Intro
You know when you try so hard, then something goes wrong, but in the end all is well?
Good.
Now you know all you need to know.
Chapter 1
The Hard Beginning
I run up the hill, searching for the huge castle! The grey blue sky becomes more grey. Time is running out and then I fall. I scribble, finishing the last sentences of my play, just before I hear the scratchy voice of my Grandfather.
“Logan, come downstairs when you are ready for me to wish you good luck on your first day of your new school, Cross!”
“Coming, Grandpa!” I yell and run down the hall, grab my backpack, let Grandpa wish me good luck, and run outside to the city bus stop. The dirty old bus stops right in front of a mother with her six year old girl, who live in the building across the street from me. They get on and walk to the back of the bus after swiping their metrocard. Wait, my metrocard!!!
Chapter 2
Better
When I got to school after running back home and having to get on a bus even more dirty than before, I finally got to Cross, my new school. Luckily, I was not late!
Luna (my best friend) yelled at me for not meeting her earlier, saying, “Logan you are such a boy! Why did you not meet me here earlier?!”
So I had to make an excuse. Guess what I told her?! “Um my dad got mad at Adrian for breaking my arm that I had to stay home and help.”
It did not go well for a few reasons.
- I did not have a broken arm.
- She knew Adrian would have already left for 8rd grade so he could not be there
& 3. Dad would not even be there because he left for a work trip in Boston last night.
Me and my lame excuses!
We ran together to our class, when I noticed a pink poster on a corkboard on the classroom door.
Play Contest
Enter to win your play getting used as the school play of the year!
Emily
Amy
Josh
I sign my name.
Logan
“Logan, you are going to write a play?!” Luna asked, dumbstruck.
“I already did,” I answered, being as cool as I could.
“Oh Logan, you are such a playwright,” she said.
“You are too!” I answered. (She was!)
“Ok, then I will sign,” Luna says, looking like she is ready for a big game.
I look at her while she walks into the classroom.
I take a deep breath and walk in.
Chapter 3
Inside
When I walk into the classroom everyone turns to look at me.
I look back at them and then walk to the front row and sit down at a desk next to a red headed girl with lots of freckles and a blue jumpsuit. She waves and says, “Hey Logan, it is me, Emma!” and smiles broadly.
“Hi, nice to meet you,” I answer.
She turns around, seeming like she is confused.
I turn around to look on the other side, and I see Luna who just swapped spots with a kid named Matthew so she could be next to me and says, “Logie Wan Kenobi, why did you come to the first row??”
“I just thought it would be cool to be in the front, plus I already met someone, Emma!” I answer, pointing to Emma.
She looked at me, disgusted. “Logie, you have not been to my house in so long but that makes you forget that my sister is named Emma and skipped a grade and now is in the same grade as me?!”
I glance over at Emma. I cannot believe I forgot about her! Little Emma!!! I am so dumb!
By the end of the day I already made 4 new friends.
Luna (who is already my friend)
Emma (who is also already my friend)
Ariel
Jack
Flinn
& Thunder (his real name is Thomas)
Chapter 4
Just…New
The next morning I wake up and do all my morning stuff that I wrote on a list to be quicker last night. It says:
Morning schedule:
Brush teeth
Take shower
Get dressed
Eat breakfast
Get bag ready
Say goodbye to Grandpa, Winter, Adrian, Mom, Invisible Dad (who is in Boston), and Cranberry (my cat)
Run outside (with metrocard)
Get on bus
At school ☺!
I follow my schedule, and soon I am at school!
I walk into school, and I notice Luna staring at the poster where we wrote our names to enter a contest. Last night I emailed the contest judge (Miss Hall, our principal) my play. She wrote back saying she loved it and thought it could be in the top ten. I was very excited! Now I was even more excited! I run over to Luna and look at the poster, now replaced by a blue poster saying:
Play Contest Winner
Logan!
Good job!
Come to the auditorium tomorrow to choose your actors and actresses.
Oh, My, God! I won! I am the director of the play I WROTE! After reading it, I hear Luna’s voice, “Good job Logie! Can I see the script? I was thinking of auditioning!”
“Sure,” I answer, pulling out my script. “Here.” I hand it to her.
