, I could just do nothing.Being in "Oliver Twist" was fun, for the most part, but as is with any other endeavor, it was not without it's snags. The script called for me to hit Oliver with a wooden spoon, yell at the other children, and kiss Mr. Bumble. As soon as I learned of this, I had to find out who was playing those other roles. After all, I wasn't too keen on hitting anyone, yelling didn't come naturally to me, and kissing was absolutely not happening.David Burns, a pudgy fifth grader with permanently squinted eyes and a splash of freckles on his face, was playing Oliver. He had acted in a few other plays, and he was most often seen strutting around, talking to the other "seasoned actors" like he was the king of some large country who was debating when to have his next extravagant party. In the role of Mr. Bumble was Lucas Willey, an eighth grader who was the son of a preacher. He was a good six inches taller than me, and when he was in costume (which was stuffed to make his character look large and add to his pompousness) he was a good six inches wider than me. Lucas always smiled when he wasn't onstage; a smile that added to his handsome, country-boy look.I soon got over my inhibitions.Lucas and I had talked to our directors, who had decided that there would not be an actual kiss onstage, but that we would have to get very close and Lucas would make a loud, comical kiss noise. That was decent. I learned how to project my voice so that it seemed like I was yelling, but it took half the actual energy. And I soon grew tired of David flouncing around, saying things like, "I'm Oliver Twist! I'm the main character! I'm going to et most of the applause!" So, eventually, hitting him became second nature, and I even enjoyed it.As the autumn foliage fell and was covered by a blanket of icy-white snow, which was finally melting by the time April rolled around, we practiced three times a week. But the month of April was entire...
