Wah! I'm so sorry to all my reviewers for taking so DANG long to update. School is being the biggest pain right now (I would use something much more colorful, but being that this is a G rated thing… or is it PG? Anyway, I'm sure that it would highly offend quite a few people.) So if you're still reading this, onward!

Standard disclaimer still applies. I don't own JN… (though the revenue I'm sure it generates would be pretty nice right now…)

To Cross the Rubicon
By: pottergal

Chapter Four: Preparations

Cindy sighed contentedly as Libby ran a brush through her hair, ridding it of the snarls and overall rat's nest look she'd gained in her rush to get out the door this morning. Natesa was painting Cindy's nails a dark shade of shimmering green and Nissa was selecting out the proper shades of eye shadow for everyone. Libby was going to need a faint shade of lavender, as her costume was that color, Natesa was going to need dark blue, and Cindy was going to need green.

"How's that?"

Cindy looked down at Natesa, who'd just put the finishing touches on her toenails. Cindy wiggled her toes, watching the nail polish shine in the light, and she grinned.

"It looks perfect," she said and Natesa returned her smile as she capped the polish. "Thanks again, everyone, for doing this. I feel like a princess."

"I warned you about working too hard," Libby said as she took a clip carefully from Cindy, whose fingernails weren't quite dry yet, and started to pin back Cindy's bangs. "You just get so caught up in everything that you start forgettin stuff. You were supposed to do this last night, weren't you?"

"I can't exactly do my hair the night before," Cindy said, feeling slightly stung. So what if she'd been working extra hard on their project? Natesa and Nissa had been working on the costumes, so she and Libby had agreed to work on the presentation. She'd been up late last night putting the finishing touches on the design, to make sure it looked perfect, and Libby was complaining?

"Could I have that mirror, Nissa?" Libby called, ignoring Cindy's comment. "I need to know if this looks okay."

"Sure," the girl said, bringing over the mirror as well as three little compacts. "And I found three different shades of green, Cindy, so you'll need to pick one." She handed over one, which Cindy opened carefully before shaking her head.

"This one is too dark," she said, taking the next one. "This one is better, but let me see the last one before I decide." She opened the final compact and frowned. "Well, I still think the second one will look best. Thanks, Nissa."

"No problem," she said with a smile. "I'm just glad I'm not one of the dancers; I have no bodily coordination at all."

"You can jump rope fine," Cindy said and Nissa smiled.

"But jumping rope is completely different from dancing, and trust me. I never would've learned the routine you guys cooked up," she said as she began laying out the makeup for everyone. "It looks excellent, by the way. I know Mrs. Ojufemi was deeply impressed by how fast you picked up the steps."

"She was a great teacher," Cindy said, giving Natesa a grin, who promptly blushed. "It helped that it was fun."

"Maybe for you," Libby said as she handed Cindy the mirror so she could see what Libby had done. "But I wasn't exactly happy with the gauntlet you had us running. Dance practice Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, and then making us whip together that oral presentation! I thought I was going to collapse from the stress!"

"I just wanted this to be perfect," Cindy said, frowning up at her best friend. "You know my quirks; I couldn't help it."

"Cindy, this was a level you've never been at before," Libby said as she walked over to the remaining bags and began to fish out several large pieces of fabric. "So are you going to see this thing through? All three of us nearly flipped when you didn't show this morning."

"I said I was sorry, all right? It wasn't really my fault," Cindy said as she stood to help. "I can't control power surges."

They were currently on their lunch break and they'd kicked everyone from the classroom before drawing the blinds so they could decorate in peace. Nissa had been able to wrangle tons of spare cloth from her mother's sewing store, and they'd already used some of it to cover the blackboard and walls. Natesa was now draping it from the ceiling with Libby's help, and Cindy set about lighting the incense.

"Uh, Carl isn't going to have an allergy attack to that, is he?" Libby asked, balancing carefully on a desk while holding up a section of cloth as Natesa stapled it several times to secure it.

"Don't worry, I took some over to his house and burned it in his room," she said and Libby gave her a look which was a mixture of surprise and disbelief. "Yes, it was with his permission, and no, he didn't have an attack. The lady who sold it to me assured me that it wouldn't affect people with asthma, and it turned out to be true."

"And it certainly smells good," Nissa said as she handed Libby and Natesa more cloth. "We're almost done guys, and then we can change in the bathroom. I've made sure that no one will be in there."

"Cool," Cindy said as she began to move desks to the perimeter of the room. They needed as much space as possible for this. "Do you think we should just stack the desks in a corner and then put down all those pillows Nissa brought? I think it might actually work better that way."

"No, I don't think so," Libby said as she hopped down and dusted off her hands. "I think it would give us less space." Cindy frowned as she worked to visualize the layout. "We'll find some other way to use Nissa's pillows, because she didn't bring too many."

"Maybe we should set them aside for us to sit on, once we've finished the dance," Natesa said as she joined Libby on the ground, tossing her braid over her shoulder when she landed. "And we should head to the bathroom now; we only have twenty minutes before everyone is due back." Cindy nodded as Nissa threw the pillows she'd brought behind Miss Fowl's desk, and the four of them scooped up the last of the shopping bags.

"Let's go."

Cindy couldn't help smirking at the crooked sign taped up on the bathroom door as they entered; it read "Out of Order" in big, bold letters. When questioned about it, Nissa assured them that she'd cleared it with the janitors, who actually seemed to find it rather funny.

