A Shot in the Shadows

Moving In

"If that's the toilets, I can't wait to see what everything else looks like," Lara mutters.

"You took the words right out of my mouth," Paige replies quietly.

Mr. Harding runs to the stage to get the boys to stop playing with the stall doors (which have hinges, although there's nothing in the stalls and no one needs to get in there for anything) and then he gathers the whole cast together in the front rows to watch the crew go through all the set changes for them.

Paige settles down between Lara and Annie (they both seem to be on edge to each other, which is weird because both girls are normally fine with other people), craning her neck to watch the house lights dim.

The first few scenes circle between a playground and a school hallway, before settling on the restroom. Everyone jumps slightly as all the lights go out, coming up again to reveal the classroom set.

"That's lowered down from the top," Mr. Harding says, sounding to Paige as though he's giving a tour. "The restroom will be pulled offstage by the adult ensemble until we can figure out how to get the tracks on the stage working again, and the teenagers will all bring their tables out for Goner, got it?"

There's a mumble of assent as the lights flash out briefly: the classroom disappears, replaced by the counselor's office. They finish watching the sets cycle through all the way to the one used in the finale, and then Mr. Harding is ordering the teens and kids backstage and lifting Hayley onto the stage to start off the opening number.

"That's so cool," Paige whispers to Lara from the wings, watching the playground and benches roll off the stage, with Hayley on it. They're already been given strict instructions to not stand in the wings at the front and back of the stage, where the set pieces would be rolled in.

Paige doesn't really get a chance to really be on stage until after Lara goes on: it's more much fun watching Lara pretend to be dead in a restroom replica as opposed to the wooden floors of the rehearsal room, but she doesn't get a chance to finish watching the scene because one of the assistant directors is yelling at everyone to move away while they lower the school tables.

"We've had all the set rigged up for a while now," Mr. Harding says to Paige as she struggles to maneuver her table through the still unorganized backstage. "Now all we have to do is make sure everyone knows where they need to be and how to get there, and we can focus on wrapping up the rest of rehearsal."

Paige doesn't bother with a response, because she hears someone calling from the stage and hurries to join the others in pushing their tables out onto the stage. They have to stop and repeat the action several times, getting everyone to go back to where their table was lowered and then pointing out the path they should take and how they should line up in the wings to get all the tables out in the right order as soon as the lights go out.

They practice: everyone finally gets in their place and Mr. Harding shouts out a few reminders before giving the go ahead to Adrianna, who's playing one of the teachers in this rehearsal.

Adrianna takes her cue and starts. Paige catches Flynn's eye on the other side of the room and makes a face. He responds by sticking his tongue out playfully.

"I know we're all distracted," Addie says. "I know you all want to know what happened to Ella. But solving that does not solve these math problems."

Paige internally rolls her eyes: she liked that line a lot better two revisions ago, when it was actually funny.

"Now-"

Addie's cut off by an adult shouting off stage, horribly imitating a public announcement system in a way that cracks everyone up. "Nikki Hastings, please report to the Grade Level Office immediately, your counsellor would like to have a word. I repeat, Nikki Hastings, report to the Grade Level Office immediately. Thank you."