A/N: As you may recall from my foreword in Free to Be You and Me, there have been a few fluffy Sharuby scenarios that have rattled around in my noggin since the completion of This Will Be Our Year, it was a matter of figuring out which scenarios held enough water to build stories around. One such scenario I was interested in following up on was the note about Ruby's parents forbidding her from Dairyland because of cows being sacred, holy animals in Indian culture, but wanting to sneak in with Shannon anyway… it ended up taking repeat viewings of "Stressed for the Part" to figure out how to build a story around such.

For what it's worth, this is a 'generic' Sharuby Saga installment, because it really does not cover any major milestone or life event in Shannon and Ruby's relationship. If anything, this was written, 'just because'... and honestly, with so many Sharuby Saga installments being so heavy and dramatic, it was quite refreshing to write one that was far more lighthearted and fluffy for a change. (Yes, readers, you may rejoice in the fact that Mr. Grace has written something that's not a heavy drama).

It was a sunny Saturday morning at the cheesiest place in the upper Midwest: Dairyland Amoosement Park. One of the attractions within this amoosement park was the Uddertorium, a large red barn that had been converted into a theater for stage shows, including their present offering, A Cream Come True. The show also made entirely different dreams come true for two individuals from Royal Woods High School: drama student, Luan Loud, and drama teacher, Kate Bernardo. The role of Heidi Heifer was one that both had coveted, though it was Luan who ultimately won the role, unbeknownst to Mrs. Bernardo, who let her rage torment, torture, and consume her over her fourteenth rejection… once she learned that Luan not only landed the role, but it was her very training that helped her land the role, she became deliriously happy over the outcome. In the end, it still worked out for Mrs. Bernardo when southern belle and Royal Woods Elementary clerk, Cheryl Farrell, somehow fell into a vat of funnel cake batter, which clogged her ears, and made her unable to play the role of the Dairy Godmother… it seemed as though the show would not go on, until Luan persuaded Cat, the director, to try Mrs. Bernardo in the role in Cheryl's stead. As it turned out, the show not only did go on, but to Cat's pleasure, Mrs. Bernardo was much better suited for the role of the Dairy Godmother. Cheryl's natural southern charm may have brought a warm, genial quality to the part, but she was not a serious actress… Kate was, and as such, Cheryl was released from the show, but the lady with the beehive hairdo took it in stride… besides, the more time she spent on the stage, the less time she had to wait in line for funnel cake.

By now, the show had been playing successfully every Saturday and Sunday for a number of weeks, and as was the usual routine, the Cream Team –as they were known- would participate in rehearsals during the morning to prepare for two live performances: one in the afternoon, one in the evening. That morning was no exception, but before they made their way over to the Uddertorium, Luan and Mrs. Bernardo made a pit-stop along the park's main thoroughfare, Limburger Lane, to say a quick hello to Benny at his popcorn cart.

"Hey, Benny!" Luan greeted the curly-haired boy in the dandy-looking uniform.

"Hello, dear Benny!" Mrs. Bernardo also greeted her drama student.

"Hey, Luan! Mrs. B.!" Benny returned the greeting while he waited for the kernels to finish popping to replenish and fill his cart for the day. "Off to make more creams come true?"

"Yes, and it truly is a cream come true performing in this show!" Mrs. Bernardo responded in her typical flamboyant flair; had it not been for Benny informing Luan about the Heidi Heifer auditions, and for Luan suggesting she be cast as the Dairy Godmother in Cheryl's place, her dream of appearing in A Cream Come True (albeit as a different character than who she originally auditioned for) would never have come true. "Oh, how I owe you two a great debt!"

"Well, break a leg!" Benny phrased an old show-business adage to wish them luck, and to bid them a farewell.

