Belle Teal

Genroy H

“The long awaited day for the Christmas play has finally come. Gram and I finished the fruit cake last night and I just can’t wait until every one has a chance to taste it. My only worry is that somebody might get on Darrel case again.” “Belle Teal!” Her mom calls out in a brisk tone. “Don’t forget to finish cleaning you room, and take out the trash. It looks like you and Gram had to much fun last night making the fruit cake.” “All right”. I’ll get right to as soon as possible. This will be as soon as I get up and finish my normal daily rituals.” I am going to have to work fast to day in order to get everything set up for tonight. We have to leave by five thirsty in order to reach the school by six o’clock and get the stage setup for the Christmas event. Mom is going to drop me off at school first and then go to work to pick up her check from work. Then she will come back with grand and the fruit cake. Later that day I heard a great commotion outside of my house. My mom told me to stay in side and than she went outside to see what exactly was going on. She came back in side and said that one of our neighbors was having a Christmas party. I wish she hadn’t told me that. It has been for ever since I had a chance to go to any parties. The last party I’ve been to was so much fun. It had everything a party should have like cake and ice cream with fudge on it. There was great music playing and kids

playing tag. The only thing that was a miss is the fact the cops broke it up because they said it was causing a disturbance in the area. I hope that there isn’t any cake or ice cream at that party because if that is the case I might be late for my Christmas play. That is probably the only way for me to be late for this thing. After I’ve finished my chores I decided to go outside for some air. I look over to where the party is happening and see a collage of African Americans partying down the street. I have never heard that type of music that they had playing before. It made me curious about what exactly was going on down there. I thought I saw a kid that looked like one of the kids Darrel use to hang with at lunch so I thought it might be a politething to go over there and introduce myself. I start my way down the street to where the party was going on. I stood still for a second to see what was going down. It seemed that is was just like the last party I went to the only difference was that it had African Americans instead of what I’m use to seeing , also it seemed like the adults were having as much fun as the kids. Before I took a step into the party area I look to see if I could find where the kid who hung out with Darrell. When I recognized him out of all the kids in the area I start walking up to him. Before I can even take a third step I could literally feel the eyes of some of the adults staring at me. That feeling slowly started fading as I started getting closer to my destination. When I reached him it would seem as if he was to into dancing to the music to notice me. I broke his hypnosis with a friendly hello. He stopped dancing and gave me a look I only have on my face when I experience great shock. Then he said back to me hi………………As if he was talking to someone crazy. I said hey don’t you

go to the same school as me. He said yes…………Still as if he was talking to someone. All of a sudden I see a girl come from around the back part of the house. “Sean! Who you talking to.” She he says in a friendly manner. “Some girl from school.” He replies. “HI I’m Laura.” “Hi I’m Belle Teal.”. “So where you from Belle Teal.”. “I live just down the street. I came outside to see what the noise was. So when I saw where it was coming from I noticed someone I seen at school. So I came down to say hi.” “Oh, okay. But I can’t let you go back home until you tired some of our cake and ice cream.” A slice of cake and a bowl of ice cream Sean asked me if I was not going to go to the Christmas play tonight. “Oh yah. Thanks for reminding me, I nearly forgot. After saying my good byes I rushed home happy to see that it was still early. When I reached home I jumped in the shower to take a bath. After I was done it was time for me to get ready to go to school. After I got all my clothes on I was ready to go. When I reached I was surprised to see everyone there. Wasting no time Ms. Cassie was making sure every body was ready. In my opinion we all were more that ready with all the practicing we have been doing and all. The only thing that might pose as a problem is some getting stage fright. Fifteen minutes before the show is to begin I could sense that some people did not know what to expect. I could hear the audience beyond the curtain sitting in there seats

waiting for the play to begin. Not to long ago I saw Gram unloading the fruit cakes and putting them on the concession stand .I could not wait to see how peoples face will light yup after eating them. When it was time to get the show on the road Ms. Cassie gave us a little motivational speech before we started acting, then we went to our position behind the stage for our first scene .We heard the announcer presenting us we new the second the curtains opened and the lights turned on it was the moment of truth. I heard the crank of the curtains moving and the curtains sliding part ways. The spot light fell upon me as a signal to wait until Ms. Cassie started narrating. Ms. Cassie sounds so professional when she was narrating to the audience. I was just hoping that I looked as professional as Ms. Cassie sounds when she was narrating. When she was starting the play with the Marry meeting her future husband for the first time. We tried to make the scene look as genuine as possible by making the tallest boy in class play the riley of Marry’s farther. At the end of the scene we had time to make sure that everyone had there customs in order and that they knew what they were suppose to do for the net scene. For the next scene we had the three wise men going on the journey to the king Herod of Bethlehem for they where invited to talked to him and tell them why they have traveled so far and had to cross though his kingdom. For the role of King Herod we had the fattiest kid in class do it to represent how the king was well fed and how that most kings in that time had big bodies because that represents being well nurtured.

After the king heard of there mission they told them that he would to like to know exactly when you find him and to bring him to them when they found so that he could praise him to. After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. Out of all the scenes we had I belied that this one took the most work. The star that the three wise men had been following stayed up the who entire time of the play because it would take to much time to take back down at the end of a scene to transition to the next scene. When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up," he said, "take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him." So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: "Out of Egypt I called my son."

When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the three wise men, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were

two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the three wise men. Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled. After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child's life are dead." So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: "He will be called a Nazarene.” At the end of the play the audience gave a great applause. All I remember after that is seeing a bright light flash on and then realizing that there are a lot more people than I expect to be there. After that I find myself awake in my mother’s arms. She told me that I passed out but the play was great. The only thing that went wrong was the fruit cake. Something you and Gram put in the fruit cake was making everybody sick. Later that night I saw Vanessa walking with her mother, brother, and farther to there amazingly huge car. “Thanks for taking up my position when I passed out.” “Anytime hillbilly.” She said with a disrespectful tone. Than I hear her parents what did you just say. I know we rose better than that. When we get home you’re going to get such a licking. After that all I did was grin and walked away. All in all today was a good day.