Louis's Jazzy Tale

Prologue

Tiana put the closed sign in the window just as the last customer left the restaurant. I was relieved.

"Gosh!" I said in exhaustion. "There were a lot of people here today. I don't think I remember this many people, then again, I don't count everyone who go here. Don't get me wrong now, I love entertaining the customers, and working here, but man, today was exhausting! It makes me glad when work is done for the day. I think the human expression is that you got me working like a dog, but I'm an alligator, not a dog. Also, I don't get it." Naveen chuckled.

"I agree, Louis." He told me. "Work is no fun, but, at the end of the day, it's worth it. I used to not want to work, and thought it was a waste of time." He looked at Tiana. "until I met Tiana. When the spell was broken, it wasn't just a frog body I left behind. You turned me into a better man." Tiana blushed.

"Oh, stop it!" She said. "But, I'm glad I helped get you up off your lazy bum." She looked at me next. "Ready to go, Louis?"

"Oh, yes!" I cheered. "I always love to go home after a hard day's work." Tiana smiled.

"Before we go home, we have somewhere else to go." This confused me even more.

"Huh?" I asked. "But, Tiana, if we're not going home right away, where are we going?"

"You just have to see when we get there. Oh, wait, that reminds me." She went off somewhere in the restaurant. I looked at Naveen.

"Do you know what this is about?"

"I do." He admitted. "But, like Tiana said, you'll just have to see when we get there."

"Aw; come on! You two are just going to leave me in the dark like this? No fair! I thought we were friends!"

"We are, but you still have to see when we get there." I pouted. "Don't pout, Louis. You're thank us later." Tiana got back with a picnic basket, and a blue tackle box.

"I almost forgot these." She said. I looked at the two boxes, then at Tiana, excited.

"Are we going fishing, and having a picnic?"

"Yes we are, Louis. Well, we're going to try fishing anyways. If we're not successful, we might have to rely on you."

"Oh, boy!" I jumped up from foot to foot. Naveen and Tiana tried to get their balances as I made the floor shake beneath their feet.

"C-careful, Louis." Naveen warned, his voice shaky. "I know you're excited, but you must remember, to you it might be okay, but to us, it's an e-earthquake." I stopped hopping, letting then catch their breaths.'

"Sorry."

"Okay," Tiana said. "Let's go before something else happens. All of us went to the door. The door was big and wide enough for me to fit through.

Tiana was about to lock the door when Charlotte stormed up to them.

"You're shutting the restaurant?" She asked.

"Yep." Tiana replied. "We're closing early today."

"Now, why on earth would you do that?"

"Special occasion."

"What special occasion? The Mardi Gras parade is only a few days away."

"I would tell you, but Louis is present." This made us both shocked, especially me.

"What?!" I questioned. "What can you not tell Charlotte that you can't tell me?"

"Yeah!" Charlotte agreed. "What aren't you telling Louis that you can't tell me? I thought we were friends. We've been friends since we both started to walk. We both may have gone to different schools, but we remained good friends, no matter what people said about us. We made it work, and we'll always make it work. We beat the odds, Ti."

"We are friends, and I know all of that. I was there, and I'm still here. I won't go anywhere."

"She gotta go somewhere." I said about Tiana. "Humans are always on the go. If she stays in one place all the time, they can't get from Point A to Point B, so how can…" Naveen shushed me, and told me to 'just listen.' So, I kept my mouth shut…for the moment.

"Oh." Charlotte laughed nervously. "Right. I knew that."

"But I still can't say. It's a secret."

"Well, can I at least get my beignet?"

"Sorry, I just closed the door. You'll just have to go somewhere else."

"But, your beignets are the best! Everyone in New Orleans knows that." Tiana laughed.

"Well, I don't think everyone thinks they're the best. But, thanks for that. I'm flattered." She looked down at the two boxes like I did, then back at her friend.

"Is there beignets in the picnic basket?"

"Maybe. Do you want to come? I didn't pack enough food for another person though."

"That's okay. I already ate. And it depends. Will I like where we're going, and will I get a beignet if I go?" Tiana shrugged.

"Maybe. Maybe not." Charlotte thought of this.

"Okay, then. But, I better get a fresh-baked beignet."

"Deal." Charlotte then asked about fishing, and Tiana told her the same thing that she told me. She then asked if she and I were going to fish. She said that they didn't have that many fishing rods, and she also reminded her that it was unnecessary for me to fish, because I am an alligator, and can gather my own fish.

"Oh, silly me." She responded, and then laughed. "That makes sense."

We were on our way then. It took forever, or at least what seemed like forever to me. I don't know really how long it took.

"Here we are." Tiana said finally.

"Oh, goody!" I cheered. "It took us forever to get here."

"Uh, Louis my friend." Naveen said. "It actually took us fifteen minutes to get here."

"Fifteen minutes?" I asked. "It took forever for me. You know very well that I can't tell time."

"I know, Lois. I'm just giving you a hard time."

"Oh."

"Well, Louis." Tiana said to me. "Do you know where we are?" I then looked, observing the surroundings. I then instantly knew.

"Why are we in the bayou?" I wanted to know.

"Do you know what today is?"

"I just told your husband that I can't tell time. I don't even know what yesterday was, or when this morning was. I'm assuming it was in the morning, but I don't know how long that was."

"It's been exactly one year today when Naveen and I met you." I was shocked.

"Really?"

"Yes, really."

"In this exact spot? Is this where we all sang that song about what we all are going to do when we were human?"

"Well, not exactly." Naveen out in. "It could be if we're lucky. The bayou is a big place. It'll be hard to find the exact same spot, but if it is, well, then, it's just sheer luck. Do you know if we're in the same place?" I shook my head.

"Sorry, I don't."

"Well, neither do we."

"I didn't even know you guys met here." Charlotte said. "Or somewhere around here anyways. Although, I might have assumed. After all, this is where frogs and alligators are found around here, as well as other swamp animals."

"Hey, Louis." Tiana spoke. "How exactly did you become interested in jazz? And where did you get your trumpet?

"And why did you name her Giselle?" Naveen wanted to know. "I must admit, we thought it was weird Ray was in love with a star, but as soon as we saw why, it was actually really sweet. So, you must have an explanation too. We need to dig a little deeper, and find out what it is, then it won't be quite as weird. Maybe, still weird. But, we'll understand a little better."

"Well, that's a long story. Are you sure you want to hear it?"

"Yes." Everyone said at once.

"I would like to know too." Charlotte said. "After all, it's not everyday you come across a jazz-loving-trumpet-playing alligator. So, go ahead, tell away already. I didn't come here for nothing."

"Alright." I said, and then was confused. "Where should I begin?"

"Start when you first heard about jazz, and while you do that, we're going to eat."

"Okay, I'll eat later, because it's rude to talk it your mouth full. My mama taught me that." I looked at the two twinkling stars above me.

"Are you listening, Ray and Evangeline? It's going to be good. I promise it won't be boring." I looked at all of my other friends who took food out of the basket, and cleared my throat, making sure that they were all listening. "It all started when I was a tiny, tiny, alligator."