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Chapter Text

“...And I would strongly suggest students take the opportunity to audition for the spring play. A Midsummer Night's Dream, auditions will be held in the auditorium after school today. Have a wonderful day!”

The morning announcements were over and Rani turned to Luke and Clyde.

“Are either of you going to audition?”

Clyde looked up at Rani and then back down at his shoes.

“Audition for what?”

“The spring play? Were you paying attention to the announcements?”

“Nah, I kinda just tune your dad out. If I actually listened I'd fall asleep before classes start.”

Rani pushed Clyde and looked back at Luke.

“How about you Luke?”

“I don’t think acting would suit me, besides it’s a big time commitment.”

“It wouldn’t hurt to try.”

Rani smiled slightly and Clyde smirked.

“You want to audition, don’t you?”

Clyde asked and Rani looked to the floor kicking her feet.

“Well, I always wanted to give acting a try. Thought it might be fun, it was my dream for a time.”

Clyde laughed and picked up his water bottle. He held it out in his hand, imitating the iconic scene from Hamlet. He stood up and looked at the water bottle.

“To be or not to be!”

Clyde began and Luke laughed, Rani turned a shade of pink. She tried to wave him away but Clyde just continued.

“Come on Rani, I need a Juliette.”

“Juliette isn't in Hamlet.”

Luke said and Rani burst out laughing. Clyde sat back down and gave Luke an annoyed look.

“I knew that!”

Rani leaned over to Luke and whispered loud enough for Clyde to hear.

“No he didn’t.”

“No he didn’t!”

Luke replied and Clyde rolled his eyes.

“Well you guys do what you want, but I am going to audition!”

Chapter Text

Rani walked down the stairs slowly, she paused and took a deep breath. ‘You can do this!’ She thought to herself as she continued to make her way to the auditorium. Rani stepped into the crowded room and looked around. There were kids from all different grades and classes. Rani recognized some girls from her math class and walked over to them.

“Hey.”

Rani waved and the girls smiled. Rani took a closer look and noticed they were holding some papers, everyone around them was.

“What’s that?”

“What’s what?”

“The papers?”

“Ohhh”, the girl laughed and handed Rani the papers.

“Just the script, well part of the script. It’s for the audition you just need to read for the part you want.”

“Should be simple enough then! Who are you going to try out for?” Rani asked.

“Helena and Claire’s trying out for Hermia. They’re the main characters and best friends, so it’s perfect!”
“They get into a fight later on in the story.” Luke added as he walked into the room.

“Luke! I thought you weren’t coming.” Rani hugged Luke who smiled shyly.

“No hug for me then?”

“CLYDE?”

“Relax, we’re just here to support you.”

Rani smiled and the group walked up to the stage.

* * *

Rani, Luke, and Clyde left the school later than usual. They were on their way back to Luke’s house.

“How did I do? Do you think I have a shot?” Rani asked anxiously.

“I’m sure you’ll get it Rani!” Luke said encouragingly and Clyde nodded.

The group walked into number 13 on Bannerman Road to find the house empty. Sarah Jane Smith, Luke's mother, wasn't home. The kids sat down in the kitchen and took out their math books.

“Where’s Sarah Jane?”

“Mum said she’d be running late, she had an interview.”

Rani flipped through her math book before closing it again. She tapped her hand on the table as the guys began their work. Rani stood up and walked around the table.

Chapter Text

“Rani, darling wake up! You don’t want to be late for school.” Gita called and Rani slid under the covers. ‘What if I don’t get cast? Maybe I’m not good enough? I can’t go to school today, maybe I should stay home.’ Rani thought to herself before getting out of her bed.

* * * * *

“I think it’s great that Rani wants to try something new. You should have auditioned too.”

Sarah Jane told Luke as she placed a bowl of cereal in front of him. The smell of burnt toast filled the roomy kitchen.

Luke shrugged, “I don’t think it’s for me, and Clyde said it wasn’t cool.”

“What does it matter what Clyde thinks, do what makes you happy. You know I was in a play once. I had fun and made a lot of friends.”

“You should tell Rani, oh I’m going to be late. Bye mum, love you.”

Luke stood up and Sarah Jane handed him his backpack.

“Have a good day at school, and do me a favor, don't pick on Rani. Make sure Clyde goes easy on her too.”

“I will!”

“Bye, love you!”

Sarah Jane watched as Luke left the house. ‘I’m sure I have something from that play.’ She smirked and walked to her staircase.

