"And," Kyle continues, "he's traveling with a strange girl."
A spotlight hits the table.
Wrong spotlight.
"SUZY!" Terrence yells.
Suzy yells back, "I SWEAR I HIT THE CORRECT BUTTON!"
Lucy groans into her binder.
Katie whispers, "We are never sleeping tonight, are we?"
Marcus clears his throat grandly, recovering. "This girl—what of her?"
Kyle opens his mouth.
Pauses.
Blinks.
"...Wait... whatisher deal again?"
Terrence throws both hands up. "CUT!"
Professor Callahan laughs so hard he nearly drops his coffee.
Terrence turns around slowly, dramatically, like a Disney villain who has finally snapped.
"Kyle," he says in a dangerously calm voice, "the line... the ONLY line... is: 'They seek the Sugarplum Princess.'"
Kyle nods, earnest. "Right. Right. Sugarplum Princess. Got it. Sorry. My bad."
Adam leans toward me, whispering in my ear. "We're dying here, aren't we?"
I snort, covering my mouth. "We've been dead since Monday."
Terrence claps his hands again. "Alright! Reset! One more time! And someone—please—bring Kyle a cue card before I journey into the void."
Kyle looks offended. "HEY—"
Professor Callahan just sips his coffee. "This is going better than yesterday."
Adam groans. "That's the terrifying part."
Lucy stands, binder raised like she's Moses holding the Ten Commandments. "Okay, everyone, from the bat's entrance! AGAIN!"
Before anyone can drag themselves into position, a familiar voice booms from the mainstage entrance:
"Hi, everyone! I come bearing food!"
All heads whip toward the door.
And there she is—Sam—bright, bubbly, borderline glowing, striding in like a tiny, cheerful hurricane. Behind her are three of her friends, each carrying massive takeout bags like they're delivering supplies to a war zone.
"Sam!"
She beams at me. "Hey, Care! Zachy asked me to come check on you aaaand..." She lifts the bags with a flourish. "He also wants to make sure you don't skip dinner, so he asked me to buy everyone dinner."
