23 Curtain Call

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE CURTAIN CALL Conclusion (noun). Summarize the way your results support or contradict your original hypothesis. Like anytime you say, "Told you I was right!" UNBELIEVABLY, INCREDIBLY, the show went really well. Sure, there were a couple of slip-ups. One of the dragon's tails came off. And a unicorn mane slipped sideways. And one of the doors wouldn't open to a dragon's cave. But the energy (or N-R-G) was great. Birdie remembered all of her dance steps and didn't look at the other unicorns. Elijah's lightning storm special effects were awesome. During the finale, the lead dragons breathed smoke out of their noses. The crowd went wild. My mom stood up in the first row. And my dad, Ms. Daly, and Liam. And the rest of the audience. The clapping was thunderous. There were whistles and cheers. As the cast took their bows, Mrs. Hansberry nudged me on the shoulder. "Go out onstage, Kate."

"Are you sure?" "Very." Mrs. Hansberry pushed me forward with the rest of the cast to take our final bow. Elijah flashed the spotlight right on me, which made me blink, but I couldn't help grinning. I'm sure everyone could see my tonsils. Then Avery stepped out of the line of actors and toward the front of the stage. For a moment, I held my breath. What was she up to? My stomach plummeted. "There's a tradition in my dads' theater of acknowledging the director with a bouquet of white roses," said Avery. A stagehand hurried onstage and handed her the bouquet. "Mrs. Hansberry, could you please come onstage?" Mrs. Hansberry strolled onstage, with her clipboard still in her hand, and accepted the flowers. "We also have flowers for our accompanist, Mrs. Hagel." Avery pointed to Mrs. Hagel, who waved from her upright piano. Then another stagehand scurried out and handed her a bouquet of yellow tulips. "And also for our assistant director," said Avery, waving a bunch of Texas bluebonnets.

I was shocked. I bowed again and accepted the bouquet. "Thanks!" My parents and Liam beamed. "And thank you for being the greatest cast and crew. The show was amazing!" "Yes, you children were wonderful," said Mrs. Hansberry, gesturing at the crew with a sweep of her long arm. "We're ever so thankful for all of our volunteers who helped with makeup, costumes, and set building. And parents, thank you for your patience. I know that many nights during our fall break were spent running lines at home and finding props. Thank you for lending me your marvelous children. Good night!" She threw out a kiss. And then Elijah made the lights blink as if we were at a disco. There was a burst of thundering applause until the house lights went back on. The show was over. Parents flooded the stage. Suddenly, everyone was taking photos and giving hugs. Liam brought me a silver Mylar balloon that said STAR SISTER. "Thanks," I said. "It was really good," said Liam, waving the program with Birdie's awesome unicorn on it. "It was fantastic," said Mom. "I can't believe how much you all accomplished in a week."

"The dragon smoke was so cool." Liam tilted his head. "Was it real?" "Yes, Liam. Those were real dragons." Liam threw back his head and laughed. "Haha. You're kidding. Those were Cheetos. I could smell them." "I'm proud of Kate for figuring out those smoking Cheetos," said Dad. "It was quite the complex operation." Dad put his hand on my shoulder. "So, gang, ready for some ice cream?" "Yes!" cheered Liam. I scurried away to find Birdie and Elijah and let them know it was ice cream time. It didn't take a lot of convincing. We all jumped up and down singing. "I scream, you scream. We all scream for ice cream!" Out of the corner of my eye I could see Avery looking at us longingly. I raced over to her. "Want to come to McSweeny's with us?" Avery looked up at her dads. "Can I?" "Absolutely, sweetie," said her dad Mark, who nudged her dad Andrew. "Better get yourself a double scoop," said Andrew as he handed Avery a twenty-dollar bill. "We expect change."

We all left the theater together. We had our own kids' table at McSweeny's. My parents sat in the front of the ice cream parlor on their own little date. I got my cone with a double scoop of salted caramel dipped in chocolate sprinkles, my favorite. "Want to try mine?" asked Liam. "It's bubble- gum flavor." I shook my head. "No, thanks, I'm good." I eyed my little brother suspiciously. "It's not like you to share." "I'm so happy!" he cried. "The dragons used magic Cheetos! You know, a whole bag of them appeared in your backpack one morning, just waiting for me to eat them!" I cupped my hand over my mouth. "Oh my goodness. You ate them before I brought them to school." The mystery of the missing Cheetos was finally solved. Liam nodded and licked his drippy cone. "Told you it wasn't me," Avery said, laughing. Elijah waved his finger. "I'm keeping an eye on you, Liam." "Especially with anything involving orange snack food," said Birdie. "Next time, just ask first, Liam. Okay? But I can't blame you. Those were definitely yummy

magic snacks." Then I winked at my friends. At that moment, I realized something big. Friends, just like polymers, must stick together. They should listen to each other, too. And while science club would always be my favorite thing to do, drama wasn't so bad either. Especially when chemistry was involved.