* * * * *

“Ah look who it is, everyone's favorite actress! Come on people move along, give her some space. Ms. Chandra will not be signing autographs or taking photos at this time.”

Clyde called out as Rani walked in. She was holding a list, the cast list. Rani sat down next to Luke and hid her face.

“Stop it!”

“Seriously congrats, what’d you get anyway? Tree number five? Part of a wall?”

Clyde laughed and Rani shoved the list in his face.

“Hermia! The lead, so HA!”

“That’s a great part Rani.”

“Thanks Luke, see he gets it. Why can’t you ?”

Clyde moved back in his seat and smiled.

“Alright congrats, I’m sorry for doubting you. Will you be needing an assistant Ms. Hermia ‘the lead’” Clyde emphasized ‘the lead’ with air quotes.

“Meet at my house today after school?”

“Sorry I have to stay back for rehearsals, maybe I can stop by later?”

“Yeah, Clyde’s spending the night anyway. It’s so we can work on our project.”

“Cool, alright gotta go. I’ll see you guys later.”

Clyde jumped up and walked over to Rani. He began to move his arms around, pushing away a fake crowd. Rani’s face turned a light shade of pink and she pushed him away.

“Look out, serious actress coming through!”

“Cut it out!” She laughed and walked out of the cafeteria.

* * * * *

“Hello Clyde, hi Luke! Did Rani get the part?”

Sarah Jane asked the boys as they entered the attic. The attic was messier than usual with a few boxes in the middle. The boxes were usually hidden away in a corner but Sarah Jane had pulled them out. Clyde threw himself onto the couch and pushed his backpack under the table.

“Yeah she’s going to play Hermia.”

“I found some pictures from the old play I did! It was ‘Alice in Wonderland’, I played the Cheshire Cat, take a look.”

Sarah showed the boys some old pictures of some kids on a stage. Sarah pointed at herself and smiled. Clyde laughed and Luke picked up another photo.

“That’s you?”

“Yeah, cute right?”

“That is definitely an outfit.”

“Oh, like you could make a better costume. Aunt Lavinia did her best! I hope Rani finds these more interesting than you, Clyde.”

Chapter Text

Rehearsal ran longer than Rani expected. They had done a full read through of the play and Rani met the rest of the cast. This included her character's love interest in the play, Lysander. He’ll be played by Henry, a boy from Rani’s science class. Rani was relieved she would have to act with someone she already knew. She sat there listening to the director speak, explaining the next few days of rehearsals. People began to leave and Rani stood back and Henry walked up to her.

“Hey Rani.”

“Hey!”

The lights around them began to shut off, with only a light in the center of the stage. Rani looked puzzled and examined the light.

“Why is that light still on?”

“It’s a ghost light to ward off spirits.”

Rani laughed, packing up her bag.

“Do you really believe that?”

“Well no, but it’s an old superstition.”

“That's pretty cool! Is there any truth to it?”

“I don’t know-”

Henry stopped talking as the single light began to flicker. It turned off completely and something ran across the stage. They heard footsteps and a crash before the light went back on.

“What was that?” Henry asked and Rani just shrugged.

“Someone must have been backstage, come on let’s make sure they’re alright.”

Rani and Henry went up on stage and looked around.

“You look on the left side and I’ll check the right.”

Rani walked to the right side of the stage to find a bright light glowing. She rushed over to get a closer look. As she got closer the light disappeared into the wall. Something fell to the ground and Rani walked closer to the wall. She picked up an old bracelet and examined it. The bracelet was a thin bangle, entirely gold. Rani put it in her pocket and walked back to center stage.

“Anything?” Henry asked and Rani shook her head.

“No, guess it was nothing.”

“Maybe it was a ghost.”

Rani laughed and Henry kept a straight face.

“I’m gonna get out of here, see ya.”

Henry walked off the stage and Rani followed. She didn’t believe in ghosts but the thought of being alone in the school freaked her out.

Rani walked to Sarah Jane’s house and texted Luke. She practically ran through the front door. Sarah Jane was standing in the kitchen and smiled as Rani walked in.

“How was rehearsal? You know I found some old photos of when I was in a play!”

“Rehearsal went really well, you were in a play?”

“Yeah come on I’ll show you. So what did you do?”

“We read through the play and I learned about something called a ghost light.”

“Oh yes I remember that, isn’t it to ward off spirits?”

