Chapter Eight: America and Cool
Ashley: *watches video again* Why do you build me up Buttercup, baby, just to let me down and mess me around. And then worst of all you never call, baby, when you say you will but I love you still.
Rika: Since Ashley is too busy watching Clay Ackin videos...
Ashley: AIKEN!
Rika: Yeah. Anyway, she's way too involved in watching Clay, whether it's on U-Pick Live or just her CD. She's obessed with Clay...uh...AIKEN.
Ashley: GO CLAY! Grease is the time, is the place, is the motion. Grease is the way we are feeling! SHAKE THOSE HIPS CLAY!
Kazu: O_O
Rika: Um...cookie handouts, with some comments from Ashley, to Digifreak103, Akino Matoumiken, The Anti Fluffy, anonymous (well, West Side Story is kinda weird...) Rika1332 (Ruben rocked at that song, but Clay is still my favorite), Dark-Angel, lilcherryblossom, and Kit Kat.
A quick disclaimer: Ashley doesn't own Clay -
Ashley: I WILL!
Rika: Or West Side Story...Digimon...Sarah...Amber (who has disappeared in this fic or something) or Katie...
Ashley: *runs upstairs to get American Idol tapes*
Kazu: Read. (Kinda long because it's two scenes.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By now, Mrs. Tenner was crying. "You guys make me so proud..."
Isabelle came through the door to where Mrs. Tenner was, and immediately turned around. "Please don't see me, please don't see me..." Isabelle prayed.
Spotlight on the play again...
Bernardo and Anita entered the stage, followed by Indio and Pep. Their girls, Consuelo and Rosalia follow. Bernardo looked up at the window. "Maria?"
"She also has a mother. Also a father," Anita said.
"They do not know the country any better than she does."
"You do not know it all! Girls here are free to have fun. She. is. in. America. now," Anita explained.
But Puerto. Rico. is. in. America. now!"
"Ai!" Anita said in digust.
"Anita Josefina Teresita - "
"It's plain Anita now - "
Bernardo continued. "Beatriz del Carmen Margarita, etcetera, etcetera - "
"Immigrant!"
"Thank God, you can't change your hair!"
"Is that possible?" Pepe asked, fondling with Consuleo's hair.
"In the U.S.A., everything is real," Consuleo said.
At that point, Katie entered. "Chino, how was she when you took her home?"
"All right. 'Nardo, she was only dancing," Chino said, trying to defend her.
"With an "American." Who is really a Polack."
"Says the Spic," Anita exclaimed.
Bernardo looked over at Anita. "You are not so cute."
Anita smiled. "That Tony is."
"And he works," Rosalia added.
"A delivery boy," Chino said.
"And what are you?" Anita questioned.
"An assistant."
"Sí!" Bernardo said, "And Chino makes half what the Polack makes...the Polack is American! The mother of Tony was born in Poland; the father still goes to a night school. Tony was born in America, so that makes him an American. But us? Foreigners!"
"Lice!" Pepe and Consuleo said.
"Cockroaches!" Pepe, Consuelo, and Anita exclaimed.
"Well, it is true!" Bernardo said, "You remember how we were when we first came! Did we even think of going back?"
"No! We came ready, eager - "
"With our hearts open - "
"Our arms open - "
"You came with your pants open."
"You did, pig!" Consuelo slapped Pepe. "You'll go back with handcuffs!"
"I am going back with a Cadillac!"
"Air-conditioned!"
"Built-in bar!"
"Telephone!"
"Television!"
"Compatible color!"
"And a king-sized bed," Benardo finished, grabbing Anita. "Come on."
Anita mimicked him. "Come on."
"Well, are you or aren't you?"
"You have your big, important war council. The council or me?" Anita asked.
"First one, then the other."
Anita broke away from Bernardo. "I am an American girl now. I don't wait."
Bernardo whispered to Chino, "Back home, women know their place."
But Anita heard him. "Back home, little boys don't have war councils."
"You want me to be an American?" Bernardo turned to the boys. "Vámonos, chicos, Es tarde." Then he bowed and turned to Anita. "Buenos noches, Anita Josefina del Carmen, etc., etc., etc." Then Bernardo exited with the boys.
"That's a very pretty name: Etc." Rosalia said.
"Ai!" Anita sighed.
"She means well," Consuelo said.
"We have many names at home," Rosalia exclaimed.
"At home, at home. If it's so nice "at home," why don't you go back there?"
"I would like - " Anita gave her a mean look, and Rosalia added, "Just for a successful visit." Then Rosalia started singing. (A/N: Yes, ANOTHER song.)
"Puerto Rico.
You lovely island.
Island of tropical breezes.
Always the pineapples growing,
Always the coffee blossoms blowing."
Anita took the song from there, Puerto Rico.
"You ugly island.
Island of tropic diseases.
Always the hurricanes blowing,
Always the population growing.
And the money owing,
And the babies crying,
And the bullets flying.
I like the island Manhattan-
Smoke on your pipe and put that in!
