I think this is the longest chapter yet! 1,737 words without the author's note, ain't that something? Got pretty close to the max word count, but an important announcement and decisions were made, so I think it was worth it!
Thank you for reading!
Daybreak Academy's auditorium could hold well over 2,500 people. But on days when the whole school needed to be in attendance, it seemed as if there were not enough seats to go around. Ephemer and Skuld were running a bit late, mostly due to the clipboard the boy was holding in his hands.
"Let's see," Ephemer mused as he went over a checklist he was making, "I'll need a music player, a CD with that song on it, balloons, you're making the cake, do you think we'll need party poppers too?"
"What are you talking about?" Skuld demanded. "We're late enough as it is."
"Ava's birthday party, of course!" the boy smiled. "Which reminds me; if you see Anora and her friends, flag her down for me, would ya? I want her to get in on this."
Skuld let out an annoyed scoff, paired with an equally unimpressed eye roll, and the two entered the auditorium. Immediately, Ephemer tried to scan the crowd for Anora, but he didn't have much luck so he followed Skuld up to the higher seats where no one was sitting.
Anora was in attendance, of course, sitting with Pyra, Nin, Mog, and Affie as she didn't truly know anyone else.
"What do you think the assembly's about?" Mog happily questioned, almost bouncing up and down in his seat.
"Probably the school play." Nin said to him. "It's that time of year."
"I thought the dance came first, then the play?" Affie questioned.
It was Pyra, the oldest of the group, who shook her head. "It switches. They usually announce both at the same time, but which one comes first is literally a toss up."
"Hope it's the play." Nin grumbled under her breath. "Don't wanna buy stupid expensive dresses to wear for a single day..."
"Shush!" Mog then told them. "I think it's starting!"
The five of them looked at the main stage and saw that the five headmasters had taken the stage. Ira was in the middle, standing a little in front of the others.
"Greetings students!" Ira's voice commanded, causing an instant hush over the auditorium. "As you all know, we are now a week into April. With it comes many very interesting events that require all of your unique talents!"
The students gave a modest applause at the news. Ira waited for them to settle down a bit before going on.
"As it stands, we will have the Spring Formal on May third. Our annual school-wide play will take place June sixth! Now, what this means in that throughout the month of April, we will prepare for the Spring Formal. Immediately following, we will begin to organize the school play- this includes everything from the play itself, to crew hands, and actors. We would like to see you all participate and show the world how you can shine!"
Another round of applause was given. Nin audibly groaned.
"I hate formals..." she bitterly murmured to her friends.
Ira raised his hands out to the crowd, signaling that he needed their attention once more.
"Sign ups to help prepare for both the Spring Formal and the school play will be available through the drama club, and in every headmaster's office. You may also contact our musical director, Ms. Tremaine or our gym instructor, Mr. Snoops directly if you so choose. If you have any further questions about either event, feel free to contact them as well."
"However," Ira went on, "As it was mentioned that preparations for the play will take place in close junction with the Spring Formal, auditions will not take place until after. Again, further details can be given by we headmasters, Ms. Tremaine, or Mr. Snoops. Every student should have their name listed for an activity in these next three months- you do not have to help for both events, but your enthusiasm is what keeps Daybreak Academy's spirit moving!"
Sensing Ira's bravado, the students gave another round of applause- this one slightly more enthused than the previous ones. Anora joined along with them but something in her felt hesitant, like a sense of foreboding that she couldn't shake off.
The feeling persisted, if not worsened, when she and the others were going over the help lists. There seemed to be a job for everything: the prom required at least one DJ and several people to help decorate the gym, and the play needed everything from directors to sound technicians.
Nin was the first to put her name down on one of the lists. "I'll help with the play, but you won't catch me working on the formal with a ten foot pole!" she told them in disgust. With a furious scribble, Nin put her name down for a set designer and returned to her friends.
"I'm going to class." she then told them. "Expect my mood to be this perky when lunch comes around."
Her friends gave a small nod of acknowledgment as Nin made her leave.
"I'm helping with the dance." Affie decided as he stepped up to the sign up sheet. "Get it done and over with."
"Yeah," Mog agreed. "I think it'll be easier too."
