" Without music, life would be a mistake. "  -  Friedrich Nietzsche

                    " Alice. " her mother called her name. She instantly knew what to do and left her phone on her table. " Yes, mother. " She walked carefully with her new blue dress and stood beside the stage curtains. She took a gulp and shook her head to wake herself. " Good luck. It's time, " a staff patted her shoulder and smiled to her. She forced a tiny smile with her pink lips. " Thank you. " she bowed a little, her silky and long blonde hair falling from the side of her shoulder. " Alice Charlson, don't make the arbitrate wait for you ," her mother hissed, pushing her out.

" Y-Yes, mother. "

She went to the middle of the stage. The whole theatre was silent, you can even hear a pin drop. " Good morning. " Alice greeted the arbitrates sitting in the front row. All of them had a serious look on their face. " Today, I'll be playing Clair de lune by Debussy, re-arranged by myself. " Alice smiled to the arbitrates infront of her. She spotted two of them shaking their head softly, and the other two whispering to each other. " Enjoy. " she forcely muttered out with a smile.While Alice was playing, she closed her eyes to stand the pain in her fingers. She had been practicing from dawn to dusk (or izit the opposite way) everyday. Her fingers hurt like hell, but it was all for the sake of her parents.

When she opened them, her hands completely stopped playing. She stood up quickly while her hands banged on the piano accidentally. She was in a classroom filled with students wearing weird clothes. " Alice? What's wrong, " a teacher asked her while glaring at her. She backed away from the piano and her breathing got heavier. Where...? She looked around, cold sweat trickling down her forehead. Just seconds before, she was on a big stage in a theatre. Now, she was in a classroom with everyone staring at her. She quickly turned around and opened the sliding door that was beside her." Alice, wait ! " she heard a person calling her. Her head looked over her shoulder for a mere second before she continued escaping from the unknown place.

Panting, she turned her whole body around just to find that she ran out of a school. " Where... where am I...? " she asked herself. When she came back to her senses, she realized her ankle hurts. " Ouch... what the... what am I wearing !? " she looked at herself in disgust. Bright blue lacey dress and 2 inches high platform shoes. Her hair was the same as usual, but on top was a big ribbon that can't be teared off. " Ouuuccchh, what is this place??? There must be a freaking signboard somewhere... " Alice looked around panickly. She walked further away from the school, hoping to find someone. Withour realising, she was in a small village full of weirdly dressed humans.

" E-ehh... " she stopped on her tracks and blushed when she heard her tummy growl. She cleared and pekked to see if anyone was looking. " Excuse me... " she tried to get the stranger's attention but no one seem to notice. " Excuse me, miss !! " someone shouted from afar. Alice turned to look, only to find a few people in weird uniforms walking straight to her. " Please show me your Instrument, miss. " a person held out his hand to Alice. Cold sweat trickled down her forehead. * What instrument !? I hate music ! * Before Alice could reply, someone pulled her hand from behind and ran. She stumbled a little before running with that person. " !! " The uniformed person jolted and shouted something to the other uniformed men. She quietly ran with him, because, well, he kind of saved her, right? 

After few minutes of running, he suddenly let go and climbed up a high wall with one swift move. " Come on. Hold my hand. " he said as he held his hand out. Alice hesitated for abit but held it when she heard footsteps getting louder behind her. Both that person and Alice ran into a small cottage. She panted and coughed, back sliding down the wall. " Are you okay? Where's your instrument? " he asked politely. " What... what instrument? I hate music. " she replied straight forwardly. The guy's eyes widened and took out a card from his pocket. " This, is an instrument. " Alice took the card as she sat down on a chair and furrowed her eyebrows. " This is an ID card. " she stated out bluntly.

The guy tilted his head to the side and asked, " What's ID ? " Alice mentally facepalmed and replied slowly, " An I.den.ti.fi.ca.tion card. " The guy slowly took away his card and asked more, " Where did you come from? " he played with his card using his fingers, flipping it like a pro. Alice looked at his fingers while replying, " Uhm... Where am I, exactly? " He blinked a few times. " Waltz. We're in Waltz now. You don't know where you are? " he asked, his fingers stopped playing with his card. " I'm from California. Do you know how to get back there? I was in a m-music competition t-then my fingers hurt so I closed my eyes then-- " The guy stopped Alice from talking and told her to calm down. Alice took a deep breath and continued. " My fingers were hurting so I shut my eyes, then when I opened them, I was in a school somewhere here. "

