With the threat of Niska and Joel's memories bearing down on me, I did what every normal teenager would do and completely forgot about it. Don't get me wrong, I knew it was important since I was playing with other people's head, but I wanted to get the showcase out of the way before I even considered thinking about it. If I messed up the showcase, I would have had Leo on my back and I didn't need that on top of everything else. He scared me. My priorities might have been a little messed up, but that, as I had grown to find out, the price we paid for being teenagers. We put the fun over the practical every time.

Since Jack's snowstorm had caused so much chaos, school was closed on Tuesday which meant a day dedicated to snowball fights, snow angels and snowmen. It was almost being back home. Almost. The snow reminded me so much of home, but it wasn't home. At home I would spend days wandering around the open landscape looking for something to do, wishing I had someone other than Nick to play with. I never realised how alone I really felt until I had someone to experience it all with me and I finally had that. I suppose it's true what they say, you never know what you're really missing out on until you experience it.

We planned to meet at mine to rehearse for the showcase but rehearse was the only thing we didn't end up doing. The snow was a major distraction to us all and we ended up spending the afternoon hurling snowballs at each other and attempting to build igloos out of the snow that was already starting to turn to mush. In truth, it calmed us down before the showcase. If we had spent the entire afternoon going over and over the piece to make sure it was perfect, our stress levels would have been through the roof and I doubt we needed that so close to the big day. Personally, I didn't know why we started off taking things so seriously, but it was nice to have a day to act like kids, I think we needed it.

One day to behave like a kid was all I needed over the chaos that had been my life for the past few months. Who knew being normal was such a struggle.

Wednesday evening, I was ready to do the showcase and to prove to myself that I could do something right. Everything that had happened had been a product of my own failure and I finally had the chance to prove that I could do more than draw a pretty picture. I sat in my room, looking at my reflection in the mirror and, for the first time, noticed just how much I had changed. I looked happy, happier then I had been in a long time and it was then that I made my decision, but I wasn't going to tell anyone, not yet.

"If you don't hurry up, we're going to be late! You said you had to be there by seven!" Granny yelled up the stairs.

"Yeah, I'm coming!" I said, glancing back at the mirror briefly before picking up my backpack, swinging it onto my shoulders and running down the stairs.

"Finally! If I'd have known putting a dress on and tying your hair in pigtails was going to take so long, I would have suggested you started getting ready the moment you got home!" Granny said jokingly, though if I knew any better I would say she was trying to turn a serious thought into a joke.

"Ha-ha, you're so funny. You try zipping a dress up from behind with dinosaur arms. I could do with one of those things they have on wetsuits, that would have been so much easier."

"That would look weird. Just use a piece of wire, that's what I used to do."

"Sounds painful."

"It was, but then I found your Grandpa, now he does my dresses up for me."

"The glory of married life," Grandpa said, kissing Granny on the forehead. "It's eerie how similar you are to that doll, considering how old it is anyway."

"That's the plan. How else can we scare the stuffing out of everyone?"

"Right, let's go! If we leave any later you'll be in trouble," Granny said.

"Jason wouldn't mind too much, Leo on the other hand, he would murder me."

As Grandpa snatched up his keys from the desk in the hallway, the three of us headed out into the bitter cold air and headed for the car. Jack Frost might have left the building or country, but the British winter was just as bad, just without the snow. The snow that Jack had so lovingly left behind had been piled up at the side of the road whilst pieces of grit paved the ground to stop people from slipping. Niska was pleased when she learnt they were gritting the pavements seeing as she struggled so much on the ice, but none of us liked eating the grit when the wind blew. Nothing worse than a mouth or face full of grit walking to school.

The closer we got to the school building, the more nervous I felt. Throughout all the practice we had done, I had been ready to go out on that stage and show off what we had been doing. In that car ride, however, I wanted to vomit. Just the idea of getting out onto the stage and performing in front of full bleachers was terrifying and no amount of rehearsal can prepare someone for that. I wanted to bail out, completely bottle the whole thing and hide under my duvet with a giant bar of chocolate and a film. Only I couldn't. We had worked too long and too hard on the show for me to be the one to pull out at the last minute. I would not allow my spectacular stomach pyrotechnics to stop the entire group from taking part in something that we had put so much time into.

