Grinning, Teddy followed him as he scurried off the one side of the stage and toward a corridor that jutted out of the back area. There were a few rooms with plaques over their doors telling people what was inside. It wasn’t a particularly nice corridor, with pipes running along the ceiling and light coming from the sort of fluorescent bulbs that flickered just enough to bug Teddy’s eyes.

“Here,” Alea Iacta said as he gestured to a door marked “Costumes.” It was between “Makeup” and “Men’s” in the corridor.

“This is where the cool costumes are?” Teddy asked.

Alea Iacta nodded along. “Yeah. It’s where I . . . borrowed mine. I figured if I was going to go test my luck, I might as well do it in style, you know?”

“Yeah, that makes sense,” Teddy agreed.

Alea fiddled with the handle and it clunked open, then there was more fiddling as he searched for the lights against the walls inside. When they came on, it was to illuminate a room filled to the brim with all sorts of clothes on hangers and racks that ran against most of the walls. The far wall had a couple of stalls that Teddy guessed were for changing, like those at the thrift store.

“Do you have any idea how much trouble we could be in if we’re caught?” Alea asked.

“No,” Teddy said. “But the Boss needs a costume, so it doesn’t matter.”

“Might not matter to you, sure,” he said. “But I’m in a heap of crap if people find out. Just . . . don’t pick anything too ostentatious, all right? They might notice if something like that goes missing.”

Teddy didn’t know what that word meant, so she nodded and started looking over the costumes. Most of them were easy to dismiss right away. They were all old-looking, and while that was okay for Alea Iacta’s own costume, it would probably look a bit silly on the Boss.

“Do you know what you’re looking for?” Alea Iacta asked as he stood in the middle of the room with his arms crossed. “’Cause I do have things I want to get done today.”

“Important things?” Teddy asked.

“I do have a job, you know,” he said.

She looked over at him, his hands currently stroking the soft velvetness of a big ball gown. “Someone hired you?” she asked.

He huffed and looked away from her. “I’m hirable,” he said.

“Did you use your luck powers to find a job?” she asked.

“You’re too nosy for such a little brat,” he said. “Now, what are you looking for?”

“I don’t know,” she said. “Something that will make the Boss look cool and intimidating and scary. Do you have any bear costumes?”