Emily Meisenbach
from Unseen Character
(The silhouette of a girl can be made out through the curtain in the portiere.)
I am so pleased to receive the senior superlative of Best Dressed Girl at Soldan High! I heard it was between me and Daphne Moriarty. Now, she does dress well, but I notice she repeats a lot of outfits. I try not to repeat. I dare say I never want to be known as a repeat offender. I try to change my embellishments. For instance, I wore this dress in April, but I wore a different belt, different shoes, different jewelry. Even wore my hair differently. Why, I even wore a different style of underwear back then in April!
Not only did I get Best Dressed, but Jim got Most Talented. Did you see him in the choir showcase? What a presence on stage he has. Love listening to him sing those songs!
I thought he was even better in the showcase than he was in The Pirates of Penzance. And he was wonderful in Penzance! He is a natural-born entertainer. He entertains me all the time!
First day I met him, he asked me where I was from. And I told him, “Independence, Missouri.” He thought I said, “In the penance misery.” And he told me, “I’ve never met anybody from In the Penance, Misery.” He said, “You must have a lot of sinning you need to be forgiven for!” Isn’t that just too much?
Did you get anything, Laura? Did you get any awards? I reckon not. Not with one leg being shorter than the other. Do you look at that as one leg is shorter or one leg is longer?
(EMILY kicks one of her shoes off.)
See, I have a pinky toe that is longer than the other pinky toe. See, one is slightly longer than the other. But the difference between you and me is that I don’t let it get to me. I cannot let a silly thing like the size of my pinky toes get me down.
You let things get you down. You wear disappointment on your body, on your sleeve, on your face, and in your eyes. You carry disappointment around with you. It’s a problem. Don’t you think? You probably won’t meet a boy at college if you keep wearing disappointment around so prominently.
What if you were in line at the bank and you hung your head like you are hanging it now? I don’t think anyone would notice that you have a pretty face. I mean, it’s not like you’re a model or an actress. But you are pretty to look at. Especially when you just sit still.
You look like a doll on a shelf. You look like a genuine porcelain doll. Placed high on a shelf, so high you’re out of reach. 
Contributor’s
notes
Unseen Character Suite: Introduction and Menu