Echo in Her Mind

Forty-Two.

It was perfect, and ironic enough that Darla would be dying as she did in a movie she played in. However, Bethany was no longer worried about how she was going to kill her, but now she was antsy for when she did. She had no idea how far into the show they were, but she found her legs unable to stay still, and she kept fidgeting with her hair in anticipation.

"Are you okay?" Ruben leaned over and whispered to her.

He must have been very into the performance, because his eyes had been glued to the stage. If they were there for pleasure, as opposed to business, Bethany was sure she would be enjoying it as well. Her mind was only focused on the task at hand right now.

She was more than thankful when the curtains closed, and intermission commenced. Bethany was practically the first person to stand and exit the auditorium, not even waiting to see if Ruben was behind her.

When she got into the common room, she paced anxiously and waited for Ruben to find her. This plan had to work; she needed it to work. It was the only idea she had.

"Is it that bad for you, so far?" Ruben joked as he walked up to her. Bethany glared in response.

"I have a plan," she said, and his face instantly feel from joking, to serious.

"Which is?"

Bethany looked up to the ceiling, and Ruben followed suit. The metal vents that could be viewed to the public eye hung above them.

"You're not serious?" Ruben asked, a surprised expression placed on his face. "That's what you came up with? It's ridiculous and you could get caught, or worse, harmed."

It was clear that Ruben was completely against Bethany's idea, but it was the best that she could do under the circumstances.

"Do you have any better ideas? Because we're running out of him, and I need to get into that dressing room before the end of the show."

Bethany already knew that Ruben was clueless as to what to do, so when he shook his head in response, she was not surprised.

"Okay, that's the plan then. I'm going to go to the bathroom, and wait until the show starts up again. I just need to figure out a way to get up there and find Darla's dressing room. I'm sure all of these vents connect, so hopefully I won't run into any issues."

Ruben didn't look too convinced with the approval rate of Bethany's plan, but that wasn't going to stop her from attempting.

"Just be careful, okay?" He advised, worriedly, to which Bethany nodded in response.

As the other guest began to make their way back into the auditorium, she went on the hunt for the bathroom, hoping to have some success. When she found it, she was relieved to find it empty, not wanting to seem suspicious to anyone around.

It only took her a few seconds to locate the vent

opening on the far side of the bathroom ceiling. Bethany just had no idea how she was going to get up into it. Being 5'1 was very much an inconvenience to her at that moment, but she would have to make it work somehow.

She managed to prop herself up onto the sink closest to the opening, and attempted to move as fast as her body would allow her. Hopefully no one else had planned to enter the bathroom; they would certainly catch her in a very compromising position.

In one quick motion, Bethany jumped towards the vent, and managed to grasp the corners of it with her fingertips. She was barely able to hold herself up as she put all her strength into her upper body, and pulled herself up into the vent.