Waiting on a Miracle

The Play

The very next afternoon, the sisters were at the nail salon, getting their nails done.

"I hope whoever left that letter learned to accept how the play is going after Mrs. Thomas punished us all," Margarita said.

"I hope so, too, hermana," Rafa said. "If this doesn't teach that person anything, who knows what will?"

"Well, let's not worry about it now," Olga said. "This is going to be the first time we've been in a play together, and we should all enjoy it."

"You're right, Olga," Rafa agreed.

"Sí, there's no knowing when we'll get to do something like this again," Margarita agreed. She tried to relax but was caught by surprise when her pedicurist carefully scrubbed her foot with a soap-covered brush. She tried to take it in stride, but it tickled so much that she couldn't contain her laughter. "Ay, that tickles."

"Well, you're sure to feel like that again in the future," Rafa chuckled.

Later, that evening, the entire cast was getting ready for the play. Margarita was in her dressing room, putting on her costume. Mirabel Madrigal had short curly black hair, but since the movie would teach the viewers to embrace imperfection, Mrs. Thomas decided to make a few small changes to the characters' appearances. That meant Margarita was allowed to have her hair somewhat longer and loose while Rafa wore hers in a ponytail and Olga in a bun. Margarita had just put on her costume while behind the dressing screen when she heard a knock on her door.

"Enter," Margarita called.

The door opened, and in entered Amber. "Margarita!" she exclaimed, seemingly happy.

"Amber?" Margarita gaped.

"I know you're really mad at me right now, and I don't blame you," Amber said sweetly.

"Don't blame everyone else either," Margarita sniffed. "They've all been livid with you since we learned about this play."

"Yes, they have," Amber agreed. "I just want to say that I'm sorry for being so petty over you getting what I wanted, and I've accepted that you deserve the lead."

"Well, thank you, Amber," Margarita smiled, putting on her shoes.

"By the way, an acting agency is here to interview you," Amber said. "They want to see you right now."

"Okay, let me just get my glasses," Margarita said.

"Oh, you don't need to be in full costume for the interview," Amber told her. "You need to embrace imperfection." She gently escorted Margarita out of the room.

"But the glasses aren't part of the costume—they're real," Margarita said. "I can't see without them."

"You don't need 20/20 vision for this interview," Amber told her. "They just want to know how good you are." Then she and Margarita stopped. "Ah, here we are—they're waiting for you in here. Go on in." She gently helped Margarita get in.

"Why would they be in here?" Margarita asked. "It's so dark."

The next thing Margarita knew, Amber slammed the door shut and locked it up.

"Hey, let me outta here!" Margarita shouted, banging on the door.

"This is perfect!" Amber squealed. "Now I can take over the role of Mirabel Madrigal, and everyone will have to see that I'm the best actress in the world."

Soon enough, almost all the cast was ready for the show.

"Okay, are we all ready for the show?" Mrs. Thomas asked. But then she noticed that one actress was missing. "Has anyone seen Mirabel—I mean, Margarita?"