When stepping into the theatre hall of Crystal Prep Academy, many wouldn’t believe it to be the theatre of a regular high school. Not only was the number of regular seats exceptionally high, there were even special box-seats installed on the wall for the principal and dean. Even more astonishing however was the stage itself: Like all of Crystal Prep it was shining brightly, the wood polished to a degree where it almost appeared like a layer of glass way lying above it. Large enough to house an entire opera if needed it was equipped with the top-notch technology in lighting and stage machinery. There was even a small orchestra pit, just so big it could host the school’s own musical groups. Out of all the one in the district, this one was probably the most noble and grand theatre hall.
Sunny Flare stood between the front row and orchestra pit, a pen in one hand and a script in the other. After scribbling some notes down on one of the pages she looked up to the large stage, a strict look on her face. “All right, ladies!” she called out to the girls on the stage. “We’ve got until four o’clock before the theatre group needs the stage for their own rehearsal. That should be just enough time for you to learn your text, as well as getting acquainted to where you have to stand and how you have to move. So, shall we get started?”
On the stage Lemon Zest glanced at the heavy script in her hand. “You kiddin’ me?!” she asked, running with her thumb through the pages. She was wearing a short white toga, alongside long striped leather sandals that went up to her knees. She didn’t have her headphones on, but a pair of fake angel wings protruded from her back. “We’ll need, like, till midnight to get all of this into our brains!” she groaned, slumping her shoulders whole rolling her eyes up at the ceiling. “And why the fuss? Tis just a short before the actual play, innit?”
Putting her hands on her hips Sunny snobbishly raised her nose. “It may be just a fifteen minutes short, but that doesn’t mean it’s to be taken lightly” Sunny told her in a stern manner. Abruptly her expression softened, Sunny pressing her fists against her chin as she beamed in excitement. “This is my big chance to get a name as a playwriter!” she squealed, trembling slightly. “If it’s gonna be a success, maybe the theatre group will play one of my plays as their next big performance!”
Stepping to the edge of the stage Indigo Zap clenched her fist in front of her. “Course it’ll be a smash!” she hollered, grinning in confidence. A dark plastic armor with spikes covered most of her body, with a black crown on top of her head that had a red glass jewel embedded in it. “When the curtain drops we’ll still be bathing in standing ovations!” she boasted, raising her fist into the air. “They’re gonna beg us all to join the theatre group as their new superstars!”
Wearing a content smile Sunny nodded. “That’s the spirit!” she praised her, sticking her chest out and placing a hand on her chest. “I mean Principal Cinch obviously has already realised my talent as a writer, or else she wouldn’t have appointed this task on such a short notice upon me.”
“She was probably just desperate” Sugarcoat stated nonchalant, pushing up her glasses. They didn’t fit the rest of her attire, also wearing a plastic armor, coloured in gray. It looked a lot lighter than Indigo’s, Sugarcoat less resembling a medieval knight but rather a Greek hoplite. “School work consumed most of their free time, so the part of the theatre group responsible for the original prelude couldn’t practice enough and quit” she explained, her slightly aggressive voice rushing out of her mouth like a river down a mountain. “She needed to find a replacement fast, and probably just randomly stumbled upon your rejected scripts.”
Huffing at the snide remark Sunny folded her arms. “And they got four weeks of detention for dropping out in last minute” she reminded her. All the girls shuddered slightly, then quickly shook their heads. “So unless you wanna share their fate, I’d say we get started already" Sunny stated, tapping with the back of her hand against her script.
“Sour’s not here yet” Indigo said as she took a look around the stage.
“Sour!” Sunny shouted, forming a funnel with her hands in front of her mouth. “Come on! We want to start!”
She stared at the egde of the stage, patting it with her foot on the ground. It took a moment before they could hear footsteps approaching. Behind the curtain a silhouette appeared, one that was barely identifiable as a human. As the figure stepped into the light it revealed itself as Sour Sweet, wearing what looked like the Frankenstein monster of school mascot uniforms: Her costume was made out of the head of a dog, with one ear being replaced with a cat’s, the torso of a porcupine, the left arm of a bear, the right wing of a flamingo and the legs of a frog. Clearly one could see the stitches between the individual parts, having been hastily sewed together. In the middle of the chest the face of Sour poked out through a hole, looking everything but amused.
Lemon tried her best to hold back her laughter, tightly pressing her hand against her lips as chortles broke out in sporadic intervals.
After glaring grumpily around the stage Sour made an angel face. “May I kindly ask for another role?” she asked with puppy eyes, before hissing through her teeth: “One that doesn’t make me the laughing stock of the whole school?”
Indigo shrugged. “You drew the shortest straw.”
