"Three weeks?! That's stupid!" Masaru complained, stomping into the empty classroom. He threw a stack of papers on a nearby desk.
"What's wrong?" Monaca wheeled herself over, all smiles.
"I have three weeks to memorize my lines for the play! Why does the prince even have so many lines?! He's the prince! He's supposed to be cool and fight people with his sword! Hunt animals! Ride horses! Not be mushy and dance with girls!" He huffed. "Why'd I get picked anyway?"
"Because Sensei told us that we have the best chemistry on-stage!" Kotoko chimed in, holding her own script. "Besides, you're the best Prince Charming! You'd be too hyper to be a servant, and at least you're not ugly like Jataro-kun is!"
"Most of these aren't even your lines, they're the lines of the other characters," Nagisa pointed out. "They're there so you know when to come in,"
"Easy for you to say, Mister Footman! You just stand there with the shoe on a pillow!" Masaru responded. "Why'd you get a role?"
"Monaca would be happy to help you practice!" She offered. "You two must be absolutely perfect!"
"Exactly!" Kotoko smiled. "I'll start because I have the most lines!"
"What's Jataro-kun going to do, just stare at us?" Masaru asked, noticing the boy in question just staring at them from one of the desks.
"He told Monaca he's one of the stagehands, right?" She looked over at him and he just grinned.
"I need inspiration..." He didn't elaborate and just continued to sit there.
"'Oh, how I wish I could go to the ball!'" Kotoko sighed wistfully, staring up at the ceiling. Her eyes sparkled and she had a look of longing on her face. "'I'd wear a beautiful dress and dance the night away. I'd even get to meet the prince!'" She tried to picture herself up on the stage, twirling around in a pretty pink or purple gown instead of her drab black school uniform which she couldn't even do anything with. Her first day of school she tried to tie some ribbons to her jacket and skirt, wear lacy stockings, and a big headband, but the teacher saw her and ordered her to take it all off. She refused and got detention and her dumb dad yelled at her when she got home. She got detention numerous times after that for other reasons, but she never tried to make her uniform adorable again.
"Now you do one of your lines!" Monaca encouraged Masaru, who crossed his arms.
"My intro is just me greeting girls! I don't wanna do that!"
"It's the prince's ball so he has to greet his suitors." Nagisa said.
"So? Only cool thing is I'll get to wear a sword on my waist like a true hero would do!" He struck a pose.
"No way, heroes are leaders! Warriors and fighters are the ones who have weapons!" Kotoko pouted. "The heroes tell them what to do!"
"What do you know about video games? You're a girl!"
"More than you do!" Kotoko stomped over with her hands on her hips. "Fighters have the weapons, it's part of their class!"
"If we were video game characters, what would our classes be?" Monaca asked thoughtfully. "Monaca thinks she'd be good as a mage, casting spells from afar!"
"Then I gotta be the hero and lead you all!" Masaru announced. "I'm the best choice!"
"No, Monaca-chan should be our leader!" Kotoko giggled. "She'd be the best at it!"
"The other two need roles too! Jataro-kun can be our priest! He can heal us!"
"Ewwww, he's too dirty to be our healer! He'd just get our wounds infected! He's just like a snake!"
"You're right, I'd be a bad priest, I don't know anything about healing!" Jataro smiled awkwardly.
"None of us asked you! I wish you could be deaf like a snake and stop butting in! You're gross!"
"Nagisa-kun's our sage because he's super smart!" Masaru continued.
"I want no part of your games." Nagisa shook his head, reading a book.
"Sure you do! You're in our group so you gotta!"
"Monaca thinks a sage is very fitting!" Monaca clasped her hands together and smiled.
"What are you five still doing here? School's over, go home!" One of the teachers poked their head in and barked.
"Awwww, no fair! You wasted my time so I barely got to rehearse!" Kotoko stomped her foot.
"I don't wanna go home..." Masaru grumbled. The evening sun streamed through the windows and there was no bustle of students anymore. "Can't we stay longer? We were doing something in here!"
"Out! We have to close up!" The teacher pointed to the hallway and the kids grumbled and gathered up their things, walking outside.
"Teachers are so annoying sometimes." Kotoko pouted, thinking of her ribbons.
"They don't know anything...they make me so itchy!" Jataro moaned.
"Dad's a teacher." Nagisa reminded them.
"That's our point! They're dumb! Yours just makes you study all day so you never have time to do fun stuff!" Masaru huffed.
"He's not that bad."
