When Enid woke up that morning, it was hard for Cala to let her go. The mermaid already seemed to think fondly of her, and whenever Enid suggested that they go back to the pier, she was left upset. Though Enid did like Cala, she really wanted to move on and go visit Sally Stageplay! She knew that she didn't have a lot of time left before the Devil would really be after her, so she wanted to make the most of it and make as many friends as possible before her time came. She figured that if she would go out, then she'd go out making a difference. She'd make a bigger difference than she'd ever make in Port Royal.
Finally, after about ten whole minutes of convincing, Cala swam Enid back to the pier and gave her one last bone-crushing hug before swimming off sadly. Enid really hoped that she didn't offend her new friend, but right now, she had to leave Cala behind and go on with her adventure.
Now, dear reader, one might say that Enid is stalling. Is she? Well...yes. However, try to put yourself in Enid's shoes. Running away from the Devil himself isn't necessarily easy, you know. Knowing that they'll eventually have to face the Devil is obviously pretty hard on a person, especially a fifteen-year-old girl like Enid. Many modern novels have tales of magnificent, independent, fiery female leads...but Enid isn't that type of person. She's certainly not strong, magnificent, independent, or fiery. She leans on the shoulders of her friends more than she'd like. She has strong emotions and she considers herself a strong Christian, but physically...she can hardly carry a gallon of milk by herself. Does this make Enid a bad role model, then?
As Enid walked back into the city, she couldn't stop gazing at King Dice's house. How great it was, truly fit for someone of such great wealth! Why, King Dice must be the richest man in all of Inkwell Isle! She found it truly amazing that someone like him was unmarried. He was surrounded by women. Did love not come to him naturally? If so, that grieved the girl.
Deep in thought throughout the whole walk to the theatre, Enid finally snapped out of it...by walking right into the wall. The force of the smack dazed her for a few seconds, and when she opened her eyes, there was a man staring at her.
"Oh, dear...are you all right? You had a pretty bad fall there. Are you injured?" The man asked, offering a hand to help the girl up. Enid checked her head for cuts or blood, neither of which she felt.
"Y-Yes, sir, I think I'm all right. Thanks for askin'," Enid said, grabbing the man's hand as he helped her up. Blushing, Enid brushed off her dress and straightened her hat.
"Though...why are you coming to the theatre at this hour? The show doesn't start for another four hours!" The man said, laughing a little.
"Oh, I'm not here for the show! I'm here visit Sally Stageplay!"
"Sally Stageplay? Well, that's my wife! How are you related to her? Are you one of those distant cousins that she keeps babbling about?"
"No, sir. We have no relation. Bridget Kahl recommended I come and talk to her. I'm on a sort of quest, you could say."
"Oh, of course! Right this way, then," Mr. Stageplay said, leading Enid into the theatre, taking her past the opera rehearsal and straight into the back room. There, a lady stood in a costume and a powdered wig that reminded Enid of Marie Antoinette.
"Sally, darling, this child here says that Biddy sent her to have a word with you," Mr. Stageplay got the attention of his wife, who, upon seeing Enid, threw the wig off and jumped out of the dress...literally.
"Of course, of course! Biddy's been tellin' me all about this child, and I've been itchin' to finally meet her! Now, darling, shoo! Shoo!" Sally cried, waving a fan at her husband, who quickly left the room. Once he was gone, Sally started to look Enid over.
"Awfully thin, aren't ya? Those eyes...they're so bright! Dear God, look at those lips! Is that beauty spot natural, child? It looks painted on. You painted it on, didn't you?" Sally asked about thirty questions, but quickly spat another one before Enid could answer the previous one. She couldn't tell if Sally was questioning her or criticizing her.
"Oh, you have so much potential, child! My sweet, I'm going to turn you into a star! You hear that?" Sally boasted, doing a bit of a twirl. Enid blushed. She already was a little star in South Carolina, though! She didn't know if she wanted to tell Sally about it, though.
Enid remembered the curtains opening. She remembered when she, completely decked out in whatever stupid outfit her role required her to wear, seeing her entire extended family sitting in the front row. She felt like she had a purpose when she was on stage. It let her escape the life of commercialization that she was forced to live every other day. Pretending to be someone else helped her. She wanted this career back...but she didn't want to start from the beginning! She didn't want to play the part of a simple tree! This sounded selfish of her, but she wanted to be the star, and she wouldn't have it any other way!
"Oh, uh...Mrs. Stageplay, I'm very used to showbiz. I've been the lead role in a play done in South of Carolina," Enid squeaked humbly, Sally still looking her over.
"Oh, darling! Tell me aaaaaaallllllllllllll about it! Why didn't you mention it earlier, you silly goose?" Sally cried dramatically, swooning as she fell back into a chair that was in the room, admiring herself in the mirror.
"Oh, Mrs. Stageplay, it was absolutely amazin'! You seem real passionate about your job, and I want to be that passionate! I love puttin' myself in the shoes of different women. I love bein' seen, and I love experiencin' different personalities through my characters...though, I usually get stuck as the darn pianist," Enid mentioned, rolling her eyes softly. It was true, the play mentioned earlier was only her first! She'd been in several plays as well as her advertisements. What she was saying was true; her tutor often just forced her to play the piano instead of actually act.