“Yeah but I don’t think it worked.”

They stopped at the attic door and Sarah Jane turned to face Rani.

“How do you mean?” Sarah Jane opened the door.

“Well the light went out and I saw this glowing thing fly through the wall. Then this bangle fell to the floor seemingly out of nowhere.” Rani pulled out the bangle and gave it to Sarah.

“Mr. Smith, I need you to scan something.”

Mr. Smith scanned the bracelet and Rani waved ‘hi’ to Luke and Clyde.

“Just an ordinary gold bangle.” Mr. Smith explained.

“Maybe you just overdid it today.”

“Yeah, maybe.” Rani took the bangle back.
* * * * *

“Attention cast of the spring play, would everyone who stayed after school come downstairs to the auditorium.”

The announcement came right after school started.

“Oooooo someone is in trouble.” Clyde sang.

Rani and Henry stood up.

“Where are you both going?” The teacher asked and Clyde answered.

“They’re in the play, class celebrities.”

Kids laughed as Rani and Henry took the hall pass leaving the classroom. They walked down to the auditorium to see the rest of the cast looking around in confusion. The principal and Rani’s father, Haresh Chandra stood on stage with the plays director.

“Take a seat everyone.” Haresh told the students.

Rani looked around the stage which was a mess. There were papers and set pieces all around. Haresh took the microphone and began to explain.

“Now as you can see this place was left a huge mess. There was no one in here after rehearsals so it was some of you.”

The crowd looked around, some kids began to deny it immediately. Rani looked at Henry.

“There was no one here after we left.”

“It was the ghost!”

“The ghost?”

“Yeah, what other explanation do you have?”

* * * * *

“Alright Rani try that line again and this time walk to Theseus.” The director called.

Rani began to walk forward, “So I will grow, so live, so die, my lord-”

Rani tripped and fell to the ground. Henry rushed over to her and helped her up.

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah, just tripped and fell.”

“Tripped over what?”

“I- I don’t know.”

* * * * *

“Rani stand here and Henry move closer to her. You people are in love! Act like it!” The director commanded.

Rani and Henry shuffled over to each other. There was a loud snap and Henry pushed Rani to the side. A bucket of art supplies fell to the ground where Rani stood second before. The bangle rolled out from Rani's pocket.

“Hey! That’s my bangle!! You stole it!” The girl playing Hippolyta yelled.

“I didn’t steal it, I found it yesterday, here take it.” Rani picked herself up from the ground and handed the bangle over.
“Sorry, it’s my favorite bracelet.” She walked away.

* * * * *

“Here this should help.” Sarah Jane handed Rani an ice pack. “It sounds like you had a rough day, Rani.”

“Yeah, and Henry is convinced this is all because of some ghost! I just wanted one scene to run smoothly.”

“Henry?” Clyde asked and Rani smiled.

“Yeah, he’s really nice actually. His eyes sparkle-” Rani stopped herself and Clyde smirked.

“Does Rani have a crush?”

“NO- I mean no, nope, not at all. Why would you think that?”

Sarah Jane quickly moved in between the two with her own story.

“Well you know Rani, that ghost light story got me thinking. I looked into some old theater related superstitions and learned some interesting things.”

“Will any of them help me?”

“No, sadly they won’t.”

Chapter Text

November 3rd-

Rani was being fitted for her costume. The dress ripped and a pin poked her. She yelped and moved away from the girl taking her measurements.
‘Could this day get any worse?’ She thought to herself.

“I think we fixed that rip, here’s the band aid.”

“Thanks.”

“Great! Just great!” The director walked into the costume shop.

His face was red with anger as he walked over to Rani.

“We have lost our Titania, some idiot left a paint can. She slipped and sprained her ankle. I don’t know how it happened. They shouldn't have started painting for another week.”

“That’s the third actor this week.” Henry said as he walked over to Rani.

“We might need to cancel the play entirely.”

November 15th-

The rehearsal was coming to an end and Rani was backstage. There was a crash behind her and she turned around quickly. The small light in the corner of the props table began to flicker. Rani approached it slowly as the light began to turn off.

“Hello? Anyone here?”

A bright light flew out at Rani and she fell back. The figure became larger as it moved towards Rani. It moved right through her and to the other lamp. Rani watched closely as the figure touched the lamp. The lights began to flicker as the figure grew brighter. Rani shut her eyes and moved back, she slowly started to stand up. The glowing figure turned to face Rani.

