"Appraisal Standards" (
Summary[]
Edward angrily slams his hands on the piano keys and lowers Patrick's standing by one. He then leads the Shadows out to see the garden, stopping Ricky and telling the Dolls left behind to eat some sweets. The group theorises that Patrick was brought down for leading the class to dance. As Edward leads the Shadows, he is irritated that the dance has caused Kate and Emilico to gain a better bond, as he planned to fail that pair. Back at the parlor, the Dolls decide to try and eat several sweets to find fèves, eventually finding 5 pieces that Emilico figures out creates a key to unlock the door leading to the gardens.
Plot[]
Edward suddenly slams his hands on his piano, stopping the class' dance. He stands up with an angry expression and lowers Patrick's standing by one to Patrick and Ricky's confusion. John calls Edward's behaviour rude to the Shadows to which the Doll replies that he is special and his Shadow has no reason to show himself to the children. Standing up, Edward leads the Shadows out on a walk through the gardens as a sign of his apology, rudely telling the Dolls left behind to eat some of the sweets. The Dolls discuss Edward's method of evaluation, theorising that Patrick and Ricky starting the dance had thrown a wrench into his plans but decide that they shouldn't question too much as they don't know much about him. During the walk through the garden, Edward angrily thinks to himself that the dance had led to Kate and Emilico bonding which will make it harder to fail them. The Debut itself is a test for Edward's qualifications as an examiner and that if everyone passes, it won't reflect well for him yet he can't fail pairs for weak reasons. He decides to take things slowly as it is an easy task for him. Back in the parlor, Shaun and Ricky argue whether or not they should go after their masters. Ricky then points out Emilico's lack of proper etiquette, holding her teacup incorrectly, but is frustrated when Emilico isn't bothered by this. Emilico suddenly spits out something from one of the sweets she was eating, Shaun realises that it is a fève and the group deduces that there are more pieces hidden in the sweets hinted at by Edward's comment before he left. After eating several sweets amongst each other, 5 fèves are discovered but the group is unable to figure out what the meaning is. Emilico gathers them up, having noticed that they can be arranged into a key-like shape which fits into a similarly shaped slot on the door leading to the gardens, unlocking it.
Characters[]
- Edward
- Shaun
- John
- Rum (Non-speaking Role)
- Shirley (Non-speaking Role)
- Kate (Non-speaking Role)
- Emilico
- Ricky
- Patrick
- Louise
- Lou
Trivia[]
- This is the first chapter of Volume 3