"Oh, that looks fantastic! Great work, kiddo!" Buster beamed proudly at the dazzling display placed centre-stage in front of him. "Never seen the old girl shine so bright!"
"Thanks, Mr. Moon!" Tim briefly lifted up his headshield to say this, before flipping it back down as he went back to his wiring.
Having earned Florence's seal of approval for all but one of their acts, the cast and crew had spent the past few days moving full-steam ahead with the rest of the show. Most of the troupe members were all picking new songs and planning their performances for the festival, and Suki and Caleb were already down at the Calatonia Wharf overseeing the final construction of the sets.
The Theatre's signature golden prop moon was scheduled to be moved over to the Wharf for Mike's opening number, but after some conversations with Caleb and Buster, Tim had spent the entire morning adding hundreds of tiny white lightbulbs to its front surface. When switched off, these LEDs blended seamlessly with the gold, but when fully lit, they gave the crescent a strong white glow, even surpassing that of the real moon on which it was based.
Buster scurried on over when Tim switched off the lights, helping hold the prop steady while the serval stood back up and removed his headshield.
"Amazing... you really are a little wiz-kid, aren't you?"
"Well, that's what everyone at the foundation says..." Tim shrugged. "Good to be useful, I suppose."
"Hmm..." Buster thought to himself for a moment or two, before looking back to the young serval. "Speaking of which, Tim, I was gonna talk to Fletcher and Caleb about this, but um... well, I was wondering whether you'd be interested in being part of our little group here full-time."
"Wait-wait-wait... full-time?!" Tim's face lit up. "What, you mean like... like being part of your shows? Wow, I... I really don't know what to say, Mr. Moon, but I -!"
"Yeah, cause you seem to be a pretty hard worker, and we could definitely do with a handyman around here!"
"Wait... h-handyman...?" Tim's ears and face both sink a little as he said this, though Buster was still too focused on the prop moon to notice his disappointed expression.
"See, ever since Redshore I've been really wanting to push the envelopes with our effects here, and I figure a tech genius like you would be just the man I needed to do that!"
"Ah... right..." Tim pretended to be flattered by this while he fiddled with a few of the wires left at the back of the moon "So it'd be a paying job, then...?"
"Oh of course! Yeah, obviously..." Buster gave a slightly nervous laugh. "Trust me, son, my days of bounced paychecks are way behind me!"
"Right... well, I'd have to talk to Caleb and my Mum and Dad about it, but I could probably - ouch!" Tim yanked his hand away, sticking his mildly-shocked middle finger in his mouth. "Bloody thing!"
"Y'okay there, Tim...?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Agh... just an exposed wire..." The serval winced a little as he shook his hand. "Should probably insulate that so Mike doesn't get a shock."
"Right. Yeah, do whatever you need to to do, kid, you're the expert." Buster picked his checklist up and headed towards the edge of the stage, suddenly stopping himself as he finally spotted the two large metal structures that were placed at either end. "Wait... what the heck are these things?!"
"Uh... Tesla coils...?" Tim shrugged with an sheepish grin. "Yeah, I um... I bought them at the tech place the other day, just thought I'd keep 'em here. My Mum doesn't like when I bring stuff like this home..."
"Tesla coils... oh yeah, like those old black-and-white movies, right...?" Buster let out a nostalgic chuckle, clearing his throat as he headed down the steps. "Alright, well... you wanna keep them here, son, it's A-OK with me."
"Oh yeah, great. Wonderful... thanks, Mr. Moon..."
Tim kept his smile under Buster left the room, before slumping down on the edge of the stage as he put his hand to his face. Though this self-pity party only lasted for the better part of a minute as he sat back up, realising that the auditorium was otherwise completely empty.
"Hmm... well, you're here now..." He muttered to himself as he shot back up to his feet, putting his hands on his hips while he looked around, eventually settling on his homemade mixing desk. "Might as well make the most of it..."
