When school was back in session the following Monday, Royal Woods High was in store for an unusually busy week, as Principal Rivers worked feverishly to finalize their school's budget to have it ready to present to Superintendent Chen upon her scheduled visit that day; not only that, but she also had to get in touch with the contractors so that all of the damage that the facility had incurred during last week's protests could be repaired in a timely manner. All the while, Mrs. Bernardo had found herself out of a job, for which she cursed the theater gods for continually dealing her such a hand… sure, she still had dinner theater, and her numerous one-woman shows that she regularly workshopped, but it was her day job as a high school drama teacher that really paid the bills. In a mad impulse, she had tossed out any and all of the material that had been prepared for the theater club's six-hour Hamlet they were working on at the time the club had gotten cut.

By Wednesday, she had been informed by Principal Rivers that the theater club was to be reinstated, and that she was to be retained as the drama teacher… she was most grateful to have her job back, but now she had no material for her thespians to work with… it was not as though they still could not carry on with their original plans for Hamlet, but between the time that was lost during the deep cuts, and the time it would take for the class to regroup, it would probably quite literally take up until the very end of the school year to put this production together. She figured it would be better for the club if they went with something a little simpler… and considering that they had already produced two Shakespeare plays in the previous semester, perhaps it would be refreshing if they went in another direction with their next production. As she came to realize that the ratio of her students was mostly in favor of female thespians, a thought had occurred to her that their next production should be a story that would allow for each of her girls to utilize their talents to their fullest potential, and after a number of brainstorming sessions, had finally settled on Frances Hodgson Burnett's A Little Princess.

The story was of a young girl named Sara, the daughter of a wealthy British widower, Richard Crewe, who had been raising her in India where the British Army was presently stationed, of which he had volunteered to serve. However, due to India's rather harsh climate, he had arranged for Sara to be placed in a boarding school for girls in their home country (the same one that her late mother had resided at), and paid Miss Minchin, the head mistress, quite handsomely for his daughter to have the finest and most comfortable accommodations that could be provided for her. Even in spite of Sara's wealth and privilege, she was anything but spoiled, self-entitled, or snobbish; quite the contrary, she was kind, friendly, and very imaginative, which helped endear her to most of the other girls in the boarding school, including Becky, a lowly orphan whom Miss Minchin had put to work as a scullery maid. Alas, when Captain Crewe was reported to have been killed in the war, and with no more of his finances coming in to accommodate Sara, Miss Minchin revoked all privileges from her, and likewise indentured her to servitude along with Becky. No matter how much Sara had lost in terms of material, one thing that could not be taken away from her was her vivid imagination, and the other boarding girls continued to meet with her private to listen to more of her fanciful tales of her time living in India.

Mrs. Bernardo decided to draw inspiration from not only Burnett's original novel, but other adaptations as well. While their production would, no doubt, be abridged, with certain minor, supporting characters and story elements being eliminated, some specific elements it would include were the reports of Captain Crewe's death being a mistake, and that he, unbeknownst to Sara, recuperated next door to the boarding house with a case of amnesia sustained as a result of battlefield injury, as well as the inclusion of an Indian man known as Ram Dass, who not only befriended and took pity on Sara in all adaptations, but was implied to possess magical powers in one film adaption, and was able to help Captain Crewe regain his memory in order to reunite with Sara.

Of course, an audition process still had to be held, but it didn't take long for Mrs. Bernardo to make up her mind on which of her thespians seemed to be the most attuned to which roles. When a new week had arrived, the cast list for the play had been posted onto the bulletin board in the hall by the main entrance of the school:

Sara … Shannon Tannenbaum
Captain Crewe … Benny Stein
Miss Minchin … Luan Loud
Ram Dass … Leo Bardonaro
Becky … Ruby Patel
Lavinia … Amy Reynolds
Boarding School Girls … Frankie Ferguson, Parvana Hakim, Lyberti Minter
Medical Officer … Rex Bauza
Soldiers/Police Officers … Ari Castleton, Errol Wynn

Shannon was excited to learn that she had been cast in the lead role, while Ruby was equally blown away to learn that she had also been cast into such a prominent role as well; no doubt Mrs. Bernardo saw for herself that the chemistry between the two of them was, indeed, undeniable.

