Manny's Crescendo (Chapter Three)
Disclaimers- Same as in Chapter One.
A/N- Faithful readers, my apologies for being later with this than before but life happens. ..
Hmm, I guess going with you would beat shovelling! Ciao, dudes!" J.T sauntered off with Liberty.
"Wait! Come back here, stinker! " Toby groaned.
"Hey, maybe she'll tell me how to work my charm on Paige!" J.T. whispered as he left the pigpen.
"Toby, can't you get me out of here?" Emma wailed- as she pulled on the ankle chain tied to a tree while she was trying to milk a cow.
" I've got my own problems," Tobey groaned as he was struggling to dump the thousandth shovelful of pig muck out of the pigpen.
". We've gotta get out of here and rescue Manny- then get off this stupid island!" Emma groaned.
"Totally with you on that! I'm shovelling tons of muck- and I can't even eat this animal," Toby snapped.
" Would you like to help me instead?" a pretty, athletic 12-year-old Asian girl wearing a t-shirt, gym shorts and boots asked.
"I'd go anywhere with you!" Toby beamed.
"I'm Kendra Wang. You're Toby Isaacs," Kendra introduced herself while shaking Toby's free hand.
"How did?" Toby asked.
"Word gets around fast on the Island. My brother Gavin mentioned you!" Kendra insisted.
"Brother?" Toby queried.
"Don't worry about that now! Right now I'd like you to help me check our weather station and tides. I'll show you where you can shower," Kendra exclaimed.
"Won't I get in trouble leaving?" Toby asked.
"Nah, Gavin's the Kahuna's right-hand man. He can take care of things!" Kendra insisted as Toby happily walked off with her.
"Wait? Can't you unchain me? What about Manny?" Emma wailed.
"Once I charm Kendra here, she'll get her brother to set things right! " Toby whispered to Emma.
"But we didn't see any sign of him at the Assembly. How do you know she's. .. ?" Emma asked in a whisper.
"No doubt he's a shy, quiet, intellectual type like her so Jimmy had no problems with him skipping the meeting. With me, Kendra and Gavin, I'll bet we can easily put the missing link Spinner in his place!"Toby whispered before walking back to Kendra.
"Come on, Toby! Sorry about the chains Emma but the Assembly ruled them necessary until the end of the ceremony and I can't go against them!" Kendra apologized.
"I would say it was nice to meet you but. . .! Ooh! Why does everyone have to be turds and get into that love crap around here?" Emma boiled as Kendra and Toby walked away.
"Are you sure you know what you're willing to risk?" Craig (in dark cotton slacks, short-sleeved Hawaiian shirt and boots with a camera around his neck) asked Sean ( in a vest,tricornered hat, knee-length shorts and mocassins) as they approached the clearing with Sean carrying a large set of metal cutters.
"It's not cool what they're doing," Sean insisted.
"But the Assembly. ..?" Craig pleaded.
" You mean the 3-headed monster of Jimmy-Spinner-Paige that everyone else here just claps at like seals. .?" Sean scorned.
"Sean, you could. ..?" Craig gasped.
"I'm sick of having those three run our lives! Emma's a cool girl and I'd like to. ." Sean insisted -as they approached Emma.
"Who are you?" Emma asked.
"I'm Sean and this is my friend Craig and we've been on this island since. ." Sean started to say before Craig give him a warning look.
"A long time!" Craig finished.
"We're getting you out of here," Sean insisted as he cut the chains.
"Great! We can find Manny and leave!" Emma cheered as she was freed and hugged Sean.
"You two can but we-" Sean groaned.
"Have obligations," Craig finished.
"You know where they've taken Manny" Emma asked.
"Spinner's forces are too strong to for us to reach it now but tonight at the peak. We can get her then!"Sean insisted.
"Are you sure?" Emma asked.
"Yeah, she'll be safe until then and we can make a diversion," Sean insisted.
"Do you need my help?" Craig asked.
"Yeah, stay in the procession and do your part but get ready to help when the time comes," Sean insisted as the three fled into the trees.
"So you make your own soap?" Toby asked as he washed in the fast-running stream (with all his clothes on).
"Sure! Don't worry about getting them wet! The sun will dry your clothes soon and the soap can get rid of the stains and odors !"Kendra insisted as she stood by the shore waiting for him to finish.
"Wanna join me?" Toby eagerly asked.
"Not right now. Besides, you need to help me with the weather measurements," Kendra reminded him.
"Finished! So checking the weather helps the ceremony," Toby pondered as he walked out of the stream much cleaner than before.
"Yeah, we need to know about wind, fog and sudden downpours," Kendra reminded him as they walked the trail and checked the home-made weather instruments on the shore.
"So you don't believe in all this mumbo-jumbo,eh?" Toby asked.
"It's important to the others that the ceremony goes smooth," Kendra explained- as she wrote down the measurements in a rather battered, home made ledger.
