Sponge: Welcome to the second part of the Origins series! I hope you enjoy. Similarly to One for the Money, all chapter titles will be song titles, but they will be songs from the musical that the story revolves around. This story takes place about seven or eight months after One for the Money – in that story it was January, now we're into August/September, when the new school year starts. Warning: some language. We're still rated T for now, but the rating will change to M by chapter 5 or 6. There WILL be some slightly graphic romantic content in later chapters (you know, teens being teens), so please be sure to read the warnings in the beginning of each chapter so you know when to expect it, and in those cases, proceed with caution. I'd also like to apologize for my lack of knowledge about current high school things. It's been a while since I graduated, so all my memories, and thus references, are relatively archaic. Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Scooby Doo characters. They belong to Cartoon Network, Warner Brothers, and Hanna-Barbera. Velma's description of Pavlov and Mr. Atwood's synopsis of the musical both come from Wikipedia.
Chapter 1: Just Another Day
Shaggy Rogers sat on his front stoop, awaiting a psychedelic van to drive into his culdesac. Scooby Doo, his Great Dane, absentmindedly chomped the remains of his sardine-and-waffle breakfast. Every now and then, the dog would glance at his master, and Shaggy would grin back at him. Shaggy had never been one to look forward to school, but he was feeling more optimistic about this first day than any in the past. For one thing, it was his junior year of high school – the year he could finally stop taking PE and start taking electives he cared about, like art and graphic design. For another, this was the first year that he didn't have to take the school bus. He and his friends were now old enough to drive themselves to school. Well, he and Fred were in any case - they were both sixteen. Daphne was fifteen, and Velma was fourteen-and-a-half.
That was another thing Shaggy was looking forward to about school: his friends. Fred Jones, Daphne Blake, and Velma Dinkley. The four of them, plus Scooby, were all from extremely different walks of life – Fred was a handsome and clever yet scatter-brained jock, Daphne was a pretty and popular perfectionist, and Velma was a wry, sarcastic genius – yet they had all become friends the previous year when they discovered their shared love for solving mysteries. They had become inseparable after that first mystery they'd solved last winter and due to the toll it had taken on them stress-wise – particularly Shaggy – the principal had allowed Scooby to accompany them to school every day as an emotional support dog. This arrangement would continue this year. All in all, junior year was shaping up to be pretty good for Shaggy, despite the Ultimatum.
Ah, yes. The Ultimatum. Just thinking about it made Shaggy scowl.
The Ultimatum had been conceived due to the amount of time that the gang spent together. Throughout the rest of the winter, and the whole spring and summer, Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy, and Scooby had hung out every day, and stayed up texting and Skyping late into the night. Sometimes they paired off – Shaggy and Scooby lived together, of course, and Fred and Daphne had started dating in January – but mostly the five of them stayed together. In this fashion, they had stumbled across many more mysteries in their small town of Coolsville, Ohio, and they spent their spring and summer taking down monsters, always eventually revealed to be a guy in a mask. They'd started calling themselves "Mystery Incorporated," and they mostly conducted their business at the local library, where Velma had been volunteering for two and a half years. The gang had spent a blissful summer together, gathering clues and unmasking ne'er-do-wells. But just last night, the night before school started again, they had walked from the library to Shaggy's house for a quick bite, only to discover that all of their parents had congregated in Shaggy's living room.
"Hello, Norville," Shaggy's mother had greeted him. Shaggy winced. His mother only ever used his given name, and it always sounded so formal when she did. Shaggy was not a formal guy.
"And everyone," Shaggy's father, always the diplomat, had added.
The gang stood there, unmoving but for the furtive glances they gave each other. Scooby whined nervously.
"Why don't you all have a seat?" Shaggy's dad suggested. Four chairs from the kitchen had been relocated to the living room, as the adults were all sitting on the sofas and love seats. Without a word, Shaggy and his friends sat down. Scooby sat on the floor, his chin on Shaggy's knee. Fred and Daphne held hands.
Shaggy noticed the Blakes grimace. For some reason he couldn't fathom, Daphne's parents didn't approve of Fred. But Fred was kind and (sometimes) clever, as well as the son of the mayor, so Shaggy couldn't figure out why Daphne's parents were against their relationship. Was it because his head was always in the clouds? Like, not the time, man, Shaggy thought to himself. He could ponder the mysteries of Fred and Daphne's relationship another time. Right now, all the adults looked at him and his friends very seriously, as though about to start an intervention.
