Summary: Jazmine enters talent show; Riley and Cindy get into trouble
"Breaking down the House"
Jazmine Dubois was a lot like her father in many ways. She was paranoid like her father. Naïve like her father. And...she loved to sing like her father. In fact Jazmine and Tom would often sing together... in the car,-shows Jazmine and tom singing in the car—in a plane-shows Jazmine and Tom singing on an airplane while Sarah and other passengers put pillows over their heads-and even underwater—shows Jazmine and Tom at the beach under the water singing while Sarah, Grandad, Huey and Riley look on with disgust and annoyance. But Jazmine lacked one thing that Tom seemed to have...arrogance. Tom believed that he was god's gift to music. He believed that he could out sing anyone. This train of thought gave Tom a sense of fearlessness when performing. Something his daughter lacked.
"Daddy! Daddy!" Tom pulled up against the curb at J. Edgar Hoover Elementary. He had come to pick Jazmine up as she was staying after school to audition for the school talent show.
"Hi, Sweetie!" Jazmine hopped in the car and kissed her father's cheek.
"Daddy! I passed the audition! I can perform in the talent show now!"
"Oh that's great sweetie! What song are you going to sing?"
"Umm...I'm not sure yet. Want to hear my suggestions?"
"Sure Sweetie."
"Okay...Weak by SWV?"
"No."
"Uhh...Right and a Wrong way by Keith Sweat?"
"Absolutely not."
"R. Kelly-"
"Never! R. Kelly does not exist to you! Okay?!"
"Okay...daddy. Ooh I have another suggestion."
"What is it?" Tom braced himself.
"What about Pony by Ginuwine. I love ponies." Tom started to hyperventilate.
"No!How do you even know these songs?!"
"Daddy?" Jazmine whined, "Why can't I sing those songs? Do you have anything against those songs? Is it because they're R&B? You know what? You might be on to something daddy. Most of the kids at school probably won't know these songs. Good thinking."
"Jazmine, it's not because they're R&B. It's because they're...um...uhhh..."
"Ooh. I got it! I can sing Cyndi Lauper She Bop!" Tom absolutely did not want to hear his daughter singing a controversial song about masturbation in front of an auditorium full of prepubescent children and their parents.
"Ahhhh!" Tom screamed out loud in despair.
~~~~~ At the Freeman Residence~~~~
Riley Freeman was sitting on the living room sofa with his feet up on the table, a glass of juice a sandwich, and a bag of Cheetos. Since Grandad went to the grocery store and Huey wasn't around he basked in the solitude.
"Ahhh," he sighed satisfactorily, "Home alone. No abusive grandad and no hating Huey."
He got up to go turn off the Playstation and turn on the Xbox when he heard a faint sound coming from the garage area. Riley ran upstairs and grabbed Huey's Sword and ran to the garage entrance door. He heard another sound that sounded like a crash. He opened the door and ran towards the sound.
"Who the fuck is in here! Don't make me get to slicing and dicing in this peace!"
"Ugh..." Riley slowly walks to the sound of someone who is groaning in pain. He walks over to the person and looks them in the face.
"Cindy! Man what the hell you doing here?! Breaking in and shit!" He put the sword down at his side.
"What's up Reezy! I just dropped by to ya know hang out and shit!"
"Hang out?! You dropped by to hang out and you came through the fucking garage window like a fucking criminal? What's wrong? Yo ass allergic to front doors?!" Riley continued to rant while he walked back to the living room with Cindy following behind him, "I coulda stabbed yo ass up! Then I woulda went to jail for life fo killing a crazy white girl, damn!"
"Calm down Reezy. I was just testing out my burglary skills." They were both sitting on the couch next to each other by now.
"Testing your-nigga is you crazy? Where I'm from that's how you get shot." Riley and Cindy was quiet for a second before Riley said, "D."
"D?" Cindy turned her head confused.
"You get a D on your burglary skills."
"A d? Why I gotta get a D?"
