A/N: On to chapter 2! :)


"It's a Real Circus"

2. Settle Into the Show

It had taken reminding all necessary parties about their agreement, as it had been a while since the last time they'd done one of these dinners, but finally they were granted access to the choir room and some of the facilities of McKinley as the setting to this most recent murder mystery. Where last time was about giving Matt a great send off, this time around it would be the opposite: they were taking in someone new. A hello was just as important as a goodbye.

"So what are we having? Corn dogs and cotton candy?" Mercedes joked as she walked in with him, having been recruited as his assistant to set everything up.

"I did consider it, but that's just not…" he shook his head. "Then I thought maybe I could go the other way, reimagine the 'classics,' but after a handful of failed attempts and two near misses on kitchen fires, I decided the actual dinner component would be out of character. Besides, if we're supposed to get to know our new member then what better way than with this dinner?" Kurt shrugged.

"Right," she nodded as they reached the home economics kitchen and began setting up. Before long the pre-prepared items were taken care of, and the rest was in the process. Kurt looked to the clock.

"They should be starting to arrive soon," he informed her.

Rachel had soon figured out Quinn was to be her 'partner in mime,' and the second half of 'Light and Shadow.' As such, she had contacted Quinn so that their costumes could reflect that connection. The concept was settled easily enough, and when the two girls arrived at McKinley, coincidentally around the same time, they were pleased with the results. As Light, Rachel donned a wig of white hair pulled into a bun on top of her head, her face made paler with makeup, and her dress in absolute white, paired to white ballet slippers, the lot given a bit of shine with appropriate amounts of sparkles. For Shadow, Quinn had followed much of the same construct: a wig of black hair, in her case made into a braid that came over her shoulder. Her eyes were made up with black and purples, streaking out, her lips a striking black, much like the shorts and suspenders she wore over a striped t-shirt of two shades of purple, and the simple flat shoes that completed her outfit. "Wow…" was the first thing Rachel managed to say.

"Like yours too," Quinn smiled, which was odd from beneath her Shadow persona.

A moment later Finn entered, having been Rachel's ride to the dinner, and he found the two of them side by side, the full effect of each girl's costumes brought to completion. They looked to him, and Quinn was the one to show surprise, as Rachel had already been able to see: it was her handiwork. As Luigi the sword swallower, the prominent feature in his costume was not so much the plastic sword as it was the way his hair had been slicked back. Quinn looked to be doing everything she could not to start laughing at how odd he looked, and that was just the hair. The pants were black, and the top consisted of a black sleeveless vest that buttoned up to his neck. And if that wasn't enough…

"Is that… eyeliner?" Quinn squinted, and Finn looked to Rachel in a way that said 'See I told you so.' "You just hope Puck never finds out about this or he'll never let you hear the end of it," she teased playfully. Finn had no reply, probably because she was absolutely right. "You two go, I need to wait on Sam," she explained, so they went on their way.

As they reached the kitchen, Kurt put them on task with continuing preparations for a few minutes, giving him and Mercedes the chance to go ahead and change into costumes. They would return, ready for play. Kurt, as Oswald the ring leader, had not shunned tradition, appearing in a tailcoat and top hat, white gloves and walking stick… the impressive side was all in his execution of it. As for Mercedes' costume for Swift the knife thrower, the key word here was to display her artillery, taking a few cues from the time they had done their assassins game. Nothing from her clothes to her hair was allowed to dangle or distract her from her skill or risk throwing her off.

Back at the front, Quinn looked up at the sound of the door, but it wasn't Sam. Instead in walked Cherub the clown and Fitz the contortionist. Mike's costume, like so many of them that night, would show a direct correlation to their respective skills and ensuring that they could be performed – even if they wouldn't necessarily attempt them in any way. In Mike's case there were a few more chances that he might at least manage some part of what his character entailed, but still the point was that his costume was all about being able to twist about and so was not meant to get in his way. As for Cherub, some of Tina's costume seemed to have been recycled from her Gaga costume. Silvery dress, a few plastic bubbles, gossamer wings… and a red nose. Her hair had been curled into ringlets, her usual colorful streaks having been made to match her clothes. They greeted each other and then the pair went on their way. Quinn still waited.

The next to arrive was Artie. It was easy to tell his costume had been harder to conceptualize. Kissinger had once been a unicyclist, but he wasn't anymore, so he was 'inactive' in the circus and its act. So his clothes were regular, though he still displayed a quirkiness that seemed to fit the spirit of the game. He made himself scarce before long, just as the next players arrived, still not Sam. Santana and Brittany, like she had with Rachel, showed that their characters belonged as a pair. In their case this was shown by the identicalness of their costumes. The skirt could almost have been their Cheerio skirt, though it was thinner, longer, slit on the side, which Quinn imagined meant it was to be taken off before they 'took to the trapeze.' Under this it seemed they wore unitards. Once they had moved from outside to inside the school, they took off their shoes, remaining barefoot. Their hair was slickly pulled back, the makeup dramatic and sealed with red lips to match their nails. They went on their way as well, and Quinn looked to the door. Only one player missing now… had he changed his mind, or…

The first thing she heard was… squeaking… She looked up and in walked Chuckles the clown… Quinn couldn't keep from 'chuckling at Chuckles,' so Sam took it as a good sign. "Do I look the part?" he asked. She stood, took a step or two toward him. Somewhere beneath the wig and the makeup, she couldn't quite see the smile he got at having her approach.

"Definitely," she promised, looking like she wanted to reach up and squeeze his red nose to see if it would honk. "Are you ready for this?"

"Well, I was nervous," he admitted. "And then when I told my little brother and sister about it they insisted I do it because they love clowns. I think I might have found my Halloween costume to take them trick-or-treating." He took a beat, then tempted… "You know, I could always use a hand to take them around, someone who knows Lima better than we do and won't get us lost…"

"I could be convinced," she gave a smirk. "Are you clear on the rules for tonight though?"

"Pretty sure, yeah. If I'm supposed to get killed, Kurt or someone else will let me know, then I do it, and then I go change and come back as someone else."

"That's right," she nodded. "So when we walk through the door to the choir room, we become our characters. If I don't talk to you, it's not ignoring you, alright?"

"Got it."

TO BE CONTINUED (TOMORROW)