Let's Get to Work

The Inis all rejoiced when the two came back with the good news! The three had all joined her in a group hug, filled with "Congratulations" and "I knew you had it in you!"s and many, many kisses! They also gave one to Jude, but made sure to be a little more gentle with them since they were a little more fragile. So they all celebrated with leftover cake and muffin baking! Everyone helped out to make a huge batch of Grandma's specialty muffins, and when Jude asked who they were all for, Grandma responded with "Why for all of your new friends of course! You have to make a good first impression!" Jude chuckled, then went back to their work, a little quieter than before.

Jude once again spent the night with their elephant friend, wanting to be right next to her to support her through practices. The Ini family greatly appreciated Jude's work at practices, and was happy to hear that Jude would help her even more! So just for them, they had gotten the guest mattress a makeover, with better pillows and blankets for them as appreciation. They gave the family their "Thank Yous", and went off to bed with their friend. After talking about how they had a long week ahead of them, the two friends drifted off into sleep.

The next morning was about the same as the first; The two got up bright and early, grabbed the muffins and said their goodbyes, then hopped onto the bus downtown to the Moon Theater. That day, there was much less animals coming up onto the bus than the day before, which made sense since auditions were already over. However, they did find some familiar faces from before. Ash the porcupine had stepped up to the bus by herself that day with nothing but her sticker filled guitar case and a laid back exterior. When Meena saw her fellow contestant walk through the isle of seats, she waved hi and offered one of the seats next to the two, and Ash accepted!

"Where's your friend?" Meena asked, to which she got an annoyed scoff in response.

"Lance? Yeah, he decided not to come along with me. The koala did say that only I got in after all."

"But Jude is coming with me," she gestured to her jaguar friend, who was zoning out while looking at the passing houses, "and they aren't in the show. They just wanted to come with me to practices."

"Well, Lance decided that he had better things to do instead." the porcupine rolled her eyes, remembering her boyfriend's words from the night before. "He said he had to write songs or something, and also said that he didn't want to come and support a "Sell-out."' There was silence as Meena stopped to process Ash's words for a moment.

"A sell-out? Why would he call you that?" The elephant asked, genuinely curious. Ash sat up and started to make gestures with her arms, but stopped while she stared down at them.

"It's just… Ugh." Ash groaned, throwing down her arms. "It's complicated. I don't wanna talk about it." She ran her hand through her quills, while some had gotten stuck in the cushion behind her. Meena said "oh." and looked away, stopping the conversation to respect the porcupine's privacy. After a moment, she opened up the box of muffins, offering one to Ash. "Muffin?"

Ash took a quick glance at the muffin box, then waved it off, saying "Nah, not hungry. I just had breakfast." Meena respected her again and closed the lid as the bus slowed down to a stop once again. This time, among certain other animals, Rosita hopped back on the bus cheerfully and sat down in her seat from yesterday (Which was right next to Ash's window seat). It was only when she sat down when she noticed her fellow friends from yesterday and waved hello.

"Hi Rosita!" Meena cheerfully responded. When they heard her name, Jude snapped out of their dissociation and finally noticed the two familiar faces. The jaguar adjusted themselves in their seat and greeted the pig as well with a "Hey!"

"Hello there!" Rosita noticed the large muffin box Meena had, and then asked "What's in the box?"

"Muffins! Jude and I made some last night to give out today, do you want any?" The elephant opened the box to show Rosita her Grandma's muffins. Rosita looked at them with temptation at how delicious they looked, and how her stomach started to grumble. But she took it back and looked away, shaking her head in shame.

"No, no, I shouldn't really." the two friends looked slightly disappointed at how Rosita refused their treats from last night. But, playfully teasing, Jude whined to her "Aww, why noooot?"

"Well, um," Rosita lightly clasped her hands together and started tapping her fingertips, "I just thought that, with the competition and all, I should maybe go on a diet? I thought I would have to perform and all, you know?" Jude's playful teasing look began to morph into a concerned one, and they started to eye the pig up and down. "I guess I just didn't want people to think"-

"You think you're fat." Jude blatantly said. The three women's heads snapped to Jude, astonished at their clear cut statement. They looked at Rosita with a sort of detective's eye, with their arms pressing down on their knees to hold themselves up. The jaguar didn't even seem remotely concerned at how that might come back to bite them.

