19

That evening, when the cast of Psycho met for their next performance, Toby didn't show up.

Justin asked, "Hey? Where's our lead actor?"

"Well, we were at Burger King this afternoon, and he started having a totally serious allergic reaction to something in his Whopper," Brooke said. "He's in the hospital right now."

"Oh, wow. Who did we decide was going to be his understudy?" Justin asked.

"Um… We didn't," Rudolph replied.

There was a pause, and then everyone stared at him.

"What? Wait… No! Why? I'm not even technically a student here!"

An hour later, the show was getting ready to open. Justin was doing the traditional MC voice.

"Good evening, everyone! Welcome to Fairvale High School's performance of Psycho!" he said from a microphone while sitting in the back of the audience with the spotlight operators.

The audience cheered.

"Please turn off all cell phones, pagers, crying babies, and any other noisemakers. Please no food or drinks here in the Bates Motel. Please do not clog the aisles. Please, follow these rules or Mother Bates will find you. Wait… Speaking of cell phones… I should turn mine off, too…"

The audience laughed.

"Before we take you to 1960, Phoenix, Arizona, we would like to announce one cast change for this evening. The role of Norman Bates will be played by Rudolph Bates."

Backstage, Rudolph was wondering what he'd gotten himself into.