Ash sat on a high seat in front of the piano while she tweaked her guitar, prompting Audrey to take the seat opposite. For the past few days they'd been going through all the deeper mechanics of her signature instrument - particularly focusing on all it's different chords and strings - but for their third lesson Ash decided that the young gorilla was ready to actually try performing for herself. So she decided to set up their lesson in one of the rehearsal rooms, with Johnny providing vocals and Becky providing percussion.
"Okay, so I know Johnny said you weren't really into vintage, Audrey, but I figured we'd start you off with an easy one..."
"Well, it's my Mum's songs more than anything..." Audrey shrugged, looking at the sheet music that Becky had printed off for them. "Besides, I don't think I've ever seen anyone who doesn't like this song."
"Yeah, no kidding. My Mom and Dad used to have this on all the time when I was kid." Ash laughed. "First song I ever learned to play, actually..."
"Well, I take it you're not making Audrey do the solo in the middle." Becky snarked with a lighthearted chuckle as she entered, holding a small duffle bug over her shoulder. "That's not exactly what I'd call taking it easy, Ash."
"Nah, leave that to me. You're just doing the main riff, Audrey. F GG F G..." Ash strummed the different strings on her guitar as she called out the corresponding letters. "Just keep doing those same chords all the way through. Y'know, if you say the letters fast enough, you can actually hear the tune already!"
"Really...?" Audrey thought for a moment, before giving it a try. "F GG F G... F GG F G... oh yeah, I can hear it!"
She giggled excitedly, before clearing her throat and sitting slightly straighter, placing her fingers on the strings of her guitar. "So I just keep playing that, then...?"
"That's right, sweetie..." Becky clambered up on the seat beside her, reaching into her duffle bag and pulling out her tambourine. "I'm gonna help you keep the beat, okay?"
"Right, okay... F GG F G... F GG F G..."
Audrey continued quietly repeating the chord letters under her breath as she and Ash played them on their guitars, keeping a steady rhythm while Becky shook her tambourine and Johnny began singing.
Girl, you really got me goin'
You got me so I don't know what I'm doin'
Yeah, you really got me now
You got me so I can't sleep at night
Ash closed her eyes and began bopping her head along, while she continued playing her guitar in tune with Audrey's. Johnny noticed this when he glanced over, prompting him to belt out the chorus a little louder as the porcupine got even more into it.
Yeah, you really got me now
You got me so I don't know what I'm doin', now
Oh yeah, you really got me now
You got me so I can't sleep at night
You really got me
You really got me
I said you really got me
"Give it a go, Ash!" Johnny suddenly called, taking the porcupine a bit off-guard while she continued playing. After taking a moment to process it, and prompted by encouraging nods from both Audrey and Becky, Ash accepted Johnny's challenge with a silent smirk before she took over the next verse.
See, don't ever set me free
I always wanna be by your side
Yeah, you really got me now
You got me so I can't sleep at night
The pair sang the next chorus in-sync, their voices overlapping in a balanced, beautiful harmony. Becky let a small smile slip across her face as she observed, while Audrey was so mesmerised by their chemistry that she nearly fumbled the chords on her own section.
Yeah, you really got me now
You got me so I don't know what I'm doin', now
Oh yeah, you really got me now
You got me so I can't sleep at night
You really got me
You really got me
You really got me
Ash shot up to her feet, still standing on the seat while she played the song's middle solo. She kept her eyes fixated on Johnny the entire time, though he didn't seem to notice as he was bopping his head and snapping his fingers along to her riff. The porcupine could feel herself getting slightly overwhelmed as she dragged out the solo even more, so she decided to end the song early by skipping ahead to the last hook.
You really got me
You really got me
I said you really got me!
With a final shred of her guitar, Ash jumped off the seat and slid down on her knees, slightly breathless as she stopped right in front of Johnny's seat. The gorilla gave her a gentle smile as he took her hand and pulled her back up to her feet, before they both went a slightly red shade as Becky and especially Audrey gave their cheers and applause.
