"Argh, I'm so nervous!" Max said as the queue moved forwards. "I hate
getting report cards, I really never know if I've passed or not."
"I'm not nervous." Lark said. "I've just accepted that I flunked every class."
"I bet you didn't." Max said. "You will have passed at least." They moved forward in the queue to collect their grade sheets again. If they passed a subject they would be able to do it next year. If not then they would have to retake the entire year.
"I don't know why you are worried, you are a straight A student." Lark said.
"Yeah, but that's still terrible. If I get anything less then my teachers will be really disappointed and have a go at me for not trying hard enough."
They collected the sealed envelopes and walked outside, not wanting to look at them. Finally Lark slowly opened hers and read them, then smiled.
"Well?" Max asked, not wanting to open her envelope.
"I passed them all!" Lark said excitedly. "Seven Cs, two Bs and an A! Wow I got an A for Phys Ed!"
"Well done." Max said, tearing open her envelope. She looked at them and then screamed. "All As, oh yes!"
Lark and Max were hugging each other when Terry and Dana walked over. "I take it you guys passed then?" Dana asked, her hand entwined with Terry's. Lark was too happy about passing all her subjects to care.
"Yeah. What about you two?" She asked.
"I passed everything and got four As." Dana said. "It is the best I have ever done."
"What about you Terry?" Max asked.
"I passed everything and got seven As." Terry said. "But my Economics grade is provisional, depending on the standard of my project which is due in next week."
"Have you done it yet?" Dana asked. "Because you'll fail if you don't hand it in."
"It's not finished." Terry said defensively. "But of course I have done some of it." He was lying of course; Terry had almost totally forgotten his Economics project.
"Well, I have to go sweetie." Dana said to Terry. "Lark and I have our last dress rehearsal now."
"Yeah, I have to get to work." Terry said. "So I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Of course." Dana said, kissing Terry. He kissed her back, so she returned his kiss. This went on for a while.
"When they stop tell Dana I went to rehearsal." Lark said to Max, not particularly wanting to watch Terry and Dana together. It felt as if her heart would split in two, she was so split between wanting to see them happy, and wanting Terry for herself. She walked off quickly before tears could even threaten to prick her grey eyes.
"Lark, wait up!" Dana called, running over. "Sorry about that. I got a bit carried away with Terry."
"I noticed." Said Lark. They got changed into their costumes for the final dress rehearsal. The show was the day after the next. As they were changing Dana chattered on about how wonderful it was to be back with Terry, and Lark had to busy herself thinking about other things to stop herself from running out of the school and out of town.
When they walked through to the hall it looked fantastic. It had been decorated in Halloween style décor, and all the chairs were set out. The stage was set and everyone was standing about in costume.
"Positions everyone. Full run through with music, dance, acting, singing, lights, props, the works!" Miss McCracken called from the lighting box.
They rushed to position and Lark stood at the back of the hall, almost unable to control her nerves. As the music started she made her way down the aisle, somersaulting and cartwheeling. Everything went well. The continued their rehearsal with out a hitch for the entire first act. Lark was standing on stage for the beginning of the second, and final act. She watched as the stage hands checked and double checked Dana's harness. At this point Dana made a dramatic entrance by flying across the stage, support by two almost invisible yet incredibly strong strings.
In an instant the music started and Dan was flying high over Lark's head. Lark began her dance routine, letting the music fill her body and take her to another world as she pirouetted to the beat. But suddenly a shiver ran down her spine, something was very wrong. She looked up just in time to see Dana's support strings snap. Dana was twenty feet above the stage, and no one acted quick enough to catch her as she plummeted to the ground. She hit the stage with a resounding crack and lay still.
Lark and several others screamed. Lark was among some of the cast who ran over to Dana's limp body.
"Dana?" Lark cried. "Dana, can you hear me?" She shouted. But Dana made no response. Her face was ghostly white and something that looked suspiciously like blood trickled onto the stage.
