Write a Book in a Day 2017

from the city. You can’t help but feel a sense of nostalgia as you remember the riches of the coasts where all your outfits weren’t stained red with soil. “Hey Jill, not that I don’t love to see you, but, why are you here?” you ask. She’s attending Alinta’s wedding this afternoon so this must be urgent. “I'm so sorry, but we don't have the funding for the nativity play this year. You won’t be able to finish this performance” she says with a flat, emotionless voice and dismisses herself. For a second, you wonder if it would have hurt less if she had at least pretended to be sincere. You feel your stomach drop. This is heartbreaking. You’ve already had a hard time getting the cast together, and you finally seemed to at least get through to them but now the show would most definitely not go on! It wouldn’t even be funded! Taking a deep sigh and counting to three, you rub your eyes with frustration. You swear you won't give up even it means the end of your career - not when your students finally seem to be interested. With new incentive, you storm out of the room, it won’t end here! And you never stop working to fund this play. Over the duration of the term you organize fundraisers, you bake cookies, you host dances, you tell people how important this is to you. But it never seems to be enough with hardly any ticket sales. Sometimes, you have hard days where you question whether the Christmas nativity is worth it. But, it must be. It has to be . The rest of the spring turned summer is made up of tiresome rehearsals, long days and the sound of cicadas among the tall grasses. It was a time of waiting. But what for? You weren't quite sure what. But there always seemed to be a forsaken event prowling in the gum trees, waiting for the right moment to pounce. And the right moment indeed. It’s your last play rehearsal before your performance and Christmas Eve. The wrath of the summer is making the air bitter and stale as you wait excitedly for the cast to arrive; you have Christmas presents for them. Hard work should be rewarded after all. Over time Aaron’s awkward monotonous voice has become rather comforting and Jordan’s rambling has morphed into vibrant background noise. You have settled into the comforts of this small town. Your ebullience begins to drift as the minute’s tick by. Where are they? Surely, they know how important this play is. Everything was going so well. Had something happened? Had you done something? After 15 minutes of waiting, you finally decide to suck up your hurt feelings and make rounds to each of their parents’ houses. “Why wasn't your child at rehearsal today?” You ask politely if not with a touch of acidity, standing on each doorway with the same question at your lips. You receive the same answers over and over again. “They’re at rehearsal, trust me,” They all say, “They all left together not 20 minutes ago, quite a sight if I must say” So, you make your dejected way back to the school, lost in disbelief. None of this lined up at all.

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