I am loving this opportunity to present excerpts for you to enjoy. This one is the “mirror” scene with CJ and Josh. I hope you love it as much as I do. If you want to get it, you can at Amazon for Kindle and in print.

An Unexpected Performance, mirror scene

They squeezed behind the bookcase and pushed together. It moved a few inches, then, a foot. Once it was away from the wall, they could see a mirror, its frame painted an antique green, hanging on the wall.

“Wow, I wonder who’s been looking for that the last couple years? ‘Cause you know, nobody has moved this stuff around for awhile,” CJ observed.

Josh peered into the mirror. “It’s freaking dusty, I know that.” To prove his point, he sneezed. Then he rubbed at it with his sleeve and stood for a second looking at his reflection.

“Quit preening, Josh. Let’s take it down so it doesn’t get broken,” CJ suggested.

He pulled on two corners, but the mirror stuck to the wall as though stuck with glue. He felt around the edges to get to the back of it to see if there were nails holding it in place, but it was affixed.

“Man, this thing isn’t going anywhere,” he muttered. “Go find me a hammer with claws. I need to pry it off.”

CJ nodded and wandered back to the stage to find Darrel. He worked tech and would know where to find tools. She interrupted his discussion of paintball with Tommy Adair.

“Excuse me guys, I need tools. We’re trying to take the mirror off the wall in the green room.”

“What mirror?” Tommy asked.

“The one on the wall behind that ginormous bookcase.”

Darrel shot a glance at Tommy. “Oh no, you don’t. That’s Mrs. Mac’s special mirror and she wont let nobody take it down or move it.”

CJ rolled her eyes. “Okay, Darrel, why’s it so special?”

Tommy slapped her leg as she brushed by him. “Maybe she doesn’t want it to get smashed.”

“If you touch me again, I will beat you down,” she said to Tommy, tapping him hard on the head.

He laughed. Darrel pulled himself up on the stage from the floor and motioned for her to follow him back to the green room.

“I don’t ask questions, I just do what she tells me. Come on, let’s go see,” he said. “Adair, don’t move.”

She followed him, her eyes adjusting to the darkness. When they entered the green room, she blinked at the bright lights. Josh sat on the couch, a woman’s scarf wrapped around his head turban-style.

“What are you?” CJ asked, laughing.

“King of Persia. Bow, slave!” He pointed at the floor. She kissed her hand and slapped her backside.

“Kiss it, King.”

“Oh, baby, talk dirty to me,” he declared, doubling over in laughter as she pounced on him, snatching the scarf off.

Darell’s voice floated out from behind them.

“Could the King or the slave come back here, please?”

They both scrambled to where he stood. He had a fine sheen of sweat across his brow, and was breathing heavily.

“This mirror is like, stuck or something. I can’t get it loose. Not even with this,” he said, showing them a flat-head screwdriver. “I’m telling you, Mac doesn’t allow us to mess with it. It won’t come off.”

“Yeah, I thought it was nailed down,” Josh said. He glanced at the mirror and then at Darell. “What’s the deal?”

“First off, I think it’s an antique. Second, back during our play a year or two ago, Mrs. Mac told us not to touch it, that’s why. I hate to tell you guys this, but that mirror is forever a decoration on that wall.”

CJ looked at Josh. He shoved his hands into his pockets and looked at his shoes. Then he said, “Well, we’ll ask her again when she gets back from her meeting, I guess.”

Darell shrugged and left.

CJ poked Josh in the arm. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I just don’t think this mirror fits into a Civil War set. But I bet we’ll have to use it.”

“You got a problem with Darell?”

He laughed. “No. I hardly know the guy. It’s not him.”

She leaned out to look for Shirley who had disappeared, too. Then turned to Josh and said, “What is it? You can tell me, there’s nobody back here.”

He moved to the mirror and breathed on it. Using the heel of his hand, he rubbed at the dust. Then he stepped away and waved toward it.
“Look in it.”

CJ stepped closer, stood on tiptoe, and peered in. Her reflection seemed strange. The background behind her was black like a hole with no substance and her face seemed illuminated with a golden light.

“Wow, what’s the deal?”

“I don’t know. I noticed it before but didn’t think much about it until I saw Boatswain’s reflection in it. It’s like you’re seeing yourself but nothing else in the room.”

CJ backed away from it so that her face didn’t appear. “This really freaks me out. Let’s leave it alone. No wonder Mrs. Mac calls it her special mirror.”