Welcome back to Hidden Talents, did you enjoy that last chapter? If you didn't realise Il Cuoco means The Chef in Italian, just like La Chanteur means The Singer in French. Why Italian? Well I have to do something with what I've learnt in the last three years of school. This next talent will hopefully be in tune with the character.
Disclaimer: I was like eight when this came out, how can I possibly own it?
Chapter 3: El Guitarrista (Wow this one is obvious)
"Thanks for helping me out with this Tung," Dex called out to the tracker. The two were both currently in one of the storage rooms, rummaging around for more of his Father's records on an insect called the Heaven Beetle, an unknown and unrecorded insect that was believed to live in the outer moons of Main 7.
"No problem dude," the frog boy replied, sticking his head out from behind one of the many (neatly stacked) piles. "I can't believe how much stuff there is in here!"
"I know, it's a wonder Jenny hasn't already cleaned this out," the words sent his mind back to the time they were looking for the Warp Tick Queen and how their ridiculous search ended in one of the many storage rooms the clone chose to ignore.
Yeah the warp tick situation, not his smartest move.
Bringing his mind back to the present Dex opened a cabinet full of old document, flicking through the folders as an idea formed in his mind.
"You know, one day we should really clean these rooms out." He mused aloud. "After all, there could be things in here that could be extremely useful. You never know what you might find-" his speech was cut off by a loud crash accompanied by Tung's surprised yelp. The frog boy groaned and sat up, rubbing his head.
"Ow, man whoever packed this did a pretty bad job," he leant on part of the pile to push himself up and ended up slipping, bringing more of the mound crashing down. Dex winced as the (almost comedic) display played out in front of him.
"Come on Tung, here" he held out his hand to the tracker, who sheepishly accepted it and pulled himself up.
"Sorry dude, I'll help you clean this up," his foot hit an object that gave of an echoed noise, accompanied by the faint thrum of a string instrument. Dex bent and removed it from the pile of magazines and other unidentified junk.
"No way," Dex's face lit up excitedly as he held out the instrument. 'Dad's ukulele!"
"Huh?" Tung furrowed his brows. "It looks like a tiny guitar, your dad used to play it?"
Dex turned the instrument around, a massive grin across his face. "Oh yeah, he used to play it all the time. Guitars and ukuleles were mum's favourite instruments," he had seated himself on a stool and was tuning the ukulele. "I remember her telling me that he learnt it to impress her. They were both really good at playing too," he looked up at the frog boy. "I know it's hard to believe, my dad doesn't seem like the musical type,"
"That thought did actually cross my mind," Tung admitted, Dex shrugged and strummed the strings before tweaking the tuners a bit more. "Can you play it?"
"It's been awhile, but I think I can," Dex held his fingers over the strings, racketing his brain for something to play. Tung sat himself between a crate and an old printer, looking up expectantly. Dex plucked the strings and began playing, rocking back and forth slightly as his hands fell into muscle memory. Tung started clapping along to the beat of the song, bopping up and down as he did. An easy smile fell into place and Dex closed his eyes, seemingly enjoying the moment.
When the final note died away Dex opened his eyes and was met with a starry eyed Tung.
"That was AMAZING!" he cried out, throwing his hands up. "I had no idea you were a ukulele god!" Dex chuckled and rubbed the back of his head at the compliment.
"Thanks Tung, but I wouldn't call myself a ukulele god. The song sounds better with the lyrics, but I'm tone deaf and I'd rather not make your ears bleed," Tung nodded seriously.
"Well we need to get someone who sings to sing while you play. I wanna hear the song in all its words and notes!" Dex laughed at Tung's enthusiasm.
"Well I don't know where we would find a singer, but I have a few home videos I could show you sometime. I'm sure mum is playing the song at one point," Dex stood, ukulele in hand. "But for now we can take a break. I doubt we will find anything in here about the Heaven Beetle." He walked back towards the door with the tracker at his heels.
"Did you want lunch?" Tung asked. Dex shook his head.
"Thanks Tung, but no thanks. I want to put this in a safe place," he held up the ukulele. "Maybe next time," Tung nodded and took off to the kitchen.
"See you later dude!" Dex shook his head and chuckled before looking back down at the instrument.
"Maybe I should practice a bit more," he mused aloud before heading to his room.
Inside the storage room a little robot climbed out from under the fallen pile. That frog boy was such a klutz, the bot hoped that he wasn't scratched, he had only just had maintenance done. He would like his new coat of paint to stay clean for as long as possible thank you very much.
Turning to look at the mess his irritable mood fell away. His plan worked out as expected. After finding that instrument all Habi had to do was wait until Dex decided to search the storage room for whatever he needed. Though he had hoped the pilot would be the one to help having Tung stumble about did give a more interesting reveal. The bot rubbed his claws together thoughtfully.
Three down, one to go. Hopefully it wouldn't be too hard.
And there you go. Dex can play the ukulele (and any other guitar-like instrument I guess) and Habi has a devious plan like usual.
Apologies for the extremely unbearably long time between this chapter and the last. I'm hoping to get the next chapter up soon, let's hope time will allow. La Guitarrista is Spanish (I think) for guitarist. What was the song Dex played? You'll find out in the final chapter.
What did you think? R&R.
