Sofia the First: A Star is Royal

What to Do

Later, at Corinthian Sports, Clio could tell that Sofia was a little sad. "What's wrong, Sofia?" she asked.

"I'm really bummed about Hugo," Sofia admitted. "I don't want to hold him back, but if he transfers to Performing Arts, we'll all miss him. He's the most popular boy in Corinthian Sports, and who knows what will happen to our relationship? The junior varsity enchanted lacrosse team is participating in tomorrow's championships."

"Aw, I guess Vivian didn't think about that—and neither did I," Clio said.

At Performing Arts, Hugo wasn't participating in any of the activities much to Vivian's concern.

"What's wrong, Hugo?" Vivian asked.

"Vivian, I'm not sure Performing Arts is right for me," Hugo admitted. "Besides, tomorrow is the big lacrosse championships against the Senior Knights Academy."

"Oh, I get it now," Vivian realized.

"You do?" Hugo asked. "Thank goodness!"

"Yeah, you can transfer to Performing Arts after the championships, so Corinthian Sports can win," Vivian smiled.

Everyone else agreed, and Hugo's smile dropped. It seemed like everyone completely missed the point.

Later, Hugo and the students of Performing Arts went to Corinthian Sports, so he and Clio could give their presentations. After Clio told everyone about what she did, it was time for Hugo to give his presentation. He took out a violin and played a rendition of Greensleeves. When he finished, almost everyone was in tears, and they gave him a standing ovation.

"Prince Hugo, that was the most flawless rendition of Greensleeves I've heard to date—and I've heard many," Sergio smiled. "I look forward to seeing you perform on Monday."

Hugo couldn't believe Sergio said that out loud, and he especially couldn't believe the teachers and students of the Performing Arts Academy expected him to go to their school. "I haven't made my decision yet," he gulped.

"Well, we'll leave you to it," Sergio smiled. Then he left Hugo alone.

Mr. Ellis came up and asked, "Decision, Hugo?"

"The students and teachers of the Performing Arts Academy want me to think about transferring to their school," Hugo admitted.

"I can see why—you're a natural musician," Mr. Ellis chuckled.

"Well, don't worry—I'll still play for Corinthian Sports in tomorrow's championships," Hugo said.

"Well, that's good," Mr. Ellis smiled.

Hugo met up with Sofia.

"Hugo, that was beautiful," Sofia smiled.

"Thanks, Sofie, but I wish I wasn't such a good musician," Hugo sighed. "If I wasn't, the people of Performing Arts wouldn't be pestering me to go to their school."

"Aw," Sofia sighed.

That night, at Hugo's palace, Megan the Marvelous had joined his family for dinner, but Hugo was so upset that he didn't even take a bite of his food much to his family's concern.

"What's wrong, baby bro?" Axel asked. "You said you haven't eaten since breakfast."

This surprised Megan, Grimtrix, King Garrick, and Queen Samira very much.

"Hugo, you skipped lunch?" Grimtrix gasped.

"You know how dangerous it is to not eat all day, champ," Garrick chided his youngest son.

"Come to think of it, you weren't very happy when you came home," Samira pointed out. "Is everything okay, honey?"

"The students and teachers of the Performing Arts Academy want me to transfer to their school," Hugo admitted.

"But what about your relationship Sofia?" Axel asked. "Wouldn't transferring schools take a toll on that?"

"That's what I've been thinking," Hugo said. "Sofia says she's fine with whatever choice I make, but I can tell she's upset about this."

"I think you should stick with Corinthian Sports," Megan said. "If you transfer to the Performing Arts Academy, it'll take a great toll on you—even greater than your relationship."

"How so?" Hugo asked.

"It happened to Nicholas," Megan revealed.

"The Nicholas who was responsible for Grimtrix being evil in the first place?" Samira guessed.

"The very same—before he joined me at the Institute for Science and Alchemy, he chose to attend the Performing Arts Academy," Megan explained. "He loved to show off his singing voice. Once, when he got the lead in a play, he rehearsed his songs so much that it not only hurt his throat but made his voice sound weird."

"A sore throat?" Axel asked. "What's wrong with that?"

"This was no ordinary sore throat—it doesn't go away on its own," Megan shook her head. "Nicholas had nodules—they're like tiny blisters on your vocal chords, and if left untreated, they can destroy your voice."

Hugo and Axel were a little spooked by this.

"How do you treat them?" Axel asked.

"The best treatment for vocal nodules is to have surgery ASAP," Megan said. "Nicholas went in for surgery immediately, but his nodules were so bad that the doctors couldn't help him. There was nothing they could do fix the problem. Nicholas was never able to sing again."

"Wow, I'll probably hate myself for saying this, but poor Nicholas," Grimtrix frowned.

Hugo thought about this, and he felt like he knew what he had to do.