(Four) Freedom Theater

Hiccup’s calculations proved right—in exactly two weeks, he decided that the play was a-okay to present to the public. 

        His phone conversation with Kristoff went like this:

        “Um—hi, Kristoff.”

        “Oh, Hiccup. Hey. What’s up?”

        “Um, you remember the play I’m—”

        “Yeah, yeah."

        “Well—I’m finished with it.”

        “Oh, wow! That’s great!”

        “Ehe. Yeah...” Why, why did he have to get so flustered whenever someone showed support in his story? “I, um… uh…”

        “I’ll let Freedom High know. I know they’ll be interested.”

        “Thanks a million, bud.”

        “Dooooon’t mention it. And don’t worry, either. Your play sounds pretty cool.”

~*~

        Hiccup planned to treat Kristoff to the Fudge ’n’ Toffee Café as a thank you. It was pretty much the only non-fast-food restaurant that came to mind, and even that was only because his dad would take him there whenever he wanted to have a “Talk” with him. When you were an aspiring playwright trying to get your career to rocket, you simply didn’t have time for fancy restaurants.

~*~

As Kristoff predicted, the theatrical crew at Freedom High agreed to study his play and perform it. Hiccup was going to help with casting. He would also be co-directing with a seasoned acting teacher named Vanessa. The dance teachers’ names were Cinderella and Mulan.

        Hiccup decided Vanessa was nice enough. So was the school. After some discussion inside the building, they’d decided the date and time of the audition and practice dates. Hiccup had left the script, music sheets, and a list of the dance choreography [along with one or two pretty embarrassing dance videos Hiccup had been forced to send for the more complicated routines] with Vanessa, Mulan and Cinderella to look over and study.

        Now he was here. First Saturday of the month. The day of the play auditions. First time meeting the kids.

        Hiccup sat at a table with Vanessa, Mulan and Cinderella, right in front of the stage in the auditorium. Behind them? 60 anxious teenagers, waiting to be called on by one of the silent judges.

        Vanessa turned around to face the high-schoolers.

        “Welcome to the auditions,” she said, clasping her hands together. “Let’s do some introductions, shall we?”

        She gestured to Hiccup. “This is Mr. Haddock. He’s written our play, the songs, and even the dances.”

        Hiccup waved awkwardly. He felt uncomfortable for two reasons; he didn’t like being the center of attention, and he looked near enough the same age as everyone in the room.

        “Hi!” one person said, which made things a little less awkward.

        “Um… hey,” Hiccup replied.

        Eyebrow-raising here, murmurs there.

        “He will be helping a little with casting, and will come once in a while to watch practices,” Vanessa continued. “Maybe give a slice of advice or two while he’s there. But—just like you—he’s a student, and he studies at the local university, so he can’t always be here.”

        “This is Cinderella, your music teacher. You all know her, don’t you?”

        Apparently they did, because some called out her name and waved.

        “And here is Fa Mulan. She’ll be doing the dancing.”

        Apparently they weren’t familiar with her, though that didn’t seem to faze Mulan. She bowed cordially.

        “Now… are you ready to audition?”

        There was a mix of yeses and nos. Most didn’t say anything at all.

        Vanessa laughed. “Good.”

~*~

        “Sandra Clark.”

        A tall—but not thin—girl stepped up to the stage and started to sing Part of Your World from The Little Mermaid.

        Hiccup pondered while she sang. Her voice was nice, but she needed to work on her technique. And she had little to no emotion when she sang. It sounded like she was reading the words, but not quite understanding them. Hiccup knew a lot of people who had that problem—including himself.

        Did the girl herself look like Eliza? Blonde hair, green eyes… nope. Other than the colors, there wasn’t really anything the two girls shared.

        Hiccup continued to think in detail as the 60 children sang their hearts out. Was Derek Tray good enough for Professor Lance? Was Lennox Harper the kind of person who would fit into a suit like Captain Daae’s? Every detail had to be analyzed.

        It wasn’t a famous play yet, but it still had to be perfect—or as close to perfect as possible. Especially since the decision was sort of in his hands. Given that the play would reach Broadway—which it would—he wouldn’t have that privilege… someone else would.

