by Kim Sigafus
“I got in.”
“You got in the play? Oh, I’m so excited for you!” Jessie reached out to hug her. “What part did you get?”
“The lead.”
Jessie pulled away to look at her. “They gave you the lead? I am so proud of you. I can’t wait for your mom and dad to hear.”
“How’s the dress coming along?” Autumn asked. “I’m going to need it in a few weeks.”
“We’re going to have to step up working on it,” replied Jessie. “Let me see your script.”
Autumn pulled out the script and they both read through it, identifying the parts Autumn may have a problem reading. Then Jessie gave it back to her and continued sewing.
“Tell you what. You start memorizing your lines and I will keep sewing. We’ll get the dress done in time for the play; don’t worry about that.”
“Are you sure? I would like to help do the sewing.”
“I will start again after dinner,” replied Jessie. “If your homework is done, you can help me then.”
“All right.”
A few days later, rehearsals began for the play. Autumn already had some of her lines memorized, and Miss Jergens was pleased.
Sydney was not pleased. When she told her father about the play and that she should have gotten the lead, not Autumn, he just shrugged and told her to deal with the situation herself.
Now she was standing backstage watching the girl she hated get stage direction for the part she wanted. It was unbelievable.
Autumn knew Sydney was mad. Every time she glanced over in that direction, Sydney glared at her. Even Miss Jergens noticed and addressed Sydney more than once about the situation.
“Sydney, you are in danger of getting booted out of this play if you don’t stop this behavior,” said Miss Jergens. “We are a cast and support each other. Take your attitude elsewhere.”
All that conversation did was make Sydney more mad and Autumn uneasy. From that day on, Autumn worked very hard to be sure she was never alone with Sydney. She never stood by her if she could help it, and never spoke to her.
The teacher noticed, and two weeks before they were about to perform the play, Sydney’s parents were called. They showed up at the theater during rehearsal and stood backstage with Sydney and Miss Jergens while the issue was discussed.
“I would like to speak to Autumn if I could,” said Sydney’s father, eyeing Sydney.
Autumn was called backstage, and she went reluctantly. The others sitting in the theater-style seats knew what was going on. She was so embarrassed.
“Autumn,” said Miss Jergens, “this is Mr. Coffman. He would like to speak to you about what has been going on between you and Sydney.”
Autumn swallowed hard and nodded, glancing up at Mr. Coffman.
“Has my daughter been harassing you?” he asked, staring at her with no expression on his face. Autumn looked away and nodded.
“And what have you been doing to upset her?”
“Mr. Coffman,” interrupted Miss Jergens, “I already told you—”
“Nothing.”
Mr. Coffman’s eyes narrowed. “Nothing? You mean to tell me that you haven’t been doing a thing to upset my daughter? I find that hard to believe. My daughter is a good, kind person, but she stands up for herself. I taught her that. She’s not going to let anyone tease her or—”
“She is.”
Miss Jergens frowned, and Mr. Coffman paused a moment.
“She is what?” asked her teacher, and Autumn smiled at Sydney.
“I know she is a good, kind person. My aunt Jessie says everyone is deep down. But she has been pushing me in the halls, teasing me about my speech problems, and”—she glanced over at Sydney—“hates that I was cast in the lead and she was not.” She took a deep breath and then added, “My aunt says behavior like this starts at home.”
“Autumn!” said her teacher. “That wasn’t very nice to say.”
“Apparently the child was not taught any manners,” replied Mr. Coffman angrily. “A child should not speak to an adult like that.”
“She’s right.”
“What?” Mr. Coffman turned to look at his wife. “What did you say?”
She shook her head. “This is a conversation we should have privately.”
“We’re going to have it right here and now!” he replied. “I don’t care who …”
Miss Jergens took Autumn and stepped away. They could still hear Sydney’s parents, who were arguing loudly.
“She learned it from you, Roger. And furthermore …”
Miss Jergens didn’t think anyone else should be hearing that conversation, and so she pulled Sydney down the stage stairs to give the cast notes regarding the play. A few moments later, Sydney and her parents came onstage and gestured over to Miss Jergens and Autumn. They both reluctantly walked to the stage and looked up at them.
“I’m sorry,” said Sydney, not looking at her. “It won’t happen again.”
Miss Jergens glanced over at Autumn, who nodded.
“And I’m also sorry,” said Mr. Coffman. He held himself proudly, and by the look on his face, he didn’t seem to be sorry, but Autumn nodded again anyway.
Sydney went to sit down with the cast and didn’t speak again for the rest of rehearsal. Autumn felt sorry for her. Her parents had obviously embarrassed her by their outburst.
A moment later Autumn was called onstage, and Sydney followed quietly behind. Autumn glanced into Sydney’s face, but Sydney looked away, still angry.
Autumn sighed. It was going to be a long rehearsal.
CHAPTER
12
The Big Night
Tom was looking through the program in his hands.
“The Jingle Dress,” he read out loud, “by Samantha Jergens.” He opened it and grinned when he saw who was playing the lead.
