Callie and the Curtain Pocket — The tape on the floor felt smooth under Callie’s sneakers as she checked her front-row mark one last time. Read the full story →
The tape on the floor felt smooth under Callie’s sneakers as she checked her front-row mark one last time. She needed the finale cue card before the music began, the little card that told everyone when to lift their arms, drop to one knee, and smile into the warm lights. It was not on the prop box. It was not beside the water bottles. The theater smelled like dust, hairspray, and velvet, and the curtains made a hush-hush sound when the air conditioner sighed.
Callie stepped away from her safe strip of tape and followed a tiny corner of blue paper peeking from the tied curtain. Her bow snagged, her knee bumped a wooden box, and one silver sneaker lace came loose. “Wait for me,” she whispered. Inside a secret curtain pocket, she found the cue card—and a folded note from last year’s captain: If curiosity pulls you off your mark, bring back wonder, too.
Callie returned with the card just as the spotlights crossed like sunbeams. She held the count, lifted her arms, and tucked the note in her warm palm. Next time you see those side curtains and star banners, can you spot the place where curiosity first tugged at that smooth strip of tape?
