The morning air was fresh. The sun was rising.

  I felt like waking up from one of those nice, calming dreams.

  "Ahhhh, what a lovely day," I said to myself, exhaling air out like I was in a yoga practice. I slowly began sitting up and stretching my arms, mentally preparing myself to ensure the day went smoothly and nothing could go wrong.

  "Nothing could go wrong today," I said, my face lit up with a smile.

  That began twitching.

  Why, you're probably asking, what the hell do you think this is!?

  A story with PEACE?!

  “WHERE’S MY CURLING IRON!” Arisa screamed, both hands deep inside her suitcase like she was mining for treasure. Nao zipped from corner to corner like a malfunctioning Roomba, holding up outfits and then violently rejecting them seconds later.

  “This is too childish! This is too bold! This is, AHH WHY DON’T I HAVE NORMAL CLOTHES?!”

  Reina was sitting on her futon, perfectly still. Calm on the outside. Her hands folded in her lap. But every so often her eyes darted to her folded script, then to her suitcase, then to Nao’s outfit, then back to her script.

  "JUST SHUTTT UPPPPP!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, my peace and quiet were absolutely blown out of the water, and even the screams for silence were completely ignored.

  This, ladies and gentlemen, is what we call the calm before the internal meltdown. The eyes that Reina showed me… I've seen this before. You may look calm, but those eyes… They say a thousand words.

  And none of them are good.

  Then there was Yuki.

  Leaning against the wall.

  Already dressed.

  A simple, white, flowing summer dress, not too flashy, not too plain.

  Elegant. Effortless. It matched her unreadable face perfectly. She didn’t say a word. Didn’t comment on the noise. Just sipped her tea and stared out the window. I wanted to say something, anything, to break the weird energy, but before I could, Arisa’s eyes, the ones that usually had a teasing look, snapped toward me with embarrassment.

  “SOUTA, OUT. Boys aren’t allowed to witness pre-performance rituals!”

  "What? What does that even mean?" I asked, confused. I was just sitting in the corner watching the carnage unfold.

  "OUT. OUT. OUT!!" She literally threw a slipper at me.

  Fine, I guess I have no choice.

  I began to walk out of the room before-

  "AHHH!" I screamed, collapsing to the floor. And yes, there was a legitimate reason, so stop calling me a baby.

  The reason was simple.

  Nao, caught in the Arisa tornado, had accidentally chucked an iron that somehow found its target… ME.

  "I'm SOO SORRY SOUUTA!" She shouted, rushing to my side. I groaned on the floor, momentarily hallucinating Arisa in a bunny outfit before Nao's worried eyes filled my vision, her face hovering inches from mine.

  "Y-y-yeahhh I'm fine... But why, Nao?" I managed slowly.

  "Heheh, sorry! I got excited seeing Arisa running around," she replied, sticking her tongue out innocently.

  I'm not even going to dignify that with a response.

  Sigh.

  I rubbed the back of my head, trying to process the mental damage.

  Why was I the nervous one?

  I wasn’t even auditioning… Or well, I was, but I didn't have to worry about getting the part, because jokes on me!

  I have already been given the part.

  Forcefully.

  That’s what I kept telling myself. As I passed the lobby, and the moment I turned the corner, I spotted Shirori standing at a vending machine, headphones in, mumbling her lines under her breath, her dark eyes sharp as a blade, as she chose her drink.

  "Better not let her see me if she's that focused on choosing which drink she wanted", I whispered, instantly dipping behind a potted plant like a cartoon.

  Please don’t see me.

  Stolen story; please report.

  Please don’t see me.

  Thankfully, she didn’t. She walked the other way. Too locked in her zone. Too focused on being terrifying.

  I hurried down the corridor before she could smell my fear.

  Making my way through the corridor and into the canteen, I spotted another human disguised as a beast.

  Shinji.

  He waved me over with two fingers, already grinning. “Yo, lover boy! Over here!”

  Oh boy.

  Do I even walk over, or just pretend he's some random priest trying to convert me?

  I sat down at a long table where Shinji, his friends Subaru, and Felix were gathered around a tray of eggs and miso soup.

  “You ready to kiss a girl on stage. I'm really jealous,” Subaru asked with a smirk.

  “Uhhh…” I replied, unsure what to say next. I wasn't even sure who they were, to be honest. I knew they hung around Shinji, and the fact that they were both weird just like him, but that was it? So the fact that they began talking to me like I knew them and we had been friends for like 10 plus years threw me off.

  But I guess that's the life of a normal NPC like me…

  I did my best to just keep my head down and munch on my food, but the occasional glances from both Subaru and Felix really gave me a weird feeling.

  Felix, sensing that I was feeling uncomfortable, leaned in, grinning. “C’mon, tell us. Which one are you hoping wins the role? Huh? You’ve got options, man.”

  I rubbed my eyes. “Honestly? I don’t know. I like them enough to the point, I don’t think I could just pick and either way it's not like I'm going to pick anyway.”

  Shinji tapped his chopsticks against his bowl. “Damn, you’re in deep, huh?”

  “Not helping.”

  Then Felix added, “What if that Shiori girl wins?”

  I stopped mid-chew.

  “...It’s unideal,” I admitted. “Not because she’s a bad person or anything, I don’t even really know her. But she’s putting everything into this. She wants it. So I guess... The least I can do is take it seriously, too.”

