Chapter 11
It was now 8:10 a.m. The first bell, signaling students to enter Peach Creek High School to begin their preparations for homeroom had rung. Accordingly, the hallway was once again flooded with hoards of students, exchanging books at their lockers and chatting about activities they had participated in the previous night.
Double Dee was currently standing at his locker, exchanging his books, and sharpening pencils in preparation for class. As he verified that the books were properly alphabetized, he glanced over towards his locker door, on which hung two pictures. Double Dee and Marie were the subject of one of the photographs. In it, Double Dee stood with his arm around Marie, wearing his typical red summer shirt; however his blue shorts were replaced with a pair of blue swimming trunks accented by yellow highlights. Marie was wearing a light blue tank top, under which she wore a green bikini top; the two straps rising out of the top of her shirt and meeting in a knot in the back of her neck. Her outfit was completed by white shorts, and blue flip flops. The picture served as a memory from their trip to the beach last summer with Ed, May, Eddy, Lee, Tabby and Rod. Both teenagers were smiling from ear to ear as they stood in front of the ocean.
The second picture was one of Marie's head shots from graduation. The black haired adolescent was smiling as she clutched a prop diploma in her hand. She wore a white gown, with golden highlights around the neck. The graduation outfit was, of course, complimented by a mortarboard cap, with the golden tassel hanging below her left ear.
Double Dee smiled as he became lost in the fond memories he had shared with Marie over the last six months. His trance was soon interrupted by a pair of hands suddenly squeezing him from behind, followed by a seductive voice.
"Hey sweetie, why don't you turn around and see the real thing."
Double Dee turned around to see his black haired girlfriend standing before him, as expected. Marie was not alone, as Ed and May stood behind her, kicking an old hacky sack that Ed had found in his room the previous night back and forth as they giggled. Further down the hall, Lee stood in front of her locker. She was holding a piece of paper up onto the vertical surface using her left hand, as she jotted down notes at what seemed like lightning speed with her right hand.
Double Dee turned his attention to Marie.
"Hello Marie," said Double Dee, "You are looking exquisite as always."
Double Dee leaned towards Marie, as he glanced towards Lee, who remained completely focused on her task at hand.
"Judging by Lee's compulsive writing," said Double Dee, "It's safe to say that she must still be quite upset by the events that occurred last night near the tree."
"Not so much upset anymore as she is determined," said Marie, "When we first got home, we found Lee up in her room, screaming at the top of her lungs into her pillow. I'm not going to lie, May and I couldn't help but laugh a little, it's so weird seeing Lee act like a drama queen."
Marie giggled slightly.
"We eventually got her to sit up, and after spending about twenty minutes complaining about Lindsay, she started brainstorming ideas for an act that can win the winter talent show. We went to bed, but I think she called Eddy over to talk to him about it." said Marie.
Marie glanced toward Marie as she continued.
"Lee is a very smart girl, there's no doubt about that," said Marie, "But she has many other talents that she represses because she is embarrassed of them, for whatever reason. It amazes me how much creativity Lee can show when she is set on achieving her goals."
"Well she certainly appears to have a lot of ideas," said Double Dee.
"You don't even know the half of it," said Marie, "And guess what Oven Mitt, we get to help her with her plan!"
"Us?" asked Double Dee, "Interesting...exactly what kind of performance does Lee have in mind?"
"Don't worry," said Marie, "You will hear the whole plan once Eddy get's here."
Marie glanced up and down the hallway.
"Where is Eddy anyway?" asked Marie.
"I have no idea, he should have been here by now," said Double Dee as he glanced at his cell phone, "My goodness, only two minutes until homeroom starts, hopefully he hasn't overslept!"
"That could be," said Marie, "Lee did have him over late last night, yapping away about 'how much of a bitch' Lindsay was for a couple of hours. She was talking so loud, Me and May heard it all the way from our room. At one point I threw my pillow at the wall. "
Marie rolled her eyes, after which she pulled Double Dee to the side of the hallway as if to ensure that she was out of Lee's hearing range.
