1 1 Male Actor: Daniel 6 Female Actors: Little Jackie Dorothy Lacy Suzy Angela Ancient One 2 or more Narrators: Guys or Girls Narrator : Dorothy continued to almost violently insist to Jackie that she best be staying away from her boyfriend, Daniel. Narrator : Dorothy also implied that she would cause physical harm to Jackie if she dared to show up at the party with Daniel. Narrator : Jackie vacillated between confronting Dorothy with courage and feeling victimized and doubtful of Daniel s fidelity all over again. Narrator : Thanks to the Ancient One, Jackie realized that she was viewing Daniel and Dorothy both through a set of worry glasses. Narrator : Read to find out what resulted when Jackie remembered to once again check her facts. Narrator : This is Chapter 1. It s called Another confrontation between Jackie and Dorothy. Narrator : Jackie went to school on Wednesday feeling much happier. Now she could tell Lacy and Suzy that she too would be at Eric s party. Narrator : Sure enough, Lacy came by and asked LACY: LACY: LACY: Hey, Jackie? Yeah, Lacy? Did Daniel ask you yet? He sure did. We plan to be at the party, too. That s good. It should be a lot of fun.
2 I know. I m really looking forward to it. Narrator : Later on that day, Suzy came sauntering by. She rather sarcastically asked: SUZY: So, do you know yet whether you re going to Eric s party? Yeah, Daniel and I decided to go. Narrator : With a knowing look, Suzy said: SUZY: It should be a very interesting party. Lots of fireworks! Narrator : Jackie had a feeling she knew what Suzy meant by that strange comment, but asked anyway: SUZY: What do you mean by that? Ohhhhhh, nothing! Narrator : Then, Suzy walked off, grinning mischievously. Narrator : On Thursday, Dorothy came stomping up to Jackie as she was walking from the gym to her homeroom. Narrator : Grabbing Jackie by the arm, Dorothy jerked her around. Then she snapped: DOROTHY: I thought I told you to stay away from my boyfriend! DOROTHY: That s a lie! Dorothy, Daniel told me that he had permanently broken up with you. Narrator : Trying hard to stay calm, Jackie said: I know it must hurt, and I m sorry. But Daniel said that he wants to be with me now. And as pretty as you are, you should be able to get a new boyfriend soon. Narrator : Dorothy was too upset to even acknowledge the compliment. Instead, she repeated: DOROTHY: Daniel is my boyfriend! Now if you know what s good for you, you better stay away!
3 Dorothy, why don t you talk to Daniel about all this instead of me? He s the one who can tell you whether or not he still wants to go out with you. DOROTHY: Maybe I will! Oh, Suzy told me you plan to be at Eric s party. Don t let me catch you anywhere near Daniel or someone just might get hurt! Narrator : Dorothy turned then and stomped away. Jackie watched her go, feeling rather scared and nervous. She thought: Does she mean to really try to beat me up, or is she just trying to scare me? I ll talk to Daniel about this tonight and see what he thinks. Narrator : At lunch, Jackie told Angela all about the conversation with Dorothy. Afterward, Angela said: ANGELA: ANGELA: ANGELA: ANGELA: Man! That Dorothy sounds like bad news. Are you gonna tell Daniel about this? Yes, I am. Do you still want to go to that party? I think I do. I don t like the idea of letting her chase me off; however, I certainly don t want to get beat up. I suppose Daniel could defend you. Yeah, but I don t want him to feel like he doesn t dare leave me alone for even a second for fear I ll get beat up. You re right. That wouldn t be too much fun. Narrator : Jackie found it very hard to concentrate the rest of that afternoon. Over and over, she wondered: Should I tell Daniel I don t want to go to the party after all, or should I take a chance and still go? Narrator : On the way to the bus, Dorothy grabbed her arm again, lied, and said: DOROTHY: Daniel said that he wants to get back together with me. He plans to take me to the party, too. He also said that he never wants to see you again. He thinks you re a real nerd and ugly, too! Narrator : Jackie had been trying hard to remain calm all week, but this was too much. Jackie yelled: That s a lie! I don t believe you at all. I bet you never even talked to him today. What s the matter? Are you too chicken to ask him whether he wants to still go out with you? DOROTHY: I am not chicken! I did ask him, and he told me that he s been missing me every day. He can t wait to go out with me again!
