Six months. It's unforgivable. I know. I am heartily sorry. Not sure if you guys can forgive me but here it is. I will try my best not to let 6 months pass again before the next update. Anyway, here it is so, enjoy!

The main stage for the theater house extended from one end of the hall to the other. Its floor consisted of varnished wood, occasionally carpeted in red or blue or green, depending on the performance. This morning it was sheathed with sky blue mats, the same ones the Tae Kwon Do team utilized during practices and tournaments.

The platform itself rose to around four feet, with circular lights lining the edge that gave way to staircases winding towards the audience floor on either side of the stage. Depending on the performance as well, the lights could shine red and blue and green and orange, but mostly yellow. Drawn towards each side were red curtains, heavy and dark and made of fleece.

Rows of leather seats lined the rest of the hall down below, packed into three groups separated by wide aisles. There used to be more seats by the upper deck, but they’d been cleared to house numerous spotlights, huge boxes of mixers and other instruments needed during the actual play.

By the farthest end of the hall, opposite the stage, were two sets of wooden double doors, towards the left and the right. Today only one set of the double doors were unlocked and pushed open.

Aya had been to a lot of theater halls before, as part of the cheering crowd or of the performing cast. In those days when her parents had yet to put an end to her dancing career, she had participated in various plays spearheaded by the Drama Club of Solenn Elementary School. She was going to land her first major role during the summer play preceding eighth grade, but she had quit by the end of seventh grade. For years she had strived to forget the disappointment splayed across the face of her play director, who was also her music teacher. She was glad she had a different music teacher in high school. And then she only ever entered theater houses for academic compliance purposes.

Today she was back in Solenn High’s theater house, brown folder clipped to her side, not to satisfy some requirement in her Formation class, but to audition for one of the backup dancers for the annual play. As far as she knew, the main cast was already finalized—unannounced until later in the afternoon but finalized all the same. Aya was only auditioning for some nonessential role, surely the play director wouldn’t mind last-minute applicants. Besides, Aya didn’t have a choice. Solenn’s threat the previous night was consummate, that either Aya audition for one of the backup dancers and make sure she lands the role, or Solenn would pay Aya’s mother another visit and chat with her about Aya’s favorite place.

When Sehun had tried to retaliate, Solenn assured him she wouldn’t involve him (she seemed under the impression that Sehun was only forced to accompany Aya in her late night escapades). Before Sehun could lose his cool and do or say anything irreversible, Aya had promised Solenn she would do the auditions. Aya told her how Sehun had even encouraged it, which wasn’t entirely untrue given his determination to steer Aya away from the crew performing during the mid-year festivals in Baekhyun's neighborhood.

And now, as Aya walked the aisle towards the long table where the play director and a few officers from the Arts Club were seated, she was conflicted between doing her best to pass as a backup dancer, or just wiggle like a deranged girl and be sent away from the hall, perhaps for the rest of her life.

She could spot a few students from her class—including the scriptwriter, she noted, for the best writer in their year had always been this tiny, bespectacled girl who never left the top ten—settled by the leather seats behind the long table. A few more came from the second class—Baekhyun’s classmates. Baekhyun himself, trying to catch her attention by waving enthusiastically from the center. Beside him was another girl smiling fondly at her. It took a while for Aya to remember her name. Joni. It seemed so long ago when Baekhyun had dragged her to the amusement park with Joni and some other people from the second and general sections. Aya nodded shyly at Joni. There were other kids, too. Faces Aya barely recognized. Some from the first year, and some more from the graduating class.

Aya paused by the long table to hand in her folder. It was Solenn, seated beside the play director, who received it. The play director, an Arts teacher of the graduating class, had on a passive face. Aya couldn’t tell whether the play director was delighted to have an applicant or disappointed that there was only one, despite all the flyers and bulletin board posters calling in for more dancers for the musical play.

On Aya’s way up the rightmost staircase, Solenn announced, “It’s freestyle, by the way.” Aya was not surprised; Baekhyun had mumbled about it o