Characters
ELLIE
AMIR: a friend
MRS. ROGAN
Act I
[Early evening. The kitchen at the Rogan house. Ellie and Mrs. Rogan are eating dinner at the table.]
MRS. ROGAN: What time do we have to be at the book store tomorrow morning?
ELLIE: Nine o’clock sharp. If we’re late, we’ll have to wait in a long line and I might never get to the table to see Mara Mason.
MRS. ROGAN: I know, honey. After all, the early bird gets the worm. Right? [Mrs. Rogan and Ellie both smile just as the phone begins to ring.]
ELLIE: [answering the phone] Hello?
AMIR: [speaking to Ellie from his own home phone] Hi, Ellie, it’s Amir. I’m just checking to see what time you’re picking me up for the book signing.
ELLIE: Well, we need to be there at nine, so how about we get you at eight-thirty?
AMIR: Great! Are you excited about seeing our favorite author of all time?!
ELLIE: Are you kidding? I’ve been waiting for this day all month! I even hung up the flyer in my bedroom so that it’s the first thing I see when I wake up every day.
AMIR: Me, too! I’m going to have Mara Mason sign all my books tomorrow. I can’t wait! Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow.
Act II
[The next morning. Mrs. Rogan’s car. Mrs. Rogan is driving Ellie and Amir to the book store. They are happily flipping through their collection of Mara Mason books.]
MRS. ROGAN: [laughing] I see you both remembered to bring your books to be signed
today. Do you know what you’re going to ask her when you get to the table?
ELLIE and AMIR: [replying together] When will your next book be out?
AMIR: [looking at Ellie] Great minds think alike! [The two friends break into laughter.]
[Mrs. Rogan pulls into the parking lot. All three get quiet as they look out the windows.]
ELLIE: Where is everyone? I don’t understand. The parking lot should be packed.
[Mrs. Rogan notices the flyer for the book signing in the front passenger seat. She picks it up and scans it quickly, then sighs.]
MRS. ROGAN: Uh-oh.
ELLIE: [starting to panic] What is it, Mom? Did I get the time wrong?
MRS. ROGAN: [sighing again] No, the book store opens at nine o’clock for the book signing, but it says here that it’s tomorrow, not today.
[Mrs. Rogan leans over to show the kids the flyer. It says SUNDAY in big letters.]
AMIR: [throwing his arms up] How on Earth could we have missed that? I mean, it’s in big, bold letters!
ELLIE: [shaking her head with wide eyes] I must have looked at that flyer a million times this past month.
AMIR: I guess we didn’t really look at it at all though, did we?
MRS. ROGAN: Oh, don’t be so hard on yourselves. You live, you learn. Now you know the importance of reading information carefully. Besides, we can come back tomorrow.
AMIR: [suddenly perking up] And there is that new book out in the Windswept series by Yuri Bantam. Remember, Ellie? I think it goes on sale today!
ELLIE: You’re right! Mom, can we go in and see it?
[Mrs. Rogan laughs and turns off the car as Ellie and Amir begin to talk about the books that Yuri Bantam has written.]
