Chapter Three: Brainstorming

Buster didn't move. He didn't react, he didn't yell, he didn't even blink. He silently replayed the words in his head, never breaking Eddie's gaze.

"You're going to lose the theater."

Eddie rubbed his hoofs nervously. "Uh, Buster? Buddy? You ok?"

Buster took a deep breath. "What day is it?" he finally asked.

"What?"

"What day is it, Eddie?"

"Um…May? The eighteenth?"

Buster nodded. "Ok, clearly it is not April Fools Day, so why are you playing this horrible joke on me?"

"Because it's not a joke!" exclaimed Eddie, taking a seat. "I'm being a hundred percent serious here. You're going to lose the theater!"

Buster held up his paws and closed his eyes. "Stop, stop! Let's start over. How exactly did you come to this conclusion?"

"Well, as I went to do some grocery shopping this morning…"

"You mean raiding your parents' fridge?"

Eddie shot Buster an annoyed look. "Maybe! Anyway, I heard my dad on the phone with one of his business friends or whatever and he was saying that once he gets the Moon theater, he was going to have big plans for it."

"Your dad?" asked Buster, to which Eddie nodded. "What is he talking about? It's my theater!"

"That's not technically true, Buster," Eddie snapped. "The theater used to belong to you, but my nana bought the property, remember? Now it belongs to her; you just work here."

"Yes, and aside from overseeing productions and occasional theatrical advice, she lets me handle everything else, just as I did before. So what does this have to do with your dad?"

Eddie sighed heavily, rubbing his temple. "Buster, do you know how old my nana is?"

Buster shrugged. "I'm not one to question a woman's age…"

"She's almost ninety!"

Buster felt his eyes widen. "Seriously? Wow, that Lapsang Souchong must really do wonders…"

"Oh my gosh, Buster, don't you get it? She doesn't have much time left! When she dies, who do you think is going to inherit this place?"

"Well, I assumed you would. I mean, she knows we're friends and she'd trust you to monitor everything in her absence, right? Yeah, she called you worthless, but I'm sure she didn't mean…"

"Believe me, buddy," Eddie interrupted. "If I knew I was getting this place, I'd gladly give you the keys, free of charge. You're more suited for theater production than I am, but I know my nana. She'd wouldn't let anyone outside of immediate family run her theater and my father's already been promised her estate and finances. He says he's getting this place once nana dies and I know he's not going to give it up for anyone."

Buster didn't say anything. He simply sat at his desk, nervously tapping his claws against the wooden surface. "But does your dad even want this theater?" he finally said. "I mean, he doesn't strike me as they kind of guy who appreciates the arts."

Eddie scoffed. "Oh trust me, he doesn't. He's been a business prodigy since he was in grade school. He was probably the only kid who would watch the stock market for fun! And he takes a lot of pride in making money, which is why he hated funding all those failed shows."

"But I'm not asking him for money anymore! My shows have been so good, the expenses are paying for themselves. I think I've already saved enough money to pay him back for at least one show…"

Eddie just shook his head. "That won't matter, Buster. He doesn't see this place a 'palace of wonder and enchantment.' To him it's just a building: a building he's gonna strip down and turn into a convention center."

Buster leapt to his feet, planting his hands on the desk. "A what?!"

"Or an office building. You know, the kind with cubicles? Then again, an convention center would take less…"

Buster cried out in anguish and started pacing the floor. This couldn't be happening. He had just gotten the theater back and once again, it was slipping through his fingers. It was like the last year had been a wonderful dream, but now he was waking up to a harsh reality. He felt his heart racing as he anxiously tried to think of a solution. "He can't do this," he muttered to himself as he wrung his paws together. "He can't, can't do this. Not now! Not when everything's going so well!" He then turned to Eddie who had been watching him nervously. "Eddie, are you sure you can't talk to your dad? Maybe convince him to let me keep the theater? He can still oversee the property taxes and things like that! He doesn't have to be involved in the actual productions."

Eddie shook his head. "He won't listen to me. I'm having a hard enough time convincing him to let me stay in the pool house. Unless Nana changes her will, it's pretty much set in stone."

Buster froze in his tracks, a small glimmer of hope sparkled in his eyes. Eddie knew that look; Buster Moon had an idea.

"Eddie," Buster asked softly. "When's your Nana's birthday again?"

Eddie scratched his woolly head. "Pretty sure it's June 24."

"And you say she's gonna be ninety?"

