Playing The Part: Part Two

     "Angel? Angel, is that you? Why sure, I saw your name in the list anyway. Look, can you help round up your fellow extras so we can talk for a while?" asked the fire Scorchio, flipping through a bunch of papers on a clipboard.

     Meanwhile Sweet and Glitter gathered along with some other pupils around a teacher, who said, "Everyone, you will take turns reading some lines in front of us, so we will see how you blend in with your character and become one with your new personality. Auditions for the lead roles will take place here on the stage, while the supporting roles will be taken over there, in the back. That way we can move faster."

     "Hey Angel! You're going to be an extra knight? I am too!" The jelly Poogle whipped around to see a Christmas Wocky calling him.

     "Foreon?" The two friends ran towards each other and did a high five. "Forey! Come on!" Angel took his chum's paw and led him towards Mr. Embers.

     As they ran towards the teacher, they passed a white Aisha, who was busy looking at everyone else. Her gaze flew towards the stage, where a spotted Flotsam was trying out for the role of Queen Allison. Fluffy also glanced at the other side, and heard Sweet impersonate a brave young general, brandishing a toy sword as part of the process.

     "Dear me, what's a pretty young Aisha like you doing standing around?" asked Ms. Tails, a tall Island Lupe. "Don't you have something to do?"

     Fluffy took one look at her and said, "Uh, I just wanted to find the bathroom in the auditorium."

     "Well, it's at the right of the stage, dear," said Miss Tails. "You can't miss it!" But as the teacher went to help Miss Ford supervise the auditions, Fluffy hung back and didn't take even one step towards the bathroom. She was still beadily watching everyone else, shuddering as thoughts of the show being performed in front of a huge audience permeated her mind.

     She strolled around the auditorium, watching her siblings audition instead of auditioning herself.

     "Come, troops, we shall defend Meridell, even if it means we suffer!" Sweet was yelling, as he waved a plastic sword in the air. The teacher in charge - a shadow Chomby - was looking very impressed and scribbled something in an orange clipboard. Then as the Kacheek rushed over to a speckled Shoyru trying to portray the villain, Mr. Mossy fixed his dark eyes on both of them so intently that he didn't seem to blink.

     Next, Fluffy shifted her gaze to the stage, where Glitter was reading some lines and doing a bit of body language. Miss Ford and Miss Tails were smiling widely as the faerie Acara took a couple of steps forward and did a couple of paw gestures. Then suddenly, as Fluffy's sister attempted a little dance step included in the script, she tripped and flopped onto her front.

     Several students howled with laughter, while the Poogle and Lupe teachers just grinned. "Carry on, Glitter, you're doing fine," said Miss Tails soothingly, but that didn't stop some of the other pets from snickering. The Acara bit her lip in humiliation and then continued doing her lines.

     Fluffy shuddered at what happened to Glitter on the stage. The white Aisha wanted nothing but for the day to be over - or better yet, the play.

     ***

     "And then, I said, 'Look over there, fair consorts, we have at last spotted the enemy!' and Miss Ford smiled at me!" said Glitter happily, stuffing a huge taco into her mouth. "Sure, I tripped, but the teachers said it was all right."

     Angel gasped. "Wasn't that embarrassing?" he asked anxiously.

     The faerie Acara smiled. "Of course not! In fact - "

     "You should have seen me!" interrupted Sweet. "Mr. Mossy said I make a great knight, and I'm really good with a sword!" He grabbed his fork and began making knight imitations on the table.

     "I'M GOING TO BE AN EXTRA!" squealed Angel, spilling his apple juice all down his front.

     "Who cares about the extras?" said Glitter indignantly. "I'm going to be THE STAR, and everyone's going to love me!"

     "They'll love you all right…when you bribe them with free chocolate and tickets to the next Twisted Roses concert," snickered Sweet. Angel nearly fell off his chair laughing his head off. The faerie Acara glared at them at first and replied, "You'll see! My name will be up in lights when they give out the results of the auditions!"