As usual, once the five walked out of the school's gate, they turned and took their own separate ways home, paths the others were to never know about. They knew enough about each other to infer they all lived in very different parts of the city and they'd never see each other after school, and they were fine with that, knowing what they knew.
"Today we have to actually work on my lines!" Kotoko insisted.
"You're the best actress of the group, that's your talent, remember?" Nagisa said. "You won't mess up. We should be more worried about Masaru-kun messing up."
"Hey! I'm just as good at knowing my lines as she is!" Masaru protested. "What are my lines?" He flipped through the script and paused several pages in. "'This ball is boring. Hello Miss'...uhhhh..."
"Beaumont!" Kotoko called to him. "Beaumont, de Vois, and Arlington."
"How am I supposed to remember those names?! They should be normal Japanese names that are easy to remember!"
"Because they're foreign princesses!"
"The dumb prince should just marry a Japanese girl!"
"It's set in Europe!"
"This is dumb!"
"Just read your lines!"
Masaru pouted. "'Hello Miss Beaumont, nice to have you at this ball.'" He drawled out the pronunciation of the name. He bowed down lowly at the waist. "'As well as the rest of you ladies!'"
"You need more emotion! You sound bored and stiff," Kotoko put her hands on her hips.
"So? I am bored! I have to stand there and not do anything cool!" He ran over to the other side of the classroom, then ran back to the group. "I can't stand still for so long!"
"Kotoko-chan's right!" Monaca smiled. "You must sound like a regal prince! The people's hero, a boy any girl would love to marry! Monaca knows how much you love heroes."
"Yeah! Which is why it's dumb I can't be out fighting wars," Masaru pouted further. "What use do I have for a dumb princess?"
"Romance! And she'll have your heirs!" Kotoko spun around. "Every prince needs a princess by his side!"
"Yuck, puke! Girls give you cooties, don't you know?!"
Nagisa suddenly scoffed from where he was sitting.
"It's true! Only grown-ups care about that!" Masaru ran over and scooped up Nagisa's script, flipping through it. "Why aren't you practicing too? It's not fair!"
"I can rehearse at home."
"Rehearse your two lines."
"I said we had to rehearse mine!" Kotoko stomped her foot. "I'm the lead so I can't mess up! I have to be perfect!"
"Monaca thinks you'll do wonderfully! You're a natural actress!" She tilted her head.
"I still need to know my lines," She paced the room as she recited, looking upset or wistful at the right times. The orange setting sun streamed through the windows and shone on her.
"What about when he sees you at the ball for the first time?"
"Good idea!" Kotoko twirled around a bit and looked around the room, awe on her face.
"'You look pretty, young lady. Want to dance with me?'" He offered his hand to her gingerly and she took it with a smile.
"'I'd be honored to!'" They walked down the aisle in-between the desks together before Masaru pulled away, bouncing on his heels.
"That's enough! I hate this gross romantic crap! It's mushy and makes me wanna barf!" He made gagging noises.
Monaca just giggled.
"And I also gotta whiz!"
"Ewwww! Stop being such a boy!" Kotoko called after him as he dashed out of the room. She sorted through her script. "It's funny how our version has the tree in it like the Brothers Grimm but the rest is from the Perrault version! Did you know that most believe the term 'glass slippers' is thought to be a mistranslation of his work? She likely wore fur shoes but it got mistranslated to glass due to the similar words and now we have that image! I love rabbits but I'm not sure if they'd be so adorable as shoes! I'll stick to glass. But I think in this play I'm wearing plastic!"
"Yes, I knew that." Nagisa sighed. "And your lines are fine."
"I know, but I need them to be perfect!" Kotoko insisted. "Can you say your lines?"
"No."
She frowned. "You're so mean! All of you are so mean!" She cried and threw her scripts down.
"Monaca thinks you'll do just fine! Stop stressing out over it!" Monaco wheeled herself over and put a hand on Kotoko's cheek. "It's what you're best at."
Kotoko didn't really need or want Monaca to tell her what she was good at, but she appreciated the attention nonetheless. Still, the play was in two and a half weeks! She knew she'd be perfect, it was the boys she was worried about.
"Alright! Give me your lines! Kotoko-chan, get on your knees. Yuki-chan and Yumi-chan, go!" The teacher ordered everyone around. They got to perform on the stage for the next few days, which Kotoko was excited for. Nothing got her in the mood more than actually being on stage, around everyone. The strong paint and hot lights made her peers uncomfortable, but they were all a part of the comfort for her.
"'Oh, I'd love to go to the ball!'" Kotoko sighed.