As had been the case previously, the theater club had expanded its schedule to allow the drama students time to prepare for their upcoming play – not just in terms of rehearsals for thespians, but also the stage crew to design and construct the sets, the costumers to take measurements and sew up the wardrobe, the prop department to procure all of the necessary items that the cast would handle on stage, and the technicians to ensure the lighting and audio would be in proper working order. The drama students knew this meant that for the time being, they would be meeting after school every day and not just Friday; in as much as the various exercises and lesson plans Mrs. Bernardo put them through in order to help them hone their craft, to actually put on and participate in a school play is what they looked forward to the most (especially since this production promised to be a lot less grueling than their attempted six-hour Hamlet).

The first day of rehearsal was under way; after Ruby had finished putting away her books from her earlier academic classes into her locker, she grabbed her backpack and began her trek over to the auditorium, but as she turned a corner into another corridor, an intriguing sight had caught her eyes: among the hustle and bustle of students as they departed either for home or after school clubs of their own, a lone figure stood at the bulletin board to read over the cast list for the next school play… that figure turned out to one Spencer Banks. From what she could see, he had a rather longing look on his face, which seemed to reaffirm her suspicion that a part of him may have regretted dropping out of the drama club almost as much as she did. Perhaps now was as good a time as any for the two of them to finally square things away once and for all, and after a big inhalation of air through her nose, she marched down the corridor to the bulletin board to approach her ex-boyfriend.

"Hey…" she mumbled.

"Hey…" he mumbled back as he continued to look over the cast list. "I see you're in the next play…"

"Yeah, I am…" nodded Ruby.

"I guess you're glad to be back in the drama club…" mumbled Spencer.

"Yeah, I am…" nodded Ruby again.

"That's nice…" said Spencer. "It… was a fun club, I won't lie…"

"But, you quit…" Ruby reminded him.

"I know…" sighed Spencer. "I had to…"

"Why?" Ruby wanted to know. "Because the guys were making fun of you?"

By now, the corridor was essentially deserted of other students and faculty – at least this could offer the two a little privacy so they could continue their discussion a little more freely.

"I heard some of the guys… when they saw my name on the cast list for Romeo & Juliet… talking about me being a sissy…" Spencer squeezed the bridge of his nose and shook his head.

"Spence… the sports club literally has male cheerleaders!" Ruby pointed out. "Who are they to talk about who's a sissy?"

"I know!" Spencer strained. "I don't get it, either! If some dudes wanna be cheerleaders, it's cool, but if I wanna be in theater, I'm a sissy? It's totally not fair!"

"There's a lot that went on that totally wasn't fair…" said Ruby. "But, yeah, like, they shouldn't have any issues with you wanting to be in theater if they're cool with guys who wanna be cheerleaders… and at the end of the day, why should it matter what they think, anyway?"

"I just… didn't like the guys thinking I was a sissy…" said Spencer with another sigh. "And… you were right, Ruby…"

Ruby cocked an eyebrow at that remark.

"Don't get me wrong… I mean… I really did have a thing for you… but, you were right… I really did just use you as part of my macho image… I treated you like a trophy instead of a girlfriend… I was wrong, and I shouldn't have done that… I'm sorry…"

An apology coming from Spencer was something that Ruby very much appreciated, as she nodded and said, "I'm sorry, too… look, we both made mistakes…"

Spencer was a little confused by that particular remark.

"You're not wrong in that you didn't, like, get a lot out of our relationship…" confessed Ruby, much to Spencer's surprise. "I mean, I did legit like going out with you at first, you're totally different and unique from a lot of other dudes…"

A small smile and light blush appeared on Spencer's face.

"But, honestly, one of the reasons I said yes to you asking me out was, like, just for status… I mean, I felt like it was about time I, like, finally had a serious boyfriend… so… I'm not entirely guiltless, either…"

The smile on Spencer's face disappeared to learn of this revelation; the shoe was on the other foot, and he could see that he, too, had been used more for the sake of projecting a certain image than as a boyfriend.

"I think we both, like, went into this thing for the wrong reasons, and ended up paying the price for it…" lamented Ruby before she offered: "Why don't we, like, just forget about everything, and leave it all behind us?"

