The music boomed through the venue, echoing, and the huge stage flashed red and white lights on and off as judges Cadence and Tom O'Pry watched the cheerleaders from their table.
Cadence smiled at them, her eyes lingering over every beautiful girl before she turned to see Tom, who was watching the rest of the cheerleaders climbing onto each other in golden and black uniforms.
The girls began their routine, doing pyramids and somersaults near the centre of the large stage. The crowd clapped enthusiastically, cheering for the cheerleaders.
Among the girls, five boys with microphones in hand, dressed in elegant black suits, appeared, all standing together, looking in a single direction, their bodies stiff.
Tom's head jerked up when he saw them.
"Oh no," he whispered under his breath.
"What? What's wrong?" asked Cadence, looking at him questioningly. She leaned across the table slightly.
"Anton's slacks unzipped!" Tom whispered as the boys walked perfectly in sync like soldiers to the edge of the stage, raising a fist for the crowd to keep quiet.
"Quiet, everyone!" Anton ordered, and only a few whispers remained.
"This is going to be a disaster," Tom told his wife. "This is not what I was expecting. I wasn't prepared for Anton's unruly behaviour."
"We've talked about this, Tom," said Cadence. "He's just trying to do everything right, I guess."
Anton put two fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly.
All the cheerleaders started booing, and from among them, the six boys from Monster Mash appeared.
"What a welcome," the gigantic Everett, dressed in a purple suit jacket and tie with a white shirt and his blue and purple hair a darker shade than usual, whispered.
"It's a cheap trick to make us look bad," Frank whispered to Everett's left, dressed in a white suit jacket and black shirt with his hair dyed black and blue, the same shade as his bowtie. "But don't be intimidated, guys."
"Nothing can intimidate me anymore, not after the Zeldrich War," said Zeth, adjusting his yellow suit jacket and bowtie over his sapphire blue shirt as he walked. "They must envy us for our new look!" Then he ran a hand through his dyed blue hair.
"The bowtie bothers me a bit, I didn't want a black one, I wanted a red one," Draco said, adjusting his red suit jacket over his white shirt that matched his scarlet and white hair.
"Don't be a crybaby," Alex said, flipping his light purple-dyed hair, gallant in a black suit jacket and purple shirt, and a bowtie as golden as his eyes.
"We can handle this," said Finn, flipping his hair, dyed to match the rainbow colours, walking gallantly in a coral suit jacket, pink shirt, and turquoise bowtie. "Let's stick to the plan and see who will boo who tonight."
Standing interspersed with the Sixth Octave boys, the Monster Mash members raised their heads at the same time, challenging the O'Prys.
From right to left were Everett, Clyde, Frank, Jeyk, Zeth, Anton, Draco, Paul, Finn, Mort, and Alex.
"I ordered you to come dressed in elegant white suits, stupid apes.," Anton told Zeth, who chuckled a little.
"These aren't fancy suits like yours, Anton."
"What does that mean?" Anton asked, but a BOOM and pyrotechnics made Zeth nod and step forward, raising his microphone to his lips.
The tune of 'Call Me Your Monster' was playing louder in the background, and Zeth took a long breath.
It was time to do what Monster Mash did best...
Put on a show and be themselves, and above all, give the audience what they wanted.