can?â Mary replied.
âYes,â Harry said. âOur skit is about death.â
âDEATH?â we asked.
âSmoking kills,â Harry said. âYou heard the principal.â
Ida spoke up, âIâm not going to be the one who diesâthatâs for sure!â
âMe either,â Mary said. âThatâs a horrible part.â
Harry grinned. âWe need three people to die. Iâm one.â
âIâll be the other,â I said. âIâm not afraid to pretend that Iâm dead.â
âNot me,â Sidney said. âNo way. Playing dead is creepy.â
Song Lee spoke softly, âIt is true. Cigarette make you not have long life. I die for skit.â And then she added, âDo I have to say anything before I die?â
âYou donât have to. You just have to stand up with Doug and me and look like a king.â
âA KING! I WANT TO BE A KING!â Sidney shouted.
Miss Mackle came over to us. âHow are we doing? Is there a problem?â
Sidney answered right away, âHarry is bossing everyone around.â
âIs that true?â the teacher asked us.
Song Lee shook her head. âWe talk. Harry listen. Now Harry has good idea for skit.â
Miss Mackle smiled and moved on to the next group.
âLook Sidney,â Harry said. âIf you want to be a king you have to be willing to die. The king in this skit dies.â
Sidney looked like he was going to cry. âCan the king just be wounded? I could play a wounded king.â
âThe king dies, Sidney,â Harry replied.
âThen I wonât be one,â Sidney said.
âCan I play the piano?â Mary said with her hands folded.
âYes. And we will need two angels,â Harry added.
Ida jumped up and down. âGood! I get to be an angel.â
Sidney shook his head. âIâm not going to be any angel. Girls are angels. Not boys.â
Mary disagreed. âThere are boy angels and girl angels. Heaven is a fair place.â
Harry continued, âWeâll need three blankets and three crowns for the kings and halos and sheets for the angels.â
âSome choice,â Sidney complained. âA dead king or a dumb angel.â
Mary put her hands on her hips. âAngels are not dumb. They are perfect beans.â
âKidney or lima beings?â Sidney asked. And then he cackled and giggled.
âHave you made your choice?â Harry asked Sidney when he was through cackling.
âYeah, Iâll be a kidney bean.â
Nobody said anything. Just Sidney. He laughed by himself.
We brought the props and costumes in the next day. Song Lee brought in gold garland for the halos, and aluminum foil and buttons and sequins for the crowns.
âMy mother sew,â Song Lee said. âShe has many thing.â
We worked hard on the props the next day. We practiced the singing part of our skit at recess because we wanted it to be a surprise.
Friday afternoon, we had a little theater. Miss Mackle called on the four groups to perform. When it was our turn, Harry introduced us.
âAnd nowââ he said. âWe are happy to present âThe Deadly Skit.â â
Miss Mackle backed up against the blackboard. A piece of chalk fell and shattered into tiny pieces.
Harry, Song Lee, and I stood in front of the class. We had blankets around us and crowns on our heads. They sparkled with sequins.
Mary started to play on the piano.
We began to sing: âWe three kings of Orientar, tried to smoke a smelly cigar....â
Then we started puffing on a Tootsie Roll. (Harry had brought those in.) Song Lee fell to the ground coughing and choking and rolling over until she died.
Harry and I continued singing. Mary continued playing. âWe two kings of Orientar, tried to smoke a smelly cigar....â
Then I fell down to the ground coughing and choking and rolling over until I died.
Harry was the only king left.