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  "I didn't write about them exactly as they were," Ms. Hayes said. "They had their problems and their human failings, as all of us do. But they still seemed like a very happy family. With all their problems, I would have chosen to belong to that family rather than be all alone, the way I was." "So their story is almost true," I said, still trying to understand.

  "There's a great deal of truth in it," Ms. Hayes said. "I wrote the first Alice Anderson book right after Cassie died and..." "You don't have to talk about it," I interrupted.

  "It's all right. I will this once. Cassie and I never got along smoothly. During her last two years in high school we argued a lot." Ms. Hayes took off her thick glasses and wiped tears from her red-rimmed eyes. "The last time I saw Cassie alive we were exchanging bitter words. I'll have to live with that forever." "That must be hard for you," I said, imagining or trying to imagine - how awful she must feel.

  "It was hard." Ms. Hayes smiled a little sadly. "You know, Mallory, talking to you has gotten me thinking about my childhood. Maybe I will write a book about my childhood - a nonfiction book. But, before I think about that, I need to finish The Anderson Family Reunion. I have to submit a final outline to George in two days. Are you still interested in helping?" "I'd love to," I said. "I'll have to call home and ask if I can stay after dark." "Naturally, I'll call a cab to take you home." I called and Dad said it would be all right. I really should have spent the evening working on my project, but after all the help Ms. Hayes had given me, how could I refuse to help her? Besides, this was something I really wanted to do.

  This is excellent work, Mallory, really excellent," Mr. Williams said to me in front of the whole class on the following Wednesday. He'd read our projects over the past two nights. Mine was the last one he returned.

  "Thank you," I said. "But that's only half of it." "I know that," Mr. Williams said. "I'll be in the auditorium this afternoon to see your play, and then I'll grade the entire project." Jessi caught my eye and gave me an enthusiastic thumbs-up.

  "Anyone who'd like to see Mallory's first play is welcome to go to the elementary school auditorium after school," Mr. Williams told the class.

  I was already nervous about the play. The thought of the entire class showing up made me even more nervous. Our final rehearsal, just yesterday, had been spotty -131 some parts smooth, some parts not-so-smooth. There were a lot of forgotten lines because of the script changes. I'd just have to keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best. I really wanted it to be good. Besides the fact that my grade depended on it, I'd invited Ms. Hayes to come see my play.

  When I arrived at the elementary school that afternoon, I spotted my friends from the BSC. "How long is this play?" Kristy asked me, checking her watch.

  "Don't worry," I said. "It's not more than an hour. We'll be done in plenty of time for our meeting." "Good." Mary Anne smiled and rolled her eyes at Kristy. "Good luck with the play," she said to me.

  "You changed it, didn't you?" Stacey asked anxiously.

  "Yes. My brothers and sisters think it's all right now," I told her.

  "Oh, yeah? Are you sure about that?" Claudia asked skeptically. She was looking at something over my shoulder, so I turned to see what it was.

  "Oh, no!" I groaned. My brothers and sisters were arriving in disguise! Byron, Adam, and Jordan each wore one of those crazy-looking nose and mustache things attached to black-rimmed glasses. Vanessa had on dark sunglasses and a too-big man's fedora. Margo had on a scarf and dark glasses. Nicky wore a ski mask. They'd even brought Claire along. She was wearing her Minnie Mouse mask from Halloween.

  "Very funny, you guys," I said when they neared the front doors. "Take that stuff off, would you?" "No way," Vanessa insisted. "We're not taking any chances." "Everyone will laugh at you for sure if you wear those disguises inside," I argued.

  "We'd rather be laughed at for looking weird than for being weird," said Jordan.

  "You read the play. You're not weird anymore," I reminded them.

  "Maybe that copy was just to show us. Maybe you're putting on the old one," Vanessa said. "Come on," she told the others. They followed her into the auditorium.

  "Oh, no, they're not weird," I said sarcastically. "Not at all. They're totally normal." Everyone laughed. "Don't you have to go inside and make sure your actors are ready?" Stacey asked.

