I actually looked up a script for the original Kingdom Hearts game for this chapter. So Ephemer and Anora's play-acting are actual lines from the game. The fact that the lines are all but said by Sora and Kairi should be noted, but not taken seriously. Maybe...
Thank you for reading!
Even though Ms. April Tremaine had devoted over 20 years of her life in music theory, she had never, ever, had an appreciation for theater.
Okay, that might have been a bit of an exaggeration. She might have had a general, well-rounded appreciation for showtunes. But other than that? She despised every aspect of acting. She was incredibly lucky that the students at Daybreak Academy knew how to act. As in, theatrically, and not in mild mannered conduct. Sitting through each of their skits was another battle though.
It didn't quite help that Annie had fallen asleep on her five minutes ago. Her arm was starting to go numb.
"Last call for auditions!" April called out. Annie stirred slightly but didn't wake up. "If you want it, move your butt on stage and start acting already!"
"Wait for me!" a voice shouted. April tried to turn around to see the silver haired headmasters' pet racing up the aisle.
"Well, hurry up then!" she said to him, gesturing at the stage. Ephemer gave a quick bow on his way past her before getting up on stage. He looked around the room, as if expecting to see someone, before turning his attention to the musical director. April gave him a bemused raise of her eyebrow.
"Alright Ephemer," she said in a tone meant to humor him. "Hit me with your best 'Alas poor Yorick' and make it count- I've got a date this afternoon."
A gleam in Ephemer's eye illustrated that he knew just who asked April out on that date. So, without any further instruction, the boy took a small breath out and started to recite a small portion of Hamlet. April had to admit that his cadence was incredibly certain- each word coming out purposefully and emotionally. He spoke clearly too- an impressive feat when he wasn't using a microphone to amplify his voice.
"Not bad." April nodded. "Would you mind coming back for callbacks on Wednesday?"
The boy gave a wide grin as he gave a firm nod. "You bet!" he more than happily agreed.
"Whelp, I guess that's it then." April announced, not that anyone else was really in the auditorium now. "See you on Wednesday." And with that, Ms. April gently shook her daughter awake, collected their things, and soundly left the auditorium.
Ephemer remained up on stage for a few moments, scanning the rows of empty seats for a certain someone. He frowned when he didn't immediately see her. The boy got down from the stage and started to look through the rows himself. It took awhile, but he found Anora sitting in one of the back rows; her face unreadable as she looked down at the floor. If Ephemer had to guess, he would have assumed that she was resting.
The boy jogged over to the row and stood at the end.
"Hey Anora." he smiled, but it didn't earn any reaction from her. A shot of worry coursed through Ephemer in her silence. So, without saying a word, he made his way over and took a seat next to her. He looked at Anora expectantly, but she still didn't seem to acknowledge him, so he also looked down at the ground.
After a few still moments, Anora finally told him, "You're late."
"I know, I know." he immediately apologized. "Did you audition?"
But Anora shook her head. Seeing it made Ephemer's heart leap into his throat.
"You waited for me?"
Shyly, Anora looked down at the floor and gave a small nod.
"Too many people..."
"And it's because it's something new, right?"
Anora gave another nod of agreement. Ephemer looked her over- lightly biting his lower lip as he thought something over.
Without warning, he took Anora by the hand and started to drag her onto the stage. He didn't let go until they were up on the stage itself. Anora gave Ephemer a wary glance before she looked out to the seating area. That was when she almost froze in place as she stared out to the rows and rows of empty seats. Never before had Anora felt so small. The lights above the seats were out, and the stage itself had only one buzzing light above them still on. Suddenly, the world outside felt far too big to handle. Anora was snapped out of her trance with Ephemer placing a soft hand on her shoulder.
"Pretty scary, isn't it?"
Anora looked to Ephemer, her eyes giving away her sudden fear well enough. Ephemer looked her over for a moment before removing his hand. Curious, Anora watched as he took a place at the center of the stage. He closed his eyes for a moment, clearing his thoughts, before he opened them up again.
