***
I heard more OMGs than I had ever heard before when I walked into the backstage area. All the girls were coming up to admire my new, dark brown hair (except for Janet J, who had temporarily tinted her hair with a little gray so she would look older and look more like my mother). A few of the girls said, “Wow!” And one of the football player crew guys said, “Whoa… check out Norma L!” Both comments made me smile.
Mr. Spinoza gave us a big pep talk about how hard we had worked and how talented we were and how proud of us he was. Then Luke walked up to me, handed me a dozen red roses, and hugged me. He held on tight for a couple of seconds and whispered, “Good luck Norma L. I love you.”