"Jude!" Meena loudly whispered, giving them a knock on their arm to scold them. But the jaguar went unfazed, and kept staring at the pig. Rosita's cheeks flushed red from how Jude seemed to read her mind so quickly, and Ash was just amazed at how Jude just said that to her, without any sort of stutter or stall. So she got up fully on the seat and watched the show unfold.

"Well, I-I wouldn't really say that I'm fat, I just, think I could get into better shape for"-

"Your stomach is growling really loud, so I don't think you ate any breakfast." Jude pointed to Rosita's stomach, making her cheeks get a little more red. "Yet you didn't take the muffin. And you said yesterday that you used the deep breathing thing to help with stress and anxiety. Plus, you're doing that thing with your hands." They moved their finger to her hands, which abruptly stopped tapping their fingertips when Jude pointed them out.

"So you think that you're fat, so you even decided to skip breakfast to try and cut some weight off"-

"Jude that's enough." Meena interrupted her friend sternly. Jude put their paws up, signaling that they were done. Rosita rubbed her shoulder and her cheeks got a little more red, getting more embarrassed by how obvious she was to the jaguar. They had read her like an open book! Meanwhile, Ash was just sitting back and waiting for things to get good, staying silent to not get herself involved with this. So after Jude had called her out on her lies, Rosita took a heavy sigh.

"Y-yes, I guess I do think I'm a little, plump. I guess with how I'll be performing in front of a crowd, I'd try to, slim down a little?" Rosita shyly admitted, shrugging with a nervous smile. "I just didn't want people to think of me badly. And I thought that maybe if I looked better, they might like me more."

"Rosita." Jude began, clapping their hands together to get everyone's attention. "There's a fine line between going on a diet and starving yourself, even you should know that. You still need to eat. Besides, I know a bunch of people that would KILL for your body type!" Jude but extra emphasis on the "kill". Rosita decided to attempt to look at the jaguar in the eyes, and once she did, she was met with a determined smile. "You aren't fat Rosita, so don't go starving yourself just because you think so."

Jude swiftly opened the muffin box, grabbed one of the muffins by the bottom wrappings, and tossed it to Rosita. WIth her motherly reflexes, she managed to catch it before it fell to the ground and got spoiled. Although, a few of the crumbs fell into her and Ash's lap while it flew. Ash just brushed them off. She looked at the treat, then looked at her two other friends. "Eat up. You need to have something today if you want to practice."

Rosita took a long look at the treat she was given, trying to decide what she should do. But after seeing how Jude insisted and how her stomach demanded to have something fill it, she sighed, and took a tiny bite. When she did, her eyes lit up from the taste of it! She could sense hints of sweet apples and cinnamon in the mix with the soft texture of the tough. But while the inside was fluffier, the outside had a certain soft-yet-firm texture, like one would find from a sugar cookie. Just the first bite was enough for Rosita to take another, repeating the process until the muffin was gone and her stomach was somewhat satisfied.

Ash gave out a surprised "huh." from how Jude managed to handle the whole situation, as did Meena. Jude themself felt accomplished and satisfied with their work, giving off a laid-back smile. When they watched Rosita take the final bite, the bus rolled to a stop next to the Moon Theater. The four all got up to leave, and Rosita mouthed a "thank you" to Jude, who gave a thumbs up in reply.

'Makes us even for yesterday.' the jaguar thought as the four walked into the building.


The three contestants (excluding Jude) all took a walk together inside the Moon Theater and up to the stage where they all previously stood the day before. Each step they all took echoed throughout the grand hall. 'Seems a lot more peaceful without a gigantic line of people.' Ash and Jude thought together. Meena meanwhile got a good look around the house, not being able to focus on all of the details the day before. She went agape at the arching ceiling with its fancy gold and red lining around it, the lines of golden lighting that were hung up across the walls, the ornamental vases and decorations scattered across the audience seating, and the lush, fuzzy red seats that lined up in the audience. It all seemed so mystical to her, and to think that she would be performing here-here!-for the entire city to listen to her singing voice!

