Priya was sixteen, and she worked backstage at the city theater. She swept the stage and watched every rehearsal. She knew the whole play by heart.
On opening night, ten minutes before the curtain, the young star, Camille, lost her voice. She could only whisper. The understudy was in the hospital, and six hundred people were in their seats. "We must cancel," said the director, Madame Vega. In the wings, Priya was saying the first line to herself. Madame Vega turned around. "Do you know the part?" "Every word," said Priya.
She walked into the light with shaking knees, and her voice grew strong. At the end, the audience stood up and clapped. Backstage, Madame Vega took her hand. "When I was your age, I was a girl with a broom in these same wings."
