“Moving on…” Cedric let out an exhausted sigh. “I’d like to switch over to a more pleasant topic, if you don’t mind.”
“Oh, what’s this?” Dyllan grinned in that insufferable way he always did. “Does Pessimists Incorporated’s mascot have some good news for once?”
“Hey, you think I like complaining all the time?” Cedric gave the snickering Dyllan a friendly whack on the head. “Anyway, I was just going to invite the two of you to see a play. The local theater on Cedar Lane is doing their take on King Lear today.”
“Yeah, I’ll have to pass.” A strained expression crossed Dyllan’s face as he forced a bite of his “pizza” down his throat. “I’m no good with that intellectual stuff.”
“You liked Dune just fine.” Cedric gave Dyllan a worried look.
“Hey, man, are you okay?” Andie waved her sandwich toward Dyllan. “If you hate it that much we can trade. I haven’t taken a bite yet, so you don’t have to worry about cooties.”
Dyllan started to snicker again. “Tempting, but I’ll have to pass. I’m the one who forgot his lunch at home, so I’m the one who has to suffer through the school lunch.” He forced down another bite. “And what does Dune have to do with anything? It’s not that intellectual, just a little old.”
“I’m not sure if you’re dissing Dune… or if you’ve fundamentally misunderstood the nature of Shakespeare’s works.” Cedric stared blankly at Dyllan. “But either way, you’re wrong.”
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“Well, no point in arguing it since I won’t be able to come.” Andie gave one last worried glance at Dyllan before starting in on her lunch. “I’m not allowed in the Cedar Lane Theater anymore - pricks kicked me out for laughing too loud during A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” She threw her hands up in the air, nearly dropping her sandwich. “It’s a comedy! What did they expect me to do, sit there and quietly analyze the wordplay? I mean, don’t get me wrong - Will was a damn wizard, but…”
Cedric let out another sigh. “Oh well, no point in going to see it by myself. It just isn’t as fun without someone to talk to after its over.” His eyes wandered over to the clock. “Got any recommendations for something to watch? I need something else to do tonight.”
“I always have recommendations, delivered through full power fangirling.” Andie grinned. “But I’ve got something even better for us to do this afternoon.”
“If this is another Nightmare hunt…” Dyllan choked down the last of his food. “…then it can wait. We just finished one yesterday, and all of us need time to recover.”
“No, not at all! Well, it is related to that, I suppose. But hear me out!” Andie leaned in towards her friends and whispered as quietly as she could. “I figured out how we can talk about dreamwalker stuff in public - without pretending we’re talking about a video game! I’ll tell you about it at the local Grill Tyrant’s after school.”