Eleven O'Clock Number

MUSICAL #30: WICKED

30: ALLISON, THE TIME FOR YOUR ELEVEN O'CLOCK NUMBER IS NIGH

« alright, let's just get this over with. no, i am not seasick. yes, i've always been green. no, i didn't eat grass as a child. »

ALLISON REED feels like she has the worst luck on the whole damn planet.

"Ugh," she taps furiously at her keyboard. "Ugh."

"What?" Emmett pauses in his explanation of algebraic fractions to Daniel and and casts her a questioning glance.

"This stupid website," Allison glares at her laptop screen. They're sat in Starbucks, with Daniel and Emmett partaking in their regular tutoring session, only this time featuring Allison, who's sat across from them and huffing at her computer every few minutes.

"What website?" Daniel asks.

"This stupid Wicked website," Allison glares. "It's literally the only place I can buy tickets from, and it's so damn slow -"

"Wait, hold up," Emmett is frowning slightly, but Allison can catch a hint of a knowing look in his eye. It's the exact same look Lydia gets when she's about to embark on a new Let's-mercilessly-tease-the-shit-out-of-Allison venture, and Allison likes it on Emmett about as much as she likes it on Lydia, which is not at all.

"Wicked?" he says. "As in, a musical? You? Allison Reed? Voluntarily watching a musical? Voluntarily paying to watch a -"

"Shut up," Allison cuts him off, rolling her eyes and resuming her attempts to get the website to load. "It's the last one on Toby and me's list."

"And you're even buying the tickets," Emmett says with an exaggeratedly happy sigh. "It's almost like you've had a change of heart, Allison. If this was a musical it would probably be time for a song."

"There's a name for that," says Daniel, who has been silently observing Emmett and Allison's exchange with an amused smile, through a mouthful of blueberry muffin. "The song that the main character sings when they've changed their minds about stuff. Toby's always talking about it, it's, like, his favourite part of the show, usually." His brow furrows. "I think it starts with an e?"

"You mean an eleven o'clock number?" Emmett offers, and his clear expertise on even the most mundane of subjects reminds her once again of Lydia.

"Mm," Daniel nods, then swallows the bite of his blueberry muffin. "Yeah. That's it," he turns to Allison with a slightly sly grin. "Looks like this is your eleven o'clock number, Al."

"Looks like you need to shut up before I punch you in the face," Allison retorts brusquely, refusing to look at either of them but acutely aware of the matching smirks that are on their faces.

At this, Daniel sniggers, but, surprisingly, doesn't comment further, choosing instead to turn to Emmett and say: "So with division all I need to do is flip the second one over and make it multiplication instead, right?"

Emmett smiles. "Yeah, exactly. Okay, try this one..."

✦

When the bell rings at the end of their English lesson and people begin to pack up their things and leave the room, Allison walks over to Toby's desk and  slaps the tickets that she finally managed to get hold of down onto it without much ceremony.

"Surprise," she says dryly.

"Allison!" Toby practically squeals, as he glances down at the tickets then back up at her. "DId you actually?"