Ann Martin - Mallory Pike, No.1 Fan

"Very funny, you guys," I said when they neared the front doors. "Take that stuff off, would you?" "No way," Vanessa insisted. "We're not taking any chances." "Everyone will laugh at you for sure if you wear those disguises inside," I argued.

"We'd rather be laughed at for looking weird than for being weird," said Jordan.

"You read the play. You're not weird anymore," I reminded them.

"Maybe that copy was just to show us. Maybe you're putting on the old one," Vanessa said. "Come on," she told the others. They followed her into the auditorium.

"Oh, no, they're not weird," I said sarcastically. "Not at all. They're totally normal." Everyone laughed. "Don't you have to go inside and make sure your actors are ready?" Stacey asked.

"Right. I should," I agreed. "Jessi's probably already in there. See you later." I ran down the aisle and into the backstage entrance, off to the right side of the stage.

"We're all set," said Jessi, who was helping me along with Ms. Simon.

"Great. Thanks," I said. "Come here, everyone." The kids gathered around me, dressed in their neatest clothes. Danielle wore a bright red corduory jumper with a white blouse underneath. On her head she wore a thin red scarf, tied in the back, with a slouchy red corduroy hat over it. She looked pretty, despite the faint circles under her eyes.

"Do you all know your lines?" I asked. The group nodded, but I noticed some uncertain expressions. On Tuesday, Tony still hadn't known his part very well. I prayed he'd spent the night studying Ed's lines. (Nicky had insisted his character's name be changed to Ed. For some reason, he'd decided Ed was "the coolest name a guy could have.") "All right, everybody, do your best and good luck," said Ms. Simon as she hurried by. "Do you think they're set?" she whispered to me.

"I hope so," I replied with my fingers crossed.

Jessi had gone to peek out the curtain. "I see a woman I don't recognize. From your description I think she might be Ms. Hayes," she reported in a whisper. "Your mother is here, and your father is with her." "Dad?" I exclaimed, peeking out. "Wow! He must have left work early just for this." "There's Aunt Cecelia and Squirt," Jessi added. "And there's Dr. Johanssen. And Mrs. Barrett with Marnie and Suzi." Looking over her shoulder, I saw them walking in with other family members, including Mrs. Braddock and Haley's brother Matt. "If I'd known Matt was coming I'd have arranged for someone to sign for him," I said. (Matt Braddock is profoundly deaf.) "Mrs. Braddock will sign for him," Jessi reminded me.

"That's true." "It's almost curtain time," said Ms. Simon. "Better get set." "All right," I said.

Jessi and I brought out the cot which would be Valery's bed and the folding chair that went next to it. "Curtain going up!" I told my cast, which wasn't exactly accurate since our curtain pulled to either side, not up. It sounded better than "curtain to the side," though.

Jessi and I pulled on the curtain as Ms. Simon walked to the center of the stage. "Welcome, everyone," she said to the audience. "Today you are here to see a new play by a bright young playwright. It's about the struggles of a young person to find herself as a writer while still being a loving member of a happy and very active family. We hope you enjoy The Early Years, written by Ms. Mallory Pike and performed by members of the Kids Can Do Anything Club." Everyone clapped. Ms. Simon left the stage and Danielle walked on. She spoke her first line: "How I wish I could write something truly great, something that would change the world and make people happy, especially children." I noticed Haley off to the side, staring into space. "That's your cue to enter," I whispered urgently to her.

"I'm scared," she whispered back.

I glanced nervously at Danielle. "A rare moment of quiet," she ad-libbed, killing time until Haley showed up. "I think I'll begin writing something now. But what? That's the hard problem." Good work, Danielle, I thought. "Go, Haley, please," I begged. "Your mother and brother are out there." "They are?" Haley asked. "I didn't see them come in." "I did." Taking a deep breath, Haley stepped onto the stage. "Hi, Valery," she said. "Are you writing again?" The response was supposed to be, "No, I haven't started." Danielle changed it to, "Yes, I just started," to fit in with her own improvised lines.

"I don't want to. interrupt you, but I was hoping for your opinion of my latest poem," said Haley as Jill.

"Sure, go ahead," Danielle, as Valery, replied.

I put one of Vanessa's real poems in here, a nice one. Haley read it. "That's terrific," said Danielle.

"Thanks," replied Haley.

Jessi gave Tony a gentle push onto the stage after he missed his cue. "Hi, you guys," ran his new opening line. "Has anyone seen Zow's leash?" (I'd even given Pow a fictionalized name, although he was the only member of my family who hadn't bothered me about his character.) "I think it's in your room," said Danielle.

"No, it's in the front hall closet," said Haley. "Thanks, Mallory. Thanks, Vanessa," Tony said, leaving. "Um, I mean, Valery and Ranessa. No, Jill! Thanks, Jill and Mallory. I mean, Valery . . . or whatever it is." Again, Danielle covered. "That Ed, he's such a joker - always pretending he doesn't know anyone's name." "Yes, he's always playing jokes like that," Haley joined in.

Next Wendy came on as Melissa, skipping rope. "I jumped all the way to one hundred," she said. "Does anyone want to see me do it?" "Valery needs to write, Melissa," said Haley.

"It's all right," said Danielle. "Let's see, Melissa." While Wendy jumped and Haley counted, Becca entered, as the Jessi character. "Hi, Sissy," Danielle said.

"Hi," said Becca. "Did you get your writing done?" "No," Danielle replied. "I've had a few. um. . . interruptions." "I don't know how you write anything in this house," said Wendy.

Charlotte, as my mother, came on. "Val, I hate to ask you this," she said in a tiny voice I'm sure no one could hear, "but could you watch the kids with Sissy while I run to the store for milk? I'll be right back." "Sure, Mom," said Danielle. When Char left, Danielle threw her arms into the air and made a funny face. "It's nearly impossible to write anything when you're a member of the busy Turnpike family." That was the cue for Buddy, Peter, and Bruce to walk on as the triplets (now named Mike, John, and Bob). Each of them was dribbling a basketball. Then Sara Hill came in as Delaware. (Claire liked that name.) Dressed in a tutu, she danced around the stage.

"See what I mean?" Danielle asked Becca. "Being a Turnpike is like living on the turnpike - in heavy traffic." "I see what you mean," Becca replied. Both girls made comical faces. The audience laughed, which made me happy because I hoped they would laugh right there.

The rest of the play went pretty smoothly. There were a few little problems (such as when the cot collapsed in the middle of Valery's sick scene) and some mix-ups (such as when Buddy Barrett walked on in the middle of the wrong scene). Mostly, though, I'd say it was a success.

At the end, everyone came out for a curtain call. The audience clapped loudly. When Danielle stepped forward, they cheered, and rose to their feet for a standing ovation. She really deserved it, too. She'd been great.

Then someone started shouting, "Author! Author!" The audience took up the chant.

"Go on," said Jessi. "Go out there." I walked onstage. The cast clapped for me and I looked out into the audience and saw everyone still standing. Ms. Hayes was right up front, smiling away. My parents looked pretty proud, too. My brothers and sisters were standing along with everybody else.

They'd even taken off their disguises.

I didn't realize how hard I was smiling until I noticed that my cheeks hurt. Mr. Katz walked onstage holding four red roses. He handed two to Danielle, which started everyone cheering all over again. He handed the second two to me. I knew there was someone else who deserved a rose as much as I did. I walked to the edge of the stage and reached down, handing one of my roses to Henrietta Hayes.