"Hey, Levi," Hanji muses. "You took a nap on the catwalk again."
Levi slowly opens his eyes. "I know. How long was I asleep?"
"Two hours. You've got a class in ten minutes." She starts to walk towards the steps at the end of the walk.
He always resented the fact that she could learn his schedule faster than he could. Then again, she was in charge of everyone's schedule when there was a play coming up. Three weeks until opening night, and it was time for the head technicians to bring in the others.
"It's last period, correct?" he asks as she takes a step down.
"Yeah," she says. She's gone before he can ask any more questions.
Levi sits up and looks down at the stage for a minute before noticing the blanket that had been draped over him.
"Marco gave me a blanket again, didn't he?" he called down to Hanji.
"Yes, he did. He thought it was cold up there without all the lights on," Hanji replies from in the booth.
Levi makes his way down to the stage, then back to the booth. "Thanks for not rattling me awake," he says as he sees Hanji playing with the sound board.
"I tried, believe me," she laughs. "You sleep like a rock."
Levi sighs and boots up the lights board. "May as well check for burnt out bulbs so I can change them later."
Hanji nods. "Good idea."
After a quick cycle through the lights, Levi sighs and falls into a rolling chair behind him. "They're all set. What time does rehearsal start?"
"Today, four-thirty. It's tech only. Mostly to get the set into place. Reiner and Bertholdt will be calling most of the shots today."
Levi nods. "I'll have to stop by my house after school, then."
Hanji shuts down the sound board and places a cover over it. "Do what you need to, just don't be late. We have some fresh meat coming in to help."
"Don't you mean freshmen?" Levi spins around to grab his backpack.
"No, I mean fresh meat. They're all ages. New to us, not to theatre. Transfer students from Maria," Hanji explains.
"Let's just hope they don't fuck anything up."
"They won't actually run the first play of the year, Levi. They're just going to be watching for now." Hanji smiles. "If they touch anything, I'm sure you'll know what to do."
Levi sighs and exits the booth. "Yeah. I know what to do."
The final bell rings and Levi practically flies out of the classroom, making a beeline for his locker. He places everything he doesn't need on the neatly organized shelves and shuts the metal door. He heads out the back door of the school after turning the combination lock on the front to zero, and starts walking towards the woods.
It takes him twenty minutes to walk to his house, and another few to strip and change into more athletic clothes. After pulling on a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt, he slips into a pair of beaters and starts walking back.
The fresh meat is there by the time he returns. Hanji is already giving them the grand tour of the auditorium when she notices Levi walk in through the upper backstage door.
"Levi!" she calls, waving. "Come down here and meet the newbies!"
He sighs and climbs down to the stage. He stands next to Hanji and eyes the kids over.
"Levi," Hanji begins, "this is Eren, Mikasa, Armin, Sasha, and Connie. Guys, this is Levi. He's the head lights techie here."
The five each acknowledge Levi, and he acknowledges them back. "Hanji, hurry up and finish the tour. We need to determine their positions." He turns on a dime and heads for the booth.
Hanji smiles as she sees a smirk creep across his face. The five stand there, confused. Hanji resumes the tour while Levi checks the lights again. He dozes off for a minute before Reiner wakes him up.
"Levi," Reiner says. "Are you ready to move some big-ass trees?"
"Let's do it, then," Levi says. "I'm ready when you are."
Levi and Reiner make their way to the stage while Hanji concludes the tour at the balcony. The five newcomers take a seat and she comes down to the stage.
"They're going to watch and see how it's done," she says. "They can help out tomorrow if there's still things to move in."
"Do they have assigned places yet?" Bertholdt asks, walking in through the side door of the auditorium.
"Not yet. They're going to pick by the end of today, based on their prior experience," Hanji says.
The boys nod and everyone follows Bertholdt out to his truck.
"Reiner and I spent the weekend assembling the backdrop panels. It has windows for the actors to open to make it look like they're in the sky. We can just have them sit on top of ladders," Bertholdt explains as they near the truck bed. "Levi, I was thinking we could throw some sky blue up on the cyc to match."
"That's a good idea," Levi says as he picks up one end of a panel.
Bertholdt takes the other end after convincing Reiner that the panels are too big for him to carry on his own. Hanji helps Reiner carry panels in with a smile. It takes a few minutes to move the seven panels onto the stage.
Once they're done, Reiner sighs. "We need to move platforms in, too. The play requires a pool in the center, and we can't exactly put a hole in the stage. We need to go get them after we put these panels up. We also need to hang a chandelier from the center of the stage."
Levi and Hanji nod. "Just tell us what you need done," Levi says.
An hour later, the panels are up and Bertholdt and Reiner bring in the chandelier. They convince Levi and Hanji that they can rig it up, so they're left alone while the two return to the newcomers.
"So," Hanji says. "Like what you see?"
They nod, looking at one another.
"Ready to choose where to go?"
They nod again.
"Okay. Let's hear it," Hanji says excitedly.
Mikasa stands up and lists off the positions they've chosen. She, herself, chose lights under Levi. Eren chose sound under Hanji. Armin wants to be assistant director. Connie wants to work with props, and Sasha wants to be in charge of costumes.
Hanji nods after Mikasa's finished. "That sounds great to me. You'll all start tomorrow. I assume you've done some work in your chosen area before, which will help tremendously. As for you, Mikasa, and Eren, you won't be running lights until the second play of the year."
Mikasa nods. Eren looks a bit disheartened, but nods either way.
"Alright. Go home and get some sleep. It's the most you're going to get for the next three weeks." Hanji gives them a wicked smile and adjusts her glasses. "The contract is sealed."