"Between you and me," said Marie with concern, "I am starting to feel sorry for the guy. Lee is kind of dragging Eddy into all of this, and I hope she isn't stressing him out too much. Eddy is honestly one of the best things that happened to Lee in the last few months, and I really hope that this stupid winter ball queen contest doesn't put a strain on their relationship."
Double Dee paused for a few moments prior to delivering his response.
"To be honest," said Double Dee, "I can say I share your concerns. Fortunately, recent conversations with Eddy have yielded nothing but positive affirmation that his ultimate desire is to ensure Lee's happiness. While he is not without frustration, and does occasionally express dissatisfaction with the current state of affairs, I do not doubt that he is infatuated with Lee and will do anything for her, no matter her intent."
"Lee can be quite a hot head when she gets angry," said Marie as she glanced toward her older sister, "But I can tell you without a doubt that she adores Eddy more than anything, and bringing him into her plans is her way of confiding in him as her boyfriend."
Marie paused.
"About this winter ball queen thing," said Marie, "It may seem atypical of Lee to be in the middle of a catty popularity contest, and to resist using physical violence to make this problem go away, but Lee has her reasons. Let's just say that there is much more to this story than childhood name-calling and bullying."
Double Dee glanced at Marie with a confused stare. Just as he was about to present a question regarding Marie's previous statement, his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the school doors slamming open with force.
At that instant, Eddy emerged from behind the doors, sweating profusely and running at full speed down the school corridor. The stout adolescent finally reached the position of his peers, at which point he stopped directly in front of Double Dee and Marie. He placed his hands on his knees as he stood in a bent over position. Due to his unfortunate morning mishaps, he was forced to run all the way from the cul-de-sac to the school to avoid being late for homeroom. Accordingly, he was quite winded from the run, and was breathing heavily to catch his breath.
"Greetings Eddy!" said Double Dee with a smile, "How are you this fine morning?"
Eddy's breathing calmed down slightly, at which point he was able to utter a few simple words.
"Did I make it?" asked Eddy.
At that point, the minute hand of the analog clock mounted on the wall of the schools corridor shifted to the fifteen minute mark. As soon as the clock shifted, the sound of the bell signaling students to proceed to home room sounded.
"Well Eddy," said Double Dee, "Judging by your standing here prior to the bell ringing, even if it was just mere seconds, I would say yes!"
"Great," said Eddy, "C'mon let's go, the last thing I need is the teacher missing me on roll call."
The group of children began making their way into homeroom, at which point Double Dee decided to continue his conversation with Eddy.
"So Eddy," said Double Dee, "I can't help but notice that you have just dodged the proverbial bullet of accruing yet another lateness. In addition, you seemed as if you were in a state of panic as you entered the building. Is something troubling you?"
Double Dee and Eddy entered the classroom, and proceeded to take their seats at their desks. As Eddy sat down, he continued speaking.
"This was the worst morning that I have had in a long time," said Eddy.
"Care to discuss?" asked Double Dee, as he took a seat next to Eddy
"Maybe later," said Eddy, "I just need a minute right now."
The exhausted Eddy laid his hands on the table in front of him, after which he laid his head down on top of them. His attempt to gain a small amount of rest prior to the start of first period was soon interrupted by sound of a hand slamming a clip board on his desk surface, jarring Eddy back to an erect position. Eddy glanced upward to see his pretty red headed girlfriend. Her curls, while still hanging to her shoulders, were secured back with a green headband in an effort to keep it out of her eyes. Her blue, mascara lined eyes were completely focused on the clip board from behind her black rimmed glasses.
"Alright Little Man," said Lee, "Ready to hear something cool?"
Eddy groaned, after which he decided to reply sarcastically.
"Good morning, nice to see you too Lee." said Eddy.
Lee looked towards her lethargic boyfriend, realizing that her excitement over her ideas had gotten the best of her.