  "Right. I should," I agreed. "Jessi's probably already in there. See you later." I ran down the aisle and into the backstage entrance, off to the right side of the stage.

  "We're all set," said Jessi, who was helping me along with Ms. Simon.

  "Great. Thanks," I said. "Come here, everyone." The kids gathered around me, dressed in their neatest clothes. Danielle wore a bright red corduory jumper with a white blouse underneath. On her head she wore a thin red scarf, tied in the back, with a slouchy red corduroy hat over it. She looked pretty, despite the faint circles under her eyes.

  "Do you all know your lines?" I asked. The group nodded, but I noticed some uncertain expressions. On Tuesday, Tony still hadn't known his part very well. I prayed he'd spent the night studying Ed's lines. (Nicky had insisted his character's name be changed to Ed. For some reason, he'd decided Ed was "the coolest name a guy could have.") "All right, everybody, do your best and good luck," said Ms. Simon as she hurried by. "Do you think they're set?" she whispered to me.

  "I hope so," I replied with my fingers crossed.

  Jessi had gone to peek out the curtain. "I see a woman I don't recognize. From your description I think she might be Ms. Hayes," she reported in a whisper. "Your mother is here, and your father is with her." "Dad?" I exclaimed, peeking out. "Wow! He must have left work early just for this." "There's Aunt Cecelia and Squirt," Jessi added. "And there's Dr. Johanssen. And Mrs. Barrett with Marnie and Suzi." Looking over her shoulder, I saw them walking in with other family members, including Mrs. Braddock and Haley's brother Matt. "If I'd known Matt was coming I'd have arranged for someone to sign for him," I said. (Matt Braddock is profoundly deaf.) "Mrs. Braddock will sign for him," Jessi reminded me.

  "That's true." "It's almost curtain time," said Ms. Simon. "Better get set." "All right," I said.

  Jessi and I brought out the cot which would be Valery's bed and the folding chair that went next to it. "Curtain going up!" I told my cast, which wasn't exactly accurate since our curtain pulled to either side, not up. It sounded better than "curtain to the side," though.

  Jessi and I pulled on the curtain as Ms. Simon walked to the center of the stage. "Welcome, everyone," she said to the audience. "Today you are here to see a new play by a bright young playwright. It's about the struggles of a young person to find herself as a writer while still being a loving member of a happy and very active family. We hope you enjoy The Early Years, written by Ms. Mallory Pike and performed by members of the Kids Can Do Anything Club." Everyone clapped. Ms. Simon left the stage and Danielle walked on. She spoke her first line: "How I wish I could write something truly great, something that would change the world and make people happy, especially children." I noticed Haley off to the side, staring into space. "That's your cue to enter," I whispered urgently to her.

  "I'm scared," she whispered back.

  I glanced nervously at Danielle. "A rare moment of quiet," she ad-libbed, killing time until Haley showed up. "I think I'll begin writing something now. But what? That's the hard problem." Good work, Danielle, I thought. "Go, Haley, please," I begged. "Your mother and brother are out there." "They are?" Haley asked. "I didn't see them come in." "I did." Taking a deep breath, Haley stepped onto the stage. "Hi, Valery," she said. "Are you writing again?" The response was supposed to be, "No, I haven't started." Danielle changed it to, "Yes, I just started," to fit in with her own improvised lines.

  "I don't want to. interrupt you, but I was hoping for your opinion of my latest poem," said Haley as Jill.

  "Sure, go ahead," Danielle, as Valery, replied.

  I put one of Vanessa's real poems in here, a nice one. Haley read it. "That's terrific,"
said Danielle.

  "Thanks," replied Haley.

  Jessi gave Tony a gentle push onto the stage after he missed his cue. "Hi, you guys," ran his new opening line. "Has anyone seen Zow's leash?" (I'd even given Pow a fictionalized name, although he was the only member of my family who hadn't bothered me about his character.) "I think it's in your room," said Danielle.