In what seemed like seconds and months at the same time the ambulance arrived, screaming its siren like a banshee. Hospital workers pushed the cast back as they manoeuvred Dana onto a stretcher and carried her out to the waiting ambulance. Lark followed but was stopped by an ambulance worker.
"Sorry." He said. "No friends allowed. You can visit your chum in hospital."
"But I'm her sister!" Lark lied. The ambulance driver looked at her suspiciously but helped her to get into the ambulance next to Dana. She was pushed back as she watched her bustle around Dana, but through a gap Lark could see blood staining the crisp white sheets of the bed.
"Terry, I'm glad you got here." Bruce said as Terry arrived. "I intercepted a radio message from an ambulance just now. It appears that Dracula's Nemesis struck again. A girl got taken to hospital."
"Oh no!" Terry said. "Lark was there, is she OK?"
Bruce looked at Terry but shook his head. "Lark is fine. I'm sorry Terry, but the name transmitted on the radio was Dana."
Terry paled visibly. "I have to go to the hospital." He said.
"Wait!" Bruce said. "First things first. You have to investigate the crime scene before you visit Dana." Terry didn't like the idea, but he knew that his being at the hospital wouldn't make the slightest bit of difference to Dana.
As Batman he hurried to the school. The police tape had been put up and some cast members were being interviewed for information. Batman sneaked in through a skylight and dropped into the hall. He hurried over to the stage. He was shocked to see blood on the stage. He looked above it and saw the ends of the support strings blowing in a draft. He leapt nimbly up to them and studied them carefully.
"This was no accident." He said. He saw that on each of the strings someone had placed an extremely small charge of explosive. Probably not even enough to make a sound, but enough to cause enough heat to burn through the thin cords. Hearing some police officers come in through the stage door he left though the skylight quickly, but not until he had taken a small sample of the explosive used.
As he flew back to the Batcave Terry was wondering about something. When Bruce had told him about the accident he hadn't thought about Dana first, but of Lark. He hated this fact, he should have asked about his girlfriend first, because he loved her didn't he. Or did he? In the end he put the fact that he had asked after Lark down to the fact that he knew she was on the lookout for Dracula's Nemesis and would be more likely to get into trouble than Dana would.
About half an hour later Terry was walking briskly down a hospital corridor. He had dropped the explosive sample back at the Batcave and was now on his way to visit Dana. He had been told she was on Ward 13, so he made his way there now. At the end of the corridor were yet more police detectives, standing around someone.
"Look, I don't know any more than I have told you." Terry heard someone say. "I came with her because she is my friend."
"Hey!" Terry said, recognising the voice to be Lark's and she sounded distressed. "Leave her alone."
The officers looked at him, but it was clear that they had asked all their questions. "Come on boys." One said. "They will need us back at the crime scene."
The officers left and Terry now saw Lark sitting huddled on a bench. She was wrapped in a blanket and looked pale. She had clearly been crying as her black makeup that was required for the part was smudged. She was still in costume.
"Terry!" She said, standing up when she saw him. She ran over and hugged him. Terry could feel that she was shaking.
"Are you OK?" He asked. She just nodded into his shoulder. She felt safe in his warm, strong arms.
"Where is Dana?" Terry asked. "What happened, is she OK?"
Lark looked up and Terry could see that she had been crying again. She gulped before speaking. "I-I-it was terrible." She said. "She j-j-j-just fell. She was taken to theatre about.about an hour or so ago.I don't know what's wrong exactly. T-t-t-the doctors said something about a broken arm and head injuries. Oh Terry it was terrible. She just dropped and she was bleeding and her face." Lark broke down into sobs again.
"Shush!" Terry said kindly, pulling Lark closer to him and stroking her soft hair comfortingly.
"Excuse me, are you Dana's sister?" A doctor said from behind them. To Terry's surprise Lark nodded. "Then you can come with me while I explain what is wrong with her."
"T-t-this is her boyfriend." Lark said. "And my friend. Can he come too?" The doctor looked at Terry. It wasn't hospital policy to allow non- family members to hear the explanation about injuries. But one look at Lark's face told him that Lark needed a comforting arm around her.
