by Maya William
He quickly turns, brings his hand up, and blocks Joy’s hands from chopping him across the head. “Ha! Too slow!” But he doesn’t block Abigail. “Ouch!”
Serves him right, Big Guy. The other Princess Leia outfit is…well, kind of revealing. One of her girls would probably decide to come out and play.
“Be nice to her!” Joy points a menacing finger at him. “Or you might find your zipline not as tight as you hoped.”
Archie backs away slowly, holding his hands up in surrender, and disappears from the room.
“Okay, Zach already explained the sound-and-lights system to Sherlock.” Lyra paces from one side of the room to the other, while Joy steps into the small bathroom.
“And I’ll help everyone with the quick wardrobe changes,” Barbara reminds Joy from her seat, where she’s dressed from head to toe in black.
Lyra jerks to a stop. “Are the stormtroopers ready?”
“Yes.” Abigail removes her sweatshirt, revealing a tight, black leather outfit beneath. “Oliver’s in charge of coordinating them.”
“How about the Danc—” Lyra quickly asks.
“All taken care of.” Joy steps out of the bathroom. Her outfit is like Abigail’s in color and style, but more revealing.
Oh, Big Guy, compared to them, my dress looks like a nun’s habit.
“Jeez, Lyra, relax! No one from school expects to be entertained. We’ll be fine,” Joy says, laughing.
“But once we finish, we need to turn off the scree—”
“You want me to ground you?” Abigail’s expression changes from amused to stern. “Honestly, we cast Han Solo, and you go all crazy.”
The color goes straight to Lyra’s face while Joy and Barb throw their heads back and laugh.
What are they talking about?
Lyra clears her throat while glaring at Abigail. “Any trouble at the entrance?”
Her question silences the girls.
“Some of the uninvited people stopped by,” Barbara answers with a serious expression. “But, as expected, your system detected them, and they were asked to leave the premises after the scanner marked their student IDs as fake.” She smiles. “Which, ironically, most of them were. Peter upheld his end of the deal by withholding the IDs from the problematic students.”
“The bouncers Father Gomez hired also checked that the picture on the IDs corresponds to the student. If they don’t match, they return their money, keep the ID for us, and send them back home,” Abigail explains while checking her reflection in the mirror. “I believe something might come up once we review them. We’ll figure out who’s making the fake ID or how a student got their hands on an ID that’s not theirs.”
Huh, who knew this whole mess would end up helping their bullying investigation as well?
I raise my hand, drawing the girls’ attention.
“Yes?” Lyra raises her eyebrows.
“Do we have any news about Portia?” I ask, hoping deep down she decided not to show up.
Lyra chuckles, turns toward the mirror, and retrieves something from one of the hidden pockets of her outfit.
“Not yet, but that’s understandable. Her hands are probably full with a bunch of kids coming to her house,” she answers while applying light pink lipstick to her mouth, earning some side glances from Abigail, Joy, and Barb, which she doesn’t seem to notice. “I put my hacking skills to good use, erased the message she sent out, and sent a new one to the troublemakers with her address instead.”
My mouth drops to the floor.
That was rather mean of her.
“Samantha, don’t give me that look!” Lyra eyes me from the mirror’s reflection. “She said she was throwing a party. Might as well let her be true to her word or have the balls to cancel the invitation.”
My conscience still bugs me. Somehow it doesn’t sound fair.
She didn’t have any consideration when she invited the entire school to Joy’s party. But why pay her with the same coin?
A light knock on the door distracts me from my train of thought. A few seconds later, Kellan pops in. He enters wearing a Chewbacca costume, although his head remains free from the mask.
“Archie was supposed to take your personal items out to the car. But since you managed to scare him away”—Kellan glares at Abigail and Joyit seems I’m doing that now. Are these all your bags?” He points to the pile of backpacks in the corner.
“Sorry, baby, and thank you!” Barb stands and gives him a loud kiss on the lips.
