The Jackson Five: Jackson takes the cake
One day, the Jackson Five was hard at work rehearsing for a concert. Their sisters Rebbie and Latoya, and Marlon's twin brother, Brandon, were listening to their rehearsal. They were going to perform it in Nashville, Tennessee the next day, and had invited their family to see it. They had just finished their song when the doorbell rang, cutting their rehearsal short. At first they found that interruption to be very annoying, but soon Michael, went to answer the door and see who it was.
Michael (hears the doorbell ring, heading for the door): There's the doorbell, I'll get it!
Postman (handing Michael an unusual envelope):Special delivery for the Jackson Five & Family, all the way from Memphis, Tennessee!
Rebbie (eying the envelope up and down):Man, it looks important.
Tito: You said it, but what is it?
Jackie: Whatever it is, it's engraved in gold. (Turns over to Jermaine)Jeramaine why don't you open it and see what it says?
Jermaine (after reading the inscription): Wow, our family's red velvet cake recipe won!
All of them (in unison): Right on!
Jermaine: I've been selected to be a finalist in the big country bake-off.
All of them (in unison): Double right on!
Jeramine: The first prize is a big backyard Water Park.
All of them: Triple right on!
Jermaine: I could picture it in our backyard. We and the whole family will have a whole lot of fun come summertime.
Jermaine explained to his brothers and sisters that according to the letter, the Bake-Off was to be held today in Memphis, Tennessee at the public auditorium and that it was going to be on television. Jackie then decided that in order to get there in time, they should pack up leave for Tennessee right away. So, quicker than you can say "right on", the Jackson five was soon packed up and ready to head for the airport to catch the first flight to Memphis, Tennessee. Their mom, their brothers Brandon and Randy, their sisters Rebbie, Latoya, and Janet, and their uncle Luther, along with their pets, Rosie the snake, and the two mice Ray & Charles, followed them to the airport to see them off.
They all arrived at the airport just as the first plane to Memphis, Tennessee was getting ready to call all of it's passengers aboard. Before long, Michael remembered that the bake-off was to be held today and told his brothers that their concert was tomorrow, meaning that bake-off will be over way before then. The Jackson Five realized that while they were in Tennessee, they could get some rehearsing done. Before getting on the plane, they bade their family, who wished them luck, goodbye.
Janet (almost starts crying): Oh, we're all going to miss all of you so much.
Michael: Try to cheer up, Janet. You'll see us when you and the rest of the family arrive in Nashville tomorrow.
Jermaine: Michael's right. In the meantime, you'll be able to look for us when you watch the bake-off on TV.
Jackie: Come on guys, let go or we'll miss our flight.
Tito (looking over his shoulder to the family): We'll see you all when you come to Nashville tomorrow for the concert!
All the family (in unison): Good Luck, boys!
Randy: I hope Jermaine wins the bake-off.
With their luggage loaded and their safety belts secured, the Jackson Five was on their way to Tennessee. Meanwhile in a different part of the plane, someone else was going to compete in the bake-off. Someone who was actually two thirteen year olds after the first prize themselves. That someone was none other than the Bittersweet Twins, Hank and Eileen Bittersweet. They were competing in the bake-off too, but they want the first prize all to themselves.
Eileen: I can't wait to get to the bake-off, Hank!
Hank: Me neither, Eileen. Wait till we get our hands on that backyard water park.
Eileen: Our delicious peanut butter, zucchini pie is sure to win, Hank. (Laughs)
It wasn't long before the plane arrived in Memphis, Tennessee. This was going to be one of the biggest bookings of their lives. After leaving their luggage at the hotel they were staying in, the Jackson Five went out for a walk to have a look around town.
They soon came to a park that was big and very beautiful. It was almost bigger than the park back in Gary, Indiana. There, they met a young girl close to Marlon's age. She was in the park square singing and dancing. The Jackson Five sat down and listened. When she finished, they applaud and she noticed them.
Michael (introducing himself): Hi, I'm Michael Jackson of the Jackson Five. These are my brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, and Marlon.
Girl (with a southern accent): Howdy!I'm Lisa Presley. Glad to know y'all.
Tito: Do you live around here?
Lisa: I sure do. Downtown with my sister, Marie, and my cousin, Aaron, on a street called Graceland, avenue.
Jermaine: Well, we're just here for two reasons. First: I'm competing in the bake-off. Secondly: We're giving a concert in Nashville tomorrow.
Lisa: That's so cool! By the way guys, I was wondering if you'd like a tour of my street.
Jackie: We'd definitely like that!
Jermaine: We sure would!
Marlon: I'm game!