"'You stupid girl, no way you'll get to go to the ball! You're ugly and dumb!'" Yuki laughed.
"'Yes! What prince would dance with you?!'" Yumi cackled, her hand in front of her mouth. Kotoko sighed.
"'But the invitation says it's for every girl in the kingdom!'" She pretended to scrub hard, not having a prop yet. She pushed her body back and forth carefully, her behind in the air.
"'You will never be invited to the ball!'" Yumi laughed, pretending to kick Kotoko. Kotoko trembled and made real tears glitter her eyes.
"'This just isn't fair! I wish I could go!"' She ran from the room to the next area of the stage, sobbing fake tears that looked and sounded real. "'Oh Mother, what am I to do?!'" Her tears fell onto the prop tree, which activated the motion detector in it and it sparkled, a cue for the Fairy Godmother to arrive.
"We'll stop there." The teacher clapped her hands. "Art department, how are our backdrops looking?"
Most were just being reused from prior productions, such as the garden and manor, but they needed to paint a new one for the castle. Most of the art group was working on the ballroom, but Jataro got the entire castle backdrop to himself because of his skill.
"They look fine," One kid said, leaning over their ballroom backdrop.
"I think this makes a good castle…!" Jataro revealed his, which was black and covered in cobwebs and spiders. Kotoko screamed in horror.
"How dare you! This is supposed to be a beautiful princess castle and you ruined it!" She punched Jataro's elbow. "It's scary and disgusting and I hate it!" She cried heavily, rubbing her eyes. "It's not fair!"
"That's why I like it, it's all gross and scary, just like me!" He laughed.
"Utsugi-san, come over here," The teacher coaxed her over, glaring at Jataro. "She's right, you ruined our backdrop. You better fix this by opening night,"
He laughed more. "Okay!" He hiccuped.
"Why are you so ugly and stupid?!" Kotoko cried, running backstage. She sat on the floor and continued to sob and hiccup, rubbing her eyes. She was very good at fake-crying, yes, but also very good at real crying. She cried until her head hurt and her nose felt ready to fall off and she felt decidedly not-cute. She took a deep, shuddering breath.
"Awwww, don't let Jataro-kun get to you!" Monaca wheeled herself over from the shadows, smiling. "He was just doing what he does best. Creepy art!"
"He's ruining the play!" Kotoko cried. "It's supposed to be all cute and perfect!"
"Monaca thinks it fits you rather well!"
She ignored that and rubbed at her eyes, sniffling. At least Jataro was getting in trouble for it. That made her feel a little bit better.
After two weeks of practice, it was finally time for dress rehearsals, which went on for a week before the actual play. Kotoko trembled with excited nervousness, her stomach doing somersaults. The girls in her class were currently fitting the dresses on her, making sure the layers looked right. She was to change her dress three times throughout the play, each layer on top of the other. She was most excited for the third gown, but didn't want to say what it was yet! It was a surprise! Two girls were smoothing out the skirts, making sure they didn't peek out from under the layers, while two others adjusted her hair and the scarf she wore on her head, both to emphasize the scullery maid look and also to hide other pieces of the gown.
"You look so pinched in that dress," Masaru laughed when she walked onto the stage, holding her skirts out in front of her.
"Oh, be quiet! I have to wear multiple layers!" She twirled around slightly. "They'll look better once I start taking them off!"
"Are your parents coming?"
"Of course!" Yuki and Yumi laughed together, whispering. Kotoko ignored them. She knew her parents would come, if not her dad then her mom. Her mom loved seeing her perform and went to almost all of her shows!
"Are your parents coming?" She teased Nagisa instead, who was wearing his costume, looking stiff.
"Probably. If they're not busy. There's a staff meeting the night of our play, so."
"Mine will come because they're the only ones who matter!" She spun around, being careful to not accidentally activate her skirts.
"Places! Let's start at the scene where Cinderella dances with Prince Charming. Utsugi-san, don't activate your costume yet. Your shoes are still being made. Alright!" The teacher clapped her hands and everyone rushed off, setting up the backdrop of the ballroom. Kotoko gently twirled around and held Masaru's hands, making him huff.
"I don't know how to dance! That's a girl thing."
"Then I'll lead you!"
"No, because leading is for boys!"
Kotoko huffed and stomped hard on his foot.
"Ouch!" He grabbed his foot and jumped up and down, nearly falling over. "Fine, lead me!"
She smiled and took his hands again, and the two gracefully spun around the room, swirling around the fountain made of Styrofoam in the center. Masaru spun Kotoko around and the two gazed into each other's eyes.