~*~

        “Auditions are finished,” Vanessa announced. “Congratulations, everyone! This is going to be a tough decision for all of us.”

        Some high-schoolers shifted skeptically, since the last sentence was a little overused.

        “We’ll post your roles on the bulletin board on Monday,” Vanessa continued. “Enjoy your weekend, everyone! You can go home now, I suppose.”

~*~

        “I liked the way Carin made a lot of gestures when she was singing,” Mulan said. “She was really feeling the song.”

        “She seems good for July,” Vanessa said, referring to Eliza’s best friend. “But what about Melanie? She was excellent too.”

        “She’s a lovely actress, but she needs to work on her singing technique,” Cinderella pointed out.

        The discussion went on with sentences like that for some time. Once in a while, Hiccup offered his advice, and they took it into account. After around two hours of conversation, they’d decided the role for Eliza, Captain Daae, Professor Lance, and July Evans—the four mains. As for the minor roles and ensemble cast—those would be for another meeting. Hiccup went back to the university to study, and the three teachers went back to their lives, as if nothing out of the ordinary had ever happened within the discussion room.

~*~

“Where’ve you been?” was the first thing out of GoGo’s mouth when he walked through the doorway. She was using the computer on the dining table, papers sprawled in front of her.

        Hiccup wondered where Honey Lemon was; she and GoGo always studied together, same course or not, but he decided not to ask.

        “Auditions… remember?” Hiccup hung his bag on the rack and walked into the kitchen. “I know I told you.”

        GoGo didn’t answer. Her eyes, however, followed him, which made Hiccup somewhat uncomfortable. He opened the cupboard, grabbed a glass, and poured himself some water.

        “So were any of the kids good?”

        Hiccup took a sip of water before he answered. “A lot of them were, actually. There’s this kid named Carin—she’s playing Eliza.”

        “Eliza’s your main character, right?”

        “Yeah. And she’s a really expressive actress, not to mention her dancing isn’t bad either.”

        “And the singing?”

        “Well—she needs to work on it. According to Cinderella. And Vanessa. And… me.” Awkward for Carin, Hiccup thought.

        “Mhm.” If GoGo had been wondering where he was before, she wasn’t acknowledging him anymore. Her eyes were fixed on her laptop again, once in a while on her notes.

        Hiccup sighed and walked into the room he and Flynn shared.

~*~

“Hey, Hiccup!” Flynn glanced back from his desk to face the playwright. “How’d auditions go?”

        “All right,” Hiccup said. He felt open with Flynn—the two of them had bonded over their time as roommates, and Hiccup knew he could be honest with him. “This girl Carin Kerr is Eliza. She can’t really sing, but she’s a good actress and not a bad dancer.”

        “Hm.” Flynn nodded. “How about the pirate—Captain Daae?”

        “Oh. He’s played by Aladdin Shadid. Great actor. He could have a good career in theater, if he channels it juuuust right.” He made a channeling hand gesture.

        “Awesome.” Flynn grinned. “You know me. Any actor is good in my book.”

        “Heh… yeah.” Hiccup sat down at his desk to get his work done.

        “How about Professor Lance?”

        “Evan Soule,” Hiccup said. “He… Mulan said he reminded her of me. He reminds me, too, actually."

        Flynn raised his eyebrow. “You don’t say… he’s a writer?”

        “Yeah.” After silence, Hiccup quickly put in, “For books. Not plays.”

        “Well, a writer nonetheless,” Flynn said brightly. “Right?”

        “Yeah. I like him a lot. He’s not a bad actor—or singer. His only problem is dancing.”

        “Oh. Well, maybe this’ll exercise his skills.”

        “I hope so. Vanessa gave him the role hoping he would branch out. But if I were him, I would just crawl in farther.”

        “Good luck—I mean, break a leg—to him.”

        “Yeahp,” Hiccup agreed. Then he picked up his pencil and started his studies.

~*~

Kristoff and the grocers back at the Shop-Right were more than glad to hear that he’d gotten into university, and they insisted they throw a party. One of them, Guy, suggested that they have it at his house.

        “So, are you going to stay at the grocery, or focus on studies?” Guy asked Hiccup. The two of them were standing by the food tables, holding cups and chilling.