Both boys put their name down for decorations.
"See you guys at lunch!" Mog told Anora and Pyra with a happy wave.
"See ya!" Pyra smiled as she waved back. With the boys gone, it was now Pyra's turn to look over the sign up sheets.
"Hmm..." she hummed to herself. "I think I'm going to help with both this year. I've gotta pretty nice theme in mind, and I like helping behind the scenes."
Anora watched as Pyra signed on the 'theme coordinator' and 'assistant to actor' columns for the formal and play's respective sheets. She turned back to Anora with a gentle smile.
"Let me know what you sign up for at lunch, okay?" Pyra gently said to Anora. "Have a nice morning until then."
Anora gave her friend a grin in response. Happy with the simple gesture, Pyra then left. As Anora turned her attention back to the sign up sheets, her grin easily faded into a frown. There were so many options, and she didn't know if she'd be good at any of them. Should she just go with what one of her friends did?
"Hey Anora!" the happy voice of Ephemer called out, snapping Anora out of her thoughts. She turned to see him coming up to her, Skuld trailing behind as if she didn't have much of a choice. The first thing Anora noticed was that the boy was holding a clipboard, and for a frightful moment, she wondered if he was purposely trying to recruit her into something.
It was a shame that she wasn't too far from the truth. When Ephemer was close enough, and gave time to catch his breath, he casually asked her, "Say, do you know how to play the tuba?"
The look Anora gave him changed from three different expressions in only a few moments.
"Nah, you're right," he then said, looking back at his clipboard. "I can see you as more of a clarinet player."
But Anora shook her head. Of all the things she knew how to do, reading music just didn't click with her. It was like learning another language -which, in some respects, it was- and her patience quickly wore thin on the matter. Still confused on Ephemer's request, Anora turned to Skuld for some sort of explanation.
"Headmaster Ava's birthday is coming up," Skuld offered. "Ephemer is planning a surprise for her, but he needs suckers like us to help him."
"Well, I wouldn't put it that way." the boy smirked. He looked up at Anora before realizing that the sign up sheets were behind her. "So," he then asked the girl, "Are you going to sign up for something?"
Confused on what he was talking about for a moment, Anora looked behind her at the sign up sheets then back to Ephemer. Her indecision came back and she showed it with a shrug.
"It's kinda overwhelming, isn't it?" Ephemer mused. He then moved closer to the sign up sheets to see what was on offer. Giving a small click of his tongue, he turned back to Anora and suggested, "How about this; whatever you sign up to, I'll sign up with you- even if it's to help with both the formal and the play. Two heads are better than one, right?"
Admittedly, knowing that he would be there did made the idea of helping out better. Smiling, Anora gave a nod to show she agreed. Ephemer smiled back at her.
"While you two are deciding that..." Skuld cut in as she moved over to the sign ups. She didn't reveal what she was signing up for until she moved away from the sheets. Ephemer looked at her choices before cautiously looking back to Skuld.
"Are you sure you're going to do both? It's a lot of planning and time for someone who claims to have none."
"It'll look good on a resume." came the short answer.
Anora blinked for a moment, peeking around to see what Skuld had chose. For the prom Skuld had put herself down for activity coordinator, and for the play she chose directing/producing. It did sound like a lot of work.
"I've got to go to class now." Skuld told them, ignoring their worried expressions. "See you guys later."
"Bye." Ephemer warily agreed. Now with only each other, Ephemer gestured to the sign up sheet. "Well, whatever you want to do Anora. We can do both. To be honest, I was kinda hoping to be in the play this year, instead of setting it up. But I'd also rather have Ms. Tremaine breathing down our necks than Mr. Snoops."
Anora could feel her face pale as she looked from Ephemer to the sign up sheets. With a slightly shaking hand, she wrote her name under the gym decoration column. Ephemer, who was casually peeking over her shoulder, gave a small nod at her decision.
"Just one?" he asked, just to be sure. Anora carefully nodded her head. She could set up decorations around the gym. Who couldn't?
"Well, then I guess it's decided." Ephemer approved as he wrote his name under Anora's. Satisfied, he turned to her and grinned. "So," he all but teased, "I'd really like it if you'd help me with Ava's birthday too…"