I do not own the movie Sing. I only own my OC, Jason.
Guess what? I'm not dead! Surviving all this craziness right now but not dead. For a while, I honestly lost my passion for Sing as well as writing in general, thanks to all the lockdowns draining me. But I'm trying to get back into the swing of things for 2022. Plus the UK release of Sing 2 kicked me back into gear.
Also the Voice auditions I talked about in the last chapter went extremely well. Because I was one of the first to get to the pub where they were being held, I was the eighth contestant onstage. When the first contestant finished her audition, I felt absolutely tiny. As I watched each person have their go, I could only think "Oh, Christ, I can't compete with that! What if I screw this up? Why did I think this was a good idea?". But once I got onstage and my backing track for Stars from Les Miserables began playing, everything just clicked. I forgot all about my nerves and sang without freezing once. And when I'd finished, I could barely make my way to the exit without everyone stopping me to shake my hand, pat me on the back and tell me what a great job I did. One guy who'd come to watch his wife audition even offered to buy me a drink. He'd grown up with all sorts of French works, Victor Hugo and Les Miserables in particular, so my audition struck a chord with him. I chatted with him for well over an hour and listened to a few more auditions before heading home.
Ultimately I didn't get in but I still had a tonne of fun trying out. And things really picked up for me after that, because I joined my local choir (been with them for well over three years now) and even landed a couple of singing gigs for myself in the past year.
Anyhoo, on with the chapter! Hope you all enjoy and don't forget to leave a review! :)
A depressing silence lingered throughout the Eburno household.
Everyone else had all gone out, leaving only Gina and Jason alone in the house. The porcupine mother half-heartedly scrubbed away at the dishes in the kitchen sink, occasionally glancing at the stairs leading up to her son's room. Ever since they all saw the evening news last night showing the Moon Theatre reduced to rubble, they'd all been concerned for Jason's wellbeing, especially with Grandpa still in the hospital. Nobody had seen him, let alone heard his voice, since he'd arrived home and gone straight to his room yesterday.
The quiet was shattered by the sudden ringing of the doorbell. Perking up, Gina looked toward the hallway with a raised eyebrow before looking down at her watch.
"Who could that be this early in the morning?" she wondered aloud as she put down her dish towel and made her way towards the front door. She pulled it open to be greeted by a young crested porcupine around Jason's age, sporting a striped mid-sleeve shirt with a checkered skirt over her jeans.
"Oh, hello there. Can I help you?"
"Hi, Mrs. Eburno. Is Jason home?" asked the porcupine politely. "My name's Ash, I'm a friend of his."
"Ash?" Gina thought for a second before her face lit up with familiarity. "Oh, you must be the girl from the singing contest! Jason's told us all about you."
Ash couldn't help blushing slightly beneath her fur. "He has?"
"Nothing but good things." Gina replied with a warm smile which gradually faded. "And... we saw the whole story about the theatre on the news. Jason's taken it really hard. He hasn't left his room since he got home yesterday. He didn't come down for dinner and he's barely spoken to any of us."
"Would it be alright if I went up to try talking with him?" Ash asked.
Gina said nothing for a moment or two. At last, she moved aside and gestured toward the staircase.
"By all means, Ash."
Nodding gratefully, the young porcupine stepped inside the house and made her way up the stairs, glancing with a tiny smile at the family pictures adorning the walls as she did so. Once at the top, she noticed the only door in the hallway that was closed. Going with her gut that it must be Jason's bedroom, she walked quietly over to it and gave a few knocks.
"Go away, Mom." A muffled voice from behind the door confirmed her assumption.
"Jason? It's me, Ash." She called. There was silence for a moment before she got a despondent sigh in reply.
"Come in."
Placing her paw on the doorknob, Ash gingerly turned it and entered.
All the curtains in the bedroom were drawn, the only light source coming from the hallway and shining on Jason's bed. The porcupine was lying on his side on top of the covers. Very slowly, he rolled over to look at Ash, revealing dark circles under his eyes. The sight of this usually happy porcupine in such miserable shape made Ash's heart sink to the pit of her stomach.
"Are you alright?" Jason asked, stiffly sitting up for probably the first time that morning. "After yesterday?"
In spite of the gloomy atmosphere, Ash bore a touched smile at Jason's first question being about her state of being.
"Oh, I'm fine. No bones broken or anything." She replied.
"What about your guitar?"
"Managed to pull it out of the rubble. The case got a little bashed up but the guitar was still intact." Ash made her way over to Jason, taking a seat on the edge of the mattress. "Heh, solid waterproofing."
"Hmm. Yeah." Jason gave a tiny chuckle at her humorous attempt at conversation though he didn't smile. "How did you know where I live?"
