Panda
......

Chisa
Panda, are you already reading the script for 'Peter Pan'?

Panda
Hm? Oh. They handed out the audition excerpt scripts, so.

Chisa
You're going for the Peter Pan role, then.

Panda
Well, naturally.

Chisa
Really? I thought you'd prefer cute girl roles like Wendy rather than those cool, dashing sorts of roles, Panda.

Chisa
But it's quite rare to see you playing a boy's role, Panda. The novelty of it could be quite interesting.

Panda
......Well, thanks for that.

Panda
Speaking of which, is that attitude really alright for you, Sassu?

Chisa
Eh? What do you mean?

Panda
You're an actor too, Sassu. Don't you want to play leading roles or aim higher?

Chisa
Ah.

Panda
What's with that deflated response?

Chisa
Hmm, I don't really want to become a Dai Star like everyone else does. I'd be happy just having fun with it.

Panda
......I see. Sassu, doesn't it bother you that you can't get leading roles?

Chisa
Not really? There's charm and enjoyment you can bring out precisely because you're not the lead, and I don't think the tastiest roles are necessarily the leading ones...

Panda
But that mum role you played in 'The Demon's Friend', Hiyori's mother, wasn't particularly notable and didn't have any tasty scenes either.

Chisa
True, but I'd never played a mother before, so it was fun getting to do such an unusual role.

Panda
......But the newcomers Oshizu-chan and Kokochi got more attention. Even that theatre critic wrote as much in her letter.

Chisa
That's right. It was their debut, so it's good that Shizuka and the others got talked about.

Chisa
......What's wrong? Panda, are you angry about something?

Panda
......

Chisa
Er... Oh, that's right! About that present I got the other day—

Panda
......Doesn't it frustrate you that you can't get leading roles?

Chisa
Eh? Panda, sorry, what was that?

Panda
Nothing. It's nothing.

Panda
(What's with this 'I'd be happy just having fun with it' attitude? If I kept talking to Sassu like this, I'd get dragged back into that lukewarm bath)

Panda
(......I'm all worked up now, and it'd be awkward if I bumped into someone at the rehearsal room. I'll borrow the stage for independent practice)

Panda
Right, nobody's here—

Yae
Ah! Panda-san.

Panda
Niizumachii! Ah, er... are you in the middle of independent practice? Sorry, I've interrupted you.

Yae
No! I'm the one who should apologise. Are you going to use the stage? I was just thinking of taking a break, so we could swap if you like...

Panda
Ah... no, it's fine!

Panda
Are you going for the Peter Pan role too, Niizumachii?

Yae
Yes, that's the plan, at least.

Panda
That's a rather hesitant response. Is there something bothering you?

Yae
......I've been thinking about various things since 'The Demon's Friend'.

Panda
Such as?

Yae
If Panda-san were to decide the casting for this 'Peter Pan', who would you put in which roles?

Panda
If I were to decide, you mean... For a free performance aimed at primary school children, bringing out Sirius's character...

Panda
......I'm sorry to say this to you, Niizumachii, but for the lead role of Peter Pan, it'd be Kokochi or... Sassu, I think.

Panda
Both of them have lots of experience with those sorts of boyish roles, and it's easy to imagine them fitting in.

Panda
For the heroine Wendy, it'd be you, Niizumachii, or Oshizu-chan, or Katorin. But those three are so versatile, I think they could handle Tinker Bell as well.

Yae
That's right. I think I'd cast it the same way if it were a Sirius production.

Yae
I do want to play Peter Pan to broaden my acting range.

Yae
But I'm torn because playing a role that suits me and going head-to-head with whoever becomes my double cast partner would also be educational.

Yae
Of course, I don't know who my double cast partner would be, but I'm sure I'd learn a lot regardless of who it turns out to be.

Panda
(So she's assuming she'll get the Peter Pan role if she auditions for it, and assuming she could do Wendy too, and she's just wondering which would be better for her...)

Yae
Come to think of it, your name wasn't in that casting prediction just now. Which role do you see yourself in, Panda-san?

Panda
I am...

Panda
......Well, whatever role I end up with, I'll just give it my all!