"Wonderful, wonderful! You two are getting the hang of it! Now, your lines?" The teacher coached from the side.
"'What a romantic night this is…'" Kotoko recited, sighing dreamily.
"Uhhh…yeah." Masaru grinned at her. She pouted.
"That's not right!"
"'Would you like to see my garden?'" He slowly recited.
"'I love flowers!'"
He took her hand and they pretended to walk, waiting for the background to change. A swing was hung up and Kotoko eagerly sat down on it.
"I can't push you, you're too heavy!" He said, awkwardly holding onto the ropes with her.
"No I'm not!" She caught some of the stagehands by the fountain laughing at her so she grabbed her shoe and chucked it at them, clocking one in the forehead. "Stop laughing!"
The teacher facepalmed.
Opening night. After a week of rehearsals, they were finally ready for the play. They did some last-minute organizations and practices to be sure everything was ready. Kotoko peeked through the curtains, seeing her mom and dad sitting in the front row. Her mom caught her eye and waved to her, smiling and mouthing something, but her dad talked on his phone. Kotoko politely waved back and went backstage, trembling from the nerves.
"I'm so nervous! I don't want to be sick!"
"You're a natural! Nobody is more deserving of the spotlight than you!" Monaca smiled at her.
"I'm the one who's going to puke! I hate the mushy romance stuff, and I hate that I can't remember my lines!" Masaru jogged in place, dressed in his costume. He wore a bright white formal suit with a golden sash and matching crown on his head. He also wore a fake blue sword by his side.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Hope's Peak Elementary School! We have an exciting play for you all tonight! Presenting, Cinderella!" The teacher announced and everyone clapped politely.
"I have to whiz before we start!" Masaru whispered.
"Don't you dare!" Kotoko elbowed him before the curtain rose and she walked out, scrubbing on her hands and knees. The layers scratched her and made her sweat, which fit her maid image.
"'Did you hear, girls? The prince is having a ball tonight!'" The girl playing Stepmother said, wearing a magenta gown.
"'How fun!"'
"'We can meet the prince!'" Yuki and Yumi danced around with each other, wearing ugly green dresses and feathers in their hair.
"'Oh, I'd love to go to the ball!'" Kotoko sighed, looking up from her work. Her hair was tied up in the cloth and she wore a baggy and patched brown sack.
"'You stupid girl, no way you'll get to go to the ball! You're ugly and dumb!'" Yuki laughed.
"'Yes! What prince would dance with you?!'" Yumi cackled, her hand in front of her mouth. Kotoko sighed.
"'But the invitation says it's for every girl in the kingdom!'" She huffed, getting a determined look in her eyes.
"'You will never be invited to the ball!'" Yumi laughed, kicking her for real. The girls laughed and ran off together. Kotoko trembled and sobbed.
"'This just isn't fair! I wish I could go!"' She pulled up her dress and ran across the stage, pretending to cry. The background changed to a garden. "'Oh Mother, what am I to do?!' I'd love to go to the ball! Oh, how I wish I could go to the ball! I'd wear a beautiful dress and dance the night away. I'd even get to meet the prince!'"
The audience gasped and sighed, worried for her plight. She clasped her hands together and fake-cried onto the fake tree, letting it sparkle.
"'My dear, you shall go to the ball!'" The Fairy Godmother jumped onto the stage, wearing a glittering sheer white gown. "'I heard your cries and I'm here to answer your prayers!'" She adjusted her glasses and blinked. "Uh…abracadabra! You get your new dress now! Poof!"
The audience laughed as she tapped the plastic wand onto Kotoko's head, signaling her cue. Taking a deep breath, she threw off the scarf to reveal a glittering golden crown and her long pigtails, then spun around violently to rip away the first layer of her costume, revealing a black and gold ball gown with frilly sleeves and long gloves. Golden flowers were stitched into the wide skirt, and she wore a golden choker with it. Underneath were of course the 'glass', actually plastic slippers, in this show, light blue with sequins on them.
The audience gasped and applauded as Kotoko twirled around in her dress and held it out, showing it off for the audience.
"She's so beautiful!" Someone called out.
"'You only have until Midnight! Then, my magic will disappear!'" Fairy Godmother warned, as Kotoko jumped into the carriage and pretended to make it move, glancing out the window. The curtain dropped to signal a short intermission, and Kotoko smiled as she headed backstage.
"Isn't this dress so pretty? I just wish it was pink," She pouted a bit.
"It's got too many layers still," Jataro said. "Maybe if you pulled off more, and then took off your skin-"
"I'm ignoring you!"