"Because your burglary skills suck! The window you came in was halfway open, you made enough noise for Foxy Brown to hear, plus the garage door was locked and you wouldn't have gotten in anyway."
"Like you could do better." Cindy folded her arms across her chest.
"Man, I could break in any house I wanted to I don't care if it's dogs there or security alarms, I'm Young Reezy I got it like that. I got them skills."
"Wanna bet?"
"Bet? Wait hold on. I was speaking theoretically. Like, theoretically I could break in but right now I gotta lay low cause I don't want to go to jail."
"No. Look," Cindy stood up excitedly and paced, "We can break into people's houses we know. Person A will break in and person B will follow the lead of the other, and at the end person b will grade person A. You in, Reezy or you wanna play pussy?"
"Man...I don't know...this seems like something we'd get shot for..." Riley then smiled a devious smile,
"Okay! Let's go!"
"Yeah!"
They both ran out of the garage. Cindy ran ahead of Riley. Riley stopped and grabbed one of their airsoft guns off a shelf in the garage. He put his hands together like he was praying.
"Lord forgive me for messing with these white girls."
~~~~~~~~ At the Dubois' Residence~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jazmine was telling tom how nervous she was and how she felt she was gonna throw up when she goes on stage and everyone's gonna boo her.
"Jazmine. You have nothing to worry about. You're gonna do fine. Nervousness is natural."
"But daddy! What if I freeze up. Like Eminem did in 8 mile. There's no Mekhi Phifer to hype me up!"
"When did you ever watch 8 mile! How—When-WHO is teaching you these things?!"
"Daddy! There's no time for questions! I'm gonna pass out on stage and you want to talk about Eminem and Mekhi Phifer!" Jazmine yelled back at him.
"You know what sweetie you're right. Let me show you your costume I bought you. I'll be right back!"
Jazmine then stood there and thought about herself going onstage and making a fool of herself. She pictured the audience laughing at her hysterically. Riley and Grandad were in the front row holding onto each other for support. Huey had his head down, so no one could see his face. Cindy and her mother were holding their stomachs with laughter. Then she saw a girl in her class that hated her named Justice.
"They're all gonna laugh at you!"
"They're all gonna laugh at you!"
"They're all gonna laugh at you!"
"They're all gonna laugh at you!"
"They're all gonna laugh at you!"
"Jazmine! They're not gonna laugh at you!"
She was snapped out of her day-mare by Tom. Wow. She was never watching Carrie again.
~~~~~~~~15 minutes and a bunch of polyester later~~~~~
Tom and Jazmine were now in the den and Tom had his expensive karaoke machine turned on. The fact that Tom had large speakers, a quality microphone, a giant projection screen showed just how much he enjoyed singing. These objects were high quality and showed just how dedicated Tom was to his hobby.
"Daddy are you sure I have to wear this?"
Jazmine was wearing seventies styled clothes that resembled those of Michael Jackson's when he was a kid. Instead of her hair in two puffs she wore her full-sized afro. Tom wore his standard khaki pants and a pink polo shirt.
"Yeah, sweetie it gives me hope that one day I can follow my dreams..."
Jazmine gives him a look.
"I mean your dreams, sweetie," Tom then at Jazmine and strokes his chin and appears to be thinking deeply, "Let's see. I think we're all good. Though we could use, say, four more kids."
"Yay! I get another brother or sister!"
"No. That's not what that means...although...no no no! Let's just start with the steps first."
"Daddy I only want to sing. Not sing and dance. That's like...super hard. I'm not Beyonce!"
"And I'm not Matthew, but you have to give people a show, Jazmine. People want to be entertained. They want to be dazzled. Lights! Camera! Action! They want to feel like they didn't waste their money on tickets."
"Daddy. The talent show is free!"
"No! Don't think like that, Jazmine. No show is ever free. Don't perform like it is a free show. Perform like it's your last show. You never want to be known as a lazy, sucky performer."
"But daddy! Riley said I was okay. But Huey said I sound like Mickey Mouse on helium!"
"Well you passed the auditions, right? You have to sound good to pass."
