Behind the Music
One: "Super Freak" by Rick James
Brenda Wheeler was the girl that your mother warned you about. Apparently, Fender Davis never had a mother, or at least one that was concerned about him, because he fell head-over-heels for Brenda the second he laid eyes on her. When he first told his best friend, IQ, about his infatuation, the smarter of the two just rolled his eyes and said: "You and every other guy in Baltimore." Fender had ignored his friends jabs and continued to pursue the sultry brunette, despite the fact that she liked hanging around the older men in the Corny Collins Show band, and that she continued to call him immature and "just a child". Fender decided that he'd show her just how mature he really was.
So, like any teenage boy, he figured the only way to show your maturity level was to sleep with as many girls as possible. Unfortunately, most of the girls on the Council had no interest in poor Fender's carnal delights. Well, maybe Becky, but even he wasn't that desperate. Things were looking incredibly dim for Fender's love life until Brenda got pregnant. All of a sudden, all of her previous suitors had fled and he was the only one left. And, although he liked to not think of their relationship this way, she had to settle for Fender "self-proclaimed-ladies-man-with-nothing-going-on-to-back-it-up" Davis.
Two: "Hot for Teacher" by Van Halen
Brad had a problem. It wasn't anything serious like alcoholism or drug abuse or his obsession with the color pink, but it would still destroy his life if anyone found out. He'd be the laughing stock of the entire Council. No, no one could ever find out his secret:
He was in love with Miss Wimsey.
She was all he could think about: her slightly greying hair, her apple-shaped body, her bright eyes that were dulled by the mundane reality that was teaching. If she would just run away with him, he could show her everything she was missing. He wanted to save her from her dull existence, make her smile once in awhile. He was sure she had a beautiful smile, even though he'd never seen it. Maybe she would smile more if he stopped failing all of her tests. But how was he supposed to focus when the most gorgeous creature in the world was standing right in front of him?
For now, he would just daydream through her lectures.
Three: "No Air" by Jordin Sparks ft. Chris Brown
He missed her. That was all there was to it.
He couldn't spend another second without her, and there was no way around it. When she'd ended things between them last week, he could hardly believe it. He still couldn't. She'd explained to him that they were two different people with different needs and wants, and it wouldn't work out in the long run.
Whatever happened to love? Why did everything have to be thought through, like it was a business deal? He still wanted her in his life. He still wanted to hold her, to touch her, to kiss her again.
Sketch missed Janetta. That's all there was to it.
Four: "You Send Me" by Sam Cooke
Seaweed looked over at Penny, taking in her warm, toothy grin and smiling eyes. It sounded cliche, but he didn't know he got so lucky with her. He'd had his share of flames before her, sure, but he'd never felt this way about anyone before. He couldn't stop thinking about her; at first, he thought it was just an infatuation. But time went by, and he fell more and more in love with her with every day that went by.
Penny slipped her hand in his, giving him a kiss on the cheek. They were lying across his couch, her head buried into his chest. He figured now would be a good a time as any to ask her the question that had been racing through his mind for the last year.
"Penny?" he said slowly, softly. She raised her head, furrowing her eyebrows.
"Is something wrong?"
Seaweed shook his head, fingering the ring in his pocket. "No, no, not at all. Everything's perfect. Listen...I'm not really good at these types of things. Well, I mean I've never actually done this before. But I don't think I'm good at this kind of thing. I mean, I'm usually pretty good with words, but this time is something different altogether. Penny, do you think you...do want to...?"
"Yes."
Seaweed raised his eyebrows, sitting up in surprise. "Huh?"
Penny scooted off his lap. "I said, yes. Oh, I'm sorry, Seaweed. I saw the ring in your underwear drawer. You were asking me to marry you, right?"
"Yeah," Seaweed said, biting his lip. "I think I was, at least."
"Oh, Seaweed."
Five: "Carrying the Banner" from the Newsies OMC Soundtrack
"That's my hairspray."
"You'll buy another."
"Hey, fellas, we got to rehearse."
"Since when did you become a Velma?"
"Aw, start your stretches."
"Hey, who has socks?"
"Try that Von Tussle's dressing table."
"Or try Link Larkin's make-up drawer."
"Hey, buddy, try to keep that quiet."
"Try lookin' in Miss Maybelle's weave."
"I smell hairspray."
"You smell foul."
"Stole this car last night."
"Aw, Bix: that was mine!"
"No, it wasn't."
"You gotta stop that crime."
"We lead a fine life: dancing on the Council through it all..."
Six: "Be My Escape" by Relient K
Miss Wimsey wanted an escape. She was tired of staring at the same four walls of her classroom, looking into the dead eyes of her pupils. Tired of that Webster boy eyeing her like she was a sex pot. Well, maybe that part she didn't mind so much. It was flattering.
She walked down the halls of Patterson Park High, clutching a stack of papers in her hand. They'd been wrongfully put in her box: they were copies for Mr. Flak's history exam. She had rolled her eyes when she'd discovered them sitting on her desk; over the last few months, more and more of Mr. Flak's belongings found their way into her box. And every day, she would have to take a trip to his classroom and drop them off. Good office workers were apparently hard to find.
Opening the door to Mr. Flak's classroom, she gave a half-hearted knock. Mr. Flak's face lit up when he saw her standing in the doorway.
"Lucinda!" he exclaimed, standing from his seat. Miss Wimsey gave him a warm smile.
