Gracie?â
Gracie walked to stage right and waited for the music to start. She executed a perfect aerial cartwheel and then squatted on the floor with her arms crossed over her chest. She kicked her legs out to either side without a single wobble.
â
Spasibo!
â Mr. Minnelli cheered. âThatâs Russian for âthank you.â That, gentlemen, is what I want to see!â
Gracie beamed as the cast applauded.
âGreat job,â Liberty whispered. âYou are the best dancer here.â
âReally?â Gracie said. âYou think Iâm better than even you?â
Liberty gritted her teeth. âWell, I wouldnât gothat far â¦â Then she smiled sweetly. âBut youâre the star, Gracie. And as the star, you should get everything you want.â
âWhat do you mean?â Gracie asked.
Liberty noticed the crew working on the Land of Sweets backdrop. They were hard at work creating a mosaic out of multicolored candies that spelled out âWelcome to the Shore.â
âYou see those candies over there?â She pointed to a mountain of gummy bears, lollipops, and jellybeans scattered on a table backstage.
âYeah! Yum!â Gracie said, licking her lips. âThere must be a gazillion of them.â
âRight, so you certainly help yourself to as many as you want,â Liberty said, egging her on.
Gracieâs eyes grew wide. âI can? I mean, I can!â She marched over and scooped up a pile and began popping them in her mouth. There were so many different kinds for the taking.
âHey, what are you doing?â one of the scenic designers asked her. âDrop those props right now! Those are property of
A New Jersey Nutcracker
!â
âAnd Iâm the star of
A New Jersey Nutcracker
,â Gracie insisted, swiping another handful off the table. âSo I can have them.â
Scarlett overheard the exchange and raced over. âGracie! Give âem back!â she pleaded.
âNuh-uh,â her little sister replied, taking a bite out of a red licorice twist. âLiberty says I can have as much as I want.â
âIâm so sorry,â Scarlett said, apologizing. âShe didnât understand this was for decoration, not eating. She wonât take any more.â
âI
did
understand.â Gracie stamped her foot. âIâm the star and I make the rules.â She marched away in a huff, leaving a trail of jellybeans behind her.
âWhat was that all about?â Rochelle asked.
Scarlett shook her head. âI donât know. But whatever it is, Libertyâs behind it.â
Chapter 10
Scene and Heard
âI want to run the snow scene,â Mr. Minnelli called from the back row of the theater. âHow are we doing with the flakes?â
âDoes he mean us?â Bria asked Scarlett.
Scarlett pointed to a box of white confetti floating high above their heads. âI think thatâs what he means. Itâs a snow machine.â
On cue, delicate white flakes wafted down from the ceiling. âCue the music!â Mr. Minnelli shouted.
The âWaltz of the Snowflakesâ song filled the air.
âToo loud!â Marcus yelled to the sound crew.He was seated at Mr. Minnelliâs side, frantically taking notes on what needed to be fixed.
The girls began their dance. A white flake fell on Briaâs nose. It tickled, and she tried to subtly sweep it off before it made her sneeze.
âNo flicking flakes!â Marcus bellowed at her.
She was so busy dodging clumps of white confetti that she didnât realize she was
pirouetting
to the left while everyone else was going right.
âYou!â Mr. Minnelli barked. âYouâre going the wrong way!â
âIâm sorry,â she apologized. âI was kind of daydreaming.â
Marcus stormed down the aisle of seats and up the stairs to the stage. He repositioned Bria stage right.
âPay