Frowning Sour took a few steps onto the stage. She couldn’t really raise her legs, making every of her motions seem clunky and awkward. “This is ridiculous!” she grumbled, trying to drag herself forward. “I don’t even know why we agreed to this…”
Sunny stemmed her hands against her hips. “First, because we decided to be friends, and friends help each other out” she told the bad-tempered girl sternly. “Second, students practicing for a theatre play that is going to be reviewed by the newspapers are relieved of the afternoon classes Principal Cinch added to the time table. And third…” She pointed with her finely manicured index-finger at each of them “…you all owe me one. Now let’s get started.”
Eyes on the first page of her script Lemon looked a little lost. “Um, not that I haven’t read the play or anything, buuuuut… what was it about again?” she asked, nervously smiling at Sunny.
“It’s the tale of two divine sisters, the elder one controlling the sun and the younger one the moon” she explained, with some pride in her voice. “They fight together to defeat a great evil god of chaos as well a dark magician who has enslaved a legendary kingdom, but then the younger sister becomes jealous of the older one and tries to overthrow her.”
“That’s a very simple premise” Sugarcoat remarked, earning a glare from Sunny.
“The focus is on the characterization!” she mumbled. “Now everybody get on your position! We begin with the first scene, where the sisters encounter the warlock while the god of Chaos watches them from a distance.”
The four girls stepped on their places. Sugarcoat and Lemon went to the left part of the stage while Indigo and Sour opposed them on the right side. Sour slightly hid herself behind the curtain, which took quite a while due to her clunky movements. Sitting down in the front row Sunny put her script on her lap and the pen on the opened page, her eyes fixed on her actors. “And… begin!” she declared.
Indigo cleared her throat, taking in a deep breath while holding the script in front of her. An evil grin suddenly spread over her face, her brows furrowing while she raised both her arms into the air. “WHO DAAARES TO OPPOSE ME, HERE IN MY LAND?!” she yelled, trying to sound as grim and intimidating as possible. “The moment you set foot here, your life did already end!” In an exaggerated gesture she pointed with her finger at the two girls on the stage, holding up her head so high she was barely able focus her evil stare on them. “For thousand years I’ve been ruling this land, hour by hour!!! Now succumb to my will, AND BEHOLD MY DARK MANIACAL POWER! Wait…” She glanced at her script. “MAGICAL POWER! MUHAHAHAHA!”
“There is no “muhahaha” in the script” Sugarcoat informed the evil warlock.
Putting a hand on her hip Indigo threw a sharp glare at the moon goddess. “I’m sure there are also no smarty-pant remarks in the script” she scoffed “Don’t meddle in my acting and I won’t meddle in yours, okay? Now say your text!”
Sighing Sugarcoat looked at her script. “Your powers are worthless in front of our own” she read out loud. The words were hurrying out of her mouth as if they were being hunted, Sugarcoat making no pause or putting any accentuation on the sentence as she spoke. “Surrender now or into the abyss you go.”
She then nearly stumbled as Lemon suddenly jumped past her into the foreground. “Dooon’t be so arrogant sisteeer, and full of false priiiiide!” she sang out loud, screaming melodically while moving around on the stage as if she was in the disco. “Freedom we seek, not poooweeer, and for the liberation of this kingdom we striiiiive!”
With a mighty sound Indigo stomped on the stage. “ENOUGH!!” she yelled, thrusting out her chest as she spoke in an overly high and mighty voice. “Against me and my horses… er, forces, you two shall not prevail!” She held out both her hands towards Sugarcoat and Lemon, moving her fingers as if she was cursing them. “With this spell I will finish you off, and your quest will be an EPIC fail!!”
“It doesn’t say epic, only fail” Sugarcoat corrected her again.
“Just writhe in agony, okay?” Indigo demanded, annoyed.
After shaking her head Sugarcoat calmly put a hand on her forehead, while holding the script in front of her face with the other. “Oh, ah, I’m in so much pain” she said, sounding more like she was in a coma than in pain. “He’s holding me in his grip. Sister, help me, or out of my body my soul will slip.”
Sliding over the stage Lemon stepped in front of Sugarcoat, but then stepped back as if she had taken a hit to her stomache. “Oh no – he’s holding me too-ooo-ooooo!” she chanted, wildly shaking her body – it wasn’t clear if she was acting to be in pain or just enjoying herself. “It’s like he’s squeezing my HEEEEAAART! But don’t think you’ve won!” she suddenly exclaimed, pointing at Indigo. “We will defeat yooouuu – and not fall apaaaa-aaaart!” She sang a very high note, Sugarcoat having to put her hands over her ears from the shrill sound.
The sisters fought against the spell, one by dancing and singing screams of agony, the other by standing apathetically on the same spot and occasionally murmuring “ouch”. Bending her arms the evil warlock laughed hysterically, her “Muhahaha” become louder every time she repeated it (which was quite a lot). From the shadows Sour then emerged very slowly, either for the dramatic effect, or because she couldn’t move faster in the costume. “Isn’t this just lovely? she asked with a voice clear as a bell and a face sweet as sugar. “My greatest enemies, battling it out amongst each other♥” She clenched her bear first, abruptly changing her expression into one of pure hatred and anger. “And I will squash whoever wins this fight, so they won't be a bother!” she shouted. She then froze, realizing she had wrinkled the script as she clenched her paw. Hastily she tried to even the folds with her flamingo wing.