Then all the girls on stage, in really frilly dresses except Rosalia started singing.
"I like to be in America!
Okay by me in America!
Everything free in America
For a small fee in America!"
Rosalia sang. "I like the city of San Juan."
Anita - "I know a boat you can get on."
Rosalia - "Hundreds of flowers in full bloom."
Anita - "Hundreds of people in each room!"
All - "Automobile in America,
Chromium steel in America,
Wire-spoke wheel in America."
Very big deal in America."
Rosalia - "I'll drive a Buick to San Juan-"
Anita - "If there's a road you can drive on."
Rosalia - "I'll give my cousin a free ride-"
Anita - "How you get all of them inside?"
All - "An immigrant goes to America,
Many hellos in America;
Nobody knows in America
Puerto Rico's in America."
The girls took a moment to whistle and dance in their frilly dresses onstage. Mrs. Tenner was practically doing a happy dance herself backstage.
Rosalia - "When will I go back to San Juan-"
Anita - "When you will shut up and get gone!"
Rosalia - "I'll give them new washing machine-"
Anita - "What have they got there to keep clean?"
All - "I like the shores of America!
Comfort is yours in America!
Knobs on the doors in America,
Wall-to-wall floors in America!"
And the girls continued with their spanish-like dance in the spanish-like dresses.
Rosalia - "I'll bring TV to San Juan."
Anita - "If there's a current to turn on."
Rosalia - "Everyone there will get big cheer!"
Anita - "Everyone there will have moved here!"
The music kept playing for awhile while the girls kept dancing. Then the song ended, and the lights blacked out. The girls walked offstage, while Mrs. Tenner handed them candy.
"I love you, Sarah. I love you, Jenny. I love you, Katherine," Mrs. Tenner sobbed to each person passing by. The girls all shot Mrs. Tenner weird looks.
"Okay, the show must keep going...the first act is ALMOST over...well, kinda."
The curtain raised again to show the inside of Doc's. All the Jets were lounging around.
"Where the devil are they?" Kazu asked, "Are we havin' a war council tonight or ain't we?" Angerily, he threw a dart.
"He don't use knives. He don't even use an atomic ray gun," Baby John said, reading a comic book.
"Superman." Kenta looked over at what Baby John was reading. "Gee, I love him."
"So marry him," Kazu said. (A/N: Actually, I have no clue who says this. It says Snowboy, but he doesn't appear in this scene until later...so...I dunno.)
"I ain't never gonna get married," Ashley exclaimed, standing by the jukebox, "Too noisy."
"You ain't never gonna get married," Kenta said, "Too ugly."
Ashley pretending she was shooting Kenta. "Pow pow!"
"Cracko, jacko!" Kenta cried out, clutching his belly and spinning to the floor. (A/N: No, I have no idea 'cracko jacko' means either...) "Down goes a teen-age hoodlum."
"Could a zip gun make you do like that?" Baby John asked.
A second of silence passed until Takato burst into the room, making everyone jump.
"What the hell's a matter with you?" Kazu asked.
"I got caught sneakin' outa the movies," Takato said.
"Sneakin' out? Whadd'ya do that for?" Kenta exclaimed.
"I sneaked in."
"A war council comin' up and he goes to the movies," Kazu said, shaking his head.
"And you let him be a Jet!" Ashley shouted.
"Ah, go walk the streets like ya sister," Baby John said.
Ashley jumped the poor boy. "Lissen, jail bait, I licked you twice and I can do it again!" At that moment, a man entered behind the counter....HENRY! (A/N: Sorry...but Henry's been gone for the past couple chapters...)
"Curfew, gentlemen," Henry said, "And lady." Ashley scowled. "Baby John, you should be home in bed."
"We're gonna have a war council here, Doc."
"A who?" Henry asked, confused.
"To decide on weapons for a big-time rumble!" Kenta explained.
"We're gonna mix with the PRs," Takato added.
"Weapons," Henry said, "You couldn't play basketball?"
"Get with it, buddy boy," Ashley said.
"War councils - " Henry started.
"Don't start, Doc," Kazu said.
"Rumbles..."
"Doc - "
"Why, when I was your age - " Henry said, but Kazu cut him off.
"When you was my age, when my old man was my age, when my brother was my age! You was never my age, none a you! The sooner you creeps get a hip to that, the sooner you'll dig us."
"I'll dig you early graves, that's what I'll do," Henry said.
"Dig, dig, dig - " Kenta exclaimed. (A/N: The Holes song, Dig It Up! Dig it up, oh oh!)
"What're you gonna be when you grow up?" Henry asked.
"A telephone call girl!" Ashley said, wistfully.
Just then, the store doorbell tinkled as Riff entered with Velma (Jeri).
"Riff, hey!" Takato said.
"Are they comin'?" Kazu questioned.
"Unwind, Action. Hey, Doc, Tony here?"
"No, Riff, it's closing time."
Kazu turned to Riff. "What d'ya think they're gonna ask for?"