"I'm sorry sweetie," said Lee, "Good morning."
Lee leaned down and gave Eddy a long, drawn out peck on the cheek, ensuring that she enunciated an exaggerated MWAH sound. The act couldn't help but make Eddy smile.
"Alright, good morning Babe," said Eddy. He paused for a brief second before continuing, "So what's this cool thing you're in such a hurry to tell me?"
"Just my plan to win the talent show, and the first step in putting that stuck up bimbo bitch in her place." said Lee as she punched her right fist into her left palm.
At this point, Double Dee and Marie, as well as Ed and May decided to gather around Eddy's desk, intent to hear about the performance Lee had in mind.
"So," said Lee, as she pulled a tube of paper out of her backpack, "I thought long and hard about this, and I figured that there is one talent all us Kanker girls have that we rarely get to show off. So I decided on this!"
At that moment, Lee unrolled the sheet of paper, and placed it on the table for everyone to see. The document appeared to be a promotional poster; in the center was a picture of a ballerina wearing a pink tutu, white leggings, and ballet shoes. She was leaning backward, her knee bent and her arms in the air as if the picture was taken mid dance. Behind her, stood a man in costume as a British soldier wearing a red and gold military uniform. He held the ballerina in his arms, cradling her as if to assist her in keeping her balance; he appeared to be in dance pose as well. At the top of the page, large gold letters spelled out: "THE NUTCRACKER"
Double Dee smiled as he laid eyes on the poster.
"The Nutcracker?" asked Double Dee, "My it's been ages since I have seen this masterpiece performed live. Mother and Father used to travel our family to New York City to enjoy the show every year, as sort of a family tradition if you will. Unfortunately, my parents careers have taken more precedence, and we have not been able to travel to see it for the last three years. However, I never miss the chance to watch a performance on television, the holiday season wouldn't be complete without it!"
Eddy picked up the poster in both of his hands, staring at it in confusion.
"A ballet?" asked Eddy.
"Only one of the most popular ballets there is!" said May, "And it's perfect for the holiday season!"
May paused, after which she clasped her hands and continued in an extremely excited manner, finally realizing Lee's intent.
"Oh my God!" said May, "You're gonna perform The Nutcracker?"
"Not the whole thing." said Lee, "That's way too much. There's a ten minute time limit on the performance, so I'm only doing portions of the Pas de Deux."
"Potty Doo?" asked Eddy in a confused manner, "You're planning to get up on stage and tell toilet jokes?"
"It's pronounced Pa De Doh, it's French you moron," said Lee playfully, "It's a type of dance present in a lot of ballets that's performed by a ballerina and a male dancer. There are multiple parts, most notable the Adagio where they dance together, and variations in which the ballerina and danseur perform solo dances."
Lee paused as she glanced at the poster.
"And I've decided to perform the Grand Pas de Deux for the talent show." said Lee
Double Dee smiled.
"How wonderful!" said Double Dee, "What a way to represent the Christmas season while providing Peach Creek High School with a taste of culture."
"Yeah, whatever," said Lee, "I'm just doing it to take that bitch Lindsay down a notch!"
"Cut the crap Lee, you know you love ballet just as much as the rest of us." said Marie, "By the way, a complete performance of the Nutcrackers Grand Pas de Deux takes around fifteen minutes, so you're either gonna have to speed things up or delete some parts."
"Cool your jet's Marie, I got it taken care of." said Lee, "I'm only doing the entrée, portions of the adagio, and the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy. I'm leaving the tarantella out."
Lee pages through her clipboard, eventually coming to a page of sheet music for the piece. Lee had scribbled small notes on the sheet, added choreography via ballet dance notation below the score, and had deleted portions she deemed unnecessary with large x's.
"Here's the choreography I wrote," said Lee, as she handed the sheet to Marie, "Me and Mom worked on it together."
Marie took the piece of paper in her hand, after which she and May began intently studying, the glyphs written under the music.
