Of course. The one time I’m late to class, Captain Grant isn't.
“Sorry sir, I overslept?” I force a smile.
“I’ve heard weirder. Get to your seat.” I awkwardly sit down, watching as the whole class stares at me.
“Hehe. You’re la-ate,” Lava teases in a sing-songy voice. I roll my eyes. “How come he’s always late but we can’t be?” I whisper back.
“Because, I earned it,” Captain Grant responds, despite how quiet I was being. “Now, I’m in a good mood, so you won’t be marked off for it, but don’t make it a habit.” I shoot a look at Lava, who’s quietly laughing. I hope she understands what I mean: ‘how did he hear? She giggles, and taps her fluffy ears.
“As you may know, the Knight’s Ball is in a month. We’re celebrating the class who graduated the highest level of training this semester and those who have been selected for the Ring, Guard, et cetera. Although I have some, meaning hundreds, of potential themes, I’d like to see what you come up with. Take a minute to brainstorm.” Lava is practically vibrating in her seat.
“Ooh, I have so many ideas! Maybe pirates or fairies, like in those fantasy novels! Maybe even sweets! Imagine the whole festival hall decked out completely in pink!”
“Even more so than usual?” I joke, since the rose-quartz lined ball room is already very bright. Gweneth, a friend of Lava’s who sits behind her chimes in.
“Better yet, imagine if the whole mall was bright pink!”
“You’d be invisible, Lava!”
“That’s the fun of it! Last week's lesson was all about blending in, which would be made way easier if…”
“Are you nuts! We aren’t going to paint the whole Mall pink,” Another kid, Z, exclaims.
“We should paint it black!”
I glance at the wall, since I don’t know what to say to that. Masquerade masks hang on the side of the regular theater posters, giving me an idea.
“What about a masquerade ball?” I suggest.
“Can we still paint the walls black?” Z asks.
“Why not!” Lava exclaims, nearly jumping out of her seat.
“Good thinking, although we aren’t allowed to paint anything outside of the festival hall. For the record though, I’d love to bring out some of my old gothic dresses.” Captain Grant points out, appearing suddenly behind us.
“Seriously, how does he do that?” Gweneth wonders as he walks away.
“My dad taught him,” Lava laughs, “You just need to walk like this.” She gets up and strolls around, not making a sound. I try to pay attention to her technique, but I have no clue what to look for.
“Then you have to make a quick escape.” She readies a leap, but is interrupted.
“Lava, don’t try to jump up on the lights. You’re not a kitten anymore.” Captain Grant scolds from across the room. “And we don’t start our athletics unit for a while.”
“Alrighty,” Lava grumbles. The class turns to look, and a couple kids laugh. Lava hurries back to her desk bashfully.
“While I have your attention, what have you come up with, aside from giving our venue a makeover?” Captain Grant asks.
“Trees! I know we have them somewhere, but I’ve never seen them!” My classmate, Dela, calls out. I remember seeing an orchard on Toni’s map, but it’s off limits to most of us. Otter figured out how to grow them underground, but it’s a closely guarded secret.
“How about books?” Inquires a nerdy looking student whose name I can’t remember. The captain gives him a blank stare.
“Are you lost? The tacticians are down the hall.”
“Uhh… no? I’ve been in your class all year.”
“It’s called sarcasm, Jules. Anywho, if it's books you're looking for, the literature festival is coming up after.”
“But those are lame!” Jules isn’t wrong. Ever since the collapse, my mom stopped running them, and literature festivals haven’t been as fun. Last year, a pointless fight broke out between the ‘fiction fighters’ and the ‘non-fiction nobles’, and the writing showcase was canceled.
“Lava?” Captain Grant says, glancing at her.
“A masquerade! We simply have to do a masquerade!” Lava exclaims.
“Specifically a gothic one! We’ll gonna paint the walls black!” Z adds enthusiastically.
“We might paint the walls black.” Captain Grant corrects. “Any other ideas?”
“I was thinking about a weather theme, since it's so magical! Did you know that on the surface, they get water from the sky! I wonder if it tastes different from the reservoir water,” ponders my classmate Gessa.
“Almost certainly, since the mineral content is drastically different,” Captain Grant answers.
“We should do an underworld theme. How flammable is the festival hall?” Larroh, the girl who sits to my right, remarks.