"Just rubber hoses, maybe, huh?" Kenta joked.
"Cool, little men. Easy, freezy cool."
"Oo, oo, ooblee-oo," Jeri exclaimed.
Diesel enetered with his girlfriend, Graziella.
"They're comin' any minute now!" Diesel announced.
"Chung chung!"
"Cracko, jacko!"
"Ooblee-oo."
"Cool!" Riff said, sharply.
"Riff," Ashley said, walking over to him, "In a tight spot you need every man you - "
"No."
"An American tragedy," Graziella said to Jeri, indicating Ashley.
"Pow." Ashley "shot" her.
"Poo." Graziella started examining her nails.
"Ooblee-pooh." Jeri ignored Ashley, then both of them started to giggle.
"Now when the victims come in, you chicks cut out," Riff said.
"We might, and then again, we might not."
"This ain't kid stuff, Graziella."
"I and Velma aint kid stuff, neither. Are we, Vel?"
"No thank you-oo, ooblee-oo," Jeri said.
"And you can punctuate it?" Graziella asked.
"Ooo!" Jeri said. (A/N: You've gotta hear this to hear the stupidness.) She and the other girl started giggling again.
"What're we poppin' around with dumb broads?" Kazu asked Riff.
"I and Velma ain't dumb!" Graziella exclaimed.
"We got important business comin'," Kazu said.
"Makin' trouble for the Puerto Ricans?" Henry asked.
"They make trouble for us," Takato said.
"Look! He almost laughs when he says it. For you, trouble is a relief."
"We've got to stand up to the PRs, Doc. It's important."
"Fighting over a little piece of the street is so important?"
"To us, it is," Kazu said.
"To hoodlums, it is," Henry finished, going through the cellar doorway and Kazu lunged for him.
"Don't you call me hoodlum!"
Riff held him back. "Easy, Action! Save your steam for the rumble."
"He don't want what we want, so we're hoodlums!"
"I wear a jacket like my buddies, so my teacher calls me hoodlum!"
"I swear, the next creep who calls me hoodlum - "
"You'll laugh! Yeah. Now you all better dig this and dig it the most. No matter who or what is eatin' at you, you show it, buddy boys, and you are dead. You are cuttin' a hole in yourselves for them to stick in a red-hot umbrella and open it. Wide. You wanna live? You play it cool," Riff said, the music starting.
"I wanna get even!" Kazu shouted.
"Get cool," Riff said.
"I wanna bust!" Kenta yelled.
"Bust cool. Go cool!" Then started to sing,
"Boy, boy, crazy boy-
Get cool, boy!
Got a rocket in your pocket- (A/N: WORD OF PRECAUTION: Don't sing this line in school...)
Keep coolly cool, boy!
Don't get hot,
'Cause, man, you got
Some high times ahead.
Take it slow and, Daddy-o,
You can live it up and die in bed!
Boy, boy, crazy boy-
Stay loose, boy! Breeze it, buzz it, easy does it-
Turn off the juice, boy!
Go man, go,
But not like a yo
Yo school boy-
Just play it cool, boy.
Real cool!
Easy, Action.
Easy."
And that song leaded into a dance in which everyone releases their emotions and got "cool". Then the Sharks entered. Jeri and Graziella left, but Ashley stayed behind. Riff spotted her and Ashley gave him the let-me-stay look. But Riff made her go, and on the way out, she shoved the Sharks out of the way.
"Set 'em up, Doc. Cokes all around," Riff said.
"Let's get down to business," Bernardo announced.
"Bernardo hasn't learned the procedures of gracious livin'."
"I don't like you, either. So cut it."
"Kick it, Doc."
"Boys, couldn't you maybe all talk it - " Henry reasoned.
"Kick it!" Riff said.
Henry leaves. The two gangs take places behind their leaders.
"We challenge you to a rumble. All out, once and for all. Accept?"
"On what terms?"
"Whatever terms you're callin', buddy boy," Riff said, "You crossed the line once too often."
"You started it."
"Who jumped A-rab this afternoon?" Riff asked.
"Who jumped me the first day I moved here?" Bernardo shot back.
"Who asked you to moved here?" Riff exclaimed.
"Who asked you?"
"Move where you're wanted!" Takato said behind Riff.
"Back where ya came from!" Kenta added.
"Spics!" Action said.
"Micks!" Pepe exclaimed.
"Wop!" Indio shouted.
"We accept!" Bernardo said.
"Time?"
"Tomorrow."
"The river?" Riff asked.
"Under the highway." They shake.
"Weapons!"
"Weapons..."
"You call."
"You're challenge," Bernardo said.
"Afraid to call?"
"Sticks."
"Rocks."
"Poles."
"Cans."
"Bricks."
"Bats."
"Clubs."
Ryo jumped in the way. "Bottles, knives, guns!" Bernardo and Riff stared at him. "What a coop full of chickens!"
"Every dog knows his own," Bernardo said.