Spencer nodded in agreement, "I'm cool with that…"

With that hatchet finally buried, Ruby swallowed her pride and extended to Spencer a hand of friendship, of which he graciously shook; it was for the best that they both could move past the mistakes they had made, and even though, at that point, they both may move forward into different directions, perhaps, their paths could cross again someday…

"Think you might like to give theater another go next year?" Ruby asked before she made him another offer. "I mean, if you'd want to give it another shot, I could, like, totally give you a few pointers… even though you honestly don't need 'em; you were still amazing as Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream!"

As he considered the offer, Spencer revealed a small smile before he made up his mind: "That sounds nice. Maybe someday, when I've figured myself out…"

Ruby smiled as well. She was sincere in her offer – after all, one good turn deserves another, and if her friends were willing to vouch on her behalf to get her back into the club and help her nurture her talent, somebody should be able to extend to Spencer the same courtesy should he ever decide he would like to enroll in the club again himself.

At that moment, Spencer's smile was replaced with a look of curiosity... he had seen the evidence for himself, and he had heard talk around school, but for the sake of his own curiosity, he wanted to know for certain…

"Say, Rubes… uh… are… you and Shannon… really dating now?"

The smile from Ruby's face suddenly disappeared – that question seemingly sprang up from out of nowhere, and she felt a little put off by such. She felt that it was necessary to not only state the facts, but also defend her relationship with her girlfriend:

"Yeah, we really are. Why? Does that, like, bother you?"

It was a little unexpected, at least he thought it was… even though he knew that she and Shannon were best friends, Ruby never really struck him as, 'Swinging that way' when they dated – little did he know that such a thought had never even entered her mind either until she realized she had feelings for her best friend.

Even so, Spencer shook his head and responded, "No… it doesn't… in fact, for what's worth, I hope things work out between you two…"

That resolve left both parties satisfied. No more words were exchanged between the two, but after another smile, Spencer finally went about his way, while Ruby felt a sense of contentment to know that the storm had finally blown over, and she could move forward with this new chapter of her life with the one she loved.

Speaking of whom, little did either of them know that Shannon had actually listened in on their conversation the entire time; when she realized that Ruby was late for rehearsal, she went off in search of her, and could hear their conversation from around the corner. Just the same, the resolution had also brought some contentment to her as well that the two of them were able to put everything to rest, rather than continue to dwell on it. As Ruby remained still for a moment, she was taken by surprise when she suddenly felt Shannon hug her from behind.

"I'm proud of you, Rubes… holding onto grudges is unhealthy," she said before she pulled away from Ruby to allow her to face her. "Do you feel better, now?"

Ruby nodded, "Yeah, I totally do… like one more weight has been lifted off my shoulders…"

Shannon's smile grew; she knew exactly what that felt like – after all, she had experienced it before when she and Amy finally put their own feud to rest. Still, she was pleased that her girlfriend was finally able to do the same for herself as well.

"You know, even despite everything he did, I do wish the best for him…" she said.

"Yeah, me too…" nodded Ruby before she took hold of Shannon's hands and exhaled. "Well… I wonder where we'll go from here…"

"How about the auditorium?" Shannon playfully asked. "We're all waiting for you so we can get started with rehearsals!"

Ruby chuckled; maybe her moment with Spencer was an untimely interruption for the rest of the club, but for what it was worth, it was best to resolve the matter when they could without putting it off any longer. Still, Ruby knew she should not prolong her fellow thespians' wait any further, as she obliged the girlfriend who came to retrieve her.

"You lead, I'll follow!"

With that, the two pressed on for the auditorium, hand-in-hand.


It was a Friday evening in late spring, and the auditorium was packed for the Royal Woods High theater club's latest offering: an abridged version of A Little Princess.

The play had reached its climax, and the captivated audience watched as young Sara (played by Shannon) and her friend, Becky (played by Ruby), raced out onto the balcony of a girl's boarding house, from where they were attempt a daring escape while being pursued by the antagonistic head mistress, Miss Minchin (played by Luan), who tried to have to two girls taken away by the authorities after she had jumped to the conclusion that they were a pair of thieves when she had discovered the lavish amenities that the magical Indian man, Ram Dass (played by Leo), had secretly gifted them to make their accommodations in the drafty attic more comfortable. With nothing more than a long plank of wood extending rather unsteadily over a back alley to the balcony of the building next door, they hesitated as to whether or not they should attempt to make it across.