"Lee this is amazing!" said Marie.
"Yeah," said May, "You really added your own touch to the standard choreography."
As May and Marie analyzed the music, Ed's peered over May's shoulder to observe the music for himself.
"Those look just like the glyphs the Zorfans used to communicate with the body snatchers in Slug-U-La number five!" said Ed enthusiastically.
May giggled.
"They do don't they Ed," said May, "But these aren't hieroglyphics, each of these represents a different dance maneuver or position."
May pointed to a few of the symbols inscribed onto the paper, and attempted to explain to Ed how they represented piourettes, fouettés and penche. Of course Ed, due to his lack of classical ballet knowledge and un interest in the subject matter, did not grasp Mays words, but smiled as he listen to his girlfriend speak.
As the girls continued to speak ballet, Double Dee was beaming from ear to ear. He decided to chime in.
"Wow," said Double Dee, "I must say, I am highly impressed with all of the knowledge you girls have presented regarding the technical aspects of ballet. I had always understood that your mother really enjoys ballet, but I never knew that you girls possessed as much talent as you do."
"To be honest Double Dee," said Marie, "May and I aren't really talented dancers, we just know the music and really enjoy watching ballet."
Marie performed a hitchhikers thumb toward Lee.
"Now if you want to see a dancer," said Marie, "Look no further than this knuckle head over here. She's amazing and she has never had formal lessons other than what my mom taught her. And what's even more amazing is that my mom taught herself all these techniques too!"
Lee blushed slightly at Marie's comment. Just as she was shy about being praised on her grades, she was also shy about being praised about her other talents. She decided to reply rather aggressively.
"Whatever," said Lee, "It's not my fault she forced it down our throats. She's way too obsessed with it if ya ask me! Jesus, all of us were literally named with ballet in mind!"
"Named with ballet in mind?" asked a confused Double Dee.
Lee calmed down slightly prior to providing her explanation.
"Yeah," said Lee, "The reason all of our names begin with Anna is because my mom loves ballet and her favorite ballerina is Anna Pavlova. She's considered one of the best ballet dancers in history. As for the Lee part, I was named after my Grandmom. Her full name was Evalee, but everyone called her Lee. So there ya go, Anna-Lee."
"Wow," said Eddy, "I learned something today."
Ed giggled slightly.
"I have a little cousin named Leeanne," said Ed, "It's like Annalee backwards, and we call her AnnAnn for short."
Eddy laughed.
"There ya go babe," said Eddy in a joking manner, "Maybe I'll start calling ya LeeLee as a pet name."
As Eddy continued to laugh, Marie and May instantly froze in place, their faces displaying extreme concern as they glanced at each other. They then turned their attention to Lee, who stood still completely unamused at Eddy's comment. As Eddy continued to laugh, she proceeded to walk towards him, and leaned down onto the desk.
"My name is Lee, or Annalee," said Lee rather sternly, "Please don't ever call me LeeLee ever again. Got it?"
Eddy was quite surprised at Lee's sudden change in attitude, as it was if he had struck a deep emotional nerve in Lee.
"Okay Lee," said Eddy in a relatively serious manner, "Sorry I'll never do it again."
Lee stared at her boyfriend for a brief second, after which her stern facial expression turned into a smile once again. She leaned down towards Eddy's face until her eyes were directly in front of his.
"Thanks cutie!" said Lee in a rather plucky manner, after which she pecked him on the lips, and turned her attention back to her choreography. The concern on Marie and Mays face disappeared, their faces returning to a neutral expression, as Double Dee and Eddy's face turned to expressions of confusion.
Within seconds, the proverbial elephant in the room had seemed to disappear, as Lee continued the conversation.
"Okay," said Lee, "In order to make this work, I'm going to need some music. Marie, that's where I need you. Do ya think you can rig up a piano arrangement to go along with this choreography?"
Marie smiled.
"Absolutely!" said Marie, "I'd love to!"
