Eleven O'Clock Number

MUSICAL #23: RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN'S CINDERELLA

"Um, Allison?"

Allison turns to look at Laura and gives her a tiny smile. "Hey. What's up?"

"Sorry, but do you have some lined paper I could borrow?" Laura looks utterly apologetic, as though making someone tear a piece of paper from their notepad is one of the worst forms of torture known to man. "I'm all out."

"Sure," Allison leans down to grab her pad from her bag, taking a piece before giving it to her.

"Thanks," Laura beams. Allison is reminded forcefully of Toby.

"No prob," she says, thinking. "Hey, Laura?"

"Mhm?"

"When's the show?"

"Cinderella?" Laura's smile widens. "The first show's tonight, but we're going till Saturday night. You coming to see Toby?"

"And you," she adds absently. "But yeah, I think I am."

At the words and you Laura goes from just smiling to practically glowing. "If you do, you better come say hi afterwards, alright? Come to the afterparty. We'll be backstage. We'll wait for you."

"Sure." Allison likes Laura. She's practically a female version of Toby. "I'm looking forward to it already."

✦

"I wanna go see Cinderella," Allison announces to Lydia at lunch.

"I know," Lydia is studying a very big textbook with very tiny font. "I already bought us two tickets for Saturday's one. The last night's always the best."

"But I haven't mentioned it till now."

"So? I still knew you wanted to go see it."

"Well, thanks."

"Anything for you."

Allison says nothing to that, only lets her gaze travel across the cafeteria absently. Her eyes catch on Laura, sitting alone at a table on the other side of the room and reading what looks like it's a script.

"Hey," she says, "I'm, uh...I'm gonna go sit with Laura, okay?"

Lydia pauses in her reading to look up and follow Allison's line of sight. She hesitates for a moment, pursing her lips, before saying: "Okay, let's go."

"Wait, what?" Allison's eyes widen as Lydia places her textbook on her tray and picks it up, starting to walk over.

"You wanted to go sit with Laura, didn't you?"

"Yeah, but – I mean...yeah," Allison says weakly. She still doesn't think she's quite understood the whole thing. Only a year ago Lydia wouldn't be seen dead sitting with a 'drama geek' in the canteen. Actually, Allison corrects, she's being too generous. Only three months ago, Lydia wouldn't be seen dead sitting with a drama geek in the canteen.

Lydia reaches Laura's table first, setting her tray down with finality. Allison follows suit. She can feel curious stares boring into her back.

"Hey," Lydia says casually, as though her and Laura eat lunch together every day. Allison smiles.

Laura's mouth is slightly ajar as her gaze flits from Lydia to Allison and back to Lydia. "Hey," she says finally.

And it's kind of that easy.

"You going over your lines for Cinderella, then?" Lydia begins to dig into her salad, looking genuinely interested.

"Yeah," Laura shifts and looks like she's trying not to stare too hard at Lydia. "Just, uh...making sure I know all of them."