"Frank," she said, gesturing to the papers in her hands. "They gave me your tests again."
Mr. Flak didn't look surprised. He nodded his head, like he was expecting this to happen.
"I really think that you should go to the office and complain," Miss Wimsey said, dropping the tests down on his desk. "It's the third time this week."
"Yes, well," Mr. Flak said slowly, and Miss Wimsey furrowed her eyebrows at him. "The office is not entirely to blame."
"What?"
"I have to admit something, Lucy," Mr. Flak started. He took a step closer to her, biting his lip. His forehead was scrunched up, showing his myriad of wrinkles. "I was the one that snuck my things into your room."
Miss Wimsey wrinkled her nose. "Why?"
"Because," Mr. Flak sighed. "It was the only way I could think of to get you to come down to my room every day. I'm in love with you, Lucy."
Miss Wimsey had finally found her escape.
Seven: "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder
Vicki bit the inside of her mouth, squeezing her eyes shut. A loud crash sounded through the studio and everyone whipped their heads around to stare at her. At her feet was a broken mirror, the same one that she had let fall to the floor seconds before. It had slipped through her fingers while she was reapplying her lipstick, and now there were shards of glass covering the ground around the dressing tables. A blush formed over her cheeks, and she wished everyone would just go back to what they were doing before.
"Seven years of bad luck," Brad joked, elbowing Link in the ribs. A janitor went towards his closet, no doubt to retrieve a broom and dustpan.
Amber shook her head so that her ringlet curls smacked against her cheeks. "No, Bradley. She'll have good luck for the rest of the day. That's what happens when you break a mirror."
"That's if you pick up a penny," Brad rolled his eyes. Vicki silently agreed, but didn't dare to tell Amber she was wrong.
"I always heard that if you break a mirror, you break your mom's back," Link said, and Amber scoffed.
"You break your mom's back if you step on a crack," the blonde told him. "Everyone knows that."
Fender and IQ approached the group, being careful not to step on the shards. "I thought that only happened if you cut your nails on a Friday."
"No, no, no," IQ shook his head. "You break your mom's back if you walk under a ladder."
The janitor finally returned with the broom, muttering something under his breath.
"What'd you say, mister?" Link asked, and the janitor shoved him roughly out of the way.
"I said, here's a superstition for you kids: if you all don't get out of my way, there's gonna be a death in the studio."
Eight: "I Want To Hold Your Hand" by the Beatles
It was frustrating, the way Rhonda touched him. Sometimes it would be a friendly pat on the shoulder, joined with a wide grin. Other times, her fingers would linger down his forearm, causing goosebumps to stretch from his head to his toes. Skillet would pray that she wouldn't notice the flush that spread across his face whenever she was close, and how his whole body heated up when she leaned on his shoulder after a long day walking the streets of Baltimore. He hoped she ignored it when his brain stopped functioning whenever she licked her lips or laughed at one of his jokes.
What was even more frustrating was that she could never know. They had known each other since they were little kids, and she'd made it pretty clear that she just wanted to be friends, if the way she talked to him about her current infatuations was any inclination. He wanted them to be something more, but he never had enough nerve to tell her how he felt. And why? What was stopping him from asking her on a date? He wasn't normally a introvert; in fact, he was usually the life of the party. But whenever she came around, his tongue got tied and he tripped over his feet like he tripped over his words.
All he really wanted to do was hold her hand.
Nine: "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell
Amber stormed into the house, slamming the front door behind her. She threw her jacket down onto a nearby armchair and kicked off her heels, huffing loudly as she did so. Corny followed her closely, rolling his eyes. He gently set down his suitcase next to the door, taking off his hat and placing it on a hook.
He walked into the living room, where Amber was seated on their couch, arms folded across her chest. "Okay, so maybe that didn't go as well as we thought. But it was progress."
"Corny," Amber looked at him, raising her eyebrows. "She told you that if we continued seeing each other, she'd castrate you."
"At least Velma knows about us now," Corny said, brushing a piece of blond hair from her face. "And besides, I don't care what she says. I love you."
"You do realize that you're never going to work in this town again?" Amber said. "I mean, she practically owns WYZT."
"Well, then we'll move," Corny joked. When Amber didn't smile, he sighed. "Aw, come on, Amber. At least we have each other."
Amber shrugged. "I guess so."
"You guess so? That's not exactly reassuring for a guy to hear, especially one that's looking at the prospect of becoming a eunuch for you."
"Aw, Corny. I was just teasing," she kissed him on the cheek. "Love you."
"Love you, too." Corny said. He stood and walked over to the television set, turning it on. "Now, let's watch Link's new show. I hear it's even cornier than the Corny Collins Show."
Ten: "It Takes Two" from the Hairspray OMC Soundtrack
Fender was fast asleep on her couch, drool making its way from his mouth to the ground. His whole upper body was hanging off the couch, legs draped over the arms. Brenda shook her head at the sight and continued feeding Jimmy, silently thanking God that he had moved onto bottles with ease. She had to smile a little at her dorky friend, though. He had been up all night, trying to keep Jimmy preoccupied while Brenda was working her shift at the diner. She didn't know anyone else that would've done that, and she felt an incredible wave of graditude for the former-Lothario at that moment.
She giggled as Fender made a funny little whiny noise, and rolled her eyes as he fell off the couch and continued to snore. Sure, Tracy had her Link, and Penny had her Seaweed, but Brenda was just as content having her very own Fender.