Disclaimer: See previous chapter. The song "There Must Be An Angel," and the lyrics to it, both belong to Annie Lennox. The song "Waterfalls," and the lyrics to it, both belong to TLC.
A/N: I would like to thank my readers for not flaming the last chapter. It was my first attempt at writing anything with a character that cuts/used to cut, and I tried to do it in a tasteful manner so as not to offend anybody. OK, back to the story. Some more song lyrics in here, but someone is actually singing it this time. In other words, this is a happier chapter than the previous one. Thanks to Mrs. Rhett Butler, Jenna Nelson, and canadianfan1984 for reviewing.
A/N 2: Oh, also, Amanda kinda lets the "F" word drop in this chapter. This might be the only occurrence of it, unless I end up writing her as the type of person who drops it when she gets REALLY REALLY mad.
(Side note to Mrs. Rhett Butler: Eep. Sorry about that. I really am. I don't like scaring people, unless it's Halloween and they had it coming...Anyways, if it makes you feel any better, this chapter talks about happy things. I am warning you, though; the stuff in Chapter Twelve will come up again in a later chapter. Just letting you know in advance.)
(Side note to Jenna Nelson: Um, oops? Well, I don't think I've seen that episode; so, as the saying goes, "If you didn't see it, it doesn't exist." Actually, I think that in real life, Jerry O'Connell is about old enough to have an 18 year old, so it still kinda works! {Laughs} Just out of curiosity, which episode was it? Glad you like the story, and I hope you keep reading and reviewing.)
(Side note to canadianfan1984: Coolness! Glad you like! Hopefully, you'll keep reading and reviewing the story; unless it starts to annoy you, in which case, I suggest you run as far away from it as you possibly can. {Laughs} Thanks for the review. :D)
Chapter Thirteen: Same Song, New Tune
"AMANDA!!!! AMANDA, WHERE ARE YOU???"
Amanda looked up from the table she was cleaning to see Lexi, Lucy, Becka, and Lisa coming towards her at full speed. It was Wednesday night, and she was at the Pogue, except she was waitressing/bussing tables instead of hanging around with everyone. She groaned as she heard them scream, and looked over at the bar, where Jordan was bartending. Jordan looked at the group of energetic teenagers and nodded to Amanda, as if to say "Go ahead, I don't mind." Amanda gave her soon-to-be-stepmom a look of gratitude, and stopped to see what her friends wanted.
"I'm right here you guys!" Amanda said with a laugh. "What's up, besides your caffeine levels, which are obviously off the chart..."
"Ha ha ha," said Becka sarcastically. "How amusing."
"Better watch out Becka," Lisa said with a grin. "Get any more sarcastic, and you'll end up like your sister!"
"Speaking of Jill," Amanda said, looking for her other friend. "Where is she? Usually when we do a mob-run like this, she's in on it."
"Her, Connor, and Lucas are at the Sunset right now," Lucy said. "Now show her the damned thing Lexi, before we get too old!"
Lexi held a paper out to Amanda, who gingerly took it. It was a flyer, a flyer for a singing contest; "Bring your band-or just yourself-and show the audience what you're made of!" Amanda read. "Oh my god you guys, this could be our chance! We could finally stop bartending and actually perform at the Sunset!"
"I'll convince the boss to be there," Lucy said. "Seeing as how I'm engaged to her son, it shouldn't be too hard." She looked at her twin expectantly, as if there was something else she needed to say. Lexi passed the look to Becka, who passed it to Lisa, who passed it back to Lucy.
"Um, guys?" Amanda asked carefully. "Is there something you're not telling me?"
The four girls looked at each other again, took deep breaths, and said "We want you to sing instead of the entire band," at the exact same time.
"Huh?" Amanda said, not quite getting it. "Why me? I thought the band would be..."
"We will be," Lisa said. "We decided-as a group-that YOU should be the one singing. I mean, all those times back home, at the Seesaw, when we used to sing and show off our dance class routines on the bar..." She was cut off by Amanda's hand suddenly covering her mouth.
"Man, I told you, don't repeat that here!" Amanda said, now a bit annoyed. "What if my dad heard you? I still haven't told him about that!"
"It's not like we were REALLY table dancing or doing anything illegal," Lexi muttered before being elbowed by her twin.