The next scene was the ball, where several girls in plain dresses eagerly all tried to talk to Masaru, clamoring for attention.
"'Hello Miss Beaumont, nice to have you at this ball.'" Masaru recited robotically. "'As well as the rest of you ladies!'" He bowed.
Kotoko wandered in and pretended to look dazed and amazed, while Masaru walked over to her.
"'Beautiful girl, dance with me!'" He held out his hand.
"You need to have more emotion!" She whispered to him as they walked onto the dancefloor.
"I told you, I'm not good with mushy stuff!"
They danced around, swaying back and forth to the music and trying to step lightly, but their steps were loud on the wooden ground.
"'What a romantic night this is…'" She leaned closer to Masaru, smiling up at him.
"...Yeah," He blurted out. "Did I even have a line in this part?!"
"Yes!"
"'Would you like to see my garden?'" He remembered.
"'I love flowers!'"
The backdrop changed and he carefully helped Kotoko sit on the swing, and she started to swing herself.
"I sure hope nobody can look up my dress!" The audience chuckled at that.
"'What's your name, my lady?'" Masaru asked.
"'I'm-'"
The loud clock struck twelve and chimed, making her gasp.
"'I must go! Goodbye!" Kotoko took off running, first running on the stage, then down the steps, and finally disappearing backstage. One of her shoes slipped off and was left on the stairs.
"'I don't even know her name…but I do have her shoe. And so I'll find her with this!'" Masaru proclaimed, holding it up. The audience nodded vigorously.
Kotoko went back onto the stage, wearing the baggy sack again, but with the final layer underneath instead of the ball gown. She swept up the stage while Yuki and Yumi tried to put the slipper on.
"'It's too tight on me! But it's on my foot!'" Yumi cried.
"'I can't fit into it at all!'" Yuki sobbed, slamming her foot on the ground.
"'Is there anyone else in your house who could try on the slipper?'" Nagisa asked professionally, wearing a gold suit with a white sash. He held out a blue pillow.
"'Me! I'd like to try on the slipper!'" Kotoko threw down her broom and happily took her seat, lifting up her dress.
"'Our maid?!'" Yuki snickered meanly.
Nagisa slipped the shoe onto Kotoko, making sure it fit her well. She gasped. "'It fits me!'"
"'Congratulations, you were the one His Highness met at the ball. Now come, you two must marry.'" He led Kotoko off the stage into the next and final scene, using the castle backdrop. It still had the creepy and foreboding castle, but the scary stuff like the spiders had been painted over into clouds.
Kotoko spun around and discarded her dress to reveal her final costume, a billowing white wedding gown that shimmered and sparkled under the stage lights. The audience 'oooed' at her as she took Masaru's arm and they waved eagerly at the audience.
"I'm married now!" She yelled, giving him a quick and cute peck on the cheek. Masaru instantly pulled away and rubbed his cheek angrily.
"Ewwwww, why'd you do that?! You gave me your cooties!"
The audience laughed as the curtain fell and everyone took their bows. The audience stood up and applauded for them.
"That was so much fun!" Kotoko beamed. "Even though the boys were being stupid and almost ruined it for everyone!"
"I wish I didn't have to change the castle. I thought it looked perfect…!" Jataro lamented. "All castles look spooky."
"No they don't, princesses live in castles!" She stomped her foot.
"What happens when they die? Then it becomes all weird and scary,"
"Monaca knew you would be good! You're the best actress of us all, after all!" Monaca wheeled herself over and smiled at her, her eyes glittering.
"Of course!" She posed, still holding the wedding bouquet.
"I hope our parents didn't come and want to see us. I'm leaving," Masaru said.
"I think mine are here." Nagisa looked away.
Kotoko didn't say anything and instead just played with her bouquet. She didn't want to think about her parents, or theirs, or anything like that. She didn't even want to think about the play anymore. It was in the past. Much like how she never thought about how they got so close; they kept ending up in the same detention hour with each other. They were problem children, they might have been Ultimates but their minds were still broken, they didn't act like regular kids, they were strange even for Ultimates, there was likely no hope for them, just put them into detention, away from their peers.
She spun around and started to busy herself with taking the wedding dress off, since she actually wore her school uniform under everything else! Wasn't she so smart?
Anyway, that's one reason to hate adults. They thought they were messes that couldn't be fixed. What did they know? Just smile and perform your part, just like she did in the play. That's what she always did. That's all they cared about at the end of the day.
She put her crown and wedding gown in the costume box and ran off to catch up with the other four.