Chapter 6: Strange Few Days

Classes begin ending early for the next few weeks as many students are very busy with their upcoming productions, auditions, and performances. Many students have to travel out of the city, so early dismissal was necessary. The Dream Commercial has been broadcasting all over the city and the world showing off something they are looking forward to too. Risa could care less about the commercial since she has real work to take care of at the academy. She goes all over the campus aiding students, catching up on paperwork, homework, and dealing with the work the student council left her while they are on vacation.

Walking through the courtyard heading to the dorms, she is greeted by many of her fans, but spots Sara running towards her with some kind of news.

“Sara, what is the matter with you? Why were you running?”

“Sorry Risa. I had to run to tell you that they just posted the roles for Sleeping Beauty, and you will be performing the lead with Theo,” Sara explains, out of breath.

“What!” Risa shouts angrily as she walks away.

“Is it great? Where are you going?”

“I am going to Dream,” Risa replies angrily, walking away.

“Hey, wait for me,” Sara calls out, trying to catch up with Risa.

Risa keeps her composure, marches her way across campus to Dream to have a chat with the boss. Her friends try to greet her but only follow her to the boss’s office to see what is going on. She is so pissed off that she kicks the door off its hinges crashing it to the ground.

“Whoa, this is a surprise, I never thought you would be paying me a visit, please come in,” the Boss, says, a bit surprise.

“Care to tell me why I was chosen to play the lead role?” Risa angrily asks.

“Ah, yes, it was a simple decision. I choose you after the performance for the debut commercial and you are an incredible performer.”

“This is not what I was hired to do. I am a performer, not an accessory you can use whenever you like.”

“Well, you do not have much of a choice. It is stated in your contract.”

“I refuse the role. Give it to Laurel.”

“If that is what you wish then…”

“Wait just a minute, Coward. You are passing up your first lead role.”

“I am passing on this role because you are the diva around here, not me, so I am no coward. Enjoy the role.”

“What did you say?” Laurel says pissed off.

“Ladies, please do not destroy my office. Fine, Risa, if you do not want to do the role, then I will pass it on to Laurel.”

“No, I changed my mind, I will do it after all,” Risa accepts before storming off.

“Risa, wait for me,” Sara said, following close.

“Oh, Mina, please post this in the main training room, so everyone will know their role in the show,” the Boss orders, handing her a sheet of paper.

As the others left to the mainstage to find out what role they were playing, Risa decides to visit the fairy's home to visit Melody. She walks wondering what to do when she arrives, but being partnered with a crazy fairy can have their up and downs.

“Melody!”

“Hello, Melody.”

“Did you come to visit?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Great, do you want to play?”

“Maybe next time.”

“Oh, ok.”

“Melody, can you tell me more about how humans can use magic?”

“It is true humans who have bonded with their fairy can use magic, but it is a bit tricky. You have to believe in magic and all of this world exists in your heart. I will admit I can sense you believe in it, but it will take time for you to fully use magic.”

“I understand. Thank you, Melody. I promise that next time we will play. I have to go.”

“Ok. See you later,” Melody says, giving Risa a hug.

Risa is about to leave, but spots Theo coming towards her. She ignores him and walks over to the boardwalk where she finds a few boxes and sits on one of them. She doesn’t really want to talk to anyone, so she is lost in her thoughts again.

The sun begins to set, and Theo joins her viewing the sunset. He notices it is getting chilly, so he puts on his jacket on her to warm him up.

“It sure is getting cold out here,” Theo says, standing behind her.

“Shouldn’t you be with your girlfriend?” Risa spikes back.

“No, I came to see you. I can tell you heard of the news playing the lead with me, so I thought I can come cheer you up.”

“I am fine. Care to leave me alone.”

“Wait, shouldn’t we talk about the kiss.”

“No, see you at rehearsals.”

Risa storms off leaving Theo alone with his thoughts.

Sara spots Risa storming off thinking about comforting her and so she did.

“Hey Risa!”

Risa notices and waits for her friend.

“Oh, sorry, Sara. I forgot we are walking home together,” Risa apologizes.

“It’s no problem. Say, do you want to get some tea?” Sara offers.

“Sure, the tea is great. You can invite Mina and Cassidy,” Risa suggests.

“I already texted them to meet us there,” Sara replies. “So, when are you going to tell me about the coat you are wearing.”

“It’s Theo’s.” Risa vaguely replies.

