"…And step, turn, turn, step, right, left, kick, jump, kick, left, right, left, right, step, kick, jump, step and turn." Chris McClean instructed as Noah carried out his instructions perfectly.
Chris contemplated his routine briefly before clapping.
"Bravo Noah, you are finally ready to play the great and only Billy Flynn!" The cocky teacher exclaimed.
Noah panted and then looked at his watch.
"Oh Jesus! I'm late! I have to go to rehearsal." Noah said.
The know-it-all, who feared that his punctual reputation would be damaged should he fail to turn up began to pick up his things and prepare to leave his home, where Mr. McClean had been giving him "Billy Flynn lessons".
"One las thing Noah...what do you always have to project while on stage?" Chris called out as Noah ran down the street.
"A condescending cockyness and expressions that make everybody realize that I'm better than them!" Noah shouted back.
"You're gonna nail this, kid!" Chris returned.
As Noah disappeared from his sight, Chris sighed.
"That boy will make Jerry Orbach proud."
If there was something that Duncan was used to it was being late. DJ on the other hand wasn't so used to that, so when that Saturday afternoon DJ and Duncan were arriving late, the former was pretty much troubled about it.
"Relax Deej, what do you think that uptight little broad will do to you for being ten minutes late? She's a wimp." Duncan said cockily.
"I wouldn't diss Courtney that much, y'all." Said DJ. "She's nice when you get to know her, plus she's very tough."
"She doesn't scare me." Said Duncan. "Plus she'd never be nice to me, just like I'll never be nice to her. She's not the type of person I like."
"Yeah right Duncan, what about that crush you had on her from the seventh grade up until last year." DJ mocked.
"OK first off, it wasn't for that long, it was like until the tenth grade." Duncan interjected. "Also, it was not a crush. I just thought she was cute. If I had been crushing on her I wouldn't have sabotaged her presidential bid with Gwen on the eighth grade. Plus I'd never think nicely of her again after she's forcing me to waste my time on this shitty-ass musical."
The duo entered the school auditorium, where almost the entire cast and crew were waiting for them.
"There you are!" Courtney exclaimed angrily. "Where were you two?"
"Don't kill me!" DJ begged, cowering in fear as Courtney approached them.
"Don't worry DJ, I'm not mad at you." Courtney reassured him.
She turned to Duncan.
"I'm sure somebody elseis responsible for your tardiness."
"Whatever." The punk sighed as he walked towards the stage.
She turned back to DJ.
"Hey DJ, did you see Noah or Gwen along the way?" She asked.
"No. Why?"
"Because those two were supposed to show us their performances today." Courtney explained. "Now what do we do until they arrive?"
From the back of the auditorium, somebody called out.
"Hey Court, you've got your routine as Heather's understudy ready." Said Trent. "Why don't you give them a demonstration?"
"You know what, Trent? That's an excellent idea!"
Courtney walked over to the stage and then headed for the back area.
"I'll change and then be back in five minutes to show you how a real performance is done." Said the brunette as she slid backstage.
"This is gonna be interesting. After having her boss us around, I want to see if at least she can do something right." Said Duncan cockily.
"Oh, she can." Said Trent. "She's been starring in the school's musicals for ages. You'd be impressed."
"Whatever, pussy-pleaser. The day I'm dazzled by her will be the day a fat ninja crashes into this auditorium while he wrestles with a cowboy panda." Duncan rebutted.
The curtain to the stage got pulled open and several male and female performer stepped out. The women were wearing tight, short, black dressed and the men tight leather pants and black vests.
"Who are those?" Asked LeShawna.
"The ensemble." Answered Harold. "They are the forgotten centerpiece of all musicals. If it weren't for the back-up singers and dancers who add a brilliant chorus several famous musical comedy numbers would be much bleaker."
"Yeah, whatever stringbean." Answered the black girl.
Trent pressed the play button on the stereo, which set off some brass instruments (namely trumpets, saxophones and a tuba) and then began to play his own part on the piano. It was an edgy jazz tune, sounding like a speakeasy pianola tune. The intro consisted of Trent playing the same keys over and over in a repetitive and sudden manner, creating a step-like effect. Indeed, the ensemble stepped, or rather strutted forward in a line formation across the stage as he played.
Then a voice could be heard from backstage. The voice was clearly being enhanced by a microphone but it would have been clear even if unenhanced.