" Doesn't make sense. " the guy whispered to himself. Both of you heard the sound of the front door opening. The guy stood up and called, " Mom. "Alice stood up politely and greeted the woman. " Chris, who is this young lady? " Alice knew she didn't introduce herself to him at all so she cut right in. " I'm Alice, Alice Charlson. Nice to meet you. " Mrs. Witters smiled and nodded. " Chris dear, why didn't you tell me your friend was coming? I could've bought more bread home. " Chris and Alice looked at each other. " Um, mom... Alice is not from around here. " Chris explained. His mom nodded and smiled at Alice. " Well, welcome to Waltz ! You're from... the city? Vivo Music City? " his mom asked. Alice frowned. " I-- I'm from... California. " Alice muttered. Mrs.Witters' mouth formed an 'o' and asked, " Where is Catterpillar, Chris? " her mom asked. Alice wanted to laugh but she held it in.

Chris knew the name was wrong too but he didn't find it funny. Insted, he just shrugged and replied, " She's not from... here. " His mom told him she knew that and he continued, " No, mom. She's not from this place. She's from, probably, another place that doesn't exist here. " Alice gulped and lowered her head. " Excuse me... I think I'm being a bother here. I'll go out now. " Alice started walking to the front door when Chris pulled her hand. " No ! The royal guards are searching for you. You can't run once they saw your face. " Alice stared at him, getting worried. " H-How can I get home?? I don't want to be stuck here.... " she teared up as Kris let go of her hand. " Alice, deary... it's late now. If you don't mind, you can stay here until the day you find your way home. " Mrs.Witters told her softly. Alice sobbed looked at her. " But it'll bother your family. " she said to them. Mrs. Witters patted her head and said, " It's just me and my little Chris in this house. Both of us don't mind when a young maiden needs to stay in our house. Well, as long as she's not evil. " she laughed at her own joke in the last sentence. " Thank you. " Alice croaked. " Chris, please show the guest to her room. " Chris nodded and held Alice's hand. " Let's go, Alice. "

" Chris, right? How can i get my 'Instrument' so the guards wouldn't catch me? " Alice asked. Chris thoughty for awhile before snapping his fingers. " I have a sister that uses an old fashioned machine to print Instruments ! No one knows except for me. Let me take a picture of you first ! " Chris opened his drawer and took out a high-tech camera. " Take a photo of her, Prism. " he ordered the camera. The camera flew infront of Alice and a bright flash blinded her for a second. Her smile instantly faded and she rubbed her eyes. " Ouch ... that hurts, " she complained.

Chris laughed and took the photo that was printed out from the back of the camera. " You look beautiful. " he complimented without thinking. Alice blushed and looked away. " Thanks." A few minutes of chatting later, they heard Chris' mother calling them down for dinner. " Sorry, this is just a simple dinner, Alice. " Alice smiled and shook her head, " As long as it's delicious, it's fine. Thank you for the food, Mrs. Witters. " Mrs. Witter laughed and sat down to join us for dinner. " Mom, I have to go to Sam's dorm tomorrow. I have to do something important. " he said as he peeked at Alice. They met each other's eyes, both of them blushed and looked away. His mom saw their small movements and smiled widely. " Of course, why not bring Alice along? " she asked. Alice quickly looked up and said, " I don't have to, Mrs. Witters. I can stay here and maybe .. maybe clean the house ? " she suggested. Mrs. Witter laughed even louder and shook her head.

" No,no. Go with Chris. You can also meet his sister at the same time ! I don't want you to get bored at home like this. " she said to Alice. " A- Alright, mom. I'll bring her tomorrow. " Chris agreed. Alice widened her eyes and Chris shook his head lightly, signalling her not to worry. " Umm... you don't have to shower? " Alice asked. Chris furrowed his eyebrows. " What? What is shower? " he asked. Alice choked on her own saliva and coughed. " We-- We don't have to ... pour water over our body to get cleaned? " she asked in shock. Chris shook his head and told her they would get wet if they do so. Besides, the clothes can't be undone, right? After saying goodnight to Chris and Mrs. Witters, Alice went into her room and lay down on the bed. " Am I going to miss home? " she asked herself  and sighed with her eyes closed.

" I hope not... " she murmured before drifting off to sleep.