The rest of class flies by. Before I know it, everyone’s leaving. Well, everyone except Lava.
“Hey Celly, Squid,” she asks. “Wanna see if we can go get costumes now? Gwen has ballet and Z has voice lessons, but we can go with them some other time.”
“Sure!” I’m super excited to see all that the costume room has in store.
“I guess,” Squid says.
Lava dashes over to Captain Grant. “Please can we go? It's for our project. And I won’t make a mess this time!” I’ll have to ask about what she means by 'this time'.
“If I say no, would you just convince the Director to let you in?” The Captain responds blankly.
“Uhhhhh, maybe?” she shrugs.
“Can you ask Tybalt if they can take over my next class? If he says yes, we can go. And no, I do not plan on leaving you unsupervised.”
“But you said it yourself, I’m not a kitten anymore.” Lava argues.
“Well yes, but actually no. You may not be a small child, but you’re still a teenager.”
“Barely! And only for a few months!”
“Seven is more than a few, but I digress.”
“Ok, let's go.” Lava grabs my sleeve and leads Squid and I outside. “The deputy offices are down the hall.” We pass by the other classrooms and up a small flight of stairs.
“That one would be mine if I wanted it,” Squid mumbles as we pass the Tactician office. “I just don’t feel like dealing with the council. They're a bunch of stuck-up ostriches with their heads in the ceiling.”
“What’s an ostrich?” I ask.
“It’s… like a humongous chibbit but without the ears. It's a surface thing,” they explain.
“Sir Tybalt! Thou hath art been summoned-hyphen-eth!” Lava exclaims, banging on a door decorated with carvings of shells, the treble clef sign, leaves, and a whole variety of other things. It opens and a lanky merfolk stands in the entrance. He’s wearing a large scarf and a shell necklace. It looks surprisingly new, which is strange, since non-fossil shells rarely make it into the reservoir.
“Oh, it's you. What does my most vexing rival desire on this fine day?” they inquire, leaning against the doorframe.
“The Captain requests your presence in…”she checks her watch. “Thirteen minutes. He wants you to teach the next class.”
“And whyever did he send you?”
“My bestest friends and I are working on a project and he’s helping. Must I define the term friend?” She hugs Squid and I with a saccharine smile. Squid squeaks.
“That’s not necessary. Honestly, I’m glad you know the term. Tell him I’ll be there.”
“Kay-thanks-BYEEEEEE!” Lava shouts, dragging us back down the hall.
“What was that all about?” Squid asks snarkily.
“Tybalt doesn’t like me. I mean, fair enough. It’s too fun to tease him. If I get lucky, he retires right after I graduate and I get to become the spy deputy in his place.”
“Wouldn’t it have the same outcome if Tybalt just became captain?” I question.
“And have to get ordered around by him? No way!” She laughs.
We head back to the classroom to report to Captain Grant.
“Looks like you three are picking out costumes! One question, Celestine, Squid. Was your bestest friend antagonizing my deputy?” Lava shakes her head.
“No, of course not!” She lies.
“Hmm. No covering face, no changed behaviors, and a consistent tone. You’re getting better at this. One issue, don’t bother lying when it’s not for a grade.” Lava pouts as Captain Grant smirks. He takes out his badge and scans it against the wall. It clicks into place, and the bricks slide away to reveal a secret tunnel. It’s dim inside, and as we head down, I notice almost hundreds of musical theater posters lining the walls.
“Can I have one? Please?” Lava pleads, walking backwards at the front of the group.
“Ask your dad. He has the other prints of them.” I remember Mom telling me about the posters advertising Sol Theatrum shows, since I couldn’t go down and see them myself.
“Since we’re down here, can I take a look at the lighting system? I’ve heard it’s really advanced.” Squid requests hopefully.
“You sound just like a good friend of mine. Unfortunately, that’s a no. The costume room is a bit higher up than the theater and has less pressure, which is why I’m even letting you go. If you’re interested in looking at them, some of the curtain mechanisms are up there.”
“Ok!” They try and fail to hide their excitement. We reach the bottom of the stairs and walk into a room. I notice several doors, some labeled props or costumes. Another staircase, this one a spiral, is in the back corner. Next to it, there are elaborate machines that Squid almost immediately dashes over to. They leap around it, poking at some things and observing others. They have an almost maniacal grin as they start to climb on top of the sturdy central rail.
“Don’t break anything!” Captain Grant shouts at them.
“Sir, yes sir!” Squid salutes, now hanging upside down while investigating the curtain itself.