"ANYWAYS," Lisa said, removing Amanda's hand from her mouth and continuing. "The point is, you were the best, and we think you should be the one singing instead of us."
"So, will you do it?" the other three asked in unison.
Amanda sighed, then threw up her hands and shouted "I CAVE!!!!!!" The four girls laughed and clapped their hands.
"Now, what will I be singing?" Amanda asked when the laughter had died down.
"Well, we were thinking of this," Lucy said, handing a paper with some song lyrics on it. Amanda looked at the lyric sheet and winced. It was a song her mother had always loved, "There Must Be An Angel."
"I'm not sure I can do this," Amanda said. "I mean, I WANT to, but..."
"Well, we do have another song picked out, because we figured you'd want to do the two song maximum," Lexi said, grinning evilly. "But the alternate song if you don't wanna do the Annie Lennox song is BARNEY!!!!!!"
"You've got to be fucking kidding me," Amanda said; then, realizing what she had just said, she slapped her hand over her mouth quickly with a look of surprise on her face.
"AMANDA SAID THE F WORD! AMANDA SAID THE F WORD!" Lisa and Becka sang together as Lexi laughed at her friend's slip of the tongue.
"It was an accident!" Amanda said. "I didn't mean to!"
"OK, OK!" Lucy shouted. "Can we get back on track here?"
"Sorry," Lisa and Becka said together. "We couldn't resist!"
"Anyways," Lucy said, glaring at Lisa, Becka, and her sister, who were still giggling. "Amanda, I haven't asked you for anything in a long time, but I'm gonna ask you now: please sing that song."
"Besides," Lexi said, trying hard to keep a straight face. "You know what the song's about, so why don't you just think of it like you're singing to Peter?" Her attempt at seriousness was met by four resounding thwaps to the back of her head. "OW! I was kidding..."
"OK, I'll do it. But just out of curiosity, what's the other song?"
"Waterfalls, by TLC," Lucy answered. "We're doing it the old way, me, then Lexi, then you. Lisa and Becka decided to sit this one out, as did Jill."
"Yeah," Lisa said with a laugh. "We wanted you guys to have a chance to embarrass yourselves properly." Moments later, she met the same fate as Lexi had moments before.
"So, when is this thing?" Amanda asked.
"Can you get Friday night off?" Lucy asked.
"So it's this Friday," Amanda said. It was the next day, and she was walking down the hallway of the police precinct with her father. "You think you'll be able to make it?"
Woody paused and thought for a moment. "I'll be able to make it."
"Great!" Amanda said, giving her father a hug. "I can't wait! I'm so excited."
"I'm really happy for you," her father said. "I assume Peter and the morgue crew are going to be there?"
"Yes," Amanda said. "It pays to have a couple of insiders at the morgue. Jordan said she talked to Nigel, and Peter talked to Bug and Lily. Dr. Macy can't make it, him and the DA from Hell are doing something that night."
"You really have been talking to Jordan, haven't you?" Woody said. "You sound like she does when she talks about Walcott."
"I stand on the 5th Amendment," Amanda said with a grin. "I've gotta get going. Lucy's picking me up outside for practice. We already know the songs, but we need a refresher. See you later." She hugged her father goodbye and walked out the door of the precinct to Lucy's waiting car.
"Urgh!!!!!" Amanda screamed. "Why can't I get this friggin' song right??"
The group-including the boys-was in Lucy and Lexi's basement, some practicing, the others watching the practice, and Amanda was having a little bit of trouble getting the Annie Lennox song right.
"Calm down Sparky!" said Connor Morgan, Lucy's fiancée. "You'll get it eventually."
"Don't call me Sparky, damn it!" Amanda said with a small grin. "One small incident with a generator thing in Science and you're branded for life," she thought.
"OK, just redo the last verse, and we'll call it a day," Jill said. "You three have already got the TLC song down, so all we need is for Amanda to get this last verse."
Amanda calmed down, shooting a dirty look at Connor, Lucas Johannsen, and Lucas's brother Mike, who were all still laughing at the "Sparky" comment. "If looks could kill..." she muttered quietly, but still loud enough for the boys to hear. She tried the song again, and this time, she got it.
