second trial

[stagemanagers]

[As the investigation ends, you'll hear Hester's voice inviting you to the auditorium. As this happens, the twin doors on either side of the concession stand, across from the gym, will click open. You can enter on either side; both go to the same place.

When you enter the auditorium, it's dark. There's only the small lights along the walkway behind all the seats, just enough to illuminate where you're going. There's a central path between the seats, down towards where you know the stage must be. That's where you must be going, right? As you pass each row of seats, the lights at their ends flick on, marking your procession and slowly making more and more of the room visible. Shortly, you can see your destination: a circle of podiums stationed in the orchestra pit, below the lip of the darkened, curtained stage. They're all identical, labeled with a cast member's name. Elisabeth and Connor have joined Mumble in having theirs draped in black crepe and with a framed monochrome photo of them on top.

When you reach the podiums, the lights above the stage finally come on. the Wizard is once again waiting for you. Beside it Hester is slowly lowers in on her bubble. Her dress this week is a purple monstrosity, more akin to a voluminous prom dress than the simple outfits she usually wears.

The mechanical head, with glowing green eyes, is installed above the stage and the still-closed curtain. Even if you were standing on the stage, it'd be well out of reach. It peers down at all of you, its motions fluid, and speaks with a booming, artificial-sounding voice:]

Welcome to your second trial, everyone. It's time to determine who was responsible for the murder of Connor. Feel free to talk amongst yourselves and work together - you'll have to show teamwork if you want to leave this room alive.

Comments

[brokeforgood]

His only friend. [She says it with an extra level of cheer, that makes it clear that she’s calling it bullshit— Then, just because Peregrine’s hurting—-] I know it’s bullshit, Per. But that’s what they claimed. I knew it was bullshit even then, but now I really—-

Evan Hansen made a big speech at Connor’s memorial, and it went viral. It was about how you don’t have to be alone, or whatever. Even if you’re broken on the ground. [She spits the words out. They’re painful to her. They were then, they are now. That speech has always taunted her— those words in particular.]

[comeandfindme]

Connor's only friend was Miguel!! He taught him how to- to work pie crusts, they hung out under trees, Everyone else was—

[ Breathe, Peregrine. She roughly wipes her face and tries to calm down; she doesn't want to yell at Farrah, Farrah isn't causing this. ]

...Whoever that guy is, he's a fucking liar. Connor didn't know him.

[brokeforgood]

[Farrah doesn’t like being yelled at like that—- but she can’t exactly yell back at Peregrine. And she can’t break down either. So she slips back into her vain, hot-mess, no-care Farrah facade, smoothing flyaway hairs and examining her nails.]

I said it was bullshit.

[comeandfindme]

[ ...She swallows. ]

I know, Farrah. I— I know. [ ... ] I'm sorry.

[brokeforgood]

You don’t have to be. It’s whatever. [She stares at her fingernails, simultaneously grateful and frustrated she had done her own nails.]

It was... a really big thing on the internet. They were trying to save some apple orchard, because I guess Evan was like, oh, Connor was super into—- [Apples. The apples in the vending machine. The pies he’d made. She’d always thought it was bullshit— but she hadn’t really ever thought about Connor when she dismissed it. She was always thinking about herself. But now— she knew Connor. He was real. He was funny in the same ways that she was. He was a good listener, and he tried to look out for her. About a hundred apples tumble out of a vending machine, and then he made them into pies for them.

Her elbows drop to her podium, and she lowers her head down, clenching her braids in her fists.]

[alchemistake]

[When Farrah doesn't finish her sentence, instead bowing her head over her podium, Varian puts his free hand on her shoulder.

This is the cool kid's corner, but cool kids don't have to be okay.]

[violentenvies]

[hhh everything is awful about this, actually, and he's going to reach out and touch Varian's shoulder to get his attention before handing him a handkerchief to pass off to Farrah]

[alchemistake]

[THANK YOU DAD...that's happening now, here Farrah.]

[samefacesyndrome]

[ Rina was already really grateful when Farrah earlier she could stand right next to her too, so looking at her now and and seeing Varian and Salieri trying to comfort her.... she takes her other hand (the one that hasn't been in Varian's whenever it's free) and gently puts it on Farrah's arm. ]

...Do you wanna hold hands too?

[sugarlumps]

...After we get out of here we should totally kill that guy.

[comeandfindme]

[ ... ]

That won't bring Connor back.

[sugarlumps]

It'd be honoring his memory! And it'd make me feel better probably.

[comeandfindme]

[ Something about this makes Peregrine not want to answer. She just pulls the cloak around her, running her fingers over the hand-embroidered deer right over her heart. ]

[employeeoftheyear]

You can't be saying that whoever this Evan is, he made up being friends with Connor? Why in Neptune's name would anyone do that?

[sugarlumps]

Probably because they're really pathetic and lonely and know deep down they're awful.

[Spoken with zero irony]

[tellthestory]

Sounds like it made him famous. People'll do a lot worse, for that.

[employeeoftheyear]

But... but that's still terrible! Friends don't start being friends with people just to be famous! Especially not when they're dead before you befriend them!

[tellthestory]

I'm not saying it's right. I'm just saying people do.

[voicerights]

[...]

Why would you not want to be friends with a famous person?

[employeeoftheyear]

Well they could be a jerk. I'd rather have a friend who'd stick with me through thick and thin than someone who doesn't care about me but everyone knows about.

[voicerights]

Loyalty.

[...]

How does...[And it goes quiet, pensive]

[tellthestory]

I - it's not that I don't want to be. If I made friends with someone who was famous, that'd be fine! I mean, Maya's still studying Salieri's work centuries after he died, so he must've been, right? [...] But I don't want to be friends with anyone just because they're famous.

[The Balladeer pauses a little. He almost feels like he's a bad person to explain this.]

I didn't...have friends, before I got here. Only the Player, and only her for a little bit. But I'd hung out with plenty of famous people. Being well-known doesn't mean they're good, or even...nice.

[voicerights]

But how is that relevant? Your connection to them grants you access to things you could not achieve before. What you want.

[themuseabandonsyou]

Connor kept getting letters out of the machine in the cafeteria from someone who only signed them 'sincerely, me'. He said he didn't recognize them. Do you think they were from this Evan Hansen person?

[brokeforgood]

Yeah. I do.