“Dating Advice, Drama, and Dance” (79.1) (Anastasia)

A foggy memory became clearer the more I thought about it. A time when I was first living at the labs, quiet, unsure what to do with myself, homesick and missing my father's presence. Mother said he couldn't come with just yet, and that I had to stay inside, because if I went outside, I'd get sick for reasons relating to being a Cani from another world. It'd make me get all weird and send me somewhere else, a place so far away even Mother couldn't find me again.

The labs were boring, and scared me a bit between my bouts of wishing I was back on Father's patio watching the swaying plants in the fields in front of me.

"Hello there, Anastasia," One of the scientists, Dr. Vesper, suddenly stood over me, as if she could tell I was stuck in a bout between boredom, anxiety, and sadness. "Would you like to help me out with a little experiment?"

I shrugged. Mother said I could always say no to the experiments, but none of them really made sense to me, nor were they scary. They were like random little games. Vesper brought me to one of her research areas.

"Now, just stand there," Vesper said. "I'm going to put a barrier around you, but it's completely safe. Just remain in place."

She sat at a desk, her keyboard loudly clacking with each stroke. She attached a cylindrical, glowing device to her computer that I thought looked so cool. In my young mind, it was a toy that was being kept out of my reach. The energy swirling between the silver bands around it was pinkish, and really pretty. A whirring sound came from it, then a bit later, glistening sparkles of the same color fell around me.

"Now, try to walk forward," Vesper said.

"You said to stay still," I said.

"That was just until the barrier fell," Vesper said. "Now, if you please."

I obeyed her command, stepping forward, feeling like I was walking into a smooth wall.

"I can't get through," I said. 

"That's good, that's good," Vesper said. "Try climbing."

I tried to climb out, but the pink energy wouldn't let me.

"Excellent," Vesper said. After some more loud clacks on her keyboard, the wall around me faded like mist from a fountain.

"What was that?" I asked.

"Another way to keep you captive," Vesper said, then laughed heartily. "No, it's for the same goal as all our work. Making a better world for Cani."

Mother was difficult enough to get information out of, but Vesper was a different story entirely. Thinking of that moment reminded me of the other main thing my younger self thought about her in our few interactions after that; she was even more secretive than Mother was, and even more vague. Mother at least explained what we were doing; what we were working towards in a broad sense. It wasn't much better, I'll admit, but it was better than Vesper's vagueness.

That memory of days long past came to me in the strangest place: right in the middle of our set. I barely remember taking the stage, just that my legs were jelly, and I was relying entirely on Nikki's confidence to carry me through. Normally I didn't fret concerts, it was fun. But this was different. It was the first time playing in front of a big crowd without my mask, which felt vulnerable. It was entirely my classmates. And most importantly, the girl I'd been thinking about for so long, who I finally got to talk to, was watching. Who said she liked my music. I had to play well for her.

Luckily, my little daydream about Dr. Vesper put me in a kind of autopilot. Why was I even thinking of Dr. Vesper? Because as we started playing, the main lights dimmed, the spotlights on us turned on, and an additional effect occurred. I assumed misty water fell, and lights were cast into it, making a ring around the dome. At first, it was that same pinkish hue as the one Vesper cast around me in the lab. Then it started cycling through colors. It would have been cool if it synced up with our playing somehow, but the visual of different colors was really nice.

I snapped out of my memory of the past just in time to enjoy the last song. I fell off the beat for a second but picked myself back up. The drums were a bit too loud and Nikki forgot like an entire verse of the song, but we looked like we were having fun. The crowd wasn't as loud as I was used to, I think this crowd being half a bunch of dweebs from Rising Shards meant they didn't really know how to let loose and have fun at a concert. I tried to scan the crowd for Zoey, but I couldn't see her. I had an errant thought, wondering how Nikki would react if I started going out with Zoey now. Maybe we'd turn out better than Nikki and I had.

"Thank you, everybody!" Nikki cheered as we finished. "Wooo!"

I couldn't remember the last time we finished a set where we didn't have some kind of argument immediately after. We just high-fived each other. Right after we split to cool off before heading to the dance, Zoey spotted me. I felt a bit trepidatious as she approached. What if she hated my songs tonight?

"Hey," I said. "I...hope you enjoyed that."

"I did indeed, great stuff," Zoey said. Hearing that along with her perfect smile was better than every cheer I'd gotten that night. "I'd chat, but I gotta get ready for my show."

"Yeah, and I'm really sweaty, so, you probably don't wanna hang around me..." I said, bombing the execution of that joke (?) but Zoey still laughed.

Once I was sure I was at least a bit less sweaty, it was time to head down for the dance. I didn't bother changing, I was too excited to get out of my rock gear. Sai and the other devils were waiting already when I got to the ground, with Lillia Cadence with them.

"You were awesome, Ana!" Sai said. "It's way better without the mask."

"You think?" I said.

"Yeah, the way your hair flows when you're headbanging while you play, it's...yeah!" Sai said.

The other devils had similar compliments, but as they talked to me, and the nu metal band Eclectic Skullduggery and Stale Donuts got ready (the band in between mine and Zoey's on the set list), my sister saw me.

"Ana!" Zeta said, waving at me like an idiot. I tried to ignore her, but she and her friends pushed through the crowd to reach me. For some reason, I wasn't able to get away. "You were so awesome!"

"Tch,"

"Just take the damn compliment," Sai said, playfully shoving me.

I elected to not respond further, and to try and get into a good spot at the front to watch Zoey.

Now I could relax, happy I gave it my all on stage, happy we sounded as good as we did. I could enjoy this dance with my friends, and finally maybe get to know this girl who had been on my mind for a long while now. And getting to know her started with what was sure to be another amazing, life-altering performance from her. Well, once Eclectic Skullduggery and Stale Donuts finished their set. There was no way Zeta could handle a nu metal band or being at the front of a concert, so that was my way of getting her to leave me alone.

I was riding so high, even Faleur couldn't ruin it.