“Get out of here you! Whatever you are!”

Rani tried to shoo the figure away and it let go of the lamp. The lamp turned off and the figure moved back to the wall. It hit the props table dropping some fake flowers to the ground. It hit the table again and slowly moved through it and back through the wall. Rani ran to the door and opened it, she looked around and caught the figure leaving the school through another wall.

“Are you alright?”

Rani jumped up and Henry put his hand on her shoulder.

“Rani?”

Rani moved back and Henry let go of her.

“Yeah, yeah I’m just fine.”

Rani picked up the fake flowers and placed them back onto the table.

“Here let me help, I'll turn the light on.” Henry walked to the lamp and tried to turn it on.

“Oh, the power went out earlier. It’s fine, I think I got all the flowers.”

“I was wondering, if you wanted to hang out today? You know, now that rehearsal is done?”

Rani stood up, “Sorry, I can’t today I have a thing.”

“A thing?”

“Yeah, I promised Clyde and Luke I’d help them with something.”

“Something?”

“Yeah, I would like to hang out with you though. I Just can’t today, sorry, bye.”

Rani walked off the stage awkwardly but she had no choice. This had aliens written all over it, she needed Sarah Jane.

* * * * *

“Henry asked you out and you rejected him?” Clyde interrupted and Rani shook her head.

“That’s what you get out of the story? Not the weird creepy ghost floating thing?”

“We can have Mr. Smith scan the area around the school for any alien activity. How are rehearsals going though?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Rehearsals are fine, I guess.”

“It doesn’t seem that way.”

“Well things keep going wrong, I feel like this play is cursed. There are five actors out with set-related injuries.”

“Injuries? What type?”

“Well, someone tripped over a paint can, then someone got hit on the head with some tools, they were all caused by random props or supplies being thrown around the stage. The weird part is the crew is very careful so it’s not their fault.”

“They can’t be accidents?”

“They don’t seem like accidents, and that weird thing I saw dropped flower props onto the ground.”

“So you think there’s a ghost haunting the stage.” Luke asked and Rani rolled her eyes.

“Someone’s spending too much time with Henry.” Clyde smirked and Rani pushed him.

“It’s not a ghost, I don’t believe in ghosts. I think it’s alien!”

“Right, it’s late, you all need to get some rest. Rani, don’t worry, just do your best tomorrow with rehearsals. I’ll have Mr. Smith do the scan tomorrow morning.” Sarah Jane told Rani.

Chapter Text

Rani ran out of rehearsal ignoring Henry. She ran to 13 Bannerman road and knocked at the door. Sarah Jane answered and Rani ran in panting.

“So?”

“Well there was a crash by the school about fifty years ago. The ship was never found, it’s according to Mr. Smith a couple of minutes away from your school. We can check it out tomorrow if you’d like?”

“Yeah, there was another accident today actually. The set for the forest completely fell over. Two of the trees were destroyed entirely.”

Sarah Jane opened the door to the attic and let Rani in. Rani sat down and looked over at Sarah Jane. Sarah was by her computer in the corner of the attic. Rani took a deep breath before asking Sarah Jane a question she’d had for the last week.

“Does your job ever get in the way of dating?”

Sarah Jane turned to face Rani with a puzzled look.

“You remember Peter, don’t you?”

“Well yes, but I mean before him.”

“I traveled through time and space with the doctor for a long time. When I came back to earth I never really found the time to date. Not because of my work, but because I just didn’t want to. Maybe I was scared, I don’t really know.”

Sarah Jane stood up and walked over to Rani. She sat down next to Rani and took her hand.

“I avoided people and relationships for a very long time after I left the doctor. But then I met him again and then I met Luke and Maria. Then Clyde and then I met you. So I guess work didn’t stop me from dating or creating new relationships, I stopped myself.”

Rani sighed and Sarah Jane offered her a drink.

“Henry asked me out last week, and I really like him. But with the show and being here I just don’t have time. I also don’t want to put him in danger, you know?”

“We can take over that ship for you, why don’t you focus on the play?”

“What about that date?”

“I think if you like him then you should go. We can handle locating the ship tomorrow, you can go and hang out with Henry.”

“Thanks Sarah Jane. How do you always know what to say?”

Sarah Jane giggled and Rani smiled.

* * * * *

“I still don’t get why Sarah Jane had to meet us in front of the school.”

“Why?”

