the props table!

Make sure you have what you need!”

Finally she checked her watch and shouted,

“Quiet down! It’s
time
!”

We all rushed to peek through the curtains.

Kids and parents were filling up every seat

in every row!

Suddenly, I
had
to pee.

But there was no time!

Mrs. Quaid was calling,

“Places, everyone! Places!”

And then she said,

“Where’s Eleanor?”

I raised my hand and said, “Here.”

“The audience lights will go down in a second,”

she told me.

“And then you’ll step onstage.

Don’t forget your carrot!

Do you have your carrot?”

I
didn’t
have my carrot!

I had to shove my way to the props table then,

saying, “Excuse me!

Carrot emergency!”

as I pushed other bunnies aside.

Then I shoved my way back to Mrs. Quaid.

And before I could tell her anything about peeing,

she said,

“Remember:
loudly
and
clearly
!”

She opened the curtain for me.

And I had to step onto the stage.

I heard Mrs. Quaid say, “Shhhh!” behind me.