"I'm callin' all of you chicken. The big touch buddy boys have to throw bricks! Afraid to get close in? Afraid to slug it out? Afraid to use plain skin?"
"Not even garbage?" Baby John asked.
"That ain't rumble."
"Who says?" Riff said.
"You said call weapons," Bernardo reminded Riff.
"A rumble can be clinched by a fair fight. If you have the guts to risk that. Best man from each gang to slug it out," Ryo explained.
"I'd enjoy to risk that. Okay! Fair fight!"
"What?" Pepe shouted the same time Action yelled, "No!"
"The commanders say yes or no," Riff told them, then turned to Bernardo, "Fair fight." They shook again.
Bernardo told Ryo, "In two minutes you will be like a fish after skinnin'."
"Your best man fights our best man...and we pick him," Riff said, slapping Diesel on the back.
"But I thought it would be - "
"We shook on it, Bernardo."
"Yes. I shook on it."
"Look, Bernardo," Kazu said, quickly, "If you wanna change your mind, maybe we could all - "
One of the Jets near the door suddenly whistled. In a second, they shift into positions in which Jets and Sharks are playing games together, or just talking together. Silence, and then came in Schrank.
"Good evening, Lieutenant Schrank. I and Tony was just closing up," Henry said.
"Mind?" Schrank asked lifting up an empty box, which was supposed to be a pack of cigarettes.
"I have no mind. I am the village idiot," Henry said. (A/N: Henry being a village idiot...hmm....COOL!)
Schrank lighted a "cigarette". "I always make it a rule to smoke in the can. And what else is a room with half-breeds in it, eh, Riff? Clear out, Spics. Sure; it's a free country and I ain't got the right. But it's a country with laws: and I can find the right. I got the badge, you got the skin. It's tough all over. Beat it!"
A second passed, until Bernardo and his gang left, humming 'My Country Tis of Thee' while leaving.
"From their angle, sure. Say, where's the rumble gonna be? Ah, look, I know regular American don't rub with the gold teeth otherwise. The river? The park?" Schrank asked.
But no one answered and there was silence.
"I'm for you," Schrank continued, "I want this beat cleaned up and you can do it for me. I'll even lend a hand if it gets rough. Where ya gonna rumble? The playground? Sweeney's lot?" He started to sounds angry by the silence. "Ya think I'm a lousy stool pigeon? I wanna help ya get rid of them! Come on! Where's it gonna be?. Get smart, you stupid hoodlums! I oughta fine ya for litterin' the streets. You oughta be taken down the station house and have your skulls mashed to a pulp! You and the tin-horn immigrant scum you come from! How your old man's d.t.'s A-rab? How's the action on your mothers mattress, Action?"
Kazu started to lunge for Shrank, but Riff held him back. Then there was silence again.
"Let him go, buddy boy, just let him go. One of these days there won't be nobody to hold you. I'll find out where ya gonna rumble. But be sure to finish each other off. Because if you don't, I will!"
With that, the gang left. Shrank turned to Henry, "Well, you try keepin' hoodlums in line and see what it does to you." And then Schrank exited.
"Wouldn't give me a mouth like his..." Henry answered, after Shrank left.
"Forget him. From here on in, everything goes my way..." Ryo said, cleaning up the store.
"You think it'll really be a fair fight."
"Yeah."
"What have you been takin' tonight?" Henry asked.
"A trip to the moon. And I'll tell you a secret. It isn't a man that's up there, Doc. It's a girl, a lady," Ryo said, opening the door. "Buenos noches, señor."
"Buenos noches?! So that's why you made it a fair fight," Henry exclaimed as Ryo smiled, "Tony...things aren't tough enough?"
"Tough? Doc, I'm in love."
"How do you know?"
"Because...there isn't any other way I could feel," Ryo explained.
"And you're not frightened?" Henry asked.
"Should I be?" Ryo opened the door, and exited.
"Why? I'm frightened enough for both of you." And with that, Henry turned off the last light and the stage went dark.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ashley: *moans* Is school out yet?
Kazu: Fourteen more days...
Ashley: FOURTEEN?! *sigh* Wait...tonight's the Farewell Dance! AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!
Kazu: What's wrong with a dance?
Ashley: Top Ten Reasons To Hate Dances:
10. They're boring...
9. The balloons are everywhere...
8. They are glitter everywhere you look.
7. Decorations are seen everywhere too.
6. You can't find anywhere to sit.
5. You hate dancing.
4. You have to make your hair all fancy.
3. You have to wear a dress.
2. Pictures are taken.
AND NUMBER ONE:
1. No boy asked you to the dance.
Kazu: Wait a second, you don't care about that.
Ashley: You're right, yes. I didn't want anyone to ask me, but it would have been fun to reject some boy. Mwhahahaha...
Kazu: Okay then...
Ashley: Review please. PLEASE?! And Bethany, if you're reading this, HAVE A GREAT TIME AT THE DANCE! Even if you are going with...Chris...so, review, and see you next chapter. Tonight I'll be suffering at a dance lasting three hours, and doing absolutely nothing.
