"I'm Roxanne Pelligrini, that's Roxy to you, and I'm here to reveal to you the true identity of Jem." Roxy was only a little nervous. Not because she was talking to reporters alone, on such a big subject, but because she'd never told any of the other Misfits what she'd figured out. She could hear the shocked gasps from the press, the flashbulbs nearly blinding her.
"First, I want to say I am as sure as I can be on this. I know I'm not known for being smart, that Stormer's job. But Jetta's the liar, and Pizzazz is the drama queen, so ya gotta just listen. I first started to wonder 'bout who Jem was same time everyone did, when she first showed up." She let her mind drift back to that first appearance.
All of the Holograms were friends of Jerrica Benton. It was her first thought that Jem was flown in from somewhere, an old friend of the girls.
"Where does she get off, bringing in that Jem girl, and where did she come from?" Pizzazz had been furious at being upstaged.
"They both wear those ridiculous earrings, did you see?" Stormer said, sticking out her tongue.
"Maybe they're related?" Roxy had wondered aloud.
"What are you, on drugs?" Pizzazz snapped.
"Eric would have known about anyone related to Jerrica with talent."
That theory was shot down in flames quickly.
"Quit tryin' to think Roxy, we got music to play and butts to kick."
Roxy had scowled. "Fine. Lets go."
"The real hint was when we went to China. In fact, if it weren't for the fact I thought no one would believe me, that could have been my proof. When I nicked Jem's earrings, soon she's gone. And who's in her place? Jerrica Benton." The crowd began to murmur.
"But I've seen them together!"
"Jerrica and Jem are not the same!"
"That's not possible!"
"Shaddup already!" Roxy yelled, losing control. She wished she'd brought Stormer along, or even Jetta. She could use the backup.
"Those things made me doubt it too, I know. But where the heck was Jerrica before that, hmm? No one could tell you. And that wasn't the first time you saw one but couldn't find the other. Remember that movie? Jerrica, do this, where's Jem? 'oh I'll go get her!' why couldn't someone else go get her, hmm?" Roxy sneered, hands on her hips. "It was too much to write off a coincidence. Jerrica had to know who Jem was, help her out or something, cause Jem never appeared without Jerrica calling her, and then Jem would leave before Jerrica could get back."
"But, you know, even if that was proof that Jerrica was Jem, it didn't explain how you sometimes, uhm, saw them both. I mean, I was so sure later when Jem didn't fall for a trick of ours because a fake Jerrica walked in. But I couldn't tell anyone what I thought cause I couldn't explain that."
She could remember many evenings spent literally banging her head on walls trying to come up with an explanation. Roxy wanted to ask Stormer so many times, but didn't want to feel stupid. Stupider. And later, Jetta was always distracting her. The stupid Brit wouldn't let things be normal.
"Wot's this then?" Jetta asked, poking around the room the misfits used for 'sleepovers'. One gigantic bed and piles of pillows, a vanity that even Pizzazz couldn't find fault with (big enough for five girls their size to work at without bumping elbows!) and room for plenty of snacks.
She had pulled out one of Roxy's music sheets, with the lyrics spelled phonetically, just when Roxy had gotten the nerve to ask Stormer for help. Luckily, as Roxy stammered dumbly, Pizzazz snorted.
"One of these two's way to practice different emphasis on words in songs." Their leader explained, remembering the excuse Stormer had given… a long time ago. Roxy had confined in Stormer at the same time Stormer had told her that her older brother practically raised her. They had been talking over some of their first songs, and Stormer wanted input on the lyrics. Lyrics she couldn't read.
( Pizzazz wasn't involved in the music process till performing came. Then, she would block it, fix everything, and go haywire over set designs and clothing.)
A commotion startled Roxy out of her thoughts, as Pizzazz and the other two Misfits shoved their way through the crowd.
"Move it!" Pizzazz screamed, as usual stepping on people to get her way. Literally.
"Out o' my way, I'm walkin 'ere!" Jetta was no quieter, but didn't knock people down. Roxy would have. Stormer, on the other hand, was so stunned you might not recognize her. "Roxy! What are you doing?"