“Come on Luke, it’s the front of the school and your mum is picking you up. That’s not cool at all.”

“There is no one here Clyde. It doesn’t matter anyway besides we want to help Rani, don’t we?”

Clyde sank down to the front steps of the school building and buried his face in his hands. Luke put his bag down next to Clyde.

“Do you not want to help Rani?”

“What does she see in that guy anyway? Ok so he knows Shakespeare, I can learn Shakespeare. She should be here with us exploring that ship. But instead she’s in rehearsal now and then she’ll go on a date.”

“Do you like Rani?” Luke asked as he sat down.
“NO!” Clyde jumped up. “I don’t like her, I just miss spending time with her. You know it’s you, me, Rani, and Sarah Jane. We’re the squad!”

* * * * *

Rani and Henry were on the floor of the stage. Rani checked her phone carefully, she saw a text. ‘Meeting with Luke and Clyde. I’ll keep you posted. -SJ’ Rani put her phone back in her pocket and looked at Henry. He looked back and made a face at her. She giggled a little before the other actors began their scene.

“What wicked and dissembling glass of mine, Made me compare with Hermia’s sphery eyne? But who is here? Lysander, on the ground! Dead or asleep? I see no blood, no wound.— Lysander, if you live, good sir, awake.” The girl playing Helena read out her lines.

Rani’s phone began to buzz and she slipped away from the scene. She took her phone out backstage and checked her texts.

* * * * *

“You would think that they would clear this place up considering it’s right next to the school.” Sarah Jane told the kids as they entered the bushes and tall trees.

Sarah Jane went in front of the kids and opened her watch. It began to scan the area around them until it made a loud noise. It had a signal! Sarah Jane picked up her other hand and the boys noticed. They all walked slowly forward.

“There's something up ahead.”

Clyde looked around as he followed Sarah Jane.

“This would be better with Rani.” He mumbled and Sarah Jane’s ears perked up.

“What was that Clyde?”

“No- nothing, nothing! Let’s just keep going.”

Sarah looked at Luke who smiled. They approached a small clearing in the bushes. In front of them was a large silver dome covered in overgrown weeds and vines.

“There’s our ship, come on help me take those vines down.” Sarah Jane approached the ship and began to tear off vines.

Luke and Clyde began to do the same on the opposite side of the dome. After a few minutes of work they unveiled a silver metal dome. The ship had rust around it, the weather of the last fifty years had done a number to it. Sarah Jane ran her hand along the side of the ship looking for something. She walked around it a few times in frustration. She took her hand off of the ship and began to look through her purse.

“I can’t find an entrance into the ship, might need some help.”

She took out her lipstick and opened her scanner watch again. She opened the lipstick to reveal the sonic device. Sarah began to move closer to the dome. Her watch began to make noise as she looked for a door. The watch became louder than before, Sarah smirked.

“Found the door! Stand back now.” Sarah Jane pointed her sonic lipstick at the dome. The door seemingly appeared from nowhere. It slid out of the dome and moved to the right. Smoke poured out of the ship. Sarah Jane took out a torch, pointing it inside of the ship.

“The ship looks empty, I think it’s safe to take a look.”

The trio walked into the compact ship. There were keyboards, colorful buttons, and alien technology.

“This technology looks familiar, it’s a combination. I think it might be stolen tech. Try not to touch anythi-”

Sarah Jane froze as she looked at where her torch was pointing. She moved it up slowly and Clyde put his hands over his mouth. There was a creature inside a pod, it was tall and ghostly. Its eyes were shut closed, there were wires on a headpiece connected to the creature. It had long arms and sharp claws. One finger twitched and Clyde jumped up. He hit his head on the ceiling of the ship and the arm of the creature moved more.

“It’s asleep, it’s been in hibernation for fifty years. Look at this screen it has the health stats of the creature.”

Sarah Jane looked at the screen and back at the creature. Clyde looked back outside and Luke looked through the information on the screen.

“We should get a picture for Mr. Smith and Rani. This is probably what she saw.”

“Good idea Luke, I still don’t know how this creature can get up and leave the ship. It doesn’t add up, it’s been here for fifty years, why would it move now?”

Luke walked over to it and snapped a picture. He then took photos around the ship. Clyde took his phone out and took another picture of the creature. The flash on his phone was on and the creature's eyes opened. Clyde screamed and Sarah Jane ran up to him.

“What did you do?”

“Nothing, just took a picture.”