R&R.
Ashley: *watches video again* Why do you build me up Buttercup, baby, just to let me down and mess me around. And then worst of all you never call, baby, when you say you will but I love you still.
Rika: Since Ashley is too busy watching Clay Ackin videos...
Ashley: AIKEN!
Rika: Yeah. Anyway, she's way too involved in watching Clay, whether it's on U-Pick Live or just her CD. She's obessed with Clay...uh...AIKEN.
Ashley: GO CLAY! Grease is the time, is the place, is the motion. Grease is the way we are feeling! SHAKE THOSE HIPS CLAY!
Kazu: O_O
Rika: Um...cookie handouts, with some comments from Ashley, to Digifreak103, Akino Matoumiken, The Anti Fluffy, anonymous (well, West Side Story is kinda weird...) Rika1332 (Ruben rocked at that song, but Clay is still my favorite), Dark-Angel, lilcherryblossom, and Kit Kat.
A quick disclaimer: Ashley doesn't own Clay -
Ashley: I WILL!
Rika: Or West Side Story...Digimon...Sarah...Amber (who has disappeared in this fic or something) or Katie...
Ashley: *runs upstairs to get American Idol tapes*
Kazu: Read. (Kinda long because it's two scenes.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By now, Mrs. Tenner was crying. "You guys make me so proud..."
Isabelle came through the door to where Mrs. Tenner was, and immediately turned around. "Please don't see me, please don't see me..." Isabelle prayed.
Spotlight on the play again...
Bernardo and Anita entered the stage, followed by Indio and Pep. Their girls, Consuelo and Rosalia follow. Bernardo looked up at the window. "Maria?"
"She also has a mother. Also a father," Anita said.
"They do not know the country any better than she does."
"You do not know it all! Girls here are free to have fun. She. is. in. America. now," Anita explained.
But Puerto. Rico. is. in. America. now!"
"Ai!" Anita said in digust.
"Anita Josefina Teresita - "
"It's plain Anita now - "
Bernardo continued. "Beatriz del Carmen Margarita, etcetera, etcetera - "
"Immigrant!"
"Thank God, you can't change your hair!"
"Is that possible?" Pepe asked, fondling with Consuleo's hair.
"In the U.S.A., everything is real," Consuleo said.
At that point, Katie entered. "Chino, how was she when you took her home?"
"All right. 'Nardo, she was only dancing," Chino said, trying to defend her.
"With an "American." Who is really a Polack."
"Says the Spic," Anita exclaimed.
Bernardo looked over at Anita. "You are not so cute."
Anita smiled. "That Tony is."
"And he works," Rosalia added.
"A delivery boy," Chino said.
"And what are you?" Anita questioned.
"An assistant."
"Sí!" Bernardo said, "And Chino makes half what the Polack makes...the Polack is American! The mother of Tony was born in Poland; the father still goes to a night school. Tony was born in America, so that makes him an American. But us? Foreigners!"
"Lice!" Pepe and Consuleo said.
"Cockroaches!" Pepe, Consuelo, and Anita exclaimed.
"Well, it is true!" Bernardo said, "You remember how we were when we first came! Did we even think of going back?"
"No! We came ready, eager - "
"With our hearts open - "
"Our arms open - "
"You came with your pants open."
"You did, pig!" Consuelo slapped Pepe. "You'll go back with handcuffs!"
"I am going back with a Cadillac!"
"Air-conditioned!"
"Built-in bar!"
"Telephone!"
"Television!"
"Compatible color!"
"And a king-sized bed," Benardo finished, grabbing Anita. "Come on."
Anita mimicked him. "Come on."
"Well, are you or aren't you?"
"You have your big, important war council. The council or me?" Anita asked.
"First one, then the other."
Anita broke away from Bernardo. "I am an American girl now. I don't wait."
Bernardo whispered to Chino, "Back home, women know their place."
But Anita heard him. "Back home, little boys don't have war councils."
"You want me to be an American?" Bernardo turned to the boys. "Vámonos, chicos, Es tarde." Then he bowed and turned to Anita. "Buenos noches, Anita Josefina del Carmen, etc., etc., etc." Then Bernardo exited with the boys.
"That's a very pretty name: Etc." Rosalia said.
"Ai!" Anita sighed.
"She means well," Consuelo said.
"We have many names at home," Rosalia exclaimed.
"At home, at home. If it's so nice "at home," why don't you go back there?"
"I would like - " Anita gave her a mean look, and Rosalia added, "Just for a successful visit." Then Rosalia started singing. (A/N: Yes, ANOTHER song.)
"Puerto Rico.
You lovely island.
Island of tropical breezes.
Always the pineapples growing,
Always the coffee blossoms blowing."
Anita took the song from there, Puerto Rico.
"You ugly island.
Island of tropic diseases.
Always the hurricanes blowing,
Always the population growing.
And the money owing,
And the babies crying,
And the bullets flying.
I like the island Manhattan-
Smoke on your pipe and put that in!