"Well, she remembers the Great Depression, so it's definitely around that…"

Buster then scurried to his desk and started searching through his schedule book. The current play would be having their final curtain call this weekend and so far nothing else was scheduled for the next few weeks. He was planning on opening auditions for the next play, but that can easily be pushed back. The plan was quickly forming in his mind and before he knew it, it was all there laid out before him.

"Bingo!" he cried happily. "I know how we can fix this!"

"You do?" asked Eddie. "How? I told you, my dad…"

"You said it yourself, Eddie! The only thing to keep your father from getting this place is to make Nana change her will, and there's only one way to do it."

"Forge a signature?"

"Better! We're going to win her over the same way we did last time; we're gonna put on a show!" Before Eddie could ask, Buster was already pressing the intercom button for the entire theater. "Attention everyone! This is Captain Moon speaking! I would like everyone to report to the auditorium for an important announcement. I repeat, report to the auditorium immediately. Thank you!" Cackling like a madman, Buster grabbed his notepad and pen and rushed to the door.

"Buster!" Eddie cried, following close behind. "I know this is a loaded question, but what the heck is going on in your head right now?"

"Two words, Eddie: Birthday concert!"

It didn't take long for the crew to meet up in the auditorium. Ash sat with her band mates in the first row while Johnny and Meena met up in the second. Ms. Crawley and Rosita sat at the end of the front row while Gunter stretched in the aisle. Being a flamboyantly energetic dancer, he couldn't sit still for very long.

"Any idea what this is about?" Johnny asked Meena.

Meena shrugged. "Beats me."

"Knowing Moon, probably some elaborate idea for a show or whatnot," said Ash, stretching her arms. "I swear, if he tries to put me in pink sequence again, I'm boycotting."

"Well, I dunno, Ash," said Johnny. "I thought you looked amazing in that dress the night of the—." Then he stopped when he saw the way Ash was looking at him. Her expression was a mix of surprise and confusion, with a bit of awkward amusement thrown in. Once again, he felt his tongue go numb when his eyes locked onto her baby blues. "I-I mean, you looked cute. Not like 'cutesy-cute' just, good. As in not bad, you know?"

"Uh…thanks?" said Ash.

Before she could say anything else, Johnny spun back around facing the stage, feeling his face growing bright hot with embarrassment. Ash just looked over at her friends and shrugged. Olive then received a text alert on her phone from Brandy. It was a line of emojis: a gorilla, a fireball, a heart, and a porcupine. Olive replied with a winking emoji, earning a small fist bump from the giggling skunk.

"Okay, what are you two not-talking about?" asked Ash.

"Private joke," they both replied.

Before Ash could inquire further, Buster came trotting onto the stage with his notepad and a huge smile on his face. "Hello everyone! We all present and accounted for? Excellent! Well, I hope you all have been keeping a close eye on your calendars because we have a very, very special birthday coming up."

Buster allowed the question to hang in the air a bit, waiting for someone to remark. Aside from a couple of confused looks and shrugs, nobody said anything. "No guesses, really?" said Buster. "Ok, I'll give you a hint. They'll be celebrating the big nine-oh."

"Uhhhh, Ms. Crawley?" asked Ash.

"Yes, dearie?" asked the aged lizard.

"Happy almost-ninetieth birthday, Ms. C," said Olive.

"I'll be ninety?" said Ms. Crawley, scratching her scales. "That's funny. I could've sworn I was eighty-seven."

"You are," said Johnny. "We celebrated your birthday months ago. Your glass eye popped out and landed in the cake Meena baked for you?"

"Oh, that's right," chuckled Ms. Crawley. "It made a nice little topper, didn't it?"

"It is not Ms. Crawley," said Buster, finally getting a word in. "No, the birthday we are commemorating is that of none other than the owner of this wondrous theater, Nana Noodleman. As you all know, Nana Noodleman was the original theater's shining star. The ultimate diva!"

Eddie gave a nervous cough. "Uh, Buster? 'Diva' isn't exactly a compliment anymore…"

"Her illustrious career has stood the test of time," Buster continued. "She was a triple threat: she sang, danced, and acted her way into the hearts of all who witnessed her magnificence upon the stage. Her retirement had left a weary void in the theatrical world, but her legacy continued to thrive. In honor of that, we will be dedicating a night entirely to her!"

"Oh, that sounds lovely, Mr. Moon," said Rosita. "What did you have in mind?"

"Glad you asked, Rosita. We're gonna give her the gift that keeps on giving: a birthday tribute concert! Now, I know this is slightly short notice, but I figured if we put our noses to the grindstone, we can put on a show Noodleman will never forget…hoping her mind is still sharp. Speaking of which, her birthday will be on June 24, so clearing your schedules for that week would be most appreciative."