The creature raised its hand and touched the glass.

* * * * *

Rani looked at the pictures Luke texted her. The creature was exactly what she saw the other day. ‘Do you need me to find you?’ Luke replied with, ‘No.’ Rani turned her phone off and went back to working on her scene.

Chapter Text

“Then we ran out of there.” Clyde explained to Rani.

“It touched the glass and you ran out of the ship?”

“We needed to do more research on that creature. We don’t know if it’s dangerous or alive.” Sarah Jane explained.

“How’d your date go?” Luke asked and Rani sighed.
“It wasn’t a date, we just hung out. We had a nice time I think, maybe I spent too much time on my phone. I couldn’t get that alien out of my head. Before we left the school I looked around for it but it wasn’t there.”

“Right, we should have Mr. Smith scan the pictures we took.” Sarah Jane took her phone out.

She connected her phone to the computer attached to her wall. The screen began to sift through the pictures, looking through each one. Mr. Smith had an answer for the group.

“I have a match with a species, however it went extinct three hundred years ago. Planet of origin-”

Mr. Smith was cut off by Rani’s phone. She shut it off quickly and Clyde grabbed the phone.

“Who’s that? Your boyfriend?”

“It’s not important, Mr. Smith continue.”

“The alien is alive and in hibernation, it is still asleep.”

“But it touched the glass!”

“It was a reflex, nothing more.”

“Mr. Smith, is the creature dangerous? What does it want with the school? How does it travel?” Sarah Jane asked Mr. Smith and took out a notebook.

“I require more information, the species hasn’t been recorded in a very long time.”

“I can try looking for it backstage tomorrow?” Rani smiled slightly.

“Luke, why don’t you stay with Rani.”

* * * * *

“Right, you can pretend to paint the set or something backstage.”

Luke was given a bucket of paint and a brush. He walked around looking for Rani. He walked over to the props table and turned on a lamp. Luke began to walk back to the set before hearing something fall behind him. Luke turned back quickly to see the alien floating in front of the table. It’s back was turned to Luke who took this as an opportunity. He examined the creature, it was see through now. It moved closer to the lamp reaching out to touch it. The lamp flashed and turned off completely and the creature glowed brighter. Luke moved closer and pushed his hand through the alien. Luke’s hand went through and he moved back, tripping over a can of paint. The loud noise caused a few kids to run to Luke. The creature disappeared before they entered.

“Luke, are you alright?”

“Fine, yeah. I think I figured it out!”

“It?” Henry asked and Rani turned to face him.

“Hey!”

“What's it?”

“N-nothing, nothing at all. Luke just tripped but he’s fine now.”

Henry shrugged and walked away. Rani helped Luke up and they walked into a corner.

“I need to call mum.”

Chapter Text

Rani and Luke met Clyde outside Sarah Jane’s house. They watched as her car pulled into the driveway.

“What did you find out Lukey boy?”

“I’ll explain when mum gets out of the car.”

Sarah Jane walked up to the kids and they all went inside. They walked up to the attic and sat down on the couch.

“The alien Rani keeps seeing and I saw is a hologram. I think it feeds off of light or electricity. It touched the lamp and it glowed brighter, then the lamp turned off.”

“Lukey boy! You did it!”

“Yes, but why does it need that energy? If it’s hibernating then why does it need to feed off of something?”

“Why is it only acting on these things now?” Luke asked and Rani interrupted.
“I asked some of the older kids about it, and one of them told me that it shows up all the time. They don’t know it's an alien, they just think it's a bright light or a ghost. They all seem to think that seeing it before a show is bad luck or something.”

“So it’s been around the school for some time now. It’s probably waiting for something.”

“And it’s been more visible recently, most of the people I asked told me there haven’t been any freak accidents during past shows.”

Rani looked at her phone again and Sarah Jane quickly noticed.

“Mum?”

“Yes?”

“Do you think that it’s trying to get enough power to take off?”

“You mean it’s storing energy for the ship to take off? Could it do that considering it's in hibernation?”

“We can ask Mr. Smith about the ship maybe it’s built to do that!”

“Great idea! Mr. Smith, I need you.” Sarah Jane called.

Rani sighed and Clyde quickly noticed. He moved closer to Rani.

“Everything ok?”

“Oh, yeah it’s just Henry. He hasn’t answered me for a while. I kind of left things in a weird spot before Luke and I left.”
“I’m sure he’ll answer eventually.”

