After they passed through the double-set of glass doors, she came to a stop.The glass cases displaying the school’s athletic awards were no longer lining the walls.In their places were benches, and on the wall were various framed photos of whom she could only assume were alumni.
She didn’t get a chance to ask Justin about the change because he was already several steps ahead of her.She rushed to catch up to him.Along the way she noticed the gray lockers they’d had when she was a kid were now replaced with smaller bright red lockers.More changes.
It took her a moment to get her bearings.When she did, she stopped walking and looked around.
“Felicity, what are you doing?”The exasperation was evident in Justin’s voice.
“I’m figuring something out.”She continued searching the walls for a familiar landmark.
Justin backtracked to her side.“I think you’re supposed to be figuring out the costumes.”
“I know.”She waved him off.The memories of high school came rushing back to her.They were good times, but back then she’d been too anxious to make tracks out of town for her to realize just how good she had it.
She’d had the most amazing boyfriend.She resisted the urge to glance in Justin’s direction.Her father had been alive and healthy.Her mother had been happy.And Felicity had an anchor—a place to call home.If only she could go back in time and tell that girl with stars in her eyes that life wasn’t always greener on the other side of the fence.
If she had known all of that, would she have made different choices?Probably not.She’d been so convinced that she was going to make it big in the city.And here she was still reaching for those dreams and coming up short.
Justin’s sigh drew her from her thoughts.She looked around some more and finally figured it out.She stepped over to a row of shiny red lockers.“This is where my senior locker used to be.”
“Really?”He shook his head.“I thought it was something important.”
“This is important to me.I remember sharing it with Holly Berry.I took the top shelf and she took the bottom one.Those were some really good times.”
She noticed her words were greeted with absolute silence.She supposed she deserved it.After all, she was the one to reject the diamond ring he’d presented to her.
The sharp memory of the pain in his eyes that day brought her feet firmly back to earth.Pushing the unwanted memory to the back of her mind, she said, “Let’s go see what I can do with those costumes.”
They continued through the somewhat familiar hallways.At least the stage should still be in the same place.She had to jog to catch up to Justin.He didn’t acknowledge her presence.
She swallowed hard.“They’ve done a lot of updates to the school.”
He shrugged.“Yeah.I guess.”
When they reached the stage, he pulled open the wooden door.When she went to pass him, he said, “You aren’t over here.”When she sent him a confused look, he said, “They changed the room across the hall from a classroom to a dressing room.”
“No way.Really?”
He nodded.“They do a lot of plays.They even have a drama department now.”
“Wow.”She would have loved to have that when she went to school.
“The kids love it.”
She stepped across the hall and opened the door.She didn’t know what she expected to find, but she was floored to find an actual dressing room with lighted mirrors and racks of costumes.
Kids and parents all stopped and looked at her.Some had suspicious looks, as though knowing she wasn’t a parent.Others looked familiar and had expectant looks, as though already having been told that Felicity was there to help.
A hush fell over the room.This was her moment to speak.She was not an extrovert, so her stomach balled up as her palms grew clammy.
She swallowed hard.“Hello, everyone.If you don’t already know me, my name is Felicity Wright.I used to go to school here.In fact, once upon a time I was in the Christmas play.I also used to help behind the scenes.Anyway, I’m here to help with the costumes.”
She didn’t get a chance to say more before she was besieged by parents all clamoring to have their child’s costume altered.She did her best to listen to their concerns.Some were founded.Others were just a bunch of nitpicking.The pants were too long, sleeves were not the same length, and the mouse hats were just…well, they were just wrong.
The real problem revealed itself quickly.There was no sewing machine.After inquiring, one of the parents told her that Mrs.Geller brought her own.Well, this was certainly going to complicate matters.
But seeing as the play was the following week, there was no time to spare.She would use this time to figure out the problems with the individual costumes, and then she would make a plan to resolve them.Her mother used to have a sewing machine.She wondered if she still had it or if she got rid of it with all of the other stuff from the house.
As she had each child try on their costume, she had to reenvision some things, fix others, and get rid of some of it.With only six days until the play, she didn’t have any time to waste.She took names, notes, and measurements.
