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During the revision process, my editor asked me to add a prologue that would show Lettie and Bill as children. She wanted a scene that would set the future in motion and tie the book together. I wrote the scene below and loved it. Then we went to a second set of revisions, and she gave me a compliment that managed to make me feel good and bad at the same time. Our conversation went something like this:
"You're going to kill me," she said.
I didn't even blink. I knew what was coming. "You're cutting that prologue, aren't you?"
"We added it to pull the book together and set the future in motion. But after your latest revisions, you did that so well throughout the rest of the book that the prologue is no longer necessary."
I told her it wasn't a problem. It's her job to make the book better, and she's very good at her job. If she believed the prologue wasn't needed, I believed her. But I LOVED that prologue.
"Can I put it on my website with other deleted scenes?" I asked. (So shoot me-I fall in love with scenes. To remove one that I've really gotten attached to is tough.)
"Sure," she said. "In fact, that's a great idea!"
Hallelujah! My scene would stay, even if it didn't make the final cut of the book. And you can read about Lettie and Bill's first meeting here...
Prologue
Bill Brannon and every other ten-year-old in the town of Sheldon had eagerly watched Haley's Comet pass through the sky last year. Their science teacher told them that the event only occurred every seventy-five years, and they sure didn't want to miss the show. Now they were gathered again for another interesting anomaly...
A new girl at school.
Not a lot of people moved to Sheldon, Georgia. In fact, Bill's mother swore everyone who'd been born here spent the majority of their lives trying to get out. This may have been the reason the fifth graders of Sheldon Elementary hadn't had a new student join their ranks since they started first grade. But they were getting one today. A girl. And a pretty girl too, according to Stan Jenkins.
"She here yet?" Stan asked, nudging his way into the shoulder-to-shoulder group peering out the filmy class windows.
"Not yet," Bill said.
"Why'd they move here?" Rex Thornton asked, and the responding shrugs and mumbled "Dunno's" seemed to echo Bill's mother's sentiment.
Why would anyone move to Sheldon?
"Her mother's name is Wanda, and she got a job cutting hair at the beauty shop," Emily Moulton responded from her desk. "She looks like Farrah Fawcett, and she did my mama's hair on Saturday. She's pretty good." Emily twisted in her chair. "My mama said the girl's name is Lettie. You're gonna scare her to death staring out the window like that when she comes."
"Strange name," Rhoda Bomart said, straightening her books and looking bored at the current discussion.
"You've gotta be kidding," Emily said. "You're gonna say she's got a weird name, when yours is Rhododendron?"
"It's a flower," Rhoda countered.
"It's a tree," Emily fired back.
"Well, at least it's something," Rhoda said. "What's a Lettie?"
"It's her name," Emily snapped.
"Mind your own bee's wax. Both of you," Rex said, then turned back to the chore at hand. "Reckon the girl looks like Farrah Fawcett too?"
"Hey, I don't know that car." Stan pointed toward the street. "That's gotta be her."
The station wagon had wood panels on the side and rattled loud enough to be heard in spite of the closed school windows. A woman with a green scarf tied around her head and bright red lips steered the vehicle forward, then came to a stop at the sidewalk. She checked her reflection in the mirror, while the back door to the wagon opened and the prettiest girl Bill had ever seen climbed out.
Her hair was so blond it was nearly white, and curled in waves past her shoulders. She wore a white t-shirt, hot pink shorts and white tennis shoes. In Bill's opinion, she looked like one of those teenage models on the front of his big sister's Seventeen magazines. A picture of the "All-American Girl". Blond hair. Full lips, shiny with that lip gloss stuff his sister Ginny always kept by the sink at home. And big, bright eyes. Bill bet they were green. She just looked like a girl who'd have big, green eyes.
She stood by the car and faced the old brick building composing Sheldon Elementary, then visibly took a big breath and let it out.
"She does look like Farrah Fawcett," Rex said.
"The mama?" Stan asked.
"The girl," Rex corrected.
No, Bill thought, she's prettier. He pressed his nose against the cool glass.
Her big eyes widened toward the school, then focused on the row of windows where the majority of the fifth grade gawked.
"She sees us," Stan said. He hurried away from the window and nearly toppled his chair with his rapid retreat. The metal legs scraped against the floor as he scooted it back into place.
The remainder of the kids followed suit, except for Bill. He kept staring, with the intention of waving when he got her attention again. But before he had the chance, the woman behind the wheel revved up the engine, and Lettie Campbell spun on her heel.
She hurried to the car, opened the back door and leaned in, where a little girl with dark pigtails sat crying in the back seat.
Bill hadn't even noticed the other girl before, but then again he'd been focused on Lettie Campbell.
The little girl reached toward Lettie and continued to cry. Lettie hugged her, kissed her cheek, then eased out of the car. Her fingertips stretched to maintain contact with the little girl's hand, until she finally had to let go.
As soon as she shut the door, her mother punched the gas and peeled away, while the girl's tiny hand pressed against the rear window. A foggy, misshaped blob formed against the glass from the warmth of the little fingers against the cool window.
"Is she coming in?" Stan asked from his chair.
Bill nodded, then waited for the car to exit the parking lot and for Lettie Campbell to turn around.
She did. And imprinted an image on his mind that would last a lifetime.
Her shoulders lifted as she clutched her pink book bag against her chest and stared at the building ahead. She took one step, then turned, looking toward the street where the car disappeared.
The book bag slipped a little as Lettie brushed a long lock of blond hair from her eyes. Then she examined the building, specifically the window where Bill stood. Her eyes met his, stayed there for a moment then moved back to the entrance.
Mesmerized, Bill watched her draw a breath and walk in. Then he left the window and sat at his desk.
How would she handle her first day?
In a few seconds, he found out. The classroom door opened, and a beautiful girl sashayed in with a smile in place and attitude. Her hair bounced against her back as she made her way to the teacher's desk, introduced herself and then turned to face the group.
"Class, I'd like you to meet our new student, Collette Campbell," Mrs. Langley said. "We're glad you're here, Collette."
"Lettie," she corrected with a smile. "I go by Lettie."
"All right. Lettie it is," Mrs. Langley continued, then steered her toward a seat.
Lettie Campbell sat down, unpacked her things, and immediately started winning the hearts of Sheldon's fifth grade with her sassy wit and charm. Even Rhoda Bomart was hanging on her every word in nothing flat, particularly when Lettie offered to share her glittery pink pencils.
But Bill Brannon had seen what the remainder of his class hadn't. Sure, he could tell she was destined for popularity from day one, destined to make her mark on Sheldon and make it good. However, he'd also seen more. Much more. Because when Lettie Campbell gathered her strength on that sidewalk, then casually flipped her hair away, Bill had seen what Lettie hid in the simple gesture. She'd brushed more than hair from her eyes.
Lettie had wiped away her tears.
So while the rest of the class welcomed her movie star smile and contagious laugh, Bill waited.
Eventually, the kids returned to their desks, Mrs. Langley started her lesson, and Lettie Campbell turned toward the boy who'd watched her from the window. Then she met his eyes once again and gave him...a real smile.
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