"Ready Amanda?" Lucy asked. It was Friday night, and they were backstage at the Jade Room, the club where the contest was being held. The other bands had already been up, and the last band was just finishing their song, meaning Amanda and the girls were next.
"I think I've gone numb again," Amanda said. She was beyond nervous, and was debating whether making a run for the door would be a good idea, when she felt a pair of arms go around her waist.
"You look like you've seen a ghost," Peter said.
"I feel like I've seen a ghost," Amanda replied as she turned to face him. "So, what're you doing back here?"
"Just came back to tell you all 'break a leg,' from those of us in the audience," he said with a grin. "You guys'll be great. Don't worry."
"Thanks," the girls all said. Peter kissed Amanda quickly, and said "I've gotta get back. If I don't, your dad'll think I dragged you off into a broom closet or something."
"OK," Amanda said, kissing him back. She watched as he went back to his seat in the audience, and suddenly she didn't feel nervous anymore.
"Ladies and Gentlemen," said the announcer. "Our last group tonight is a band based here in Boston that got its start in a small town in Wisconsin. I am pleased to introduce: The Girls in the Band!"
Amanda, Lexi, and Lucy emerged from behind the curtain; all three of them dressed in white dresses, with their hair in various updos, all containing a flower on one side. Behind them, Jill, Becka, and Lisa slid into place behind their instruments.
Amanda stepped up to the microphone nervously and said, "Well, you all are probably wondering where we got our name, so we might as well tell you, seeing as how every other band up here did it." This got a laugh from the audience, which made Amanda loosen up a bit.
"I guess you're expecting me to tell you, seeing as how I'm kinda babbling into the mic right now...Anyways, this is how it happened: When my partners-in-crime and I were about 14, our friends Connor, Lucas, Mike, and Xander had a band, and we wanted to join it. Well, we talked to the boys, and let's just say they weren't all that receptive to the idea. Xander's exact words, I believe, were 'Why the hell would we let the girls in the band?' So shortly after that-and after we got off the two weeks grounding we earned for throwing the guys into the local pond for it-we formed our own band, and we remembered what Xander had said, and as suddenly as Lucy gave Connor that first shove into the pond, we had our name." The audience had laughed slightly at the opening comment, but hearing about the pond incident earned the girls a roar of laughter.
"Yeah, the boys didn't think it was too funny..." Amanda said with a grin, earning another wave of laughter. "Anyways, since this is a singing contest-and since my fellow bandmates are giving me death glares strong enough to kill an elephant-we're gonna start now." After the fresh wave of laughter subsided, Amanda stepped back from the front mic, and Lucy stepped up, saying, "Since the rules said we could do covers of other songs, we've decided to do two songs that earned us acclaim and applause back home in Wisconsin. Our first song is 'Waterfalls,' originally sung by TLC." The lights dimmed, and the music started, and Lucy began to sing.
Lucy: A lonely mother gazing out of her window
Staring at a son that she just can't touch
If at any time he's in a jam
She'll be by his side
But he doesn't realize he hurts her so much
But all the praying just ain't helping
At all 'cause he can't seem to keep
His self out of trouble
So he goes out and he makes his money
The best way he knows how
Another body laying cold in the gutter
Listen to me
Girls: Don't go chasing waterfalls
Please stick to the rivers and lakes that
You're used to
I know that you're gonna have it your way
Or nothing at all
But I think you're moving too fast
After the first chorus, Lucy stepped back from the front mic, and Lexi took her place.
Lexi: Little precious has a natural obsession
For temptation but he just can't see
She gives him loving that his body can't handle
But all he can say is baby it's good to me
One day he goes and takes a glimpse
In the mirror
But he doesn't recognize his own face
His health is fading and he doesn't know why
3 letters took him to his final resting place
Y'all don't hear me
Girls: Don't go chasing waterfalls
Please stick to the rivers and lakes that
You're used to
I know that you're gonna have it your way
Or nothing at all
But I think you're moving too fast
Lexi finished her verse, and returned to her place behind her mic, leaving the front mic open. Amanda stepped up, and began to sing.