"Whoa-ho, that was great, you guys! You sound amazing together!" Becky nearly shrieked, before her next comment sucked out what little air out of the room. "Gosh, I'm kinda surprised the koala didn't get you two doing a duet for this show!"
"Oh, well, um..." Johnny itched the back of his head as he sat back up, awkwardly shuffling away from Ash while the porcupine similarly tried to keep her distance. "Well y'know, the thing is, Mr. Moon, he always wants us to... to have, um..."
"Independence!" Ash nearly shouted as she cut in. "Yeah, we um... we're both good enough singing solo. Even better, probably! Uh... r-right, Johnny?"
"Oh yeah! Yeah, that's... that's totally right, Ash..." Johnny pulled up his sleeve to check his watch while he took a few steps back towards the door. "Right, I um... I think I better go check on Meena."
"Oh right, yeah!" Ash chuckled. "Yeah, you uh... you go do that, Johnny."
Johnny gave a forced grin, then turned his attention to the other gorilla present. "And you did really well too, Audrey. I'll, um... I'll have a look at some other songs for us to rehearse later, mate."
"Uh-huh! Great!" Audrey nodded as Johnny finally took off, while Ash started frantically packing up her own guitar and heading for the door. "Oh, are we done for today too...?"
"Oh, uh... y-yeah, we are. We'll do another one tomorrow, Audrey, I just gotta... um... just gotta go and... bye!" Ash quickly darted out the door, heading off in the opposite direction to which Johnny had gone.
"Geez... you could cut that tension with a knife..." Becky let out a teasing laugh as she patted Audrey's hand. "If you've ever wondered what it looks like to be twitterpated, sweetie, that's exactly how it looks."
"Hmm, yeah..." Audrey giggled, before thinking back to a different conversation as she stared off into space for a moment. "I think she definitely likes him. She's just scared to get a boyfriend again after you stole her last one."
"Yeah, probably..." Becky remained casual for a few more seconds, before her eyes bulged to their widest point when she finally processed what Audrey had just said. "Wait, how do you know about that...?!"
"Ugh!" Nooshy grunted forcefully as she barged through the doors into the staff lounge, making Meena jolt up slightly as the lynx stormed past her. "I swear, that little rat's drivin' me round the bloody bend!"
Meena couldn't think of any way to argue against this - not that she wanted to - so she simply lowered her head and nodded quietly. "Yeah, I always get the feeling Mike doesn't really like any of us here."
"Well, I can safely say the feeling's mutual!" Nooshy scoffed bitterly. She took a few deep breaths before she softened her tone, sending a more sincere and sympathetic expression Meena's way. "What about you, mate? Feeling okay?"
"Oh, uh... y-yeah, I'm good..." Meena sighed, looking down to her small coffee cup as she clasped it with both her huge hands. "Porsha's doing her swimming lesson with Rosita today, so uh... I don't really think Mr. Moon will want me rehearsing without her."
"Ah, right..." Nooshy gently caressed Meena's back with one hand, before her ears suddenly pricked up. "Wait... do you hear that...?"
"Hear what...?" Meena lifted up one of her own ears and stayed silent for a few seconds, before finally hearing what sounded like a thumping house beat. "Oh yeah... sounds like it's coming from the stage..."
Without any hesitation or explanation, Nooshy took off out of the lounge and bolted down the stairs, following the music to the auditorium and throwing it's doors wide open. She was taken off-guard by what seemed to be forks of blue lightning zapping and dancing around the pitch black stage, in perfect sync with the upbeat electronic tune, before her jaw dropped and her eyes widened when she finally saw who was operating this dazzling light-show.
Oh-ho, sometimes
I get a good feeling, yeah
Get a feeling that I
Never, never, never, never had before, oh no
I get a good feeling, yeah
"Shut... up!"
Her exclamation finally snapped Tim out of the little world that he'd drifted into, and the serval suddenly froze up with a quiet gasp when he realised who was watching him. He quickly switched off the music and ended the light sequence, shuffling in a hurry to pack up his things while Nooshy ran up on stage to stop him.