"Let's get straight to the point," Shaggy's mother began. "We've noticed you all have been spending quite a lot of time together."
"Not that that's a bad thing, necessarily," Velma's mother cut in. "We're so glad you all have become friends."
"Indeed," said Mayor Jones. "It's important to foster this sort of comradery in the community." Shaggy caught Fred roll his eyes at his father's mayoral-speak.
"However," said Mrs. Blake. "We do have some…concerns."
"What kind of concerns?" Daphne was the first of the gang to speak up. Her tone was polite, but the fire in her eyes suggested to Shaggy that this was not the first time she'd disagreed with her parents.
"Well," said Mr. Blake. "It's just…you're spending so much time together. Don't you get…well, bored of each other?"
"Not at all," said Daphne coolly. "I love hanging out with Fred, Velma, Shaggy, and Scooby. They're my best friends."
That Daphne had used the term "best friend" to describe him emboldened Shaggy to speak up. "Like, yeah," he agreed. "They're awesome. And they're like, totally good influences." He made eye contact with his mother as he said this, and she frowned. In California, where they had lived prior to their move to Coolsville, Shaggy had fallen in with a rough crowd and as a result, had suffered from a mild marijuana addiction. Now that CBD oil was legal in most states, of course, this wasn't quite the issue it had been, but his mother still disapproved of the habit, even though Shaggy had long since kicked it. This, of course, was mostly due to his wanting to win favor in the eyes of the straight-laced Velma, but Shaggy had barely wanted to admit this to himself, let alone anyone else.
Velma herself spoke then. "It's true. In spite of the mysteries, we've stayed out of trouble all summer."
"Velma, dear, you got detention last semester." Her father sounded pained to bring it up. Mrs. Dinkley even shuddered.
Velma rolled her eyes. "Only because of that Neanderthal Maureen Fischer. It didn't have anything to do with my friends."
Actually, it sort of had. Maureen Fischer had been antagonizing the gang that day, and Velma stood up for them. Mostly she'd been standing up for Shaggy, a thought that still made his heart thump when he remembered it. But Shaggy wasn't about to bring that up.
"In any case." Shaggy's mother was back at the helm now. "Norville, you are about to go into your junior year of high school. This is the year that colleges look at most closely at your transcript."
"Yes," the mayor agreed. "And due to this…'mystery phase' you kids are going through" (Shaggy noticed Fred's mouth clamp into a thin, firm line) "we're concerned that you'll be neglecting your studies."
"Dad." Fred unclenched his jaw and spoke normally. "The school year hasn't even started yet."
"And our grades are fine," Velma added. "Excellent even, for some of us." Shaggy bit back a smile. It was true that they all had decent grades on their report cards from last year, but Velma and Daphne were the only ones who achieved straight-A's.
"It's less about grades, and more about extracurricular activities," Mr. Dinkley said. "Which is another thing colleges will be looking at. What extracurriculars were you all involved in last year?"
"You know this, Dad," Velma sighed. "Science club, history club, academic decathlon, Mathletes…"
"Yes, yes, I know darling, you're very bright," Mrs. Dinkley interrupted. Shaggy noticed Daphne, Fred, and Scooby all trying not to grin now too. "What about the rest of you?"
"I played football in the fall," Fred swallowed his laughter to answer Mrs. Dinkley's question. "And baseball in the spring." Mrs. Dinkley looked at the rest of the group in turn.
"I was in the school musical last year," Daphne spoke up.
"Like, I ran track," Shaggy replied. "And I was in the art club."
Scooby gave Mrs. Dinkley a dubious expression when her gaze landed on him.
"Rye'm a rog," he said.
A giggle escaped from Velma's lips. That set everyone off, and soon the whole gang was doubled over with laughter while the adults scowled at them.
"And what about this year?" Mrs. Rogers called over the cacophony. "What extracurriculars are you planning to do this year?" Everyone stopped laughing immediately. The truth was, the gang predicted they'd be so busy trying to solve mysteries, they wouldn't have time for any of their old after-school activities. No one said anything, and the silence spoke for itself.