That and if Joel, who barely spoke two words to anyone he didn't trust, could get up and do it, then I suppose I could as well. I just didn't want to make a fool of myself, not that I haven't done that countless times in the past.

As we pulled up to the school gates, the sick feeling in my stomach started to pass, as though it had been nothing more than a bout of travel sickness (I had eaten a bar of chocolate before we left). In fact, I felt a bubble of excitement in the pit of my stomach threatening to boil over in overly energetic behaviour, like obsessive jumping. It must have been how Nick felt twenty-four hours a day. I could only hope that my group were feeling the same way, so I had other people to jump around with before we had to take to the stage. If I had to act like a creepy child or doll, I needed to get the energy out and I didn't feel like doing that on my own.

"Right, we'll take our seats and see you out there! You'll be able to find us since we'll be cheering the loudest when you're introduced," Granny said as she and Grandpa stopped just short of the main hall entrance.

"Please don't," I said, laughing slightly, "I'll see you when it's finished."

"See you in a bit, Kenz!"

Leaving Granny and Grandpa to take their seats in the hall, I hauled the backdrop into my arms and headed towards the Drama studio to meet with the group and dump my stuff in the coat rack. I entered the hall to the sight of the entire class running around the room and trying to shake off their excitement. I don't know if it was working, but it was fun to watch in the long run. Nothing better than watching a bunch of teenagers running around a room, tackling each other to the ground and generally acting like complete morons. How Jason was going to get a handle on everyone before the showcase was beyond me. The entire thing looking like a zoo.

"Kenzie! Your group should be in amongst this mess so just dump your stuff and go and find them. I'll give you the rundown of everything once you've got the energy out of your system. I've never seen them like this before, so enjoy!" Jason said, gesturing to the crowd of students in the middle of the room.

"Thanks, Jason," I said. I walked over to the coat rack and dumped my back and jacket, smoothing out of my hair after it had become dishevelled during the car ride.

"Kenz! Welcome to the madhouse! Is that the backdrop? I can't wait to see it in person since you refused to let us see it yesterday," Niska said, appearing out of nowhere. She could negotiate a crowd better than anyone else I knew.

"You'll see it before we go on stage, not before."

"You're mean, you know that?"

"Yeah, I know."

Leaning the backdrop against a far wall, I joined in with the others, getting as much energy out as I could before we took to the age. We even ended up playing a long game of 'it', as though we were five-year-olds on the playground I have to admit, for someone who had never played 'it' before, it was quite a fun experience, better than running around a barren landscape with no one else to play with. I'd take a bunch of over-excited teenagers any day of the week. Unfortunately, our fun didn't last long, before we knew it Jason was ordering us into the hallway outside the hall, so we could start the showcase. We were going up second, so I had to leave the backdrop backstage whilst we watched the other groups. I gave strict instructions to everyone not to touch it as we made our way to the bleachers, to sit on the stairs in order to watch the other groups.

"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen to our first ever Christmas showcase! My Year Ten's have been working non-stop for the past two months in order to put on a fantastic show for you all so sit back and get ready. Up first tonight, we have a group performing a piece called 'One Christmas Night' so put your hands together as they take to the stage!" Jason said, walking off to the side to sit with the other judges.

Whilst Ant and the others set up the stage for their performance, I craned my neck in order to try and find Granny and Grandpa, knowing they were going to be the easiest people to spot in the room. Running my eyes across the audience, my eyes fell on the familiar white-blonde hair of my grandparents, and to my surprise, Mama and Nick. Neither Granny nor Grandpa had mentioned them coming to the show and I felt as though I was going to throw up. I hadn't seen Mama or Nick in months, not in person anyway and seeing them sitting in the bleachers was not something I expected, not by a long run.

