Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice.

The stage was set; the lights shimmering and flowers decorative. In the wings, over a dozen little girls stood chattering, brushing each other's hair and smoothening out their dresses. By virtue of being three whole days older than the second oldest girl present, Luna Koizumi had taken command of the backstage area and it was her voice that could be heard clearly over the din.

"Sumire, brush your curls out! They look like wilted seaweeds. Anna, Nonoko – if you don't stop giggling, I'll make you stand at the back when we perform. Stop shouting Wakako, your dress looks just fine. That little soup stain is barely visible. Hotaru, put that crab soup away now, it's almost time for our show. Where's Mikan?"

The violet eyed girl to whom this last question was addressed looked up from her soup bowl and shrugged.

"Here!" said a small, brown haired girl, running in through the door and promptly tripping over a belt someone had left on the floor.

Luna sighed as she saw Mikan attempt to disentangle herself from the leather belt and motioned to Anna and Nonoko to go help her. The twins rushed forward at once and Mikan smiled as their heads bent forward in concentration. It was that smile that reminded Luna of precisely why she had allowed Mikan Sakura to become a part of her choir. The girl's voice was sweet enough but she had an unfortunate knack of going completely off-key at all the wrong moments. But she possessed something far more important than a melodious voice or beautiful face. She had that certain sort of something; that vague, indistinct quality the presence of which makes ordinary people stars and by whose absence, the most talented are unable to rise above the positions of water boys or stage hands. It burst forth whether she laughed or cried and made even Luna stare.

"Come on, everybody," Luna said. "We're almost up! The kindergarteners are almost done with their performance. Line up!"

There was a scramble and a quick tussle for the front position between Sumire and Wakako, which Luna ended by standing before them with such an air of authority that no one dared to argue. Mikan was practically bouncing up and down in excitement, in her place at the corner of the second row, next to her friend, Hotaru.

"We're going to be on stage, Hotaru!" she chanted, over and over again, until the other girl thumped her soundly on the head. Mikan rubbed her sore head with watery eyes while Hotaru looked straight ahead, seemingly immune to the forlorn expression on her face.

"Alright," said Luna, standing just within the protective cover of the wings. She raised three fingers and counted off, "Three, two, one..."

Natsume Hyuuga was bored. His parents had dragged him to Aoi's school auditorium to watch his irritatingly angelic little sister sing. The eight year old would have preferred to have spent his evening playing with his friend Ruka in the woods just behind their house, but he didn't dare say so again. The look his mother had given him the last time he had objected to being subjected to the torture of caterwauling girls was enough to make him keep his mouth shut for the time being. That, and her promise of dessert-free nights for the rest of the week. What made her seem even more unreasonable in his eyes was that she was insisting on sitting in the theatre for the whole show, even though Aoi's part was now over. Natsume stifled a yawn as a teacher announced the next act.

As he sunk lower in his chair, the stage was invaded by an army of girls wearing matching outfits and fixed smiles. One of them, a pretty blonde girl caught his eye and winked. Natsume pushed his hair back, a little self-conscious. Although he would never admit it, the attention he had started receiving from girls lately made him feel a little uncomfortable. Her sequinned red dress made him think of piranhas and he cast around for another spot on which to fix his attention.

Suddenly, a small pink ribbon floated down the stage. Its shiny surface caught the light, making it glow. Natsume's eyes were fixed on its slow descent: it was falling, falling...

Then a small hand reached out and grabbed it, hastily tucking it back into a pigtail of brown hair. Natsume blinked and looked up to see one of the little singers bend to pick up the ribbon and hastily straighten up again as a dark haired girl gave her a pointed look.

And then, somehow, the only thing that he saw for the rest of the act was the small patch of polka dotted cloth the girl had unwittingly exposed when she bent. Her skirt had hitched up just a little and she had forgotten to smooth it when she rose. He looked around, sure that everyone must have noticed it, noticed her, but all the adults around him had their eyes focused on the girl in red. That was strange, because to him it seemed that the highlight of the whole performance had been that ribbon falling.

What Mikan and Natsume didn't realise until it was too late was that the ribbon wasn't the only thing falling that day.

And when they did realise it, they were already dressed in white and it was too late for them to catch themselves.

AN: I've fallen for Eva Ibbotson's fabulous novel, A Company of Swans. This small oneshot was inspired by her beautiful writing style.

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