Roland’s Stage Shoe

Roland and Ada get ready for a school play. Roland brings a pair of brown shoes to wear with his costume.

He leaves them beside the bench while he hangs up his coat. When he turns back, he can see only one shoe.

Ada looks under the bench, but there is nothing there. Roland checks his bag and finds his lunch, not the missing shoe.

“It cannot have walked away,” says Ada. A quiet scrape comes from behind the curtain as someone moves a chair nearby.

Roland lifts the low edge of the curtain. His brown shoe is caught between the cloth and the foot of a chair.

He pulls it out and checks the soft heel. Ada moves the chair back so the curtain can hang freely again.

Roland puts both shoes in a cloth bag on the bench. “This pair can wait here until I need them,” he says.

When the teacher calls the group, Roland takes out the pair. This time, both shoes are together and he is ready to rehearse.