"Well...not really." Jazmine looked down and looked nervous.
"What do you mean?"
"Well there's this boy named Blake and he has a tiny crush on me and he was one of the judges and I told him before that I really, really, really wanted to get in...and so I guessed he...made sure I got through."
Tom's face was frozen. He was in a state of shock. He didn't want to think about his barely pre-teen daughter using her feminine wiles already.
"Uh...um...o-okay s-sweetie. Let me be the judge. Go over there and pick a song on the machine." His face was still contorted and his eyes twitched in the slightest.
Jazmine walked over to the machine that she wondered how her dad could afford. She pressed a button and Girls just wanna have fun blared through. Jazmine started dancing. Tom had a vision of Jazmine dancing to this song in her teen years at a party on table tops. He figured that that type of behavior would only lead her in prison to get anally raped. Not taking into the fact that she would be going to a women's prison therefore making the chances of anal rape slim to none.
"Uh...no. Why don't I pick a song for you darling. He then scrolled over to a song that he knew Jazmine loved and would be perfect to suit her high voice. He pressed the play button and 'I wanna be where you are' by Jackson 5 started playing.
"I love this song daddy!"
"I know sweetie. It's age appropriate, voice appropriate" Tom began to whisper to himself, "and best of all no thinly veiled yet obscure sexual references."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Meanwhile~~~~~~~~
Riley and Cindy go to The Dubois house and try to sneak in through the back so they could break in. As they are walking towards the side of the house, Sarah Dubois, having seen them through the window, opens the door.
"Oh. Riley. Cindy. Hi. What are you two doing here?"
Cindy and Riley looked at each other almost afraid until Riley speaks up.
"Um...we were looking for...Jazmine. We wanted to play. We figured she would be in the garage practicing her singing for the talent show and we wanted to um...distract her to not...you know overwork her voice."
Cindy looked at him as if to say good job.
"Oh, Riley. That's so thoughtful of you. She's in the den with Tom and his giant karaoke machine," she rolled her eyes at this, "He's her coach for the show. He just loves taking on that leadership role except in the bedroom," she whispered to herself, "but you can come in and watch if you want."
Cindy and Riley looked at each other panicked.
"Um...that's okay Mrs. Dubois. We...um...know how Tom can be when he wants to win something. Tell Jazmine good luck."
They hurriedly walked back across the street to the Freemans garage.
"Damn. That was close."
"Duh, nigga."
"Whatever, Reezy. We gotta find somebody else's house to break in."
"What? You know what Cindy this is a bad idea. I told you the cops is hot on my ass right now. No
homo. We don't know if people is home if they gon shoot us or what."
"Come on Reezy. I know you ain't scared!"
"No I ain't scared! I just don't want to go to jail." Cindy was deep in thought for a second and thought about something.
"Okay. How about instead of taking turns we just try it one more time so we can have a you know even chance. Let's see if you can do better than me Reezy."
"If I do this then we gon have to make sure the house we use is for somebody who not gon snitch to the police or put a bullet in our ass. And it's probably best they not home either."
"Yeah. Ooh! I just thought about something! We can try my house. Since my dad is on a business trip and my mom is out with her boyfriend."
"What?"
"Don't ask. So...do you wanna? Just one time, Riley. No one is home that's why I came over here. No one will put a bullet in your ass or whatever. I promise. What do you say, reezy?"
Riley thought about it for a second.
"Okay. I guess. But if I get shot or arrested I'mma kill yo white ass."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~Tom and Jazmine~~~~~~~~~~~
"Okay darling. Let's hear it."
The music starts up and Jazmine begins to sing the famous Jackson 5 song. Tom bobs his head non-rhythmically and raises his eyebrows at some parts and shakes his head in approval in others. When Jazmine is done he applauds.
"Oh. Sweetie pie. That was great but you could really improve on certain aspects."
"Like what?" Jazmine said between clenched teeth.