He had arrived early and found a seat toward the back. He still wasn’t sure how he would be received by Autumn and didn’t want to sit too close where she could see him. If she was upset he was there, it could mess up her performance.
He had seen her several times over the last few weeks, and things were going all right. He was careful not to rush things, and Autumn must have felt the same because she hadn’t hugged him since the time he had come for dinner.
“What are you doing way back here?”
Tom looked up to see his sister staring down at him, shaking her head.
“The family’s up front,” she said, smiling. “Come on.”
“Oh, I don’t know …” The word “family” had made him nervous. He didn’t think he could be considered as family anymore.
“Come on.” Jessie pulled him up out of his seat and pushed him down the aisle. “We saved a seat for you.”
“You did?”
“Of course.”
“Why?”
Jessie stopped, and he noticed and turned to look at her.
“You aren’t the sharpest tool in the shed,” she said, shaking her head. “We all love you and want you with us.”
“But, Melissa …”
“She is healing, Tom. They all are. You can help by making sure they know how much you want to be considered a part of this family.”
He nodded. “I do.” He cleared his throat as they started down the aisle again. “Thanks, Jessie.”
She smiled as she showed him to his seat. Melissa glanced at him and nodded, and a moment later the play began. One of Autumn’s classmates came out onstage and sat down. He carried a flute, raised it, and started to play.
The first half of the play introduced the girl and her family, and it ended when she became ill. It lasted about a half hour, and by intermission, Sam was starting to fuss. Melissa reached over to take him from Jessie, but Tom grabbed him and pulled him close.
“I got this,” he said with a smile, but Melissa looked doubtful.
He shook his head. “Have some faith. I am his father, you know.”
Melissa opened her mouth to say something but caugh
t Jessie’s shake of her head and closed it again. She nodded and gave him a smile.
The play seemed to be going well, thought Miss Jergens, glancing at the audience. She gave everyone a smile as she talked to families milling about while her crew moved furniture around on the stage. She caught Autumn’s mother’s gaze and nodded, and Melissa smiled back at her.
Autumn stood in the dressing room staring at herself in the mirror. She hardly recognized the girl staring back at her.
Her hair was pulled back into two braids that were tied off with red leather straps. Her Jingle Dress had been completed a couple of days before the play opened, and it was beautiful. Three hundred and sixty-five jingles were sewn side by side and hit against each other when she walked.
“You can’t sneak up on anybody, can you?”
Autumn saw Sydney enter behind her, and the two girls stared at each other in the mirror. Sydney was dressed in a simple leather dress with fringe. Her hair was also braided.
“No, I guess not,” answered Autumn, glancing around to see if anyone else was listening. She still didn’t like to be alone with Sydney.
“Your aunt Jessie did a great job on the beadwork,” commented Sydney, and Autumn’s eyes raised up in surprise.
“Thank you. I … I will tell her,” she replied. “But I helped.”
“You helped? What does that mean?”
“Jessie made the dress. We both sewed on the jingles and did the beadwork.”
“Really.”
Autumn nodded.
“That’s hard to believe.”
“Why?”
Sydney shrugged. “You took woodshop. I didn’t know you sewed.”
“Aunt Jessie taught me. My father also does beadwork.”
“I saw him in the audience. Your folks back together now?”
“They’re working on it.”
Sydney nodded and walked away.
“Five minutes,” said Kelsey the stage manager. “Take your places.”
Autumn took a deep breath and turned around, following the others out of the dressing room.
On the way to where she entered the stage, she went over and over the Jingle Dress dance steps in her mind. Jessie had taught her the traditional way to do them, and they had spent hours practicing them in her bedroom.
Autumn took a deep breath and entered, saying her lines. Then she started to dance.
The sequins on her dress glittered as she moved, and the jingles sounded like Santa’s sleigh as she bounced and danced across the floor. When she was finished, there was thunderous applause and she smiled, in spite of trying to stay in character.
When the play ended, Autumn took her place in the curtain call. She was really happy with her performance. She had hesitated in a few places but managed to get the words out without calling too much attention to the fact that she couldn’t say her s’s correctly. She had not missed any lines.
When the curtain call began, Sydney started to walk out but tripped on her way to take her bow. Autumn reached out and caught her without attracting too much attention. Sydney glanced at her in surprise, nodded, and then took her bow.
Sydney’s parents were in the front row. Her mother was clapping and smiling while her father was just clapping. Autumn wondered if the man ever smiled, and wondered for the first time what it was like to live with parents like that. She glanced over at Sydney, who went back to her place in line. She looked unhappy, and Autumn felt bad for her.
Maybe that’s why Sydney was so mean, she thought, as the cast clasped hands and took their final bow. Maybe she was upset with her father and took it out on other people.
She looked over, caught Sydney’s gaze, and gave her a smile. Sydney frowned as the curtain dropped.
CHAPTER
13
Life Can’t Always Be Perfect
After the play was over, Autumn’s family went out for ice cream. They piled into the SUV, and Autumn smiled at the coziness of it all.
