Twisted Wonderland x reader: We're All Mad Here

Episode 5-2: A Wellside Meeting

A few days had passed since y/n had the heart attack incident once more and she's been on edge for those few days. But, her friends had noticed this and decided to help her ease whatever worries they thought she had, which worked. Y/n was happy on the fifth day, since she didn't have another wacky dream or a heart attack since then.

"Myah, I'm starvin'! It feels like we gotta wait YEARS for lunchtime to roll around on days with morning P.E." Grim whines as they enter the cafeteria,"I know, right!? I'm so hungry I can eat a horse. Especially on days like these..." y/n whispers the last bit, her hands rubbing her tummy.

"What's P.E. got to do with anything? You're both always hungry." Ace raises a brow at them before the group stopped at the sight of a crowd circling around something,"...Hm?" he hums with a hand on his hip,"Huh. There's a crowd gathering near that wall. Let's see." Deuce leads the way and made a path to the front of the crowd.

There, the group saw a poster hung on the wall,"'Song & Dance Championship...'" Deuce reads, eyes trailing to the lower page,"...'Now accepting auditions'?" he finishes before turning to the others,"What's that?" y/n asks,"Oh, that's the music showcase event at the culture fair." Deuce tells her.

"I see it on TV every year. Never knew the competitors on there had to audition, though." Ace mumbles before leaning in to read off the poster,"'Dancers! Singers! Come one, come all! This is your shot at the big time! Outshine the rest and be a star! If the team representing your school makes it to the final round...'"

"'Each member will receive a share of the fifty thousand thaumark prize.'" This causes the group's eyes to widen to the size of saucers,"Fifty thousand thaumarks?!" they exclaim loudly, the crowd behind them growing smaller.

"That's right! Isn't it just a fabulous prize?!" Crowley suddenly speaks up behind them,"GAH! You scared me!" they all yelp, whipping around to face the older man,"I know it's a running gag at this point, but could you PLEASE stop popping up out of nowhere, headmage?!" Ace pleads with hands clasped together.

"Oh, I beg your pardon. I never meant to frighten you." Crowley says with a slight bow,"So, what's the story behind the mula at the end of the rainbow? Why offer such a huge amount of prize?" y/n asks with crossed arms, Grim scampering up to his usual perch.

"There's a reason this Song & Dance Championship has such a tantalizing pot up for grabs. There are a number of businesses sponsoring it, you see. SDC is nothing like the Pop Music Club contests you're used to." Crowley explains and y/n sweatdrops,"I've never even seen the Pop Music Club. I haven't even heard any of this world's music." she points out,"But, go on." she motions for Crowley to continue.

"The finalists get swamped with offers from all manner of entertainment agencies and labels. It's entirely possible to rocket from obscurity to the ranks of the top artists in the land. This isn't merely a matter of school pride, it's a high-stakes music battle with the entrants' future success or failure riding on the outcome." the headmage continues,"And if we want to attract more elites, we need a sufficiently enticing prize." he finishes, crossing his arms in the process.

"Ah, I get you. If the sponsors can net a star that lets them basically print money... Fifty thousand thaumarks is a small price to pay." Ace points out,"With fifty grand, I could load up on fancy three-thaumark canned tuna!" Grim's eyes glimmer at the thought of drowning in cans of tuna.

"If I had that amount of cash, I could finally fix the Ramshackle Dorm! No more leaks and cold water!" y/n cries imaginary tears at the thought while Deuce noticed something printed on the poster,"Hold on. It says that the prize is split amongst the team. So if there was a four-member group, each member would get...uhhh... fifty divided by four... Ten... Thirteen..." he quickly does the calculation, but Ace beats him to it.