“Really, this sure is getting interesting,” Sara teases.

“There is nothing to discuss,” Risa said, blushing, walking away.

“Of course,” Sara continues to tease.

Risa and Sara walking through the city is uneventful. The walk in silence enjoying the view of the ocean and the decorations. It is autumn, so the city is busy decorating the upcoming festivals and cheering for the holidays. Risa loved this holiday growing up because it did not have to deal with snow. They continue to walk; Risa is thinking about the conversation she had with Melody earlier today.

“Sara, have you learned anymore about magic?” Risa asks, curious.

“No, not really, but Clear told me it will take time to use magic, and we should not rush into it,” Sara replies.

“Melody told me we have to believe in magic in order to unlock it, and she also says I am not fully there yet, but it will take time,” Risa explains.

“I hope it works with you because I believe magic is part of you,” Sara replies.

“Thank you, Sara,” Risa replies.

Upon arriving at the tea shop, Mina and Cassidy are already there reserving a table.

“Hey, you two thanks for waiting. Sorry, we are late,” Risa said, taking a seat.

“No worries little’ darlin’s, we just ordered some drinks, even for you,” Cassidy explains.

“Thank you,” Sara politely replies.

“I take it the news performin’ with my brother hit you hard huh?” Cassidy asks to get into the topic.

“I am a little upset, but I have to accept it,” Risa replies as she sips her tea.

“That may be true, but I believe my little’ brother has a crush on you,” Cassidy points out.

“I could care less,” Risa said, starting to get angry.

Mina sees tension building up, so she thought of changing the subject.

“Risa, Sara, what are your plans for tomorrow?” Mina asks.

“It is our day off from school, so I thought I would catch up with homework and head over to Dream for some training,” Sara explains.

“And you Risa?” Mina asks.

“I have some homework and paperwork to catch up on, then I have to go to Dream to be couched by Laurel again,” Risa replies.

“I guess we are all going to be busy tomorrow,” Mina says, a little disappointed.

“Don’t worry, once the show is over, we will have time to hang out,” Cassidy says reassuring Mina.

“I guess,” Mina replied a little sadly.

The girls continue to chat about things to cheer up Mina. There were laughs of good stories to tell of their past experiences, travel stories, but the most interesting were the love stories they shared. Risa avoided talking about it, as she was mostly eating her cakes and drinking her tea.

The sun was beginning to set; they thought it was time to leave.

“This was nice, we should do it again some time,” Risa suggests.

“Yes, let’s,” Mina said excitedly.

“Thank you for a lovely day darlin’s. See you tomorrow,” Cassidy said, as she walks with Mina towards the other direction.

“See you tomorrow,” Sara shouts back at them, as they walk in the opposite direction to head for the campus.

Risa and Sara continue to talk about their day together to make the walk a bit more bearable. They enjoy their walks in the city lost in their own thoughts without realizing they arrive to their dorm and head straight to bed.

Early the next morning, Risa got up early on her first day off for a long time. It may be a day off, but this is the only chance she has to catch up on homework and meetings. Sara woke up early for her flower arranging club. Risa spends her morning in conference calls in her room.

“Ok, I see it, I will look at the calendar, and I will get back to you,” Risa said before hanging up the phone.

The phone rings again and Risa is back to work.

“Hello, oh yes, thank you for getting back to me. Yes Thursday, will be fine, thank you,” Risa says hanging up the phone.

“I see you are busy, ready to start our homework?” Sara asks as she is walking in.

“Oh, sorry get started without me, I still have to review some paperwork before heading out,” Risa apologizes.

“Sure, I will be over there,” Sara says, pointing to her desk.

“Ok, I should be done with my calls in an hour,” Risa says, getting back to them.

Risa continues to make her calls and reading through contracts and paperwork the clubs need for their trips since they are too busy going over them for themselves. Sara comes back from her club and sees Risa in the same spot for hours.

“Really you are going over contracts,” Sara said, looking over.

“Yes, it is not an easy job managing the entire student body, but I love it. Since the Student Council is off on the weekends, it is up to me,” Risa explains a little exhausted.

“You sure are working hard,” Sara teases. “Oh, look at the time, we better go, our rehearsals are about to start.”

“Right, I forgot. I have to train with Laurel tonight.”

“And are you going to return that?”

“I do not know what you are talking about.”

“Really? Isn’t that Theo’s jacket I see hanging on your chair?”

“Fine, I will return it, if you leave me alone.”

