Disclaimer: Yes! I updated! Oh, by the way, to those of you who are curious enough… the reaction Calvin gives is the same that I gave when I got the role of the Sandman…. with the exception of my previous roles being dramatically enriched. Oh, and please DON'T ASK about the Dew Fairy. She was like my opposite in the play. Same disclaimer as usual, don't own Calvin and Hobbes.

Calvin gaped at Hobbes at Miss Wormwood's announcement. "Excuse me?" he said tentatively. "Did you say that a Senior named Rosalyn would play the part of the witch?"

"Yes, I did Calvin," she said, and turned her attention to the rest of the class. "You are all dismissed, and thank you for trying out!"

"I can't believe this!" Calvin complained to Hobbes as they walked out of the auditorium. "How could Tommy Chestnut get the starring role?"

"Well, he was good at reading the lines," Hobbes commented.

"Tommy Chestnut, Hobbes. The kid who teased us for taking you to school. The kid you tried to eat."

"Oh. Him," Hobbes shuddered. "He tasted like stale bologna. And a walrus."

The two walked down the sidewalk to Calvin's Mom's waiting car. "And she gave the witch to Rosalyn!"

"It fits her well," Hobbes said, rolling his eyes.

"Hi honey," Calvin's Mom said as Calvin clambered into the car. "How were try-outs?"

"Not good. I didn't get Hansel. Instead I got the Sandman," Calvin muttered darkly.

"Well, you can't always have the part you want, Calvin," the boy's mother said. "Besides, I'll bet the Sandman is a fun role!"

"Fun?" Calvin laughed sarcastically. "I have one line!"

"You had one line in your last play," Calvin's Mom said as she drove away.

"Yeah, but that was different. I had a dramatically enriched role. This time I'm just an old guy who hobbles on stage, throws sand at someone, and then leaves." Calvin leaned back against the leather seat and waited to get home.

That night, after dinner, Calvin and Hobbes went into the woods and sat in a field, while Calvin studied his line. "Don't be frightened. I'm the SandMAN!" Calvin said, putting an accent into "man."

"I don't think it's good to annunciate the 'man' part in that. Say it like, 'Don't be frightened! I'm the Sandman!'" Hobbes explained.

"I'll NEVER get this right!" Calvin whined. "Why don't just ad-lib this?"

Hobbes rolled his eyes. "Like you ad-libbed your onion role?"

"HEY!" Calvin shouted quickly. "It wasn't my fault the play was ruined!"

"Actually, it was," Hobbes mused, laughing a little.

"Shut up…" Calvin said, slumping against a log.

For a while, everything went fine with the play. Calvin was forced to attend practice every day by his parents. ("You made the commitment, now live up to it!") He was starting to get a hang of acting, but then came the day to get costumes.

"All right," Miss Wormwood said, "I'd like the Sandman and the Dew Fairy to go with Mrs. Derkins (A/N: Has she EVER been used in a fic before???) to get their costumes."

Shrugging, Calvin, followed by Susie's friend Jessica, went over to Susie's mom, who was waiting behind the chairs in the auditorium. She led them through the double doors toward a set of stairs, which led them to a basement. It was dank and dingy, and Calvin shivered a little because of it.

"Now, I hope you like these costumes. They're the ones I like best," she muttered, rummaging through a large blue plastic bin. She pulled out a frilly pink tutu and tights that had leaves intertwined into its fabric. "This is the Dew Fairy's costume. Go try it on, Jessica."

"Yes Mrs. Derkins!" Jessica said, giggling incessantly. She loved the color pink.

"And now yours, Calvin," Mrs. Derkins said, delving into another plastic bin, this one green. She pulled out a light blue sweater and dark blue pajama pants. Calvin shrugged. He was okay with that. Then she pulled out what looked like a Christmas hat painted blue. He was starting to get a little irritated with it. Finally, to top it all off, she pulled out shoes that had toes that curled up. (A/N: I HATED THAT STUPID COSTUME!)

"WHAT?" Calvin exploded. "YOU EXPECT ME TO WEAR THAT?"

Mrs. Derkins sighed. "I'm sorry if you don't like it, Calvin, but Miss Wormwood wants you to wear this. Complain to her if you like, but I'm not making you another one."

"I will, then," Calvin muttered, grabbing the costume from Mrs. Derkins, and stormed off towards Miss Wormwood.

"I'm sorry Calvin," Miss Wormwood said after she heard Calvin's protests, "but that's your costume."

Calvin's eyes were livid with rage. "First you degrade me by giving me the role of the Sandman," he snarled, "and now you make me wear this?" He gestured angrily at the outfit, then continued. "Miss Wormwood, I HATE this play!"

"I'm sorry you feel that way, Calvin," Miss Wormwood said, "but it is too late to pull out now. The date for the play is in three weeks. You already should have your line memorized. Do you?"

"Yes," Calvin quickly lied.

"Good," Miss Wormwood smiled down on Calvin, a rare sight, and then turned her attention towards the rest of the class. "Okay, practice is over!"

The class all shuffled out of the auditorium, and Calvin quickly spotted his mom's car. He hopped into the backseat, and buckled in. "How was practice, dear?"

"Well, I hate my costume and Mrs. Derkins and Miss Wormwood," Calvin said, letting his sentence trail off.

"Calvin! Mrs. Derkins is a nice person! How can you hate her?"

"She designed my costume," Calvin muttered morbidly.

Calvin's mom drove them to their suburban home, and Calvin ran up to his room (after being greeted by an over-enthusiastic Hobbes) and quickly got out a sheet of paper and crayons. Hobbes wandered in about ten minutes after Calvin had started his drawing. "What'cha drawing?" Hobbes asked nonchalantly, munching on an apple.

"I'm re-designing my costume," Calvin said, biting his tongue as he added the finishing touches to his drawing. "There! Done!" He shoved the paper under Hobbes's nose. "What do you think?"

Hobbes glanced down at the drawing Calvin had done. As usual, Calvin's art left something to be desired. It was a crude drawing of himself, but instead of his usual attire, he had on a dark green shirt with a dark red star in the center. Around the star, in yellow letters, it said "Sleep- OR ELSE!" The drawing's pants were lightning bolt in shape.

"Well?" Calvin asked impatiently.

"Um… da Vinci could have done better, that's for sure," Hobbes said, rolling his eyes.

"You just don't appreciate great art when you see it," Calvin muttered darkly.

"What's this for, anyways?" Hobbes asked.

"I'm going to give it to Miss Wormwood- hopefully she'll let me use it for a costume."

Hobbes walked out of the room, rolling his eyes. Just like she should've let you play Hansel, Hobbes thought, snickering mentally.