Roxy smiled and beckoned her friends up with her, gesturing for them to take seats on the edge of the platform she was standing on. Pizzazz refused to do so, instead lurking behind like a shark who's scented blood. Roxy supposed Pizzazz was afraid of losing Roxy over this.
"Kimber called in a panic, asking if Eric put you up to this. He didn't, did he?" Stormer whispered, reminding the Philly native that Stormer still kept in touch with her one time partner.
"Eric? Pffft, like he'd have the guts." Roxy dismissed the idea with a scornful laugh. "Nope, this ones all Roxy."
"So, Roxy, what proof do you have?"
"Give us proof!"
"How can it be possible?"
The reporters were clamouring, microphones shoved in her face.
"Jetta, can you get these guys to back up?" Roxy rolled her eyes, tugging at the cut-off sleeve of her shirt. The Brit launched herself off the stage with a grin, and strong-armed the reporters and cameramen out of her way. "Back off, you twits. Roxy's speaking here, and we all wanna know wot she 'as to say."
"Right. There've been tons of time that fed my suspicion, but proof eluded me." Roxy was being careful, she wasn't very articulate at the best of times, and she was getting more nervous.
"But, as you know, I don't read well. I was working on that one day, looking up words to make things easier. For a kick, I decided to look up hologram."
A negative produced by exposing a high-resolution photographic plate, without camera or lens, near a subject illuminated by monochromatic, coherent radiation, as from a laser: when it is placed in a beam of coherent light a true three-dimensional image of the subject is formed.
"What the heck does that mean?" Roxy wondered, but worked her way through carefully to the last line. 'A true three dimensional image'
It took her a while, but she finally realized it was like a projector image, except in three dimensions.
"That's what did it. Jem and the holograms is a kinda silly name, cause Jem IS a hologram! An if I'm right, which I think I am, those earrings she and Jerrica always wear have something to do with it."
"I get it," Pizzazz said, clearly pleased with her band mate. "Like when we were in China and you filched those earrings, Jerrica showed up not long afterwards. Cause without those earrings, there's no hologram of Jem."
"And THAT explains how Kimber acted towards Jem all the time…" Stormer mused aloud, likely louder than she realized.
"And why she threw an unholy snit at that airport." Jetta put in.
Roxy felt the tension melt off. She had her fellow Misfits by her side, nothing could stop her now.
"So, in uh, in closing, look at the facts. If Jem is a hologram on Jerrica, how hard is it to believe the same, uh, technology, made them appear to be in the same place. So, Jem, Jerrica, why don't you come here and prove me wrong?"
"If you're not too scared to!" Pizzazz added, placing a hand on Roxy's shoulder, pride showing through. Stormer and Jetta exchanged a look and grinned, high-fiving.
"Who says Roxy's not smart?" Stormer questioned, looking out at everyone present. "I always knew she was, she just didn't always show it."
"The gals not just smart, she's a bloomin' genius." Jetta refused to be outdone and slapped Roxy on the back., causing the platinum tressed bassist to stumble a bit. "Why didn't you tell us you'd got this figured out?" she hissed angrily, clearly not happy about being kept in the dark.
Roxy shrugged. "Guess I just wanted to show myself I was good enough."
"Good enough? You're a MISFIT Roxy. There ain't nobody better than a Misfit." Jetta scowled, and Stormer laughed.
"Yeah, you should know that, you wrote the song."
"Yeah, I guess you're right." she admitted, biting her lip.
Pizzazz clapped her hands. "Ok, shows over, go interrogate Jerrica Benton now."
Some reporters and cameramen hung around, but the Misfits didn't care, pushing right past them to get into the car, Roxy driving. "Dinners on Pizzazz tonight!' she declared, causing their lead singer to start, then agree.
At Starlight music, Jerrica barricaded herself in her office with her fellow Holograms, with phones ringing off the hook and two very tweaked boyfriends pounding on the door.
Because this time, the Misfits really did win.
Come on people, someone had to do it. and Roxy figuring it out? Who doesn't love that girl?