2nd place || 2024
3rd through 4th grade

THE THEATRICAL DILEMMA

by Marit Nelson

I.

Theater class was buzzing with excitement because of Shakespeare’s The Tempest. They were in the middle of a discussion when Logan, the instructor, called them over.

“Lynn and Vee,” he said. “I have a job for you. We have to decide who will play Miranda. You can choose between CC or Zoe, but I need your answer tomorrow.”

This might be hard, Vee thought. Lynn is so competitive. She’ll want to win but I just want to have fun.

*

“Okay!” Logan yelled. “CC, you’re up!”

CC came forward. “There’s nothing ill can dwell in such a temple.”

Then Zoe came up. “Tis a villain, sir, I do not love to look on.”

Wow! thought Lynn. Zoe is totally the better actress. We have to cast her if we want to win.

Meanwhile, Vee thought: Zoe is the better actress, but CC is pretty good too…

II.

After class, Vee and Lynn went to McDonald’s to decide over burgers and French fries who to cast for the part of Miranda. They argued. Vee thought that they should cast CC, but Lynn insisted on Zoe.

“If the trophy doesn’t matter to you, fine!” Lynn said.

“Lynn, CC is our friend. She deserves this!”

They became more and more upset.

“But I think since Zoe is the better actress and we should cast her!” said Lynn. “Then we’d win!”

“Well,” said Vee, “I think we should cast CC! She is such a good friend, and she is pretty good.”

Just then, Vee got a text.

“Oh no!” said Vee. Lynn stopped talking.

“What?” she asked.

“Honeysuckle had to be put down,” Vee said sadly.

“What! No! We have to help CC!”

Vee thought Oh no, now I really think we should choose CC! If she doesn’t get the lead, she will be even more upset that her horse had to be put down. This is becoming a bigger problem.

Lynn said, “I really think we should choose Zoe!”

Vee disagreed and said what she had been thinking before.

“If we choose CC, she might cheer up!”

The girls left the restaurant, undecided.

III.

It was a school day. Lynn had her class with CC first. She got to her seat next to CC, but CC barely noticed. Lynn sighed thinking about the argument she and Vee had had. All CC did was sniffle, and Lynn could see she had been crying.

Lynn thought, Wow. She really is sad. We have to cast her so she cheers up.

Meanwhile, Vee had her class with Zoe. They were doing animal reports.

“So,” said Zoe, coming to the end of her report, “that is why wasps can sting more than once.”

Vee thought: Wow! She really is good! We totally have to cast her. I just hope that Lynn hasn’t changed her mind.

Later, Lynn was waiting outside of Vee’s classroom. She sighed. Whew! she thought and sighed. Okay, here it goes. She cleared her throat.

“Vee, I’d like to talk to you.”

They decided to meet up at lunch.

Vee said, “I’m sorry I got so worked up earlier.”

Lynn laughed. “It’s okay. I changed my mind anyway. You were right. We should cast CC.”

“Oh no!” Vee said. “I changed my mind too!”

“We have to figure this out!” Lynn said.

Vee suddenly gasped, then coughed and said, “Logan is coming over!”

Logan stopped at their table. “Have you made a decision?”

Uh oh, Vee thought.

IV.

As Logan waited for an answer, Vee’s hands shook, and Lynn was in a sweat. Lynn bit her lip with worry. Vee thought: If I say Zoe, we will win, but Lynn won’t like it. If I say CC, Lynn and CC will be happy.

“Um, yes, we’ve decided,” Vee answered. There was a sick and awkward silence. “We chose CC!”

Logan nodded, walked away. Vee and Lynn looked at each other and smiled.

A few weeks passed and they performed the play. Vee waited with bated breath until it was over. At the end, they were handed the Shakespearean trophy!

Zoe came over to CC and gave her a hug. “You did great,” she said.

For the first time since Honeysuckle died, they saw CC smile. Lynn and Vee were confident they had saved the friendship and the play together.

Marit is a homeschooler in Minnesota. She loves to write stories, draw, and act.