  That got them quiet for a second.

  “Damn,” Subaru muttered. “That’s kinda noble.”

  “Or whipped,” Felix said, sipping his miso.

  “Either way,” Shinji said, “she’s hot.”

  “Again, not helping,” I repeated.

  "Yeah, but think about it, if you want maximum cuteness with that professional look, you would want Yuki", Subaru muttered whilst chewing.

  "So true, bro Yuki defo the hottest of them all mirror-mirror on the wall," Shinji replied, his eye wide and his face with a cheesy grin.

  "Why even add the mirror mirror thing?" I asked, confused.

  Then, like the reaper himself had come to take me away, a hand landed on my shoulder. I turned to see the drama teacher, bearded, always smiling like he had secrets.

  “Ahh, Souta-kun. First, congratulations on getting the lead role, here’s your script,” he said, handing me a small, stapled booklet.

  “Thanks.”

  I flipped through it while walking back toward the room, skimming past awkward lines, a magical beast scene, some emotional stuff… And then...

  ‘With a final whisper, the princess collapses into an enchanted sleep. The prince, unable to break the curse with words, gives her one final kiss to awaken her heart.’

  …

  Great.

  A kiss.

  Like you know when something is coming, but the moment you see it in person is when it really hits you.

  Yeah, that just happened to me.

  I shut the script and stared at the hallway ceiling like it could offer me a way out.

  It didn’t.

  Just one question played on loop in my head:

  Who’s gonna be the one on that stage… When will it happen?

  We ate fast, too fast, if I’m being honest. My stomach was doing somersaults that even Nao would be impressed by.

  Then we arrived.

  The small theatre hall.

  The cursed building that sealed my fate.

  The seats were slowly filling with students, our classmates, acquaintances, and about six people I’ve never spoken to, yet somehow, they know everything about my life because they’ve heard Arisa scream it across the building.

  Great.

  I didn’t want to be here.

  Correction: I didn’t want to be seen here. But that dream crumbled when the teacher gleefully dragged me backstage like a kidnapped stagehand.

  Since I had the lead male role, I wouldn’t be auditioning like the girls.

  Is what any normal person would say at this time.

  But…

  Ohhh nooo.

  I’d be on stage the whole time, helping each girl act out her scene so the teachers could judge chemistry and performance. According to my overly passionate, clearly sadistic teacher, it would be great "practice" for overcoming stage fright.

  “For you not to be on stage would be a waste of everyone's time,” she had said cheerfully. “This is your chance to embody your role fully, emotionally, physically.”

  …Physically?

  I didn’t want to ask.

  In my head, my response was simple: "Kindly go screw yourself, ma’am."

  My heart began to pound faster as I stepped backstage, which was just a jungle of chaos.

  Girls were doing their makeup with trembling hands. Scripts were being flipped open and reread like exam cheats. Three different perfumes were battling in the air like rival gangs. Arisa was adjusting her ponytail for the fifth time. Nao was spinning in place, muttering lines under her breath and nearly tripping over a folding chair. Reina, calm on the outside, was clearly screaming on the inside. Her grip on her script was so tight I thought the paper might file for abuse.

  Then, her.

  Shiori.

  She sat alone in front of a mirror, legs crossed, back straight, eyeliner in hand. Her script? Closed. Untouched. She looked into the mirror and caught my reflection. Her expression was unreadable. But her eyes? Laser focus.

  That girl wasn’t here to 'try.' She was here to win.

  I quickly looked away, doing my best not to start a fight or get on her bad side and peeked through the curtain.

  Big mistake, I'd rather fight a grizzly bear than relive that moment again.

  The seats were now packed. Laughter. Whispers. Phones out. Half the class was here just for entertainment, not enlightenment.

  Why were these people wanting to see me fail that badly? And seriously, who was actually interested in rehearsals?!

  But you thought that was bad? That wasn't even the worst thing. Because what I saw when I gazed into the overpopulated crowd…

  In the front row.

  The middle seat.

  That guy.

  The same tall, quiet one from before. He sat with his hands folded, wearing a long jacket and a cap pulled low. His face was mostly in shadow, but I knew it was him. His eyes were locked in my direction. No one else seemed to notice him; it was like he was invisible. He didn’t look like a student. Didn’t talk. Didn’t blink.

  I ducked back behind the curtain like I’d been shot.

  “Nope. Not today. Not dealing with stalker-san on top of acting. Maybe it’s just my nerves. Yeah. Probably that... Probably... Definitely... Hopefully?”

  My brain spun in loops while my stomach practised interpretive dance.

  And then…

  The mic squealed. The teacher cleared her throat and skipped any sort of introductions.

  “Alright! First up, Nao and Souta!”

  My soul left my body. "Not even a hello and welcome or thank you for coming... What a ruthless opening."

  I looked at Nao, who was already looking at me. Our eyes locked for a second before I managed a grin.

  “Let’s not make ourselves look too stupid now, haha.” My chuckle was soft, but honestly, there was nothing to laugh about.

  I was shitting myself.

  Nao looked quieter, trying to channel her inner Reina, and she smiled back at me. “Let’s do this, Souta,” she said before slowly walking onto the stage.

  I smiled back before following right behind her, "God, if you're real, help me," was the last thing I said to myself before walking onto the stage...

  DeadEndYuto!