Michael: Cool! What do you think, Tito?
Tito: According to my watch, the bake-off won't be for at least less than three hours. We've got plenty of time to spare.
Lisa: Great! Let's go! Wait until you guys see where I live.
The Bittersweet twins had heard everything from a nearby tree. They found out that their rival finalist was black. The fact is that they really didn't like black people at all. They knew that they had only chance of winning the bake-off, and that was to sabotage the competition.
Meanwhile, Lisa had just arrived at Graceland, avenue with the Jackson Five. She showed them all of the street's finest structure and coolest hang outs. They soon stopped over by an estate that was really big, and really beautiful. This was where Lisa lived. It was incredibly large, and really bright. It shined like a bright star in the sky.
The Jackson Five was completely speechless when the saw how big Lisa's house was. It looked more like a mansion than a suburban estate. Lisa showed them into her house and they went to meet her family. Their rooms were just down the hallway on the third floor.
Lisa (pointing to a door that had letters engraved in gold): This is where my cousin, Aaron, lives. He's a great singer. He also inspired me to give singing a try. [Knocks on Aaron's door]
Aaron: Just a minute, I'm tuning up a bit. [Tunes his guitar] There, that's a perfect note! [Hears Lisa knocking] I'm coming, keep your cool!
Lisa: Howdy Aaron. I like you to meet my new friends, the Jackson Five. This is Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon, and Michael Jackson.
Aaron: Very pleased to meet you, Jackson Five.
Michael: Pleasure's ours.
Lisa: Now I'd like you to meet my sister, Marie. She's seven years old. (Knocks on Marie's bedroom door) Marie, it's me Lisa! I've got some new friends I'd like you to meet! [Door opens and Marie steps out] Marie, I'd like you to meet Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon, and Michael Jackson. Together, they're known as the Jackson Five.
Marie: Howdy, Jackson Five. I'm very pleased to meet y'all.
(A little chow-chow puppy comes out, barking playfully)This is my puppy, King.
Lisa: Marie and King are always together.
Marie: In other words, we're inseparable!
Jermaine (turning over to his brothers): Guys, we can invite all of our new friends to come with us to the auditorium and watch the bake-off!
All of the Jackson Brothers: Right on!
Aaron: I reckon that's a swell idea!
Lisa: I sure would like to attend!
Marie (hooking King on a leash): Affirmation to that!
They took a ride in Aaron's limousine which was driven by a chauffer named Pierre. They all arrived, not knowing that the Bittersweet twins got there first by taking a taxi, just as the bake-off was just about ready to begin. A man standing outside the entrance to the auditorium directed everyone and told who needed to go which way. He directed the audience to go to the left and the contestants, consisting of the Bittersweet twins and Jermaine, to go to the left.
Before long, the announcer introduced the judges for the bake-off. Three people, known as Wilbur Wenka, Taffy Saltwater, and Samuel Marzipan, sat at the judge's table waiting for the bake-off to start. They couldn't wait to taste what the contestants will bake. They also explained that whoever bakes the tastiest dish will win first prize, a big backyard water park set.
Wilbur Wenka: Contestants, check your ovens!
Bittersweet Twins (in unison after checking their oven): Perfect!
Jeramine (checks his oven, seeing it's frozen inside): Oh man, this oven's more like an ice box, it's all frozen on the inside! Somebody's got to find a scientist to fix this mess, quick!
Marlon [coming out of the audience]: You need a scientist? You've got one right here! (Tinkers with the oven)Let's see what you think of it, now.
Jermaine (checks his oven again and sees that it is fixed): Right on, brother! You fixed it! That's my brother, the genius!
Eileen Bittersweet (taunting Jermaine): Ha! We're ahead of you!
Hank Bittersweet: We're almost done rolling out the dough for our pie crust. Go ahead and mix your ingredients, Jackson!
Jermaine was about to begin mixing his ingredients when he found out that they had been tampered with. Little did Jermaine know the Bittersweet Twins had secretly replaced his ingredients with something else, some things that weren't made for cooking, or eating, or anything like that in particular.
Jermaine (after discovering his tampered ingredients): Man, somebody tampered with the ingredients I need. Instead of flour I've got soap flakes, salt instead sugar, liquid paste instead milk, ping pong balls instead of eggs, plaster instead of baking soda, molasses instead of butter, vinegar instead of vanilla abstract, and mulch instead of chocolate! Someone should get to the super market fast!
Lisa: Oh my! I reckon we should save Jermaine!
Aaron: And we've got to hurry!
Jackie: Right on, let's go
Tito (turns over to Marlon & Michael): You think you two could keep an eye on things until we get back?
