forward and grabbed the box of tissues. âI am deathly allergic to canines!â she announced.
It was over the top, and everyone, including the teachers, knew that Kiki was putting it on. Still, even Maeve had to admit that Kikiâs eyes were getting red and allergic looking. Sheâd been sniffling for the last twenty minutes. Something certainly was going on, if not anything nearly as dramatic as she was pretending.
âI CANNOT share the stage with a dog,â Kiki said and stormed out of the auditorium.
âOh dear,â Ms. Ciara said. Pulling Marty out of a hat was the trick that Ms. Ciara liked best. Even with the chewing and stomping.
Charlotte was about to mention the guinea pig trick they had planned, but she thought better of it.
Â
Kikiâs dramatic performance cut the auditions short. They were almost finished anyway, with the exception of the gymnastic routine and the dramatic reading of Robert Frostâs poem. Since none of the teachers would have any objection to that material, Ms. Ciara dismissed the group. They all had their assignments, she said. Everyone should let her know in the next few days what changes were going to be made to their acts.
Avery was told to take Marty home. The rest of the girls followed. No one spoke for a long time.
âLooks like itâs back to the drawing board,â Charlotte said finally.
âLooks like,â said Katani.
Avery was too angry to speak. When she finally said something it was, âMy mother is allergic to dogs. But we were sitting way in the back. And Marty was in a bag! It wasnât Marty that she was allergic to. Kiki didnât start sneezing until she went up on the stage!â
âNow what are we going to do?â Isabel asked.
âI donât know,â Charlotte said glumly.
Isabel had set aside this afternoon to design the sets for the magic show. If she didnât do it today, she didnât know when sheâd have time to fit it in. But she didnât want to say that. Things were bad enough already.
No one felt like talking. The Beacon Street Girls Magic Show was clearly a bust.
When they got outside the building, Dillon was waiting for Maeve. âCan I talk to you?â he asked.
âI guess,â she shrugged.
âI mean by yourself?â he said, giving the girls an apologetic look.
Maeve hung back to let her friends go ahead.
âYou know, when I signed up for Kikiâs act, I thought you were going to be in it,â Dillon said.
âIâm not,â Maeve said.
âThatâs the only reason I said yes.â
Maeve looked relieved.
âDo you think I want to be the only guy in the show?â he asked.
âThen quit,â Maeve said.
âI canât do that. Theyâre counting on me.â Dillon meant it. It wasnât like him to break a commitment.
âKiki lied to you,â she said.
âNo, she didnât,â Dillon said.
âIf she said I was going to be in the act, then she lied,â Maeve said.
âShe said she had asked youâ¦I figured you would just say yes,â Dillon said.
Maeve actually might have been tempted to say yes if she had known that Dillon was in the act. But Kiki hadnât told her that part, and it was hard for Maeve to be phony anyway.
âNever assume,â Maeve said. It didnât sound nearly as good when it came out of her mouth as it had in her head. In fact, it sounded kind of mean. But she couldnât exactly take it back now. She mumbled that she was sorry.
They stood there silently for a minute, then Dillon started to walk away. âI gotta go,â he said over his shoulder.
Maeve walked slowly to catch up with the others. If she felt bad before, she felt worse now.
âWhatâd he say?â Isabel asked.
âI donât want to talk about it,â Maeve said. She couldnât look at Isabel, so she just looked away.
Avery had to get to soccer practice.
It was over the top, and everyone, including the teachers, knew that Kiki was putting it on. Still, even Maeve had to admit that Kikiâs eyes were getting red and allergic looking. Sheâd been sniffling for the last twenty minutes. Something certainly was going on, if not anything nearly as dramatic as she was pretending.
âI CANNOT share the stage with a dog,â Kiki said and stormed out of the auditorium.
âOh dear,â Ms. Ciara said. Pulling Marty out of a hat was the trick that Ms. Ciara liked best. Even with the chewing and stomping.
Charlotte was about to mention the guinea pig trick they had planned, but she thought better of it.
Â
Kikiâs dramatic performance cut the auditions short. They were almost finished anyway, with the exception of the gymnastic routine and the dramatic reading of Robert Frostâs poem. Since none of the teachers would have any objection to that material, Ms. Ciara dismissed the group. They all had their assignments, she said. Everyone should let her know in the next few days what changes were going to be made to their acts.
Avery was told to take Marty home. The rest of the girls followed. No one spoke for a long time.
âLooks like itâs back to the drawing board,â Charlotte said finally.
âLooks like,â said Katani.
Avery was too angry to speak. When she finally said something it was, âMy mother is allergic to dogs. But we were sitting way in the back. And Marty was in a bag! It wasnât Marty that she was allergic to. Kiki didnât start sneezing until she went up on the stage!â
âNow what are we going to do?â Isabel asked.
âI donât know,â Charlotte said glumly.
Isabel had set aside this afternoon to design the sets for the magic show. If she didnât do it today, she didnât know when sheâd have time to fit it in. But she didnât want to say that. Things were bad enough already.
No one felt like talking. The Beacon Street Girls Magic Show was clearly a bust.
When they got outside the building, Dillon was waiting for Maeve. âCan I talk to you?â he asked.
âI guess,â she shrugged.
âI mean by yourself?â he said, giving the girls an apologetic look.
Maeve hung back to let her friends go ahead.
âYou know, when I signed up for Kikiâs act, I thought you were going to be in it,â Dillon said.
âIâm not,â Maeve said.
âThatâs the only reason I said yes.â
Maeve looked relieved.
âDo you think I want to be the only guy in the show?â he asked.
âThen quit,â Maeve said.
âI canât do that. Theyâre counting on me.â Dillon meant it. It wasnât like him to break a commitment.
âKiki lied to you,â she said.
âNo, she didnât,â Dillon said.
âIf she said I was going to be in the act, then she lied,â Maeve said.
âShe said she had asked youâ¦I figured you would just say yes,â Dillon said.
Maeve actually might have been tempted to say yes if she had known that Dillon was in the act. But Kiki hadnât told her that part, and it was hard for Maeve to be phony anyway.
âNever assume,â Maeve said. It didnât sound nearly as good when it came out of her mouth as it had in her head. In fact, it sounded kind of mean. But she couldnât exactly take it back now. She mumbled that she was sorry.
They stood there silently for a minute, then Dillon started to walk away. âI gotta go,â he said over his shoulder.
Maeve walked slowly to catch up with the others. If she felt bad before, she felt worse now.
âWhatâd he say?â Isabel asked.
âI donât want to talk about it,â Maeve said. She couldnât look at Isabel, so she just looked away.
Avery had to get to soccer practice.
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