Page 82 of Dungeons and Drama

The second song begins, and I hold my breath. This one was always the biggest risk. We’ve got sixteen people withsinging roles. And since half of them won’t have costumes, it’s going to be significantly harder for the administrators to understand what the song is about. Except, when the cast comes out onstage, everyonedoeshave costumes. Some are pretty simple—brown ears to suggest they’re the Three Bears or elaborate wings for the Tooth Fairy. But they have something. I do an excited, nervous dance and Mom squeezes my shoulder. They figured it out somehow!

I tiptoe quietly through the auditorium, making my way toward an empty row of seats in the center. When the cast marches to the front of the stage for the end of the song, I raise my hands like I’m directing a choir. They catch sight of me one by one and everyone projects just a bit louder, their voices harmonizing and filling the auditorium. Tears fill my eyes until the cast members are blurry watercolor versions of themselves.

The song ends and applause echoes in the auditorium. Not a huge amount since there are only a handful of us in the audience, but Mom claps loud enough for a dozen people. I jog to the front while the cast members from the first song come out to bow. I screech to a halt when I see not only Lucas come out, but also Anthony, John, and even Jordan. John and Jordan are in full LARPing regalia again. A few people gesture to them in gratitude, and they wave modestly. I have no idea what’s going on, but I’m already emotional and seeing so many of my friends unexpectedly up there brings more tears to my eyes. It’s not lost on me that Nathan is nowhere to be seen, but I can’t dwell on that right now.

I continue clapping and wave to everyone onstage before turning to the group of adults. Mr. Weaver, a white manwearing khakis and a polo shirt, nods seriously to me. He’s from the school board. Next to him sits Mrs. Fairfax, a large Black woman with a friendly face who is the Music Boosters president. She’s Dawn’s mom, and given that Dawn just ran offstage with the other fairy-tale creatures, I’m thinking she’ll be the easiest to convince.

I survey them and try to appear my most professional. “Thank you so much for coming today. I’m very sorry I missed the beginning of our meeting time.”

Mom steps up next to me. “Hi, I’m Riley’s mom. We had a family emergency today, which is why I needed to take her out of school. But I can assure you she’s very serious about this spring musical.”

“She’s not the only one,” Mr. Weaver says under his breath.

Miss Sahni stands, her head cocked to the side with a concerned expression. “Yes, I heard all about your father from Hoshiko and the others. I’m so sorry. How is he? We didn’t expect to see you today.”

“Thank you. He seems to be doing better. In fact, he’s the reason I’m here. He insisted I come.”

Principle Holloway nods at the stage. “That was quite the performance.”

A thrill runs through me, but I force myself to stay calm. “I’m glad you think so. We have so many talented people at the school who are passionate about this. We wanted to show you what we’re capable of.”

“And that’s notallyou’re capable of,” Miss Sahni continues, her voice charged with energy. “This group pulled that performance together completely on their own with nobudget and only a few weeks to rehearse.” She turns to the principal. “Imagine what we can accomplish given some time and resources.” She raises her eyebrows and the principal nods gruffly and looks down at the folder in his hand. Those are my folders I put together. I had completely forgotten about them, but after I left school in a rush, Hoshiko must have grabbed my book bag and found them. I’m buying hersomany chai lattes when this is all over.

“Riley, will you walk us through this?” Miss Sahni asks, holding up a folder.

“Yes, of course.” I explain my plans to them, including the different proposed budgets, licensing fees, and cast numbers we would need depending on the musical we choose. Next, I review my thoughts on how we could cut costs compared to the last few musicals and some fundraisers we could think about doing. The group doesn’t say anything, but Miss Sahni is smiling brightly as I speak and Mrs. Fairfax is nodding encouragingly.

“This is well conceived,” Mr. Weaver says.

“Thank you.” Hope fills me to the point I might explode.

“I think we’ll need some time to talk, though,” Principal Holloway says. His face is a mask. “Why don’t you go congratulate your friends on the performance.”

I nod, give a quick side hug to Mom, who is now standing by the wall, and head backstage to the wings on shaky feet.

The entire cast is milling around backstage. It’s a sea of nervous laughter and wide grins. Paul stands toward the back. He notices me and gives a quick nod before turning away.

I spot Lucas and Hoshiko chatting with John, Jordan, Anthony, and his homecoming date, Kenzie. “Youguys…” My voice is tinged with awe.

Lucas spins and wiggles Hoshiko’s arm to get her attention. She turns, squeals, and pulls me into a huge hug. “Riley! Oh my God, I didn’t think you’d be here! How is your dad? What happened at the hospital?”

“He’s still there, but yeah, it seems like he’ll make a full recovery.” I shake my head. “The performance was amazing. Hoshiko, yourvoice.And your makeup is perfection.” I turn to Lucas. “I didn’t know you could do a Scottish accent! And you two skipped LARPing to be here?” I ask, turning to John and Jordan.

“I’m still hoping to get there, but we wanted to see this through first.”

“I just—” I break off, getting emotional again. “Thank you allsomuch for being here. It means so much to me.”

Hoshiko hugs me again. “There was a moment when we thought about canceling, honestly. It felt like everything was stacked against us with your dad being in the hospital, and no narrator or costumes, but then Nathan suggested—”

“Nathan?” I interrupt. I glance around again to be sure, but he’s definitely not here.

She nods. “Nathan convinced us that we could still make it happen. Lucas was pumped to narrate—”

“I never get to use my accents at D&D since I’m always the DM,” Lucas adds.

“—and John and Jordan jumped in to help with costumes.”

Jordan nods. “John texted me at lunch and I drove over as soon as school finished. We texted some other LARPingfriends who had a few things we could borrow and threw together some other pieces.”

---