Blacks : HEY PEOPLES! Yes. My username has now been changed (cookies to anyone who reviews saying what pigfarts is!), but I will still be called Blacks, as this is now an actual nickname of mine :L *looks pointedly at Fex*
Fex: :D Oh, and OHMIGOD, thank you all SO much for the birthday wishes :L Blacks didn't exactly TELL me that she was posting a note, but whatever. :P Oh, right, citations and stuff. I do not own Inception, as much as I wish I did.
Why is this disclaimer necessary? Because the music group is performing Dream Is Collapsing, from the Inception soundtrack. Just take out the spaces and listen to the original here: http:/ www. youtube. com /watch?v=UkvNmb9tMII
Blacks : OKAY, this has been edited a tiny bit since it's first upload. Sorry! Details at the bottom. *feels guilty for some reason*
I settled myself in one of the plush seats, in between Fang and Nikki. I could hear murmured conversation break out all around the auditorium, mostly nervous-sounding; obviously from those who were still to perform. I couldn't help but feel pleased we had gone first; we didn't have to go through the torture of watching others do better than us. Not that they would, of course.
Riiight.
I turned to Fang to mention this when a hush descended upon the room once more as the woman from before stood up, turning to face us with a stern look.
"Drama competitors, please leave the auditorium and go backstage to prepare. As with the dancers, you will have five minutes before curtain." The drama people all stood up at this, each with worried expressions and a few looking a little queasy. I tried to smile encouragingly at one who was walking along the row in front of me, but she was looking so ill I don't think she noticed. As soon as they left the room, quiet whispers broke out once more.
"...I wonder what they'll do?" I heard Nikki ask Milan from next to me, and I glanced over my shoulder to see her curled up in her chair, blue hair standing out from her dark-ish clothes. He said something along the lines of 'well, we'll find out in a few minutes!' and rolled his eyes. I caught Savannah's eye; she was a few rows down from the four of us and shook my head slightly, she grinned, but I saw as it wavered ever so slightly. She was clearly feeling the nerves too. I gave her a smile (I know...I'm smiling so much today!) and turned back to Fang, who was slouched in his chair and staring at the stage with a disinterested look.
"Bored? You look it," I teased, poking him in the shoulder. He glanced at me.
"I'm just trying to keep my cool exterior. Believe me, on the inside I'm screaming like a five year old girl with her first dolly." He said this so nonchalantly that I started laughing, trying to quiet down so as to keep the low volume level in the massive room. The image in my head of Fang doing exactly that wasn't helping either. He gave me a funny look, which only made me laugh harder. He actually cracked a smile, though I wasn't surprised. According to Dylan, I looked like a rabid koala when I laughed. That charmer.
I was about to say just how interesting it would be to see Fang jumping about like a five year old girl, but I was interrupted by the sound of heavy things being pulled onto the stage in front of us, and everyone quieted in preparation. The lights also changed from a blackout to a half-light, with a slightly blue glow. I could see some of them moving box type shapes in a line to the front of the stage, and a bunch of people doing something similar towards the back. I didn't have much time to ponder this however, as only a few moments later all of the actors headed toward the front of the stage and took their positions.
The woman that spoke to us gave the same speech to these guys, telling them that they would have to each say their names and it would be recorded, yada yada yada. The first thing I noticed about them were their outfits. One girl was dressed in a little girl type dress, pink and frilly bits, complete with pigtails and white shoes. I saw another dressed in what looked to be rags, with dirty-looking makeup. Just seeing these instantly made me excited to see what they'd prepared, and I settled down in my seat to see it better and more comfortably.
I only had to wait the few minutes it took for them all to say their names into the camera, and then get into position ready for their performance. I could hear a few hushed whispers from behind me as the lights went up, and I felt myself tense with anticipation of what was to come.
The lights first came up towards the back of the stage, quite high up, where about seven people were stood. It looked a bit like a playground scene, with the girl I had noticed before playing with a boy dressed as though the same age. One thing was strange about the scene, though—there were no words. At all. Complete silence.
This scene seemed to show how they became friends at this age, with the others playing in the background.
All of a sudden, the lights cut out again and came on a level lower and closer, this time a scene that I assumed to be a party, with a boy and girl in the center. Again, there were no words. I could tell that these characters were the same ones from the scene before, and I got from body language that she had "liked" him for a while, and they were only just realizing their feelings for one another. The girl rubbed an arm and looked away from the guy, who put a hand gently on her shoulder. The girl, surprised, looked up, only to find his head inches from her. His other hand came up and gently pulled her into a kiss, which was both sweet and awkward to watch.