"Ver well." He said. He led them through to his office. Seeing that Lark was still trembling and crying he sat he down and pulled a syringe from his briefcase. "I'm going to give you something to calm you down and combat the shock." He said. He took Lark's arm in his hand and she flinched as she felt the cold needle penetrate her skin. Almost instantly she felt a bit better.
"Have some tea or coffee." The doctor said, handing them both teacups. They sipped the tea as the doctor sat down. "I haven't been able to get hold of your parents." He said to Lark, still thinking that she was Dana's sister. "But I will explain to you what has happened and when they are contacted I will explain to them too."
"Can you not mention that I was here?" Lark said quickly. The doctor looked at her suspiciously at she quickly made up a convincing lie. "It's just that Dana's father isn't really my father, he's my stepfather and he doesn't really like me. And besides I wasn't meant to be in this play. Dana and I are half sisters." She added.
"Right. That would explain why your ID had a different surname." He said. "Anyway, Dana is suffering from a severely broken arm and bad concussion. From what I hear of the accident she got off lightly."
"Will she be OK?" Terry asked.
"The arm will heal in time, and the concussion can be easily treated with today's medicine. We still can't mend a broken bone in seconds but we can fix severe concussion." Joked the doctor. "She will be out of here the day after tomorrow, but she will have to keep her cast on her arm for about two to three weeks, just to be safe."
Terry and Lark thanked the doctor, who told them that Dana was resting now but they could come and see her the next day. They left the office and almost walked straight in to Miss McCracken.
"Lark!" She said. "Are you OK?"
"Yes, fine." Lark said. "I just got treated for shock. Dana will be fine too, eventually." She said.
"Yes, well actually I need to talk to you." Miss McCracken said. "Privately."
"That's fine." Terry said. "I need to make a call anyway. Will you be OK?" He asked Lark. She nodded and he squeezed her hand before making his way to the phone.
"Hey Bruce, it's me." Hey said when Bruce Wayne picked up the phone. "I at the hospital. Listen, did you run the tests on that sample of explosive."
"I just finished them." Bruce replied. "No further clues. It's a simple concoction, it could even me made in your school lab."
"That makes sense, everything else has pointed to someone in the school." Terry replied.
"So how is your girlfriend?" Bruce asked. "Badly hurt."
"Broken arm and concussion, they can fix that pretty quickly. She won't be well in time for the play." Terry replied.
"Oh well, I think it is best for the remaining participants if they cancel the play." Bruce said.
"It would be a shame though. I'd better go." He said.
"McGinnis, how is Lark?" Bruce asked quickly.
"You mean your granddaughter?" Terry asked, knowing full well that Bruce was Lark's grandfather but wanting to remind him of this. "She's a bit shaken up. She came to the hospital with Dana though. She got treated for shock. I'm going to walk her home, just to make sure she's OK."
"Thanks Terry." Bruce replied. "I don't want her getting involved in this any more."
"But you don't want to be involved with her?" Terry asked. "You can't tell her what to do and still not recognise that she is your family you know."
"Don't speak to me like that." Bruce said sharply. "I don't want her to get hurt."
"A word of advice Bruce. If you don't give her an answer about whether or not you want something to do with her soon, she will get mentally hurt. See you tomorrow." Terry said, before hanging up. He turned around and saw that Lark didn't look too happy. She seemed to be arguing with Miss McCracken about something, and Miss McCracken didn't look like she was about to back down.
"The show will have to be cancelled if you don't." The teacher was saying.
"But my part. My understudy can't do my entrance. And besides I can't act or sing." Lark said.
"You can do the first entrance and dance as normal, and after that your understudy takes over. We'll cut the bit with the wires after today obviously. And I know that you can act because I saw you playing Juliet in class. As for the singing, we can put a backing tape on and you can mime." The teacher replied.
"I." Lark sighed. Terry walked over.
"Is something wrong?" He asked.
"Miss McCracken wants me to take on Dana's part in the play and let my understudy take my part." Lark replied.