Amanda: I seen a rainbow yesterday
But too many storms have come and gone
Leavin' a trace of not one God-given ray
Is it because my life is ten shades of gray
I pray all ten fade away
Seldom praise Him for the sunny days
And like His promise is true
Only my faith can undo
The many chances I blew
To bring my life to anew
Clear blue and unconditional skies
Have dried the tears from my eyes
No more lonely cries
My only bleedin' hope
Is for the folk who can't cope
Wit such an endurin' pain
That it keeps 'em in the pourin' rain
Who's to blame
For tootin' caine in your own vein
What a shame
You shoot and aim for someone else's brain
You claim the insane
And name this day in time
For fallin' prey to crime
I say the system got you victim to your own mind
Dreams are hopeless aspirations
In hopes of comin' true
Believe in yourself
The rest is up to me and you
Girls: Don't go chasing waterfalls
Please stick to the rivers and lakes that
You're used to
I know that you're gonna have it your way
Or nothing at all
But I think you're moving too fast
Don't go chasing waterfalls
Please stick to the rivers and lakes that
You're used to
I know that you're gonna have it your way
Or nothing at all
But I think you're moving too fast
The girls finished the song, and the audience-including Peter, Jordan, Woody, and the others that had shown up in support of the band-roared with applause. The girls grinned at each other, then pushed Amanda to the front mic and went back to get their own instruments.
"This next song is one that my mother always used to sing around the house." Amanda said. She paused a moment to take the hair pins out of her hair and shake it out, letting her semi-curly hair go free. "It also happens to be a favorite of mine. This is 'There Must Be An Angel,' originally sung by Annie Lennox." The girls began to play to music, and Amanda took a deep breath and began the song.
Amanda: No-one on earth could feel like this.
I'm thrown and overblown with bliss.
There must be an angel
Playing with my heart.
I walk into an empty room
And suddenly my heart goes "boom"!
It's an orchestra of angels
And they're playing with my heart.
(Must be talking to an angel)
(Must be talking to an angel)
(Must be talking to an angel)
No-one on earth could feel like this.
I'm thrown and overblown with bliss.
There must be an angel
Playing with my heart.
And when I think that I'm alone
It seems there's more of us at home.
It's a multitude of angels
And they're playing with my heart.
(Must be talking to an angel)
(Must be talking to an angel)
(Must be talking to an angel)
As the girls playing the music reached the bridge, Amanda looked out into the audience, especially at the group of seats reserved for the family members and friends of their band. Everyone was smiling, and her father had a look of incredible pride on his face. Amanda smiled her biggest and best smile at the group of seats before continuing.
Amanda: I must be hallucinating
Watching angels celebrating.
Could this be reactivating
All my senses dislocating?
This must be a strange deception
By celestial intervention.
Leavin' me the recollection
Of your heavenly connection.
I walk into an empty room
And suddenly my heart goes "boom"!
It's an orchestra of angels
And they're playing with my heart.
(Must be talking to an angel)
(Must be talking to an angel)
(Must be talking to an angel)
As Amanda finished the song, the crowd began to rise to its feet and applaud thunderously. Amanda turned to her fellow bandmates and smiled. It looked like the girls in the band had finally gotten the recognition they wanted.
"I can't believe we won!" Amanda said as she exited the elevator and ran down the hallway of the morgue. The bodies had all been put in the crypt for the night, and since Dr. Macy was away with DA Walcott, Jordan said they could have an after-party at the morgue, seeing as how "You're too hyper to drive to the Sunset, and I don't feel like opening the Pogue again tonight!"
She stopped in the middle of the hallway, and turned to face her friends, who had been running behind her, whooping it up right along with her. Nigel made a face as he got out of the elevator with Peter and said, "Sweet Nancy, they're loud. Remind me again how we ended up in the elevator with the hyper teenagers?"
Peter laughed and said, "Don't ask me."
"At least Jordan and the others will be up here to supervise them...no, wait, forget that. There's no way Jordan would supervise without something happening."
"Now why would you think that?" Jordan said as she, Woody, Bug, and Lily exited the elevator next to the one the others had come out of, holding the food and soda.
"Speaking from experience, love," Nigel said with a grin, as the adults walked down the hallway to the conference room, following after the "hyper teenagers" who were leading the way.
A/N 3: Sorry that this chapter is so damned long...I had NO idea the song lyrics would take up so much space...