21 The Real Deal

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE THE REAL DEAL Matter (noun). Anything that has mass and takes up space. That means kids, dragons, and brownies are matter! ON FRIDAY MORNING, I paced back and forth in the science lab. My nerves must have been firing extra fast because my skin literally prickled with excitement. Today was the dress rehearsal. This was the very last time to practice before the show on Saturday afternoon. This was the last chance to figure anything out. I stood in front of the counter, along with Ms. Daly and the three main dragons, Jeremy, Rory, and Julia. We had tried to test out the dragon breathing special effect yesterday but we ended up spending so much time getting a couple of dancing and singing numbers right that we didn't have time. Today, we had all arrived at school extra early to test it out.

Soon fog would shoot out of the Cheetos now soaking in the cups of freezing-cold liquid nitrogen on the counter. There was one cup for each dragon. "Ready for some dragon smoke?" asked Ms. Daly "Oh yeah!" I said. But it was a teeny lie. We were about to do potentially dangerous special effects. That was, if we didn't follow our protocol with an experienced adult standing next to us. But we had followed every safety precaution. And Ms. Daly and I knew what we were doing. Just to be safe, we were all wearing the special coated gloves to protect our hands. These were the gloves I had wanted for my birthday. Ms. Daly had convinced the community college to let us borrow them for the play. She and I guarded the bowls of liquid nitrogen. "The rules are you must leave the liquid nitrogen in the cup and never touch it," I said. "Otherwise, it can burn you," finished Ms. Daly. Like me, she wore a lab coat and safety goggles. Jeremy stepped back. "Are you sure this is safe?" "Positive. As long as you carefully follow the directions," I said.

The dragons all stabbed a Cheeto with a long wooden spear that looked like an extra-long toothpick. "Can we eat the Cheetos now?" asked Julia. "I'm hungry." "Not yet," said Ms. Daly. "Hold your horses. I mean hold your unicorns." We all laughed at the corny joke. "We need to wait until all the liquid becomes a gas," I said. "Maybe we should all count to ten Michigan to be super safe." "Ten Michigan?" asked Jeremy, raising his eyebrows. "It's a thing," I said. Everyone held their speared Cheeto, waiting. Then after ten Michigans, when the Cheetos released puffs of clouds, I said, "Okay, it's ready!" The three dragons crunched on their Cheetos and exhaled. Smoke curled out of their nostrils. Okay, not actual smoke. More like fog. I bounced up and down clapping, "It's awesome!" "The Cheeto tastes pretty good, too," said Jeremy.

"You look like real dragons," Ms. Daly told them. All of the dragons roared their approval. "It went so perfectly," I gushed, feeling truly pleased. "Now we just need to see if it will work in the performance. The trick will be to eat your Cheetos behind the curtain and hold your breath while you race onto the stage. It will basically be a one-time stunt as the chorus of other dragons sings, 'Breathe fire, dragons, breathe!'" Jeremy waved his arm. "This is going to rock!" Or rather, smoke! I thought. A few minutes later, we were all back in the theater. I waved at Elijah in the lighting booth. And also at Birdie, who stood with the unicorns as they adjusted their costumes.

Soon, Mrs. Hansberry gathered the rest of the cast and crew onto the stage. "While this isn't an actual performance with an audience, it's going to be like a real performance," she said. "So we need to treat it like one." After, we went over a reminder of who needed to be where and when, and Mrs. Hansberry gave a little pep talk. She discussed teamwork and pointed out how well everything was going. "I want to compliment you all for being on time today. Furthermore, I'm pleased to see that everyone is following the rules. Long pants. Closed-toe shoes with sturdy rubber soles." Before doing this, I didn't know that putting on a musical would be so complicated. Or that you would have to think about safety just like with chemistry. I knew that Mrs. Hansberry said that a bad dress rehearsal meant a good opening night. But I didn't think I could take too much more Murphy's Law. I really wanted the dress rehearsal to run smoothly. And while some actors dropped lines, and I had to give cues, and the lights were behind in a few places, it still felt like a real show.

The unicorn horns finally stayed on everyone's heads. Birdie tossed her mane wildly, and her horn didn't budge. Without the distraction of the falling horns, Birdie and the rest of the cast were able to concentrate on singing and dancing. Afterward, we gathered to discuss what we could improve for the actual show tomorrow. Mostly Mrs. Hansberry asked that we go to bed early. Because a good night's sleep was essential for the cast and the crew. And for directors, too. Her eyes met mine. "I'm truly excited," she said. "I think the audience is going to enjoy this tremendously." "Yeah, my horn feels like it's part of my head now," said Memito, shaking his mane. "Thanks to Kate's chemistry skills," said Mrs. Hansberry. "The dragon smoke looked great from the lighting booth," said Elijah. "I aimed some lights with a blue gel, which made the smoke look smokier." As everyone was packing away their costumes, I remembered Mrs. Hansberry's warning. "Does that mean we will be in trouble tomorrow," I asked Birdie, "because today went so well?"