“Eww, too much PDA!” Lyra’s face twists. “Save it for when you’re alone.”
Barb sticks her tongue out at her, but laughs it off. “Don’t be jealous. I’ve heard the Force has awakened.”
Abigail and Joy laugh, especially when Lyra freezes in place.
“I’m certain there’s a new hope before the O’Flannagan empire strikes back,” she adds before Lyra stomps her way out of the room to the others’ laughter.
I know enough about Star Wars to catch the references, but not what they mean.
I glance at Kellan, and my lips tighten. His shoulders shake with laughter as he carries our backpacks from the room.
Ugh! Probably another one of their inside jokes.
“Well, time to make the first call.” Barb checks her watch and sighs loudly. “I’ll go and check on the boys.”
She jumps up from her chair and leaves the room quickly.
“Samantha, follow Joy to the spot where you’ll enter for your dance, and stay with her until she needs to go out on stage,” Abigail instructs. “We don’t want you wandering around alone.”
Furious, I cross my arms over my chest but refrain from stomping my feet. “I’m not a five-year-old. I can take care of myself.”
Abigail glances at me, then shakes her head. “Just don’t do anything stupid.”
“Like, something you would do?” Joy replies, earning her a glare from my sister.
“Exactly!” she says.
The Stars are being Navigated by Nephilim, Jedi, and Pirates
All the costumes, hiding people’s identities, together with the number of guests, strips away my previous bravado. Unconsciously, I step closer to Joy, then wrap my arm around hers once we reach my spot.
“Sammie!” Darcy’s familiar voice brings me around.
My friend stands a few feet away from the entrance, jumping up and down. She wears her red hair loose, and her black outfit matches Abigail and Joy’s, but not as tight or revealing.
“Darcy!” I chirp. “You made it!”
Joy turns and smiles when she notices Darcy approaching us.
“Of course, I did!” Her eyes move from one side of the dance floor to the other, studying the crowd, and she sighs. “Although, a part of me wishes I was late.”
When Darcy reaches us, I let go of Joy to wrap my arms around my friend.
My head jerks back at how shaky and cold her hands are. “Are you sick? Should I get you some water?”
She shakes her head.
“Did you meet Portia or Anya?” I ask, fearing they did something to her.
She shakes her head once again. “I’m nervous,” she whispers.
“Nervous? About the party?”
Joy touches her arm, bringing Darcy’s attention to her. “You know, there’s no problem if you decide not to sing. We can just use the music you’re going to sing to, and it will work perfectly.”
When is she supposed to sing?
Darcy’s nervousness spikes. She bites her lower lip as her eyes quickly scan the audience as if analyzing her options. “I promised Zach I would. Plus, I don’t want to give more material to my brothers to tease me with. We said we’d all help you guys.”
Okay, Big Guy, it seems I missed some crucial information while I was practicing all those dance routines. Care to shine some light on my clouded mind?
Barb’s voice comes through the loudspeakers of the room. “Okay, y’all, this is the final call. I repeat, the final call. Please step away from the da
nce floor and stage. The show is about to begin.”
“Wish me luck!” Darcy gives me a light squeeze and quickly releases me. “Oh, and Sammie, break a leg!” She winks.
“Just don’t break yours!” I reply, making her laugh as she runs off to the stage.
The room slowly dims. On the stage, a white screen, set up to display images throughout the performance, shows a black square which slowly dims, giving me the sense of being inside a spaceship and looking through the window into outer space.
The familiar theme song to Star Wars plays. The gasps from the audience make goose bumps break out all over me.
Suddenly, words crawl up the screen: A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away….
A crash of worlds has occurred.
Beings from different stories
Have now gathered,
Trying to keep evil at bay
And their necks out of jail.
The Jedi still fight against the Empire.
Nephilim work to keep the Accords.
Pirates are persecuted, reaching the world’s end.
It all comes down to controlling the power.
Our outlaws are heroes,
No matter if the task leads them across land, water, or space.