"Norville, we're giving you an ultimatum," Mrs. Rogers continued, now that she had everyone's attention. Shaggy's spine stiffened. "Either get involved with some after-school activity this fall, or you can kiss mystery-solving goodbye."
Shaggy's jaw dropped.
"That goes for you too, Velma," the Dinkleys said.
"And you, Daphne."
"And you, Fred."
The uproar was instantaneous. All five of them were on their feet, arguing with their parents, Scooby barking along just to make noise and stand in solidarity with his friends.
"Enough!" Mrs. Rogers exclaimed. She shot to a standing position as well and fixed them all with such a terrifying stare that they immediately sank back to their chairs. She sat down too, once everything was silent.
"We just want you kids to be well-rounded," Shaggy's father finally spoke again. "It doesn't mean we want you to stop being friends. We just…well, we're worried about your futures. There will come a time when you have to go your separate ways, you know. Whether it's college, or the work force, or something else. We just want you to be well-adjusted when that time comes."
Shaggy and his friends had looked at each other worriedly after this. Obviously, there wasn't a force on this earth that could separate him from Scooby Doo. But he didn't want to imagine his future if Fred, Daphne, and Velma weren't a part of it.
x.X.x
So already, his good mood was tainted this morning by the Ultimatum. Shaggy groaned, resting his elbows on his knees, and put his head in his hands. Scooby nudged him with his nose.
"Rinking rabout rhe Rultimatum?"
"Like of course I'm thinking about the Ultimatum," Shaggy sighed. "I like, have no idea what to do. The gang is the best thing that's ever happened to us. And we like, love solving mysteries." This, oddly enough, was completely true. Even though Shaggy and Scooby had never been more terrified than last winter, when they believed a mythical Wendigo was stalking them in the woods behind their house, the thrill of solving the mystery and unmasking the disgruntled real estate agent behind it all had been a better high than he'd ever experienced. There was nothing like the rush of putting the pieces of a mystery together to make them fit into an explanation that made sense. Like a future without the gang, Shaggy couldn't imagine a life where he wasn't solving mysteries alongside them.
"Raybe Reddie rill rave a ridea?" Scooby jerked his head up to the mouth of the culdesac, where the psychedelic van finally made an appearance. Shaggy's heart swelled at the sight of it. The gang had dubbed it "The Mystery Machine" at the end of their inaugural case, and Shaggy had gifted it to Fred for his birthday back in January. Though the van technically belonged to Shaggy (the title was in his name), Fred had been the first to drive it, and enjoyed driving more than anyone. And Fred was kind of the de facto leader of the gang anyway, so it made the most sense for him to have it.
Scooby had already raced ahead to meet the van in the driveway, and Shaggy hurried after him. He slid open the door and was met with the faces of his friends.
They greeted each other with exclamations and back slaps and one-armed hugs, as though they hadn't just seen each other the previous day. Scooby licked the faces of Fred, Daphne, and Velma, and they laughed and good-naturedly wiped away the saliva.
"So I was thinking about the Ultimatum," Fred said as Shaggy shut the door behind him and the van sped off for Coolsville High.
Everyone in the van groaned.
"Freddie, please," Velma sighed. "Let's not ruin junior year already."
"Like yeah, man," Shaggy agreed, digging a bag of chips out of his backpack to share with Scooby. "I like, just stopped thinking about it."
"No, no, guys, hear me out!" Fred continued. "What if we create our own club? The Mystery Solver's Club! That way, we can keep solving mysteries, AND make our parents happy."
There was a brief silence in the van.
"It's a great idea…" Daphne hedged. "But I don't think they're going to go for it, babe." Ever since Daphne and Fred had made their relationship "official," they had taken to calling each other "babe." It was the only thing that was annoying about hanging out with them.
"Yeah, Fred," Velma said. "I think the point of the Ultimatum is for us to find something that interests us other than solving mysteries."
Fred snorted. "Yeah, good luck with that."
They had arrived at school, and piled out of the car. On their way from the student parking lot to the front entrance, they waved and called hello to classmates that they hadn't seen since last term.
"Hey, Mystery Inc.!"
The gang had entered the building and turned at the familiar New York-accented voice, to find their friend Tony Moretti striding toward them. They grinned as he approached and exchanged hellos with him. Tony fist-bumped Fred and Shaggy, hugged Daphne and Velma, and scratched Scooby behind the ears.
