Lights, Action, Land-Ho! Read online

  The Pee Wees looked shocked. The Indians looked shocked. Sam and the director looked shocked. But no one was as shocked as Molly.

  “Rat’s knees!” she said. “It is hard to tap-dance on grass.”

  “Cut!” called Sam, holding up his hand.

  “What were you trying to do?” whispered Mary Beth. “And what’s all over your face?”

  Mrs. Peters dashed up and shouted, “First aid! Get a doctor! Molly has been hurt.”

  Mrs. Peters picked Molly up, pie pans and all, and carried her to a dressing room.

  A doctor came rushing in.

  “This child is bleeding,” said Mrs. Peters.

  The doctor put a cotton ball on the blood.

  He began to laugh. “This isn’t blood,” he said. “It is some kind of juice!”

  “It’s makeup,” said Molly.

  Molly wished she could die. She was humiliated. Her first chance to be a star, and she failed. No talent scout would ever tap her on the shoulder and take her to Hollywood.

  Sam helped her out of her pie pans and into her moccasins. Mrs. Peters scrubbed her face. It hurt. The berries had stained her skin.

  “Now!” said Sam, laughing. “Let’s try again! Everyone in their places.”

  “What a dumb thing to do,” whispered Sonny. “You ruined the movie.”

  “Did not,” said Molly. She hadn’t ruined the movie. She had ruined her life.

  “Scene Three, take two!” called Sam.

  The Indians milled. Columbus fell to his knees again. He rose and walked toward the Pee Wees. He reached out his hand to shake the hand of the chief. Just as he did, who sailed past in her tap shoes and lipstick but Rachel! It wasn’t easy to tap on the grass, but Rachel was doing it! Her taps flashed in the sunlight!

  She danced right by Molly. And right by Columbus. When she got as far as the camera had panned, Sam yelled “Cut!” once more.

  Mrs. Peters looked embarrassed.

  Sam laughed. “Do we have any more tap dancers here today?” he asked. “Because if we do, we’d better see them now!”

  The Pee Wees shook their heads.

  “What a dumb thing to do,” said Tracy. “Anyone knows Indian kids didn’t tap-dance in 1492.”

  Rachel did not seem to be embarrassed.

  “We have to put our best foot forward,” she said. “If there had been a talent scout here, I would be a star.”

  Mrs. Peters apologized and said there would be no more dancing.

  “Take three!” shouted Sam. Columbus was beginning to look weary. But he fell to his knees and said “We are in India” for the third time.

  This time he got to shake hands with the chief. He even began to smoke the peace pipe with him. Molly held her breath. It was one thing for her to try to be a star. She didn’t want all the Pee Wees getting into the act.

  Everyone relaxed as the camera filmed the Native American children playing in the woods. But they relaxed too soon.

  All of a sudden, out of nowhere, as Columbus was eating some cornbread with the chief, there came a terrible sound. Flat, squeaky sounds blasted out of the woods.

  “What is that?” shouted Kenny.

  “I know what it is,” whispered Mary Beth to Molly. “It’s Sonny. He brought his violin.”

  “Cut!” shouted Sam. He did not seem as patient as he was earlier. Columbus threw himself to the ground in despair.

  “I’ll bet the director is sorry he ever hired the Pee Wee Scouts to be extras,” said Tracy.

  “I wouldn’t ever do that,” said Tim.

  “That’s because you don’t have something to show off to be a star,” snapped Rachel.

  Mrs. Stone found Sonny and hauled him out of the woods. He was dragging his violin behind him. “I want to be a movie star,” cried Sonny.

  “To be or not to be,” said Kevin, not wanting to be the only one undiscovered. “That is the question.”

  Rachel snorted. “Shakespeare wasn’t even born in 1492!” she said. “Kevin should know that. How could a Native American child say some lines that hadn’t even been written yet?”

  “It’s time for lunch anyway,” said Sam, looking at his watch. “Then we’ll try again.”

