Thea Sisters Fanserie 19 - The road of success

A couple of bitter disappointments

The lights of the academy came on , one by one , against the backdrop of the setting sun , as the Thea Sisters emerged , exhausted , from the rehearsal studio .

Nicky : *yawned* . The music is perfected , all we need now is the lyrics...

In the corridor , an elegant figure stepped forward to the cadenced sound of high heels pounding the floor . The mouselets were speechless as they watched Professor Aria , dressed in a dark tulle gown with a lace bustier , her waist emphasized by a red ribbon tied at the back . She was resplendent .

Violet : You are elegant , mademoiselle Aria!

Anna : Thank you...but I'm also late !

Violet thought back to the teacher's story and imagined how moved she must have been to see her friend Mark again after so many years .

Violet : It's going to be a wonderful evening , you'll see !

The girls accompanied their teacher to the academy gate , where a taxi was waiting to take her to reception . Colette's blue eyes sparkled .

Colette : How beautiful ! It's like a fairy tale...

Violet : ...with Mausington as Prince Charming !

But while Anna , full of hope , drove towards the port on Vissia de Vissen's yacht , another girl was preparing a surprise for the teacher that had nothing to do with fairytales . The daughter of the cosmetics queen , Vanilla , had a different plan in mind : after deploying a thousand and one stratagems to try and get the producer to notice her , she had come to the conclusion that Mark Mausington wasn't giving her the slightest glance . He paced the deck of the boat nervously , looking uncomfortable in his elegant suit , and kept watching the entrance to the port as if he were watching for someone . Vanilla darkened , surely the producer was hoping to see Anna arrive . He had insisted that she be invited that morning . Vanilla was certain that Mausington was particularly interested in the young woman . To cover her nervous breakdown , the young heiress told him she'd be right back , under the pretext of bringing him a juice cocktail . Vanilla passed by a mouselet who followed her with her eyes , none other than Tethys herself . She spotted Mausington alone , a godsend for her . The girl looked back for the last time to make sure no one else was passing by . In the crowd , she could see the Ratstreet Boys looking bored out of their minds , and also as expected Apotre Mercury was present . But he hadn't come to dance with Io , but to play pickpocket , and Io got exasperated and started arguing with him . Disappointed , she finally left the boat .

Tethys : "Pfft...those brats!"

Tethys approached Mark , who kept watching the harbor , and gently patted him on the back . The producer jumped a little and turned around .

Tethys : Excuse me , are you Mark Mausington ?

Mark turned his eyes back to the dock .

Mark : Yes , it's me .

Tethys : Hi , I'm one of Professor Aria's students .

But Mark seemed to ignore her . So Tethys decided to capture his attention by talking about the friendship between him and Professor Aria with a feigned smile .

Tethys : Miss Aria has often spoken of your friendship .

Mark : Really ? And what did she say ?

Tethys began to list a mountain of anecdotes , all made up in the hope of casting the teacher in a bad light .

Tethys : You know , Mr. Mausington...she says that , of you two , she's the only one who played really well !

Mark : What ?!

Tethys' persiflage had succeeded in upsetting him . Mausington walked away and stayed away all evening . She could finally return to her moon home , the sartunian moon Tethys . Just as she left , Vanilla arrived with the juices .

Vanilla : Sorry to keep you waiting-...What ?! Mausington ?!? Where did you go ?!?

After dinner , the Thea Sisters gathered with Tanya and Dina in the Lizard Club room . Suddenly , in the middle of a conversation , Pamela's phone began to ring .

Pamela : Who could that be ?

Then , seeing the number displayed on her phone screen , she widened her eyes . It was Joel , the drummer of the Ratstreet Boys . Pamela had left her number , not thinking he'd call her one day . But the musician had been waiting for her all evening . In the end , he decided to skip the party , which he found boring as hell , and ask his new friend to meet up for a chat . It wasn't every day he met a nice , cute and pretty girl who shared his passion for engines and drums . Then Pamela organized an ice-cream outing with the other Thea Sisters , which Joel gladly agreed to join . They met up a little later at the port . Arriving on the quay , the mouselets spotted Anna getting off the yacht and getting into a taxi . The teacher waved to them , but the Thea Sisters immediately realized that something was wrong . She wasn't wearing her usual smile .

Joel : She too was desperate to leave . The whole party was about Vanilla !

On the way downtown , the young ratlet told them about the reception , and the five girls understood why Anna was so distressed . Mark had been such a jerk , not content with not asking her to dance even once , he had ignored her and left her alone for the whole evening . What a disappointment that must have been for Anna , who was looking forward to seeing him again . When everyone had finished their ice cream , it was time for the girls to back to Mouseford , and Joel offered to accompany them home . On the way back , he and Pamela stayed behind , absorbed in their conversation . Pamela thought she was dreaming , but she too was in for a bitter disappointment .

Joel : After the concert , I'm going to take some time off in Europe , to relax and find new inspiration...I'd like you to come with me .

Pamela , deeply moved , blushed , but shook her head .

Pamela : Thanks , but I can't . You know , I've got my exams at the academy and I have a project with the other Thea Sisters .

Joel looked at her .

Joel : Exams ?! Life is meant to be lived , not wasted on exams !

Pamela : But school is important to me ! And I'm committed to completing a group project with my friends...

Joel : So you'd give up the call of life for...your friends ?!

Pamela clenched her fists in anger , wanting to punch him in the face , but in the end , she thought , it would only make things worse .

Pamela : My friends and family...that's my life ! To be able to count on them and know that they can count on me is the most important thing for me ! GOOD NIGHT , ASSHOLE !

Then , she walked away .

Joel : "What the hell !''