My eyes remained fixated on them, watching them as they had a small discussion amongst themselves as the lights started to rise, signalling the start of the showcase. Quickly, I diverted my attention back to the main stage as Ant and the others took the stage, Ant wearing a rather shocking Santa outfit. It wasn't much in comparison to the original Santa suit, but it was a good enough imitation of one, at least from a distance. I watched as the group started their performance, focusing on how well Ant played my father and finding it a little strange at the same time. He was basing his interpretation on films and books, acting as the stereotypical Santa figure, something that was a little far from the truth.

As the showcase progressed, I kept finding myself glancing back to the bleachers, glancing back to Mama and Nick who were both fixated on the show. Even Nick, who couldn't stay still for longer than five minutes, was fixated on the show, his mouth hanging open as though he was attempting to catch flies. I know I should have been watching Ant's performance, but I couldn't help but be in awe that Mama (and Nick) had made the journey from the North Pole to watch some stupid showcase. I wasn't surprised that Papa hadn't come, he was probably too busy dealing with the Jack stuff, either that or he didn't care about the showcase. After all, Christmas was approaching, and he was busy.

Before I knew it, Ant's performance was over and Niska, Joel, Leo, Sophie, and I took to the stage to show off what we had been working on. It also meant the unveiling of the backdrop and the official turning on of the Christmas lights that were poking through the frame. My only worry was that it wouldn't stand up on its own, that it would fall over, but it was a risk I was willing to take, at least in the long run.

"You guys ready?" Leo said, checking over his costume to make sure he was ready.

"Yup. Let's do this!" Niska said, jumping up and down like an overenthusiastic dog.

When the lights went down, everyone but me took to the stage whilst I hid behind the curtains waiting for my moment and watching the production unfold in front of me. I watched as the happy, almost cliché opening scene started with Niska, Joel, Sophie, and Leo opening presents on Christmas day with Niska revealing the china doll we had been using throughout the rehearsals. The scene unfolded and, to most, it probably looked as though we had completely ignored Jason's rules in avoiding clichés altogether, but little did they know what was about to happen.

The moment Niska started talking to the doll, acting as though it were real, was when I came into the picture. With the microphone we were all hooked up with, I started to talk and due to my lack of presence on stage, it was supposed to work to freak everyone out. "What do you think about your new outfit Melissa?"

"It's like yours," I said into the microphone, putting on my sweetest voice for maximum effect.

"How did you do that?" Niska said, looking at the doll with curiosity.

"I've always been able to talk, I just didn't want them to know. This must be our little secret. Understand?"

"Yeah. They wouldn't get it anyway. They think talking to dolls is stupid and childish."

"We'll show them. Talking to dolls isn't stupid, they'll realize that soon enough."

"Jess, can you come here, please?" Leo called from backstage, his microphone carrying his voice.

"Yeah, coming!" Niska replied, before setting the doll on the stage and scurrying off stage.

As soon as she was gone, the light on the stage darkened and for the first time that night I was able to creepy from behind the curtain onto the stage, sitting next to the doll and twirling the ends of my hair like a child. The lights on the stage remained dark for several minutes and when they finally came up, the room was deadly silent. No one expected me to be on the stage when the lights came up and no one other than family knew who how similar I looked compared to the doll. Several seconds after the lights came up, Niska came storming back on stage, muttering to herself about what was just said to her offstage, giving off the impression of annoyance. The moment she saw me, her expression changed from anger to confusion and surprised.

"W-Who are you?" she stuttered out, remaining just offstage from the rest of us.

"You don't recognise me? You were talking to me just now," I said, twirling my hair around my finger.

"Melissa?"

"Hi!" I exclaimed, jumping up from stage floor and grinning at Niska.

"How are you here?"

"You wanted me to be alive, so here I am! No one other than you can see me, they'll see the doll. You wanted to show then that talking to dolls isn't childish or stupid, now you can!"

"How?"

"We can do it together! We'll show them that they're wrong and I'll help. You said we were friends, right? Don't you trust me?" I asked, tilting my head to one side and furrowing my eyebrows at her out of curiosity.

"Yes, of course, I trust you!"

"Good! We're going to be the best of friends!"

