The groupings for the performances were finalized after many rounds of consultation and discussion with all the parents. If we wish to make any changes, we’ll have to go through another tedious round of coordination with the other parents. I’m afraid that’s going to be challenging… Moreover, our activities for the anniversary celebration are about to commence next week.
If we are to make any changes now, we may not have sufficient time for rehearsals. I can foresee that’s going to affect the performance…” He gave Roxanne the impression that her request would make things difficult for everyone.
After the subtle rejection, he asked with concern, “Is there any particular reason for you wanting to switch to another group?”
Since her request was going to make things difficult for others, Roxanne could not insist on it. She smiled in resignation and said, “In that case, don’t worry about it. We’ll leave it as it is.”
Almost immediately, Jeffrey replied, “Thank you for your understanding, Ms. Jarvis. If there’s nothing else, I’ll end this call with you. Other parents are trying to reach me as well, so I’ll have to get back to them.”
He was in a hurry to hang up, seemingly worried that Roxanne would change her mind.
After ending the call with Jeffrey, Roxanne stared blankly at the crumpled piece of paper with the words Sleeping Beauty on it.
The two boys noticed her reaction and gingerly called out, “Mommy.”
Roxanne looked at them with downcast eyes. Seeing that their mom seemed disheartened, the boys anxiously asked, “Mommy, you don’t like that play?”
She nodded, which aroused the curiosity in the boys.
“Why? Is it a terrible story? Can you tell us that story?” they asked.
Roxanne frowned slightly and bit her lips, feeling a little awkward. “I… I will tell you the story another day,” she finally replied.
She highly suspected she and Lucian would be given the lead roles for the play. Horrified by the idea of her being Sleeping Beauty with Lucian as her prince, she became despondent and was not in the mood for storytelling.
She prayed hard that the kindergarten would modify the story to cater to the audience of young kids.
Roxanne’s reaction triggered the interest of Archie and Benny in Sleeping Beauty. Aware that Roxanne was not keen to tell them, they decided not to pursue further. They merely asked, “Mommy, you’re still going to participate, right?”
Roxanne nodded with a heavy heart. She kept checking her phone to see if Pippa would provide more updates with regard to the script of the play.
After a few minutes, a notification came in. It was a message from Pippa in the group chat for parents.
Roxanne pursed her lips nervously and read the message.
Pippa had sent an attachment. It was the file that listed the participants in each group and their respective plays.
Ms. Raranne Jarvis and Mr. Lucian Farwell will be doing Sleeping Beauty.
The other plays were also fairy tales, such as The Little Match Girl and Little Red Riding Hood. It was obvious the kindergarten had made conscious efforts to choose stories with varied themes.
li was just unfortunate for Roxanne that she got a love story.
Roxanne was troubled. She stole a look at her boys and secretly bemoaned her bad luck for having gotten Sleeping Beauty as their play.
Another message from Pippa came in: Dear parents, please join us for a meeting at the kindergarten tomorrow to discuss the script for the plays.
The other parents started replying to Pippa’s message to confirm their attendance.
Although she was feeling dispirited, Roxanne obligingly replied: Noted. I’ll be there. Noted.
The next message that came in immediately after Roxanne’s reply was Lucian’s short one-word reply. Although his reply was curt, it attracted lots of attention as he almost never responded to messages in the group chat previously.
A curious parent wrote: Are you joining us in the anniversary celebration activities this year, Mr. Farwell? Which play are you in, and who is your partner?
That parent even tagged Lucian in the message.
Sleeping Beauty, with Ms. Jarvis. Lucian replied and tagged Roxanne in his reply. His reply caused quite a stir within the group, given that he was usually a group chat ghost.
Roxanne was about to move on when she saw the tag notification. Surprised, she went back into the group chat and read Lucian’s reply.
There was a long period of silence after Lucian’s reply, and the active exchange in that group suddenly died down. Roxanne had no idea if the other parents were too stunned by Lucian’s involvement or if they were waiting for her reply.
She stared at Lucian’s message for a long time, frowning slightly as she speculated on Lucian’s intention. Troubled and confused, she finally decided not to pay attention to that group chat and went offline.
Archie and Benny were quietly sitting next to Roxanne, observing her. They became anxious when they detected her mood change, worried that she would decide to withdraw from the play.
“We’re sleepy, Mommy. Can we go back to our room?” The boys pretended to yawn while they secretly watched for Roxanne’s reaction.
Roxanne’s mind stopped wandering, and her attention was successfully directed back to the boys. She rubbed their heads lovingly and said, “Sure. Let’s have an early night. Mommy will send you to school tomorrow.”
The boys’ eyes lit up upon hearing that, and they excitedly nodded their heads.
Roxanne put on a forced smile, brought the kids to their room, and tucked them in.
After she left and the boys heard her closing the door to her room, they cautiously opened their eyes and sat up in their beds.
“Archie, do you know the story about Sleeping Beauty?” Benny stared at Archie in the dark and asked, curious.
The boys had noticed Roxanne’s mood changes throughout the evening.
When she heard they were in the same group as Lucian, she was a little apprehensive but accepted without complaints.
However, after realizing the play they were going to do was Sleeping Beauty, Roxanne became visibly troubled.
Moreover, she refused to tell them the storyline.
Archie thought about it briefly and climbed out of his bed. He turned on the computer and said, “We can go online to search for it!”
Benny’s eyes lit up and he hurried over to Archie’s side.
Archie quickly typed in the search word, and in no time, they found what they were looking for.
The two stared at the screen intently, reading about the story. At the end of the story, there was an illustration. Sleeping Beauty was lying in bed, dressed in a pretty gown, and the prince was bent over her, giving her a kiss.
The boys blinked their eyes as their little brains processed the information. They reckoned they had found the reason for Roxanne’s resistance to the play.
The boys knew Roxanne and Lucian would take the roles of Sleeping Beauty and the prince. Since she disliked him, she would definitely not want to be acting out that kissing scene with him,
The boys felt bad for Roxanne. They wanted her to participate in the play with them so Estella could get to spend time with her. However, they also understood her hesitation about being kissed by Lucian in the play.
Daddy and Mommy kissing…
The boys turned to look at one another, and their eyes sparkled with anticipation.
Although they did not really like Lucian, deep in their heart, they wished to see their family being united. They began to look forward to seeing their parents being together, especially their intimate interaction.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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