“Yes, indeed.”

Shortly after, Risa and Sara both left their dorm room in silence with different goals in mind. Risa returns Theo’s jacket and Sara training for her role. The dullest part of the day is being greeted by the students being part of their fan clubs. It starts to get annoying since they don’t really enjoy being in the spotlight.

After their long walk through the city of fans, Risa and Sara arrive at Dream. Upon their arrival, they see Mina outside doing some chores.

“Hey, you two, you're sure here early,” Mina said, greeting them.

“Yes, good afternoon, Mina,” Risa greets Mina. “Do you know where Theo might be?” Risa said she was changing the subject.

“Oh, he might be in one of the practice rooms,” Mina answers, thinking about it.

“Thank you,” Risa said, as she headed inside.

Risa quickly heads over to the training room. Risa was walking rather quickly, having the feeling of wanting to see Theo or anger for having these emotions for him. Either way, she does not want to think of Theo anymore and only concentrates on work. She finally arrives to the training rooms searching for Theo. Every time she is searching for him, she is having this feeling she would want him as her special someone, but still refuses to cave in. She is about to give up her search when she heard voices from the last training room and went to go see who it was, and she finds out it is Laurel and Theo training. She peeks in for a bit, and notices Theo was not into it.

“Theo, what is the matter with you? It seems your head is not in it,” Laurel shouts.

“I am sorry, Laurel. I just have things on my mind,” Theo apologizes.

“Is it Risa?” Laurel asks annoyedly.

“Of course not,” Theo defends himself.

“Oh really,” Laurel says, not believing him.

“Laurel, don’t be like this. I love you,” Theo confesses before kissing her.

They stood there, kissing for about five minutes. It shouldn’t bother her, but it feels like her heart was broken again. She does not want to feel like this anymore, but what is she going to say when they see her here? If she walks away, they will know she is spying, but if she stays, she is only here for work.

“Ahem, I am sorry to interrupt, but I am ready to get started,” Risa said, apologizing.

“Oh, it’s you. Very well. Let’s get to work,” Laurel said a bit stunned to see Risa.

“Thank you. Before we start, I was thinking for the duet scene in the forest and the scene where the princess pricks her finger, we can to it with the tight rope instead of using the trapeze,” Risa suggests, hoping Laurel will agree.

“You want to change the show?” Laurel asks.

“Not change, just improve it,” Risa suggests.

“Fine, show it to me,” Laurel agrees, as she uses her magic to change the trapeze set to a tight rope set.

“Thank you,” Risa replies.

“Whatever,” Laurel replies back.

Risa and Theo both climbed up on the tight rope to begin. Theo stays in his corner, while Risa begins her new routine. Risa begins to walk on the tight rope, twisting and turning every other step, stepping like she is in a dream. She continues to the end of the rope, reaching Theo’s side, and jumping to the next tight rope above. As she continues gracefully dancing, Theo jumps on the tight rope with her and performs his dance. Risa trying to avoid him, as her role means to avoid anyone to see her, but Theo keeps cutting her off. Risa jumps over him, but Theo catches her arm to dance with her. His chest lined up with hers, and they can hear their heart beats as they dance without missing a step. The dance sequence continues as Risa’s heart begins to melt as it slowly comes to an end. The dance comes to a close, so Theo jumped back to his position at the other end and allowed Risa to begin the second part of the show.

Risa begins walking on the tight rope, perfectly jumping with one foot to the next tight rope on top. She continues jumping up high in the sky, extending her arm, and one finger pricking the spinning wheel. Then she closes her eyes, falling gracefully on the tight rope. With the scene coming to an end, Risa woke up posing to end the scene.

“What do you think?” Risa asks.

“Hum, not bad. Good work today,” Laurel complimented before walking away.

“Wow, that is the first time she ever complimented a change,” Theo teases.

“Really, the first time?” Risa says, jumping down and heading out.

“So, do you want to do something tonight?” Theo asks.

“No, thank you. How about you spend it with your girlfriend?” Risa said, brushing him off and leaving.

Since Risa is free for the rest of the day, she thought she would spend it sitting at the beach. The waves of the ocean were simply amazing, brushing her feet. The amazing sun was beginning to set and starting to get cold.

“So, this is where you disappeared to?” Cassidy said, sitting beside her.

“Oh, hey Cassidy,” Risa said, greeting her.

“What is wrong with sugar? You seem down,” Cassidy asks worriedly.

