Play It Again by Laura Dower

wand.
    “Now are we ready?” the photographer asked once more.
    Everyone smiled.
    “Wait! I’m sorry, but who is the girl in the second row? The one in between the two witches?”
    Madison knew he was talking about her.
    “She’s our stage manager,” Mr. Gibbons said.
    “Could I ask you to please step out of the picture, miss? This is just for cast members wearing costumes.”
    Madison felt everyone’s eyes on her. “It’s okay, Madison,” Mr. Gibbons reassured her. “You can be in the next round of photos.”
    Madison slowly walked to the side of the stage.
    “Thanks!” the photographer cried. “Now, Wiz cast, please say ‘Oz!’”
    Madison blinked when the flash went off and got dizzy. The photographer kept taking picture after picture, posing the group in different arrangements. He even took shots of Addaperle, Evillene, and Glinda by themselves. The three of them looked great in their costumes.
    By the time Madison got into the photo, the photographer only had a few shots left. She posed with Drew and the Nose Plucker. Madison knew she wouldn’t make the paper, but she tried not to let it bother her. The cast and crew photo might make it into one of the trophy cases in the school lobby.
    When the picture-taking hubbub died down, the cast finally started their opening number. The actual dress rehearsal took about twice as long as it should have, but it finally ended around six-thirty, to loud applause from Mr. Gibbons. He gathered everyone onstage for a little postperformance pep talk.
    “You guys were great,” he said. “See you back here on Monday.”
    “That’s it?” Egg said.
    Mr. Gibbons nodded. “That’s it. Good job. Now get your gear and get home.” Because it had gotten late, he kept it real short.
    Kids were pulling off their costumes in a hurry, so Madison and Mariah kept running from place to place backstage. They had to make sure that props were returned, capes were hung up, and all the caps to the makeup tubes were twisted on tight.
    When she was finished running around, Madison had lost track of Aimee and Fiona. They weren’t in the dressing room, the bathroom, or the auditorium.
    “Have you seen Aimee?” Madison asked Dan.
    He played dumb and put on his Lion voice. “Duh, which way did dey go?”
    Madison laughed as she walked away. Dan was a dork, but he was funny.
    She bumped into Lindsay at the auditorium entrance.
    “Hey, did you see Aimee or anyone else?” Madison asked her.
    “Nope,” Lindsay began. “Yeah! I did see Aimee. She was headed out with her stuff like five minutes ago. Fiona was with her, I think.”
    Madison sighed. They’d left without her?
    “You know, Madison, you really should have been in those photographs,” Lindsay said. “I mean, you’re the most important person in the show.”
    “Yeah, well …” Madison mumbled. “No biggie.”
    “Still, I hope you know how psyched we all are. Everyone thinks you’re a great stage manager.”
    Madison scratched her head. “Thanks.”
    “I mean it,” Lindsay said.
    “That’s really nice of you to say that,” Madison said. “I mean, you don’t have to.”
    “I know. So you wanna walk home together?” Lindsay asked her.
    Just then, Aimee ran into the auditorium. “Oh my God, Maddie! I felt a little sick and I went down to the nurse’s office to see if anyone was there. I’m so sorry, but I couldn’t find you! Fiona’s waiting outside. My brother is coming with the car.”
    Lindsay started to walk away. “I’ll see you guys later, then.”
    Madison looked at Lindsay and then Aimee and then over at Lindsay again. “Want a ride?” she asked.
    Aimee jumped in. “Yeah, come with us.”
    Lindsay looked at Aimee. “You sure?”
    Aimee smiled. “Of course, I’m sure.”
    Madison turned to Lindsay. “Come on, let’s go.”

Chapter 10
From: Bigwheels
    To: MadFinn
    Subject: Hi
    Date: Sat 14 Oct 10:15 PM
    Thanks for sending a virtual copy of your school program cover for The Wiz. I