After her last class Trevor met Lolly at her locker. He gave her a quizzical look and asked, “I just heard your mom was on Police Woman last night. Is that true?”


    Lolly nodded.


    “Gosh, I wish I could''ve seen her." Lolly was thankful he hadn''t. He asked, “Why didn’t you tell me?”


    Well, that was a sticky question. Really, she hadn’t told Trevor much about her mom at all. What to say? “Uh, her scenes get cut sometimes. We''re never sure.”


    “You mean your mom has been on other shows?"


    "Yeah. She''s and extra a lot. She does some plays too."


    "Wow that''s really cool." Was it? Really? He put his arm around her and they headed for the cafeteria.


    In the cafeteria, near the cash register, Munch stood with Mitzi. She was playing her role as his assistant. Even though she couldn’t write very many words she had a clip board and a big pencil. Strapped to her back was Puccini. He was once again and only bear. Pepperoni had been donated to the Salvation Army. When Mitzi saw Lolly and Trevor she gave them a big smile. The kid was so happy. Munch waved them over. He looked nervous.


    Once all the models had arrived, Munch asked everyone to gather around him. He pointed at the floor "See this masking tape on the floor. It marks off the boundaries of our runway. It starts here and loops back by the snack bar. When you reach the snack bar you will spin and as soon as the next model comes forward you will walk back down the run way.” He turned to Mitzi and said, “Honey, lets show ''um how its done.”


    Mitzi put her clip board down on a table. A scrawny boy named Travis sat near the runway with his eight track tape deck with speakers. Mitzi stepped up to the starting line. In less than a second Mitzi transformed herself. That little girl’s presence was always large but somehow in this moment, she made it even bigger. She raised a small hand and said, “Now watch me carefully.” She stepped onto the runway like she was a professional model. Munch queued the music. Travis hit the button and Etta James'' voice blasted through the speakers singing, "Trust in me, in all you do/Have the faith I have in you."* Mitzi stared straight ahead and then she WALKED. She placed one foot in front of the other while at the same time she managed to make her dress swing.The look on her face was the same look she wore when she danced. Somehow she made her little legs look long. It was some kind of magic. When she reached the end of the runway she spun. Munch stepped forward and in tandem they walked from opposite sides in time to the music. It was really amazing to watch. How did they do it?


    After the demonstration, Munch lined his models up. Theater kids first, Max, Grandma Toady, Kevin, Estelle, Jake, Lisa, Lolly, Trevor and then Mitzi. When it was Lolly’s turn to walk, She felt faint. They were supposed to have the runway on the auditorium stage, but for reasons unexplained, the runway had been relegated to the cafeteria. Even though Munch deserved to have his clothes showcased on a real stage, Lolly was grateful they wouldn''t be. It was bad of her and she knew it. Still, that masking tape runway was intimidating enough. A stage would have been TOO much! Etta James sang out, “You better stop your stallin’ (roll on, roll on)”** Lolly stepped onto the runway. Everything went white. It was weird. Was she not getting enough oxygen? She took in several slow breaths as she tried to keep time with Etta. Finally, she reached the end of the tape. She did a wobbly turn and looked down the runway. It was so LONG! And then, she saw Trevor. He was smiling. He gave her a thumbs up sign and they headed towards each other. Having Trevor to look at made the walk so much easier. When they passed each other he winked at her.


    After ten run throughs, Munch realized his cadre of models, with the exception of Mitzi, weren’t ever going to master the walk. The best he could hope for was that no one tripped or fell. Lolly gave him a hug before she left. She told him, "No matter what. The clothes are awesome and people are going to be impressed."


    He nodded, but he didn''t seem convinced.


    *


    Lolly stared at herself in the restroom mirror. The lavender dress Munch had made for her was beautiful. Aunt Jessie had put pale purple eyeshadow on her, a touch of blush and some lip gloss. Lolly tried to smile at her reflection, but she was too nervous. Behind her, Aunt Jessie said, "You look beautiful." With all her heart Lolly wished she felt beautiful. When she and Aunt Jessie stepped out into the hall. Trevor was headed for the boy''s restroom with his suit. He stopped when he saw Lolly. His eyes filled with something she couldn’t name. He gave her a gentle kiss on the cheek and said, “You look amazing.”Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    "I do?"


    "Yup. I gotta go get this suit on.” He pushed open the boys'' restroom door.


    Lolly and Aunt Jessie headed for the cafeteria. Wearing a lime green tuxedo, Munch motioned for her to join him. He was starting to line people up. Lolly’s mouth suddenly went dry, her throat went dry and her stomach felt like she would hurl any second. This was NOT good! Munch would never forgive her if she threw up on this beautiful dress.


