Ablaze!

I swung the schoolyard door open at arrival time and children clamored into the building with a swirl of cold air and flurry of voices – snippets of conversation. They dispersed to their classrooms and the remaining stragglers passed through, heading to class. I recognized one of my own second graders in the mix.

“Good morning!” she beamed, flashing me a dazzling smile as she swept by.

“Good morning, A–” I did a double take.

Her cherub face was”enhanced” by a brazen smear of fire-engine red lipstick, mostly on the lips, likely done en-route to school on the bus from the look of it.

She cheered once more from the hallway,

“See you later!”

“Oh, my – so……glamorous!” I blurted, regaining my countenance.

Later that afternoon, my second grade writers assembled to give their culminating presentations as “experts” on a non-fiction topic of their choice. Her report was on “How to Sing for an Audience,” and it was doubly captivating for the ruby red lips and her flair for drama. She fleshed out her theme with chapters on microphones, voice, and confidence, and in the Q and A session afterward, she let us know that her current favorite number is “Girl is on Fire,” by Alicia Keys.

I have to admit, she kind of was.

Her charisma and, well – her accessorizing were perfectly mesmerizing. She had this audience in the palm of her hand from the start.

I have no idea if the lipstick has been under her mask for all these months, or whether it was a special prop for today. Either way, she was just what she was hoping to be.

She was on fire.