“Nothing, it just…it just…I think I have feelings for your brother,” Risa confesses.

“I thought as much. I saw a connection between you two,” Cassidy said.

“I cannot have feelings for Theo after-” Risa cut herself off.

“After what?” Cassidy asks.

“Nothing, so I was wondering can you tell me more about you two?” Risa asks.

“Nothing much. Our parents died about four years ago in a car accident. Theo did not take it well. After that, I had to support my brother, so I took the acting route. I managed to make more than enough money to keep us living, but it was not working for me. Then I decided to join Dream and brought my brother along. I’ll admit he is a catch. As soon as he joined, Laurel got her paws on him, and they have been dating ever since. I never thought she was right for him,” Cassidy explains.

“So, you do not like her either?” Risa points out.

“Never, darlin’” Cassidy said.

“Ha-ha. It seems we have that in common,” Risa said in between laughs.

“Right don’t let Laurel get to you. I’ll admit you are way more talented than her. See you tomorrow,” Cassidy confesses as she is leaving.

Risa, now alone with her thoughts, is more confident than ever to focus on her work than finding romance. Risa arrives home and sleeps until the next day.

Early the next morning, Risa and the others arrived early to begin training. Risa heads over to the training room to begin training with Laurel.

“I talked with the boss and set director, and we are allowing the changes you suggested, so let’s improve it just a bit,” Laurel said to Risa.

“Very well,” Risa agreed and started climbing up.

Risa practiced the same routine; she did yesterday, and it was flawless as always. It was starting to bother Laurel, so she thought of making the moves a bit more complicated. “Risa on the tightrope, try throwing in a spin, when heading to the next one,” Laurel orders.

“Ok, sure,” Risa replies.

Risa does the stunt, and it seems to be a better idea than the simple moves she made herself. After these few stunts were over, she moved on to the other scenes for her solo acts. There are a few more improvements to the routine and thought of calling it a day.

“That looks good, Risa. You can head to the dressing room for your costume fitting,” Laurel orders for the day.

“Cool, see you later,” Risa said, ready to leave.

“It’s about time, start your routine,” Laurel said to Theo as he entered.

Risa left the room and turned around and saw Laurel join in on the routine.

“I take it Laurel to change your routine huh,” Cassidy said, joining her.

“Yeah, but I do not mind, I think it is better than ever,” Risa confesses.

“Really?” Cassidy said.

“I do not mind, but anyways I have to get my costume fitted. I am surprised this is happening so soon when we don’t have the dress rehearsal yet,” Risa said walking away.

“Well, that is circus life everything has to be done fast. How about I come with you?” Cassidy offers.

“Sure, I can use the company,” Risa accepts her company.

“Huh, you seem down, what’s wrong?” Cassidy asks out of the blue.

“Nothing, I remember I came to one of Dream’s shows when I was little and it was the most beautiful thing I saw. I just hope I can get others to smile the way I did,” Risa confesses.

“We have to make sure we always have the audience smile. Did you ever had to do this when you preformed?” Cassidy said, concerned."

“I have, but I always work hard to see the others smile, but when you work hard it does take the joy out of the routine,” Risa explains.

“Ha-ha, you are funny,” Cassidy teases.

Afterwards, the girls finally arrive at the dressing room, and they are already seeing the rest of the cast getting measured for their costumes. “Oh, good you are here, my assistant will help you. I am swap at the moment,” Tess says, measuring a different girl.

“Please this way,” the assistant said, escorting to a different corner.

The assistant took out the costumes for Cassidy and Risa and asked them to change. Once they are changed, the costume designers begin making adjustments. “Looks good, we just have to make the dress a bit higher, so you can perform better. You can go change now, "Tess suggests writing in her notebook.

“Thank you. Good work with your costumes. They are simply amazing,” Risa complimented.

“It is my pleasure,” Tess said, blushing.

Once Risa changes out of her costume, she left Dream before running into Theo again.

The days leading up to the show were getting tight to the big opening day. Everyone is hard at work perfecting their routines, so they can have the best opening day ever. Risa and Theo are working hard to master their duet scenes, so nothing can get in their way, or Laurel will get in their case messing up their routine they spent a month on to rehearse. The stage crew was busy working hard to get the stage set and making sure the trapezes were set correctly to match their routines for the show. Setting up a show is not an easy task, but with some group effort a show will be a success.

So, turn the page and see how this show turns out.