Step Right Up to the Microphone

 The December 19, 2019,Carrot Ranch prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story that features an open mic night. Take a character backstage, on stage or into the deep woods. Go where the prompt leads!                                                                                                          Perhaps you recall Marlie and her Destiny doll? Joined by her friend Sofie for homeschooling, the pair has been researching migration. Their culminating activity became interactive for this Carrot Ranch prompt. 

Stepping Up

There was the butterfly garden, sod house, annotated maps, essays, and mock journals. Marlie and Sofie decided to share their migration research with an audience. That’s when Marlie became a stage manager as well as a key performer, for many of the invited family friends wanted to share a song or poem inspired by the topic. That’s why Marlie wrapped her Destiny doll in tinfoil until just the spiky hair on the top of her shorn head showed.

“You’ve got this.” Marlie handed Destiny to the nervous adults who climbed to the treefort stage. “Just speak into the microphone.”