Against All Hope

By: Kate, 7th grade

“Am I crazy?” Kiana turned to Luke.

“No,” Luke shook his head.

“How can I not be crazy? I’m in the 7^th grade, in a school with no money, and I’m trying to write a play when we have no props, no stage, no nothing!”

“I change my mind, you are crazy,” Luke laughed and patted Kiana on her back.

“But your also a great writer with a great mind, and you’ll think of something, you always do,” Kiana smiled half-heartedly, glad to have her best-friend Luke.

“Well, I’ll see ya, and remember to keep me posted on how things are goin’ okay?”

Kiana and Luke reached their locker, which was kind of surprising, seeing as there was mass pandemonium.  Quickly putting in her locker combination, Kiana pulled out her backpack, stuffing in all her books.

“You bet Luke, though I don’t see how I’m going to save the school in one lousy year,” Luke smiled and, shutting his locker looked at his watch; a very annoying habit that Kiana was always getting on to him for. 

            “Oh, no! My mom told me to meet her outside at 3:55; it’s nearly 4:00 now!” Luke raced away, leaving Kiana behind him, down-hearted and depressed. 

            Walking down the hall, Kiana thought hard, shaking her head every once in a while to clear he mind from bad ideas.  Every so often, she would come upon a great idea, only finding that it would cost too much money to make the set. 

            She had come upon this job of writing, directing, and starring in a play because of her teacher, Mr. Bogart.  He was her language arts teacher, and greatly admired her creativity when she wrote.  He told her all the time of how brilliant she was writing all those wonderful stories. 

            He had come in one day very distressed.  “Kiana please come with me,” he had said, leading her out of the now very perplexed classroom.  “There is a severe problem we’re having with the school.  Apparently, we’re out of money, and all the teachers think that it would be a very good idea to write a play, and have it in the downtown theater.  That way we can make the money we need, and we need 3000 dollars,”

            Kiana chuckled to herself, coming out of her flashback.  She remembered how Mr. Bogart had asked her if she would take the job, and after much thought, she had accepted. 

     “I didn’t know that it would be this much of a bother,” Kiana went back into thought, muttering to herself about money. There wasn’t that much time, only two months until the play was supposed to show.

            She hadn’t really noticed she was home until her mother had called to her from the porch: “Come now honey, what’s the matter?  Don’t tell me nothing, I can see it with your head hanging down that frown upon your face,” Kiana looked up, and idea smacking her across the face. 

“You wouldn’t mind advertising the play I’m writing, would you?” She had told her mom about the school and play, and her mom had quickly made it clear that she wanted to help as much as possible. 

            “Of course I wouldn’t, I’d write up the advertising and everything, but what’s the title?” Kiana hit her forehead in exasperation; the title! She had never once thought about the title, and she had starting to form the play in her head, too!

            “Don’t worry, I’ll help you figure out a title; you do have an idea what the play will be about, don’t you?”

            “Yeah, I do, I think,” Kiana shrugged.

“Well, tell me,” Kiana brought up all of her ideas, and told her mom everything, of how she had thought about basing the play on Hair.

“Because when I went to New York I saw that musical on Broadway!  It was incredible, and I love the story of how kids finally took control of their life, in the form of their hair!”

“Alright, well, I can be your casting director and will work on advertising.  You just have to get a hold of a script, and tell me what you want to see in the characters,” Kiana and her mom walked up the stairs, talking all the way, for, against all hope, they would find a way.