"Hang on, don't run off, mate! Wait, just... TIM!" Nooshy darted over and just managed to grab the serval's arm, making him tense slightly as his fluffy fur flared up all over his beaming red face. "What's the matter, eh? I were right enjoying that!"
"What? No no, that's just a... I was just doing a... ugh!" Tim pried his arm from Nooshy's grip, though he didn't attempt to run away as he let out a sigh of defeat. "I was just messing about. You're not going to tell Mr. Moon, are you?"
"Tell him? You say that like you've done something wrong!" Nooshy laughed. "That right there was bloody brilliant, Tim! Did you write that yourself...?"
"Well no, not technically..." Tim gave a bashful smile, wringing his hands around the bottom of his shirt. "This um... this Swedish DJ I listen to wrote it, I were just... what's that word again, um... remixing, I think?"
"Ah... still, it sounded right good! Not a bad set of pipes you've got there, either." Nooshy playfully flicked his chin, before looking over to Tim's half-folded mixing desk. "So how'd you do that electricity thing a minute ago...?"
"Oh yeah, the uh... it's the Tesla coils..." Tim shuffled past Nooshy and folded out the panel, pointing to either end of the stage where the metal stands were still erected. "See, I programmed the song here on my screen, this little thing here is the power source, and it makes a current thing that connects to those two coils over there... or at least I think that's how it works."
"Hmm... and here I was thinking you might not be a total weirdo... in a good way, I mean..." Nooshy chuckled. "Y'know, I probably should tell Mr. Moon about this. You might get your own number in the show!"
For the briefest moment Tim seemed to consider this offer, before quickly shaking his head and looking away. "No no, that... that's definitely not happening. And it's not even real music, is it...?"
"Says who...?!" Nooshy scoffed, though it was clear from Tim's more sullen expression what the answer was going to be. "Ugh... look, that Mike bloke's just an angry little mouse who pushes everyone around to make himself feel better! Alright, you don't have to listen to what that little prat says!"
"Well of course you don't!" Tim took on a whinier tone, which soon became more self-deprecating. "I mean, look at you, you... you're this amazing dancer, and a proper star and stuff, and me, I... I'm just a weird little handyman who... who's barely even handy..."
"Hmm... that's not the way I see it..."
Nooshy put a hand on Tim's shoulder, her warm gaze making the serval's heart flutter while his beaming red cheeks faded to a more relaxed pink. The silence lasted for the better part of thirty seconds, before Tim finally got a small burst of courage as he cleared his throat and gestured back towards his desk.
"Well, um... if you do want to hear something else, Nooshy, I've got a whole playlist here..." He quickly flicked through the countless options on the laptop screen. "They're all by the Swedish bloke, but he's done loads of different stuff on there..."
"Oh yeah, looks like it..." Nooshy studied the screen for a moment or two, before quickly settling on the title that piqued her interest the most. "Yeah, let's give that one a try..."
"Ooh, that's a brilliant one!" Tim quickly clicked on the song and began setting up the program, lowering the stage lights and casting the entire auditorium in darkness. "Right... it's a bit of a slow start, but it's definitely worth it!"
He froze up a little as he felt Nooshy latching onto his arm again, the lynx nestling in much closer to him this time, but he began softly singing along to the building music as the two Tesla coils began to slowly light up.
I'm always left out
Stranded on the fence
You came along
No ego, no pretence
In a trance, we danced
And prayed for no tomorrow
We were brash, and we were bold
But we were right
Nooshy jolted slightly when the first blue sparks flew up with the chorus, connecting the two Tesla coils in a blinding chain of light while Tim sang almost in sync with it.
She knows how
I'm feeling
She banishes all my demons
So easy
Like breathing
She bandages all my bleeding
While Nooshy was mesmerised by the streaks of lighting flying around in front of them, Tim was far more mesmerised by the beautiful lynx that was still holding tight onto him. For just a few minutes, they were in their own little world, and nothing else mattered.
She knows how
I love her
We take it down
Undercover
She gets me
She sees me
I hope that she'll never leave me