Oh Yes You Can!

Part 2

TWO:

The next day, the class assembled in Room 7, which was the practice room that Mr Mulch had booked out for them until Christmas. The teacher was there with Hiccup standing awkwardly by his side as the class unwillingly trailed into the room. Most of them sat in little clumps, ignoring the auburn haired teen as he faced them. Admittedly, he tended to be a little hunch-shouldered and self-conscious in his dark green hoodie and loose black jeans but Astrid noted his messy dark auburn hair framed his sharp-jawed face in a very cute way and his eyes were an intense, sparkling green. There were a few scattered freckles on his pale skin that intrigued her and she sat up straighter: she had never really looked at him closely before.

"Okay, class," Mr Mulch announced cheerfully. "I am going to leave Hiccup here as the Assistant Producer to lead most of the production. I am here to resolve disputes and if there are issues with you progressing properly. Otherwise-carry on, Mr Haddock!" And he stepped back. Looking self-conscious, Hiccup gestured to the class to pull their chairs up and reluctantly, they all formed a loose circle. He perched nervously on the edge of the seat and looked round his classmates, meeting a sea of unfriendly eyes.

"Has everyone got his or her script?" he asked. Astrid, Heather, Fishlegs, Phlegma, Gustav and Cami already had theirs out but there were various amounts of grumbling and groaning. The twins' hands shot into the air.

"We forgot ours," they said together, both grinning maliciously. Hiccup gave a small smile and fished out copies of the script with their names on and their parts highlighted.

"There you are," he said. "Don't lose them!"

"Hey-you can't tell us what to do!" Tuff snapped.

"Still here, Mr Thorston," Mulch reminded them from the back of the class and they both managed identical scowls before flicking through their scripts. Hiccup blushed.

"Um...okay...can everyone introduce themselves and describe their part?" he asked and looked round for someone who just might actually want to take part. "Ast...Heather?" he said, changing his mind and looking over at the raven-haired girl. She nodded.

"Hi," she began confidently. "I'm Heather and I'm playing Selina/Cedric. Selina is a girl, down on her luck who comes to the town seeking her fortune. As she has no money and no family, she dresses as young man and calls herself Cedric. She meets one of the Prince's courtiers and secures a place in his service. She tends to work alongside Arnold and secretly falls for him though, of course, she can't say anything about it until at the very end when she reveals she is a girl-and finds out that Arnold knew all along."

"Thanks, Heather," Hiccup said brightly. "Um...Astrid?" He hoped no one noticed that his voice wavered and ended almost an octave higher than usual. She looked up and he realised her script already had her part highlighted and there were notes all over the sheets.

"I am Astrid Hofferson and I am playing Cinderella," she announced. "My mother died when I was young and my father remarried. Now he has died and I have been reduced to a servant in my own home while my stepmother and her daughters treat me like dirt. I want to go to the Ball and marry the Prince. Sorry, this is the 21st Century...why can't I just go to the courts and demand my rights?"

Hiccup rubbed the back of his neck.

"This is set in the 18th Century and as a poor person, a minor and a woman, you have almost no rights," he told her. "I mean, you are feisty and spunky and sassy so you are as modern as you can be..."

"Why can't I dress like a man and win back my possessions like Heather's part?" she demanded.

"Because that's not what the part of Cinderella does," he said in a defeated voice. "I know that's not who you are, Astrid, but you need to be able to pretend you are someone other than you are to act and you have to convince others."