The next scene, yet again a level lower and closer (I was going on the assumption that we had all been given the topic of stairs) showed these two people married with a kid, looking pretty happy. Even though they were played by different people, I found it pretty easy to tell who it was by the way they acted, which just enforced the knowledge that I was terrible at acting.
Another stair-step downward, and this time it was just the next person playing the girl, hugging one arm around her waist and mouthing silently into a phone cradled in the other. The pain she was feeling was palpable, and at the end of this short scene the girl was slightly bent over, crying without a sound.
The following part was worse, with a massive fight between her and her husband, with him storming out and other various bad things that just were terrible to watch. Even though it was still silent, the bad energy was crazy, leaking from everything that the two new players did.
Then the lights went down and came up one more time, and I saw the woman in drags lying on the front of the stage, looking straight at the audience, a hopeless expression on her face that was almost heartbreaking. I admit I looked over to Fang at this point in the hopes of seeing a tear. No such luck, I'm afraid. .
It finished with a massive round of applause from everyone in the auditorium, and I swear I saw a few people crying at that last scene. Everyone up on the stage ran down and hugged, much like we all had once we'd finished. Makeup got smudged obviously.
The judges began to deliberate, heads pushed close together.
When they announced the names of who would be going home, it wasn't much of a surprise. There was obviously people who were insanely better than others here. The judges called out the girl from the last scene by name, but not to eliminate her—no, they actually praised her and her exclusively. She was going to be trouble for all those other theater shmucks. I would be surprised if she didn't go all the way. I made a mental note to be friends with her.
But the drama part was now over, and I watched as Savannah turned a very light shade of green in the seconds leading up to the woman telling the music department to move it or lose it. Okay, so that's not exactly what she said. But in any case, Savannah flipped her hat onto her head and made her way to the door leading to backstage. The musicians and drama people were given more time to set up, seeing as they had to roll in blocks and sets and chairs and instruments. The blue half-light came on again, and chatter rose, most voices with the undertones of awe, talking about the performance we had just seen.
"Wow," was Fang's word.
"Holy shit," was Milan's.
"That was awesome," said Nikki, turning around to look at me, raising her eyebrows.
I nodded, and idly watched as Savannah pushed in a baby grand piano on a wheeled platform. Turned out she was the only piano player they accepted. Go figure. She must be amazing, then.
She went offstage and then came back on with a simple bench to sit on, positioning it, sitting down, adjusting it, putting her feet on the pedals, then taking them off and going to stand center stage. As I watched, all of the competitors set up their instruments and placed sheet music on the music stands they had carted in, then came to join her, all in one straight line across the stage. They were all in matching outfits, white button-downs and black pants, though their shoes mismatched and Savannah was the only one wearing a hat.
They were asked to say their names, and they did so. When told they could begin, though, they remained exactly where they were.
We all stared at them, wondering why they weren't going back to play, when they all spoke at the same time.
"You're waiting for a train," they all said at once, a chorus of deadpan voices. "A train that will take you far away. You know where you hope this train will take you, but you can't be sure. But it doesn't matter. Why doesn't it matter? Because we'll be together."
And only then to do they go and sit in their seats. Ten seconds later, they start.
Savannah's actually one of the ones to start out, the piano and two violins playing simple-sounding note progressions, accompanied by an electric guitar, wielded by this guy with the weirdest haircut I'd ever seen.
It was kind of boring, actually.
Then three more violins came in, and then more string instruments, until an incredible wall of sound was crashing over the audience. It was...well, amazing.
Oh, right, this was the ITAC. We were all supposed to be amazing.
Well, they were still amazing. Savannah lost her solo stardom as the song went on, but there were a few measures she got it back. I noticed that she wasn't using sheet music. She had her part memorized.
It was mesmerizing. It built into an incredible crescendo and ended way too soon for my liking. There was a repeat of what happened at the end of the drama performance, hugging and deliberating and whatnot.
"Your friend was pretty good," Fang commented. "Though I don't know about that guy at the back..." He trailed off as it went silent once more. I turned to the front properly this time, noticing a weedy looking kid at the back who looked nervous as hell. I didn't see him go wrong specifically, but he didn't exactly look confident...