Luck wasn't on the side of a frustrated visitor at the Bottle Toss booth; they tossed one ball after another, and failed each attempt to knock down the stubborn pyramid of milk bottles. It also helped matters none that each ball that bounced off of or missed the pyramid altogether became projectiles that went whizzing throughout the immediate vicinity of the booth, and as fate would have it, one such rogue ball soared through the air and right into Benny's popcorn cart with such a velocity that it sent the cart rolling on its own down Limburger Lane. Mrs. Bernardo and Luan made their way to the Uddertorium, but unfortunately, the ponytailed girl was right in the direct path of the breakaway popcorn cart as it ran right into her and sent her on a wild ride, much to the shock, dismay, and horror of Benny and Mrs. Bernardo. The cart careened aimlessly down Limburger Lane with Luan stuck on the front like insects on the windshield of a speeding tractor trailer, and only came to a stop when it crashed into a divider wall, with the unfortunate girl crushed between.

"LUAN!" Benny and Mrs. Bernardo screamed at the same time, and in the same dramatic manner.

With lightning speed, Benny rushed to the scene of accident, where Luan dropped to the ground between the popcorn cart and wall; Mrs. Bernardo was not far behind. The teen employee pulled his cart aside and dropped to his knees to tend to his dazed and confused girlfriend as she lay crippled on the ground.

"Luan, are you alright?!" He asked her.

"Heavens, dear girl, please say something!" Mrs. Bernardo pleaded as she shook her hands dramatically.

"Well… I did what you said, Benny Boy… I broke a leg!" Luan said as she attempted to laugh, but that laughter was almost immediately replaced with cries of pain.

After a trip to the emergency room, Luan returned to the Uddertorium with the aid of a pair of crutches, while her entire leg was set in a cast. The comedienne was usually a tough bird; she somehow felt absolutely no pain whatsoever when she accidentally bit into a bowling pin she juggled and literally broke off her bucked front teeth; even when her foot was crushed by a falling watermelon booby trap from within the refrigerator, she recovered from that fairly quickly. A broken leg, however, was the worst injury that she had ever sustained, and according Dr. Peterson, it would take about three weeks to fully heal – news that was both unfortunate and unexpected for the rest of the Cream Team. (The only silver lining was that the visitor who was responsible for the incident was identified and ordered to pay for Luan's medical expenses).

"Oh, this is terrible!" Cat, the ponytailed director, fretted. "Without Heidi, the show won't go on…"

"WRONG!" Mrs. Bernardo exclaimed and startled the others. "In the immooorrrrtal words of P.T. Barnum… 'The show must go on!' We just need to find somebody else to fill in the role until Luan's cast comes off… ahem… perhaps, I could…?"

"Forget it, Kate; you're fine as our Dairy Godmother," said Cat while Mrs. Bernardo complied; even if Heidi Heifer was the role that she had long coveted, she had to admit that the Dairy Godmother was just as satisfying of a role to play, and was just as crucial to the show as Heidi and Tippy. Just the same, Cat got to thinking of how it was Luan who persuaded her to cast Mrs. Bernardo as the Dairy Godmother after Cheryl's unfortunate funnel cake batter incident, and wondered, "Luan, do you know anyone who can fill your shoes as Heidi?"

Luan was rather hesitant to answer that question at first. She recalled the last time an understudy filled in for her, said understudy blew Mrs. Bernardo out of the water so spectacularly that she ended up losing the lead role in the drama club's production of the musical, Little Shop of Snorers. Even Luna was concerned that the twelve-year-old guitar prodigy she discovered named Nina would end up becoming her permanent replacement in the Moon Goats' lineup when burned hands and strained vocal chords required her to step away from the band's gigs for at least a month... but as amazing as Nina was, she was no replacement for the heart and soul of the Moon Goats. Still, all eyes fell upon Luan, as though she had the answer that would solve their problems, as she reluctantly considered the matter.

"Matter of fact, I doooooo," she responded while imitating a cow's moo before she pulled her cell phone from her skirt pocket to send out an emergency text.

Sometime later, the Cream Team stood idly by off stage (minus Tippy, who had udder duties to perform, such as greeting visitors and having pictures taken) where they awaited the arrival of Luan's emergency contact, when they soon heard a brief confrontation from outside…

"Hey, you can't go back there!"