As the scene continued, the two of us sat together on the stage playing, as though it were just two friends. The doll sat between us, facing the audience. It was just an inanimate object on the stage between us, the communicator between myself and Niska. After several seconds of us playing on the stage, the lights went down, and darkness descended upon us. The moment the lights went down, Joel, Leo and Sophie crept out onto the stage to join Niska and me. With them, several chairs that they quickly set up in a circle. Niska and I got up from the floor and sat in two of the chairs, the doll resting on my lap.

When the lights came up, the scene started. Whilst the others sat and pretended to eat dinner, I sat on the char and watched them all, tilting my head from side to side as I watched them. Their movements were in sync, the four of them working as hard as they could to make sure they were in time with their movements. After a few seconds, the conversation started.

"Why'd you bring the doll, Jess? It's creepy!" Joel said, his eyes looking at the doll that remained on my lap.

"It's not creepy, she's my friend," Niska replied, smiling at me rather than the doll.

"She is a doll, Jess. Dolls aren't real. Seriously, you need to grow up."

The moment those lines left Joel's lips, the lights shut off again leaving me only a few seconds to run to Joel's chair and for him to fall off and lay on the ground whilst Sophie screamed. When the lights came up, Joel was in a heap on the floor in front of his chair, Sophie had her hands over her mouth whilst I stood over him smiling. I continued to stand over Joel as the scene moved around me, I just stared at him smiling, almost like a little child would. From where I was standing, I could feel the unease in the audience, the tension and even the fear that came with my position over Joel's body.

Eventually, Joel, Sophie and Leo left the stage (Joel having been carried off) whilst Niska and I remained on the stage, the doll resting on my abandoned chair. Niska, having been sat watching the events unfold in front of us, turned her head slowly to look at me. "What did you do?"

"Nothing! I was just showing him that I wasn't just a doll, that's all," I said, shrugging my shoulders.

"You can't just hurt people like that! It's not right!"

"Did I do something wrong? I thought you wanted them to see that dolls aren't just dolls?"

"Not like that!"

"But we're friends, aren't we? You said we were friends."

"We are friends, I promise, but you can't hurt people like that.

"I won't, I promise. As long as you stay with me."

"'Course, for as long as I can."

"Forever."

"I can't stay with you forever, you know that."

"You can, and you will," I said, stepping across the stage towards her. I reached my hand out and almost in a Jack Frost motion, wrapped my hand around her arm. Once again, the lights dimmed and with a pitch that almost made me jump, Niska screamed.

Once the scream had died down, the lights remained off a few seconds before coming up, signalling the end of our performance. The five of us took the stage and bowed as the audience in front of us clapped, Granny and Grandpa being the loudest, as they had said they would be. It was a relief to have completed the task we had been working on for months now and all I wanted to do was to get out of the hot stage lights and sit down for longer than two minutes. When the applause died down, we moved our props and set-piece back behind the curtain and swapped places with the final group, taking their seats on the bleacher steps.

As I sat down, I wiped the back of my hand over my forehead in an attempt to remove the sweat that had built up during the performance. Those stage lights were hot, and I mentally gave props to people who stood under them for several hours a day doing complex dance routines. I was in a dress and I was still hot from standing under those lights. Sitting on the bleachers and being able to look around the room without being blinded by the lights. Whilst glazing my eyes across the bleachers, I hindered on Mama for a second longer then I thought they would. I watched as she became mesmerised by the performance on stage. Her eyes followed the showcase and she blocked everything out around her.

Mama looked so happy and I didn't want to break her heart.

~~~

A/N - First of all, I want to apologise for the late update! I moved out of halls yesterday and didn't have the chapter ready to go up and I was too tired to write it so I apologise with that! In other news, THIS IS THE SECOND TO LAST CHAPTER! I am not prepared for this book to end, but it's a happen!

So we finally got to see a little bit of the Drama production, of course, it wasn't the whole thing because it's impossible to turn a Drama show into a book without taking too much away from the whole thing. I want to know your opinions on the showcase and the surprise! Why did her mother and Nick turn up? Will the win? More importantly, what did that last line mean?

Comment below!

Dedication - This chapter is dedicated to Cross-Warrior who has an amazing book club called 'Dreamland Book Club' that you should all check out! It can be found over on DreamlandBC if you want to sign up!

First Published - May 26th, 2018