I Would Walk 500 Miles
Disclaimer: Next story!
"Is this it?" B-Bop asked. He stood before the ancient theater; poor thing had cracked bricks and smashed windows, looking pretty pitiful. Still, the acoustics were great; it'd be a wonderful place to rehearse without having to rent the stadium in the middle of town. The usual group stood behind him; 2-T, Do-Wah, Angela, Mike, Cedric, and Lilly.
Yes, Lilly was now considered part of the 'usual group'. She was doing something very strange for her. She was standing instead of floating. Also, she had changed her apparel. Taking into effect that a bright purple catsuit is not standard human apparel, she had switched to a different outfit; a University of Arizona T-shirt (bright pink), alligator print jean, and Nike sandals.
"YEP!" Lilly shouted. She wagged her tail happily. "Two blocks down south from Zapz, take a left, you're there!"
2-T absentmindedly pushed against the building with the heal of his hand. "At least we know it won't fall over on us."
"Come on, 2-T, it's not that old," Angela growled.
"You guys hear something?" Cedric asked.
There was music coming from inside the building. Before long, there was singing!
"Oh, say can you see? By the dawn's early light! What so proudly we hailed."
"Should we see who's in there?" B-Bop asked Lilly. She nodded. They opened the door, and the volume of the music hit them full force.
"Who's broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight! Over ramparts we watched were so galantly streaming!"
It was an old timey theatere, which the bench seats and the isle that went down the middle. In the very front was a large stage which took up the entire wall. On the stage was a rather stocky woman; big for her height, anyway. She was quite tall.
"And the rockets red glare! Bombs bursting in air! Gave proof through the night, that our flag was still there!"
As the kids walked closer, they got a better look at the woman. She was African-American, with short-cut redish-brown hair. She wore a gray jogging suit with green sneakers. She was the one singing; she sang in a loud, diva voice. And she wasn't using a microphone! Her voice fill the auditorium without it!
"Oh say does that Star-Spangled Banner yet wave! Over the land of the free, and the home of the brave!"
As the music stopped, the kids couldn't help but applaud. The woman looked down the stage.
"Oh, hey there!" she spoke to them. "When'd you come in?"
"Towards the beginning of the song, ma'am," Lilly explained before anyone else could take a breath.
"Well, aren't you cute, now?" the woman laughed. "And, look, don't call me 'ma'am'. My name's Shira. Shira Jackson."
"Nice to meet you, Miss Jackson," Mike greeted Shira.
"Actually, it's Mrs. Jackson, but I won't hold it against you. Heck, I look single, don't I? In my sweatpants, and all?" Shira laughed. "But anyway, I'm just practising. You came to practise too?"
"Uh huh," B-Bop nodded.
"Okay, I'll just get outta your way-"
"MAMA!"
Two little girls ran onto the stage, holding a long stuffed top between them. One girl was black, like Mrs. Jackson. She wore a pair of black overalls with one pocket on the front; the pocket had a little daisy iron- on patch. Under her overalls, she wore a slightly dirty white shirt. Her hiking boots were scuffed and muddy and wet; not a good combination. Her jet black hair was done in the popular 'lots of little braids' style, and tied back in a ponytail that went off to the left a little. She had a tough face, with a broad nose and small eyes. Her eyes were so brown, they were almost black.
The other girl had to be the first ones mirror opposite. She was light, with light blonde hair worn down around her shoulders. In her hair, to the right of her face, she had a jeweled butterfly clip, pinned hurriedly and tangled within her thin, poofy locks. She wore a light blue sundress with faint floral patterns; she had on complicated, strappy white sandals. Her face was like a deer's, with large eyes and a tiny nose. Her eyes were the palest shade of blue imagineable; almost like B-Bop's eyes.
"Hey, Mama!" the Black girl hollered, jumping up and down in excitement. Alas, the two girls were only six years old; they barely came up to the Martian's armpits. "Hey, Mama! Guess what we found?!"
"A big stuffed dragon toy?" Shira asked.
"No, w- How'd you know, Mama?" the Black girl gasped in amazement. The toy the two girls were holding was about as long as a bank desk. It was long and skinny with no wings; an Eastern dragon. It had a red body with a yellow underbelly; a gray shell covered the upper part of its head like a helmet. Two darker gray horns stuck out from under the shell. It had a teasing smirk sown onto its face, with fangs jutting out from the smile line. It had at least ten pairs of legs, which slightly supported themselves (kept themselves from dangling). The eyes were amazingly detailed, sporting eyelashes, color (green), and a shine, just like real eyes!
"This's my daughter, Zazini. Zazini, say 'hi' to the guests!" Shira jerked her head towards the kids.
