'Halt! Who goes there?' A voice called. Brisa whipped her head around, sending her hair stinging into her eyes. To her left, two boys walked out of a doorway farther down the hall and approached her. One was taller than the other, but they both had dark hair and wore dark clothes.

The hallway light was strange and Brisa couldn't see their faces until they were right close to her. They looked very familiar.

The shorter boy was holding a broom handle, and he pointed it at Brisa's nose. 'You heard. Who are you? What are you doing in the Theatre?'

'The… Theatre?'

'Answer the question!' the taller boy said sharply.

'Um… I'm Brisa Henson! I walked down a hallway in the library and through a door which I fell down and I landed in the costume room and then I fell out the door and now I'm here?'

The boys glanced at each other. The shorter one didn't lower his broomstick. 'Should we take her to the Queen?'

'The Queen's busy, Nick.'

'So?'

The older boy thought about it. 'That's true. C'mon!' He turned back to Brisa. 'You there, Miss Henson! Follow us, please.'

'Uh, okay.' The broom handle still pointed at her face, Brisa slowly stood up.

'Let's go.' Snapping his fingers, the first boy set off. Being prodded along by the broomstick, Brisa followed. What is going on? she thought.

They went through the door the boys had come from. The room was warm and brightly lit. Music played and the dozens of young people inside all chatted animatedly. They had wild hair, colorful makeup, and strange costumes, and seemed to be getting ready for something.

As Brisa was led through the room, the conversation didn't cease but certainly became quieter. She gazed around at their faces. Despite their extraordinary costumes, each and every one looked very familiar.

'What've you caught there?' a tall, skinny boy with crazy blonde hair asked Brisa's escorts. He laughed.

One of the people in particular caught Brisa's eye. He had a black fedora and trenchcoat. Of everyone, he looked the most normal.

'We don't know yet,' the younger boy said from behind her. 'That's why we're taking her to the Queen.'

'Ooh,' said the blonde boy in a taunting voice. He and his much shorter, brown-haired companion snickered and went back to drawing crude things on the wall.

The boys led Brisa through two more doors and then came into a theatre. It was completely dark, except for a brightly lit stage. There was nothing and no one on the stage, and no light beyond it.

Here, they stopped.

A voice came from nowhere. It was haughty and accented. 'What do you want? I'm busy.'

'We've found a girl, Your Majesty,' the older boy called. 'She's definitely not from around here, yet her explanation as to how she came here makes no sense.'

'We thought it'd be best if you decided what to do with her,' the other boy added.

There was a silence, as if the voice- presumably this Queen the boys spoke of- was thinking it over. 'All right, fine,' she finally said. 'But make it quick.'

'Walk forward!' One of the boys commanded. Brisa saw the broomstick dance around in the dark.

'Huh?'

'Go on.'

'Um… 'Kay.' Cautiously Brisa walked onto the stage. She looked out into the audience, but besides the lights above her that lit the stage, all was still dark. 'Um, hello?'

'Who are you? Where do you come from, and what is your business in the Theatre?'

This is incredibly strange, Brisa thought. Am I dreaming? 'I'm Brisa Henson. I'm a senior at Lynnwood High School. I don't… I don't know my business here. I came here by accident.'

'Accident? Accident how?'

'Well, um…' Brisa hesitated. 'I was in the library looking for a book when I saw a cat. I followed it, and it led me through a door. In the door was…' She tried to think of how to describe it. '…Nothing. And I fell. When I landed, I was in the costume room out there. These guys found me and brought me here.'

'Hm…' The Queen, wherever in the dark she was, considered Brisa's story. But before she could come to a decision, another voice came out of the dark. 'Your Highness?' It was a girl. 'It's nearly time for the Warming-Up.'

'Oh, shoot. Well…' The Queen paused, then called, 'Ulkes!'

'We're still here, ma'am!' called one of the boys from the dark.

'Go get the Cast. This can wait.'

There was a crash as the door opened and closed, the Ulke boys having gone to retrieve the Cast.

Suddenly, from the audience came the Queen. She had a royal costume and shiny crown, and looked incredibly familiar. Realization hit Brisa like a freight train. 'Ms Pereira?' she exclaimed, jaw dropping open.

The Queen, who looked exactly like her drama teacher, looked down her nose at Brisa. 'I am the Drama Queen, ruler of Randomland. This is my Theatre, and I am very busy. So please stay out of the way until I can deal with you. All right?'

Brisa was completely confused. 'Okay…'

The door opened again, and the wildly dressed people from the other room poured in. They faced their Queen, gathering around Brisa like she wasn't there. Looking around at their faces, Brisa realized that the Cast was made up of people who looked like members of her drama class. Multiple generations of LHS drama kids were there; Brisa recognized students from all her years and others she knew to be older siblings of the kids she was in it with now, who'd graduated long before she entered high school.