"Come on babe,
Why don't we paint the town?"
Trent leaned into his piano microphone and spoke quickly, but smoothly.
"...And now ladies and gentlemen; The musical mistress, the preppy queen of the show and the duchess of high grades...Miss Courtney Duarte!"
Courtney stepped out from behind the stage. She was wearing a black leotard with a white shirt and a black, buttoned-up show-vest above it. On her feet were black high-heeled shoes and on her legs some black fishnet stockings held up with by garter belt. On her gloved hands she held a black walking stick, around her neck was a fitting red bow-tie and crowning her head was a black bowler hat.
"...And all that jazz."
Courtney strutted forward with a confidence and sensuality that was never seen in her off the stage. She sang while she walked through the small corridor formed by the two lines of ensemble members standing on the stage. As Courtney strutted forward sensually, Duncan's eyes became wide as saucers and he couldn't help but stare at her.
"I'm gonna rouge my knees
And roll my stockings down
And all that jazz."
While she sang, she did it with a tone that resembled the attitude of legendary speakeasy matron Texas Guinan. When she stood at the front of the ensemble, the dancers behind her lined up in a triangle formation and began to emulate her.
"Start the car
I know a whoopie spot
Where the gin is cold
But the piano's hot!
It's just a noisy hall
Where there's a nightly brawl
And all that jazz."
While on the first verse of the previous stanza they all raised their arms up and turned their hands in a car starting motion. On the second, they swung their hips round. On the third they slid their hands down the side of their bodies. On the fourth they all slapped themselves on the left butt-cheek. This last motion very much to Duncan's approval. On the fifth they took a step forward and on the sixth they gave a kick before sliding one on one knee while Courtney sang the song's title.
This was followed by a brief dance break where Courtney would periodically utter the name of the song in an alluring voice as they all side stepped forward to the tune and at one point would thrust their arms upwards and utter coordinated sounds that resembled whipe snaps.
"Slick your hair and wear your buckle shoes
And all that jazz.
I hear that Father Gip is gonna blow the blues
And all that jazz."
Courtney and the ensemble put their hands in front of them as if holding a trumpet and pretended to play.
"Hold on hun,
We're gonna bunny hug
I bought some aspirin
Down at United Drug
In case you shake apart
And want a brand new start
To do that JAZZ!"
The ensemble hugged themselves while making a turn and then raised their arms to their mouths as if holding a pill bottle and popping in a few. They extended their arms in a violent motion and then took steps while delivering kicks before slowly kneeling down on the final line. At the end of the final line, Courtney shot up as she sang a high note on the word "Jazz" while the ensemble remained down.
"Find a flask, we're playing fast and loose
And all that jazz."
Courtney stepped to the side and raised her hands up in the air, holding the cane horizontally with both hands while she sang the first line. Three men from the ensemble followed her; two stood to either side of her and one behind her. While she sang the first line, each one put on hand against her stomach and upon delivering the song name all the ensemble sang it with her in a chorus.
"Right up here is where I store the juice.
And all that jazz."
The three men pulled their hands off her belly and she sexily slid her hand up her calf, thigh and finally to her buttocks, which she once again slapped before singing the chorus again with the rest of the ensemble.
"Come on babe,
We're gonna brush the sky!
I bet your Lucky Lindy
Never flew so high.
'Cause in the stratosphere
How could he lend an ear
To all that jazz!"
Courtney laid down on the hands of the three guys, who hoisted her up and carried her through the stage as she lay on their arms, holding her head up with her hand with her elbow resting on one of the guys' heads. She sang while looking at the audience. They then set her down and they all stood on triangle again. They all sang again in chorus.
"Oh, you're gonna see your Sheba shimmy shake!
And all that jazz!
Oh, she's gonna shimmy 'till her garters break!
And all that jazz!
Show her where to park her girdle.
Oh, her mother's blood would curdle.
If she'd hear her babies queer
For all that jazz!"
Suddenly the entire cast began to side step on triangle while they sang. They repeated the first three stanzas but with a more accelerated pace before returning to the center of the stage. As a music break played, Courtney walked to the back of the stage and walked up some steps to an elevated platform on the top of the stage. Where she put the cane to the floor and leaned on it while she sang.
"Oh, I'm no ones wife but...