Then all the girls on stage, in really frilly dresses except Rosalia started singing.
"I like to be in America!
Okay by me in America!
Everything free in America
For a small fee in America!"
Rosalia sang. "I like the city of San Juan."
Anita - "I know a boat you can get on."
Rosalia - "Hundreds of flowers in full bloom."
Anita - "Hundreds of people in each room!"
All - "Automobile in America,
Chromium steel in America,
Wire-spoke wheel in America."
Very big deal in America."
Rosalia - "I'll drive a Buick to San Juan-"
Anita - "If there's a road you can drive on."
Rosalia - "I'll give my cousin a free ride-"
Anita - "How you get all of them inside?"
All - "An immigrant goes to America,
Many hellos in America;
Nobody knows in America
Puerto Rico's in America."
The girls took a moment to whistle and dance in their frilly dresses onstage. Mrs. Tenner was practically doing a happy dance herself backstage.
Rosalia - "When will I go back to San Juan-"
Anita - "When you will shut up and get gone!"
Rosalia - "I'll give them new washing machine-"
Anita - "What have they got there to keep clean?"
All - "I like the shores of America!
Comfort is yours in America!
Knobs on the doors in America,
Wall-to-wall floors in America!"
And the girls continued with their spanish-like dance in the spanish-like dresses.
Rosalia - "I'll bring TV to San Juan."
Anita - "If there's a current to turn on."
Rosalia - "Everyone there will get big cheer!"
Anita - "Everyone there will have moved here!"
The music kept playing for awhile while the girls kept dancing. Then the song ended, and the lights blacked out. The girls walked offstage, while Mrs. Tenner handed them candy.
"I love you, Sarah. I love you, Jenny. I love you, Katherine," Mrs. Tenner sobbed to each person passing by. The girls all shot Mrs. Tenner weird looks.
"Okay, the show must keep going...the first act is ALMOST over...well, kinda."
The curtain raised again to show the inside of Doc's. All the Jets were lounging around.
"Where the devil are they?" Kazu asked, "Are we havin' a war council tonight or ain't we?" Angerily, he threw a dart.
"He don't use knives. He don't even use an atomic ray gun," Baby John said, reading a comic book.
"Superman." Kenta looked over at what Baby John was reading. "Gee, I love him."
"So marry him," Kazu said. (A/N: Actually, I have no clue who says this. It says Snowboy, but he doesn't appear in this scene until later...so...I dunno.)
"I ain't never gonna get married," Ashley exclaimed, standing by the jukebox, "Too noisy."
"You ain't never gonna get married," Kenta said, "Too ugly."
Ashley pretending she was shooting Kenta. "Pow pow!"
"Cracko, jacko!" Kenta cried out, clutching his belly and spinning to the floor. (A/N: No, I have no idea 'cracko jacko' means either...) "Down goes a teen-age hoodlum."
"Could a zip gun make you do like that?" Baby John asked.
A second of silence passed until Takato burst into the room, making everyone jump.
"What the hell's a matter with you?" Kazu asked.
"I got caught sneakin' outa the movies," Takato said.
"Sneakin' out? Whadd'ya do that for?" Kenta exclaimed.
"I sneaked in."
"A war council comin' up and he goes to the movies," Kazu said, shaking his head.
"And you let him be a Jet!" Ashley shouted.
"Ah, go walk the streets like ya sister," Baby John said.
Ashley jumped the poor boy. "Lissen, jail bait, I licked you twice and I can do it again!" At that moment, a man entered behind the counter....HENRY! (A/N: Sorry...but Henry's been gone for the past couple chapters...)
"Curfew, gentlemen," Henry said, "And lady." Ashley scowled. "Baby John, you should be home in bed."
"We're gonna have a war council here, Doc."
"A who?" Henry asked, confused.
"To decide on weapons for a big-time rumble!" Kenta explained.
"We're gonna mix with the PRs," Takato added.
"Weapons," Henry said, "You couldn't play basketball?"
"Get with it, buddy boy," Ashley said.
"War councils - " Henry started.
"Don't start, Doc," Kazu said.
"Rumbles..."
"Doc - "
"Why, when I was your age - " Henry said, but Kazu cut him off.
"When you was my age, when my old man was my age, when my brother was my age! You was never my age, none a you! The sooner you creeps get a hip to that, the sooner you'll dig us."
"I'll dig you early graves, that's what I'll do," Henry said.
"Dig, dig, dig - " Kenta exclaimed. (A/N: The Holes song, Dig It Up! Dig it up, oh oh!)
"What're you gonna be when you grow up?" Henry asked.
"A telephone call girl!" Ashley said, wistfully.
Just then, the store doorbell tinkled as Riff entered with Velma (Jeri).
"Riff, hey!" Takato said.
"Are they comin'?" Kazu questioned.
"Unwind, Action. Hey, Doc, Tony here?"
"No, Riff, it's closing time."
Kazu turned to Riff. "What d'ya think they're gonna ask for?"
