A Fox Surrounded in Darkness (Twisted Wonderland x Encanto nb!reader)

Chapter 58

Your Pov...

⦓Cafeteria⦔

"I'm starvin'," Grim complains "It feels like we gotta wait YEARS for lunchtime to roll around on days with morning P.E."

"What's P.E. got to do with anything," Ace questions Grim. "You're always hungry."

"There's a crowd gathering near that wall," Deuce observes. Our group moves closer to the wall to catch a glimpse of what was there. "Let's see. Song & Dance Championship...Now accepting auditions? Oh, that's the music showcase event at the culture fair."

"I see it on TV every year," Ace recalls. "Never knew the competitors on there had to audition, though. Dancers! Singers! Come one, come all! This is your shot at the big time! Outshine the rest and be a star! If the team representing your school makes it to the final round...Each member will receive a share of the fifty thousand thaumark prize."

"Fifty thousand thaumarks?!" The group exclaims.

"That's right," Crowley pops up out of nowhere. "Isn't it just a fabulous prize?!"

"I know it's a running gag at this point, but could you PLEASE stop popping up out of nowhere, headmage," Ace shouts.

"Oh, I beg your pardon," Crowley's tone holds false remorse. "I never meant to frighten you. There's a reason this Song & Dance Championship has such a tantalizing pot up for grabs. There are a number of businesses sponsoring it, you see. SDC is nothing like the Pop Music Club contests you're used to. The finalists get swamped with offers from all manner of entertainment agencies and labels. It's entirely possible to rocket from obscurity to the ranks of the top artists in the land. This isn't merely a matter of school pride—it's a high-stakes music battle with the entrants' future success or failure riding on the outcome. And if we want to attract more elites, we need a sufficiently enticing prize."

"Ah, I get you," Ace nods his head in understanding. "If the sponsors can net a star that lets them basically print money... Fifty thousand thaumarks is a small price to pay."

"With fifty grand, I could load up on fancy three-thaumark canned tuna," Grim exclaims.

"Hold on," Deuce tells Grim. "It says that the prize is split amongst the team. So if there was a four-member group, each member would get...uhhh... fifty divided by four... Ten... Thirteen..."

"It'd be 12,500 thaumarks," Ace answers. "Which would net you over four thousand cans of premium tuna."

"You can do math?" I raise my eyebrow at Ace. "Now that's unexpected."

"Hey, I'm smart," Ace frowns.

"Four thousand," Grim's mind was on his prize. "Y/n, I want in on this competition!"

"Why am I not surprised," I sigh.

"Some schools select representatives from their Choral and Pop Music Clubs..." Crowley says. "But here at Night Raven College, we scout talent from the entire student body via audition."

"So you gotta duke it out and claw your way to the top," Deuce nods his head in understanding.

"Of course, the most serious students have been preparing for this since last year..." Crowley states. "But as I see it, everyone always has the right to dream of stardom. Well? What do you think? Aren't I so very kind? Anyone has the right to audition, as long as they are currently enrolled here. I, for one, simply cannot wait to see who will represent us this year!"

"The audition song is 'Piece of My World'. To apply, contact Rook Hunt in Class 3-A." Ace reads off the flier. "This sounds rad, actually! I figured we sports clubs would be stuck doing all the heavy lifting behind the scenes, but I guess not! You guys wanna give this a whirl? If we make it in, we'll be excused from all the back-breaking work of putting the venue together. Sounds like a win-win to me."