Karyn stood in the corner of the small room and looked at Jon and Madeleine, who stood in front of her.
Jon she had known for years. The French woman she had known for only about an hour. She had met her just after colliding with the woman who had fallen out of the dressing room earlier that night.
Speaking of the woman she had collided with, where was she?
She hadn't been in the wings with the other two, and Karyn could tell from the look on Jon's face that something wasn't right.
"Okay, does someone want to tell me what is going on?" Karyn asked, trying—and failing—to keep the annoyance out of her voice.
"Well, Karyn…" Jon started, only to be cut off by Madeleine.
"Zis situation—it is complicated."
"Any more complicated than how I ended up dressed in this?" Karyn replied.
Jon knew that tone. He thought he had better try to defuse her temper before it had a chance to explode.
"You collided with one of the dancers. She fell out of the dressing room, and you fell into it."
"That bit I know, Jon."
"Let me try to explain zis, young lady," Madeleine stepped in, sensing the anger bubbling up in the young woman in front of her.
"Please do," Karyn replied.
"My old teacher—my friend—told me a long time ago zat something 'ere was broken," Madeleine continued.
"Broken how? What do you mean?" Karyn asked.
"I used to say it was ze theatre itself, but she would always tell me off for zat. She said ze theatre was only a building that happened to stand in ze place where zis thing was broken."
"Karyn, why don't you sit down?" Jon asked her.
"You try sitting down wearing this," Karyn said, pointing at the outfit she was wearing.
"Oh, sorry," Jon said sheepishly.
"Please continue," Karyn said, turning back to Madeleine.
"I will try. She used to say zat strange things happened 'ere. People would arrive from nowhere, as you two did earlier. Normally, zey would disappear again a little while later. I saw zis happen a few times myself, but nothing like what 'as happened to you."
"Great. I always wanted to be special," Karyn said sarcastically.
"Does not everyone wish for zat?" Madeleine replied, trying to defuse the situation herself.
"I suppose so. I'm sorry for shouting at you. I'm just confused. I've spent the last hour in a room full of dancers who seemed to think I was one of them, from what I could tell. Then I was pushed into putting this on."
Karyn looked down once again at what she was wearing.
"If any of zem injured you, zey will 'ave me to answer to," Madeleine said in a tone that no one could argue with.
"No, no, nothing like that. They sort of nudged me into this outfit and then onto the stage to perform with them," Karyn said, defending the women she had spent the evening with.
"Good, good. Zat is a relief," Madeleine replied.
"Where is the woman I collided with? I would've thought she'd want to know what was going on as well. Or have you explained all of this to her already? I mean, she's spent the last hour with you."
"Time is relative," Jon said quietly.
"Jon Gibson, you watch far too much science fiction," Karyn said, smiling at her friend.
"Karyn…" he said, going red.
"Never mind. Where is she?" Karyn asked again.
"Zat is why it is complicated," Madeleine told her.
"What do you mean?" Karyn asked.
"Do you remember when you arrived and no one was moving in ze theatre?" Madeleine asked.
"Yeah, that was creepy. Everyone was frozen, not moving."
"Not frozen. Zey were merely paused," Madeleine corrected her.
"Okay, paused, then. Then suddenly everyone started moving again, and I collided with that other woman," Karyn replied.
"Simone," Jon said quietly.
"What?"
"Her name was Simone. I found that out while you were… busy," Jon said.
"I never knew her name. So where is Simone, then?" Karyn asked.
"I was just getting to zat," Madeleine said.
Karyn nodded in Madeleine's direction, silently telling her to go on.
"When you arrived, everyone apart from myself and ze two of you was paused. Zis included Simone. But as ze evening went on, things changed."
"Where is she?" Karyn asked again.
"She's gone," Jon said. "During the Pause, the Door appeared again—the same Door that brought us here. Simone ran through it, and then it vanished."
"What?" Karyn asked.
"I did say zis was complicated, did I not?" Madeleine said.
