“That sounds like a movie-star name.”
I almost said, It’s not. It’s a tree name because my dad grew up in the Pacific Northwest and there was this huge old cedar tree in his yard and for some reason he thought that would be a great name for his first kid, boy or girl, and my mom liked it too, and he always joked that’s how he knew he’d found the right person. They fought sometimes but they were super in love, my parents. You could tell that in a lot of ways. They were the same height—my dad was short and my mom was tall—and whenever they dressed up and went out, he never cared at all whether she wore heels or not, whether she was taller than he was or not, even though that was one of those things people seemed to think they should care about. Without her heels they could stand together and they were exactly the same height. Nose to nose. Eye to eye.
“I am a movie star.” I didn’t know why I said that, when it was so obviously not true, but he grinned. When he did, his eyebrows went up in a very dramatic way, like a cartoon devil.
“A movie star,” he said. “Like Lisette Chamberlain.”
I knew right away who he meant. Lisette Chamberlain was the most famous person the town of Iron Creek had ever produced. She got her start at the Summerlost Festival and went on to star in soap operas and movies and then later died under mysterious and dramatic circumstances.
“What’s your name?” I asked.
“Leo Bishop,” he said.
“That’s a good name too.”
“I know,” he said. “Come on. Let’s go talk to my boss.”
9.
We parked our bikes out in front of the box office building, in the rack closest to the fountain. It had a pool with a geyserlike spray that went straight up, and then the water ran down like a waterfall over a pie-shaped wedge of concrete jutting out over another, lower pool. When we were kids we climbed back behind the waterfall, even though we knew we could get in trouble for it.
Leo took me around to the concessions building, which was half timbered and pretend-old-looking, like the theater.
Once we were inside, Leo introduced me to his boss, Gary, and told him that I wanted a job.
“The season has already started,” Gary said.
“But we could use a few more people,” Leo said. “Especially since Annie quit last week.”
“Have you worked anywhere before?” Gary asked me.
“No,” I said, “but I babysit a lot. And I have good grades at school. I’m very responsible.” A couple of girls about my age stood watching me. I felt dumb.
Gary looked at my feet and said, “No flip-flops. Never again. Can you get some sandals by tonight?”
“Sure,” I said. I had a pair of leather sandals at home that looked like the ones some of the other girls were wearing.
People milled around the room, all wearing peasant costumes. I saw some older people too, around my grandma’s age. They were the volunteer ushers, who gave directions and instructions and helped people find their seats in the theater.
“You can train today and tonight,” Gary said, “and then start tomorrow. Your mom will need to sign this because you’re not sixteen. Bring it back with you tonight.” He handed me a form and I nodded. I wondered what my mom would say. Would she agree to this? What was I thinking?
“You work from one to three in the afternoon and from six to eight thirty at night,” Gary said. “Every day but Sunday. You’re here to sell concessions before the matinees and evening performances start, and during the Greenshow. Then you come back and help clean up afterward. Payday is every other Friday.”
“Okay,” I said.
“Lindy,” he said to one of the older ladies. “Can you go to the costume shop and ask Meg if we have anything that will fit?”
Lindy nodded and left.
“I’ll have you shadow Leo today,” Gary said. “He’ll show you what to do. Do you have any questions?”
“I guess I have one,” I said. “What do I . . . concess?”
Behind Gary I saw Leo grin again.
“We’ll assign you something later,” Gary said. “For now, learn from Leo.”
A few minutes later Lindy came back with a peasant skirt and blouse. The blouse was white with ties at the neck. The skirt had flowers on it. They both looked big.
“It’s the smallest one they had,” Lindy told me.
I ducked into the employee bathroom to get dressed and I pulled out my ponytail because I’d noticed the other girls all had their hair down. I left my shorts on under the skirt but I balled up my T-shirt and put it on a chair in the bathroom, hoping no one would take it.