"Good summer, Tony?" Velma asked. Shaggy tried to distract himself by looking anywhere but at the two of them. Apparently back in ninth grade, the two had dated, and this bothered Shaggy for reasons he wasn't quite ready to admit to himself.
Tony shrugged. "Yeah, I worked the whole time, though." Tony's family owned the best Italian restaurant in Coolsville. Daphne and Fred had gone there on their first "official" date after Fred's birthday last winter. "How about you? Did your sister have the baby?"
A brilliant smile lit up Velma's face. Velma had two sisters: a younger one named Madelyn, who'd once had a crush on Shaggy (though she'd quickly gotten over it), and an older one named Dottie who'd been pregnant when Shaggy had first met her. The baby had arrived in July, and Velma was over the moon to be an aunt. "Yes, and she's amazing. I haven't met her yet, of course, because Dottie and Bill are in Seattle now. But I've Skyped with them all a few times, including the day the baby was born. And I think they'll be coming to visit during winter break. She just turned one month old last Wednesday. Do you want to see some pictures?"
"Hell yeah!" Tony grinned, coming around next to Velma to see her phone. Even though the gang had seen all these pictures already (they'd also been there the day the baby had been born and Velma had Skyped with Dottie), they all crowded around to look, too. Velma glowed as she scrolled through the pictures and everyone oohed and ahhed over the tiny baby.
"What's her name?" asked Tony.
"Lorelei," Velma replied. "Lorelei Dinkley Benson." They reached the end of the camera roll then, and Velma put her phone in her school bag.
"Hey," Tony said. "Do you all have your schedules with you? I wanna see if we have any classes together."
Everyone took out their timetables and compared them. Shaggy already knew which classes he shared with his friends. They had the same study hall period, and were in their same homeroom, which didn't change from year to year, but those the only class periods they all had in common. Because they were juniors, and no longer required to enroll in PE, they were all taking different electives. Shaggy was in art, Daphne was in drama, Fred, who had been elected the junior class representative again, was taking student government (or SGA), and Velma, who had played the piano for years, was taking chamber band. All the AP classes were open to them this year too, and while Shaggy and Fred had each placed in a class or two (English and Spanish for Shaggy, Physics and French for Fred), Velma's schedule was full of AP classes. Daphne was taking mostly AP classes as well, except for geometry and physics. She and Shaggy had discovered they had that class together, and had decided to be lab partners. She and Fred had AP French together, and she and Velma were together in AP US History (affectionately dubbed APUSH by the students). Fred was taking regular US history and geometry with Shaggy. Shaggy and Velma were together in AP English and AP Spanish. Scooby, of course, was with Shaggy in every class.
"Hey Dinks, Jonsey, cool!" Shaggy perked up at Tony's nicknames for Velma and Fred respectively. "Looks like we're all in AP Physics together." He looked at Velma. "Wanna be lab partners?"
"Sure Tony, sounds good." Velma smiled at him and Shaggy looked away, burning with embarrassment and frustration.
"Rogers, looks like we're keeping up our history streak. No cheatin' off my tests though." Tony smiled at Shaggy, and Shaggy found it hard not to smile back. They'd sat next to each other in World History as sophomores, and Tony had been integral to Shaggy's acclimation last year. Honestly, Shaggy quite liked Tony, even if he was jealous of his relationship with Velma.
Shaggy froze as he finally put a name to this feeling. Jealousy? That was…unexpected.
"I gotta head over to the main office," Fred said. As the junior class representative, Fred was in charge of making the morning announcements for the eleventh grade.
"See you in homeroom, Freddie," Daphne said, standing on her toes. Fred leaned down to kiss her.
"Get a room you two," Tony joked with a grin. Daphne and Fred broke apart, embarrassed. "See you later," Tony called over his shoulder as he headed to his own homeroom. Fred left for the main office while Daphne, Velma, Shaggy, and Scooby went to Mr. Aiken's classroom.
"Good morning Ms. Blake, Ms. Dinkley, Mr. Rogers," Mr. Aiken greeted them all as they arrived. "And Mr. …Doo."