"Or the show will be cancelled." Miss McCracken said. "I won't take no for an answer Lark. You and I both know you can make a great job of it. I'll get a costume from the hire shop tonight; go over Dana's part with you tomorrow in an extra rehearsal and you will be ready for the opening night. You've been in every rehearsal with Dana, I bet you know her part better than she did."
"Does, she's still alive you know!" Lark said hotly.
"Then do it for Dana. She'd want you to have her role." Miss McCracken begged. Lark waned at this.
"Alright." She said. "I'll do it for Dana."
"Excellent. I'll see you tomorrow after school for an emergency rehearsal." With that Miss McCracken bustled off.
"Are you OK with doing Dana's part?" Terry asked as they walked away from the hospital.
"I do know it." Lark replied. "I just feel guilty that Dana will be strapped up in that cast and I'll be doing her part."
"I'm sure she'd be happy that it was you doing it though." Terry said.
"I'm scared though Terry. If Dracula's Nemesis strikes again." Lark began.
"Don't worry. I have a feeling that 'someone' will be around to watch your rehearsal tomorrow." Terry said. "And I have a ticket to the first night so you'll be fine."
"Thank you." They walked in silence until they were outside Lark's house. "Well, thank you for walking me home and supporting me at the hospital." Lark said to Terry.
"Go inside and get some sleep." He said.
"I will, although I don't know if I'll sleep well. The sight of Dana falling.let us just say that it isn't a sight I'm going to forget easily." Lark said.
"Don't worry. She's fine, that's the main thing. It could have been a lot worse." Terry walked back down the steps outside the house. "See you tomorrow."
"Goodnight." She said, as she let herself in and closed the door. She climbed the stairs and pulled her costume off. She put it straight into her school bag so she wouldn't forget it the next day. She collapsed onto her bed and wrapped herself in her sheets, only then did she feel cocooned and safe. Her emotions overwhelmed her, her feelings for Terry, her possible relationship with her grandfather and the sight of Dana crashing to the ground jostled for a place in her thoughts. Eventually she fell into fitful sleep, constantly reliving the sight of Dana falling in her dreams.
"I'm not nervous." Lark said. "I've just accepted that I flunked every class."
"I bet you didn't." Max said. "You will have passed at least." They moved forward in the queue to collect their grade sheets again. If they passed a subject they would be able to do it next year. If not then they would have to retake the entire year.
"I don't know why you are worried, you are a straight A student." Lark said.
"Yeah, but that's still terrible. If I get anything less then my teachers will be really disappointed and have a go at me for not trying hard enough."
They collected the sealed envelopes and walked outside, not wanting to look at them. Finally Lark slowly opened hers and read them, then smiled.
"Well?" Max asked, not wanting to open her envelope.
"I passed them all!" Lark said excitedly. "Seven Cs, two Bs and an A! Wow I got an A for Phys Ed!"
"Well done." Max said, tearing open her envelope. She looked at them and then screamed. "All As, oh yes!"
Lark and Max were hugging each other when Terry and Dana walked over. "I take it you guys passed then?" Dana asked, her hand entwined with Terry's. Lark was too happy about passing all her subjects to care.
"Yeah. What about you two?" She asked.
"I passed everything and got four As." Dana said. "It is the best I have ever done."
"What about you Terry?" Max asked.
"I passed everything and got seven As." Terry said. "But my Economics grade is provisional, depending on the standard of my project which is due in next week."
"Have you done it yet?" Dana asked. "Because you'll fail if you don't hand it in."
"It's not finished." Terry said defensively. "But of course I have done some of it." He was lying of course; Terry had almost totally forgotten his Economics project.
"Well, I have to go sweetie." Dana said to Terry. "Lark and I have our last dress rehearsal now."
"Yeah, I have to get to work." Terry said. "So I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Of course." Dana said, kissing Terry. He kissed her back, so she returned his kiss. This went on for a while.
"When they stop tell Dana I went to rehearsal." Lark said to Max, not particularly wanting to watch Terry and Dana together. It felt as if her heart would split in two, she was so split between wanting to see them happy, and wanting Terry for herself. She walked off quickly before tears could even threaten to prick her grey eyes.