But just thinking about all of the piercing eyes watching her on stage killed the mystic mood for her. Jude didn't really care that much about the decorations though; not one for the fancy.

Up on the stage, waiting for the remaining contestants and Buster Moon, were the dancing frog trio from the day before! The four recalled how the trio got picked for their coordination with their dance moves and excelling chorus while singing the song "JUMP!" by Ram Halen. However, that excelling teamwork and friendship seemed almost nonexistent now, as the three were caught up in a heavy debate about something involving the group. But all three of the frogs were trying to speak louder than the other, making trying to eavesdrop on the argument almost impossible.

Off to the side and praying that the koala came soon was Pete the camel, who was plugging his ears and trying to block out all the yelling. He was nominated for his opera-like singing abilities, and how he was able to keep a high note for a long period of time! If one was to hear him sing, it would seem as if he was a natural opera star, or even a former one who came back for another shot!

And lastly, joining Pete on the other side of the stage and to Jude's disappointment, was Mike the mouse. There's really no need to introduce him. When all four of the animals who were walking in saw him (Excluding Ash, who had no idea who he was or what he was like), they cringed from the thought of having to deal with him again. When the mouse saw Jude, they both knew the feeling was mutual. The jaguar made it their best effort to avoid the annoying mouse for now.

The four walked onto the stage as the frogs continued their argument, not even noticing the four new contestants. When they all got to the top of the steps, they went off to their own separate activities. Rosita stood patiently by herself, waiting for her partner from yesterday and Mr. Moon. Ash tended to her guitar, making sure that it was in good condition to play some good riffs. After a bit, she got up and wandered off somewhere, most likely the bathroom. Meena went over to Pete and Mike to try and offer them a muffin, to which Pete gratefully took one but Mike refused strongly, saying that he "Didn't want anything that freak over there touched!" Jude just rolled their eyes in annoyance while dangling their legs off of the ledge.

Meena walked back over to her friend and sat next to them, legs crossed, setting the box of muffins next to her. Meena saw her friend's eyes and how they looked at nothing, knowing that they were off somewhere thinking about something. 'They've been doing that a lot now.' The elephant thought. Meena looked at her friend's face, wondering what they were thinking about in their head. Perhaps something about Rosita from the bus? Meena was certainly impressed at how Jude managed to figure out the pig's troubles all on their own. But the elephant had a feeling that this was not the case. If it was, their friend would have a slight smile on their face. But instead, it was an empty expression, completely unreadable. At least to her.

So she assumed that it had to do with something about Mike. Meena had a faint chill go up her back when she recalled the events from yesterday again. 'Actually,' the elephant thought 'maybe it's a good time to bring that up.' She tapped lightly on the jaguar's shoulder, grabbing their attention and pulling them out of their trance.

"Hey, Jude?" Meena asked. The jaguar turned to their friend, still trying to get their head out of the clouds. Jude let out a "hm?", and then Meena continued.

"Listen, I want to talk to you about… yesterday." Their friend's face went guilty, and looked away from Meena after a faint "oh."

"Jude, I know you did… that… to try and stand up for me-I get that." Jude looked back to Meena; their face looking like an ashamed pup. "But you almost-you-you can't do that again! I don't want anybody else to get hurt!" The elephant tried to explain this to her friend, but they cut her off with a sigh and a facepalm.

"Meena, I don't want anybody to get hurt either, believe me. But I just, can't." Jude pulled their legs up from the ledge and crossed them just like Meena, then began to press their fingertips on the sides of their head. "It's like, whenever I see something bad happen to you, my mind just, flips. I get really angry and I just, can't control myself. I always just forget where I am and just, lose it."

"But why do you go that far?" Meena pressed on. "You could've hurt that man over there just because he was mean to me, but why?"