They know no limits.
They know that nothing is impossible.
They are always watching.
They are always helping.
Stick around and enjoy the show.
The Cavalry has arrived.
The screen changes to the interior of a spaceship, while the lights in the room return.
Lyra steps down from the stage, dressed as Princess Leia. Next to her stands Kellan, dressed as Chewbacca, along with an actual life-size R2-D2 toy robot, its characteristic beeps transmitted through the speakers, and a Jedi, who is Zach. An additional figure joins them.
OMBG, Anakin O’Flannagan is Han Solo? When did they cast him?
Nearby, Potter handles what I assume is the remote control for R2-D2.
So, this is what Darcy meant when she said they all promised to help.
Anakin hurries over to Lyra. When he touches her arm, she tenses and blushes.
Now Barb’s words make sense.
It seems the force has awakened; there might be new hope for Lyra in the love department if Anakin O’Flannagan strikes.
The crowd cheers, but our actors stay in character and ignore them as they cautiously move toward the dance floor, motioning for kids to leave the area open.
The music changes to “The Imperial March.” From the other side of the stage, Darth Vader steps in. I assume Oliver is the one under the costume.
He walks to the other side of the stage, followed closely by a bunch of stormtroopers who, at this point, I frankly can’t guess the identities of.
Perhaps the twins? Or Sherlock?
No, Abigail said Sherlock was going to help control the lights and music.
The cheers from the students grow louder, welcoming the dark side.
The stormtroopers also leave the stage and walk the perimeter of the stage in an orderly manner, indicating for anyone standing near it to back away.
Zach joins Oliver on the stage, removing his lightsaber from his belt. He turns it on, and with a fwwwsh, it lights up fluorescent blue. Darth Vader removes his and turns it on, lighting it up in red.
They wait a beat, then begin dueling. The sounds of lightsabers crashing together match the sounds from the background. Their moves are choreographed to perfection, the jumps, dodges, and even a few martial-arts moves making me wish I knew how to fence or place an incapacitating kick.
You go, Zach! May the Force be with you!
It feels like I’m watching a Star Wars movie as they duel across the stage, fighting until they’re offstage. The action moves to Lyra, who fires fluorescent Nerf darts at the stormtroopers, running from one end of the stage to another. Her aim is perfect, never missing one.
Kellan and Anakin follow her, also shooting while the stormtroopers fire back, but their red fluorescent darts always miss them. Their shots “echo” through the loudspeakers, giving realism to the whole act.
When they eliminate the threat, they announce their victory with Chewbacca’s familiar yell.
The duel between the Jedi and the dark side returns to the main floor. They reenact the scene where Darth Vader extends his arm and slowly closes his hand into a fist. Zach’s hand immediately goes to his throat as if Oliver is choking him. Lyra shoots a dart and hits Darth Vader, breaking his concentration and releasing my brother.
Zach quickly puts his hand up and pushes Oliver backward with his “Jedi powers.”
There are so many iconic moments from the movies, and yet the excellent acting, and their perfect timing with the sound effects, gives a realistic touch to the show. The whole crowd of students cheers as they watch. Joy beams, laughing at the crazy stuff our friends are doing on her behalf.
The duel continues and comes to an abrupt stop just before Darth delivers his famous line.
“Luke, I am your father.” His voice resonates through the speakers, and Zach’s face contorts with the pain this news brings.
“No!” Zach appears to yell.
Suddenly, blackness envelops us, and a few screams come from the crowd. But then a single light shines, illuminating a girl at the center of the stage with her back toward us. Her red hair shines as if on fire.
Darcy!
On the screen, a strange symbol appears, followed by the words, Welcome to the City of Bones.
Joy screams in excitement, drawing the attention of a lot of the guests. Her hand points upward, redirecting all eyes to where two figures zipline down to the stage, making the crowd ooh and aah.