Zazini turned her head surprisedly, not realizing that they were there at first. "Oh, hi! I'm Zazi! This is my friend Annabelle! Isn't that right, Annabelle?!" From the way she spoke, the Martians knew she would be trouble; everything about her looked up-front, tough girl, leader-of-the- pack.
"Huh? Oh, right." Annabelle barely spoke above a whisper. She was very timid, apparently. Scared. She even shivered as she got her first look at the Martians.
"Oo, I know you! I saw you on TV last night!" Zazi hollered. "'Boyz 2 Martianz', on Channel 15! You were good! I liked it! Didn't you like it, Annabelle?"
"Uh huh," Annabelle giggled.
"Oo! And I saw you again on-"
"Okay, okay, calm down!" B-Bop urged the six-year-old to stop, holding up his hand. "We get it!"
Lilly stepped forward, her eyes laser focused on the dragon toy. "Where did you find that thing?"
"In a trunk," Annabelle whispered.
"In the back!" Zazi happily spoke out. "We find lotsa cool stuff from way back from when my Grandma was a baby! It's neat back there! We found Miles in the bottom of a. what was it, Annabelle?"
"It was a costume trun-"
"A costume trunk! That's it!" Zazi held up the dragon dubbed 'Miles'. "We found him in the bottom! He's a mile-long dragon!"
"Isn't a mile a lot longer than that?" Mike teased.
Zazi glared at him evilly. "Shut it, redhead."
"ZAZI!" Shira rushed forward and scolded her daughter. "Haven't I taught you not to talk like that?"
"Yes, ma'am," Zazi stepped back, afraid of her mother.
"And in front of Annabelle. Shame on you!"
Shira turned to the group. "I'm sorry, we're taking up your time. We'll get going."
"It was nice meeting you, ma'am," 2-T nodded.
"Thank you. Zazi, Annabelle, let's go!"
The family walked to the front door, leaving the teenagers and aliens very confused.
"Well, that was new," Angela remarked.
"That was fun!" Do-Wah grinned.
"That was strange," Lilly mumbled. She switched back to her purple catsuit. "What's he doing out?"
"What?" B-Bop cocked his head.
"That dragon toy," Lilly monotoned, still watching the door like Zazi and company were going to walk back in again. "There's more to him than meets the eye."
DONE!
Disclaimer: Next story!
"Is this it?" B-Bop asked. He stood before the ancient theater; poor thing had cracked bricks and smashed windows, looking pretty pitiful. Still, the acoustics were great; it'd be a wonderful place to rehearse without having to rent the stadium in the middle of town. The usual group stood behind him; 2-T, Do-Wah, Angela, Mike, Cedric, and Lilly.
Yes, Lilly was now considered part of the 'usual group'. She was doing something very strange for her. She was standing instead of floating. Also, she had changed her apparel. Taking into effect that a bright purple catsuit is not standard human apparel, she had switched to a different outfit; a University of Arizona T-shirt (bright pink), alligator print jean, and Nike sandals.
"YEP!" Lilly shouted. She wagged her tail happily. "Two blocks down south from Zapz, take a left, you're there!"
2-T absentmindedly pushed against the building with the heal of his hand. "At least we know it won't fall over on us."
"Come on, 2-T, it's not that old," Angela growled.
"You guys hear something?" Cedric asked.
There was music coming from inside the building. Before long, there was singing!
"Oh, say can you see? By the dawn's early light! What so proudly we hailed."
"Should we see who's in there?" B-Bop asked Lilly. She nodded. They opened the door, and the volume of the music hit them full force.
"Who's broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight! Over ramparts we watched were so galantly streaming!"
It was an old timey theatere, which the bench seats and the isle that went down the middle. In the very front was a large stage which took up the entire wall. On the stage was a rather stocky woman; big for her height, anyway. She was quite tall.
"And the rockets red glare! Bombs bursting in air! Gave proof through the night, that our flag was still there!"
As the kids walked closer, they got a better look at the woman. She was African-American, with short-cut redish-brown hair. She wore a gray jogging suit with green sneakers. She was the one singing; she sang in a loud, diva voice. And she wasn't using a microphone! Her voice fill the auditorium without it!
"Oh say does that Star-Spangled Banner yet wave! Over the land of the free, and the home of the brave!"
As the music stopped, the kids couldn't help but applaud. The woman looked down the stage.
"Oh, hey there!" she spoke to them. "When'd you come in?"
"Towards the beginning of the song, ma'am," Lilly explained before anyone else could take a breath.
"Well, aren't you cute, now?" the woman laughed. "And, look, don't call me 'ma'am'. My name's Shira. Shira Jackson."