"Rood rorning," Scooby replied politely. Mr. Aiken had never quite gotten used to having Scooby in homeroom last semester, but he tried his hardest to make him feel included.
"Did you have a good summer, Mr. Aiken?" Velma asked. She still felt a little bad about what happened last winter, when she, Shaggy, and Scooby has broken into his house and accused him of being a counterfeiter. Mr. Aiken had long since forgiven them, but Shaggy, Velma, and Scooby all felt twinges of guilt about it every now and then.
"It was a good summer, thank you for asking. My wife and I went to the beach. It was lovely." He appraised them all with a pleased gaze. "I read in the paper about the boat hijacking mystery you solved this summer. Well done."
"Thank you," Daphne replied, nodding humbly along with the others. They all headed to their seats and didn't have to wait long before the first bell rang and the morning announcements began.
The representative from the freshman class went first, followed by the sophomore class announcements. Fred's voice came third.
"Good morning Coolsville High, and happy first day of school!" His voice sounded tinny through the intercom. "This is Fred Jones, your junior class representative, ready to make this the best year yet. A reminder to all juniors that homeroom this year will be all about college prep, so please see your guidance counselors if you have any questions. Also, tryouts for JV and varsity teams will occur next week for football, men's volleyball, and men's cross country. The following week will be tryouts for JV and varsity field hockey, women's cross country, and women's volleyball. Please see the athletic director, Coach Warren, or any of the coaches if you have questions. Finally, after-school clubs and activities will be holding interest meetings today after school, so stick around if you want to beef up your extracurriculars on your college resumes."
The mention of extracurriculars made Shaggy's stomach clench again as he remembered the Ultimatum. One look at the girls let him know they felt the same way.
Scooby looked at each of his human companions concernedly. He had no idea how he could possibly help when they were feeling so distressed.
It didn't help that as soon as Fred entered the room and sat down, Mr. Aiken immediately launched into a speech about the importance of college entrance exams like the SATs and the ACTs. They spent the next 20 minutes going over SAT prep words. It was a blessed moment when the bell finally rang.
x.X.x
Besides a brief reprieve during lunch, Shaggy felt as though reminders of college and the Ultimatum followed him everywhere. His AP classes especially pushed the importance of studying and doing well on exams. Both of those classes he shared with Velma, and they rolled their eyes at each other any time a teacher so much as hinted at the AP tests at the end of the year.
"Like I can't believe that this morning, I was actually excited to go back to school," Shaggy sighed to Scooby as they waved goodbye to Velma after AP Spanish and headed down the hall to Art, their seventh-period elective.
"Rye roe," Scooby agreed, rolling his eyes. He wasn't even enrolled in classes and he felt as though his brain would fall out of his ears from information overload.
Shaggy was able to find respite in art class, until midway through the period when his phone buzzed in his pocket with a text. He immediately tensed up. The teacher, Mrs. King, hadn't appeared to hear it, but Shaggy knew that if he was caught with his phone out during class, he'd have it confiscated, and he'd need a signed release form from his parents to get it back. His phone buzzed several more times and he shifted in his seat so that the noise wasn't as conspicuous. It like, must be a group text, he thought to himself. He sent Scooby an eyebrow message, and Scooby dutifully sat up as straight as he could, blocking Shaggy from view, so Shaggy could sneak a peek at his phone.
Daphne: Gang, I have an idea how to get around the Ultimatum!
Fred: srsly? what is it?!
Daphne: Just meet me outside of the auditorium after school.
Velma: Guys are you crazy stop texting we'll get in trouble.
Daphne: Sorry. Are you in though?
Velma: Yes. Now shh.
Fred: i'm in!
Shaggy glanced sideways at Mrs. King. She continued her lecture and paid him no attention. Shaggy quickly typed up a response.
scoob and me will be there too.
He put his phone away and gave a thumbs up to Scooby, who slouched back to a casual stance.
x.X.x
"You guys are gonna love me," Daphne said when everyone met her at the doors to the auditorium. It was right near the front of the school, by the main office.
"Not for texting us in the middle of class and potentially getting us in trouble, I'm not," Velma muttered under her breath.
If Daphne had heard her, she didn't acknowledge it. "Here's my idea," she told them. "I think you all should do the school musical with me this year."
Everyone stared at her.
"…Excuse me?" Velma deadpanned.