"It's just! It's just…" Jude trailed off again, turning a shoulder to the elephant and grabbing their arm. Jude muttered something under their breath, thinking that it was quiet enough for Meena to not hear anything. But with her excellent ears, she was able to hear what Jude was trying to hide. So she opened up one of her big ears and listened in to Jude's mumbles.

"-don't want you to end up like me."

Meena closed her giant ear, not knowing what to make of Jude's whispers. 'End up like them?' Meena didn't understand, but she was still concerned nonetheless. She started to extend her hand to try and press a little further-

SLAM

A giant door slam echoed throughout the hall, causing all of the contestants to stop what they were doing and turn their heads to the entrance. There, standing right within the wide open door frame, was a shinily dressed, plump pig that everybody remembered no matter how hard they tried to forget. It was none other than Gunter, the spontaneous, energetic pig from the day before! He bent down into a beholding position, showing off his shiny tracksuit covered self.

"HAH! Gunter iz here everyone!"

He skipped through the isles to the steps, showing Johnny right behind him, frantically checking to see if the slammed door had gotten anything broken by Gunter's wild entrance. After three quick seconds, he let out a sigh of relief and turned back to the stage.

"Gunter, did ya' really have to kick the door open?" The gorilla asked, finishing his check of the door (which miraculously had no damages done from Gunter's kick). The pig spun around and started doing a backwards prance to the stage to talk to the big leather wearing gorilla.

"No. But it waz spicy, ya?" The golden pig gave a nonchalant shrug to Johnny, who groaned lightly at his lack of attention to Moon's property. Without waiting for an answer, Gunter twirled back to the stage and flew up the steps, landing on the top of the stage with a snappy pose. Everyone was sent into a stunned silence from the pig's energetic intro; save for Meena and Jude who couldn't help but giggle. Johnny just sighed as he jogged up behind him to the rest of the contestants. The two of them saw the day before how playful and optimistic he was when Buster partnered Gunter and Rosita together, and he immediately made a good impression to the two friends.

Seeing an out to an awkward conversation, Jude stepped up and waved to the two remaining contestants. "Hey, Gunter! Johnny!" When the two looked over, the jaguar snatched up the muffin box and jogged over to the gorilla and the pig. Meena's smile was wiped away when she saw Jude bail out on the talk about yesterday's incident. The elephant sighed and then stood up, thinking that she could just talk to her friend later. Gunter and Johnny waved to the jaguar with a friendly smile.

"'Ello Jude!"

"Hi there!" The two said together, despite Gunter not even knowing who Jude was. Meena followed close behind her friend, still not looking too happy about Jude's bail.

"Do either of you want some muffins?" Jude opened the box to show off the goods. Gunter awed at the sweet treats while Johnny's smile went up a bit more when he saw the muffins. "Meena and I made them last night, Apple Cinnamon!" Johnny began to tenderly reach for one, but was interrupted by Gunter quickly grabbing two out of the box and rushing to try one. He took a big bite of one of the muffins, almost chomping off half of the top, and then let out a satisfied "Mmmmmm!" as he chewed.

"Thiz muffin," Gunter swallowed the bite "tastes like grandma, ma, and grandmama all baked together for these delicious treats! You two hav' baking skill better than my whole family!" Meena smiled at the comment, while Jude chuckled at Gunter's choice of words. 'You don't hear stuff like that every day.'

"Well, it was my grandmother's recipe, so you should probably thank her. We mainly just helped with mixing the ingredients." Meena said as Johnny took a muffin for himself. Gunter pointed the half-muffin at the elephant with a slightly serious expression, causing her to flinch slightly.

"You helped, did you not?" Meena nodded. Gunter's optimistic smile returned. "Then thank you two AND your grandma! Haha!" Gunter laughed as he pranced over to his partner to say hi before the day began. Jude and Meena giggled again at Gunter's wording, and Johnny finally took a bite from the muffin he grabbed.

"Mmm, really good! Thankth you!" The gorilla said through his muffled mouth. Jude closed the lid and gave a good thumbs up while Meena let out a quiet "Thank you."