"Just rubber hoses, maybe, huh?" Kenta joked.
"Cool, little men. Easy, freezy cool."
"Oo, oo, ooblee-oo," Jeri exclaimed.
Diesel enetered with his girlfriend, Graziella.
"They're comin' any minute now!" Diesel announced.
"Chung chung!"
"Cracko, jacko!"
"Ooblee-oo."
"Cool!" Riff said, sharply.
"Riff," Ashley said, walking over to him, "In a tight spot you need every man you - "
"No."
"An American tragedy," Graziella said to Jeri, indicating Ashley.
"Pow." Ashley "shot" her.
"Poo." Graziella started examining her nails.
"Ooblee-pooh." Jeri ignored Ashley, then both of them started to giggle.
"Now when the victims come in, you chicks cut out," Riff said.
"We might, and then again, we might not."
"This ain't kid stuff, Graziella."
"I and Velma aint kid stuff, neither. Are we, Vel?"
"No thank you-oo, ooblee-oo," Jeri said.
"And you can punctuate it?" Graziella asked.
"Ooo!" Jeri said. (A/N: You've gotta hear this to hear the stupidness.) She and the other girl started giggling again.
"What're we poppin' around with dumb broads?" Kazu asked Riff.
"I and Velma ain't dumb!" Graziella exclaimed.
"We got important business comin'," Kazu said.
"Makin' trouble for the Puerto Ricans?" Henry asked.
"They make trouble for us," Takato said.
"Look! He almost laughs when he says it. For you, trouble is a relief."
"We've got to stand up to the PRs, Doc. It's important."
"Fighting over a little piece of the street is so important?"
"To us, it is," Kazu said.
"To hoodlums, it is," Henry finished, going through the cellar doorway and Kazu lunged for him.
"Don't you call me hoodlum!"
Riff held him back. "Easy, Action! Save your steam for the rumble."
"He don't want what we want, so we're hoodlums!"
"I wear a jacket like my buddies, so my teacher calls me hoodlum!"
"I swear, the next creep who calls me hoodlum - "
"You'll laugh! Yeah. Now you all better dig this and dig it the most. No matter who or what is eatin' at you, you show it, buddy boys, and you are dead. You are cuttin' a hole in yourselves for them to stick in a red-hot umbrella and open it. Wide. You wanna live? You play it cool," Riff said, the music starting.
"I wanna get even!" Kazu shouted.
"Get cool," Riff said.
"I wanna bust!" Kenta yelled.
"Bust cool. Go cool!" Then started to sing,
"Boy, boy, crazy boy-
Get cool, boy!
Got a rocket in your pocket- (A/N: WORD OF PRECAUTION: Don't sing this line in school...)
Keep coolly cool, boy!
Don't get hot,
'Cause, man, you got
Some high times ahead.
Take it slow and, Daddy-o,
You can live it up and die in bed!
Boy, boy, crazy boy-
Stay loose, boy! Breeze it, buzz it, easy does it-
Turn off the juice, boy!
Go man, go,
But not like a yo
Yo school boy-
Just play it cool, boy.
Real cool!
Easy, Action.
Easy."
And that song leaded into a dance in which everyone releases their emotions and got "cool". Then the Sharks entered. Jeri and Graziella left, but Ashley stayed behind. Riff spotted her and Ashley gave him the let-me-stay look. But Riff made her go, and on the way out, she shoved the Sharks out of the way.
"Set 'em up, Doc. Cokes all around," Riff said.
"Let's get down to business," Bernardo announced.
"Bernardo hasn't learned the procedures of gracious livin'."
"I don't like you, either. So cut it."
"Kick it, Doc."
"Boys, couldn't you maybe all talk it - " Henry reasoned.
"Kick it!" Riff said.
Henry leaves. The two gangs take places behind their leaders.
"We challenge you to a rumble. All out, once and for all. Accept?"
"On what terms?"
"Whatever terms you're callin', buddy boy," Riff said, "You crossed the line once too often."
"You started it."
"Who jumped A-rab this afternoon?" Riff asked.
"Who jumped me the first day I moved here?" Bernardo shot back.
"Who asked you to moved here?" Riff exclaimed.
"Who asked you?"
"Move where you're wanted!" Takato said behind Riff.
"Back where ya came from!" Kenta added.
"Spics!" Action said.
"Micks!" Pepe exclaimed.
"Wop!" Indio shouted.
"We accept!" Bernardo said.
"Time?"
"Tomorrow."
"The river?" Riff asked.
"Under the highway." They shake.
"Weapons!"
"Weapons..."
"You call."
"You're challenge," Bernardo said.
"Afraid to call?"
"Sticks."
"Rocks."
"Poles."
"Cans."
"Bricks."
"Bats."
"Clubs."
Ryo jumped in the way. "Bottles, knives, guns!" Bernardo and Riff stared at him. "What a coop full of chickens!"
"Every dog knows his own," Bernardo said.
"I'm callin' all of you chicken. The big touch buddy boys have to throw bricks! Afraid to get close in? Afraid to slug it out? Afraid to use plain skin?"