"I was told to come here for an emergency. See?"

"Okay, go ahead."

Just then the Cream Team was met with a teenager who was about Luan's age; a Jewish girl with long, curly brown hair, large glasses on a freckled face, dressed in a pale orange sweater and a short denim skirt. She looked around the backstage area briefly before she took notice of the people who stood by, including the friend and classmate who contacted her, as she raced over with her phone in hand.

"Luan! I got your text," said Shannon as she gave the comedienne a visual aid. "What's your big emergency?"

Instead of giving Shannon a direct answer, Luan grabbed her by her shoulders and pulled her in front of her to present to her director.

"I give you our new Heidi Heifer!" Luan proclaimed much to Shannon's confusion.

Mrs. Bernardo could see what Luan went for, and seemed to be onboard with such a suggestion, as she remarked, "Yes! Of course! Inspired, Luan; simply inspired!"

"Who's this?" Cat asked as she looked the Jewish girl up and down.

"This is Shannon," Luan introduced her friend. "One of the best actresses in our theater class!"

"Indeed… anyone who knows the works of Shakespeare by heart, and can quote entire monologues from memory possesses serious chops," said Mrs. Bernardo as she pantomimed a couple of karate chops to emphasize her remark.

"Well, I suppose we could audition her…" said Cat thoughtfully.

Shannon, meanwhile, was totally lost in the shuffle as she requested, "Somebody wanna fill me in? What's going on?"

To answer that question, Luan used one of her crutches to point to the leg she had in a cast, much to Shannon's horror.

"Oy vey! What happened?" Shannon inquired.

"A freak accident," explained Luan.

"Oof! Are you alright?" Shannon asked.

"Let's just say I won't be putting on my dancin' shoes on for a while," quipped Luan with a chuckle. "But seriously, I'm going to be out of commission for about three weeks, so I need an understudy to play Heidi Heifer in A Cream Come True… I guess it'd be more like an udderstudy!"

"How about it, Shannon?" Cat asked. "Wanna give it a go?"

"Me play Heidi Heifer?" Shannon marveled at the prospect of playing one of Dairyland's mascots in the Amoosement Park's stage show – and she was certain that she could do it. She had seen the show a number of times, including a fair share of different Heidi Heifer performances (though the only one she knew specifically was Luan; any other Mary Sue could have been inside the costume in other performances). She just about knew the show by heart, although she had never performed in a foam rubber costume before… surely, with a little guidance from Luan, she could pull it off; after all, Luan was the one who taught her how to roller skate, ride a unicycle, juggle, and they even studied pantomime together in middle school.

"It's an opportunity of a lifetime, dear girl," Mrs. Bernardo encouraged her student to accept said opportunity. "Passing it up would be like spoiled buttermilk!"

"In that case, I suppose this could be my next career moooove!" Shannon exclaimed before she returned her attention to the director who was dressed in black. "I'm in!"

Moments later, Cat, Luan, and Mrs. Bernardo were out in the stands of the Uddertorium so that they could watch and gauge Shannon's audition, for which the director cued her.

"Whenever you're ready, Shannon!" Cat called out onto the stage.

Shannon took a brief moment to engage in a breathing exercise that she, as a serious student of the stage, performed almost religiously: she inhaled for four seconds, held it in for seven, then exhaled for eight. With that, she stepped out onto the stage in the Heidi Heifer costume. The scene that she was to perform was typical for Heidi Heifer auditions, although being the consummate actress that she was, she wanted to bring something a little different to the scene – something that she felt would give the character a little more depth, as she wandered about the stage and looked as though she was in quite the conundrum…

"I don't know how this o-curd, but I've lost my whey… I'd butter find it, or I'll be in gelato trouble… moooo…"

Both Cat and Kate had streaks of black mascara running underneath their tear-flooded eyes, and even Luan had the same look that her father often possessed – the 'Sad Dad Peepers,' if you will. Although Shannon brought the same kind of energy and charisma as Luan did into her Heidi performance, she also invoked a certain vulnerability that made Heidi more of a sympathetic and nuanced character – something that no other performer had done before, and those who watched the audition could sense that Heidi was, indeed, a lost little calf who needed to find her whey again… it was quite a compelling performance.