  Mrs. Peters had a red face and tight lips. She did not look happy with the Pee Wees. Mrs. Stone looked angry too.

  After lunch with the cast, Mrs. Peters took them aside and made it perfectly clear that no one was to do or say anything. Anything at all.

  “You are just to stand around and pretend to be Native American children. Not dance, not sing, not play any instrument, not say any lines. You are to be in the background. Does everyone understand that?”

  The Pee Wees nodded.

  “You dummies,” said Roger in disgust. “You wasted all the director’s time and money.”

  “Did not,” said Sonny.

  “Did too,” said Roger. “Didn’t they, Mrs. Peters?”

  But Mrs. Peters looked like she was afraid to say anything. For fear she would say too much.

  “Take four!” called Sam, after lunch.

  This time no one sang or danced or played the violin or said lines. Columbus dropped to his knees and got up and shook hands with the chief and smoked the peace pipe and ate cornbread. And the Indian children were angels. Columbus was the star. And the Pee Wees weren’t.

  CHAPTER 7

  Molly the Star

  “Hurray!” shouted Columbus when Scene Three was finally filmed.

  The Pee Wees changed back into their regular clothes. Mrs. Peters was still apologizing to the director for all the cuts.

  “All’s well that ends well,” Sam said, laughing. “When the movie comes out next year on Columbus Day, the Pee Wees will be our guests at a big cast party.”

  “Maybe there will be a talent scout at the party,” said Sonny. “I’m bringing my violin just in case.”

  Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Stone glared at Sonny.

  “All right, all right, I won’t,” he said. “I’ll sing instead.”

  All the cast laughed.

  Molly wasn’t laughing. She wondered what her parents would say when they found out she had tried to dance in the movie. And what about a badge? What kind would it be? Would she and Rachel and Sonny and Kevin get a badge after they had wasted the director’s time and money?

  Sam saw Molly brooding.

  “It’s all right,” he said. “No one can blame you for wanting to be a star. Just practice more and come back later.”

  Was Sam telling her she still had a chance to be a dancer? Or even a movie star?

  Molly thanked Sam and even gave him a little hug. He must think it wasn’t too late for her to be a star! And everyone had to practice a lot to be successful. Why, look at Columbus! He had to do scenes over and over to be a star. Molly shouldn’t give up just because she failed this time!

  On the way home, Molly sat with Rachel.

  “I’m sorry I tried to be better than you,” said Molly. “You are the one who should be a star. You really know how to dance and I don’t.”

  Molly thought Rachel would say she knew that. That Molly was no good and she was. That she had talent and Molly didn’t.

  Instead, Rachel burst into tears. “I never get to play after school with the other kids because I have to practice so much. I have to go to lessons and practice all the time.” She wiped her eyes.

  Molly stared at her. Poor Rachel! Instead of riding bikes and playing ball, she was home practicing. Molly thought Rachel hadn’t wanted to play with her. That she thought she was better than Molly. But it was because it was hard work to be best at something. She deserved to be best. To be a star. How could Molly expect to be as good as Rachel when she didn’t have lessons before and she only practiced three times in her life?

  Rachel turned to Molly and sniffed.

  “If you really want to learn to tap-dance, I’ll help you,” she said. “You could come over to my house after school one afternoon every week and I could show you the steps. You could practice
them at home.”

  “Really?” squeaked Molly. “You would really show me how to do it right?”

  Rachel nodded.

  “And I’ve got a pair of extra tap shoes you can have,” said Rachel. “Real ones, black patent leather with bows. My mom got me new ones for the recital, but I didn’t really need them.”

  Molly felt very warm toward Rachel. She went up to her and gave her a big hug. She may not be a very best friend like Mary Beth was, but she wasn’t as bad as Molly made her out to be. “Thanks,” said Molly. “I’d love to learn those steps you do.”