She takes a quick look, reads a line, and hands it back to me. “I will audition to be Autumn,” she says.
“Cool, I based her on Winter,” I answer.
We walk together into our classroom where I greet my friends, feeling ready for tomorrow.
Chapter 5
Me
I bet you’re wondering what I’m like. I am a 15 year old boy in ninth grade. I have short dark brown hair and pearly blue eyes. My favorite outfit is dark blue jeans, a light blue shirt, and a white watch. I like to go swimming and to write plays. I have a little brother named Adrian who is in 8th grade. He is 13. He has dirty blond hair and dark green eyes. His favorite outfit is a black shirt, jeans, and a light blue leather jean jacket. He likes to bike and play guitar (really loudly which is really annoying). There is my sister, a fourth grader named Winter. She is nine, turning 10. She has long brown hair and really brown eyes. Her favorite outfit is a long black fluffy looking dress, a brown scarf, and a black hat. She likes to sing and put together fashion creations (that is what she calls them). And then there are my parents and Grandpa, but I will get into that later. Oh, I almost forgot! Luna! Luna is a 15 year old like me, and in the same grade as me. She has been my best friend since second grade. She has red hair that she always wears in a ponytail, has blue green eyes, and has freckles. Her favorite outfit is a mustardy yellow striped shirt, dark blue legging jeans, and light brown boots. She likes to draw anime girls and run two miles every morning. Those are really the things you have to know about me!
Chapter 6
Auditions
The next day at school, I walk to the auditorium where many people are sitting in the seats waiting to audition. I sit down next to Miss Breckin who hands me a clipboard that says:
Logan’s clipboard
Autumn:___________
Gorge:__________
Archie:_________
Crystal:_________
Sam:___________
Emily:_____________
Miss Breckin calls many people up and soon my clipboard looks like this:
Logan’s clipboard
Autumn:___________
Gorge: Harry Martin
Archie: Flinn Sarkin
Crystal: Ann Topter
Sam: James Terin
Emily: Ariel Samson
Then it is Luna’s turn. She walks on the stage and starts reading the lines of her printed copy of my play, and when she is done, everyone claps, even her competitors. She totally got that part! By the end of the audition period, I had all my main characters cast. I walk out of the auditorium with Luna, Ariel, and Flinn. They are all so excited to know I cast them in the roles they wanted.
Flinn is going on and on in his British accent about how he was so excited to be Archie. “Archie is my favourite character. Thank you so much, Logan, for casting me as him!”
Then there was Ariel, who keeps on talking about how Emily was so much like her. “Emily loves to dance, I do too! Emily likes to read, I do too!”
And last but not least, Luna keeps on texting me images of autumn the season because she got the part Autumn in my play. My friends are nuts!
When I get to school the next day, all the people I cast in my play run over to me and tell me that we have a rehearsal after school today. When they are done swarming around me, I walk over to my first class.
Chapter 7
Cross to a Director
Now that school is done, I walk to the auditorium with Luna, Ariel, and Flinn. When we get there, I tell Miss Breckin that I forgot to get the background actors and we need them for most of the scenes.
She looks at me and says, “I got all of the other people that auditioned to be the background actors.”
“Thank you!” I say. I walk over to where all my actors and actresses are and say, “Now that I am a director, I looked for some ways to warmup your actors for a play on ActorsLikeUs (an acting website) and I found something that I think all you guys will like!”
They all look at me, waiting for something. It is my time! I will Cross to a Director!
“I want all you guys to get up and start jumping up and down!” I instruct them. I take a deep breath and say, “Now while jumping start yelling, ‘I’m gonna pump it up! I’m gonna dance it out! I’m gonna rock my jumps and let it out! I’m gonna DANCE all night! I’m gonna play my song! And when it’s time to go I’m gonna win it all!’”
They all follow me and soon we are ready to rehearse.
Chapter 8
After
I walk out of the auditorium feeling accomplished. I had just had my first rehearsal as a director! We had done some exercises, and then we had gone right into the rehearsing. Everyone got most of their lines right. Flinn has some issues though. He said ‘line’ many times. But still I think we had a very good first rehearsal. I walk out of the school knowing that now, I am a director.
Chapter 9
Hikes
My family is the kind of family that loves to go on hikes with one another.
