Alfredo and Cecil waited until the humans left the stage. When everyone had gone, the two cats sneaked out from their hiding spot under a prop sofa and crept to the stage. Side by side, the cats sniffed the floor, their ears pricked and their tails low. Alfredo sensed the humans would return soon, for the last scene’s props remained where they stood, and several lights had been left on. He thought about how Spot and Bella had gone to search the dressing rooms after the four of them had searched the fifth floor to no avail. Alfredo wondered if Spot and Bella would have success in the dressing rooms since it seemed most of the humans were gathered there at the moment. He also began thinking they’d never find Olga in the labyrinthine building.
From center stage, Cecil meowed, “I think the stage is a dead end. Olga wouldn’t come here during a performance or right after a performance, either.”
“You saw the state she was in,” Alfredo said. “I don’t think she’d have given the humans a single thought. She must have bolted without thinking about where she was going.”
Cecil shrugged. “Perhaps.”
A tiny sneeze sliced through the quiet of the stage. Cecil and Alfredo shared a glance before they made their way toward the source of the sound—the prompter’s box.
The scent of lavender wafted toward them. Alfredo recognized it as the perfume Olga often rolled around in. Alfredo twitched his ears as a signal for Cecil to follow him, and without hesitation, Alfredo bounded into the dim prompter’s box.
Alfredo landed on a soft cushion, his back paws dangling over the side. Grunting, he heaved himself on the chair and quickly scanned the tiny room. One light had been left on, but it wasn’t bright, making it difficult to see. A stack of papers had been crammed in a tiny cubby to the right, and several steps led down beneath the stage itself. But Alfredo didn’t dwell on further analyzing the strange human box; instead, his attention focused on the cat shivering next to him on the red velvet cushion.
“Olga!” Alfredo exclaimed. Behind him, he felt Cecil’s breath on his neck. Cecil had stuck his head in the opening but hadn’t jumped in. It was probably a good thing, for Olga and Alfredo barely fit on the prompter’s chair.
Olga shivered. “Why are you here?” she growled.
Anger bubbled within Alfredo. He’d always been patient with Olga, and she returned his kindness with rudeness. Without considering his words, Alfredo snarled, “We have been searching for you half the night. Didn’t you think your little outburst might worry us?”
Olga sniffed. “I thought no one would fret over me as they did Roxanne.”
“This petty rivalry you have with Roxanne needs to end,” Alfredo hissed. “You’ve acted selfishly tonight, running off and leaving everyone worried. Come with us. We’re returning to the fifth floor.”
“No!” Olga stiffened and pushed herself against the opposite wall of the prompter’s box. “How dare you tell me I’ve acted selfishly tonight? You don’t know what I’ve endured down there! The Ghost Cat—” Olga shivered. Her fur stood on end, and her claws darted out, piercing the cushion. “That stupid Ghost Cat doesn’t want me singing here. I didn’t believe it at first, but after I saw things and felt things that have no explanation, I have had to concede that the Ghost Cat exists.” Under her breath, Olga hissed, “That damned Ghost Cat has ruined me!”
“You’ve had a bad fright,” Cecil meowed from above. “If you return with us, I’m sure we can fix this—”
“The only thing I need to do is find my human and leave this horrid theater!” Olga snapped, rising to her paws and thrusting her snout at Cecil. Cecil backed away, sputtering. Olga continued shouting, “This is no place for a cat of my talent to work! No one appreciates me here! That Ghost Cat has won. I am leaving tonight!”
“We went through the dressing rooms, Olga,” Alfredo said, forcing a gentleness in his voice that he no longer possessed. “Star seems to be in quite a state herself. She ran from her room, shouting your name and sobbing. I don’t know where she went.”
Olga’s fur flattened, and her eyes grew wide. “My Star is looking for me?” she whispered.
“Yes,” Alfredo muttered.
Olga flung herself out of the prompter’s box, shoving Alfredo off the seat and knocking Cecil off his paws. “Star! I’m coming!” Olga wailed, dashing toward the side wings.
“After her!” Alfredo yelled, clambering up the prompter’s stool and out of the box.
Cecil snorted. “Why? If she wants to leave, I say let her!”
“She can’t just leave! She at least owes Norb an explanation!” Alfredo replied. He tore after Olga, Cecil right behind him.
The cats practically flew into the carpeted hallway outside the auditorium. The bright lights cast a golden glow over everything, and the plush carpet muffled the cats’ paw steps. The thick smell of perfume and smoke hung in the air, and Alfredo sneezed. He pushed himself to run faster, for Olga had gained a large distance ahead of them. When Olga reached the stairs leading to the main foyer, she scurried down them, a blur of orange, black, and white fluff.
Alfredo stopped at the stairs. Beneath them, gathered in shiny suits, glittering jewels, and colorful dresses, a throng of humans milled around the foyer. Their voices thundered in the large room, making Alfredo cower behind a large vase. Cecil halted beside him. Together they watched Olga disappear in the midst of the crowd.
“Do we follow her?” Cecil asked, his voice dripping with reluctance.
Alfredo poked his head around the vase to study the humans. He saw his human, a tall man with a thick mustache, laugh at something another human said. Alfredo couldn’t risk his human discovering him here.
Jerking his head behind the vase, Alfredo whispered, “No. Let’s return to the stage and go to the dressing rooms that way. I don’t want the humans seeing us.” One human in particular, anyway.
Cecil nodded. They retreated to the dressing rooms, where just as many humans had crammed themselves. Fortunately, the humans in this area were more concerned about their operetta, and they held no interest in the two cats making their way through the hall.
In a hushed voice, Cecil asked, “Where do you think Star wandered off to?”
Alfredo grunted. “Who knows? I’d bet Olga won’t find her. So many people here tonight and everything—”
A screech pierced through the dressing room hallway. The humans fell silent and looked around themselves, confused. Alfredo and Cecil, their ears pinned down, darted alongside the wall to the source of the sound.
A ring of humans had formed around a tall woman wearing a silk robe. Alfredo lifted his eyes to the woman’s arms and saw Olga clutched tightly to the woman’s chest.
Star crooned to Olga, petting the cat and kissing her head.
“Since you found your human, will you come with us? You should tell Norb about your decision,” Alfredo hissed, hoping the humans wouldn’t hear him. He needn’t have feared, for their attention was solely on Star. Alfredo hoped Norb would be able to persuade Olga to stay. If Olga left from fear of the Ghost Cat, other cats might leave, too. It was Norb’s job to manage his singers, not Alfredo’s.
Olga lifted her nose. “You may tell Norb yourself that I quit. After tonight there is nothing that can make me stay here. This opera house is cursed, I tell you. Cursed!”
Cecil sighed. “Really, Olga. To think this opera house is cursed because you thought you saw something lurking in the dark—”
“I saw a skull’s grinning face!” Olga exclaimed, lifting her head high. “I felt its claws on my back and smelled its rancid stench! Don’t act like what I’ve seen or felt isn’t real or not enough of a reason to leave this flea-riddled hovel. You did not experience what I did tonight.” Olga sniffed, flicking her stubby tail against Star’s trembling arms. “Farewell, Alfredo and Cecil. I can’t say I’ll miss you, because I won’t.” As if on cue, Star turned away and trotted down the hall.
Alfredo and Cecil exchanged a glance.
“I guess we should return to Norb, then,” Cecil suggested.
“Of course. There’s nothing else we can do,” Alfredo said with a sigh.
As the two cats snaked their way between towering humans, Alfredo wondered what would become of the Opera Cats since one cat had quit and two cats was still missing, and the Ghost Cat seemed more of a real threat than before.