"Bravo, Shannon!" Cat applauded. "Talk about a moooving experience!"

"Yes! You fileted the deepest depths of your soul and brought a whole new layer to Heidi that even I could never think to," concurred Mrs. Bernardo.

"Congratulations, Shannon; you are our Heidi Heifer udderstudy!" Cat announced.

"Sweet cream!" Shannon cheered as she removed the head from the costume and celebrated her achievement. At that moment, Luan broke into a fit of laughter – not that it wasn't atypical of her, but the problem was nothing funny had occurred… at least, nothing that Shannon was aware of. "What's so funny?"

"You might want to look in a mirror, it's sure to be a hair-raising experience," laughed Luan.

Curious, Shannon stepped over to a vanity that was backstage in one of the dressing rooms, and immediately took notice of what Luan pointed out: her hair was all over the place, it looked as though she had touched the plasma ball at the Royal Woods Science Museum after shuffling her stocking feet across carpeting. It could get awfully hot and humid inside a foam rubber costume with minimal insulation, and it did not do her hair any favors as she sighed and cursed her long, thick, curly locks. It was times such as this that made her wish she could straighten her hair and cut it shorter –if only so it would be easier for her to manage- but her mother would not allow such.

Shortly thereafter, Luan caught up with her friend to offer up a piece of sisterly advice…

"Don't sweat it, Shans, this happens to Lori all the time," she said of the fact that her oldest sister also possessed rather voluminous, albeit shorter hair. "Just wear a hairnet when you suit up, you'll be fine."

That was not at all unreasonable; after all, whenever Shannon took a dip in a pool, or enjoyed any of the rides at the H2Overworld Water Park, she would tuck her flowing mane into a swim cap to prevent her hair from getting wet, lest she want to spend hours drying it after.

Much later on Limburger Lane, Luan and Shannon had caught up with Benny as he continued on his appointed rounds of offering visitors a salty and buttery treat, whereupon the two girls apprised him of the recent development.

"… So, it's all settled," Luan finished her explanation to her boyfriend. "For the next three weeks, Shannon's gonna be my udderstudy!"

"Well, when it comes to our drama club, you really picked the cream of the crop," quipped Benny as the three shared a laugh. "Congrats, Shannon!"

"This is just the beginning… today, Dairyland… tomorrow, Broadway!" Shannon also quipped while stars appeared in her bespectacled eyes. "I can't wait to tell my parents; they're going to be beside themselves when they hear this!"

"I'll bet Ruby will be, too," said Benny as he scooped popcorn into a small bag for a customer who approached his stand; it was a good thing he was gifted in multi-tasking.

The smile on Shannon's face immediately disappeared, much to the confusion of her friends as she muttered, "No, she won't… she's banned from Dairyland."

"Banned from Dairyland?" Benny, Luan, and even Benny's present customer gasped in shock.

"Nobody's ever been banned from Dairyland," insisted Luan.

"Except for that tipping Tippy incident," noted Benny as he recalled hearing through the employee grapevine…

It was a typical day at Dairyland, and Tippy the Cow cheerfully greeted visitors as they meandered throughout the Amoosement Park, but among the visitors that day was a certain pair of miscreants from Hazeltucky who established a reputation for themselves of stirring up trouble. At one point, Tippy seemed to have found himself a bit of a break – visitors and attendees were enjoying themselves on various different rides and attractions, and as such, could take a quick breather. He paused momentarily to do a quick scroll on his phone when the pair happened upon him and decided to inconvenience the mascot for kicks…

"Hey, Tippy!" Hawk called out to get the cow's attention before he made an offer: "wanna tip?"