        “Well, I’ve gotta stay,” Hiccup said. “I have to keep paying for my tuition every year, you know.”

        “That’s right,” Guy said thoughtfully. “But you don’t want to work somewhere else? I mean, no offense to Mr. O’Shaughnessy… but it’s can get a little boring here. Why not find a donut shop or something? At least you’d get free food from there.”

        Hiccup was silent for a moment. He’d been thinking about it, but the Shop-Right seemed like the best choice. It was close to the university. The pay wasn’t a lot, but it was enough to keep him alive, educated and writing. And alive, educated and writing was all he needed to be happy. Yeah, he was going to stay.

        “I’m leaving in two weeks,” Guy said. “I’m going to work at a mechanic’s. Study some gadgetry. Find what I can make.”

        “Interesting,” Hiccup noted. “Break a leg, Guy.”

        “Break some legs? Well… all right.” Guy gave him a sideways grin. “Same to you.”

        It was a good night for Hiccup. It’d been a while since he’d relaxed like this, just hanging out with his friends and not having to worry about passing exams or Freedom High or his dad. Guy was a great cook. Everyone was happy. There was even some singing and dancing [Hiccup didn’t join them, of course—but it was fun to watch].

        “I’m glad for ya, buddy.” Kristoff clapped him on the back. “How’s the play going?”

        “Great, actually,” Hiccup answered. “We had auditions Saturday, gave the cast their roles on Monday, and we’re giving the script and practices this week.”

        “Awesome.” Kristoff grinned. “Break a leg. All of you.”

        “Thanks, man.”

~*~

Play practices were fun.

        On the first day, the teachers had everyone gather round in a circle and play icebreakers—not like the kids needed to, since a lot of them had been together since preschool, but the games themselves were fun. Hiccup had a fun time watching them.

        Then, when Hiccup came back three days later, the kids had already been given their scripts, gotten cast and were getting familiar with their lines. He also got to get to know some of the crew backstage—the kids who painted the scenery and helped with the lights. He liked them for some reason—maybe because they were quiet… like he was.

        Hiccup spotted Evan at the start of class, reciting the lines to himself with a determined look in his eyes. Hiccup grinned to himself and took a seat in the middle of the auditorium and waited for practice to start.

~*~

        “All right, class!” Vanessa said. “Are you ready?”

        Similar to what had happened at the audition, there was a mix of yeses and nos.

        “Um… great!” Vanessa tried for a smile. “Let’s begin, shall we? We’ll do a rundown. Opening number, everyone!”

        The entire class took their places. Cinderella began to play the piano. Mulan sat in a chair, watching the scene closely. Vanessa sat with Mulan.  

        Nobody was in costume, but Hiccup was okay with that.

~*~

        The students were pretty in character. They danced and sang with feeling. Almost everybody looked reasonably comfortable. Almost nobody knew all the dance steps or lyrics, but it was only three days into practice and there was still a lot of time before opening night, so Hiccup wasn’t worried.

        When the opening number ended, Hiccup felt strangely elated. He could’ve jumped up from his spot then and there and burst into “What a Wonderful World” if he hadn’t been such an introvert. His play was coming to life, literally jumping off the page.

        Next was Eliza’s song, the first solo number. Carin played her part well—she’d obviously been practicing. She recited her lines in a lively way, and danced beautifully. Hiccup was impressed.

        Then she began to sing. She needed a little guidance with the lyrics and tune every once in a while, not to mention her voice tended to crack and random times, but when she got through the song, nothing major had happened.

        After that was Eliza talking to her family about leaving. Hiccup had to admit, the casting was about as good as it could get. The mom was motherly. The father was fatherly. The brother was brotherly.

        Then came the scene where Eliza hopped on a boat to sail around the world, hopefully in 60 days, while singing but nearly falling out of the boat. That was where it ended—it was all they’d practiced so far.

        When the part the Freedom High kids knew so far was over, Hiccup was impressed. The highschoolers had gotten it pretty well in three days.

        Hiccup was excited for opening night.

(A/N): Dedicated to @LeafsAreFalling for voting on so many of my stories! She’s also a lovely person / has an adorable profile picture! ^__^