"You heard him, girls," said Ash. "We gotta cancel our gig at the royal wedding."

"Oh, but the Prince will be so disappointed!" retorted Olive, putting a paw over her heart dramatically.

Everyone shared a good laugh, while Buster called for silence. "Yes, yes, very funny. Now, does anyone have any ideas for the show? Floor's wide open."

Rosita was the first to raise her hand. "Well, she did a lot of musicals. We could have the acting troupe reenact scenes and dance numbers from her biggest hits."

"Ooh ooh! I'm calling zee dibs on zee dancing!" exclaimed Gunter. "I know for a factoid she totally knocked people dying with zat number from Night On Zee Town. Here, let me show you." Before anyone could argue, Gunter was already up on stage, pulling out his smart phone and a remixed version of "Tonight's Not Enough." Per the norm, the sequenced jumpsuit came flying off and his leotard was showing in full view. His routine was an odd combination of jazz, swing, with a bit of hip hop thrown in. He ended it with a run to the edge of the stage and slid onto his knees.

Nobody really knew how to appropriately respond. Johnny and Meena just exchanged a look, Rosita shook her head while blushing, and Brandy had already stopped recording with her phone. "I am SO putting that on MeTube…" she whispered to her friends.

Buster coughed nervously as Eddie handed Gunter back his suit. "Thank you, Gunter, that was…entertaining, but highly unnecessary. Still, Rosita, great idea! I'll let you work with the troupe to see what you can come up with. Definitely consider Night on the Town. Anyone else?"

Meena shyly raised her hand. "Um, well, I don't know how willing he'd be, but we could get Mike on board to do a few songs…"

"Mike?!"

Meena immediately hid her face behind her ears as the entire group unanimously declared his name, then started speaking at once.

"Are you bloody serious, Meena?"

"Nuh uh, no way!"

"Absolutely not!"

"He es totally being the shtinker!"

"All right, all right! Calm down!" shouted Buster, eventually getting everyone's attention. "It was just a suggestion; let's not light any torches."

"But Moon, that guy was a troll!" said Ash.

"Just because he's talented does not mean he's pleasant to work with," said Rosita.

"Also, let's not forget it was technically his fault the first theater got destroyed," added Johnny. "I mean, I don't know what he did to upset the Klondike Gang, but he…"

"The who?" asked Eddie. "Wait, are you talking about the bears with the baseball bat?"

When Johnny felt everyones eyes on him, he coughed nervously. "I-I heard it from some officers at…well, when I visited me dad last week."

While that answer seemed to satisfy the group, Johnny felt his face grow red. Why did he have to mention the bears by their gang name? When he was still a part of his father's gang, he was informed about all the local criminals in the city. This was mainly for his own protection so he knew which areas to avoid and which ones were on the level with his father. Still, he hated sharing his knowledge of criminal activity, especially with his friends. That was Johnny's biggest secret. Even though they knew about his father, they still had no idea he was a part of the gang. Everyone assumed Johnny was oblivious to his father's "double-life." He never bothered correcting them for fear of what their reaction to the truth would be.

"Yes, well whoever they were, Mike shouldn't have promised them money he didn't have," said Rosita, encouraging agreements from everyone. Johnny breathed an internal sigh of relief when the conversation once again focused on Mike. "And honestly, Meena, why would you want Mike to come back?" Rosita continued. "He was so rude to everyone, especially you."

Meena pulled back her ears enough to show most of her face. "I know he was a jerk, but he did come back the night of the concert and did a great job. He's a singer, just like all of us. And I don't think the show would've been complete without him. B-but if you guys really don't want him to…"

"Now, now. Nobody said that…" said Buster.

"Yeah, we did," Ash interrupted.

"Okay, here's the deal," continued Buster. "If anyone happens to come across Mike in the next week or so, let him know about the concert, just in case he's interested. Though be sure to inform he'd be doing it for free."

Johnny scoffed. "Yeah, that'll reel him in…"

"Ok, so we got some scenes, a couple of solos here and there," Buster said, looking down at his notes. "Ms. Crawley, maybe you could teach Johnny a few songs from Nana's musical history? Ash, same goes for you and your girls."

"Whoa, hit the brakes, Moon," said Ash, leaping to her feet. "No offense to the 'Great and Powerful Nana,' but I doubt any of her songs included punk rock."

Olive chuckled. "Though I would love to see her pull off a Mohawk."