"No, Miss Sara," objected Becky/Ruby in a British accent with a cockney dialect to convey her lower class upbringing. "It's too dangerous!"

"Come back here, you little thieves!" Miss Minchin/Luan yelled from off stage.

"Take my hand, Becky," instructed Sara/Shannon in a British accent with more of a posh dialect to convey her upper class upbringing, as she carefully maneuvered the both of them up onto the plank. "Just hold onto me, we'll be fine…"

The two girls began their perilous balancing act across the wooden plank, just as the cruel head mistress made it to the balcony along with a pair of bobbies (played by Errol and Ari).

"What in the devil are you doing?!" Miss Minchin/Luan shrieked. "Get back here this instant!"

The audience murmured their worried ooh's and ahh's over each uneasy sway the two girls endured as they carefully tried to balance their way across this unsteady plank to avoid arrest.

"Don't just stand there, go after them!" Miss Minchin/Luan demanded of the authorities.

"We can't, ma'am; it's too risky," said one of the Bobbies (Errol).

Just then, two men raced out onto the balcony of the neighboring building, one of whom was an occupant of the house, Sara and Becky's friend, Ram Dass, and the other man happened to be Sara's father, Captain Richard Crewe (played by Benny); with Ram Dass's help, Captain Crewe, who was previously struck with amnesia, had regained his memory, and discovered his daughter's attempt at escape from the boarding house and Miss Minchin's evil clutches.

"SARA?!" Father/Benny called out in his own best attempt at a British accent.

Sara looked up and immediately recognized her long-lost father, whom she was previously lead to believe was killed in action after he had gone off to war due to a clerical error, little knowing he had been next door all of this time.

"FATHER?!" Sara/Shannon called back to him.

"SARA!" Father/Benny called out once again.

"FATHER!" Sara/Shannon likewise called out once again.

Despite the perilous risk, Father worked his way onto the ledge of the balcony and stepped ever so slightly out onto the plank, where he extended his hand and encouraged his daughter and her friend to come towards him. The two girls swayed far more dramatically to heighten the effect, which elicited even bigger reactions from the audience, but every wobbly and uneven step brought them closer together. Finally, Sara was able to grab her father's hand, as he pulled the two girls to safety; in a whirlwind of emotions, a tearful Sara latched onto her father, who vowed he would never leave his daughter under any circumstances ever again. Everybody in the scene had their hearts moved by the touching reunion they had witnessed… except for Miss Minchin, who merely folded her arms and scowled over the two girls who had escaped her clutches and police arrest.

The auditorium roared with cheers and applause as the lights dimmed and the curtains closed on the latest offering from the Royal Woods High theater club. As was the usual case whenever a play closed to such a tremendous response, Mrs. Bernardo stood off in the wings and blubbered her eyes out in pride over how well her drama students did with their performances. A moment later, the curtain opened again, as the entire cast, which also consisted of a few other thespians as girls who resided at Miss Minchin's boarding school, lined up across the stage, hand-in-hand, and took their bows before their audience, which, by now, had risen into a standing ovation. Ruby felt like she was on top of the world; sure, the audience's cheers and applause felt like an addictive high, but she had thoroughly enjoyed the entire process of being involved with the play, from memorizing lines, to the rehearsals, to the actual performance on stage… she knew for certain now that theater was her calling, and this club was where she belonged.

Moments after the show had finished, the various different drama students began an intense cleanup process, such as the stage crew that carefully dismantled the sets that had been erected and collected the props that had been used, and costumers who helped the actors out of their wardrobe. Congratulations and felicitations were exchanged throughout the club members, though it was their leading lady who found herself on the receiving end of most of the praise.

"You were great tonight, Shannon!" Luan exclaimed.

"You sure were," agreed Benny. "I was really scared you were actually going to fall off that plank."

"I was scared, too," confessed Shannon with a chortle. "When you can't look down to watch your step, your life pretty much hangs in the balance!"