“Yeah.”

* * * * *

Rani sat up on her bed, she was thinking about what Mr. Smith had said about the ship. She thought about the alien all alone, it was the only survivor of a species lost to time. Rani understood how that could change someone, having met the Doctor. She looked back at her phone and opened her messages. Nothing. No new messages, from anyone. Rani sighed and put her phone on her nightstand. Hiding this ‘secret life’ with Sarah Jane and aliens was harder than she thought. Maybe dating wasn’t a good idea right now, maybe Henry wasn’t the right guy. Rani shook these thoughts out of her head and picked up her script. She had lines to memorize, she had to focus.

* * * * *

“So that creature is trying to get enough energy to fly its ship away, right?” Clyde asked and Luke nodded.

“Mum wants to go back to see it and see if we can speed the process up. So it doesn’t interrupt Rani’s play.”

Clyde rolled his eyes at the mention of the play.

“Why’d you roll your eyes? That’s usually negative isn’t it?”

“Well yeah, I just miss Rani, she's one of us. She should be going to look at that ship with us, instead of hanging around with some guy who won’t even answer the phone.”
“Why is that so important to you?”

“It’s not, just shut up and eat your lunch.” Clyde blushed a little and focused on eating his food.

* * * * *

Rani walked down the hall and saw Henry she waved at him but he ran off. Rani thought this was weird and decided to follow him. She walked after him slowly making sure he didn’t notice her.

Henry had walked back to the auditorium and onto the stage. He walked backstage and to the props table. He seemed to be looking for something, or someone Rani thought to herself.

“Where are you ghost? I know you're here!” Henry called out to the empty space.

Rani crouched down behind some boxes and watched as the hologram appeared. ‘Weird.’ The ghostly figure moved to Henry and Rani continued to watch. Henry followed it to the table and turned on the lamp. He took a step back as the creature reached to touch the lamp. This time the power in the whole auditorium went out. The lights shut off everywhere and the creature glowed brighter than ever.

Rani moved back from the light and hit a box, Henry turned around quickly and Rani hid the best she could. He moved away from the creature and pulled out his phone. He tried to take a picture but the creature touched the phone which turned off in an instant. Henry looked up at the glowing figure in front of him, he went pale, his eyes wide open. He moved slowly away from the ‘ghost’, and ran out of the auditorium. Rani waited for the creature to disappear before leaving the stage. ‘I need to see the ship with Sarah Jane.’ She told herself.

* * * * *

“Look who decided to join us, everyone’s favorite actress.” Clyde smiled as Rani walked over to where he and Luke had been sitting.

“Rehearsal was canceled because of the power outage. Dad says it had to do with the wires or something but we know that's not true.”

“Could Henry be working with it?” Luke asked and Rani shook her head.

“No, definitely not. He freaked out when it touched the phone. I think he was just trying to get a picture of the ghost.”

Sarah Jane walked over to the group and they made their way to the ship.

* * * * *

“So that's the alien ship?”

“Yeah, pretty cool right?”

“Yeah, I missed this stuff.”

Clyde walked closer to Rani and they approached the ship. Sarah Jane had opened the door again and they all walked in. The lights were much brighter and the screen had changed to show what looked like a battery.
“Luke, take a look at this.”

Luke walked over to the screen to read what it said.

“Well, the ship is almost full of power. I think it might be done by tomorrow, which is weird because the power from the auditorium should have been enough.”

“Could it have gone somewhere else?”

“I’ll look through the files.”

Luke began to type something on the computer and found a file. The file had pictures and information about the school. He looked through the blueprints that were downloaded onto the ship's database.

“There’s a file here with information to remove all the energy from the school to transfer into the ship.”

“All the power? That’s insane, what are we going to do?”

“I don’t know Rani, but we can’t have that happen.”

“We can ask Mr. Smith about it.” Clyde said and Sarah nodded in agreement.

“That's our best option.”

Chapter Text

On the car ride back to the house Rani looked at her phone again. Still no answer but this time she was relieved, she looked at Clyde who was busy coming up with random theories. Luke was deep in thought too but his theories seemed more realistic.

“Mum, that much power could cause the school to collapse in on itself, can’t it?”

“You’re right, it could be very dangerous. Which is why we need Mr. Smith to help us come up with an alternative.”

* * * * *

“For the ship to successfully take off it would need a lot of power.”

“Yes Mr. Smith we know that, but what could we use instead of the school?”