"Nice to meet you, Miss Jackson," Mike greeted Shira.
"Actually, it's Mrs. Jackson, but I won't hold it against you. Heck, I look single, don't I? In my sweatpants, and all?" Shira laughed. "But anyway, I'm just practising. You came to practise too?"
"Uh huh," B-Bop nodded.
"Okay, I'll just get outta your way-"
"MAMA!"
Two little girls ran onto the stage, holding a long stuffed top between them. One girl was black, like Mrs. Jackson. She wore a pair of black overalls with one pocket on the front; the pocket had a little daisy iron- on patch. Under her overalls, she wore a slightly dirty white shirt. Her hiking boots were scuffed and muddy and wet; not a good combination. Her jet black hair was done in the popular 'lots of little braids' style, and tied back in a ponytail that went off to the left a little. She had a tough face, with a broad nose and small eyes. Her eyes were so brown, they were almost black.
The other girl had to be the first ones mirror opposite. She was light, with light blonde hair worn down around her shoulders. In her hair, to the right of her face, she had a jeweled butterfly clip, pinned hurriedly and tangled within her thin, poofy locks. She wore a light blue sundress with faint floral patterns; she had on complicated, strappy white sandals. Her face was like a deer's, with large eyes and a tiny nose. Her eyes were the palest shade of blue imagineable; almost like B-Bop's eyes.
"Hey, Mama!" the Black girl hollered, jumping up and down in excitement. Alas, the two girls were only six years old; they barely came up to the Martian's armpits. "Hey, Mama! Guess what we found?!"
"A big stuffed dragon toy?" Shira asked.
"No, w- How'd you know, Mama?" the Black girl gasped in amazement. The toy the two girls were holding was about as long as a bank desk. It was long and skinny with no wings; an Eastern dragon. It had a red body with a yellow underbelly; a gray shell covered the upper part of its head like a helmet. Two darker gray horns stuck out from under the shell. It had a teasing smirk sown onto its face, with fangs jutting out from the smile line. It had at least ten pairs of legs, which slightly supported themselves (kept themselves from dangling). The eyes were amazingly detailed, sporting eyelashes, color (green), and a shine, just like real eyes!
"This's my daughter, Zazini. Zazini, say 'hi' to the guests!" Shira jerked her head towards the kids.
Zazini turned her head surprisedly, not realizing that they were there at first. "Oh, hi! I'm Zazi! This is my friend Annabelle! Isn't that right, Annabelle?!" From the way she spoke, the Martians knew she would be trouble; everything about her looked up-front, tough girl, leader-of-the- pack.
"Huh? Oh, right." Annabelle barely spoke above a whisper. She was very timid, apparently. Scared. She even shivered as she got her first look at the Martians.
"Oo, I know you! I saw you on TV last night!" Zazi hollered. "'Boyz 2 Martianz', on Channel 15! You were good! I liked it! Didn't you like it, Annabelle?"
"Uh huh," Annabelle giggled.
"Oo! And I saw you again on-"
"Okay, okay, calm down!" B-Bop urged the six-year-old to stop, holding up his hand. "We get it!"
Lilly stepped forward, her eyes laser focused on the dragon toy. "Where did you find that thing?"
"In a trunk," Annabelle whispered.
"In the back!" Zazi happily spoke out. "We find lotsa cool stuff from way back from when my Grandma was a baby! It's neat back there! We found Miles in the bottom of a. what was it, Annabelle?"
"It was a costume trun-"
"A costume trunk! That's it!" Zazi held up the dragon dubbed 'Miles'. "We found him in the bottom! He's a mile-long dragon!"
"Isn't a mile a lot longer than that?" Mike teased.
Zazi glared at him evilly. "Shut it, redhead."
"ZAZI!" Shira rushed forward and scolded her daughter. "Haven't I taught you not to talk like that?"
"Yes, ma'am," Zazi stepped back, afraid of her mother.
"And in front of Annabelle. Shame on you!"
Shira turned to the group. "I'm sorry, we're taking up your time. We'll get going."
"It was nice meeting you, ma'am," 2-T nodded.
"Thank you. Zazi, Annabelle, let's go!"
The family walked to the front door, leaving the teenagers and aliens very confused.
"Well, that was new," Angela remarked.
"That was fun!" Do-Wah grinned.
"That was strange," Lilly mumbled. She switched back to her purple catsuit. "What's he doing out?"
"What?" B-Bop cocked his head.
"That dragon toy," Lilly monotoned, still watching the door like Zazi and company were going to walk back in again. "There's more to him than meets the eye."
DONE!