"I see what you did there!" Luan laughed at Shannon's unintentional pun.

"I guess we brought a little authenticity to our performances, huh, Shans?" Amy asked; the ginger-haired girl had played Lavinia, one of the boarding girls who was particularly snotty and possessed a bitterness and envy towards Sara – rather reminiscent of the rivalry that was once possessed by the two thespians.

"I wouldn't say our scenes together required much extra acting effort," said Shannon, half-jokingly.

Benny then turned to Luan to offer his critique on her performance: "Speaking of acting effort, I have to say; I was really blown away by how well you played the heavy, Luan; that must have been a stretch for you to play such a cruel and ruthless character."

"Oh, it wasn't as much of a stretch as you may think," said a rather coy Luan; little did Benny know just how ruthless she can really be on a certain holiday at the beginning of April that leaves even her own family members psychologically scarred.

Finally, Shannon turned to Ruby and likewise offered her critique on her performance: "You did a great job tonight, Rubes… I think you may have found your calling; I was really impressed!"

"As was I," said a tearful Mrs. Bernardo, as she stepped over to address her students and shower them with well-deserved praise. "I was impressed with ALLLLL OF YOOOOOU! You've shown me that you have learned your lessons well… you projected your emotions and established a connection with the audience… their reactions to your performances spoke more volume than any grades I could give you on your report cards… you have been one of the finest classes I have ever taught!"

The thespians were very pleased to hear this coming from their drama teacher; she took theatrics so seriously that it could be a bit of a challenge to please her, but after the play had such a positive reception that evening, they were confident that they had accomplished their objective well.

"See you at the wrap party!" She exclaimed as she disappeared into the wings to let her students finish their cleanup so that they could head over to the gymnasium to celebrate.

As they did, indeed, resume their efforts to clear the stage and store all of the sets, props, and costumes that were used, Ruby turned to Shannon.

"Did I really do a good job?"

Shannon happily nodded, "You really did! You didn't say, 'Like,' once all night!"

"Like, that was, like, so totally hard for me to, like, not to say, 'Like,'" quipped Ruby as she and Shannon shared in a giggle before the Indian girl had another comment to pass along to her co-star: "And, F-Y-I, your voice sounds totally hot with a British accent!"

"Oh, is that so, luv?" Shannon responded in a British accent while Ruby purred.

"You guys were great tonight!" A voiced called out to the two, which turned out to belong to a certain redheaded, blue-and-red-clad girl who approached them.

"Tiff? What are you doing here?" A surprised Ruby asked. "Didn't the Rocket Squirrels, like, have a baseball game tonight?"

"Yeah, their last one of the season," nodded Tiffany. "But, I've seen just about every game they've played this year… I've never seen you guys act in a play before, so I thought I'd come and check you out."

"And, Brandon was cool with that?" Ruby asked.

"Sure; he's the kind of boyfriend who lets me live my life without controlling every aspect of it…" said Tiffany before she saw the crooked expressions on Ruby and Shannon's faces; they got her point, but it probably went better without saying. "Sorry… but, anyway, you guys make a great pair on stage as well as off! Shannon was right, Rubes, you really do have a gift for acting!"

Ruby turned to her girlfriend to see the knowing smile on her face, which brought about a slight blush on hers as she wrapped a hand around her shoulder.

"She would know... she's the best..." gushed Ruby.

"Well, I just wanted to give you guys my glowing review for your performances tonight," said Tiffany before she held up her thumbs. "Two thumbs up!"

"Thanks, Tiff," the two girls said in stereo.

She was not the only surprise attendee who was in the audience that night; no sooner did Tiffany take her leave when another certain someone had stepped backstage to see Ruby in particular: Spencer. With a sense of apprehension and trepidation, he slowly approached the Indian girl, with a bouquet of roses in hand.

"Hey, Ruby…" he mumbled.