"Um, sure…" responded Tippy under the assumption that this boy offered him either a piece of advice, or, perhaps even a little monetary bonus… unfortunately, he received neither.

With that, the dastardly duo subjected Tippy to a table-topping, as Hank dropped to his hands and knees, while Hawk shoved the cow over his partner-in-crime. Luckily, a large foam rubber suit offered adequate padding to cushion such a fall, though at the same time, the bulkiness of the costume also made it extremely difficult and even awkward for Tippy to try to return to his feet – all of which give Hawk and Hank a big laugh as they bumped their fists and went about their way, while Tippy continued to flail like an obese turtle on its back in the hot sun.

"Tipped cow! Tipped cow! Tippy's in no mood to be ground beef!" The mascot called out to anyone who could hear him. "Come on, somebody help a bro-vine out!"

As Luan and Shannon listened to Benny's story, the comedienne of the group got to thinking about the hooligans whom he had described, and they seemed familiar to her…

"I think we dealt with those guys before… last Halloween, as a matter of fact," she said. "I think Lynn's even tangled with them a time or two."

"You mean there are people worse than Lynn?" Shannon asked with a cocked eyebrow; despite being one of the many siblings of one of her best friends, her experiences with Lynn thus far have been nothing in the way of pleasant.

"Patronizing remark aside, yes," nodded Luan; she, too, was aware that Lynn's uncouth pigheadedness had stuck a raw nerve with Shannon (not to mention even caused her boyfriend a copious amount of humiliation in a community theater), but, she was still her little sister, after all.

"So, why is Ruby banned from Dairyland?" Benny further prodded.

"Because cows are sacred animals," explained Shannon. "As a child, Lord Krishna was a cowherd, they were his favorite animal for all the goodness they bring to people, not to mention all the nourishment their milk provides – yogurt, ghee, and buttermilk are mainstays in traditional Indian diet. Cows also symbolize wealth, strength, and abundance; if you treat them with care, they will bring peace and prosperity to your family, and a spiritually fulfilling life to your children."

Benny and Luan looked upon Shannon with disbelief to hear their friend speak of such a subject with the expertise of a scholar – a vibe that the Jewish teen quickly picked up on.

"I've… done a lot of studying about Indian culture…"

It made sense. Ruby and her family were of Indian descent; her parents were practicing Hindus, it only seemed right that Shannon educate herself about her girlfriend's cultural heritage.

"Plus, Ruby's parents have a friend and business associate who owns a successful dairy farm in Wisconsin, they get all their dairy products for the restaurant in their hotel from them… she even shared with me one of the vids from their social…"

Shannon removed her phone from her skirt pocket and brought up the social media page for Khush Gaayen ('Happy Cows' in Hindi) Dairy Farm and showed her friends a promotional video for the farm that contained a montage of footage that was shot of just how happy their free-range cattle were as the hefty Holsteins frolicked joyfully throughout their pastures, rolled around in the soft green grass, kicked up their hooves, swished their tails, and mooed merrily.

"Awwwwww!" Benny and Luan gushed with large puppy eyes as they watched these happy cows have the time of their lives.

"That is so cute!" Luan remarked; she could just imagine her little sister, Lana, out there playing with all of those happy cows and loving every minute of it.

"I may become a vegetarian after watching this," Benny thought aloud.

"Excuse me, young man," a voice addressed Benny, who turned to see he had been approached by an Indian woman with three small children: an older boy, a younger boy, and a middle girl. "Could we get three small popcorns, please?"

"Coming right up," said Benny he took a small bag, scooped popcorn into it, topped it off with melted butter, handed it to one of the children, and repeated the process with the other two.

"Thank you," she said as she handed Benny his payment. "You see kids? You can have fun once your homework is done…" the mother explained as they carried on with their trip through the Amoosement Park – a little reward for having done their homework without having to be harped on.

Benny and Luan looked at Shannon again, as though she must have an explanation for the obvious presence of other Indian-Americans within a park that was cattle-themed, despite the lecture she had just exposited to them.