Buster tapped his pen against his chin. "Hm, valid point. Hey Eddie, what was Nana's feedback on Ash's song? Did she ever tell you?"

"I think she said it reminded her of the feminist rallies she went to in the seventies," said Eddie.

"See?" said Ash, satisfied. "So why should I have to dumb it down?"

"I'm not talking about 'dumbing it down,'" said Buster. "I just think you should do something more mellow. I mean, you've got a beautiful voice, but you can't really tell the way you shout into the mic, you know?"

"But that's my thing," said Ash, feeling her quills bristle with irritation. "Gunter's the dancer, Rosita's the pop mom, Meena's the vocal powerhouse, and Johnny's all sweet and soulful."

"She thinks I'm sweet?" Johnny whispered to Meena.

"That's a good sign," Meena giggled, giving Johnny a playful nudge.

Just then, Buster's ears perked up. "Johnny! That's it!"

Johnny looked around confused. "Uh, what's it?"

"Change of plan. Johnny, Ash: you two are doing a duet."

"What?!" They both cried, sending Johnny to his feet.

"Think about it," Buster continued. "Johnny - the cool, hip heartthrob - sharing the stage with Ash - the fiery and feisty rockstar. Your piano plus your guitar equals a match made in heaven. It's perfect!"

Johnny couldn't believe his ears. Moon was right; this was perfect! Rehearsing a song together would give them plenty of quality time together. He'd never had a chance to really get to know her outside of rehearsals and lessons. This would be his chance! And to sing along side her would be an added bonus.

"Sure!" said Johnny….at the same time Ash cried "NO!"

They turned to one another in surprise. "You don't?" asked Johnny.

"You do?" asked Ash.

"Oh dear…" whispered Meena.

"Awkward…" Brandy quietly muttered to Olive.

"Whoa, Ash, is everything ok?" Buster asked. "I just figured you two could…"

"Maybe we should stop the brainstorming for today, Mr. Moon," said Rosita, quickly going to Ash's side and placing a calming hand on her shoulder. She had broken up enough fights among her piglets to know when one was brewing. "Why don't we all just take some time to think of some new ideas to bring to the table tomorrow?"

"Good thinking, Rosita," said Buster, grateful for the break. "Ok, everyone you heard her: get those creative juices flowing. We only got a few weeks to get this going, so let's not dawdle too long. This is going to be a great concert, I can feel it."

Once Buster dismissed everyone, Johnny looked over to see Rosita conversing with Ash, who was gently shrugging her off. The porcupine then met his gaze. He couldn't tell if she was sending a silent apology or what, but she soon signaled her band mates to follow her back to the room. Johnny wanted to call out to her, but decided against it. He sighed heavily as he felt Meena place her hand lightly on his back.

"I'll take anything with drizzle on top and I prefer custard over cream," he said over his shoulder.

Meena rolled her eyes. Clearly, he was referring to the "donut bet" they had made earlier. "That doesn't count," she retorted.

"Oh come on, Meena," Johnny hissed. "If she doesn't want to spend five minutes on stage with me, that what chance do I have for dinner and a movie?"

"Hey Johnny!" called Buster, hopping off the stage to approach them. "Sorry for putting you guys on the spot like that. I wasn't trying to embarrass you. I just really think you two would harmonize great together, ya know? It's crossed my mind more than once of you two…."

"It's ok, Mr. Moon," said Johnny. "I think Ash would rather sing with her band."

"Is, uh…is there something going on that I need to know about? You two have a fight? Not to sound insensitive, but I really don't want any teenage drama distracting you guys."

Johnny said nothing as he raised his eyes to the backstage. He could just make out Ash talking with Olive and Brandy, looking clearly upset. No doubt she was telling them all the reasons she didn't want to sing with him. "No," he finally said. "There's absolutely nothing going on between us. I, uh, I think I'm gonna head out early. Visiting hours are starting up now and I haven't visited dad yet this week. I'll see you guys tomorrow…"

Before anyone could say another word, Johnny was already heading back to Crawley's office to get his skateboard. Buster let out a huge puff of air and leaned against one of the chairs. "Well, that could've gone a little smoother, but I think we're on the right track."

Once everyone was out of earshot, Eddie leaned over to Buster. "You really think this concert's gonna change her mind?"

"Of course it will!" said Buster, heading back to his office. "Who wouldn't want an entire night dedicated to them?"

"But what if she figures out what you're up to? If there's one thing Nana can't stand, it's a brown noser."

"Well then," said Buster, tucking the notes under his arm. "It's a good thing my nose is black!"