Oh, I love my life!"
Courtney then ran backward behind the curtain while she sang.
"And all that..."
She then yelled out the following word while running to the edge of the elevated platform on the back of the stage.
"JAZZ!"
After that word she leaped off the platform and then landed on the hands of the ensemble, who held her up in the air while they sang the last two words of the song.
"That jazz..."
The audience sat still for a second before standing up and howling and cheering madly. The ensemble laid Courtney down and then they all bowed politely and in gratitude. The only one who wasn't cheering madly was Duncan, because he was too busy staring at Courtney in both bewilderment and adoration.
"Holy fuck..."
At that point, the door to the auditorium burst open and a fat man dressed as a ninja burst into the room, followed by a panda dressed as a cowboy. Both punched each other for a bit, catching the attention of everybody present before the panda cowboy tackled the fat ninja and dragged him out the same door they came in through.
Subsequently, Noah entered the auditorium.
"Were those a fat ninja and a cowboy panda wrestling just then?" He asked. "I have got to be early next time."
"You!" Yelled Courtney. "You're late!"
"Oh, save me your speeches. I have my performance ready. I'll do it now and it'll be worth the wait." Said Noah.
The know-it-all went backstage and began getting ready. As did the ensemble.
Gwen ran through the halls of the school. She was really late and she knew that Courtney was going to launch a tirade against her as soon as she arrived, but she figured the sooner she did the shorter the scolding would be.
However, along the way she bumped into somebody. A certain somebody that was looking for her.
"Why Gwen, you don't have to hurry up so much." Said that person.
He was a tall, tan man with Latin-ascendancy. He had shoulder length dark-brown hair and his eyes were a dark brown color. Despite his mainly Latin appearance and ascendancy, he had an Anglo-Saxon last name. This was because his father was Irish and his mother Peruvian. This turned out to be a lucky thing for him, since it allowed him a United Kingdom commonwealth Canadian citizenship and also kept him from inheriting his mother's unfortunate last name of "Burromuerto". Instead his last name was Flynn. First name Alejandro. Full name, Alejandro Esteban Flynn.
"What do you want?" Gwen asked coldly, not having a deep appreciation for him.
"I want to help you."
"Say what?"
"I've heard that you are participating in the school's rendition of 'Chicago' as one of the main characters, Roxie Hart." Alejandro said. "Well, the success of a school musical relies both on the talent of the cast and on their image. You have a terrible image in this school and since I want to see this production triumph...I want to help you improve your image."
"Why would you care about this proudction in particular?" Asked Gwen, very much skeptical.
"Because...'Chicago' is my favourite musical and I want to see a good version of it and want it to be a success, like all 'Chicago' presentations should be." Explained Alejandro.
"I doubt I need your help. Plus I would never pay for something like a makeover."
"Oh, it won't be a makeover. We'll just find a way to make your style a little bit more...mass appealing. But it would still be goth." Alejandro explained. "Also, I won't charge you."
"You won't?"
"No."
"So, you're not doing this for money?"
"No. I don't care about the money. I do it for the love." Said Alejandro. "In fact..."
Back in the auditorium, the ensemble of chorus girls were done singing their intro part and as Trent hit play on the recording for the brass instruments and simultaneously began to play his piano, he leaned into his microphone and talked.
"Ladies and gentlemen, introducing the silver-tongued prince of the classroom, the deadpan wizard of wit; the one, the only...Noah Stein!"
On the stage, a group of six girls were holding each a giant pink feather fan that would be used for exotic fan dancing. They held them to the spot between all of them, covering up somebody behind it. Upon hearing the introduciton, they moved the fans aside to reveal two people. Noah and Alejandro, both of them wearing luxury, black tuxedos along with black fedora hats with, both standing back to back against each other.
They leaned off each other and the girls ran to the sides of the stage.
"Is everybody hear ready? Is everybody happy?" Exclaimed Noah. "Let's do this!"
Alejandro stepped forward. He began to sing in a tone which was flamboyant and eloquent, resembling the mannerisms of Richard Gere's Flynn.
"I don't care about expensive things.
Cashmere coats, diamond rings.
Don't mean a thing.
All I care about is love."
The girls returned to both the men on the center stage. Alejandro shoved Noah to the floor and the girls circle around him. They put their fans in front of him so as to only leave his head popping out on view.
