one thing's universal, life's no dress rehearsal

[stagemanagers]

[Prom night! The greatest night of your young lives if you watch any Western high school media from the past 60 years. The looks, the music, the copious amounts of fancy snacks, the sore feet from dancing heels and then spending the rest of the night in bare feet- it’s all part of the bigger package.

The courtyard and the roof have both been decked out in a special way for tonight, despite no one really seeing Hester or anyone/anything else decorating. There are round tables set-up in both places, covered in yellow-gold tablecloths. Some of them have platters of snacks laid out on them, one has a large punch bowl that never seems to empty no matter how many drinks are taken from it.

On the roof there’s an extra table with pencils, small slips of paper, a box wrapped in gold wrapping paper and a notecard labeled Song Requests. Just write a song, pop it in the box and within a few minutes it starts playing! Weird, there doesn’t seem to be a sound system anywhere...

Red paper lanterns have been strung around the outline of the roof and between stakes in the courtyard, granting soft romantic light for a night to remember. Put on your best costume shop formal wear, get ready to lose your shoes after an hour and sneak in liquor even though most of you are of age.

After all…tonight belongs to you.]

Comments

(is this a gagtag? it feels like one)

[feudalladyshandmaid]

[From a corner, watching Maya make her grand entrance on horseback, she offers a silent thumbs up.

Is it for Maya, or the horse? Hard to say.]

[tailor_made]

I- yeah, I feel great. Better than I have in a while. [She does look very worried all of the sudden though.] I couldn't have been making posters and not known...right?

[feudalladyshandmaid]

Oh, if anyone doesn't drink enough water, I'll remind them.

[She doesn't want anyone jumping to the alcohol tonight. Not tonight.

Are... we supposed to dance?

[barberic]

[He barks out a laugh as she takes him by the hand, letting himself be pulled out of his seat and onto the floor.

It's accompanied by a little pang of sadness, too, when he realizes that... Well, there's only three of them left, out of the little group of time travelers. With Antonio gone, only Benjamin, Elsa, and Cassandra are left from before the 20th century.]

Let's see, here. This sounds like a fast one, let's try this.

[And he takes her other hand as well, and starts leading her in a fun little dance.]

[feudalladyshandmaid]

Definitely. I'm probably not going to be alone tonight.

[On account of her brand new girlfriend.]

You'd be surprised how easy it is. Once you get the hang of it, Fidella's a very easygoing horse. Really smart, too.

[tailor_made]

[Hester laughs at that, throwing her head back in a carefree cackle. Hester mostly takes the lead, spinning and dipping and, at least once depending on how Janis reacts, lifting her off the ground for a twirl. It's a lot! But hey, it means she's not excessively sleep deprived and dissociating probably so that's good.]

[brokeforgood]

Are you… missing any time? [She’s just gonna. Ease herself off that bench, wincing as she does so.]

Fuck, Ow. [And… step to Hester’s side.]

It’s have taken a lot today, to set this up.

[tailor_made]

Thanks, Cass. I wouldn't want anyone to get dehydrated on top of, you know, everything else. [Priorities!]

I mean...that's what proms are for. Dancing, hanging out, sometimes there's a breakdance fighting.

[mayavericks]

As do you!

[Maya doesn't even look smug when she smiles. It's genuine delight all the way down, baby!]

Are you enjoying the evening so far?

[brokeforgood]

[She whoops.]

Like that! Get it girl!

[tailor_made]

A dress like that? For sure! A nice slit adds a lot to movement and with the boots you don't have to worry about sore feet. It's actually really smart- [Take it down a notch, Hester.]

So have you gotten in much dancing yet?

[brokeforgood]

Yeah! I’m sure she’ll love it. [Farrah flashes a bright smile at him, chipper as they move along. Even when he asks if she’s having a good night, it doesn’t put a damper on her mood.]

Pretty good. I’m glad to get out of the dorms. And it’s nice to see everyone all dressed up, having fun. It feels… normal, almost.

[inaclearing]

...no, no, you're right. This isn't how it happened.

[There's a vague shift in the air. It's not unlike someone coming closer, or even reaching out - but of course no one is there.]

Per, where are you?

[employeeoftheyear]

I promise, I promise I'll always be here with you. You're like a family to me. You're all great and even if it turns out my town survived the volcano, you'll always be my family. A-and I can't wait for us to get out so I can show you all my friends. And I wanna visit your home too, and everyone's home. And I want us to have sleepovers and celebrate holidays together and...

[He's babbling again.]

[mayavericks]

[Maya's almost certain Spongebob is sore. And as it is, she has no plans to make him hurt anymore. She's managed the art of three person dancing. Surely she can figure out one armed dancing as well.

She contemplates the logistics even as she leads Spongebob out onto the "dance floor."]

I'm sure you don't need me to tell you how much I love it.

[mayavericks]

Oh, you spoil me, Janis Sarkisian. How could I possibly be so lucky.

[She lays a hand on Janis's hip, then twines their fingers together in the air.]

[comeandfindme]

[ Oh! ...Ha, it's...the thing Peregrine usually does, where she just kind of rambles about something she knows a lot about. So this is what it's like to be on the other side. ]

Um... Yeah, a little. I'm not really a...big dancer, but. Well, Janis and Maya are, so. They've given me some tips. Besides that, proms aren't...like, really my thing.

[mayavericks]

Would you believe that I have never been to a prom?

[She leads Peregrine to the center of the floor and carefully positions her hands with a few nudges here and there.]

Just follow my lead.

[brokeforgood]

[Farrah’s trying to figure out if she should be offended by this, or charmed by the fact that Maya just called her beautiful.

She makes a mental note to tell Janis that this, very frustrating part of Maya, is the un-hot part of her.]

Well—- Thanks, I guess.

[mayavericks]

You make it sound like a cult.

[Though, as she starts to coax Peregrine toward the dance floor, she does cast a look at Janis.]

Are we a cult?

[comeandfindme]

How...what happened?

[ What is that? It's— she'd think it's the fever, or something, but— but it's like the opposite of a chill. Almost experimentally, Peregrine reaches out to try and grab at the air. It's stupid to give a response, a real answer, but... ]

I'm— ...Gershwin High School Academy, Uni... Name doesn't matter. I don't know. I can't figure it out.

[ He's not real. He's not here. She still doesn't want him to leave. So she keeps talking. ]

I was kidnapped. I can't find a way out.

[barberic]

[Farrah cannot be allowed to just troll the song requests without a dance.

When a song finally comes on that's more his speed than hers, and she's free, Benjamin approaches and offers his hand.]

May I have this dance, princess?

[employeeoftheyear]

You... you really mean that, Angus?

[Admittedly, Spongebob never thought what he would do if he got out of here and Bikini Bottom was destroyed. He didn't want to think about being alone, not having his friends to support him.

So this offer hits him. Not exactly like a truck, but like he was lost and a kind stranger decided to give him some shelter and food. Like he truly felt safe for the first time in a month.]

[fourbutts]

I think we're just a threesome right now. You probably need more to be a cult.

[ though if this polycule keeps growing they might consider registering as one

anyway, out towards the dance floor it is! ]

[employeeoftheyear]

[He smiles warmly at Cass, seemingly unbothered by the question.]

It still really hurts, but I'm glad I'm still alive! Really I didn't even know I had bones until yesterday; I don't know how you vertebrates handle it.

[... Hopefully Cass is used to this by now.]