Author's note; Once again, I'm sorry for the prolonged update. I'm caught up in a horrific nightshift schedule. But without further ado, next chapter!!!
A short time later, the two of them made it to the theater.
Porsha stopped just outside the theater entrance, marveling at the beautiful architecture.
Buster came up beside her, "Well," he put his hands on his hips, "What do you think?" He spoke with pride in his voice. Buster always found great pride and joy in looking at his theater, thinking back on all it's been through.
"I love it!" Porsha yelled excitedly, "I can't wait to see the inside!"
Buster walked ahead, "Well, come on then. There are plenty of people that want to see you as well."
As she walked behind him, she started to feel a little anxious about meeting the others. They didn't really hit it off the last time they met. In fact, they all only got along for a hand full of hours just before the show. The bus ride back wasn't too eventful either, with only a few words being swapped between her, Moon, and Ms. Crawly.
She got lost in her thoughts as Buster was giving her the tour around the theater, 'There's something off-putting about that old lizard, but she was the only one that didn't really give up on me.' She stopped for a moment and laughed under her breath, "Rise and shine, sweetheart." she whispered as she continued to follow an oblivious koala, 'Wow, this theater must mean a lot to him. He gets lost in every detail that we pass.'
~ Sometime Later~
Buster came to a stop, "And this is the stage. The best view in the house is always looking back."
Porsha was so caught up in her thoughts she didn't even realize that they had made a complete tour from the lobby to the stage that lasted at least twenty minutes.
She tilted her head, 'Did we just take twenty minutes to walk from the front door to the stage?' She looked back at the koala, who was puffed up with pride, 'Did he talk the whole time?'
Her eyes widened as she looked back the way they came, 'wait a minute... How did Ms. Crawly drive that lift thingy over to my window?! She would have had to go through the garden...' She tilted her head and threw her ears back, her eyes narrowing slightly, 'How did that old lizard get past daddy's security...'
"So..." Buster interrupted her thoughts, "Any questions?" His voice was full of joy. He obviously loved talking about his theater.
She quickly snapped her attention back to Buster, portraying an awkward smile and lifting her ears, "Nope, I think you covered everything..."
"Great!" Buster said with glee, "Come on, let me show you backstage. The whole crew is back there right now rehearsing."
"Great..." Porsha trailed off as she dreaded the next hour or so of possible social interactions she was about to have, 'I hope they don't think I'm still that spoiled brat that threw a child's tantrum.'
Buster peaked threw the curtain and saw the crew, "Guys!" He shouted, "I have a surprise!"
This got everyone's attention as Buster parted the stage curtain to reveal himself and Porsha, "Tada!" Buster shouted.
The crew and actors all looked at Porsha, some knowing who she was and others not so much.
Buster stepped aside and gestured to Porsha, "This is Porsha! She was our talented alien in our Sifi show."
Porsha sank a few inches as she felt almost a slight embarrassment by the introduction, "Hi everyone." Her quiet voice spoke with some awkwardness.
Ash, Rosita, and Nooshy all came up to her, "What's up girl?" Nooshy spoke first, offering a fist bump.
"Hey..." Porsha responded as she returned the fist bump.
Rosita walked up to Porsha and hugged her, "I'm so glad you're here! You were defiantly a spark in our show, and now it will be even better."
Porsha didn't quite know what to do as Rosita hugged her. If there was one this her father didn't do, it was hugging her. She raised one arm and slightly returned the hug as she responded to Rosita, "Wow, thank you."
Rosita released her hug and stepped back, "You are most certainly welcome."
"It's going to be fun with you around here, kid," Ash spoke as she also offered a fist bump.
Porsha turned her attention to Ash, "Ha, yeah. I'm looking forward to it." she smiled as she returned the fist bump.
Once Porsha was done with all the greetings, she made her way to Buster's office with him.
Buster walked behind his desk and looked at his calendar, "So, I know you loved performing with us at Red Shore City. If you want, you can join us in our summer itinerary. We have a bunch of shows planned, and I can work you into one, some, or even all if you like."
Porsha continued to look around his office, seeing all the posters, photos, and awards, "I'd love to join in and perform with the cast..." She paused as she lowered her ears slightly, turning towards Buster, "Do you think they will mind if I join them? I know I was a brat last time we interacted." She said as worry came over her face.
