I'd learned not to get attached to many people in the theater—a bittersweet lesson ingrained in me by years of repetition. Monsters came and went. Girls grew tired of the work. Only Mr. Reddy, Myra, and a few others like Nireas had been here as long as I had now. Ronan had arrived three years ago, a new imp to replace the one who'd just left us, and I'd done my best to ignore his enthusiasm and energy. He would grow weary like the rest of them, and then he would leave.