"Thanks for filling me in on it. I feel a whole lot better!" Toby insisted.
"Is that the only reason?" Kendra asked batting her eyes and giggling.
"No! Imagine meeting an awesome girl who thinks science is cool like I do! I could stay here forever," Toby sighed as they started walking on the trail.
"Same here. Now that you're here!" Kendra sighed as she gave Toby a kiss on the cheek as Toby walked slightly ahead of her and turned around to face her then started walking backwards.
" With you at my side, I've got nothing to fear. I can hardly wait to see the look on the goon's face when we and Gavin put him in his place," Toby laughed- as he continued walking backwards.
"Toby!" Kendra gasped.
"Yep! That Spinner'll grovel at our feet and be sorry he ever kicked me in the knees!"Toby laughed.
"But Toby!" Kendra pleaded as she tried to pull him towards her.
"Man! Someone needs to clear this trail better, I almost fell down tripping on that tree root," Toby whined.
"That was my foot, Loser!" Spinner growled as Toby gulped very loudly.
" Kendra! Run! GAVIN! Over here!" Toby yelled.
"Toby, he's. ." Kendra tried to explain.
"Why aren't you running? GAVIN! Help us!" Toby yelled.
"Nobody calls that lame-o name, except my sister,"Spinner grunted.
"(^&^(&(8" Kendra snapped at Spinner.
"^*&^(" Spinner replied.
"You two were speaking Chinese, right?" Toby asked.
"Yeah, you got a problem with that?" Spinner sneered.
"So you're Gavin and you're her brother. But Kendra, he's . .. "Toby gulped.
"Adopted! Our parents couldn't have any children for many years so they adopted him but then conceived me afterwards,"Kendra explained.
"And Kendra and. .. Gavin are the English versions of our names!" Spinner added.
"Why would anyone want to adopt him?" Toby gasped while Spinner made a fist and held it to Toby's face.
"Don't be dissing my folks! " Spinner snarled.
"I . .er wasn't. Look, I'll go back to the pigpen and. ." Toby gulped- as he ran off.
"Come back here, you coward!" Kendra snarled.
"(*^*(&^" Spinner snapped at her (in Chinese)
")&*)*&)- and I can take care of myself!" Kendra replied( switching to English at the end) as she stormed off in the opposite direction.
"How much farther?" J.T. asked Liberty as they hiked the steep jungle trail.
"We're almost there. Here it is! Welcome to my lab!" Liberty insisted as they entered a lava tube cave and Liberty flipped something.
"That sounds like a . .. light switch," J.T. gulped as suddenly electric lights lit up the cave complete with dozens of homemade gizmos with several rows of log benches centered around a television set and a computer console.
"You like?" Liberty asked.
"WOW! Where did you get all this stuff and. .where's the juice running all this coming from?" J.T. asked in awe.
"Kendra and I have been able to salvage quite a bit from wrecked cargo ships and with everyone else's help we built a windmill with electric turbines at the waterfall upstream!" Liberty explained.
"Great! Now I can radio. .." J. T. said in awe.
"We don't have a transmitter!" Liberty explained.
"A phone?" J.T. asked.
"Nah, don't have that either- and your cell's out of range!" Liberty chirped.
"Can we get online ?" J.T. asked.
"Sure but there's no e-mail, message board or chatroom access," Liberty explained.
"But don't you have ANY way to communicate with the outside world?"J.T. asked.
"Now why would we want to do that? We have everything we need here- especially now that you've arrived," Liberty beamed.
"But it must have taken ages to build all this stuff," J.T. gasped.
"Not that long! How do I look?" Liberty coyly laughed.
"What do you need me for?" J.T asked.
"The way you were tying that bale cord to the fence post, I knew your fingers were strong and nimble yet small enough to get inside all these instruments to help me repair these devices!" Liberty explained.
"Can we see what's on TV?" J.T. asked.
"We'll do better with the online feed. Bermuda looks snowy on the TV!" Liberty insisted.
"And so the search has been called off for the 4 teens from Canada missing since that storm," the news announcer explained- as J.T. and Liberty were watching the news on the computer terminal.
"That's us!" J.T. gulped.
" Here's their pictures again," the announcer repeated as four pictures came onto the screen.
"HAHHAHHAHHAH!" Liberty burst out laughing.
"I was eight years old when they took that picture of me in the bunny suit! I thought I'd shredded every copy of that and destroyed the negative but I guess Mom kept on!" J.T. groaned.
"We now go to the Hamilton Marina to interview Cappy Jack Morgan, the last person known to have seen them," the newscaster proclaimed.
"Aye! What a sad day for their families! Though that Yorke boy was dumber than a box of rocks! Still, it pains me to think of them a'grieven' fer him so I'm only gonna charge his dad half the cost of replacing my boat!" Cappy Jack insisted.
"Aw, Man! If he ever sees me again, Dad's gonna kill me!"J.T. groaned.