"Oh, absolutely." Buster reassured her, "They all love you!" He walked up to her and placed his hand in her's, "Trust me, they all love you."
Her ears perked up as she heard his words, "Alright, count me in."
"Great!" Buster shouted with glee, "I'll get to work on filling you in. Meanwhile, you can explore the theater if you like. There's plenty of things to see and people to meet out there."
With that, she left his office and started to explore the theater, soon to be interrupted by Nooshy coming out of nowhere.
"Hey there!" Nooshy nudged Porsha, "I haven't seen you in a while. How have things been?"
"Eh, you know..." Porsha continued walking with Nooshy in tow, "Things have been busy."
"Busy?" Nooshy exaggerated, "Come on, kid, loosen up a little. You seem really tense. I can show you some warm-up stretches if you like. They always seem to calm me down before a performance."
"Ha, I might take you up on that offer one of these days," Porsha replied as her eyes locked on a young gray wolf working on a stage prop. "Who is that?"
Nooshy followed Porsha's gaze and saw the wolf, "Oh, that's Lucas. He's a stagehand that volunteers during summer vacation." She looked back at Porsha to see her still staring at him. She then looked back at Lucas, who was currently carrying some supplies back to his workspace.
"Ahh..." Nooshy crossed her arms, "You like him. You should go ask him out. Here, I'll introduce you two." Nooshy looked Lucas's way, "Hey Lucas!"
Porsha snapped out of her gaze wide-eyed, "What?! No! Don't call him over here!" she yelled quietly in a panic.
"Hey, hey, easy." She reassured Porsha, "He's really easy to talk to."
By this time, Lucas had made his way over to the two girls, his eyes trying not to stare at Porsha's, "Hey Nooshy, what's up?"
Nooshy leaned against Porsha, "Just wanted you to meet the new top dog around here, Porsha Crystal. She's a really talented performer."
Porsha began to blush as she mustered up the words to say, "Hi Lucas..." She said with a small wave.
"Howdy, ma'am, it's a pleasure to meet you." He replied in his country accent as he extended his hand for a handshake.
Porsha reached out and returned the handshake, not wanting to let go of his hand, "It's a pleasure to meet you too." She said sheepishly with her ears back.
Nooshy watched the two lock eyes and shake hands, "Aw, ain't this great? Meeting new people and all." She said as she crossed her arms, "Meeting new people and networking is everything to performers. The bigger the network, the better chances of success." She watched the two release from the handshake, obviously not wanting to part ways but too young and awkward to say anything more.
"Ahem..." Nooshy cleared her throat, "Maybe we can catch up for lunch sometime?"
Porsha broke her gaze from Lucas, "Yeah, that would be great."
Lucas nodded as he looked back to Nooshy, "That'd be fine with me."
"Great!" Nooshy cheered as she grabbed Porsha's hand and started to lead her away, "It's a date."
Porsha's eyes widened, and her ears perked up when she heard the word, "Uh..." She could feel herself blushing once more as she let Nooshy take her away from her awkward stall.
Lucas threw his hand behind his neck, "Yeah, haha." He awkwardly agreed, closing his eyes with a cheesy smile, "Sounds great."
Porsha looked at Nooshy as they rounded the corner out of Lucas's sight, "Wow, he's hot." She whispered as she sighed, "Did I play it cool? Do you think he's into me?"
Nooshy just looked at the young, awkward wolf in front of her with a blank expression.
Porsha leaned back, "What?" she said with her ears perked up.
Nooshy kept her expression, "You bombed..."
"What?!" Porsha's ears went flat, "How bad?"
"Oh, it was bad..." Nooshy chuckled as she once more crossed her arms.
Porsha grabbed Nooshy by the shoulders and looked her close in the eyes, "You have to help me with him... I've kinda never dated before." She admitted, looking slightly ashamed.
"That's okay, not even a problem," Nooshy reassured her as she grabbed her hands, "I helped Jonny find his confidence. I'm sure I can help you find yours."
"Thanks, Nooshy..." Porsha said as she let her hands go, "And thanks for being so easy to talk to."
"Hey..." Nooshy nudged Porsha's shoulder, "That's what friends are for anyway."