It’s first period on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving break, and nearly all of the students from the Brooklyn Academy for Performing Arts High School pack the rows of red velvet seats. Excited voices bounce off the high blue and gold ceiling that looks as if the first evening stars are peering down on all of us. Timber follows Mercedes and Ari to an empty row near the front. I wave to my cousin Briar and our friend Kenji, who make their way through the throngs of people to join us. “What’s Padgie got up his sleeve?” Ari asks as we settle into our seats. He shakes brown bangs out of his eyes. Mercedes cups her hand over her mouth and pretends to narrate a movie trailer, “A twist so BIG,” she announces, black curls bouncing around her face, “it will blow your mind.” We all snort and snicker because Mr. Padgett, the director of the winter musical, has been saying this exact thing for two weeks, and we’re all sick of it. “All I can say is, it better be good.” Ari props his feet up on the seat in front of him.