  The bus pulled up at Mrs. Peters’s house. Mrs. Peters looked tired, thought Molly. So did Mrs. Stone. It must not be easy to be a Scout leader. Molly felt sorry she caused so much trouble. But she hadn’t known it was trouble when she did it. Who would think being a star would upset things so much?

  When Molly got home, she told her mom and dad all about making the movie. She told them everything.

  “Molly, my movie star,” her father said.

  “Not yet, but I’m going to be,” she said. “I’ve still got lots of time.”

  “Speaking of time, it’s time to do some homework,” said her mother.

  “No, it isn’t,” said Mr. Duff. “Because guess what day tomorrow is?”

  Molly and her mother thought and thought.

  “It’s a free day!” said her dad. “Thanks to Christopher Columbus!”

  Molly covered her ears as her dad said, “Columbus sailed the ocean blue in fourteen hundred ninety-two.”

  Maybe someday she would want to think about Columbus again. But right now she had Christopher Columbus overkill. She would have a good time with her friends on the free day and try not to think of Columbus once.

  That evening Mrs. Peters called. “I’d like you to come over and watch the six o’clock news,” she said. “There will be a surprise for all the Pee Wees!”

  On the way, Molly met the other Pee Wees rushing over to Mrs. Peters’s. When they got inside, a woman on TV was saying, “The Pee Wee Scouts were celebrities today.”

  “What’s a celebrity?” whispered Tim.

  The woman went on. “They helped make a Hollywood movie about Columbus, whose birthday we celebrate tomorrow. Our Pee Wees dressed up as Native American children.”

  As the announcer’s voice boomed, pictures of the woods flashed onto the screen.

  “That’s Scene Three, take four!” cried Rachel.

  “Look, there’s my arm,” shouted Tim.

  “That’s my arm, dummy,” shouted Sonny.

  Molly watched the Native American children flash onto the screen. She saw part of Mary Beth. And Roger’s face. All of Rachel was there. But none of Molly! It looked like everyone was on the news but Molly!

  When it was all over, Molly felt bad. Now she would never be famous.

  Mrs. Peters’s phone gave a loud ring. She went into the other room to answer it. When she came back, Mrs. Peters was smiling.

  “That was Sam,” she said. “The directors liked the noise that Molly’s pie pans made. They want her to sign a release so that they can use the noise in other movies for things like thunder or broken dishes.”

  Molly couldn’t believe her ears! So she wasn’t on the news, and her pie pans would not show in the movie. But a talent scout had discovered her! The sound of her pie pans would be heard in movies!

  “Molly’s pie pans may make her famous yet!” Mrs. Peters said, laughing.

  All the Scouts clapped and cheered. Wait till she told her parents this news! And on top of this she would learn real tap-dance steps from Rachel. And wear real tap-dance shoes. It was wonderful to be a Pee Wee Scout!

  As the Pee Wees were ready to leave, Mrs. Peters called, “Be sure to be at our meeting on Tuesday! That is the day you will all be getting your acting badge!”

  Mrs. Peters had used the word “all.” That must mean that Molly would get her badge too.

  Molly ran all the way home. She told her parents about the call from Sam.

  “You are a star already,” said her father, “and the movie isn’t even out yet!”

  Molly gave her parents a hug and went to her room. She had one more thing to do. She took her pie-pan shoes and carefully wrapped them up, then put them in her closet. She hoped her mom had more pie pans to use for pies, because these were ruined forever.

  But it was a small price to pay for stardom!

  Scouts are helpers, Scouts have fun

  Pee Wee, Pee Wee Scouts!

  We sing and play when work is done,

  Pee Wee, Pee Wee Scouts!

  With a good deed here,

  And an errand there,

  Here a hand, there a hand,

  Everywhere a good hand.

  Scouts are helpers, Scouts have fun,

  Pee Wee, Pee Wee Scouts!

  Pee Wee Scout Pledge

  We love our country

  And our home,

  Our school and neighbors too.

  As Pee Wee Scouts

  We pledge our best

  In everything we do.