Note: All text in brackets denotes stage directions.

[All lines delivered by Anna-Georgina Plume]

Audio diary of Dr. Anna-Georgina Plume, Assistant Professor of Architectural History at  Hollingsworth University. Recorded in my home office, formerly Classroom 1-A of Ellis Field  Elementary school. 

My mother brought over some files from the mid-90s, because there may be some information  about the school in them. I am currently reviewing the folder labeled December, 1995. For the  record, we’ve come full circle, because I was in 1st grade at the time. I was a student in this very  classroom. 

[As Anna-Georgina reviews these papers, you hear papers rustling]

Okay, so… first we have my old school journal. Nothing profound here, I was turning 7. Let’s  see “Josh has brown hair. Nadine sings funny songs. George has cold hands. Mrs Green never  yells.” Yep. I was a prodigy, folks. Though this is a real walk down memory lane . I think Josh  

now sells insurance, and Nadine has a yoga blog and a young daughter who plays the violin. Mrs  Green was my first grade teacher. She just sent me some old pictures of the building because she  heard I was moving in here. Some of them are really good, and I think I’ll have them framed and display them in the upstairs hallway by my bedroom. 

[more tentative] Funny, I haven’t thought about George for years… I think his family just sort of  moved one day without warning. 

[Brightly] Here is a nature collage I made in art class of a Christmas tree. The pine needles are  from the trees by the front gate . They’ve gone brown now. [Laughs] Mom had this thing on the  refrigerator for at least month. 

And we have a note to my parents from Mrs Green: “Anna-Georgina has a vivid imagination and  has told us some excellent stories.” [ with a slight laugh] Well, either she’s reading a different  journal than the one I just read, or I clearly was saving my best material for spoken word. 

[Pause] 

Anyway [stretch the word out] here is a press release from the production of the Nutcracker they  did that year. The first grade classes weren’t part of it, but they bussed the older kids from the  other school building.  

It was a big deal. I remember sneaking down from the library after school when Nana was  working to look at the sets. I know it was just a school production, but they were [stretch the word a little, with wonder] magical. There were 3 performances and we attended all of them. [pause]  

Well, without further ado: 

The faculty of Ellis East and Ellis North Elementary schools are pleased to announce their  musical production of the Nutcracker, featuring students in grades 2 through 6. This musical  version of Tchaikovsky’s classic is directed by Ms. Emalia Prescott, music teacher at Ellis East  Elementary School. Performances will be held on December 8th, 14th, and 15th, doors at 6:45 pm,  curtains at 7:30. The public is cordially invited to attend. Light refreshment will be available  after the performance. The PTA will also be selling Christmas ornaments to support the purchase  of a new edition of Encyclopedia Britannica for the school library. 

Hmmm… This is in Nana’s handwriting. What’s it doing in here? It appears to be her description  of her Victorian Christmas village figurines. But why is in a folder of my old school papers?  Hmmmm [ various reading sounds] a diagram of how she displays the village. [reading sounds]  building descriptions… AH! Here we are!

She writes, “of course, the centerpiece of the village is  the school. After spending years searching for a school worthy of the village, I realized that I  would continue to come up empty, and have commissioned a replica of the Ellis East School. The replica was made with a great degree of care. The young woman who made it visited the  school building to get a feel for the place. Her card is attached to this documentation.”

Note; The  corner of this page appears to have torn off, the card is nowhere to be found.

Resuming: “The  sculptor spent a few hours walking the halls and then found me in the library, telling me she had  what she needed, and that she understood exactly why I would want the building at the heart of  the village. A practical note: the back of the school opens so that you can place tealight candles on both floors of the building so the windows are illuminated.”

[stops reading] She goes on to  talk about how she uses a mirror to make a lake in the village and describes the other buildings.  I’ll have to talk to Mom, but maybe we can get the replica out of storage. I don’t imagine it is  getting much use since Nana moved into Assisted Living. 

And here we have a Christmas card from the school faculty. 

“Merry Christmas from our school to your family! Looking forward to learning with you in the  new year!” The accompanying photo has the school faculty and staff in the front vestibule next  to a tastefully understated Christmas tree. 

Then we have a painted gingerbread woman, a couple of holiday-themed worksheets, and… Oh  no! 

It’s okay. There was just… [lightly distressed on the next word] glitter in a folded piece of paper that is now all over my desk. That is the last of the folder items anyway, so I’ll just stop recording and clean this up. 

End Credits

Lavender Evening Fog is a fiction podcast written by Victoria Dickman-Burnett, directed by Ben  Baird, and produced mixed and edited by Nick Federinko. Executive Producers are Ben Baird  and Victoria Dickman-Burnett and the voice of Anna-Georgina Plume is Victoria Dickman Burnett. The Lavender Evening Fog logo was designed by Alicyn Dickman. This preview  episode was brought to you by the foggy glass in front of a Christmas window display on a  cobblestone street on the evening of December 17th. You are not sure how you got here, but you  want to linger over the sprigs of holly and the antique tree, feeling both peace on earth and yet, a  little unsettled. Full Episodes of Lavender Evening Fog Season 1 will be released monthly  beginning in January of 2021.