"Lark, wait up!" Dana called, running over. "Sorry about that. I got a bit carried away with Terry."
"I noticed." Said Lark. They got changed into their costumes for the final dress rehearsal. The show was the day after the next. As they were changing Dana chattered on about how wonderful it was to be back with Terry, and Lark had to busy herself thinking about other things to stop herself from running out of the school and out of town.
When they walked through to the hall it looked fantastic. It had been decorated in Halloween style décor, and all the chairs were set out. The stage was set and everyone was standing about in costume.
"Positions everyone. Full run through with music, dance, acting, singing, lights, props, the works!" Miss McCracken called from the lighting box.
They rushed to position and Lark stood at the back of the hall, almost unable to control her nerves. As the music started she made her way down the aisle, somersaulting and cartwheeling. Everything went well. The continued their rehearsal with out a hitch for the entire first act. Lark was standing on stage for the beginning of the second, and final act. She watched as the stage hands checked and double checked Dana's harness. At this point Dana made a dramatic entrance by flying across the stage, support by two almost invisible yet incredibly strong strings.
In an instant the music started and Dan was flying high over Lark's head. Lark began her dance routine, letting the music fill her body and take her to another world as she pirouetted to the beat. But suddenly a shiver ran down her spine, something was very wrong. She looked up just in time to see Dana's support strings snap. Dana was twenty feet above the stage, and no one acted quick enough to catch her as she plummeted to the ground. She hit the stage with a resounding crack and lay still.
Lark and several others screamed. Lark was among some of the cast who ran over to Dana's limp body.
"Dana?" Lark cried. "Dana, can you hear me?" She shouted. But Dana made no response. Her face was ghostly white and something that looked suspiciously like blood trickled onto the stage.
In what seemed like seconds and months at the same time the ambulance arrived, screaming its siren like a banshee. Hospital workers pushed the cast back as they manoeuvred Dana onto a stretcher and carried her out to the waiting ambulance. Lark followed but was stopped by an ambulance worker.
"Sorry." He said. "No friends allowed. You can visit your chum in hospital."
"But I'm her sister!" Lark lied. The ambulance driver looked at her suspiciously but helped her to get into the ambulance next to Dana. She was pushed back as she watched her bustle around Dana, but through a gap Lark could see blood staining the crisp white sheets of the bed.
"Terry, I'm glad you got here." Bruce said as Terry arrived. "I intercepted a radio message from an ambulance just now. It appears that Dracula's Nemesis struck again. A girl got taken to hospital."
"Oh no!" Terry said. "Lark was there, is she OK?"
Bruce looked at Terry but shook his head. "Lark is fine. I'm sorry Terry, but the name transmitted on the radio was Dana."
Terry paled visibly. "I have to go to the hospital." He said.
"Wait!" Bruce said. "First things first. You have to investigate the crime scene before you visit Dana." Terry didn't like the idea, but he knew that his being at the hospital wouldn't make the slightest bit of difference to Dana.
As Batman he hurried to the school. The police tape had been put up and some cast members were being interviewed for information. Batman sneaked in through a skylight and dropped into the hall. He hurried over to the stage. He was shocked to see blood on the stage. He looked above it and saw the ends of the support strings blowing in a draft. He leapt nimbly up to them and studied them carefully.
"This was no accident." He said. He saw that on each of the strings someone had placed an extremely small charge of explosive. Probably not even enough to make a sound, but enough to cause enough heat to burn through the thin cords. Hearing some police officers come in through the stage door he left though the skylight quickly, but not until he had taken a small sample of the explosive used.
As he flew back to the Batcave Terry was wondering about something. When Bruce had told him about the accident he hadn't thought about Dana first, but of Lark. He hated this fact, he should have asked about his girlfriend first, because he loved her didn't he. Or did he? In the end he put the fact that he had asked after Lark down to the fact that he knew she was on the lookout for Dracula's Nemesis and would be more likely to get into trouble than Dana would.