"Hey is everything okay down here? I thought I heard a bang." A voice interrupted everyone coming from stage right. Everyone looked over to see the theater's owner himself, Buster Moon, along with his lizard assistant Miss Crawley shambling behind, carrying some papers. He adjusted his suit as he jogged in. The frogs quickly stopped their arguing and went to the back of the stage to line up, pretending that they were never arguing at all. Meena, Rosita and Johnny all waved hello at the koala, to which he responded with an optimistic grin.

"Ah, you're all here! Good! Now, everyone line up if you'd please, single file!" The koala announced to everybody, twirling his finger in the air as an extra signal. The contestants did as they were told (along with Jude, who just stood at the end of the line next to Meena). Buster took the papers that Miss Crawley was holding and the two marched down the line, stopping right at Jude looking around the theater absent mindedly.

"Hey, Jude?" The jaguar snapped back to reality and looked down at the koala, who was pointing curiously with a pen to the box they were holding. "What's in there?"

"Ah, muffins. Meena and I made them last night." They opened the box to offer some to the koala. He gratefully accepted one, and took a bite as he marched down the line. Right behind him, Miss Crawley handed Meena one of the sheets of paper. The two inspected it as Buster talked to the rest of the line. It was a list of ten different songs for Meena to try for the competition, along with some extra notes for performance recommendations at the bottom. Some of the songs that were on the list were from hit artists like Stevie Udder and Rufus Rainwright, which Meena has thankfully heard before. However there were some, unconventional choices for the below performance recommendations that the elephant wasn't exactly too keen on.

"Now everyone, if you want to get a shot at that hundred grand, you'll have to fight for it!" Buster spoke confidently as the other animals got their papers.

"Wait what?! These guys are like, ten times the size as me, how is that fair?!" One of the frog trio members panicked, to which he got a slap on the arm.

"Not an actual fight Howie, you dimwit! He means we compete!" Another one of the larger frogs scolded. Howie opened his mouth to start to snap back, but an "Ahem" from Buster put the two back in line. "Now anyways, you'll have to fight with everything you got if you want that prize! I don't want to see High School Talent show effort here people! This contest is war! This stage is the battlefield. Your song is your weapon. Now, you only get one shot to blow that audience away, so choose carefully from the list of songs I've selected for each of you!"

As Buster walked back to the start of the line, Ash came back from wherever she went off to and picked up her guitar case as she stepped in with the rest. Buster saw the Porcupine hop into the line, and looks satisfied with seeing one of his star contestants from the day before.

"Ah, talked some sense into that boyfriend of yours." the koala said, getting a scoff in return.

"Lance is an artist, but I wouldn't expect you to understand that."

"You're right, I don't understand that at all!" Buster handed Ash her song sheet, as she stood there dumbfounded at how Buster completely deflected her insult without a car. Buster and Miss Crawley started to walk backstage, and so the rest of the crew followed them. Meena started to approach Buster to ask about the recommendations, but wasn't able to say a word as the three frogs began arguing once again, this time about the song sheet. They all ran past the cast and into one of the rehearsal rooms. There were multiple different sized rooms for everyone back stage, along with some racks of dresses fit for relatively small animals (Koala sized mostly). There were also some stairs that led somewhere, which Meena assumed to most likely be Buster's office. The backstage seemed about as cool as the main stage to her. But just like last time, her friend didn't care too much.

Jude looked around at the glass covered rehearsal rooms, trying to find a good spot for the both of them. When they saw one of the biggest ones down the hall, the jaguar's face lit up, and they shifted the muffin box to one hand to grab one of Meena's, who was currently trying to get the koala's attention.

"Um, Mr. Moo-oOAH!" Meena was cut off of asking Moon a question when her friend started to drag her down to the largest rehearsal room with all their force with no sign of slowing down. The others paid it no mind, thinking that the two were just excited to start practicing.

"Come on Meena! Let's get to work!" Meena looked back to the rest of the cast, who were going along with their separate business, and then sighed, willingly followed her friend into the largest rehearsal room, with Jude closing the door behind them enthusiastically.