"Miss Crawley might be old but she remembered all our info from when we signed up for the contest. Addresses and stuff."
A temporary silence hung in the air.
"So what are you doing here?"
"You weren't answering your phone so I thought I'd come over to talk to you." Ash tentatively fiddled with the quills by her ear. "…About Mr. Moon."
The moment those words left Ash's lips, Jason's expression contorted into a disgusted grimace.
"Ugh, don't even mention his name."
"Jason, Miss Crawley explained everything. She made a typo on the flyers. So we decided we're all gonna check on him. Y'know, see if he's okay."
The scowl of contempt didn't leave Jason's face.
"And I should care because…?"
"Well there's a chance we can find somewhere else to put the show on." Ash replied, a tiny hopeful smile on her face.
"With no hundred-thousand dollars? What's the point?" Jason released a deep exasperated sigh through his nose. "Ash, he lied to us. Almost got us all drowned. And for what, prize money that didn't even exist?"
Looking down at his mattress, Ash contemplated her next words before laying a paw on his shoulder.
"Jason, look." She said softly. "I'm not asking you to forgive Mr. Moon. You have every right to be upset with him. Honestly, I'm still a little peeved that he led us on for a box full of junk. But I think the least we can do is try to cut him a little slack. The guy's lost enough already. And like I said, if we can get an audience together, maybe we can still hold the show someplace else…"
"When there's no money to win and nothing to gain from it?" Jason interrupted, moving his downcast gaze to the corner of the room. "No thanks."
Ash's brow furrowed at this terse response.
"I'm sorry, what happened to 'I haven't really got my eyes on the prize'?" She asked incredulously. "A few days ago, you didn't even care about the money."
"Well I did, alright?" Jason whirled around sharply to look at Ash, making her jump. "I wanted to pay for my grandpa's operation!"
Another tense silence filled the bedroom once more.
"What?" Ash finally asked in surprise.
Jason let out a frustrated sigh before glancing down at the covers.
"That's why I came over to ask you for extra lessons. Because my grandpa's heart disease got worse and I thought if I could get good enough at the high notes and win that hundred-thousand dollars, I could pay for his operation."
Ash's face softened, her paw over her mouth in sympathy.
"Oh, God… Jason, I had no idea." Jason's saddened expression once again morphed into disdain.
"Yeah, well, thanks to that lying koala, now I can't." He muttered bitterly. "It's the whole reason I entered this stupid contest to begin with."
Neither porcupine said anything for the longest time.
"Y'know, Jason," Ash said at last, "I don't think that's the case."
Still looking away from her, Jason raised his head slightly. "What?"
"It seems to me that you entered this competition because you really do love to sing." Ash responded. "Because you wanted to put your voice to some good use. Believe me, when you were onstage at the rehearsals or at my apartment practicing the high notes, I saw the talent and passion just bursting out of you. Even if you can't pay for his operation, I'll bet you can still make your grandpa proud by taking part in the show with u…"
"Just let it go!" Jason exploded, the suddenness and volume of his harsh tone startling the female porcupine. "Okay? Entering this contest was a mistake! You and I never should have met in the first place!"
Ash's eyes widened as those scathing words punched her straight in the heart. Breathing heavily, Jason's anger faltered briefly at how hurt she looked before turning away once more, slumping onto his side.
"Just leave me alone."
"Jason, please…" Ash whispered, pained, as she reached out to place a paw on Jason's shoulder, only to flinch as he smacked it away.
"GET OUT OF HERE!" He snapped, clenching his eyes shut. "I'm not gonna tell you again!"
Rubbing her paw, Ash shakily inhaled before slowly rising from the bed.
"Alright. I'll go." She said quietly, her voice stinging with hurt. "You might not see your worth, Jason, but I do. We all do."
Jason said nothing in return as Ash trudged toward the door, her blinking eyes furiously fighting back tears. When she gripped the doorknob, she stood still for a moment.
"You didn't enter this contest for nothing, Jason."
She turned to take one last look at the depressed porcupine, her voice gradually breaking as she spoke.
"You helped me out during the worst moment of my entire life. Brought out confidence in me that I thought would never see the light of day. Showed me that I don't belong in the background. That's not nothing."
Neither Jason nor Ash moved or said a word. Then the silence was broken by Jason's unmoved reply.
"Goodbye, Ash."
Finally letting a tear fall, the female porcupine left the room and shut the door behind her, leaving Jason to continue staring dejectedly at his wall.
Unaware that, downstairs, Gina had heard the whole thing.
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*I do not own the rights to the movie Sing. All rights go to Illumination Entertainment