Page 26 of Kiss Me at Christmas
“What’s in it for us?” asked Billy.
Good question.
“Well,” Ali chimed in. “You’re all starting your Extended Project Qualification soon, so maybe there’s a way you could use the experience to earn some marks toward it?” He looked at Harriet and smiled warmly.And that is why I flapping love you!she thought. EPQs wereaccepted grade currency for universities, colleges, and workplaces, and they were a great way to bump up a shortfall in exam results. The promise got the famous five’s attention.
“That is a brilliant idea!” she said. “I’ll speak to the coordinators; we’d just need to tweak your existing proposals to focus your projects through a theatrical lens. Billy, your proposal was a study of Irvine Welsh, so it wouldn’t be a stretch to make it a compare and contrast between the worlds created by Welsh and Dickens. Carly, yours is about social politics, so that’s an easy fix, either switch it to Dickensian social politics or compare it like we did at the theater, with today’s cost-of-living crisis and wealth inequality. Leo, I’m not sure how we’ll make your dissertation on Edvard Munch work off the top of my head, but we’ll find a way…”
“He designed the sets for Ibsen’sGhostsplay,” said Ali. All eyes swiveled in his direction. He shrugged. “I have a master’s in art history. Among others.”
“Good lord,” Harriet said, impressed. “Well, there’s your connection, Leo.”
“How many degrees have you got?” asked Billy.
“Five,” said Ali proudly. “Two bachelor of arts degrees, plus the two master’s and a PhD.”
“You’re overqualified, mate.”
Ali looked crestfallen. Harriet would massage his ego later.
“I hadn’t thought about my EPQ yet, so I could make it about the process of putting on a stage play?” Ricco suggested.
“Perfect!” Harriet felt the familiar teaching endorphins zipping through her. “It could be a study of bringing a classic novel to life on the stage and why the old stories still resonate today.”
“Bloody hell, miss, did you just come up with that?” asked Carly.
Harriet grinned at her.
“Do me next,” said Isabel, who had her legs draped across Billy in a clumsy attempt at flirting, about which Billy seemed none the wiser.
“Okay, your idea was…” She ran through the many proposals she’d had dropped on her desk for perusal before they reached Cornell.Ah there it is, how could I forget!“ ‘Is Barbie a Feminist Icon?’ ”
Billy spluttered derisively, but Isabel ignored him and nodded expectantly.
“Maybe we could tweak it so…”Come on, brain, don’t fail me now!“What about ‘Does Dickens Write Feminist Characters inA Christmas Carol’?”
Isabel side-eyed her. “Where’s Barbie?”
“I can’t fit Barbie into Victorian England off the top of my head, but if you can find a way, write a proposal and I’ll happily consider it. So, are we all agreed that we will put on a stage production ofA Christmas Carol?”
“Will you go to prison if we say no?” asked Billy.
“I’d like to think not.” Though she wouldn’t rule anything out where Evaline Winter was concerned. “But it would make my life a lot easier if you agreed. And…” She left it a beat. “You are the reason I got caught up in this mess in the first place. Plus, using it as experience for your EPQs will legitimize your being at the theater, and therefore your parents and guardians are less likely to ask why you are suddenly spending your free time there.”
“So the old woman corners you and then you corner us,” said Carly.
“Pretty much.”
“All right,” said Billy. “If we earn credits toward our EPQs, I’m in.”
Harriet felt a wave of relief. “Great!”
“We’re going to need way more people,” said Carly matter-of-factly. “We don’t even have enough for the cast, let alone stage management.”
This is progress. We’re talking about logistics.Harriet felt…excited?
“I could possibly help you there,” said Ali. “My aunt Prescilla is part of an amateur dramatics group in Great Foss, they might be willing to get on board. Or at least give you some pointers.”
“You are just full of surprises!” Harriet laughed. “That would be great. Would you mind asking her for me?”