Enid did love the piano, but she absolutely despised playing it for plays. She was forced to stay backstage with the large instrument, playing the sweet melodies as someone other than her was the star! Sweet little Enid was not one to get mad easily, but that was something that made her blood boil! Even if someone she liked was up there, Enid would look down at her piano and play, trying to ignore every part that wasn't hers. Alas, that was just part of her personality. She wanted to be seen and heard.
Enid went on, opening up to Sally. Her little brain was full of opinions on plays and shows, going off on several plays that were native to America and were obviously things that Sally didn't know about, but she kindly decided to keep her mouth shut and listen. This was another time when Enid's mouth was moving faster than her brain, but this time it wasn't in rushed apology. Oh, how good it felt to be talking about something she loved! It appeared that Sally would be a great companion to her. Maybe the woman would even agree to be her new tutor.
After a while, Sally couldn't take it anymore and gently stopped Enid's rambling. "All right, all right, darling. You're talking gibberish right now," she chuckled. Biddy told Sally to meet with Enid for one purpose: to calm her nerves. The fact that Enid would soon be face-to-face with the Devil frightened her in unfathomable amounts, and these last friendships were in effort to keep her oblivious. It seemed that her plan seemed to be working, as she truly did feel at home right now, not worrying about her apparent impending doom.
"Well, Miss Enid...oh, Biddy did say that your name was Enid, I hope her lovesick little brain isn't deceiving her...you mentioned that you play the piano? Tell me, darling, do you like it? From what you've told me, you don't like it when other girls take your spotlight...but there's a SPLENDID party that my husband and I will be attending after the show, and they're looking for a pianist. I know that you're still awfully young, but if you can show me that you're good at what you do, I'll just have to consider bringing you along," Sally explained, Enid's cheeks lighting up in anticipation. A party? She was flattered! She'd been invited to parties before, of course, but for most of them she had to bring Audrey along, and that meant saving her whenever one of the men she flirted with broke her heart. It was more of a modern high school drama than a party to Enid most of the time.
"Mrs. Stageplay, you can't be serious! I'd love to go if I can prove myself worthy! Who's all gonna be there, might I ask? Are any of my friends gonna be there?"
"Well, perhaps. Most of the higher-ups in Inkwell Isle do attend these parties. I know that Mic and Pansy will be attending, Hilda Berg's coming, Baroness Von Bon Bon is bringing her boys, King Dice is coming, and he rarely comes to parties, and...though she is poor, we usually invite Biddy. She's so darn good at the violin that it would be a sin not to ask her to come. She didn't necessarily want to, but then we told her that her man was gonna be there. She went up and exclaimed to me, 'Sally, I know it! This is my day! This is the day that I WILL woo him!' before she promptly ran off. She's more dramatic than I am, y'know," Sally went off. Apparently tangents among actresses are just common.
"Well, at least Hilda and Biddy will be there," Enid said with a smile. She didn't dare call Hilda "mamma" in front of someone she didn't know well, and certainly wasn't going to mention the Von Bon Bon boys. Sally was the type of person who'd probably try to arrange a marriage for Enid the moment she said she had interest in a person, much like her mother tried to do for her and Robert Ferguson, even though she showed no interest in Robert whatsoever.
"Oh, but Enid, I still want to hear you play. If you're good enough at the piano to be in shows, I'm sure you're mighty fine, but I just want to make sure. If you're real good, I might just have to put you in my show! Pierre, my regular pianist, is awfully stubborn, and I've been looking to get him out of my hair for months now. Are you any good at sight reading?" Sally asked.
Now, sight reading wasn't something that Enid was incredible at, but the piano was. Hesitating a bit, she sat down and pretended as if she were in a show. However, this time, her heart wasn't filled with hatred for the main actress. It was filled with the desire to please Sally and to attend this party. The songs were a bit more complicated than she had expected, but she somehow managed to get through the songs, only making a few slip-ups, which Sally graciously pardoned. Whenever she was done playing, Sally let out a dramatic sigh, swooning and putting a hand to her heart.
"Oh, darling, darling, that was BEA-UTIFUL! I need young blood like yours in my shows! In fact, I'm going to give old Pierre the boot right now! It's decided, then. You MUST attend the party with me! Oh, my bones are trembling!" Sally dramatically cried. Sure, she was overreacting, but Enid cherished the praise.
It was settled. Enid would play the piano for Sally's play. Getting back into business made her so enthusiastic! Whenever showtime rolled around, she heard people flocking into the theatre, much to her delight. It delighted her even more when she saw people that she knew!
Hilda sat there, which made her heart thump. Next to her was Grimella, who seemed out-of-place and a bit nervous. Pansy sat, seeming to reserve two seats, and later, Enid saw why. Biddy, wearing mostly white with her curls pulled up into a hat, walked in, King Dice's arm in hers.
"You're lucky you even persuaded me to come with you. You know I'm not one for drama, especially coming out of you of all people," King Dice whispered, seeming a bit irritated, but nonetheless took his seat beside Biddy. Biddy herself seemed surprised that she was able to get him to come.
The show went on, and it was phenomenal. It was entirely in French, which honestly, few in the audience actually understood. It was full of drama and romance, and Enid finally felt happy with her role as a pianist. To make things better, when she asked Sally if she would become her new tutor, the woman welcomed her with open arms.