"Well… my parents and I really only keep Kosher during our high holidays, anyway…" she said in a coy manner as she stroked the back of her head. "But from what I know about Ruby's parents, they're really traditional… as far as they're concerned, Dairyland is a barnyard of blasphemy…"

Benny and Luan could only exchange glances with one another.

"Well, it's a shame Ruby couldn't come see you perform in the show," said Benny, while Luan nodded in agreement.

Shannon, however, seemed to have a different mindset, in that, perhaps, Ruby did not really have to know about it …

"Well, it is just a temporary three-week gig; just until Luan gets her cast off… it's probably not even worth mentioning, anyway…"

She thought…

"THESPIANS ASSEMBLE!" Mrs. Bernardo exclaimed as she clapped her hands together to garner her pupils' attention. "As you know, it makes me deliriously happy when I see that my training has served you well in your theatrical journeys… much like our very own Luan being cast as Heidi Heifer in A Cream Come True at Dairyland! Alas, the poor girl has suffered an untimely injury, and will be unable to perform for the time being… luckily, it is possible to recapture lightning in the same bottle, for they have found the most perfect understudy to fill Luan's shoes… our very own SHAAANNOOONNNNN!"

The bashful bespectacled brunette's face turned bright red to have her drama teacher flatter her in such a manner as her fellow thespians extended to her a round of applause for the gig she had gotten… and to her surprise, even Ruby seemed most pleased for her.

"Remember, children, in the immoooorrrrrtal words of Casey Kasem, 'Keep your feet on the ground, and keep REACHING FOR THE STAAAARRRRSSSS,'" added Mrs. Bernardo as she raised her hands into the air as though she actually reached for said stars. After she transitioned back into drama teacher mode, she concluded, "With that announcement out of the way, Benny, dear boy, would you care to lead acting warm-ups?"

Theater class may have adjourned later, however, Shannon was among a few specific thespians who would remain behind in the auditorium for Mrs. Bernardo's next class: Advanced Mime – whatever theatrical courses Mrs. Bernardo had to offer, Shannon was undoubtedly going to take, not to mention, the young thespian was just as gifted in acting with her body as she was with her words. With the current period having concluded, and with a few minutes to spare, Ruby took the time to personally congratulate her girlfriend.

"You got yourself a sweet new gig! Extra awesome sauce up top, girlfriend!" Ruby squealed as she held her hand up for Shannon to give her five.

"Um, yeah, I did…" Shannon obliged Ruby's high-five with a nervous chuckle. "Sorry…"

"Sorry? For what?" Ruby asked. "You are, like, so going places; what are you sorry for?"

"Because… my new gig's at Dairyland…?" Shannon pointed out.

"So that automatically means I can't be happy my G.F. is, like, reaching for the stars?" Ruby quizzed.

Shannon nervously began to stroke the back of her head as she further explained, "I just… didn't want you to think I was being disrespectful to your heritage…"

"Riddle me this… if I ate, like, a ham sandwich, would that, like, personally offend you?" Ruby asked.

"No," said Shannon with a shake of her head.

"Good, cause it's either that, or tuna on today's menu… like, eww…" said Ruby in regards to what the cafeteria had to offer students for lunch that particular day; it made her wish she had the foresight to bring her own lunch. "Look, you got an awesome new gig! So what if it's at Dairyland? I'm still, like, super stoked for you!"

The proud Indian girl threw her arms around her Jewish girlfriend for a big hug.

"Aww; you're so awesome, Rubes," gushed Shannon as she returned the gesture. "It's too bad you couldn't come see it… it's a little cheesy, but it's still a good show…"

"Hey, Shans, congrats on getting cast as Heidi Heifer's udderstudy!" Spencer said as he approached his classmate; he, too, wanted to extend his felicitations to her achievement personally, as well as share an experience of his own. "I actually auditioned to be Tippy's udderstudy last year for a summer job."

That revelation came as a quite the surprise as Shannon further inquired, "How come you didn't get it?"

