Waiting on a Miracle

Big Trouble

That night, Margarita was practicing the song Dos Oruguitas, and it still made her cry. But Mrs. Thomas decided to take that in stride because she was sure that singing this song tearfully would really set the mood. Once she finished, she dried her tears away and blew her nose.

"Great job, Margarita," Rafa smiled.

"Gracias," Margarita smiled back. "I've heard this song lots of times, and it still makes me cry."

"I hope you save enough tears for the actual show," Olga chuckled. "Well, we should get our nails done early in the afternoon before the show."

"Sounds good," Rafa smiled.

"Okay," Margarita nodded.

Suddenly, the sisters heard their father talk on the phone, and he didn't sound very happy.

"Oh, dear, that's not good," Jesus frowned. "Yes, I'll be sure to tell them. Okay, thank you—bye." Then he hung up.

"Papá, what's going on?" Olga asked.

"Chicas, I just got a phone call from Mrs. Thomas," Jesus said. "Apparently, someone in the cast of the play left her some kind of letter, threatening to burn down the school if Amber Bishop wasn't the lead in the play."

"WHAT?!" the sisters gasped in unison.

"Who would do that?" Margarita gaped.

"The letter was signed anonymously, and Mrs. Thomas wants to talk to the entire cast about it before your final rehearsal tomorrow," Jesus replied.

The sisters had no idea what to think. They themselves had nothing to do with it, but they hoped their parents weren't livid with them.

"Does this mean we're in a lot of trouble?" Rafa asked.

"No, not with us at least," Elena said. "We know none of you would do such a thing, but if Mrs. Thomas doesn't find out who wrote that letter, she'll have no choice but to punish the entire cast."

"Well, I hope they find out who it is," Olga said.

"Why do I have the feeling it was Amber who wrote that letter?" Margarita asked. "She was bragging about how she'd have been perfect as Mirabel Madrigal, and she was livid with me for landing the role."

"That's a really good theory, mija, but you should wait and see what happens tomorrow," Jesus said.

Margarita was horrified—a lot had happened in the past, from the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School to the war in Ukraine. She didn't know what the world was coming to.

The next day, the entire cast of the play faced Mrs. Thomas as she confronted them over the anonymous threat letter.

"Boys and girls, threats are not funny—and you should all be mature enough to not behave this way," Mrs. Thomas frowned. "Now I'm going to ask this one last time: who wrote this letter?" After about five seconds of complete silence, she said, "Okay, I have an idea of who wrote this letter, but I'm not going to call anyone out until I have proof. Since the culprit isn't willing to confess, I have no choice but to punish all of you."

Everyone was dismayed—the culprit wasn't willing to confess, and that meant they were all in trouble.

"Yes, that's right," Mrs. Thomas frowned. "I talked to Principal Hawkins, and a week after the show, all of you will have Saturday detention. Remember, should we think of putting on another play later in the year—and should I ever see anything like this again—I promise you I will cancel that show. Are we clear?"

The entire cast agreed to this, but at the same time, they were all upset. They didn't understand why anyone would write a threat letter like that over something so petty. Once the kids from the local elementary school came, it was time to start the final rehearsal.

"I don't understand how something like this could happen," Victor frowned.

"If this is supposed to be some kind of prank, I am so not laughing," Enrique huffed.

"None of us is," Rafa said. "Think of all the school shootings that have happened in the past decade: Sandy Hook, Stoneman Douglas, Oxford, Robb Elementary—school violence is becoming more common as the years just pass by."

"When did school violence become normal?" Margarita asked.

"That's a good question, mija," Olga said.

The final rehearsal went by very well, and Amber was really improving in her role.