Stage Fright

Chapter 1

My head was almost on my desk to sleep when the school bell rang.

I walked down the hallway, people eyeing me as I got to my locker. Sometimes it can be difficult being a poorer person and an outcast. Then, I noticed a sign up sheet for our school play on a wall for the movie The Wizard of Oz tomorrow in the gym. When no one was looking, I wrote my name down.

As I entered my torn-down house, I saw my mom and my sister, Juliet sitting on the couch, both of them completely silent.

"Hey mom. What's wrong?"

"I have bad news" my mom said, staring at our cracked up floor. "We've just gone bankrupt."

"What! It's bad enough that dad left us for some rich German family and took most of our money!" I shouted, tears filing my eyes.

"Jennifer! Calm down. This is nothing to be yelling about."

I just couldn't take it. I ran to my room, furiously. I jumped onto my small bed, trying not to cry.

I heard Juliet footsteps come into my room.

"What do you want?!" I ask Juliet angrily.

"I want you to stop acting rude to everyone. Mom's trying her best to find a way to get more money. So stop being such a let-down," said Juliet.

"Why don't you leave me alone!" I said, throwing a pillow at her as she leaves.

"This is the worst day ever," I said, staring at my broken ceiling and then at my chipped up walls. "I wish I could be in a movie like this," I said, looking at my crumpled up poster, which was of my favourite movie, Marley and Me.

I suddenly hear a knock on my door. "What!" I shout, as Juliet enters the room, her arms crossed.

"Jennifer, you should go and apologize to mom. You really made her upset."

"Can you just go away!"

"Alright then," Juliet said, leaving the room. "But I tried to help you," she said, closing my bedroom door.

The moment she left to go to her room, I went to the kitchen, where mom was making a small dinner of macaroni and cheese with a little bowl of cooked vegetables.

"Hey mom," I said softly. "I came to say that I'm sorry for...you know...overreacting and getting all upset."

"It's ok honey. I'm just going to need both of you girls to pitch in with money problems. Thank God this house is cheap," my mom said as she finished cutting up the vegetables and put them on the kitchen table.

"Here, let me help you," I said as I grabbed some utensils from a cupboard and placed them beside the empty plates that were already set up on the table.

"Thanks, Jennifer," my mom said, as she sat on one of the chairs and began to eat. "Can you please go tell your sister to come eat?"

"Sure."

I knocked on Juliet's bedroom door. "Can I come in," I asked, politely.

"What do you want?" she said, mimicking our conversation earlier.

I opened the door a crack. "I'm just letting you know that dinner's ready if you want to come eat," I said, pretending to be nice.

"I'll come eat when I want to," Juliet said, almost shouting.

"Fine." I went back to the table and began eating. My mom and I sat there eating, in total silence. You could actually hear a pin drop.

I waited a while, but Juliet never came. Mom was about to throw away Juliet's food, but I stopped her. "Let me take Juliet's food," I said, taking the food to Juliet's room.

"Can I come in," I asked

"No," Juliet replied. I ignored her and opened the door. "I brought you dinner-." Then I noticed Juliet was crying.

"What's wrong," I asked.

"Nothing," she said, wiping away tears. "I'm fine. It's just hard without any money, and dad's gone...it's hard."

"I know. But we'll get through this." "Together," I said, holding Juliet's hand, as I looked at her bedroom window as a sunset appeared in the night sky.

It'll be okay, I assure myself as we fall asleep on Juliet's bed.