A Ring in the Dark

A Ring in the Dark

1[A planetarium after a field-trip presentation. The projected stars have faded. Students wait beside the exit while their teacher, Ms. Voss, counts heads. Tamsin searches her jacket. Her classmate Belen holds a folded program.] TAMSIN: My phone was here before the show. Now my pocket is a black hole. BELEN: An impressive place to keep a phone. TAMSIN: Everything I need has vanished into it—my ticket home, my dad’s number, everything.

2TAMSIN: Someone stole it. BELEN: Try “missing” before “stolen.” “Missing” leaves room for an accident. We don’t know that anyone took it. [Tamsin looks toward the waiting students, then lowers her voice.] TAMSIN: Missing. All right. MS. VOSS: We have a few minutes. Belen, stay with Tamsin while I tell the guide.

3[They return to their row. Tamsin drops to her knees.] TAMSIN: Seats, seams, sleeves—search them! [She snaps each word out and lunges toward a different place before checking the last.] BELEN: Your words are running faster than your hands. Start with one seat. I’ll hold the program under the row so you can see.

4BELEN: My uncle uses a rhyme when he misplaces things. [She speaks in two even beats per line.] “Trace your flight, / Left to right.” TAMSIN: I’m not an airplane. BELEN: No. But you did follow a path. [Keeping the little rhythm, Belen points from the entrance to their seats. Tamsin follows the route with her eyes instead of darting between pockets.]

5[They check the aisle. Above them, a leftover dot of projected light rests on the dome.] TAMSIN: Nothing. BELEN: Your bag? TAMSIN: Nothing. MS. VOSS: The guide’s desk? TAMSIN: Nothing. [The same answer lands after each suggestion. Belen folds the program smaller. Tamsin sits down.] TAMSIN: I’m running out of places to look.

6MS. VOSS: Let’s call it. [She taps her phone. From beneath a folded jacket comes a thin, bright trill.] TAMSIN: That sound is a rope. [She reaches under the jacket and lifts her phone.] BELEN: Then climb back. TAMSIN: First, I owe everyone a quieter apology. [She turns toward the exit, holding the phone close but looking at her classmates.]