I felt my heart leap into my mouth when the names were being announced; I really didn't like to think of Savannah leaving. I knew she wouldn't, but still. Nerves, people, nerves! I let out a sigh of relief when her name wasn't called. I did feel sorry for the boy at the back though...the second his name was called out his face kind of crumpled. But I stopped caring about him (I know, I'm so kind.) as my roommate ran off of the stage and towards me and Nikki.
I admit it, I squealed. Just a little. But it kind of slipped out what with my happiness and such and as we hugged and jumped around a bit. So shoot me. I gave Fang a death glare and an abridged version of the finger when he smirked at me.
"Oh, whatever, emo boy. Just because I actually show my emotions." Ha. I laughed at his fake sad expression, bottom lip in pout mode. I was about to turn back and continue our girly-screaming-jumping session, but I was cut off by someone a different woman standing up from the main table. I think she must have had a microphone clipped to her somewhere, because last time I checked it was impossible for anyone's voice to be that loud.
"Please can all eliminated contestants follow me to sort out any travel arrangements needed. Everyone else, congratulations on getting through to the next round!" A small cheer went up. "As a reward for all your hard work, the curfew has been extended tonight only until midnight. You must all have returned to your rooms by this time, and lights will be out ten minutes later. Please remember the rules mentioned to you on your arrival, we wouldn't want any of you eliminated over something as mundane as a bit of alcohol."
There was silence for a few moments as she and the fifteen eliminated contestants left the room, followed by the other people who were sat at the panel. There were a few second where it seemed no-one moved. Then –
"PARTY IN THE GIRLS DORM!" Nikki screeched, clambering over the seats in front of her and skipping to the door, a stream of fellow contestants following her. In each dorm there was a lounge type room, complete with a few couches and a TV. I assumed that was where she was headed, rolled my eyes and grabbed the arms of both Fang and Savannah.
"Come on guys, if we let her go her own someone will die." I said, and Savannah laughed, nodding her head.
The party wasn't very exciting until after dinner—energized, we got loads of snacks from the kitchen (which, helpfully, was giving them out), then headed back, this time to the boys' dorm to continue our festivities.
This time, someone dredged up a karaoke machine.
How.
The music students cheered, and the rest of us were apprehensive.
"You gonna sing?" I asked Fang, nudging him on the arm. He gave a hell-to-the-no glare and stalked off to get a soda.
"GET ME ONE!" I called after him, then went to find Savannah, who was standing over where the machine was being set up, twirling her hat in her hands.
"Nice playing today," I told her, and she gave a smile.
"Thanks. Nice dancing." She shot back a compliment with a compliment. "Oh, and nice pants."
"Oh, yes," I said grandly. "They were wonderful, weren't they."
"Whoever designed them should be shot."
"But they looked good onstage, no?"
"Very true," Savannah acknowledged. She waved a hand at the machine being plugged in. "You sing at all?"
I waggled a hand in the universal "maybe yes, maybe no" gesture. "Eh. I can, that's not to say I'm good."
"You should sing something," she said. "I'm going to. Most of the music and theater department are going to. Come on. Convince Fang to sing with you?"
"He won't," I said flatly. "There is no way in hell I can possible convince him."
"So go with me," Savannah said with a winning smile. "C'moooon..."
"I pick the song," I said.
"Yay!" Savannah gave me a quick hug and then rushed off, hair streaming out behind her. "Hi!" I heard her call to someone I couldn't see, and Nikki caught up to me.
"Hell-ooo," she said. "Going to sing?"
"I think so, with Savannah," I said. "On the condition that I pick the song."
"Good choice, I heard her listening to some sort of Italian screamo on her iPod earlier. Though I don't think they have that on karaoke."
"Let's hope not."
"Yes."
The machine kicked up, and a guy in tight pants from theater took the floor. He oozed confidence as he made his selection. The music started, and a miniature mosh pit formed, watching him.
"Want some food?" Nikki shouted over the trumpets coming out of the speakers.
"Yeah," I yelled back, and we managed to fight our way through the crowds to the makeshift food table. An array of chips and dips and various other good things were spread out on it. Nikki and I both got plates. I saw Fang standing over near a wall with his own plate. We made our way over to him as the guy kept singing. Hey little girl on a spending spree, I don't come cheap but the kisses come free!
"What's up?" Nikki asked, trying to use his shoulder as an armrest, despite being too short to have it work.
"Nothing," Fang said.
"Sure you don't want to s—"
"No."
I laughed. Fang did not. In fact, he seemed kinda mad. "You okay, Fangy?"
