Excerpt of Fleece Navidad by Maggie Sefton

Then came the sound of doors opening at the back of the church
sanctuary, followed by
young male voices. Changing voices. Cracking high, dropping
low. Kelly turned to see
three young teenaged boys stroll up the aisle. The missing
Wise Men, at last. The sandy
brown-haired one in front looked familiar.

“Coach Flynn?” he called as he and companions drew near. “What
are you doing here?”

“O’Leary?” Kelly exclaimed, recognizing her favorite baseman,
best hitter, and all-
around troublemaker from last summer’s baseball leagues.

“In the flesh, Coach,” he said as he and Kelly clasped hands in
a jock handshake. “You
runnin’ this show now?”

“Let me guess, you and your friends are the Wise Men, right?”

“That’s us, Coach.” O’Leary and his buddies wrapped arms
around each other’s shoulders
and mugged with cheesy smiles. “Three Wise Men. We got the
goods.”

The shepherds spread on the steps surrounding the altar groaned
as did the Narrator.

Kelly grinned. “Goods or not, guys, if you’re late again, I’ll
kick your butts.”

“Whoa!”

“Hey, she can hit it outta the park, so shut up,” O’Leary said.

“Awesome!” the third boy exclaimed.

“Hey, Coach Flynn, when are you gonna have tryouts for next
year? O’Leary said you
straightened out his swing.”

O’Leary made a dramatic swing with an invisible bat. “Home
run! Outta the park!”

This time the entire pageant cast sitting on the altar steps
groaned.

Kelly just laughed. “They any good?” She nodded toward his
friends.

“Oh, yeah. Not as good as me, of course,” he said with a
swagger.

“Gonna hurl!” Narrator warned.

Kelly laughed out loud this time, as did Jennifer. “Tell you
what, guys. Do a stand-up
job with this Nativity scene, and I’ll watch for you in the
tryouts. I’ll even put in a
good word with Coach Townsend.”

“Whoa!”

“Awesome!”

“Totally!”

Jennifer handed them scripts. “Three Wise Guys is more like
it.”

“Hey, that’s good,” O’Leary said, incapable of insult.

“Wise Guys, one, two, and three,” Jennifer said, pointing to
each.

“Get on up there,” Kelly ordered, pointing toward the steps.
“No more mouthing off.
O’Leary, that means you. And keep your buds in line.”

“Got it, Coach,” he said as he walked toward the steps.

“Do we have to wear those stupid bathrobes,” Wise Guy Two asked
as he followed O’Leary.

“Yeah, they’re so lame,” Wise Guy Three said as he sank on the
steps beside the teenaged
girl playing Mary. She gave him an Annoyed Teenage Girl
stare, only used when trying to
ignore annoying teenage boys.

“Well, if you guys have a costume or something that looks like
a robe, go ahead and use
it,” Kelly said.

“My mother is making my costume,” one of the angels announced,
tossing her blonde curls
over her shoulder. “She’s even making wings.”

As if on cue, O’Leary and his buddies grabbed their stomachs
and heaved. Loudly.
Shepherds One and Two convulsed on the steps. Even Mary
smiled.