"That's what I'm here for."
They then began to step to the side, leading Alejandro with them as he sang the following stanza.
"I don't care for wearing silk cravats,
Ruby studs, satin spats.
Don't mean a thing.
All I care about is love."
Noah stepped up and then grabbed Alejandro by the shirt, head-butted his nose and then pushed him off the stage.
"This is my fantasy." He exclaimed before the girls all circled him and began fanning him with the pink fans. Noah began to sing. His version of Billy differed slightly. He sang in a more serious yet charismatic tone which resembled the style Al Jolson or of Ted "Is Everybody Happy?" Lewis, much closer to the original Flynn performed by Jerry Orbach.
"Give me two eyes a-blue.
Softly saying 'I need you'.
Let me see her standing there
And honest mister I'm a millionaire."
The girls stood round Noah again and positioned their fans in front of themselves so as to form a horizontally lined circle around him while he sang.
"I don't care for any fine attire
Vanderbilt might admire.
No, no, not me.
All I care about is love."
All the girls sprawled on the floor and laid on their sides, looking at the audience. At that point Noah began to talk in a passionate yet cool demeanour, not going to extremes but rather keeping a perfect balance between passion and persuasive modulation.
"Now, maybe you're thinking I'm talking about physical love. Well I'm not. Not physical love exclusively. There's other kinds of love. Like love of justice! Love of legal procedures! Love of lending a hand to somebody who really needs you! Love for you fellow man...Those are the kinds of love I'm talking about!"
Before Noah could go on, Alejandro jumped back into the fantasy and pushed Noah away, talking his place in the circle of hot, semi-nude girls holding fans.
"That was a really cheesy speech, amigo." Alejandro said, looking at Noah angrily.
He then dusted himself off and realized he was standing in a circle of hot, semi-nude girls.
"Though physical love ain't so bad either." He concluded.
He tried to sing alone again as well, but Noah jumped in again. Both men raised their fists and prepared for a fight, but before the could the girls got up, forcing them to continue singing together as a duet.
"When push comes to shove.
All we care about is love.
That's why we're here for.
I swear, honest to God.
All we care about is love.
That's what we're here for."
The girls began to run in large ovals around the boys, swinging their fans as Noah and Alejandro sang together in unison.
"Show me long, raven hair.
Flowing out, about to there.
When I see her running free.
Keep your money!
That's enough for me!"
The girls then formed a semi-circle around the boys that reached the edge of the stage. They both began to sing in a passionate fashion, though Alejandro's was far more fierce than Noah's for obvious reasons.
"I don't care for driving Packard cars
Or smoking long, buck cigars!
No, no, not me!"
The girls then stood in a straight line behind both the actors, putting their fans behind them.
"All I care about is doing the guy in
That's picking on you!
Twisting the wrist
That's turning the screw!"
While they sang the previous verse, the boys walked backwards and as they did, the girls pulled fans out of the way as if they were doors being opened by the boys that were walking backwards through them. Finally, when they were at the very back of the stage the two boys delivered the final line.
"All I care about is LOVE!"
The final rolls of music played and Noah was left alone in the stage with the ensemble girls. Alejandro de-materialized and then reappeared elsewhere, in the hallway back where Gwen was standing.
"As you see, I'm doing this for noble reasons." Alejandro claimed. "I will charge nothing and I will make you popular without changing who you are. It's for the best of the production and for you as well. What do you say, señorita?"
Gwen thought on it for a second but answered almost immediately.
"I'm in."
"Perfecto. I will meet you at your house tomorrow. I will bring some things over and we will start working on how to make you Gothic queen of the school." Said Alejandro.
"Cool. Though one thing...Gothic was an aesthetic style developed in the middle ages and present still today. My style is goth, a totally different thing." Gwen explained.
"Oh, how nice. Now here's a new thing. From now on only I do the talking, OK?"
"I..."
"Uh-uh-uh. Only I do the talking." He said. "Good. I'll see you tomorrow, Miss Gwendolyn Daly."
And with that he was gone. Well he wasn't really gone. He just walked away. He went from one place to the other but the matter constituting his body still remained within our universe so he couldn't be classified as gone.
I just trailed off there. It happens.
Also, CarmillaD, you guessed right...Al Lende is inspired by Salvador Allende.
Please review.
Gracias Totales.