"Don't call me that," he muttered. "I hate parties. Too loud."
Nikki rolled her eyes, and I couldn't believe it. Hating parties was just wrong. "Come on, Fangy." I pulled on his arm. "Just talk to someone. Crack a smile. Eat, drink soda, dance, whatever. Go find some hot theater chick." Okay, so that just slipped out. And I totally didn't mean it. Oops. In any case, Fang gave me a look like I was crazy, then went off somewhere. Nikki shrugged at the loss of her armrest and then grabbed another soda.
The theater guy was still going. Hey little girl, listen to my plea, I come with a lifetime guarantee. He was actually really good, with the kind of fifties thing going on, swinging around like he was at some sort of sock hop. Savannah was standing over by the line to karaoke. It was another girl and then her, and when she saw me she waved me over, flipping her hat over in her hands and putting it on her head. She adjusted it with one finger and winked. I headed over.
"I hate you," I told her. She beamed and handed me a song catalogue.
"Here," I grumbled, pointing at my selection. One that was easy to sing. Savannah rolled her eyes, but gave it to the guy who was unofficially running the show. The girl from before finished up (she was mediocre, nothing good, nothing bad) and Savannah dragged me onstage, winking at the crowd. God, but she was happy about this.
"I don't want to," I said into the microphone, and everyone laughed.
"GO, MAX!" Nikki called. "WHOO-HOO!"
A bunch of other people took up the call, and I couldn't help but feel happy about it. "I hate you," I muttered to Savannah again, and she grinned as the music started. Want me to go first? she mouthed, and I nodded fervently. She rolled her eyes, smiled again, and put the microphone up to her lips.
She was good. Like, whoa good. Of course, she then gave me a cue to sing and I tripped up and failed.
No one laughed, though. In fact, they clapped crazily when we were done. Savannah blew kisses and then dragged me off. Okay, so I was looking for Fang. Seeing if he had seen me fail. And if he had laughed.
I found him.
Against a wall.
Talking to a pretty girl I recognized from the theater department.
You literal bastard, I thought, though of course I didn't really care. Psh. What are you talking about?
Savannah saw where I was staring. "You sneaky bitch," she said. "You so like him."
"Do not," I said, coloring.
"Whateeeverrrr," she sang, then skipped off to practically jump on a guy from her department, who gave her a soda and a high-five.
"Good job!" Nikki squealed, tackle-hugging me.
"Ahaha, no," I said lamely, still a bit off. But screw it, I might as well have fun.
I ignored my slight hurt feelings and went off to talk to Toby, ignoring the curious look I saw Nikki cast my way. I started talking to Toby about our dance earlier on when she skipped up to us.
"Duuuuuuuuuuude. I saw you making cow eyes at Fang earlier. And how you went completely green with envy when you saw him talking to that slut over there." She said, bouncing up and down whilst looking at me with a serious expression.
"Slut?" Toby questioned. Nikki rolled her eyes.
"Boys." She sighed. " Honestly, have you seen how short that bloody skirt is? If it gets any higher, she'll have four lips to gloss in the morning." She tutted. I tried not to gag at the image. "Anyway. I saw how you face like, fell. Should I go talk to him? I could go talk to hi-" She started to walk off in his direction when I grabbed her arm, jerking her towards me.
"You will do no such thing, nugget girl." I said in her ear.
"You DO like him!" She exclaimed, grinning widely. I was struggling to see how she had come to that conclusion from what I'd said. "I gotta go tell Savannah!" She wriggled out of my grasp and skipped over to said American, who was stood talking to one of her music people, coke in hand.
"So. You like Fang?" Toby asked in his German accent, looking at me with a smirk on his face and one eyebrow raised.
"Oh shut up." I joked, laughing. I looked over to where my roommates were stood, giggling and bouncing and clearly plotting. I laughed again; they looked so overly excited.
And then I saw Fang talking to that girl again, and my temporary good mood disappeared.
Hey! I just watched inception ... OMFG SO COOL! Seriously, it is incredible. Fex was bugging me, so I watched it.
STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING. WATCH IT. NOW.
Hmn ... what did you think of this chapter? Max's sudden feelings towards Fang? Got an opinion? Tell us! Also, anyone who knows what pigfarts is (as afore mentioned) will get a cookie until next time!
**EDIT* Okay. Sorry about the mistakes guys. I've changed one or two, and I typed Iggy instead of Dylan at one point. Sorry! –Blacks*