Scooby covered his mouth with a paw to keep himself from laughing.
"You don't have to audition," Daphne told them. "Just sign up to do like, lights or costumes or something."
"But what's the big deal with the musical?" Fred wanted to know.
"There's a legend," Daphne began. "Any time Coolsville High does a performance that features a ghost or a character death, the Phantom of the Auditorium haunts the production."
"Rhe roo?" Scooby didn't like the sound of this.
"The Phantom of the Auditorium," Daphne repeated. "A senior told me about her. Apparently twenty years ago or so, Coolsville High did a production of Phantom of the Opera and the girl who played Christine died after the chandelier fell and crushed her."
Everyone blanched.
"Like did you say she died?" Shaggy whispered.
"Yep," Daphne confirmed. "And apparently now anytime Coolsville High does a show that features a ghost or a death, weird stuff happens. Props get misplaced, costumes go missing, spotlights turn on by themselves. Last year when we did Into the Woods which has a bunch of deaths, the girl who played the witch fell off the staircase!" When she noticed the shocked expressions on everyone's faces, she waved them off. "She's fine. She was barely even hurt."
Fred and Velma looked at each other skeptically.
"How much do you bet it's just a few drama kids playing pranks on each other?" Fred asked Velma.
"Then like, how do you explain the girl who fell off the stairs last year?" Shaggy asked.
"Reah," Scooby agreed.
"I'm sure a bunch of students have just Pavloved themselves into believing anything to do with the legend," Velma replied.
The boys stared at her with blank expressions.
"Ivan Pavlov was a physiologist," Velma explained. "He's known primarily for his work in classical conditioning, such as training dogs to salivate at the ringing of a bell by – "
But Daphne interrupted. "Listen," she said, facing the gang again. "Regardless of whether or not the legend is true, I've heard a rumor that the musical this year does have something to do with a ghost."
"And?" Velma was annoyed at being interrupted.
"And that's how we get around the Ultimatum," Daphne replied, as though it were obvious. "We all do an extracurricular activity together, and we might have a mystery to solve."
"I get it," Fred replied. "Two birds, one stone."
"Exactly, babe," Daphne smiled, standing on her toes to kiss his cheek.
"Rokay," Scooby complied. "Rut Rye ran't ring."
"Like don't worry buddy," Shaggy comforted him. "Nobody's gonna make you sing. You and me can like, be in charge of props or something."
"So you'll do it?!" Daphne grinned.
The others shrugged.
That was enough for Daphne. She clapped and threw her arms around them all in turn. "Oh my gosh you guys, thank you! We're going to have so much fun!" She tugged on Fred's arm. "Come on, let's go in."
There were a few students already sitting in the front row, closest to the stage. One of them, a boy with spiky blonde hair, waved emphatically to Daphne.
"Gang," Daphne said, once they approached him. "This is my friend Holden. He played Cinderella's Prince in Into the Woods last year."
"That means we were technically married," Holden joked.
Fred scowled.
"I remember you," Shaggy said, suddenly realizing why he looked so familiar. "You were like, at Fred's birthday last year, right?"
"Oh, yeah! I thought I recognized your dog," Holden said, patting Scooby on the head. There wasn't time to say much else though, because a tall dark-skinned man with rectangular glasses and a goatee entered from a side door. Four other students, three girls and a boy, followed him.
"All right everybody, shut the hell up," the man commanded nonchalantly as he ascended the stairs to the stage. He certainly looked the way Shaggy had expected a drama teacher might look – dark clothes, dark features, plus the goatee and glasses. "My name is Mr. Atwood," the man introduced himself. He said nothing about the other students onstage with him. "I see some familiar faces, and even more non-familiar faces. Now, how many of you have ever acted in a play or a musical here at Coolsville High before?"
Daphne, Holden, and a smattering of other students shot their hands in the air. Everyone else's hands remained silently in their laps.
"All right," Mr. Atwood replied, his voice betraying no emotion. "For those of you who are new to the drama club, we do two main productions a year: a musical in the fall, and a straight play in the spring. Coolsville High takes the dramatic arts quite seriously. That being said, we are beginning the year with a rather serious subject matter. Our fall production will be the Pulitzer Prize and Tony-winning musical Next to Normal, with music by Tom Kitt and book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey. Has anyone heard of it?"