Marlon & Michael (in unison): Right on!
Sure enough, Jackie, Tito, Aaron, and Lisa dashed to the supermarket to get the right ingredients for Jermaine, and managed to get back quick. Now he could make his delicious red velvet cake. He even got some marshmallow cream to use for frosting it. This was going to be quite a cake when it was ready for tasting. Jermaine couldn't wait to see what the judges would think when they taste his confectionary.
The Bittersweet twins were outraged when they saw that Jermaine was almost finished making his cake and knew that he was going to win for sure. So, they decided to take matters into their own hands.
Soon they got themselves an idea that was so perfect it would help them to win the bake-off. Eileen took a blank flashcard out of her purse and wrote something on it to give to the judges to read. On the card was written what the Bittersweet twins wanted the judges to believe was a judge's rule note. As soon as Eileen finished writing, she and Hank gave it to the judges to read.
Samuel Marzipan: What's this, penmanship of some kind?
Wilbur Wenka: It looks like a note of some kind. Taffy, would you mind reading it?
Taffy Saltwter: Okay. Now let's see it says: (Reads card aloud into her microphone)the judge's rule: Hank & Eileen Bittersweet with their peanut butter, zucchini pie wins by default.
(Audience booing and complaining at the announcement)
Lisa (angrily): This is an outrage!
Aaron: Wait a second now, that's not fair!
Marlon (referring to the Bittersweet Twins): Those guys cheated!
Tito (agreeing with Marlon): Yeah!
Jackie: It just isn't cool!
Jermaine: Come on, gang! We've got to be good sports about this.
Michael: But the judges didn't even taste the peanut butter, zucchini pie!
Taffy Saltwater (to the other judges): The kid's right. If don't determine the real winner and if we make the one who was really cheating the winner, we could lose our jobs.
Samuel Marzipan: She's got a point, Wilbur.
Wilbur Wenka: You're right, Samuel. Attention, contestants bring on your confectionaries! First, let us taste the peanut butter zucchini pie.
The judges were all ready to taste what the contestants had baked. Each judge was first given a piece of the peanut butter, blackberry & zucchini pie to taste. But when they tasted it, they started gagging and exclaiming in discuss and discovered that the pie tasted awful.
Wilbur Wenka (gagging): How revolting!
Taffy Saltwater: Ugh,Nasty!
Samuel Marzipan: That's the worst pie I've ever tasted! Apparently, peanut butter, zucchini, and blackberries don't really go together. Now bring forth the red velvet cake!
As soon as each of the judges was given a piece of Jermaine's red velvet cake, they sat down to try and taste it. Unlike the Bittersweet twins' pie, they really liked how the cake tasted. They really did like it. They savored the sweet taste of such fine chocolate and sweetness of marshmallow cream.
Wilbur Wenka: It's delicious!
Taffy Saltwater: Topped with marshmallow cream too!
Samuel Marzipan (after tasting the cake): What's the deal with this cake? I'll tell you what the deal with this cake is. It's the best cake I've ever tasted! In fact, red velvet is my most favorite kind of cake!
Willy Wenka: So, we all agreed that the winner is… Jermaine Jackson and his amazingly delicious red velvet cake! The backyard Water Park is yours!
Lisa: Yee-Haw! He did it!
Aaron: I knew he could do it!
Jermaine: Awesome!
The rest of the Jackson brothers (in unison): Right on!
(Audience cheers)
When the Bittersweet twins heard the judges' decision for the winner, they were furious. In fact the believed that they'd been rob of what they thought was their glory for having the tastiest dish. They had been foiled by the one kind of person they disliked most of all. Both of them exploded into a rage of some kind. They started yelling at the Jackson 5, shouting at them and calling them really bad names.
Bittersweet Twins (angrily at the Jackson five and some others): Scoundrels! Creeps! Naives! Monsters!
Tito: Creeps?
Jermaine: Scoundrels?
Marlon: Naives?
Michael: Monsters? What're those guys talking about?
Jackie: Beats me, but I've got a feeling those two are bad-mouthing us.
Jackie was right. The Bittersweet twins were really bad-mouthing and ranting against the Jackson five as well as some other black people they knew, or met. Those insults were definitely anoyyong, especially to the Jackson five. Michael and his brothers could easily tell that people who bad-mouth black people or rant against them, as well as other black people, were not real fans. Even the judges and the audience weren't very happy with the Bittersweet twins' actions toward them.
Finally, both Hank and Eileen Bittersweet were dismissed. They packed up all of their cooking supplies and were about to head back too their hotel to get ready to leave on the next flight. They were still completely discussed with how they had been defeated in the bake-off.