"Well on the lower parts like the 'did I leave your mind when I was gone', your voice was kind of shaky. So first what we're gonna do now is some vocal exercises and we're gonna put some emphasis on the lower notes so they can be full and rich."
"Full and rich?"
"Yeah. Full and rich. Kind of like Whitney Houston's voice."
He wants me to sing like Whitney Houston? Nigga I'm ten! That's hard as hell! I'm singing a Jackson 5 song. That's what Jazmine felt like saying. But instead all she said was, "Okay, Daddy. Let's practice."
They practiced and practiced. They practiced the dance steps and the singing. Jazmine really didn't want to do the dancing but Tom was being...well...Tom. So she continued and Tom slowly became less and less understanding and patient.
"Daddy. How many times do I have to tell you. I don't want to do the spin!"
"You have to do the spin, Jazmine! You just have to!"
"I'm putting my foot down, daddy. All I want to do is sing and you turn into a monster! You're no better than...than...than...Joe Jackson!"
Tom gasped in shock at being called Joe Jackson as Jazmine ran away. After she storms out of the house she goes to her favorite place.
The Hill.
As she is approaching the tree where she usually sat at she noticed his brown cotton-ball head of hair before anything else. She sat down quietly next to him as he read his book. He didn't even acknowledge her existence.
"Hey."
"Hey," he said without ever looking up from his book. It was quiet for another few minutes before Huey spoke again.
"Haven't seen you around lately."
"Aw. You missed me." He finally looked up to give her a dark look.
"Kidding, Huey. Gosh."
"Jazmine. I told you don't say that word in my presence." Huey wrinkled his nose. Jazmine thought it was cute.
"Yeah. Yeah Yeah. Cause gosh sounds so white blah blah blah Huey's so uptight."
He gave her a look.
"Kidding."
"You seem to be 'kidding' a lot nowadays as well as absent."
"Well I've been practicing. You know for the talent show."
"What are you gonna do for the talent show?"
"Sing. Duh." She looked at Huey as if he had four heads.
"I was having fun practicing until I asked my dad to help me for my performance."
"I can't imagine your pain." It was quiet for a second.
"Huey can you sing?"
Huey looked at Jazmine with the 'Are you stupid' face.
"Technically...everyone can sing."
"Huey! You know what I mean!" He was quiet for a second before saying, "No."
Jazmine looked at him suspiciously.
"Whatever. I may never know the truth."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"You'd never tell me or anyone for that matter if you actually could. It shall remain another Huey mystery."
"Whatever."
"Are you going to the talent show?"
"No."
"Why? Don't you want to see me perform? Please, Huey! Please!"
He was quiet for a second as he stared down at the grass before he said, "I'll think about it."
"Okay." Huey and Jazmine sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes. He continued to read his book as Jazmine continued to pull the grass out of the ground. She thought about an event that had happened a while back and Huey said something that bothered her to this day. She wanted to know if he meant it or if he was being mean. She decided to ask him.
"Huey? Do I really sound like Mickey Mouse on helium?"
Cindy and Riley arrived at her house. Well...more like the back of her house over a large fence. This time Riley was dressed for the part. He had on black pants, shoes, a long-sleeved black shirt, a black jacket and a black knit cap on his head.
"Okay, Reezy. Go."
"Hush. White girl."
"Stop calling me that!"
"He-he."
Riley attempted to climb over the large fence. He struggled a little at first, wishing for a second that he had his brother's ninja skills. When he finally made it over the fence he began to attempt to break in the house. He used a screwdriver to attempt to break the lock. Since there was no one home, he didn't care about making noise. Then he heard voices coming from inside the house and he turned to look at Cindy who wore an 'I don't know what's going on' expression. The backdoor opened and Riley looked up to see three, large Hispanic men.
"Um...Oh...Cindy I think this is the wrong house. We should go."
One of the men snatched him up and threw Riley over his shoulder. The other grabbed Cindy too.
"Man fuck! Ya'll motherfuckers better put me down this my house! You Stupid motherfuckers!"
