"When did this happen?" Karyn asked.
"While you were paused on stage," Jon told her.
"I wasn't paused anywhere. I was dancing—well, trying to copy the others on stage," Karyn replied.
"That's true, but when the Pause happened this time, you were paused with everyone else," Jon said.
"No way. I would've noticed," Karyn said, sounding as if she were getting angrier by the second.
"Zose who are paused never know zey 'ave been paused," Madeleine added.
"There is no way I could've been frozen. I would've known. I know I would've known," Karyn replied, almost screaming at the two of them.
"Zat is what I said ze first time I was told about ze Pauses," Madeleine said, this time not correcting Karyn.
"But I'm not even from around here. So why would I freeze?" Karyn said, still taking care with her words. She did not want to explain too much to Madeleine about where she and Jon had come from. Well, not until she found out what he had already told her.
"Zat is true, but something strange happened 'ere tonight. More strange zan usual," Madeleine told her.
"So how did this Simone manage to get through the Door that we came through if she was frozen?" Karyn asked, taking a breath after shouting out her questions.
"For some reason, zis time she was not paused as you were," Madeleine answered.
"What? So you're telling me that this Simone was able to move about while I couldn't? No way," Karyn said, just about managing to keep her temper this time.
"Karyn, it's true. It only happened about ten minutes ago for us," Jon said, trying to calm his friend down.
"Now I know you're talking nonsense. I only stopped dancing a few minutes ago, so there is no way that what you're saying is true," Karyn said, as though she had finally found the flaw in what they had been telling her.
"You and all ze others in ze theatre were paused for five minutes," Madeleine said softly. "For you, no time passed at all."
"I spoke to Simone while you were in the dressing room earlier," Jon chipped in. "She told me that you just appeared out of nowhere. One minute the doorway was empty; the next, you were there. She said she never saw you walk into view. You were just there, as if you'd appeared from nowhere."
"What? That's not right. She was standing there, not moving, when I—" Karyn started.
"Just as you were on ze stage," Madeleine added. "Ze only reason you did not see anything different when you arrived was because everyone around you was also paused."
"But you and Jon weren't, and you were still in the same place," Karyn said, slowly running out of steam.
"Zat is only because we returned to where we had been standing before ze Pause ended," Madeleine continued.
"Why me instead of her?" Karyn asked.
"We are not sure. We think it had something to do with where ze two of you ended up after your collision," Madeleine explained.
"You're trying to tell me that because I ended up inside the dressing room, I was frozen instead of her?" Karyn said, trying not to laugh at how ridiculous the explanation sounded.
"Paused—and yes. Zat is ze only explanation we could come up with. We did only 'ave about an hour to understand what had happened, after all," Madeleine said, realising how ridiculous it sounded when she said it aloud.
"Tell me you had a plan to fix things?" Karyn asked.
"Yes. We were going to try to recreate ze collision in reverse. We thought zat if we put you and Simone back into ze opposite positions and 'ad you collide again, it might put things back as zey were," Madeleine said, trying not to look too red-faced now that she had voiced their plan aloud.
"Let me guess who came up with that bright idea. Jon," Karyn said, turning towards her friend.
"We did only have an hour," Jon replied, his face getting redder by the second.