"So you want to stay with us?" Liberty asked.
" Between Paige being here, this cave and Dad's temper, I'd be stupid not to!" J.T. sighed.
The sun set on the island and with Jimmy leading the way carrying a tiki torch, followed by Spinner banging a conga drum he had strapped to his torso, the entire Degrassi population (minus Sean and Emma) set out to climb to the top of the volcano in a procession up the very steep slopes of the mountain.
"That's the last of the trees. How much further before we reach the peak?" Emma asked while the drumbeat was heard to increase its tempo.
"We're almost there! We've climbed five thousand feet after walking five miles" Sean insisted.
"This sure is a well-worn trail with lots of steps and railings. Was there a settlement before you all got stranded here?" Emma asked.
"Long story. Sh! The ceremony's about to begin," Sean insisted.
"Oh, Festy! We come once again with offerings for you to thank you for building us this rad island but to not to erupt again! " Paige was heard to exclaim as she, Ashley, Terri and Manny (all dressed in hula skirts and tasteful Hawaiian print tops with leis and flowers in their hair) were stepping onto the wooden platform (with a 'Watch Your Step' sign at the edge) along with Spinner (with the conga drum ) and Craig (with a guitar strapped to his torso).
The platform was perched over the volcano crater ( about 300 feet across)
Emma saw the sight and shuddered.
"Wait! Don't do it, Manny!" Emma pleaded.
"Emma! Butt out!" Manny boiled.
"But. .." Emma gulped.
"It's OK! Liberty explained everything," J.T. insisted and Toby looked at Emma and nodded while trying to catch Kendra's eye which rolled.
"As I was saying- without any further ado! We're here to make offerings and sacrifices to you O Festy. Hit it, Spinner!" Paige shouted while Spinner drummed frantically.
Paige had her mouth open and Craig tried to strum a few cords on his guitar but Spinner got so caught up in the conga drumbeats he danced and started to spin around like a dervish.
"ARUUUUUUU!!"Spinner howled while dancing and spinning.
"Spinner! It's my. . .I mean our moment!" Paige growled while gesturing towards Ashley, Terri and Manny.
"Places everyone!" Jimmy insisted.
"And now we offer a classic tune which now can be perfectly sung!"Paige proclaimed.
Spinner restarted the beat a much slower tempo, then Craig strummed his cords.
"That sounds very familiar! Could it possibly be. .?" Emma asked Sean.
"Yep!" Sean insisted.
First Paige sang the first verse of Madonna's 'Ray of Light' (with Craig playing the guitar, Spinner the drum and the Squad shaking their maracas at the right spot) then they all sang the chorus, then Ashley sang the 2nd one,everyone the chorus then Terri the 3rd . .then finally Manny sang the last part. ..and hit the highest crescendo note perfectly to the cheers and hoots of all assembled at the 5340 ft. altitude crater rim.
As everyone started walking down, Emma approached Manny.
"I thought you were going to be sacrificed," Emma said with relief as she hugged Manny.
"Same here but Paige explained that I had to remember that fear to hit that high note. Oh, it was awesome! I never want to leave," Manny beamed.
"Manny!" Emma boiled.
"Leave her alone! She did her part perfectly," Paige insisted.
"And what about all this 'Sacrifice Squad' business? What sacrifice?" Emma boiled.
"What do you call having to climb 5000 feet in a grass skirt, worrying about bats getting into hair, and getting bitten by a zillion mosquitos? Believe me, hun, we sacrificed for Festy tonight!" Paige quipped.
"And you, Sean! You let me spend all these hours thinking Manny was going to be cast into a crater and tried to use me for your coup! You lied to me!" Emma snapped.
"Hey, could we calm down? Theres a party at the village gazebo waiting for everyone and I want us to party til sunrise?" Craig pleaded while taking Manny's hand.
"That was just awesome, Kendra!" Toby interjected while Kendra turned away from him.
"The silent treatment? Are you mad at me for not wanting to get pulverized by your brother or is it for what I said about your brother?"Toby asked.
"It's hard for me to separate the two- and your idea of trying to use me and 'Gavin' for some stupid coup idea of yours!" Kendra boiled.
"You seem happy!" Liberty exclaimed.
"I can't remember the last time I was this happy. On this island with the ceremony and Paige," J.T. exclaimed.
"Will you stop crushing on her? The only reason we let her do this Sacrifice Squad thing is that she's about as useful as Mrs. Howell!"Liberty groaned.
"You're just jealous of the love she and I are going to have!" J.T beamed.
"What love? She can't stand you!"Liberty insisted.
"That'll change tonight!" J.T exclaimed- as he banged on the large pocket of his cargo shorts where he had just the thing he believed would change Paige's mind about him.
"Let's hope this party doesn't crash and burn this time," Liberty sighed as they and the others made their way down the slopes back towards the village plaza.