Archie’s gold locks and Abigail’s dark hair move in the air that rushes past them as they land next to a pale Darcy, who holds a microphone in her hand. They seem to be telling her something while they expertly remove their safety harnesses.
Zach quickly steps in, after a startlingly quick costume change. He now wears all black like Abigail, Archie, and Darcy.
He gives Darcy an encouraging pat on the shoulder.
She turns and looks at him, then nods.
Joy steps closer and whispers in my ear excitedly, “This is going to be epic. We need to take care of some ‘Bad Blood’.”
The music begins. Darcy’s beautiful voice comes through the loudspeakers, shaky at first, as she sings the Taylor Swift song. Zach quickly joins her with another microphone, rapping, while he glances at Darcy.
Archie and Abigail jump off the stage and onto the dance floor, joined by Joy. Six figures all dressed in black from head to toe step from the crowd. Judging by their height, I’m guessing they’re Kellan, Oliver, Barb, and since I know the O’Flannagans are helping, I’m guessing Legolas and Bennedick.
Jeez, Barb had to pull a miracle to help Oliver, Kellan, and Zach out of their costumes.
They quickly engage in a staged fight. Archie fights the two who I assume are the twins, while Joy heads toward the two bigger figures. Abigail attacks Barb, who runs away from her, making the crowd laugh.
Aww, the little demon is afraid of the Shadowhunter.
All the while, Zach and Darcy keep singing, adding the soundtrack to the fight. Darcy’s voice becomes louder and confident, and her eyes never leave Zach’s face, as if she’s oblivious to the fight scene occurring on the dance floor.
Barb gives up quickly and feigns her death, allowing Abigail to go and help Joy. They smile at each other and, in sync, do some gymnastics and martial-arts moves.
Archie laughs with a cocky attitude, dodging the twins’ blows. It doesn’t take long before he “eliminates” both of them.
At the end of the battle, Joy and Abigail defeat the big guys and quickly join Zach and Darcy up on the stage, together with Archie.
And that’s my cue to get in position.
Again, the screen goes black, the lights dim, and I ask a few of the students to allow me to step closer t
o the stage.
On the black screen, a silhouette of a flag slowly fades in, until the skull and crossbones on it appear. It starts to billow as if wind moves through it.
From the top of the stage, two guys dressed as pirates appear, waving the pirate flag.
“Ahoy, maties!” Rodrigo shouts, and the crowd goes wild.
“Ahoy!” Vicente replies in a deep voice. His body turns toward the crowd and he lifts his arms, encouraging the students to answer back to Rodrigo, which they merrily do.
“The cap’n has ordered us to raise our anchor,” Rodrigo explains.
“Aye-eye.” Vicente salutes him and heads toward one of the barrels near one end of the stage. “Where are we headed?”
“To the world’s end,” Rodrigo replies, “in search of the Black Pearl!”
The crowd erupts in a wild cheer as Samuel appears wearing a burgundy bandana around his forehead and a wig of dreadlocks. His costume is a simple white shirt, a black vest, a thick brown belt, brown pants, and brown boots. What catches my attention and sends a tingling sensation through my stomach are his eyes. The black eyeliner framing them makes him look even sexier.
Wow, Big Guy, bravo!
Rodrigo and Vicente go to the back of the stage, where Maria and someone who I believe is Katya, await, wearing long white skirts, one with a red bodice and the other with a black one. The fog machine creates a cascade of smoke, hiding the steps leading from the stage to the dance floor.
“You forgot a very important thing, matey,” a voice I don’t recognize says through the loudspeakers. “I’m Captain Jack Sparrow.”
The crowd goes wild when the violin music starts playing The Pirates of the Caribbean theme. Samuel raises his arms like a matador, then drops them when the crescendo of the song starts. His arms are like swords, sharp, fast, and precise, cutting through the air and stopping at the angles Miranda taught him.
Behind him, Maria, Katya, Vicente, and Rodrigo join him for the next set of steps. They each wear a mean and wild expression on their face, channeling their inner pirates.