About half an hour later Terry was walking briskly down a hospital corridor. He had dropped the explosive sample back at the Batcave and was now on his way to visit Dana. He had been told she was on Ward 13, so he made his way there now. At the end of the corridor were yet more police detectives, standing around someone.
"Look, I don't know any more than I have told you." Terry heard someone say. "I came with her because she is my friend."
"Hey!" Terry said, recognising the voice to be Lark's and she sounded distressed. "Leave her alone."
The officers looked at him, but it was clear that they had asked all their questions. "Come on boys." One said. "They will need us back at the crime scene."
The officers left and Terry now saw Lark sitting huddled on a bench. She was wrapped in a blanket and looked pale. She had clearly been crying as her black makeup that was required for the part was smudged. She was still in costume.
"Terry!" She said, standing up when she saw him. She ran over and hugged him. Terry could feel that she was shaking.
"Are you OK?" He asked. She just nodded into his shoulder. She felt safe in his warm, strong arms.
"Where is Dana?" Terry asked. "What happened, is she OK?"
Lark looked up and Terry could see that she had been crying again. She gulped before speaking. "I-I-it was terrible." She said. "She j-j-j-just fell. She was taken to theatre about.about an hour or so ago.I don't know what's wrong exactly. T-t-t-the doctors said something about a broken arm and head injuries. Oh Terry it was terrible. She just dropped and she was bleeding and her face." Lark broke down into sobs again.
"Shush!" Terry said kindly, pulling Lark closer to him and stroking her soft hair comfortingly.
"Excuse me, are you Dana's sister?" A doctor said from behind them. To Terry's surprise Lark nodded. "Then you can come with me while I explain what is wrong with her."
"T-t-this is her boyfriend." Lark said. "And my friend. Can he come too?" The doctor looked at Terry. It wasn't hospital policy to allow non- family members to hear the explanation about injuries. But one look at Lark's face told him that Lark needed a comforting arm around her.
"Ver well." He said. He led them through to his office. Seeing that Lark was still trembling and crying he sat he down and pulled a syringe from his briefcase. "I'm going to give you something to calm you down and combat the shock." He said. He took Lark's arm in his hand and she flinched as she felt the cold needle penetrate her skin. Almost instantly she felt a bit better.
"Have some tea or coffee." The doctor said, handing them both teacups. They sipped the tea as the doctor sat down. "I haven't been able to get hold of your parents." He said to Lark, still thinking that she was Dana's sister. "But I will explain to you what has happened and when they are contacted I will explain to them too."
"Can you not mention that I was here?" Lark said quickly. The doctor looked at her suspiciously at she quickly made up a convincing lie. "It's just that Dana's father isn't really my father, he's my stepfather and he doesn't really like me. And besides I wasn't meant to be in this play. Dana and I are half sisters." She added.
"Right. That would explain why your ID had a different surname." He said. "Anyway, Dana is suffering from a severely broken arm and bad concussion. From what I hear of the accident she got off lightly."
"Will she be OK?" Terry asked.
"The arm will heal in time, and the concussion can be easily treated with today's medicine. We still can't mend a broken bone in seconds but we can fix severe concussion." Joked the doctor. "She will be out of here the day after tomorrow, but she will have to keep her cast on her arm for about two to three weeks, just to be safe."
Terry and Lark thanked the doctor, who told them that Dana was resting now but they could come and see her the next day. They left the office and almost walked straight in to Miss McCracken.
"Lark!" She said. "Are you OK?"
"Yes, fine." Lark said. "I just got treated for shock. Dana will be fine too, eventually." She said.
"Yes, well actually I need to talk to you." Miss McCracken said. "Privately."
"That's fine." Terry said. "I need to make a call anyway. Will you be OK?" He asked Lark. She nodded and he squeezed her hand before making his way to the phone.
"Hey Bruce, it's me." Hey said when Bruce Wayne picked up the phone. "I at the hospital. Listen, did you run the tests on that sample of explosive."