After struggling some more the sisters suddenly held out their arms, Lemon spinning on the spot while scream-singing at the ceiling. Sugarcoat on the other hand looked like she was stretching herself after yawning loudly. Taking a step back Indigo gasped, making what must have been the most dramatic pose anyone ever made in a theatre.
“You broke my spell, how can this BE!” she screamed, smacking her hands against her cheeks. “No one was EVER able to best ME!”
“Your spell has no effect on us, it’s just like I said” Sugarcoat spoke in a languid voice, lazily raising her hand at Indigo. “You are much too weak, now fear our hate!”
Lemon raised her hands up to the ceiling. “Ooohhh aaaaaalmighty suuuuun, come forth right nowowow and heeeeere!” she sang, circling her hips and wailing her arms in the air. “Show us your liiiiiiiight, and banish the feeeeaaaar!” In a swift motion she turned her hands into a pair of finger-pistols, shouting “Pew pew” while firing imaginary bolts of sunlight at Indigo. Sugarcoat kept holding out her hand towards the evil warlock, looking like she was telling her not to cross the street.
Letting out a long cry of fake anguish Indigo cringed, dropping her script as she clenched her armored chest with both hands. “UUUH! OH! THE PAIN! THE PAIN!” she screamed, dropping to her knees. “I wouldn’t have thought it was possible for me to fall, but you sisters are the most powerful of them…” She peeked at the script lying on the stage. “ALL!”
Her hand longed towards the ceiling, Indigo screaming for another half minute before her body fell forward on the ground. Her She didn't stop there, however, but rolled around on the stage. Her body twitched and writhed in agony as she held up her arms, making dying sounds. Sour stepped forward, again sweetly smiling towards the two sisters.
“Oh my, the younger sister sure has a lot of pride she said in a nice and cheerful tone that was didn't really fit the scene or her line. ”With so much self-contentment in her heart" she switched back into evil mode “I might be able to pull her to the dark-”
A loud choke cut her off. Annoyed she looked down on Indigo, seeing her writhe around on the ground with both her hands pulled around her neck, her tongue hanging out while she rolled up her eyes. “Excuse me, could you please be so kind and die a little quieter?” Sour asked. “I’M TRYING TO ACT HERE!”
Ravishing in her victory Sugarcoat raised her hand into the air like she was holding on to a grabpole in the bus. “Hooray, we defeated the evil mage” she announced, still not emphasizing any word.
“AWWW YEAH!” Lemon jubilated, euphorically perfoming a victory dance. “Now let’s go free all his slaaaaaves!”
Sour happily looked at the two. ”I guess I’m gonna change my plans and let them celebrate for the moment” she decided, trying to talk over the dying warlock lying at her frog feet. ”Then I’ll manipulate the younger sister’s mind – AND CRUSH BOTH OF THEM!” she suddenly yelled, gritting her teeth while angrily looking at the two, before her face softened again just as quickly as she continued: ”And once they’re gone there and there is nobody left to oppose my might…” The sweet chocolate turned bitter again “…I’ll rule over everything, from the face of earth to the realm of sunlight!” She raised an arm, looking cheerfully upwards, before looking back at the sisters with pure rage in her eyes.
Quietly Sunny stared at the stage. Sugarcoat was celebrating her victory over the wizard with the enthusiasm of a zombie, Lemon wailed away on an invisible guitar while banging her head, Sour constantly changed her expression from over-the-top joyful to over-the-top angry, and Indigo was still dying.
First she dropped her jaw, then her pen, and at last the script on her lap.
“That. Was. HORRIBLE!!” it broke out of Sunny, angrily jumping up from her seat. Startled the four girls looked at their director, seeing her seethe with fury. “Sugarcoat, you have to put more passion into it!” she yelled towards the stage. “Indigo, you have to put less passion into it! Sour, you should really work on portraying more than two emotions! And Lemon, this isn’t a musical – you are not supposed to dance and sing the lines!”
Surprised Lemon's eyes widened. “Really?” she asked, looking at her script. “But they rhyme!”
“Because it’s in the style of classic literature!” Sunny moaned. “Never read any works of that time? Wait, don’t answer that.” Bending down she picked up her pen and script. She completely oversaw the disappointed and crestfallen look on everybody’s faces, even Indigo having lost most of her vigor. “Again, from the top!” Sunny demanded as she sat down again, rubbing the bridge of her nose. “And this time, at least TRY to be get it right!”
Her actors exchanged some uncomfortable glances, before sighing in unison.