"Yeah, right ey! This ain't your home...homes! Besides we just got out of prison and we thought this home was nice...so we took it. Simple as that, ey! This house probably belong to some rich folk who ain't never home, anyway!"
Riley and Cindy were brought downstairs into the living room and tied up on two chairs whose back was touching each other making Riley and Cindy tied up with the same tape. They also put duct tape on their mouths and feet.
The dudes were in the corner arguing. Riley was trying to move and get the tape off of his mouth. Cindy was shaking her head no trying to stop Riley from doing whatever he was gonna do. After a minute he stopped fighting and just sat there.
'Damn. If I wouldn't have went with Cindy then I wouldn't be in this shit. Then again, she would have came home anyways and been by herself. Man I gotta find us a way out of here. Cindy's my homegirl, she was with me through all the bullshit. It seemed like just yesterday when we was running a top notch, high-paying candy business. When Jazmine and Phil punked out she was there with me until the end. We gotta get the hell up outta here. I wonder if I can call Huey some kind of way...Naw...I don't need that nigga. Police...outta the question. Ooh I got a plan. I'mma use something Huey calls diplomacy.'
"Look look. We ain't no snitches so you can let us go and we won't snitch to the gay ass police."
"Man, what we look like homes, idiots?"
"Uh..." The shorter of the three walked up to Riley with his gun pointed at the side of his head.
"What fool...you...um...um...Damn! What's that word?"
"Stupid." One of the brothers suggested.
"No, no. The word when somebody pauses or something."
"Reluctant." Cindy suggested.
"No."
"hiatus." Riley suggested.
"That's not funny!" Riley looked confused.
"Hesitant?" The brother spoke again.
"Yeah! That's the word. Hesitant. What what was I using it for again?"
"You was hesitant to let us go, but you reluctantly obliged." Riley said cheekily. 'Man now I see why Huey uses those big words all the time. It make a nigga fell smart as hell.'
"That's not funny!" The man whined and wailed his gun around.
"You know what I've had enough of this smart-mouthed little bastard. I'm gonna make you deep throat these bullets!"
"Pause."
"That's not funny! I know the word now! It's hesitant! H-e-s-i-t-e-n-t."
"Man just let us go. We ain't gon tell nobody. We ain't snitches."
"Yeah plus I got niggas that is looking for me right now and if you kill us they gon come after yo ass! And that'll start a war! And do you want war?! Cause War! Huh! Yeah! What iiiss it good for absolutely nothing! Sing it with me now!" Riley and one of the brothers started singing along with Cindy.
They continued singing for about a minute until the little brother shut that down.
"AY! Shut that shit up, ay? Now we're gonna kill you say your last words." He pointed at Riley when he said that.
Riley started crying.
"Man I never got a chance to tell that ugly girl in my class that I don't like her and that her breath stank! I never got a chance to tell Huey he was a bitch nigga for the last time! I never got to tell Tom that he the bitchiest bitch I ever knew! I never told Grandad that I appreciate all the ass whuppings! I never got a chance to tell all my niggas goodbye! I never got a chance to tell Jazmine that she annoying as fuck and got a big ass head. I never got to tell Cindy that she the best friend I ever had! I'm sorry everybody!" Cindy looked really surprised, then smiled.
The little brother continued to point the gun in his face and suddenly started to laugh along with everybody else in the room.
"What! What the fuck ya'll laughing at! Better not be me! Cause Reezy don't play that shit! I'm hard as hell!" Everyone continued laughing. "Man haven't ya'll ever heard! A thug got feelings too!"
They came over and took off the duct tape from Riley and Cindy.
"Ralph, my dude. Chico, Taco. Thanks for the favor."
"Anything for you lil Homie!"
"What the fuck!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~ Meanwhile back at the Dubois house~~~~~~~~~
Jazmine came into the den area and found Tom sitting there with his head hanging down.
"Don't you know I sit around with my head hanging down and I wonder whoooo's loo-ooving youooo Daddy! I finally worked on the 'texture' of my voice like you said and I'm sorry daddy I know you were only trying to help. Can we get back to practicing?"