After sorting out their respective costumes, the four of them changed quickly, and the rush of nerves gave them random giggle fits. Nissa was the first done, as her costume was the least complicated and she wasn't wearing makeup. After tying her hair up and grinning at all of them, she peeked outside.

"Is it clear?" Natesa asked and Nissa nodded. "Then go! We'll see you in a little bit!"

"Okay! And don't worry, everything is going to go fine!" she called before vanishing, leaving the three dancers to put the finishing touches on their appearance. Libby and Natesa were doing their makeup in the mirror while Cindy finished putting on her jewelry.

Cindy had to admit that Nissa and Natesa had done a superb job on the costumes; they were so well done that they looked professional. All three were done in the same style as Natesa's original costume, but instead of spandex shorts, they each wore leggings, and each was a different color. Each also wore different style jewelry, even if they were essentially the same pieces. Cindy had elected silver-based ones, just like Natesa, but Libby wore gold.

My hands... they're shaking, Cindy thought in amazement as she failed in clasping her left ankle bracelet. She'd managed to get the right one just fine, but as the time for their presentation drew closer, her nervousness grew.

"Cindy?" Libby asked and she looked up. "You okay? You're kinda pale."

"Fine, just nervous," she said, laughing a little. "It's funny, isn't it? I don't think I've ever been this anxious over a project presentation before," she continued, trying again to clasp the bracelet.

"Come on, girl, focus," Libby said, her bare feet padding quietly against the tile as she walked over. "Sure, there's a lot that can go wrong, but there's a lot that can go right too. So keep your head and we'll trounce Jimmy."

"Thanks," Cindy said with a small smile, finally clasping the bracelet and straightening. "I put your jewelry in that bag over there," she said, pointing. "Where'd you put the makeup?"

"Natesa has it," Libby said as she began to dig through the bag. Cindy, in the meantime, applied her makeup, with Natesa helping her every so often. It was nice to have her help, as Cindy had problems applying her eye shadow evenly.

Once completely finished, the three of them surveyed themselves in the mirror, nodding appreciatively at the change. Natesa was looking over everyone's costume, straightening jewelry and so forth, occasionally tossing her hair over her shoulder. She'd taken it from its braid for the performance.

"Cindy?"

Natesa's frightened tone made her turn to the girl in surprise, and Cindy found Natesa staring at her in shock.

"What is it? What's wrong?"

"Where'd you get that necklace? Did my mother actually let you take that?" Natesa asked, her voice wavering, and Cindy frowned before looking down. It was a rather beautiful piece, and she remembered being drawn to it instantly. It consisted of a widened v-shape charm that was made up of dozens of curving, interwoven tendrils of silver. At the center of the base of the v sat a green oval gem that shone brightly in the light. The two ends of the v had little hooks that attached to the silver chain, and the charm hung just below the hallow in her throat.

"Yes," Cindy said, frowning slightly in confusion. "I asked her about it, and she told me about the curse that was supposedly placed on it, but she also told me not to worry about it. She said she'd worn it before and nothing had happened." Natesa opened her mouth to argue, and her frown deepened before she spoke.

"I guess she was just teasing me then," she said, her expression taking on a slight pout. "She never lets me wear that piece, and I suppose that curse was her way of making me stop asking."

A knock on the door prevented Cindy from responding and all three of them jumped.

"Are you guys ready?" Nissa called through the closed door. "I'm going to start the oral part of the presentation now, so you need to be done soon!"

"All right!" Libby called back. "We'll be there in a few minutes! Natesa, where are the cloaks?"

"I put them over there," she said, pointing at a stall. Cindy turned to see them hanging over the door and she grabbed the closest one.

"Now be careful not to snag any of your jewelry on the material," Natesa warned as they wrapped themselves in the cloaks and checked to make sure that their faces were hidden. Libby started giggling when Cindy poked her head out of the bathroom door, looking up and down the quiet hall for any stragglers.

"We look like fugitives," Libby whispered as Cindy turned to them and gestured for them to come.

"Quiet now, we can't go disturbing classes," she whispered as they crept from the bathroom and made a beeline for the outside of their classroom. After huddling against the lockers for a moment, they quickly realized they were out of order. Getting in the proper order quietly was difficult, what with all their jangling jewelry, but they figured any stray noise was hidden under Nissa's voice.

"When will we know to enter? Did Nissa forget to prop open the door?" Natesa hissed in Cindy's ear, who was in front of her. Cindy then poked Libby, who turned to her and frowned.

"What's going on?" she half whispered, half mouthed, and Libby turned to listen at the crack.

"Nissa's about halfway through," she whispered over her shoulder and Cindy nodded, feeling her nervousness return. "We don't enter until she says the part about 'a special treat', right?"

Cindy nodded, and Libby turned back to the door, listening intently. As she waited for the signal, Cindy ran through some of her Tai Chi breathing exercises, determined to restore some of her composure. She prided herself on her speaking abilities, and dancing shouldn't be any different.

"Okay, that was it," Libby said quietly as she straightened, and opened the door to the sound of applause. "Good luck, you guys!"

"Here we go!"

Okay, so it's a bad cliffhanger and I know it's short. Stay with me, we're almost there. I would continue this, but I've got a ton that I want to do with the dance part and if I don't stop here, it'll go on forever. So I'm sorry if it's on the short side, and stay tuned for the next chapter when Cindy and co. present the dance! I swear it'll be up faster this time!