Disclaimer: Charlie, Oliver, and Jonathan are mine dears, but all other characters belong to the mouse and Bruickheimer. Today's edition features...
The Charleston Boys
"AHHHH! Help! Help! I can't swim!" moaned Charlie a bit over the top splashing behind painted wood pieces that stood in for the sea.
"CHARLIE, DON'T DIE!"cried Oliver sobbing over the side of the four foot long merchant ship. "Oh no, I can't swim! Who shall save you?"That was Jonathan Green's cue. He arrived bedecked in a fancy round feathered hat, scarlet waistcoat, and a wooden cutlass at his side.
"I shall pluck thee from thy watery grave for I think it not fair for youth to die!" quoth Jon. He dived from the rigging into the painted sea scenery, scooped up Charlie, swam back to the merchant ship, climbed up the side and the two fell on deck coughing.
"Oh…I'm alive!" Charlie cheered standing up. Oliver ran to him, gae him a hearty hug, and presented Jon a gift, "The golden apple is yours for you are truly the fairest and bravest."
Jon shook his head, "No, no! I can't deceive you good people any longer…My wisdom and bravery came from another."
"Who?" Oliver said astounded. Jon bowed his head in shame, "The humblest and wisest of all creatures." He looked skyward. "The All Knowing One!"
Percy swooped down and regally perched himself on Jon's shoulder. "You have redeemed yourself, Green." He softly added a squawk to the sentence. The makeshift choir from the previous night sang a triumphant "THE END". The curtain dropped, hiding the actors from sight or more accurately Murtogg accidentally dropped his end of a sail on them.
"Argh! Ye slack-jawed, clumsy tar of a egg-brain!"
"That's not in the play!"
"Who turned off my eyes?"
"Charlie? Charlie? Ouch! He bit me! The bird-"
"How dare you insult the All-"
"Shut it, Jon!"
"-Knowing One? You shall pay for your-"
"No really, who told my eyes to stop seeing? I'm not sleepy yet!"
"-ill mannered besmirching of his character-"
"I said SHUT IT, JON!"
"…and they say when the green flash is seen a soul is-Avast ye landlubbers!"
"Your eyes are fine, Charlie."
"Ollie? Where are you? I'm scared."
"Oops, sorry about that." Murtogg said dragging the heavy canvas off the actors and irritated bird. Charlie happily shouted he could see before Oliver pounced knocking him and Jon down. Oliver grabbed at the air above his head, trying to reach the mean, apple seed spitting bird. Percy screeched angrily at him, flapping his wings, and staying just out of reach. "You-you-flying rat! You-bit-me!"
"Bring out the cat! Bring out the cat! There's a mutineer!"
"Flying rat? You churl! You shall pay! I shall defend your honor, Protector of the Black Pearl!" Jon cried drawing his wooden cutlass and tossing his hat aside. He gripped the hilt raised his arms, charged forward, and brought it down, but found his hands empty. He looked around wanting to see who was preventing him from serving the All Knowing One.
"This won't be necessary." Jack assured him. He observed Oliver and Percy's peck and swipe match. "Mr. Cotton's Parrot!" Percy fluttered higher and faced Jack. "Apologize to Mr. Wainwright." Percy blinked. "You know who I mean."
"Won't! Won't!"
"Don't be ridiculous.Apologize." Jack realized what the bird had said, "Wait-what?"
"Callin' me a rat? I ain't apologizing for that!" Jack stared at the bird."What's going on here?"
"We've tutored the All Knowing One in the finer aspects of human verbal communications and articulation."
"We were teaching him to talk!" added Charlie. "It's like magic! He never used it before."
"Ah, well then, I think it's best you put your new found talent to good use. Apologize."
"I'm sorry-your gold's in the chest! Fifteen men on a dead man's chest, yo ho ho and a-"
"-bottle o' RUM!" grinned Gibbs. Everyone stopped, groaned and rolled their eyes. Jack shook his head and dismissed Percy with a nod. He turned to the three boys and clapped. "Wonderful play, if I had had to pay for it-"
"You would have?" said Charlie already thinking about his possible future and retiring from piracy altogether. Visions of apples danced in his head, green ones, yellow ones, dancing ones, dipped in chocolate or caramel or served with waffles or a fajita! Though, the truth is he didn't know what a fajita was. He thought it sounded interesting, but wasn't sure it existed yet. At that thought, he felt he would've liked an apple with a crepe as well or maybe…
"No, I would've snuck in." said Jack a bit taken back at the dreamy expression Charlie was looking at him with. Charlie shook his head and blinked, "What?"
"It was a compliment." said Jon. "And that concludes our final show!" The three Charleston boys bowed. Jack clapped his hands together and Murtogg and Mullroy soon followed suit. Gibbs raised his canteen. Marty raised a bottle and Ana Maria, now a visiting Captain on the Black Pearl reluctantly clapped. Charlie and Oliver went down the row of watchers shaking their hands.
"Good bye,Captain! Good bye, Mr. Gibbs! Good bye, Marty and Captain Ana and Mr. Cotton and Percy and Jon!" The two turned and-
"Wait!" said Charlie suddenly remembering. "Jon, come on then. We're here-Charleston!"
Jon looked at his feet."I'm not going."
"You have to come!" insisted Oliver. Jon looked at Percy, then back at Oliver and Charlie's expectant faces.
"Percy.Oh…" Charlie frowned. He looked down, and then quickly gave Jon a hug. "Good bye then…"
"It's been an honor." Oliver said holding out his hand. They shook hands and Charlie and Oliver slowly made their way off the ship, hoping, sneaking glances over their shoulders. Jon waved weakly. Jack drummed his hands on the barrel he was leaning on, "You're not leaving them all alone, are you?"
Jon looked at Jack. "Them. Alone. Are you mad?" Jon grabbed his sack, "Farewell! All Knowing One, um-pirates!"
"May the wind be in yer sails!" squawked Percy. Jack smiled, "That actually made sense."