Tom merely smiled.
"Oh, sweetie. You were actually on key this time."
Jazmine smiled at the back-handed compliment.
~~~~~~~ 7 minutes later~~~~~~
"Okay Jazmine. You step this way." He demonstrated what he wanted her to do.
"Okay daddy." She mimicked him as she practiced the song once again.
"Wow, Jazmine. You sound so much better than before. What did you do?"
"I practiced. A lot. I asked Huey to look up vocal tips and exercises for me."
"Oh. Okay."
Jazmine continued to practice for hours.
"Wow, sweetie. I know you are going to blow them away. I'm so proud of you." Jazmine ran and gave him a hug.
"Wait where are you going?"
"Um...It's like 6 o'clock daddy. I'm going to do my homework with Huey. Like I always do."
"No. Jazmine. We have to practice for at least another couple of hours."
"Daddy, no! I have to do my homework with Huey."
"Why do you have to do it with huey, Jazmine?" Jazmine blushed.
"Because he always helps me with the stuff I don't understand!"
"But, Jazmine you need to practice some-"
"Daddy! Get off my nuts!"
Tom stood there with his mouth wide open in shock. Jazmine went downstairs and into the kitchen. She saw her mom sitting at the counter eating something out of a bowl while reading a magazine with furniture in it.
"Hey, mommy." Jazmine still sounded a little angry and frustrated with her father.
"Hi, sweetie. What's wrong?"
"Daddy."
"Oh, sweetie. What did he do now?"
"He is so controlling. He wants me to practice hours for a freaking 4 minute performance that he already said was perfect. But, no I have to practice some more because I might forget. Ugh. Mommy, why is he so difficult?"
"Jazmine. Your father loves to sing. It was his dream. But, he figured that he would have guaranteed success in life if he went to law school. But he still likes to live out his dreams in whatever way he can. Right now he is living vicariously through you."
"I guess."
"I'll talk to him sweetie."
"Thank you mommy."
"Do you want some ice cream?"
"Thanks, but dairy will build mucus in my throat making it harder to form notes and will negatively impact my singing performance."
Sarah looked blankly at Jazmine.
"I asked Huey to do some vocal research for me. To, you know, make my voice in tip top shape."
Sarah nodded her head knowingly and smiled. Then she got up and walked away.
Then Jazmine asked herself why her mother was eating ice cream in the evening. It was one of her rules that she would only eat things like that only if it was before 2:00. Something about metabolism and fat. Hmm...
~~~~~~~~~~The day of the talent show~~~~~~~~~~
Jazmine had been rehearsing for weeks now. Tom definitely stayed on her. Thanks to Sarah he wasn't too harsh on her. Jazmine had told all her friends and family about the show.
Jazmine was excited and nervous. All this time she had been spending practicing, she had only time to do homework. She didn't even do it with Huey. As a matter of fact the only time she had seen her friend was in class and it wasn't like they could talk then. Jazmine was still a good girl, despite the fact that she had become more bolder over time. In fact Jazmine was a very passionate person and when someone tried to get in her way of getting something she wanted, she became very assertive and defensive, which is why sometimes she got out of character, When she yelled 'That's some bull' and berated the ref her mother, Sarah was very surprised. When she went off on Huey and caused his rare sad puppy dog eyes, people were surprised. When she talked about the hoes in the videos during Christmas, everyone was surprised. When her dad tried to Joe Jackson her out of a childhood, he was very surprised. So she decided to make everyone surprised some more and give a great performance. The talent show had started about 5 minutes ago and a boy was out there doing tricks with his pet snake. Jazmine was on last. Since the talent show only lasted about 45-50 minutes, she didn't have long. Luckily, Tom was backstage encouraging her.
"Daddy. I'm sooo nervous. What if my voice cracks? What if I fall? Is it okay to picture the audience in their underwear?" Jazmine had watery eyes and looked so nervous she felt as if she was about to bust.
"Sweetie. You're gonna be fine. We've practiced this so much. I bet these kids haven't practiced half as much as you have."