“Very, I would know.” Captain Grant laughs. “Any others?” The class is silent. “Alright, let’s put it to a vote. We can make any of these themes a masquerade ball. Everyone close or cover your eyes. Raise your hand for trees. Books. Gothic. Weather.” I raise my hand. Sky things are so cool and mysterious, even though I know the surface isn't actually all that far away. “Finally, underworld. You can look up now. The theme is gothic masquerade!” He takes a mask hanging behind his desk, with a black veil that I could have sworn wasn’t there before, and slides it on smoothly.
“Sweet!” Lava exclaims, giving Z a high five.
“Now, the fun part,” the captain explains, stepping onto the small stage at the front of the classroom. “Each of you must perform! You can work in groups, but everyone needs to be onstage for at least a minute. Between the twenty-five of you, you must fill twenty-five minutes of the total show, no more, no less. You have a week to submit brainstorming and ideas, two weeks to get your final blocking approved, three weeks to polish, and you perform at the end of the fourth. You have the rest of the period to plan and ask questions. Now fly, fly, fly!”
Lava smiles, and glances at me. “Celly, Z, Gwen, wanna work together?” Z and Gwen both answer positively.
“Sure! What are we going to do?” I respond enthusiastically.
“How about a dance?” Gwen considers.
“I love dancing!” Lava and I exclaim in sync. We both laugh.
“Not just a dance though. We should add some cool tech. Maybe a light machine!” Z adds.
“Where are we going to get it?” Lava asks. My mind flashes back to one person.
“My roommate loves tinkering around with things, maybe they can help! Only problem, I’m not sure how much they like me.”
“How soon can we know? I can help get them on our side. I can be very persuasive when I need to be.” Lava grins.
“Hmm, they might be in our room. Their class doesn’t start until way later and they’ve adjusted their sleep schedule to match. I’ll ask if we can go get them.” I stand up, and Lava follows suit.
“We’ll sketch out some ideas in the meantime.” Z says. Gweneth nods.
“If you can convince them and bring them back here in the next ten minutes, I'll allow it.” Captain Grant answers when we approach him. Being the closest to his desk does that. Lava salutes, grabs my arm, and runs out of the classroom, past the knights commons, and into the dorm hallway.
“Where is it?” She asks. I’m surprised how she's not out of breath after running so fast. I pull out my map and find my room number.
“Room seven.” We walk down the hallway, or in Lava’s case, skip. I unlock the door with my badge, and head in. Squid is standing over a big metal contraption, seemingly trying to pry it open with a crowbar. It looks quite strenuous. They notice us and look at me like my horns are on fire.
“Celestine! What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be in class?”
“Hi Squid! Sorry to bother you, but we need your help for an assignment.” I explain.
“Yeah! We’re doing a dance routine, and we want there to be a fancy light display too. Celly said you’re amazing at making things! My name is Lava by the way.” Squid rights themself and adjusts their overalls.
“Um. Yeah. I wouldn't say I’m amazing. My last project kinda blew up in my face.” Lava sighs, and gives Squid a desperate look. Her eyes seem bigger, like she was just in a dark room. “I’ll see what I can do. Lights are easy.” Lava grins, and holds out her hand.
“Welcome to the team! Now we just need to go back to class. Do you mind coming too?” Squid nods awkwardly, but with a smile. It’s strange, I don’t think I’ve seen them do that before. As we head back to class, Lava asks Squid a few questions about what they were working on. They answer surprisingly happily, and although I have no clue what a filament is, I try to listen anyway.
“You’re back, with three minutes and twenty-one seconds to spare.” Captain Grant smiles, glancing up from a chalkboard. “Who might you be, Mx. Tech Genius?” Z and Gweneth glance over.
“I’m Squid. I’m helping with Lava and Celestine's project.” Squid answers.
“Great! I’ll talk to your teacher and see to it that you get extra credit.”
“Thanks.” As we head back, Lava sits on her desk and offers Squid her chair. They take it gratefully.
“Did they fill you in on the plan?” Z asks.
“I know about the dancing bit, but can you brief me on what I’m supposed to do? The sooner I get to work, the more time we have to test things.” Squid responds.
“You just have to make the festival stage light up. Celly, do you know how to choreograph?” Gweneth questions. “Z can handle props and I can find some music. Lava can get costumes, unless she’s no longer allowed in the costume room.”
“Worst case scenario, I’ll just sneak in.” Lava laughs. Captain Grant eyes her suspiciously. “Just joking!”
“I can get choreo! In 6th grade, I made a dance for our class play.” I chuckle as I remember Fran flailing around, tripping over her costume.
"Great! That's settled then. Team Rainbow Lightshow, let's go!"
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