Today we are going on a hike that Mom saw in her “Best Hikes for You and Me” magazine.
“It will be great!” she keeps on saying.
We drive in our minivan to the hike, and when we get there, Winter, Adrian, and I jump out and start to play an epic game of invisible soccer!
When Mom and Dad hop out, we stop and head up to the path we will take.
After all the twists and turns we had taken because for half an hour Dad could not find his map in his bag, we finally got to the path that would take us to the waterfall.
We walk up the path and……… Wow.
We slowly make our way towards the magnificent waterfall.
It slides down the rocks and washes off the dirty pebbles that are itching to be shiny like the ones in front of them.
The first person who said something was Winter. “I do not know what to say but, wow!”
“I completely agree!” I comment.
“Get my swimsuit out!!!!” Adrian yells, and that is our cue to change into our swimsuits.
When we are done getting into our swimsuits we run into the pool of water the waterfall made.
“This is my shower today!” Winter says.
“Not,” Mom responds.
I climb up a big rock and yell, “I’m coming!!!!!”
Then I jump into the water and the moment I hit the cold, hard water an idea comes to me.
Chapter 10
My Idea
Yesterday I thought of the greatest idea! We should add sound effects! We need Thunder! Thunder knows how to use those things! Plus he would love to do that!
I wake up and……. to speed it up now I am in school. I run over to my group of friends (Luna, Emma, Ariel, Jack, Flinn, and Thunder).
“Hey dude!” Jack yells.
“Sup,” I answer. “Thunder, would you by any chance want to be the tech guy for our play?”
“Whoa, sure!” Thunder replies.
“Great, thanks, gotta run, bye!” I yell, and run to the auditorium.
I run into the auditorium, where some younger kids are getting started in a class with Miss Breckin.
“Miss Breckin–I have to tell you something!” I say, panting.
“Of course, kids, just wait a second,” she says and walks over to me.
“I got one of my friends, Thunder, to be the tech guy who could control all the sound effects,” I tell her.
“That is great, tell him to come to all the rehearsals, and I can get a teacher to teach him,” she responds, and walks back to her class.
Success!
Chapter 11
Theater Geek
After school, I walk with Flinn, Luna, Ariel, and Thunder. We tell him about the play and all the times we will need him to make sound effects.
“Fun!” he says.
“Yeah, and you will do great!” Jack says, running towards us.
“Hey, Jack, why are you still here? Shouldn’t you be on your way home?” Ariel asks.
“Oh, Miss Breckin asked me if I could help with the sets, and I said yes so here I am,” Jack replies.
“Cool, welcome to what we call Home For Us,” I say and we walk into the auditorium.
“Why Us?” Thunder asks.
“Because if you know about it you must be a theater geek and call it Us,” Flinn explains.
“Great, now I am a theater geek!” Jack comments, annoyingly.
“Oh Jack,” Ariel says, weirdly.
We show Thunder and Jack around the auditorium, and Thunder immediately feels at home, not as much with Jack. “Um, I have to make big enough sets to fit this whole stage?????” he asks.
“Yup, but you can get help from other set painters,” Luna ushers him.
Jack sighs and gets up to start painting the sets.
Chapter 12
Tonight Is The Play
Tonightistheplay!!!!!!!!! Sorry, Tonight is the play!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am so anxious!!!!! I hope nothing goes wrong! I bet nothing will. Uh-Oh I cursed it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Okay get your act together, Logan.
I walk to the auditorium so I can help out with the sets when Luna runs up to me and yells, “HE IS SICK!!!!!!!!!!!”
“Who!!!????” I yell back.
“Flinn!!!!!!!!!” she screams.
“Understudy?!” I scream back.
“On vacation!!!!” she shouts.
“Why???!!!” I shout.
“Thought it was on Sunday night!!!” she hollers.
“Plane back??!!” I holler back.
“Won’t be in time!!!!” she bellows.
“Stop screaming!!!!!!!!!!!!” Mrs. Breckin bellows to us from inside the auditorium.
“Logan,” Luna says, “you have to be Archie.”
“What!” I roar.
“You have to! Please, for me, for Us,” Luna answers.
“Fine,” I say, and like in all good stories, the screen goes black.
Fin