Sonny shuffled past the row of seated spectators, brushing knees with them as he searched for his assigned seat. He glanced at his ticket to make sure he had the number right, then took his seat halfway into the Prime seating area. He had purchased four tickets for the night, but his company got caught up elsewhere. He decided to see the play alone, selling his tickets back to the box office gratefully.
As he waited for the play to get underway, he looked all around, appreciating the architecture. He turned toward his seat neighbors. "Hello," he said politely. They nodded back awkwardly. "My first time in Greece," Sonny beamed, tapping his hands on his knees. "Super ready to get my mind blown by Greek theatre," he said swaying a bit in his seat. The audience members beside him scooted away slightly.
The play was introduced with a musical track and the actor playing Hermes came on stage.
"Wanna know a secret?" Hermes asked the audience. No reply from anyone, except for Sonny and a few children nodding hyperly.
"Are the seats packed with the dead? Should I line you up and punt you down to the Land of the Dead?" Hermes questioned.
Sonny shook his head with a disgruntled brow, thinking about how unpleasant the Underworld sounded.
After a bit of banter, Hermes asked again, "Now, as I was saying, do you wanna hear a secret?"
"Yes!" the audience shouted, Sonny a little louder than most.
"I'm also the guide to the Underworld," Hermes revealed, waving his hands about.
Sonny bit his lip in excitement. "Oh, this is gonna be good," he prodded his neighbor with an elbow.
Much to the chagrin of those sitting around him, Sonny greatly enjoyed the play. He was especially excited near the finale, eager to know what would happen to Persephone. Suddenly, the floor opened beside Hermes, and a figure appeared from below-stage on a hydraulics system. The actors seemed to argue on stage for a moment, then the new addition to the cast called out, "A daring art heist will not be seen in tonight's production!" The girl spun around to face the audience.
"Holy Spaceballs!" Sonny said aloud, receiving a few odd looks from the audience members around him. He did not notice their glances, but only lingered on the edge of his seat.
"Instead, a killer, mastermind, grifter, and lost artist will tell the tale of how they almost stole an entire collection of rare art," she announced boldly. The audience burst into questioning and gossip immediately.
Nancy Drew was standing center-stage, making a huge accusation. Sonny admired her fiery, braided ponytail and her much-improved fashion sense after the series of horse-print shirts she had worn when he last saw her in New Zealand.
Soon sirens were blaring and a few police officers ran up on the stage and directed the audience to leave the theatre. The puzzled crowd headed for the exits and quickly took to pushing each other to reach the courtyard more quickly. Sonny was shoved a few times, once losing his balance at his seat, causing him to fall into the aisle of crazed people. As he caught his balance, he was whisked away amid families trying to find their loved ones in the madness. He turned toward the stage.
"Nancy!" Sonny called out, as the crowd pushed against him. He finally weaved his way through the huge group of rushing people. He reached the barricades which kept audience members from getting onstage. He quickly hopped over them, and started up the steps on the side of the stage. He made it halfway up the small set of stairs when his upper arm was grabbed tightly.
"κύριε," a Greek police officer began, until he noticed the confusion on Sonny's face. He switched to English. "Sir, the stage is off-limits right now," he said, loosening his grip on the young man's arm. He motioned for Sonny to exit the stage area. He complied with a disappointed sigh.
Sonny was lead back to the crowd, which flooded into the parking lot. Some headed for their cars, others visited museum across the courtyard. Sonny sat on a stone bench and waited for most of the audience to clear the courtyard. After they had almost all gone, he stood up and stretched.
Sonny paced along the cobblestones for over an hour, waiting patiently for the group of officers and suspects to leave the theatre after the arrests were made and the investigation had finished. He listened over the theatre's stone walls for the radio chatter to subside, and he waited near the taped-off theatre entrances which were being watched by several guards. Realizing the investigation was taking longer than he expected, Sonny decided he had enough time to visit the museum before the officers, suspects, and Nancy cleared the theatre.
While he enjoyed the displays in the museum, Sonny made way for more officers investigating several pieces in the collections. He took some selfies mimicking the faces of some statues, he designed his own buildings with the interactive game at the temple display, and he enjoyed reading the plaques and learning new information about ancient Greece. When he had seen each exhibit, he exited the museum and crossed the courtyard.
About halfway across, he stopped and was stunned. There were no officers guarding the taped-off entrances. He ran the rest of the way to the theatre and peered down the long set of steps between the aisles. No one was in sight. Sonny cursed and kicked some loose dirt on the stone walkway. He shook his head, put his hands in his pockets, and walked towards the bus stop at the edge of the museum property.
Nancy ducked under the caution tape and exited the amphitheatre. All the officers and suspects had gone, but she stayed behind to take a long phone call from her friends, the Hardy brothers. She had detailed the case to them, which left her at the theatre longer than expected. Nancy sighed and slipped on a light jacket. She had a long day of investigating and was more than ready to return to her hotel room to relax.
As she headed for the bus stop, she noticed a figure with familiar blue plume of hair make its way onto a rumbling bus. "Sonny," she whispered in surprise. She began running for the bus stop, her pumps clicking on the cobblestones. "Sonny!" she cried, as the bus closed its doors. She could see Sonny at a window seat, popping in a pair of earbuds and sitting back with his eyes closed. "Wait!" she shouted to the bus. It took off just before she reached the stop.
Nancy's shoulders dropped. She flopped onto the bus stop bench and slumped forward. She wondered what Sonny was doing in Greece. Could he have been there visiting and just happened to be seeing the play? Was he there on some silly alien-related business? She smiled sweetly to herself. Though she missed him this time, she knew their paths would cross again… and again and again.
Nancy stood as the next bus arrived. She entered and paid the fare. As she took her seat, she was still smiling, dreaming of the crazy circumstances under which she would next meet Sonny Joon.