Chapter 11

Chapter 11 MANY HANDS MAKE LIGHT WORK. CLACKING THUMBS. MANY FEET TEND TO BE LESS USEFUL. The next day, Po spent his lunch period in the auditorium. Almost everybody did. There was a lot of work still to be done for the play, and there were only a few more days to do it all. Po started by double-checking that the spotlights were ready to go. He had all his lighting cues firmly committed to memory. And if he happened to forget anything, it was all clearly labeled in his script. He would make sure the spotlight always followed whichever actor was speaking. And he knew to use the blue-tinted lights

in the underground scenes, to make everything look a little spookier. But other people were scrambling to get their own work done. So Po figured he could help. Ash was grateful for the offer, and she handed him a big can of paint. "Can you please get this to Jodi's team?" she asked him. "Tell her that's the last of the fuchsia!" "I don't know what that word means," said Po. "But consider it done."

On his way backstage to find Jodi, he ran into Morgan. "Hey, Po, check it out!" Morgan said. He held up a croissant. It was angular, with pixelated edges. It looked just like a food item from Minecraft. "Mmm….Doesn't it look good enough to eat?" Po's stomach grumbled, and Morgan laughed. "I guess that answers my question," Morgan said. "But don't be fooled. This pastry is nothing but cardboard and markers." "It's impressive," Po said. "But since when are you on the props team?" "We fell a little behind schedule," Harper admitted. "We have to make three dozen of these

croissants, you know!" "And thanks to your help the other day, I finally have my lines memorized," Morgan said. "So I thought I'd pitch in." "Speaking of which…" Po pointed to the paint can in his lap. "I've got to make a delivery." He found Jodi without much trouble, but he was surprised to see her with Theo. The Phantasm himself had taken up a brush and offered to pitch in alongside the set team.

"He's actually been a big help," Jodi

whispered. "I should be nicer to him." Po strained to lift the heavy can of paint. "You want to be nice? Take this! It's the last can of focaccia. Or…fusilli? Something like that. And it's heavy!" "Those are foods, and this looks like paint, so I'm not sure what you're actually handing me right now." As she took the can from him, she looked all around. "Say, have you seen Doc today?" she asked. "I thought she was going to help…." "I'm pretty sure Ms. Minerva banned her," Po answered, "after she floated the idea of automated curtains." "Ms. Minerva had better be careful!" Jodi said. "Can't you just imagine Doc taking her revenge? What if she's the true Phantasm? What terrible vengeance might she pursue?"