"Hey…" Ruby mumbled in return. "I'm surprised to see you here…"

"Yeah… I wanted to come see you perform tonight…" he confessed as he felt a little awkward about this encounter. "You were great… you really are a good actress…"

"Thanks…" said Ruby. "That means a lot coming from you…"

Spencer then made Ruby two offers: one was a weak smile to hear her appreciation for his sincere compliment, and the other was the bouquet of roses he handed to her: "I, uh… I got these… um, these are for you…"

Although Ruby took hold of the bouquet that was offered to her, both she and Shannon looked a might uneasy by his gesture; neither of them were sure just what, exactly, his motives were, but Ruby wanted to make something crystal clear…

"I'm not getting back together with you, Spencer…"

Spencer shook his head and explained, "I know that… and I'm not trying to win you back… I just know it's customary for actors to receive flowers after a performance… I thought you deserved it…"

A lovely sentiment to be sure, and to hear Spencer explain it to her thusly, she came to genuinely appreciate not only his gesture, but also his sincerity as well.

"Thank you, Spencer… that was, like, very thoughtful of you…" said Ruby with a smile.

By now, Spencer had smiled as well; this reaffirmed and solidified the resolution between him and Ruby. As he witnessed other thespians backstage gradually dwindle and having heard Mrs. Bernardo mention a wrap party, he decided to take his leave so as not to keep them from joining the celebration; as he turned to exit, he left Ruby with some final parting words:

"See you next year… maybe…"

"Yeah… see ya…" said Ruby as she watched the burly boy in the orange jersey leave.

"Do you think Spencer would really want to do theater again next year?" Shannon asked.

"I don't know… maybe…" shrugged Ruby.

Shannon took another look at the roses he had presented her and remarked, "That really was nice of him to bring you a bouquet…"

"Yeah, it totally was…" said Ruby, though she couldn't help but feel just a little selfish to have been given such a lovely gift while Shannon stood empty handed. She broke one of the red flowers off of its green stem then slipped it into her girlfriend's thick and wavy brown hair. "A pretty for my pretty."

Shannon smiled and blushed, "Aww, thanks, Rubes… but, you didn't have to do that…"

"I could never do enough for all you've done for me, Shans," said Ruby. "You taught me so much about acting, you even helped get me back into the club… if it wasn't for you, I, like, wouldn't have even been out on that stage with you tonight… I, like, owe all of this to you… thank you..."

Shannon's modesty was evident in her body language as she demurred at Ruby's gratitude while she continued to blush. Ruby then took Shannon by the hand and began their trek over to the gymnasium.

"Now, come on, it's party time!" She exclaimed. "P-A-R-T-Why?"

"Because I gotta!" The two girls chimed together as they quoted a line from Jim Carrey's iconic performance of the titular character from the movie The Mask.


Benny may just finally get a taste of Luan's evil pranking ways in tonight's new episode, "Puns and Buns."

And once again, Tiffany's inclusion was a last-minute addition to this chapter, since it had been drafted long before she evolved into a supporting character in our story, but if you have been paying attention, this was one of the things she had previously foreshadowed in the chapter "News Travels Fast."

Spencer and Ruby's reconciliation was another one of Albertson's major contributions to the story, in fact, it was actually the first thing he had proposed even before I started drafting any of the chapters! His turned out to be another excellent suggestion, because, I must confess, my original plan was for Spencer to remain an irredeemable jerk... not only did Albertson feel like that would be a mistake, but then "Director's Rut" came along, which has shown us that Spencer is happily back in theater again with no explanation whatsoever (meanwhile, Ruby, for whatever reason, was conspicuously absent from that episode) - once again, this further adds to the context of what his thought process has been like over the span of events of "Stage Plight," "Deep Cuts," and now "Director's Rut." Speaking of which, no, "Director's Rut" will not be revisited in this story, as it takes place after the events of such. Interestingly, this was also a point in the story in which Albertson and I had one of our only creative disagreements, but I will explain more about that in our following, final chapter.

Yes, that's right, the next chapter will be the last... one more chapter, followed by a brief afterword, and then we are finally finished!

On an unrelated note, this isn't the first time I have considered working A Little Princess into Loud House fanfiction... I actually have played with the idea of doing a full-on adaptation of such set in an AU Loud House universe, and even had some of the characters' roles figured out, such as Lola and Lynn Loud, Sr. in the roles of Sara and her father, respectively, with Meli Ramos in Becky's role, and maybe even Lindsey Sweetwater as Lavinia. Somehow, I just never really got around to actually writing such, let alone really further develop the concept beyond just a brainstorm.