In a clear, concise voice, he started to monologue; "I've been having these weird thoughts lately. Like… is any of this for real, or not? I can feel- no, hear, my heart beat in my chest. When I open my eyes, I see nothing but a dark abyss. As I fall in this abyss, I slowly start to see water bubbles, floating all around me, until I realize that I'm submerged underwater. I continue to fall; falling close, closer, and close still to a white, almost blinding, light. This light… it's warm, as if it contains all of the world's hearts within. But there is also something wrong with this light. A darkness, maybe. As I reach out toward the light, I suddenly wake up, standing on the same beach I've known my entire life."
Ephemer's shoulder's relaxed when he finished. He turned his attention back to Anora with a light grin. "Sound familiar?"
Anora gave a shy nod. It was the opening of a popular video game- she wasn't that big of a fan, but could recognize a few lines from it if someone happened to mention them. As she tried to remember the name of the game, Ephemer offered out his hand to her.
"Even if we're apart," he said to her- reciting the game once more, but saying it far too casually for Anora to realize it right away, "We're not alone anymore. Right?"
The girl bit her lip in thought. She moved a bit closer to him. "I can't help?" she asked, her voice sounding a bit too hopeful. Ephemer smiled- either from acting the role or from genuine happiness that she was going along with him.
"You'd kinda be in my way." he replied with a roll of his shoulder.
This time, Anora smiled as well, taking another step toward Ephemer. "Okay." she mused. "You win." And with that, she clapped her hand into his. The two then proceeded to reenact other scenes from the game that they could easily remember. It all culminated to the two holding hands, slowly walking away from each other as if something else were separating them.
"I'll come back to you!" Ephemer declared to Anora, his voice sounding hopeful but his face showing nothing but pure amusement. "I promise!"
Anora tried hard to hide her smile as she said back, "I know you will!" and with that, the two let go of their hands. The two playfully stared at each other in a mock longing, still slowly backing away from each other, before starting to dissolve into a flurry of giggles.
"There's a song that plays during this part." Ephemer told her. "I don't know if you know it or not, but it goes like this," (the boy cleared his throat a bit before carefully starting to sing) "You're giving me, too many things, lately."
"You're all I need." Anora sang along. "You smiled at me, and said..."
"Don't get me wrong I love you," the both of them then sang in unison, "But does that mean I have to meet your father? When we are older you'll understand, what I meant, when I said no. I don't think life is quite that simple!"
The two grinned at each other, going on with the song, not quite caring if they actually harmonized with each other or not. For the moment, as long as they knew, it was just them and they were having the time of their lives.
"Hold me; what ever lies beyond this mo-orning, is a little later on."
"Regardless of warnings..."
"The future doesn't scare me at a-a-all!"
"Nothing's like before!" they both belted out together. They then looked at each other and shared another round of happy laughter.
"And just what do you two think you're doing?"
The two kids jumped in surprise before turning their attention to the new voice. It had been Ms. Tremaine- she must have forgotten something and was coming back for it.
"Ephemer, I already told you that callbacks were on Wednesday." Ms. Tremaine smirked. She then looked at Anora and gave small nod. "It might do you well to be there too, Anora."
The grin on Ephemer's face could not be stopped. "Are you serious?" he questioned with a giddy voice.
"As a heart attack." the older teacher affirmed. "Now, get off my stage and go get some lunch."
Ephemer happily gave the musical director a two finger salute as he declared, "Yes ma'am!" He then took Anora's hand and quickly dragged the two of them offstage. April shook her head and gave a small laugh at the duo. She knew good chemistry when she saw it, and those kids were truly something else.
"Callbacks!" Ephemer happily declared. "Who do you think you'll be cast as?"
To be honest, Anora hadn't even thought that far yet. The growling in her stomach was mostly preoccupying her thoughts- along with the nagging feeling that Ephemer was trying really hard not to hug her.
"Well," Ephemer then mused, "Whatever we get cast as, I hope we get to do it side by side!"
Anora gave him a quizzical expression as she tried to study his. He was just too excited at the callbacks to even truly notice her. Eventually, despite herself, Anora shook her head- a small grin forming on her lips. She didn't know why Ephemer kept insisting that they do things together; a part of her was just glad to be included in anything. Besides, Ephemer made for some very excellent company.