"Not even garbage?" Baby John asked.
"That ain't rumble."
"Who says?" Riff said.
"You said call weapons," Bernardo reminded Riff.
"A rumble can be clinched by a fair fight. If you have the guts to risk that. Best man from each gang to slug it out," Ryo explained.
"I'd enjoy to risk that. Okay! Fair fight!"
"What?" Pepe shouted the same time Action yelled, "No!"
"The commanders say yes or no," Riff told them, then turned to Bernardo, "Fair fight." They shook again.
Bernardo told Ryo, "In two minutes you will be like a fish after skinnin'."
"Your best man fights our best man...and we pick him," Riff said, slapping Diesel on the back.
"But I thought it would be - "
"We shook on it, Bernardo."
"Yes. I shook on it."
"Look, Bernardo," Kazu said, quickly, "If you wanna change your mind, maybe we could all - "
One of the Jets near the door suddenly whistled. In a second, they shift into positions in which Jets and Sharks are playing games together, or just talking together. Silence, and then came in Schrank.
"Good evening, Lieutenant Schrank. I and Tony was just closing up," Henry said.
"Mind?" Schrank asked lifting up an empty box, which was supposed to be a pack of cigarettes.
"I have no mind. I am the village idiot," Henry said. (A/N: Henry being a village idiot...hmm....COOL!)
Schrank lighted a "cigarette". "I always make it a rule to smoke in the can. And what else is a room with half-breeds in it, eh, Riff? Clear out, Spics. Sure; it's a free country and I ain't got the right. But it's a country with laws: and I can find the right. I got the badge, you got the skin. It's tough all over. Beat it!"
A second passed, until Bernardo and his gang left, humming 'My Country Tis of Thee' while leaving.
"From their angle, sure. Say, where's the rumble gonna be? Ah, look, I know regular American don't rub with the gold teeth otherwise. The river? The park?" Schrank asked.
But no one answered and there was silence.
"I'm for you," Schrank continued, "I want this beat cleaned up and you can do it for me. I'll even lend a hand if it gets rough. Where ya gonna rumble? The playground? Sweeney's lot?" He started to sounds angry by the silence. "Ya think I'm a lousy stool pigeon? I wanna help ya get rid of them! Come on! Where's it gonna be?. Get smart, you stupid hoodlums! I oughta fine ya for litterin' the streets. You oughta be taken down the station house and have your skulls mashed to a pulp! You and the tin-horn immigrant scum you come from! How your old man's d.t.'s A-rab? How's the action on your mothers mattress, Action?"
Kazu started to lunge for Shrank, but Riff held him back. Then there was silence again.
"Let him go, buddy boy, just let him go. One of these days there won't be nobody to hold you. I'll find out where ya gonna rumble. But be sure to finish each other off. Because if you don't, I will!"
With that, the gang left. Shrank turned to Henry, "Well, you try keepin' hoodlums in line and see what it does to you." And then Schrank exited.
"Wouldn't give me a mouth like his..." Henry answered, after Shrank left.
"Forget him. From here on in, everything goes my way..." Ryo said, cleaning up the store.
"You think it'll really be a fair fight."
"Yeah."
"What have you been takin' tonight?" Henry asked.
"A trip to the moon. And I'll tell you a secret. It isn't a man that's up there, Doc. It's a girl, a lady," Ryo said, opening the door. "Buenos noches, señor."
"Buenos noches?! So that's why you made it a fair fight," Henry exclaimed as Ryo smiled, "Tony...things aren't tough enough?"
"Tough? Doc, I'm in love."
"How do you know?"
"Because...there isn't any other way I could feel," Ryo explained.
"And you're not frightened?" Henry asked.
"Should I be?" Ryo opened the door, and exited.
"Why? I'm frightened enough for both of you." And with that, Henry turned off the last light and the stage went dark.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ashley: *moans* Is school out yet?
Kazu: Fourteen more days...
Ashley: FOURTEEN?! *sigh* Wait...tonight's the Farewell Dance! AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!
Kazu: What's wrong with a dance?
Ashley: Top Ten Reasons To Hate Dances:
10. They're boring...
9. The balloons are everywhere...
8. They are glitter everywhere you look.
7. Decorations are seen everywhere too.
6. You can't find anywhere to sit.
5. You hate dancing.
4. You have to make your hair all fancy.
3. You have to wear a dress.
2. Pictures are taken.
AND NUMBER ONE:
1. No boy asked you to the dance.
Kazu: Wait a second, you don't care about that.
Ashley: You're right, yes. I didn't want anyone to ask me, but it would have been fun to reject some boy. Mwhahahaha...
Kazu: Okay then...
Ashley: Review please. PLEASE?! And Bethany, if you're reading this, HAVE A GREAT TIME AT THE DANCE! Even if you are going with...Chris...so, review, and see you next chapter. Tonight I'll be suffering at a dance lasting three hours, and doing absolutely nothing.
R&R.