Short Story Assignment
Rachel lived a beautiful life; she maintained good grades, had wonderful friends, and the sweetest boyfriend in the world. She felt as though nothing could go wrong, until the day she found out her school play was to be presented the same night as her boyfriend's school prom!
"This is awful, Kevin! What am I going to do? I can't be two places at once."
"I'm sure you can work something out," Kevin replied.
He knew Rachel would find a way to be at the play and at his prom, but she needed some reassurance. Rachel was very upset, she couldn't concentrate on much of anything. She decided to seek advice from her mom.
"Well, honey, you could talk to your teacher about the play date."
"And, what if he can't change it? You can't move the date of prom! I can't miss Kevin's prom nor let everyone down who's in the play!"
"I'm sure you can work something out," her mom replied.
She knew Rachel would find a way to keep everyone happy, yet Rachel still needed reassurance. Rachel stayed up all night thinking of ways to fix this disaster, until finally, she fell asleep.
Monday morning at school, she approached her teacher, kindly, with the proposition to move the play matinee to another day.
"There is no way we could move the date now! The schedule has already been posted and signs already made. I'm sorry, but there's nothing we can do."
Rachel's teacher brought her down to an ultimate low state, and she began to sob hysterically, "What am I going to do? I'll have to go to the play, but I'll have no time to get ready for prom or barely any time to dance! How will I ever fix this mess?"
Her teacher pondered for a moment, paced from his desk to the door. Once, twice, three times, then said, "I'll check the school calendar," and slithered out of the room.
Rachel tried to calm herself, but continued to quietly cry. A few moments later, her teacher sternly walked through the door. He turned to face Rachel and spoke softly, "There's a small chance it can be changed," Rachel slightly grinned, "But, do not get your hopes up, Ma'am." Rachel thanked him for his effort thus far and headed to class.
The next morning, Rachel's teacher called her to his classroom, "It appears you won't have to worry about play and prom clashing."
Rachel jumped up and down, "Really? Oh, Mr. Randolph, you got the play to be presented on a earlier date? Thank you! I can't believe it!" She began to leap out of the room but stopped as Mr. Randolph began to speak again.
"No, ma'am, the date cannot be changed. I say this because you are ineligible, you are failing Geometry as of today."
Rachel couldn't believe that she was ineligible, just because of Geometry! Once her first hour class was over, she headed to the Geometry room to speak with her teacher.
Mrs. Collins was snacking on a twinkie when Rachel walked in, "Can I help you, Rachel?"
"Mrs. Collins, I was informed this morning that I have a D in Geometry! How can I get my grade raised before next week?"
Here teacher pondered, for a while, as she slowly chewed on the cream filled sweet. Once she had swallowed the morsel, Mrs. Collins spoke, "I don't believe you have the ability to do that, under such short notice. But, I will arrange an extra credit test for you on Monday before school. Study Hard!"
And with that Mrs. Collins pushed Rachel through the door and shut it after her. Shocked, Rachel hurried off to class, just as the bell rang. Great! Now I'll be late for class!She entered the classroom and was greeted with glares all around her. Other students had overheard Rachel's dilemma about changing the play date many of them spread that she was trying to sabotage the whole thing, and a few didn't care either way. She didn't let it bring her down though; Rachel's friends supported her decision. All she had to do now was pass her Geometry test.
Every night after school was spent on homework, then studying for Monday's test. Any spare time Rachel could find was used to cram more Geometry equations into her mind. Even her weekend was packed with study sessions to ensure she'd pass.
That next Monday, Rachel was nervous and yet confident about how well she would apply herself on the test. She walked up the school steps with a heavy book bag on her back and a pencil in her hand. When she reached Mrs. Collins' room the door was locked and the lights appeared to be off inside. She knocked quietly. There was no answer, so she knocked again, just a tad louder. Still there was no answer. Oh great, Mrs. Collins forgot. I'll never be able to pass now!
Just then, the guidance counselor appeared around the corner of the hall, "Good morning, Rachel. What brings you here so early?"
"I was allowed to take an extra credit test for Mrs. Collins' Geometry class so I could pass, but she's not here yet."
""Oh, she won't be coming today. Or all week for that matter! She had an accident over the weekend, she fell down some steps and has been placed in intensive care."
Rachel gasped, "No! Is she going to be alright?"
"Of course. Besides, you are passing Geometry!" her guidance counselor said with a smile. Rachel began to jump up and down as if she just won the lottery, almost hugging the woman in front of her.
Over the next few weeks, Rachel continued to spend much of her time on schoolwork. She did not want another mistake like that to happen again. Once play practice had started, she quickly mesmerized her lines and tried enjoying herself as much as possible. Soon enough, there was only three days until the play performance, Rachel and her friends were all excited about it.
"Can you believe how fast these last few months have gone by?" one of them said.
"I know exactly what you mean, it feels like we just started practice yesterday!"
On her way home, Rachel received a text from her boyfriend. "I wnt make it 2 play on fri. R u excited bout prom sat?"
Oh my goodness! She had totally forgotten about the whole play and prom mishap, but how? It was so important to her at the beginning of spring, how could she have forgotten so quickly? That darn test! If Mrs. Collins hadn't made the mistake of typing in her grade for someone else, she wouldn't have ended up with a giant zero causing it to look as if she had been failing Geometry! What else could go wrong now?
