Everyone gathered backstage for one final pep talk before they raised the curtain. Mena was dressed in her frilly, old Autolycan dress, May was in her frumpy comedic nurse maid's outfit, Tal in his handsome tunic and puffy pants, and Janus, most controversially in a vicar's outfit. "I'd be great in a church," the pixie reaper exclaimed. "I could be the vicar and the gravedigger!"

Some of the students moved away uncomfortably from her. Mena grinned a bracked grin. "That's our Janus!"

Everyone faced Stellaris as she began to speak words of encouragement. "Well," she said, exhaling in relief. "We're finally here. We dealt with enough setbacks, court cases and murder attempts to make our own Grassperean tragedy, but we're still managed to pull through."

Mena tried to breath in her binding corset. "We are here, aren't we!"

"Yes, Mena. Now," Stellaris said, her kind face looking quite serious."When we perform, you might encounter something that's not quite right."

Stellaris was met with looks of bewilderment. "If you see something like a guard acting odd, or perhaps an evil phantasmic creature, I want you to exclaim, 'what the bloody Dickens!"

"Who's Dickens?" a girl asked.

"No idea," Stellaris said, "But it sounds posh and the beasts will think it's part of the play."

Everyone nodded.

"Otherwise," Stellaris said, the glow of the spotlight reflecting in her eyes. "I want you to have the best time you can. You're truly in the spotlight tonight!"

"Like a streak of lightning," Electra proclaimed, equally excited. "Here is your chance to light up the whole theater and strike em dead!"

Everyone put their hands together and raised them up, cheering happily.

"Ten more minutes and we'll begin the show of our lives!" Stellaris announced.

Everyone dispersed, but as Mena went to go clear her head, she bumped into Leo O'Ryan. He was dressed in a jet black vest like Tyrone with eyeliner traced around his catlike eyes. ("Hubba hubba," said May) It seemed he was filling in for Ashlan and Mena had no idea there were two thespians in the O'Ryan family.

Most interestingly, he sported two glowing green gloves. Mena couldn't take her eyes off them. (May couldn't take her eyes off his tight pants.)

"Tonight's the night, you meatheads," Leo said and he slammed his fists together. "I'm finally gonna make good on my words. I'm gonna punch that ghost who made a fool outta my baby sis."

Mena rolled her eyes. "How many times do we have to tell you. You can't punch ghosts."

"See these gloves?" Leo postured. "They're ecto-boxing gloves. I stole them from that phantom teacher of yours. Now I can make my dream a reality."

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Mena sighed. "As long as you're not gonna hit me, knock yourself out."

"Need any target practice?" May winked, pushing her fingers together.

"Thanks Mary," Leo said with vengeance in his eyes. "But I think I'm gonna clear my head before the shows behind "

Once Leo was out of the vicinity," Janus smirked wryly. "Fortunately there isn't much in his head to start with."

"We should do that too," Mena said as she put her arms around Janus and May. "Right May?"

But May was lost in her dreams of Leo, her one time dance partner for their homecoming. "He almost remembered my name."

As Mena wandered backstage, once again, trying to breath in her corset, she observed her fellow students who were also preparing. Some of them were deep breathing, while others were hypoventilating (in Doogey's case.) She knew she wasn't alone in feeling nervous, at least.

But she immediately knew what could ease her mind better than anything: a good luck kiss from her hunky boyfriend.

Mena sighed as her mind was corrupted with slightly swanky thoughts. "A nice steamy kiss would really make the blood run to my...head again"--Mena scowled--"That darn corset is choking me out!"

Mena waddled excitedly in her dress and heels, searching the dressing room, but not one face belonged to her precious prince of d'aww-kness Mena gritted her teeth. "Where is he?"

Suddenly, her eyes brightened like a torchlight. "A-ha! He's off brooding in a corner away from everyone else."

Mena's teeth spread in a bracy grin. "Bingo! I simply had to think like an emu. Though I'll never understand why Tal likes those weird birds."

Mena headed into a darkened corridor on the edge of the dressing room. Unlike the bright dressing room, these hallways were a lot cooler and quite cavernous like a lions den. As Mena crept past endless doors on the left and right, a sound echoed in the distance that she never wished to hear again. It was the sound of a woman laughing or crying madly but it was impossible to tell.

As beads of sweat dropped down Mena's clammy neck, she knew for certain that Anguish was here. Her heart bounced faster in her chest and she walked faster too. She walked so fast she didn't see where she was going and bumped into someone.

"Oof I say, " said a posh voice. "What is this monkey business, and I don't mean my own career in ergonomics!"

Mena shook the dizziness out of her head and realized who it was. It was none other than Maximilian's assistant, Monkler. "Why I in a orangatangs name are you doing child?"

"I'm sorry," Mena said holding up her hands defensively. "I'm only looking for my boyfriend, the co-star of our play."

"My fair lady," Monkler said, "Are you referring to a very gloomy boy with a short stature and an even shorter fuse?"

Mena's eyes illuminated. "Why yesh. Have you seen him?"

"Yes," Monkler said. "He said he was looking for a girl with eyebrows thicker than caterpillars and shiny metal teeth. Do you happen to be her?"

"Yep!" Mena sighed. "That sounds like my Tal. He's got such a passive aggressive way of complimenting me."

"Right this way, my dear," Monkler said, and he began to hop excitedly on his arms and legs down the hallway. Mena was relieved that Tal had been found. But why was he looking for her? Didn't he know she was at the same pep talk as him?

At last, Monkler led her to a room at the far end of the corridor. "My dear," he said in a suave voice. "Is this your dear prince?"

Mena peered inside. Tied in the corner was her prince of d'aww-kness. "Tal!" she screamed and ran inside. "Why are you tied up? We never even tried that before"--her eyes glinted slyly--"even though it's on my list."

Tal screamed, "Mena no!"

Monkler slammed the door behind Mena. He chortled in his nasally voice. "My name may be Monkey C. Monkeydu, but you are truly the monkey who saw and did! Perhaps it is suave simmians like me who are higher in the evolution scale! Tata!"

Before Mena could ask Tal what the bloody Dickens was going on, Stellaris' voice echoed all the way to the backroom, "Ladies and gentlebeasts, welcome to Nightdream Academy's first presentation of Romulus and Julianna!"