  "No, it's in the front hall closet," said Haley. "Thanks, Mallory. Thanks, Vanessa," Tony said, leaving. "Um, I mean, Valery and Ranessa. No, Jill! Thanks, Jill and Mallory. I mean, Valery . . . or whatever it is." Again, Danielle covered. "That Ed, he's such a joker - always pretending he doesn't know anyone's name." "Yes, he's always playing jokes like that," Haley joined in.

  Next Wendy came on as Melissa, skipping rope. "I jumped all the way to one hundred," she said. "Does anyone want to see me do it?" "Valery needs to write, Melissa," said Haley.

  "It's all right," said Danielle. "Let's see, Melissa." While Wendy jumped and Haley counted, Becca entered, as the Jessi character. "Hi, Sissy," Danielle said.

  "Hi," said Becca. "Did you get your writing done?" "No," Danielle replied. "I've had a few. um. . . interruptions." "I don't know how you write anything in this house," said Wendy.

  Charlotte, as my mother, came on. "Val, I hate to ask you this," she said in a tiny voice I'm sure no one could hear, "but could you watch the kids with Sissy while I run to the store for milk? I'll be right back." "Sure, Mom," said Danielle. When Char left, Danielle threw her arms into the air and made a funny face. "It's nearly impossible to write anything when you're a member of the busy Turnpike family." That was the cue for Buddy, Peter, and Bruce to walk on as the triplets (now named Mike, John, and Bob). Each of them was dribbling a basketball. Then Sara Hill came in as Delaware. (Claire liked that name.) Dressed in a tutu, she danced around the stage.

  "See what I mean?" Danielle asked Becca. "Being a Turnpike is like living on the turnpike - in heavy traffic." "I see what you mean," Becca replied. Both girls made comical faces. The audience laughed, which made me happy because I hoped they would laugh right there.

  The rest of the play went pretty smoothly. There were a few little problems (such as when the cot collapsed in the middle of Valery's sick scene) and some mix-ups (such as when Buddy Barrett walked on in the middle of the wrong scene). Mostly, though, I'd say it was a success.

  At the end, everyone came out for a curtain call. The audience clapped loudly. When Danielle stepped forward, they cheered, and rose to their feet for a standing ovation. She really deserved it, too. She'd been great.

  Then someone started shouting, "Author! Author!" The audience took up the chant.

  "Go on," said Jessi. "Go out there." I walked onstage. The cast clapped for me and I looked out into the audience and saw everyone still standing. Ms. Hayes was right up front, smiling away. My parents looked pretty proud, too. My brothers and sisters were standing along with everybody else.

  They'd even taken off their disguises.

  I didn't realize how hard I was smiling until I noticed that my cheeks hurt. Mr. Katz walked onstage holding four red roses. He handed two to Danielle, which started everyone cheering all over again. He handed the second two to me. I knew there was someone else who deserved a rose as much as I did. I walked to the edge of the stage and reached down, handing one of my roses to Henrietta Hayes.

  Chapter 15.

  I felt like a celebrity. After the final curtain went down everyone congratulated me and shook my hand and patted my back. It was the greatest feeling. "A definite A-plus," Mr. Williams said when he came backstage. "Between us~, it was by far the best project in the class." "Thanks," I said, smiling from ear to ear. "I can't believe how much I learned." "That was the idea," said Mr. Williams as he left.

  Ms. Simon and Mr. Katz came over to me next, surrounded by my Kids Club cast. "We have a request," said Ms. Simon.

  "Anything," I said. "I owe you guys a lot. You helped me land an A-plus on my project." "The kids would like you to write an updated, kids' version of A Christmas Carol for them to perform at the pediatric ward of the hospital over the holidays," Mr. Katz told me.

  "Like, Scrooge is the big bully in the schoolyard," said Haley. "And these kid ghosts come and visit him one night." "What a cool idea," I said excitedly. "I'll start working on it right away." "Danielle should be Scrooge," suggested Haley, "since she's our star." Danielle smiled. "I wouldn't mind." The kids went their own ways as their parents came back to congratulate them. Mrs. Ramsey came over to me with Squirt squirming in her arms. "We really enjoyed the play, Mal," she said.