“Aspen, why is there a kid on the ceiling?” Mr. Cheng leaps up the stairs with surprising agility.
“Firesi! Glad to see you! That’s Squid, a friend of Lava’s. Celestine is here too.” Captain Grant seems more relaxed with him around.
“Hi Mr. Cheng!” I wave.
“Hi dad!” Lava purrs.
“You’re the director, right? Who built this curtain? Do you happen to know if they used carriage bolts or set screws? I can’t see them from here.” Squid quizzes.
“Yes, I am. Otter built most of the Sol Sector, but to be honest, I don’t even know if they know what they used.”
“Otter’s a strange one! Remember that time they filled the dye cauldrons in here with an ungodly amount of syrup?” Captain Grant laughs. “When I asked, they just pulled out an equally absurd amount of waffles and pancakes and told me to take my pick.”
“I remember Val telling me how annoyed they were when Otter commissioned them in the first place. Must have been at least a hundred of each.” Mr. Cheng adds.
“I wonder how many eggs it took! Anyhoo, let’s go pick out outfits!” Lava exclaims. She grabs my arm and pulls me into another room. I wave at everyone outside.
“Welcome to the costume room! Home of the hautest couture in Warren history!” There’s walls and walls of outfits of all shapes and sizes. Some look like they just came back from last year’s knights ball. Others look so unusual, they must have come from the surface. Lava’s already scouring a row of gorgeous ruffled dresses, so I take a look around. I see a battalion of pirate costumes, the fanciest of which has a tiny leaf charm identical to the one I saw hanging on Captain Grant’s badge. On the wall above it, there are a series of dresses that remind me of the Butterfly Brigade comics I loved when I was little.
“Ah! Here it is!” Lava shouts. “Celly, come see this!” I weave my way through ancient looking robes to where Lava is standing. She’s holding up a pink and black dress with a corset. It’s decorated with intricate swirls and designs of bat wings. “It comes with this too!” She smiles, pointing at her neck. Lava is wearing a cute heart-shaped choker.
“That’s awesome!”
“You should find something similar in purple or blue! It’ll really compliment your horns.”
“Eh, I prefer warm colors. Are there any accessories for them though? I saw Cam wear rings on her antlers the other day.” I thought the gold suited her, though when I told her, she was really flustered.
“Yeah! The jewelry cabinet is over there. One of the senior actors used a lot of hornaments, as she called them. When she retired, she donated her whole collection!”
“Ok! Thanks!” I head over to the cabinet and look through it. There are so many gorgeous rings, bracelets, necklaces, jewels, and what appear to be earrings but for horns. I get a little queasy at the thought of sticking needles through my horns, even though they are surprisingly flexible. I settle on an elegant black veil adorned with stars. When I put it on and look in the mirror, I feel like a princess from days long gone. I wonder what it would be like to live in a time with royalty. Scratch that, I wonder what it would be like to be royalty. My fantasy is interrupted when I hear talking outside.
“Remember Oz’s kid?” I can’t make it out super well, but it sounds like Captain Grant.
“I thought he closed the curtains on family life.” I’m assuming he’s talking to Mr. Cheng.
“He did, but not before a chance encounter with a child-sized mechanic.”
“Oh, oh! Do you really think?”
“Yeah. I mean, I am.”
“Tybalt’s rubbing off on you!”
“You don’t get to talk! I’m half-convinced the magma lights shine on us the same way.”
“Take it as a compliment, it's hard to find the right blocking so that the light truly reflects the star.”
Even though I have no idea what they're talking about, it seems to be a positive converstation. I smile, and keep looking around. Ironically, amongst all the dazzling outfits, the one that most catches my eye is a worn out leather and fleece jacket tucked away in the back corner. It feels oddly familiar, though I can’t quite place it. I know Mom works here, maybe she used to wear it. But it can’t be. If it was hers, it would smell more like her perfume and less like what I imagine freshly cut trees to smell like. I put it on, and it's several sizes too big, probably made for more of a guardsman than a young adult woman. Even so, it’s incredibly cozy.
“Hey Lava! Can I just take this?”
“Yeah! Just fill out the tag on the hanger.” She tosses me a marker. On the hanger, I see a small form, where I fill in my name, the date, and the address.
“Thank you! I think I’m going to head out now!” I call to Lava.
“Are you ok getting home on your own?” She asks, without a hint of a joke.
“Yeah!” I grin. “See you tomorrow!”
When I get back to my bunk nearly an hour later, Squid snickers at me.
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