4 Yeah, right! Narrator : Jackie jerked her arm away and got on the bus. After calming down, she wondered if there was any truth in Dorothy s comments at all. She hoped not! Jackie said to herself: In any case, this is Thursday. Daniel always calls on Thursday. So I can ask him tonight. Or at least, I hope he calls. Narrator : This is Chapter 2. It s called, Jackie learns about worry glasses. Narrator : After getting home, Jackie decided to go take a walk. For as Jackie thought: I sure would like to be able to talk to the Ancient One again. I just hope I can remember where those woods are. Narrator : Thinking about the Ancient One and her strong need to talk to her, Jackie found herself coming to the outskirts of those woods. Jackie said to herself: Oh, good! I found them. Now, I think I remember where that special clearing is. I sure hope the Ancient One is there. I really need to talk to her! Narrator : Before she knew it, she found the clearing. And sitting in the middle of the clearing was the Ancient One. The Ancient One said: Illustrated by 6 th Grader T.J. Hutcheson ANCIENT ONE: Hello, Jackie! I heard you calling me, so here I am. Ancient One, I don t know how you do it, but I sure am glad to see you. I m feeling rather confused. Narrator : Jackie told the Ancient One all about what had been happening that week with Lacy, Suzy, Angela, Dorothy, and Daniel. The Ancient One said: ANCIENT ONE: My! My! You certainly have had an eventful week. So do you trust Daniel, or do you trust Dorothy? I trust Daniel,..., I think.
5 ANCIENT ONE: You think? Well, what if Dorothy is telling the truth? What if they really did get back together? ANCIENT ONE: Jackie, was she telling the truth earlier in the week when she said that she and Daniel were still going out? No, but.... ANCIENT ONE: But, what? Well, she s in the seventh grade, and so is he. That means that she has lots of chances to meet up with him and talk. I only get to see him now and again because my classes are in a different hallway. Narrator : The Ancient One gave Jackie a loving and compassionate stare. Then, she said: ANCIENT ONE: Jackie, it sounds like you have put on a strange pair of glasses with which to view Daniel with. What do you mean? I m wearing the same pair of glasses I always do. ANCIENT ONE: Are you seeing him clearly with those glasses? What do you mean? ANCIENT ONE: Have you ever heard the expression, You re seeing the world through rosecolored glasses? Narrator : The Ancient One nodded and said: Yes, I have. I think it means that everything looks good to you even it if might be bad. ANCIENT ONE: Yes, something like that. When you see the world through rose-colored glasses, so to speak, you view all people as being kind with good intentions. The world looks like a nicer place. Okay, I get that. But what are you saying about me? ANCIENT ONE: It sounds as if you are using a pair of worry glasses to view Daniel. Worry glasses?
6 ANCIENT ONE: Yes, until this week, you have seen Daniel clearly as being a nice young man who really likes and values you for being who you are. That s true. ANCIENT ONE: Then, Dorothy came along and told you several things that probably aren t true. Suddenly, you put on a pair of worry glasses and began to view Daniel as being a young man who would lie to you and purposely try to hurt you. Oh, I see what you mean. I guess I haven t been very fair to Daniel, have I? ANCIENT ONE: No, not this time. Now earlier in the week, you took your good friend Angela s advice and checked your facts. That was a wise thing to do. You found out that Dorothy had been lying to you or perhaps putting on the glasses of deception that causes her to even lie to herself. Okay, I get it. I need to check my facts again. Also, I d like very much for Daniel to tell Dorothy it is truly over so that she will leave me alone. ANCIENT ONE: Yes, it does seem that Daniel should take on that responsibility. Narrator : Jackie felt a bit calmer, but she was still worried. She said: Ancient One, I guess I still have on those worry glasses in a way. ANCIENT ONE: How is that? Well, I don t want to be beat up, and I don t like being threatened. I wonder if it would be wise for me to still go to the party? ANCIENT ONE: You indeed are wearing those worry glasses. One thing at a time. First, check your facts tonight with Daniel. Next, he can talk to Dorothy to let her know it is truly over between them. Then, the two of you together can decide by her reaction whether or not it is thereby safe for you to go to that party. Okay, I can do that. Narrator : The two of them sat together for a time. Then Jackie said: Ancient One, I don t get how Dorothy can be so mean?! She said some really terrible things to me. And Daniel broke up with her because she had done some mean things to him. Narrator : The Ancient One stared thoughtfully at Jackie. Finally, she said: ANCIENT ONE: Jackie, have you ever heard the expression, What goes around, comes around? I guess. ANCIENT ONE: The Bible has another way of putting it. It states that you always have to pay to the uttermost farthing for every wrong action you do.