    When the prelude music started up, Trevor ran to his place. He looked gorgeous in his suit. On him, it didn''t look like a a pimp suit at all. One by one, Munch did a quick check on each model. When he reached Lolly, He said, "Perfect." He gave her a nervous smile and moved on to Trevor. Mitzi spun for him.


    Mademoiselle Petite went to the podium and picked up the mic. "Ladies and Gentlemen welcome to this year''s Art and Fashion show. I would like to introduce you to our own talented artist and fashion designer, Michael Dutchendorph." There was loud applause. Mademoiselle Petite handed the mic off to Munch.


    Trembling Munch stood before the audience. Lolly hadn''t expected him to be this nervous. Into the mic he said, "I dedicate my collection to my mom. She is best." His voice broke a bit as he concluded, "I love Mama." He turned back to look at her.


    Tears stood in Estelle''s eyes. She mouthed, I love you too.


    Munch said, "Now for the show!" He pointed at Travis. Etta James voice filled the cafeteria. Lolly''s stomach dropped all the way down to her pretty lavender shoes. She was going to start hyperventilating at any moment. Terrified she couldn''t even watch the models go down the runway, Each one that did was bringing her one step closer to having to do it HERSELF. This was such a bad idea, it had always been a bad idea. She sincerely felt like she was going to puke or faint. A part of her hoped she would faint, not puke, so she would NOT have to do this. Behind her, Trevor asked, "Are you okay?"


    "No."


    She felt his hand slip through hers. It was warm. Both her hands were ice cold. He said, "You are going to be fine. Now watch. Max is fixing to go. My sister is in the audience, I hope he''s going to be okay."


    This brought Lolly right out of her own panic. Poor Max. She hoped he would be okay. He still hadn''t gotten over Amber. Max strutted down the runway with confidence. He kept his eyes straight ahead. When he turned, he had a big grin on his face. He was going to be okay.


    Grandma Toady went next. She walked straight and tall. The gauze dress was gorgeous. As soon as Kevin hit the runway he turned pink and he just got pinker as he walked. By the time he made it all the way back he was beet red and he didn’t seem to be breathing properly. When he passed Lolly he said, "Thank the Lord above that is over. I ain''t never gonna do that again." Lolly nodded. She understood the sentiment. Estelle stepped onto the runway. Since her dress had originally been for Aunt Jessie it was kinda flashy. Though Trevor still had Lilly''s hand in his, she couldn''t feel it any more. All she felt was terror. What if she tripped, what if she looked stupid, what if she threw up on the run way? Lolly didn''t see Jake go, but she saw Lisa. She was so beautiful. Her long hair flowed behind her. Lisa turned. It was almost time.


    Trevor released Lolly''s hand. She stepped onto the taped line and looked out into the audience. Oh, God, there were more people than she thought. In the front row, she saw Uncle Luke with a movie camera. Aunt Jessie was beside him with a Polaroid camera. They both waved at her and smiled. She gave a little wave. Her knees felt like they were going to give way, but she forced herself walk anyway. Breathe, just breathe. One step, one breath at a time, she made her way down. She turned to head back. There was Trevor coming toward her. He smiled, that smile. This walk was almost over, Just a few more seconds and she would be DONE. She kept her eyes forward. Finally, she crossed over the tape. SHE HAD DONE IT AND SHE WAS STILL ALIVE!


    Mitzi said, "You did good!"


    "Thank you!" Lolly wanted to hug her but she knew better. Mitzi wouldn''t want her to muss her dress. Lolly went back to her place in line and watched Trevor. He had a big grin on his face. He was actually enjoying this. When he passed his dad and Amber he waved. His mom wasn''t there.


    The music slipped into the final song. As soon as Trevor exited the runway, Mitzi stepped up to it. Every sequin on her dress sparkled. Puccini was cradled in her arm. He was wearing a tiny red bow tie and a perfect little suit. Etta James began to sing, “At last my love has come along...” In perfect time to the music, Mitzi took her steps. Her face was sober, but her eyes were dancing with delight.The fringe on her red dress swayed as she walked. Lolly glanced at Aunt Jessie and Uncle Luke, they were both filming their girl. Happiness bubbled up inside of her. She was so thankful she had found the guts to do this and that she got to be in this moment with the people she loved most. When Mitzi reached the end of the run way, she twirled and she and Puccini took a bow. The crowd erupted in applause.


    As soon as the applause died down, Mademoiselle Petite brought Munch onto the runway. The look of pride and pleasure on his face was so good to see. To think, that no one, not even his best friend, had wanted to be in this show. Next year, Lolly was sure people would be begging to be in his show. The models came out and stood in a line behind Munch. He bowed and the crowd gave him a standing ovation. Munch, who was never at a loss for words, stood for several moments in amazed silence. Finally he managed to say, "Thank you all so much." He took a bow.


    Estelle broke out of line and went to him. "You did it baby."


    Indeed Munch had done it.