"Yeah. Maybe you're right. Is everyone here?"
"Yup. Your mother, The Freemans, your friend Cindy, and that little girl you play with that keeps calling me Uncle Tom," Tom said in confusion, "Anyways, show them your stuff. Give it all you got. They'll be proud of you either way."
"Okay. You're right, daddy." Tom looked at his watch.
"Ooh. Sweetie. I'll be back! I forgot to give your mother-Never mind," Tom ran away, "I'm gonna die! Don't kill me Sarah!"
Jazmine looked back onstage at Justice Johnson, who was about to perform. Jazmine is usually a nice person, but she concluded a long time ago that Justice is the spawn of Satan. She would constantly make fun of Jazmine's sweetness and kindness. She would do other mean things like once she tripped Jazmine in the lunchroom (which backfired because Jazmine merely fell, while her food went on Justice's lap). And she threw wet toilet paper on her when Jazmine was in the bathroom. Justice doesn't stop there. She plays on Jazmine's insecurities, such as her race and her hair.
Jazmine once expressed to Huey and Cindy her interactions with Justice.
Huey had said, "Don't even worry about that girl Jazmine. She's just mad that she's gonna grow up and be a prostitute and have 5 kids with a guy named John that beats her. Well that's what statistics say about mean girls."
Jazmine looked at him blankly.
Cindy had said, "You want me to beat her? Cause I can get some girls to whup that ass fo' you girl. No problem. No questions asked."
Jazmine, once again, looked blankly in response to the advice she was given.
Right now, Justice is performing and Jazmine has to admit that she sounds good. When it is over Justice walks backstage and sees Jazmine standing there.
"Oh. Hi, Jazmine."
"Hey, Justice."
"I heard you were performing tonight. You won't win. And girl what is wrong with your hair? Does your mother comb it? Eww. Anyways, break a leg. Literally." She walked away with that hyena laugh of hers.
"Aye, girl! Why you bo-legged? That's why people say your breath smell worse than Ruckus's balls! Ha ha!"
Justice gasped and walked away briskly.
Jazmine turned around and saw Riley standing there.
"Riley! What are you doing back here?"
"I came ta use the bathroom. Why you worried about it fo. Shit you letting lil white girls punk you and shit but got the nerve to check me."
"What happened to the bathroom outside the auditorium?"
"Flooded. Some big kid shitted and clogged the toilets." He walked away at that. Wow.
After that kid with the magic hat dripping with egg yolks walked off stage dejectedly it was time for the boy with the puppet to go on. How original are these people? Oh. Yeah. I'm also singing which is another cliché talent show performance. Whatever. At least I'm good.
Just then Tom runs to where Jazmine is.
"Okay, sweetie. It's showtime. Don't worry. You're gonna do great. Picture the audience in their underwear."
"Daddy. That's so cliché. I'll be okay." The announcer, who announces everything in woodcrest, including sports games boxing matches and bikini-jello fights, which Jazmine and the other kids weren't allowed to attend, came on and announced Jazmine.
"Next up we have little sweet Jazmine Dubois. I hope she can revive this half asleep audience. Because let's face it they are bored out of their minds right about now. I wouldn't be surprised if they just walked out. Anyways without further ado... Here's Jazmine Dubois singing I wanna be where you are."
Jazmine walked onstage and saw the audience. There were more people than expected. Sh began to get really nervous until she saw him.
Huey. He came.
Not wanting to embarrass herself any further, she stepped up to the mic and let out a Michael-jacksonesque ohh! Then then music started playing and Jazmine began to have fun like her daddy told her.
Ooh, Can it be I stayed away too long did I leave your mind when I was gone
Jazmine then locked eyes with Huey at that moment. Instead of feeling intimidated by his intense stare and the words that applied to their current situation, she gained momentum and energy.
It's not my thing trying to get back but this time let me tell you where I'm at
You don't have to worry cause I'm coming back to where I should have always stayed
And now I've learned the meaning to your story and it's enough love for me to stay
The entire audience was clapping and cheering. Jazmine heard shouts like
"Go on girl!"