Yeah, I seem to remember reading something like that. ANCIENT ONE: Jackie, it is not your place to judge Dorothy for her actions. She alone is responsible for her actions and will have to pay for them accordingly. All you can be responsible for is your actions. Is there anything that you did this week that could be improved upon? Narrator : Jackie stared off into the distance for a while. Finally, she said: Yeah, I guess there is. I could stop putting on those worry glasses every time somebody tells me a rumor or a piece of gossip. Also, I did yell at Dorothy this afternoon by the buses. I probably could have calmly told her that until I heard those words from Daniel himself, I didn t believe she was telling the truth. ANCIENT ONE: Excellent! Now you re on the right track. As long as you remember that when people appear to be acting mean in some way, they probably are wearing a strange pair of glasses that are clouding their vision in some way. So instead of judging them harshly, feel compassion for them. Treat them with great gentleness and make certain that the glasses with which you view the world are still clear. Wow! That really helps a lot. Thanks, Ancient One! ANCIENT ONE: You are quite welcome, Dear One. You still are extraordinary Jackie. And just remember, that even Dorothy is extraordinary, too. Okay, I will. Narrator : The two of them gave each other a hug. Then, Jackie turned and began walking home. Narrator : She could hardly wait for Daniel s phone call that night. Narrator : This is Chapter 3. It s called Jackie and Daniel talk about Dorothy. Narrator : At seven o clock, the phone rang. Waiting until after the second ring, Jackie answered: Hello? Jackie, it s Daniel. Hi, Daniel. Did you have a good day? Yeah, I did. What about you? Well, to tell you the truth, my day was rather strange. Did Dorothy ever come talk to you today by any chance? No, why? 7
Well, she came up to me twice today and told me that I better stay away from you as you two were still together. Oh, man! That s not true! Well, when she said that this morning, I told her to go check her facts with you. Then this afternoon, she came back and told me that you two were still together and that you never wanted to see me again and a bunch of other stuff. I hope you didn t believe her! Well, it did worry me a bit at first. But then I realized that even if you didn t want to see me anymore, you would tell me directly and not through a rumor. You re right about that. But I don t want to break up with you. You know, I m gonna call Dorothy tonight and tell her that she needs to leave you alone. I wish you would. Only, Daniel? Yes, Jackie? Be gentle with her. I think she s really hurting as she really likes you. Okay, I will. Can I call you back tonight and let you know how it goes? Yeah, I d like that a lot. Narrator : It was nearly an hour later before Daniel called back. He sounded exhausted but pleased when she answered the phone on the first ring. Jackie said: Hello? Jackie, it s Daniel. Phew! What a conversation, but it s gonna be okay now. Have you two been on the phone all this time? Yeah! I got her right away. She sounded really excited to hear from me. Then, I told her very clearly but kindly that I wouldn t have gotten back together with her even if you and I weren t dating. What did she say? She was really mad. I tried to help her understand that the reason I broke up with her before was because she had been rather mean to me and had a bad temper. I suggested that she should try to improve in both ways so that she wouldn t scare off her future boyfriends. How d she take it? Well, to tell you the truth, she started crying. That made me feel bad to have hurt her feelings, but I felt she needed to understand. We talked for a long time. 8
In the end, she told me that she would totally leave you alone, even at the party. She also understands that I never plan to date her again. Wow! Thanks for doing that, Daniel. I probably should have done it much earlier. I just didn t realize that she still thought we were together even though we never talked anymore. So, do you still want to go to the party with me? Yes, I do. Maybe Dorothy will find somebody nice at the party that she can date. You are such a special girl! I feel very lucky you re my girlfriend. Thanks, Daniel. I feel very lucky, too! Narrator : Jackie and Daniel ended up having a wonderful time at the party. Jackie was very glad she went. 9