Again, only Daphne, Holden, and a handful of drama students nodded. Shaggy looked around at Scooby, Velma, and Fred. Their expressions were as blank as he felt.
"Next to Normal," Mr. Atwood continued. "Tells the story of a mother who struggles with bipolar disorder, and the effects that managing her illness has on her family. The musical addresses grief, depression, suicide, drug abuse, and ethics in modern psychiatry."
"Geez, this play sounds like a barrel of laughs," a quiet voice muttered sarcastically behind Shaggy. He turned to find Tony Moretti sitting behind him.
"Because the subject matter is so dense and the cast is so small," Mr. Atwood went on, "only a handful of you will actually be cast in the show. Now I notice that many of the people at this meeting are ladies."
Shaggy looked around again. There were exactly four boys in the auditorium – himself, Fred, Holden, and Tony. Five, if you counted Scooby. The rest of the students, indeed, were female.
"I feel as though I have to warn you," Mr. Atwood told the girls solemnly. "There are only two women roles in this musical – the main role, Diana, and her daughter, Natalie. The other characters are Dan, who is Diana's husband; Gabe, Diana's son; and Henry, Natalie's love interest. There's also Dr. Madden and Dr. Fine, who are played by the same actor, and this role we could cast as a woman if necessary. But the only roles written specifically for a woman are Diana and Natalie."
Shaggy's stomach did a somersault. Did this mean that the director expected him to audition? Shaggy couldn't sing! Well, he could, but not like Daphne. He'd heard her – she could be on Broadway. Maybe like, he'll hear me sing and won't cast me, Shaggy thought to himself.
"Those of you who are not cast," Mr. Atwood was saying, "are encouraged to stay on in a behind-the-scenes capacity, working under one of these fine young people." Now, he gestured to the four students on stage with him. "These are some of our theater tech students who will be in charge of various backstage aspects of this production. Travis Brown, our lighting designer. Addie Wong, our sound engineer. Corinne Faulkner, props. Harmony Collins, costumes." He peered out into the audience and frowned. "Who does that dog belong to?" he asked. Shaggy blinked as he realized Mr. Atwood was talking about Scooby.
"Uh…like, me, sir," Shaggy replied, raising his hand. "He's allowed to be here. Principal O'Donavan said it was cool."
"Reah," Scooby answered. "Rye'm a remotional rupport rog,"
"And he's incredibly well behaved, Mr. Atwood," Daphne said, rushing to Shaggy and Scooby's defense.
"Yes," Fred jumped in. "He always does what he's told. He won't cause any trouble."
"He'll be an incredible asset to the production," Velma said. Shaggy shot his friends grateful glances.
Mr. Atwood stroked his goatee thoughtfully. "All right. What's his name?"
"Scooby Doo," the gang answered in unison.
"Okay then, Scooby Doo," Mr. Atwood said. "I don't have a stage manager yet. I'm going to pull one from the students after auditions are over, but for now, I'll utilize you as an assistant. Would you kindly pass out scripts to everyone, please?"
"Ruh-huh!" Scooby nodded eagerly and leaped up the stairs to the stage, where Mr. Atwood handed him a stack of purple books.
"These scripts are yours to keep," Mr. Atwood told everyone as Scooby began passing them out. "The songs are all available on YouTube and iTunes for you to listen to and get familiar with. If you'd like to audition, come prepared with a song of your choice from the score next Wednesday after school. I will accompany you on the piano. Also, be prepared to do a cold reading of a scene. If there are no more questions, you may go."
Once Scooby had finished passing out scripts, and everyone in the gang had one, they headed out for the Mystery Machine.
"Like, did you see how many guys there were at that interest meeting?" Shaggy whispered to Scooby as they let Fred and the girls take the lead. "It was like me, Fred, Tony, and Holden. And there are like, exactly four parts for guys in that musical."
Scooby looked at Shaggy sagely. "Rut rar roo roing to ro?"
Shaggy gulped. "Like…I think I'm going to have to audition."
Sponge: Thanks for reading. If you've never listened to the music from Next to Normal before, I would highly recommend it. It might add some extra fun to your reading experience, but it's not integral to know the anything about the musical to enjoy this fic. Hope you enjoyed this first chapter. Review if you please!