“What if you used alien tech?” Clyde asked and Sarah Jane looked around her attic.

She opened a drawer and pulled out a few artifacts. She took out a small box from the bottom of the drawer. Sarah walked back to Mr. Smith and opened the small box.

“Would this work? Could you connect to this?”

“I could Sarah Jane, I could then transfer that energy into the ship. But it would take some time.”

“How long?”

“Approximately two days.”

“Alright then.”

Sarah Jane placed the small artifact onto the slot connecting it to Mr. Smith.

* * * * *

Rani walked into the auditorium to find Henry sitting on his phone. He was trying to turn it on and Rani walked over to him.

“Hey.”

“Oh, hi Rani.”

“What’s up with your phone?”

“Oh, I- uh broke it the other day. It fell or something and now I can’t fix it.”

“That sucks, so see the ghost around here?”

“Ghost? What ghost?”

“The ghost you were so convinced exists?”

“Oh that, yeah no.”

Rani frowned and looked around. Most of the actors had come back and people were trying on costumes. It was the first dress rehearsal and Rani was called over to try her dress on.

Rani walked back into the auditorium in a long blue dress with gold accents. Henry smiled at Rani and walked over to her.

“You look nice.”

“Thanks.”

Clyde and Luke peaked into the auditorium. Clyde saw Rani and smiled, his cheeks glowing red.

“She looks beautiful.”

“Who?”

“Oh, no one.”

“Rani?”

“Rani.”

“Do you want to go talk to her?”

“No, we should just go.”

“CLYDE!”

“Too late.” Luke said as Rani ran up to them.

“What do you guys think?”

“Looks good.”

“Clyde called you beautiful.”

“He did?” Rani asked, smirking.

“WHAT- NO- nope.”

“Right, is Mr. Smith going to send the ship off today?”

“Yeah, mum said it should be done by the end of the day.”

“Would it cut off the power?”

“It might interfere with your rehearsal time by a few hours but nothing more than that.” Luke explained and Rani nodded.

* * * * *

“So it’ll be done by tonight?”

“What will be done by tonight?” Henry asked Rani and Luke and Clyde quickly shrugged.

“Nothing.”

“Right then.”

The lights turned off again and Henry took his phone out. He began trying to turn it on aggressively tapping it. The glowing creature reappeared brighter than ever. The auditorium full of people gasped, students screamed and teachers tried to reel in the chaos.

“What is it doing here?” Clyde whispered to Rani.
“I don’t know, Luke?”

“No idea. I’ll text mum and have Mr. Smith start now.”

* * * * *

Sarah Jane looked down at her phone and looked back up to Mr. Smith.

“The creature is in the school. Mr. Smith, can you start the transfer of energy now?”

“Certainly.”

* * * * *

The school shook as the ship was now fully charged and ready to go. The hologram of the alien looked around. It moved back through the walls and disappeared. The lights in the school turned back on and Henry looked at his phone in disappointment. Rani looked at Luke and Clyde. The school shook again, in the forest the ship took off.

The sphere shaped ship flew up into the air. The lights were glowing a bright blue on the outside of the ship. It flew off into space.

* * * * *

“So it’s gone now?” Rani asked Sarah Jane and she nodded.

“Yes, gone out in space. Now your rehearsals can run smoothly.” Sarah Jane explained.

“That’s great.”

“You don’t seem too happy about going back to rehearsals. Is everything ok Rani?”

“Yeah, it’s fine. I just don’t want to go back. I missed this. Looking for aliens and exploring. I also don’t really want to see Henry.”

“How come?” Clyde asked and Rani shrugged.

“I don’t know, I just lost feelings for him I guess. Especially after he ignored me and then lied to my face. Besides, he was more obsessed with that ghost than we were. Which is weird because the ‘ghost’ was an alien.”

“I’m sure you’ll find someone.” Sarah told her and smiled.

“Yeah, and we wanna see you in that play!” Clyde told her and she smiled.

* * * * *
Day of the Show-

The cast took their bows and the audience cheered. Luke, Clyde, and Sarah Jane were sitting next to Rani’s parents. They were all standing and clapping. Clyde yelled out and Luke cheered.

“That was amazing!” Clyde ran over to hug Rani.

She smiled and he handed her a bouquet of flowers.

“For me?”
“Well, duh.”

“Thanks Clyde.”

Rani kissed his cheek and Clyde blushed.

The End