  "Thank you," I replied. "Becca did a great job playing Jessi, or I should say, Sissy." Becca and Jessi came over with their arms around one another. Jessi put her other arm around me. "I'm surrounded by talent," she said. "Lucky me." My family came backstage next. "Nice job, Mal," said Dad.

  "It was wonderful," Mom agreed. - "Pretty cool," Byron said.

  "Haley did a good job reading my poem," said Vanessa. "Do you think the people liked it?" "I'm sure they did," I told her. "It's a good poem." Standing by the door, I noticed Ms. Hayes. She still held the rose I'd given her. "I'll be right back," I told my family.

  "I am so proud of you, Mallory," Ms. Hayes said when I joined her. "That was a terrific first play." "It went through a few rewrites," I admitted.

  "Most good work does," Ms. Hayes said. She fished in her large black leather shoulder bag and pulled out a stack of papers held together with a red rubber band. "Here's an outline, for example, which went through several revisions." She handed it to me. "This is the outline and the first three chapters of The Anderson Family Reunion. Look at the acknowledgements page, the tenth or eleventh page, I believe." I thumbed through to the eleventh page. When I read it, I looked up, wide-eyed with amazement. "Ms. Hayes," I gasped. "You put my name on this." It said: The author thanks Mallory Pike for suggesting the idea for this book and for her valuable input.

  "The book was your idea, and many of your ideas are in here. You deserve the credit," said Ms. Hayes.

  "Oh, but I never expected . . . I . . . This is so great. Thank you!" "You're very welcome, Mallory," said Ms. Hayes. "You certainly deserve it. This is a copy for you. I sent another copy off to George Delmore this morning." Filled with happiness, pride, and gratitude, I threw my arms around Ms. Hayes. I always knew someday I'd see my name in a book, but I never expected it to be so soon.

  My parents came over and introduced themselves. "You have a very special, talented girl here," said Ms. Hayes. "I'm sure you know that." "Yes, we do," said Dad.

  "But thank you for saying so," added Mom politely.

  Ms. Hayes said good-bye and turned to leave. "Will I see you next Tuesday?" she asked me.

  "Absolutely," I said. "Don't file a thing until I get there." Ms. Hayes laughed, and, with a wave, went off down the hall. "What a nice woman," said Mom.

  "She's great," I agreed, handing Mom the manuscript. "Look at this." My parents were very impressed. "I think this calls for a celebration," said Mom. "Why don't you invite your friends over. I'll order pizzas." "Great!" I said. I didn't have to look far for my friends. They were just walking in.

  "Mallory! Mallory!" they chanted.

  "Way to go!" said Claudia, slapping me five.

  "Excellent job," said Kristy.

  After my friends had congratulated me, I invited them to the pizza party. "Sounds like fun," said Claudia. "I'll be there." The others said they could make it, too.

  Then Kristy checked her watch. "It's five o'clock," she announced.

  We all knew what that meant.

  "Let's go," I said. "Hey, maybe Dad can give us a ride." Looking around, I saw that my family had left, but I thought I might still be able to catch up with them if they'd gone back out to the auditorium. I took a shortcut across the stage and found Mom and Dad standing in the aisle talking to Mrs. Barrett.

  "Sure, I can fit everyone in," Dad agreed, when I asked him to drive us to Claudia's house. "I'll meet you in the park
ing lot." Hopping back on the stage, I crossed to the wings. Out in the auditorium, and behind' me, backstage, people chattered noisily. But there in the darkened stage wings it was almost quiet.

  I looked out across the shiny floor of the stage and thought about everything that had happened. Even though I was still the same age, I felt older, as if the kid part of my life had somehow ended, and another part had just begun. It was an exciting feeling - scary, but also thrilling. Who knew what big changes were up ahead, waiting for me?

  "It's five after five," reported Kristy from behind me.

  "Okay," I said. "My dad will give us a ride." As my friends and I walked to the car, I thought about how Ms. Hayes had found inspiration for the Alice Anderson books in the happiest time of her life. If I were to write about the happiest time of my life, what would I pick?

  I didn't think about it for more than a moment.

  The first sentences of that book sprang to my head.

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