     Kat sighed, and grinned. The Poogle, Acara and Kacheek were all so excited and glad, and she could not bear to quiet them down. "All right, I guess you three had quite a ball in the auditions today.

     "Raincrystal said I acted really well after the audition!" added the faerie Acara. "She even said that I was perfect for the part!"

     However, amidst the chatter and squealing going on at the table, Kat noticed a white Aisha's unnatural silence as she brought strawberry trifle and chocolate-coated candy canes over.

     "Hey, Fluff, what's wrong?" asked the girl, setting down the dessert and not batting an eye at her other pets who began attacking it hungrily and sloppily. She looked at her Aisha, who was nibbling very slowly on her own taco.

     Fluffy said nothing, but looked away, her arms crossed in front of her chest. Her owner took that as a danger sign, shrugged and walked back to her seat. Still, Kat watched the white Aisha even more carefully throughout the dinner, amidst the pandemonium going on over the trifle and chocolate candy.

     "Sweet, you eat like a Snorkle!" exclaimed Glitter angrily. "Save some for us!"

     "No, I don't!" answered the striped Kacheek. "Look who's been attacking the chocolate-coated candy canes?"

     "Will you two just shut up?" sighed Angel, grabbing a second helping of strawberry trifle.

     "Now look who's eating like a Snorkle!" said the faerie Acara, pointing at her younger brother viciously. Angel thwacked her with a spoon.

     Kat chuckled a bit, smiled a weak smile, and decided to see if she had more trifle and chocolate. However, Fluffy finally stood up.

     "I think I'll just go to bed early," she mumbled, thoughts of being seen on a huge stage by dozens and maybe hundreds of spectators drifting through her head again and making her a little queasy as she walked to her bedroom slowly. In the background, Sweet, Angel and Glitter continued the chaos on the dining table while their frantic owner kept sibling rivalries from forming.

     ***

     The days seemed to pass like weeks for Glitter, Sweet and Angel. In every class, their attention would be pierced by memories of the auditions and seeing themselves in the spotlight. Not one day passed when at least one or two of them were reprimanded for daydreaming and paying no attention.

     It seemed as though the "impatience syndrome" was contagious, as many other students were barely listening to Miss Ford describe multiplying two-digit numbers. Raincrystal was passing notes to Sweet, a split Buzz had fallen asleep on his table and was drooling all over it while the teacher wasn't looking, while a nearby speckled Shoyru had leaned back on his chair and stared at the ceiling. Angel was now doodling a picture of himself as a knight, and Glitter struggled to keep her eyes open.

     However, Fluffy was the opposite. She continued taking so many notes and reciting more than thrice in a class. Raincrystal the cloud Kacheek asked her why she wasn't as excited about the audition results or the play itself while Miss Ford had her back turned, but the white Aisha didn't answer and buried herself in a thick book. Apparently Raincrystal didn't get the message, as she tried contacting Fluffy again. However the cloud Kacheek's efforts in communicating with her friend were futile.

     After a few days of impatience, waiting and more impatience, the bell signaling lunchtime rang on one gloomy Monday, and everyone except Fluffy snapped out of the air of impatience. Everyone sprinted out of their chairs, leaving a trail of mess except the white Aisha and ran for the bulletin boards displaying the results of the auditions. Strangely, Miss Ford didn't even notice that Fluffy was taking her own sweet time unlike all her classmates.

     It was no surprise that there were almost no crowds in the corridors, as nearly everybody had flocked to the bulletin boards, their eyes flying towards some newly tacked papers on them. Not a single one of them saw a single white Aisha who hung back, until a jelly Poogle jumped up and tackled her.

     "Want to hear the results?" asked Angel excitedly, bouncing up and down.

     "Er…" Fluffy began.

     "What the heck, I'll tell you myself! I'M AN EXTRA NOW!" he yelled.

     The Aisha searched the crowds for her brother and sister. "Hey, what about Sweet and Glitter? What happened to them? WAIT!" She followed Angel over to the results board. Although Fluffy wasn't interested in the play, she was interested in finding out what had happened to her other brother and sister.

To be continued...