Marie turned to Double Dee.
"Double Dee has a lot of musical experience too!" said Marie, "He can help me!"
Double Dee raised his hands as if to protest Marie's decision for him to help.
"Well now," said Double Dee, "I don't know if a pedal steel guitar is appropriate for a ballet arrangement."
"You're right, it wouldn't work very well," said Marie, "But with your musical knowledge, you can at least help me arrange a few things."
Marie batted her eyes as Double Dee cracked a smile.
"Very well Marie," said Double Dee, "I will assist in your arrangement of the music."
Double Dee and Marie shared a smile, after which Lee decided to continue with explaining her plan.
"I'm also going to need a background set to go with the dance." said Lee, "May, could you and your man take care of the decorations?"
"Could I?" said May enthusiastically, "Oh boy I can't wait!"
May turned to Ed.
"You'll help me, right Big Ed?" said May.
"Anything for my Little May!" said Ed excitedly, as he grabbed May in a tight squeeze. Although May felt like she could barely breath due to Ed's tight, yet loving squeeze, she still was able to generate a smile due to Ed's loving adoration and support.
After receiving concurrence on her plan from her youngest sister, Lee turned back towards her boyfriend, who was currently staring at the advertisement for the Nutcracker. She approached Eddy, and posed a question.
"Like what ya see?" said Lee.
"Are ya kiddin me," said Eddy, as he pointed to the danseur in the photograph "I can't believe this guy is actually wearing tights and doing ballet! What man would want to be seen wearing this sissy stuff."
Lee giggled.
"Eddy," said Lee, "Do you know what Pas de Deux means in English?"
"Nope" said Eddy, "I don't speak no languages."
"It means 'a step for two'," said Lee, "The main part of the dance is shared between a man and a woman. I plan on doing a large part of the Adagio, and I am in need of a partner."
At this point, Eddy's face dropped. Across the room, Ed stood attempting as hard as he could to hold back a giggle. Double Dee stood with a neutral expression, somewhat concerned with Eddy's response to the statement that he knew to be inevitable.
Lee pointed to the male dancer in the picture.
"Sweetie, this is going to be you next Wednesday night!" said Lee with a smile.
Ed could barely contain himself, as his giggles were escaping around his sealed lips. Double Dee and Marie also shared slight playful giggles, attempting to be as discrete as possible.
"No way," said Eddy, "No damn way am I getting on stage in tights."
"Come on Eddy!" said Lee, "You've got such a cute little ass, and it will only look better in tights! I think all the other girls deserve to see what I have that they don't!"
Lee laughed heavily at her own joke for a few seconds, after which she regained her serious composure. She leaned her face towards Eddy, until their noses were almost touching. While Lee was smiling, Eddy sat with his arms crossed and a stern expression on his face.
"Please Eddy," said Lee, "For me. It will be fun I promise. If you're afraid of being made fun of don't sweat it, as soon as it happens whoever it is will answer to my fist."
Lee held her fist up in the air as a demonstration.
"Nobody is getting in the way of this." said Lee as she flicked her hair back.
At that moment, Lee leaned extremely close to Eddy's ear, and whispered into it in a very seductive voice.
"As a bonus," said Lee, "When we practice, you'll get to see me in my leotard and tights...I'll give you a hint, it's very VERY form fitting."
Lee giggled as she returned to her position directly in front of Eddy's nose. While Eddy was in fact quite enamored at the thought of Lee's amazing figure in tights, that was not the predominant reason he was about to agree with Lee's course of action. As much as he would never admit it, his emotional attachment to Lee could not allow him to say no.
"Alright," said Eddy in a sarcastic tone, "Let's dance!"
"Yay!" yelled Lee, "Thank you, I knew you'd say yes!"
Lee immediately pressed her lips to her boyfriends as a show of love and gratitude, as their peers watched on with a smile. The kiss was brought to a close at the sound of the teacher entering the room, at which point all of the students took their seats for roll call.