She was back to the same problem she had before, and with only three days away, there was no way she could fix it. I'll have to think of something. How can I be in two places at once? Rachel tried to get ideas to rush through her head, but nothing came. Must it be so hard to think of a plan? That's it, a plan. She thought of an idea, or well...a plan, that would work perfectly, or so she hoped!
The afternoon of the play, and prom, she text her friends how excited she was about the play, and her boyfriend that they were going to have a romantic night. Rachel was getting ready when Kevin text back, "Rdy 2 eat?" She had really wanted to go out to eat before prom, but her plan didn''t include having a meal, so she sent, "Wnt b rdy by thn". She threw her phone on her bed and glanced in the mirror. I'm not ready to eat, but I'm definitely ready to try being two places at once.
At the school, millions of people were lined up to be seated and watch The Glamorous Green Goddess. Rachel had a medium part, as a fairy that would assisted the goddess, which posed a slight problem for her plan. Dressed as her part, Rachel stood onstage with other cast members, and the play began. Once Rachel had said her lines and was queued her exit, she ran to the bathroom and changed into a dark blue, sparkling dress with matching Gucci high heels. Her hair was already curled and put up with a million bobby pins, it glistened in the moonlight as she rushed to her car.
Rachel had been timing exactly where her lines were during practices, so she knew just how much time was in between her lines. Most of her lines were grouped together, so she could get away from the play and go out dancing.
It was around 6:45 when she finally got to her house, she text Kevin that she was ready to have a wonderful night. When he arrived, he wondered what had taken Rachel so long, but only said, "You look amazing." In his 2008 Saleen S7R, they drove down the highway to an enchanting place, where the prom was being held. Kevin got them there in a flash, especially considering he does own a race car! Rachel offered to keep his keys in her purse, and they gave each other a light peck before stepping out of the car. The place was packed, vehicles were parked everywhere, and some people were just standing outside.
Holding hands, they walked up the steps to the entrance, paid and were stamped, then walked in. It was a high ceiling hall with a chandelier in the middle, and was decorated in a 'Dancing by the Starlight' theme. Kevin pulled Rachel out onto the dance floor, and what seemed like an eternity was cut short by her cell phone alarm going off like crazy. "I've got to take this...call!" She rushed off in the direction of the bathroom, but then dodged towards the exit.
She zoomed off, back to school, where she would change into her costume and say her next set of lines. Rachel headed back stage and was approached by Alicia, one of her closest friends. "Where have you been, you were supposed to be in make-up 10 minutes ago. Oh well, your queue is in a few moments...there! GO!"
Rachel was pushed on stage. Her mouth dropped, she knew her lines, but nothing was coming out. No words, not a sound. Everyone stared at her, waiting for something to happen, anything to happen!
John, who was the prince in the play, finally spoke, "Well, thank you for coming, Tangle Elfglitter. We needed a good fairy to save us."
Again, it was Rachel's turn to speak, and still nothing came out of her dangled open mouth. Her friends grew cross and glared at her up on stage. John spoke once more, "You must have some spell to save us? Some kind words to speak? You ARE the good fairy, remember?"
Rachel moved her hand, about and around in many motions, while pointing at the other characters onstage, "Hiscusbus Tringlet Bo, Set free these people, let them go!" Sparks of light went off all over the stage eluding what was happening onstage, talk about good effects. Popping sounds were all that was heard, with the addition to the audiences' "oohs" and "awes".
Alicia pulled Rachel back offstage, and just stared at her for awhile. "What exactly were you thinking? You don't have stage fright, so explain what just happened?"
For the millionth time, Rachel was at loss with words. All she could do was shrug and start to cry.
"Now, stop. You'll mess up your make-up." Alicia tried to comfort her, but stayed stern. "I'm going to be watching you at all times. Don't mess up again. But, don't cry!" Giving her a hug, Alicia patted her back. Suddenly, Alicia got up. "Oh! That'''s my queue!"
Rachel watched her friend walk on stage. How could I let this happen? I almost ruined the whole play. She finally stopped her tears and shuffled over to the make-up crew. "Fix me up girls, I need it."
The play ended and was a total success, except for the obvious mistake made. People began to leave, and the cast were starting to clean up and congratulating others on a job well done. Rachel was helping put away chairs when an angry, yet well-dressed young man approached her. Of course, it was Kevin.
"You stole my car! You lied to me about the play! You ditched me!" The cast stared as Kevin shouted at Rachel. "I can't believe this."
He turned around and started to walk away, but stopped.
"Kevin, I'm sorry. I didn't know what else to do. I was going to try and be at both places at once. I couldn't get the date to change. I couldn''t just leave the play hanging."
He looked at her for a second, then just stared at the floor. "Give me my keys."
"How am I going to get home?" On the edge, Rachel was about to cry.
She handed Kevin his keys. "Ask someone from play, since you can just leave me hanging." And he turned back around, and walked away.
Monday, at school, everyone was aware of the happenings on Saturday and everyone knew that Rachel was officially single. Yet, her friends still remained by her side. She never let them down.
Pfft. Boys and their cars.