With a reddening of his face and a stroke of the back of his head, the jock hesitantly answered, "I… couldn't fit into the costume…"

His burly and athletic build made it rather difficult to get the Tippy suit to fit properly – an unfortunate problem to be sure, but one that the girls hoped would not deter him.

"Aw, don't sweat it, Spence," said Ruby as she placed a hand of encouragement onto his shoulder. "There's, like, another sweet gig out there with your name written all over it… in lights! It'll come in time."

"Thanks, Rubes," said Spencer just as bashfully.

Unless they were Jerry Seinfeld and Elaine Benes, an outsider may find it highly irregular that a pair of ex-lovers like Ruby and Spencer would be on such civil and friendly terms with one another – especially taking into consideration how toxic and volatile their previous romance became. However, they were both mature enough to realize they both made rather immature mistakes within their doomed romance, and that they had nobody to blame for said mistakes than themselves. Even so, with Shannon being something of a mediator, despite their breakup being such a huge public spectacle, with some harsh and heated words exchanged, they were eventually able to move on with their separate lives and leave it all in the past. After all, to hold grudges would otherwise prevent them from moving forward at all.

All of that was ancient history at this juncture.

Ruby was not only Shannon's girlfriend, or even her best friend, she was also Shannon's biggest fan. Her talents for the stage were truly admirable, even from their first day of having enrolled in Mrs. Bernardo's theater class, Ruby could see that Shannon was somebody to study and learn from: her comfort in her presence on the stage; her ability to learn, memorize, and deliver lines so effortlessly; her knack for tapping into her emotions and project them so genuinely; even her improvisational skills; they all blew Ruby's mind… and yet, out of a theater environment, Shannon was so humble and modest – not to mention a shy and mousy introvert who closed herself off from the rest of the world… was there any wonder why Ruby found this girl so fascinating and wanted to know her?

It was that admiration Ruby possessed for Shannon's talents that made it her personal mission in life to see everything in which her bespectacled bestie appeared, regardless of how big or small of a role she had been cast in. Even though she was not in drama club the previous semester due to a scheduling conflict, Ruby would drop anything on a Friday night she knew a play was to be performed so she could attend. The club's recent offering, The Case of the Missing Corgi, was about renowned detective, Agatha Mystery, and although Luan was cast in the titular role, it was Shannon as Agatha's trusty sidekick, Gertrude, that Ruby enjoyed the most - especially since she got to utilize her fake British accent; other attendees who sat around her found it curious that this Indian teen would sigh, swoon, and even purr like a kitten whenever Gertrude spoke. Even so, there was still the matter that Shannon's current gig was at a place that Ruby's parents disregarded as a barnyard of blasphemy, and had forbidden her from ever setting foot into. Even if she did not share in a lot of her parents' beliefs, nor did she even see eye-to-eye with them on much of anything let alone cattle worship, she was not one to rebel against them – they were still her parents, after all, and she did respect them as such. But, she was determined to see Shannon perform in this show… and who said her parents had to know about it?

Yes, if you were able to figure it out, the Indian woman who bought popcorn from Benny was Homework Harpy from "Write and Wrong," otherwise known as 'Indian QT' among the fandom (and curiously, but not surprisingly shipped with Rita on top of that). Apparently a few have theorized that she could be Ruby's mother. Then again, that Indian woman who was in the audience on the night of Joanie Sassafras's virgin performance in "Director's Rut" could be Ruby's mother for all we know. Either way, we still have yet to be introduced to parents for characters like Benny or Sam, I doubt we'll see actual canon parents for Ruby or Shannon.

On another note, I decided to name that dressed-in-black, ponytailed director who appears on the show Cat, since Catherine Taber voiced her.

Lastly, credit to Albertson for the detail about Ruby's attendance for The Case of the Missing Corgi, and her enjoyment of Shannon as Gertrude (that was part of his HISHE version of "An Inspector Falls") and Quiet Waters for borrowing H2Overworld.