Several minutes later they arrived at Autumn’s favorite ice-cream parlor. She ordered and then sat down with her family to wait.
It took awhile to get everyone’s treats made up, but eventually Autumn was shoving spoonfuls of mint ice cream into her mouth as she glanced around the table.
Her father sat next to her mother with his arm around her. She was smiling up at him, and he hesitated a moment before bending down to kiss her on the forehead. She blushed and then looked away.
Jessie was wiping the ice cream dripping off Sam’s chin. She caught Autumn’s gaze and smiled.
“You did a wonderful job, honey,” she said, helping Sam with his spoon. “I was so proud of you.”
“Everyone loved the dress,” Autumn replied. “It was so beautiful.”
“That’s because you were wearing it,” answered Jessie, and Autumn smiled.
“No more problems with Sydney?”
Autumn shook her head.
“Hmm … I hope that is the end of it then,” said Jessie.
“Me too.” She paused and then added, “You know, she talked to me today.”
Jessie’s eyes narrowed. “About what?”
“No … no, she was really nice. I mean … well … as nice as she can be, I guess.”
Jessie grinned. “What did she say?”
“She liked the dress.”
“Really? She paid you a compliment?”
Autumn nodded and then took another spoonful of ice cream.
“You know, I feel bad for her.”
“What? Why is that?”
“I saw her parents in the audience. Her mother was smiling and clapping, but her father was only clapping. He doesn’t seem like a very nice person.”
“Just because he wasn’t smiling?”
“No. He talked to me a few weeks ago about what was going on with Sydney. He thought I was harassing her.”
“Well, I hope you told him different,” replied Jessie with a frown. “You know, I saw what she was doing to you in the hall. Maybe I could go talk to him and …”
Autumn shook her head. “He wouldn’t listen. Like I said, he doesn’t seem very nice.”
Jessie sighed. “Well, I’m sorry to hear that. I feel bad for Sydney now, although that doesn’t excuse her behavior.”
There was a pause, and then Autumn sighed, setting down her spoon.
“I hear you are leaving to go back to your apartment.”
Jessie nodded. “They are finished with the renovations.”
“When are you going back?” asked Tom.
“Monday.”
“That’s only two days from now,” said Melissa. “You have to go so soon?”
Jessie smiled at her and then glanced at her brother.
“Oh, I think you’re going to be able to handle things from here on out,” she replied.
“I don’t know …” Melissa bit her lip and Tom raised her face to his.
“We’ll be fine, Melissa.”
“I … I don’t know …”
“I do.”
Autumn watched them for a moment, and then turned back to Jessie.
“I wish you didn’t have to go.”
Jessie smiled. “Even clouds float away. You have a phone now. Call me whenever you want. Maybe you can make a trip to the city to see me this summer.”
“Could I? I would love that!”
“Me too.” She glanced over at Tom and Melissa. “Give them some time, honey. Hopefully things will turn out the way you want them to. But if they don’t, just be grateful for what you have. They both love you very much.”
“I know, but …”
Jessie smiled and took her hand.
“An Ojibwa elder once told me, ‘One thing we know for sure is that we all have a limited number of days here on earth.’”
“I know that, but …”
“So each day we can either find something to complain about or something to be grateful for. It’s really up to us.”
Autumn dropped Jessie’s hand and sat back in her ch
air. She thought about everything she had gone through with Sydney’s bullying and her speech issues. Her thoughts went back to how she didn’t want Jessie to come and now she didn’t want her to leave. She even had the lead in the school play! In a very short time, she had come a long way.
Autumn looked around the table at her family. Things weren’t ever going to be perfect, she thought, but maybe they weren’t meant to be. She would always have her speech issues, and not everyone was going to like her.
She smiled and reached over to give Aunt Jessie’s hand a squeeze.
Nope, things were never going to be perfect. But she was okay with that.
RESOURCES
NEUHAUS ACADEMY
neuhausacademy.org
Neuhaus Academy helps teenage and adult learners improve their reading, spelling, and comprehension skills through simple online instruction. All lessons are individually tailored to each person’s specific needs so that learners can work at their own pace. The courses are always free for learners and can be customized by instructors to promote and ensure a successful outcome.
FRIENDS OF QUINN
friendsofquinn.com/for-young-adults
Friends of Quinn is an online community that connects and inspires people affected by learning differences. It offers resources, social networking, and support for young adults with learning differences and for the people who love them. The website was founded by Quinn Bradlee, filmmaker and author of A Different Life, a book about growing up with learning differences.
SMART KIDS WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES
smartkidswithld.org
Smart Kids with Learning Disabilities aims to educate, guide, and inspire parents of children with learning disabilities or ADHD. Its goal is to help parents realize their children’s significant gifts and talents and to show that with love, guidance, and the right support, their children can live happy and productive lives.
UNDERSTOOD
for learning & attention issues
understood.org
The mission of Understood is to support the millions of parents whose children are struggling with learning and attention issues. The organization strives to empower parents and help them better understand their children’s issues and experiences. With this knowledge, parents can then make effective choices that propel their children from simply coping to truly thriving.