Behind the Curtain Read Online Free PDF Page A

school, directed by Jill Monteiro, the leading drama teacher in Echo Falls and a genuine off-Broadway actress, with kids from the school system in all the roles. There was lots of singing and dancing, plus a scene from a play or two. This year the High School Theater Club was doing a sword fight from The Mask of Zorro and the kids from Ferrand Middle the scene from The Wizard of Oz where Dorothy and her friends finally meet the wizard. Did Ingrid have the lead role? Yes, she did, but the truth was there hadn’t been much interest in The Wizard of Oz , the kids preferring a spoof of the balcony scene in Romeo and Juliet that Brucie Berman had written, or rather claimed to have written, although it came off the Internet and was nixed by Jill Monteiro in any case; and in the end no one else auditioned for Dorothy.
    “That sword fight’s gonna be awesome,” said Mr. Rubino. “Bobby Moran stuck one of those suckers right through the auditorium wall.”
    “Bobby Moran’s in the play?” Ingrid said.
    “That’s how he rebroke his arm,” said Mr. Rubino.
    “Not football?”
    Mr. Rubino shook his head. “Swordplay.”
    The Rubinos lived in the Lower Falls neighborhood, not as nice as Riverbend but they had a great house with lots of additions Mr. Rubino had built himself, sprawling all over the place. Just as he pulled into the driveway, the Firebird pulled out, the tires squealing as it sped away.
    “Now where the hell’s he going?” said Mr. Rubino. He watched the Firebird till it vanished around a bend, his forehead wrinkling up. Mr. Rubino had a round friendly face with a big bristly mustache. Ingrid had never seen it worried like this. For a moment he looked like someone she didn’t know. “And I told him three times to stick a bulb in that taillight.”
    They went inside, Mr. Rubino first straightening a garden elf in a flower bed by the door.
    “Ellie,” he called, “where’s Sean off to?”
    No answer.
    “She’s back on four to midnights,” said Stacy. Mrs. Rubino was a nurse at the hospital, up by the soccer fields.
    “Oh,” said Mr. Rubino. “Right.” His body sagged, as though he felt tired all of a sudden. He popped open a can of Bud from the fridge, sat at the kitchen table, but didn’t even have time for a sip before the phone rang. He listened for a few seconds, then said, “Did you try the circuit breakers?” He listened some more and said, “It’s that box under the cellar stairs.” And some more, before saying, with a little sigh, “Be there in ten minutes.” He put the beer back in the fridge.
    Stacy and Ingrid went down to the entertainment center, reclined on the recliners. They watched Ferris Bueller’s Day Off , one of their favorites, on the gigantic screen. The popcorn machine made popcorn with tons of butter. The robot brought a Coke for Stacy, Fresca for Ingrid.
    “This is the life,” said Stacy.
    “Wouldn’t change a thing,” said Ingrid. She and Stacy went all the way back to before they could even walk and talk. There was a photo to prove it: two tiny girls splashing around in a tiny plastic swimming pool, not wearing bathing suits for some reason. What was that all about? Did people get stupid the moment they had kids?
     
    “I love this part,” said Stacy, “the car going through the window.”
    Ingrid loved it too, but something about the scene made her say, “What’s up with Sean these days?”
    Stacy bit her lip. “You think something’s up?” she asked, her voice quieter than normal. Normally it was kind of booming, but she just wasn’t the same person when it came to her brother. “Like what?”
    “I’m asking you.”
    “I don’t know,” Stacy said. “He’s flunking every course. And the DUI thing cost my dad a thousand bucks.”
    “Your dad paid?”
    “Sean’s broke. All the money he made last summer goes into that stupid car.”
    The Ferris Bueller credits scrolled by. “How about Happy Gilmore ?” Ingrid said.
    “Sure,” said