Hank: I never liked that guy anyway. They're too black!
Eileen: Me neither! Come on, Hank. Get away from those black people!
As they left the auditorium, they turned over their shoulders and stuck their tongues out at Jermaine. The Judges were outraged when they saw them insult Jermaine in such a manner let alone such disrespect and crude behavior. Apparently, they didn't like it when someone insulted others, especially black people. So, they pulled a lever that opened a trap door, and the Bittersweet twins fell right into it.
After the contest, the judges got a note from the president of the TV station saying that if Jermaine was interested, he would like to make an offer to give him his very own cooking show. They told him about the offer about having his own TV series, and wanted to know if he was interested.
Jeramine (ecstatic about the idea):Really? You want me to have my own cooking show?
Samuel Marzipan: That's right child! I can see it now, "Cooking Fun with Jermaine Jackson"!
Taffy Saltwater: Just think of how exciting it will be!
Wilbur Wenka: You'll be the toast of the town from coast to coast!
Jermaine: I'm honored, Mr. Wenka and Ms. Saltwater. Very honored! I just need time to think about it really hard before I can make up my mind about the idea.
Jermaine was very excited about having his own cooking show, but then he started to think about his mother, his uncle Luther, his brothers and sisters, and the animals Ray & Charles and Rosie. He also thought about all that he and his family had gone through, and of everything that they had done for him. He just couldn't bear to part with them. Soon he realized that his family had done too much for him to leave them. He knew that he should tell the judges how he really felt about the idea.
Soon Jermaine remembered that he and his siblings were once told that when things get difficult, they should do what they feel is right. Before long, Jermaine realized that the time had come to tell his second thoughts. Soon gathered up his courage and went up to the judges to talk with them about the deal they wanted to make with him. By that time, they were waiting for him to answer if he will agree to accept the contract.
Samuel Marzipan: So Jermaine, do you accept?
Jermaine (wholeheartedly): Gosh,I'm really tempted Mr. Marzipan, but then I think of my home in Gary, Indiana and my family there, my mom, uncle Luther, and my sisters Rebbie and Latoya, and little Janet. Also I think of my brothers Jackie, Tito, Michael, Randy, and the twins Marlon and Brandon. I don't know. I guess I'm just a kid from the suburbs. You see, I already have a career in music. I am a musician, after all.
The judges were stunned at first. But then they couldn't help wondering why the last name "Jackson" sounded very familiar to them. They knew that they've heard that name somewhere before, but they couldn't tell where. It seemed to have baffled them for quite some time.
Taffy Saltwater: Exactly, what kind of music do you play, child?
Jermaine: Well for one thingpopular music is what we usually sing or play. Sometimes, we even sing soul music or rock. The fact is me and my whole family; we sing, and give out concerts, and also play music to bring happiness to others wherever we go. So I really should decline. Besides, without me the Jackson Five would be, well, incomplete.
The judges were shocked when they heard the words "Jackson Five". They thought the name of one of the contestants sounded familiar. This was the very first time they got to actually meet one of the Jackson Five, as well as taste a dish that they made. In fact, they so excited, they couldn't contain their excitement about the whole thing.
Samuel Marzipan (shocked in surprise): Did you say the Jackson Five?
Jermaine: I sure did.
Samuel Marzipan: They're one of my favorite music groups!
Taffy Saltwater (awestruck): Mine too!
Wilbur Wenka: I always loved their songs!
Jackie: Speaking of which, we have to get back to the hotel and get on with our rehearsing.
Marlon: You see we've got a show to do tomorrow over in Nashville, the state's capital.
Tito: We were wondering if you'd like to come see it.
Samuel Marzipan: We'd be honored!
Wilbur Wenka: I'd love to see the Jackson Five in concert!
Taffy Saltwater: I would too!
Lisa, Marie & Aaron (agreeing in unison): Yeah!-Sounds exciting!-I reckon I'd like that!
(King barks excitedly)
Jermaine: Then it's settled. (Turns over to his brothers) What do you say cats, shall we invite the judges and our new friends to the concert tomorrow?
All of the Jackson brothers (in unison): Right on!
The next day was the day of the concert. The Jackson Five went to the airport to wait for their family who was invited to hear their concert. The family was delighted to see them and charmed to meet their new friends. Later at the concert, the family and Lisa, Aaron, and Marie, along with the judges, sat at the front row as the Jackson five sang with all their hearts and danced to their songs. It really was one of the greatest concerts the Jackson five had ever performed, and one of the greatest that the Jackson family had ever seen.
The End