"Sing it cutie pie!" Courtesy of grandad.
"Yeah! That's my baby!" From her mother. All of this and more made Jazmine even more confident.
Can it be I stayed away too long did I leave your mind when I was gone
It's not my thing trying to get back but this time let me tell you where I'm at
I wanna, wanna be where you are (ooh, ahh)
Anywhere you are (ahh, ohh)
I wanna, wanna be where you are (ooh, ahh)
Everywhere you are (ooh, ahh, ohh)
Please don't close the door to our future
There's so many things we haven't tried I'm gonna love you better than I used to And give you
all the love I have inside
When Jazmine did the spin everyone roared with applause. Wow. Huey was right. White people do love Michael Jackson.
I wanna, wanna be where you are (ooh,ahh)
Any, Any Anywhere you are (ooh,ahh)
I wanna, wanna be where you are (ooh,ahh)
I gotta, gotta be where you are (ooh, ahh)
I wanna, I wanna be
I wanna, I wanna be
I wanna, I wanna be
I wanna, I wanna be
I wanna, I wanna be
She ended it with a long high note. She heard her father backstage shouting, "She sustained it! She sustained it!"
The audience stood up and roared with applause.
~~~~Meanwhile (after the talent show) ~~~~~
After Cindy had congratulated her friend Jazmine on her trophy winning performance.
"I'm sorry, Reezy. It was just a joke."
"Just a joke? T-pain's singing is just a joke. Britney Spears is just a joke. That was more than just a god damn joke. I don't know if I can ever forgive you for that bullshit you pulled. And you and yo homies was laughing at me too. I can't forget that C-Murph."
Cindy pouted and put her head down.
"But...since I'm a g. I would have gotten through that shit anyways. Besides real niggas don't dwell on shit. Come on white girl. Let's go."
Cindy uncharacteristically smiled brightly, then grimaced and pushed Riley playfully on the arm.
"Stop calling me white girl!" Cindy was relieved that her best friend wasn't angry with her anymore. She didn't know what she would do without him. Ain't that many real niggas in Woodcrest.
~~~~~Meanwhile~~~~~
Jazmine ran up to Huey after the show. He was walking towards the exit doors by himself. Grandad was talking to some pretty lady and smiling really hard. Riley was play fighting with Cindy and her parents looked like they were in a heated argument. What's up with them? Jazmine pushed that out of her mind and ran up to her friend.
"Huey! Huey!" He turned around and was faced with his permanent scowl.
"So...what did you think of my performance?"
"It was entertaining. You didn't sound like mickey mouse on helium. Maybe Mickey Mouse on autotune."
"Is that a compliment?" Huey looked deep in thought for a second and instead of answering her question, he asked one of his own.
"What made you pick that song?"
"It's my favorite Jackson 5 song. Besides my daddy shot down the rest of the songs."
"What were they?"
"Um...SWV 'Weak'...'Pony' by Ginuwine. I don't understand. I love ponies and I'm pretty sure I'd enjoy riding one."
Huey gave her one of his rare shocked faces.
"Jazmine...don't ever tell your father what you just said. He will lock you down until college."
Jazmine looked confused, then she just shrugged and they continued to walk out.
Cues Boondocks flute music and ending credits
Well...Read and Review...This one was more Jazmine centric I 3 Jazmine...there will be a lot more chapters to come some already written, some Huey-Caesar centric, some Riley, Tom, Grandad, Jazmine etc. But some chapter titles you should look out for goes like this:
"The Other Side"
"The Death of Travis, The arrival of Caesar" *Can't wait for this one!
"Bambi ain't got nothing on me"
"Boyz in the Wood/Straight outta Woodcrest"
"Almond Boys"
"Grandad's Revenge"
"Children of The Woodcrest"
"I'm gonna get you cracker"
"The neighbor's dog is on fire"
And what's up with Tom and Sarah. Don't worry you'll find out. Wink. Wink.