Sweat stung Sam's eyes, breathing fast as she held her pose. The music faded as thunderous applause filled the theater. The lights on the stage darkened briefly before a spotlight burst into life, highlighting her in the darkness as music sprang to life. With a deep breath Sam launched into the next song. She lost herself to the tempo, muscle memory carrying her through the choreography as she drank in the attention.
Sam never felt as alive as she did when performing for a packed audience. Her outfit this time was on the simple side. Long white socks and plain shoes, A frilly white skirt accented in pink. A lace edge ribbon tied around her neck to frame the simple white and pink blouse. A blonde wig styled into twin pigtails, crowned with a simple silver tiara set with colorful gems. The cosplay was key to her performance, even the microphone being decorated as a wand.
When the costume was on, Sam could really let herself go. Gone was the quiet girl with anxiety, in her stead was a proud and confident idol. It didn't matter what character she was, as long as she wasn't herself. Her voice washed over the crowd as she reached the crescendo. She couldn't see past the stage lights, but she could hear the audience clapping time with the beat. The energy was contagious as the crescendo hit. With a final flourish she dropped into a split, mic held high, before the lights and music ended with a sharp abruptness. There was a beat before the crowd erupted into cheers.
As the lights came back a voice rang out over the speakers. "Let's hear it one more time for the amazing Sakura Sweet!" The applause continued as Sam took a sheepish bow. The adrenaline fading, she smiled and pointed towards the crowd.
"You've been wonderful. Make sure you go out and enjoy the rest of the convention!" She took a final bow and left the stage to a final round of applause before making her way to the meet and greet area. The time flew by in a flurry of autographs, poses, and pictures. Sakura was a bubbly natural at making every fan feel special, but Sam was exhausted. Finally, the crowd had dispersed, and Sam was free.
It was later than she had planned and Sam realized she wouldn't have time to change if she wanted to be at the party early enough for her plan. Conventions were usually a wholesome PG event, unless you knew the right people for the afterparties, and Sam had spent enough time at cons to know the right people. She knocked on the door of a hotel suite and was met by a young man in casual clothing, a red solo cup in one hand.
"Ohhh my, what a surprise to be joined by Sakura Sweet herself." He chuckled as he stepped aside. With a dismissive look Sam playfully smacked his arm as she walked in.
"Can it Mark, I didn't have time to change. Signing went long." She took an offered cup from another person passing by. "Is it ready?"
Mark nodded and pointed towards the corner of the suite. A four foot black square box sat unassumingly in the room, uniform in appearance except for a hole cut at waist height in the center of one side. Sam nearly gasped as she took in the sight.
"It's perfect. I can't believe you set this up just for me." She took a deep drink, pausing to appreciate the burn of the alcohol fading into soft warmth. She walked over to inspect the box where she would be spending most of the party. It wasn't until she was right next to it she could see a small hatch like an oversized dog door near the rear corner. She could barely contain her excitement as she thought of the night ahead.
She pushed the hinged door open and tucked her bag inside as Mark came to stand beside her. "We're no strangers to equipment requests, we even had a full set of stocks set up for a night about a month ago." Sam's head swam as a different warmth started to build. "Maybe one day we'll see you in them too." He chuckled. "Still, you've got some time before the party properly starts. Take a load off and enjoy."
He was right, there were only a handful of people so far in the large hotel suite. She wandered around for a bit, mingling with people she knew who knew who she really was. The drinks flowed as more and more people began to fill the room. Before it got too crowded, it was time for her to retreat to her position for the rest of the night.
Excitement bubbled into anxiety as she thought about what she had asked Mark to do for her tonight. Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves she got down to crawl through the door inside the box. Inside were colored LED strips lining the top, filling the box with a soft glow just bright enough to see. Time to get ready.