"I just finished them." Bruce replied. "No further clues. It's a simple concoction, it could even me made in your school lab."
"That makes sense, everything else has pointed to someone in the school." Terry replied.
"So how is your girlfriend?" Bruce asked. "Badly hurt."
"Broken arm and concussion, they can fix that pretty quickly. She won't be well in time for the play." Terry replied.
"Oh well, I think it is best for the remaining participants if they cancel the play." Bruce said.
"It would be a shame though. I'd better go." He said.
"McGinnis, how is Lark?" Bruce asked quickly.
"You mean your granddaughter?" Terry asked, knowing full well that Bruce was Lark's grandfather but wanting to remind him of this. "She's a bit shaken up. She came to the hospital with Dana though. She got treated for shock. I'm going to walk her home, just to make sure she's OK."
"Thanks Terry." Bruce replied. "I don't want her getting involved in this any more."
"But you don't want to be involved with her?" Terry asked. "You can't tell her what to do and still not recognise that she is your family you know."
"Don't speak to me like that." Bruce said sharply. "I don't want her to get hurt."
"A word of advice Bruce. If you don't give her an answer about whether or not you want something to do with her soon, she will get mentally hurt. See you tomorrow." Terry said, before hanging up. He turned around and saw that Lark didn't look too happy. She seemed to be arguing with Miss McCracken about something, and Miss McCracken didn't look like she was about to back down.
"The show will have to be cancelled if you don't." The teacher was saying.
"But my part. My understudy can't do my entrance. And besides I can't act or sing." Lark said.
"You can do the first entrance and dance as normal, and after that your understudy takes over. We'll cut the bit with the wires after today obviously. And I know that you can act because I saw you playing Juliet in class. As for the singing, we can put a backing tape on and you can mime." The teacher replied.
"I." Lark sighed. Terry walked over.
"Is something wrong?" He asked.
"Miss McCracken wants me to take on Dana's part in the play and let my understudy take my part." Lark replied.
"Or the show will be cancelled." Miss McCracken said. "I won't take no for an answer Lark. You and I both know you can make a great job of it. I'll get a costume from the hire shop tonight; go over Dana's part with you tomorrow in an extra rehearsal and you will be ready for the opening night. You've been in every rehearsal with Dana, I bet you know her part better than she did."
"Does, she's still alive you know!" Lark said hotly.
"Then do it for Dana. She'd want you to have her role." Miss McCracken begged. Lark waned at this.
"Alright." She said. "I'll do it for Dana."
"Excellent. I'll see you tomorrow after school for an emergency rehearsal." With that Miss McCracken bustled off.
"Are you OK with doing Dana's part?" Terry asked as they walked away from the hospital.
"I do know it." Lark replied. "I just feel guilty that Dana will be strapped up in that cast and I'll be doing her part."
"I'm sure she'd be happy that it was you doing it though." Terry said.
"I'm scared though Terry. If Dracula's Nemesis strikes again." Lark began.
"Don't worry. I have a feeling that 'someone' will be around to watch your rehearsal tomorrow." Terry said. "And I have a ticket to the first night so you'll be fine."
"Thank you." They walked in silence until they were outside Lark's house. "Well, thank you for walking me home and supporting me at the hospital." Lark said to Terry.
"Go inside and get some sleep." He said.
"I will, although I don't know if I'll sleep well. The sight of Dana falling.let us just say that it isn't a sight I'm going to forget easily." Lark said.
"Don't worry. She's fine, that's the main thing. It could have been a lot worse." Terry walked back down the steps outside the house. "See you tomorrow."
"Goodnight." She said, as she let herself in and closed the door. She climbed the stairs and pulled her costume off. She put it straight into her school bag so she wouldn't forget it the next day. She collapsed onto her bed and wrapped herself in her sheets, only then did she feel cocooned and safe. Her emotions overwhelmed her, her feelings for Terry, her possible relationship with her grandfather and the sight of Dana crashing to the ground jostled for a place in her thoughts. Eventually she fell into fitful sleep, constantly reliving the sight of Dana falling in her dreams.
