Ace's Bumbler Jumbler

It was a warm, breezy day in early summer when Jessie and Ace were walking in the heart of the city, enjoying their day.

"I love spending the day with you," gushed Jessie as she held Ace's hand.

"Yeah," Ace said quietly under his breath.

They stopped and were just about to kiss when the wind blew some papers and one of the papers landed down by Ace's feet.

"Uh!" yelped Ace. "What is-" He picked up the paper and looked at it. It was a brightly colored flyer. He gasped.

"What is it?" asked Jessie.

"Woah, a music showcase is gonna be held in the City Square a week from this Saturday!" said Ace excitedly.

"Really?" asked Jessie attentively.

He handed the flyer to Jessie. She gasped. "It says Max Phillips is gonna make a guest appearance!"

"Max Phillips?" asked Ace. "THE Max Phillips? The one who's discovered some of the biggest rock bands in music?"

"Yes!" said Jessie excitedly. "Oh! Let's enter!" Jessie launched herself in the sky with her force field power and started in the direction of the city square.

"Yeah!" agreed Ace. "This could be our…wait! Jessie!"

Jessie rushed back.

"Why don't we find a few more people to perform with us," suggested Ace. "We would really stand out in front of Max Phillips if we auditioned as a full rock band!"

Jessie knew Ace was right. After all, Max Phillips DID specialize in creating full rock bands, so they would need a few more people to jump in and play.

"That's for sure," agreed Jessie. She paused. "But, where are we gonna find people to join our band before next Saturday?"

Ace thought for a second. Then, he smirked. "I know JUST the guys."

"You want usss to what?!" Snake exclaimed from inside the hideout.

Billy, Grubber, and Arturo were standing with him while Ace was in front of them.

"Perform with us as a rock band at the showcase a week from Saturday!" said Ace.

"But, I don't know how to play anything," said Arturo.

"Duh, me either," said Billy.

"Look," started Ace. "I know youse haven't got much experience and I know we don't have much time. But, I think we can do it. And besides…"

Suddenly, Jessie, with help from her force field power, wheeled in a cart loaded with rock band instruments. There was a rhythmic guitar, a saxophone, a keyboard, and even a drum set.

"…we already rented your instruments," Ace finished.

"Ooh…" said the gang in awe as Jessie stopped the cart.

Billy tapped one of the keys on the keyboard and a note played. He did it again and chuckled.

"Billy like pretty sounds," he said joyfully. He continued to tap the keys.

Snake picked up the saxophone and started to play it. "Thisss iss kind of fun," he said. He continued playing.

Then, Arturo took off one of the drums and laughed as he hit it with a drumstick. Grubber raspberried wildly as he strummed the rhythmic guitar.

Soon, the gang was lost in their own instrument "solos." Then, they played even louder and more intensely. Suddenly, they reached full volume and were wildly jamming out all over the hideout, not noticing they were getting closer to each other…

"Woah!" they all yelled as they slammed into each other.

The four came crashing down with their instruments on top of them. They quickly stuck their heads out of the pile of instruments and laughed.

Ace and Jessie looked at them and then at each other. I guess their new band had been formed for better or worse!

Soon, it was time for the band's first official practice session.

"Okay," started Ace. "To be a band, first we gotta have a name. Any suggestions?"

They all were quiet as they thought.

"Well," started Snake. "How about sssomething with 'green'? Green hasss been our thing sssince the beginning."

"Yeah," agreed Jessie. "Kind of like a…color scheme."

"That's it!" exclaimed Ace. "Jessie you're a genius!" He stood up on the table in front of the couch. "Green Scheme! It's perfect! It sounds good. It has an edge. It's OUR thing!"

"Love it!" yelled Jessie.

"Yesss, exccelent," said Snake.

Arturo and Billy cheered while Grubber raspberried in agreement.

"Okay, so we all agree on our name," said Ace. "The next thing we need to be a band is something to play." He held six sheets of paper. "Here is the first song I ever wrote."

He passed the sheets around the room.

Snake looked at his sheet. "Jump to Today" was the title.

Ace showed them the notes to play and everyone read over their sheets of music. After Ace and Jessie strummed their guitars, they were now ready to practice.

"One, two three, four," counted Ace.

They all started playing the introduction, but Jessie and Ace were completely drowned out by the rest of the gang who sounded like a musical train wreck! Ace looked at Jessie and she smiled nervously.

"Guys! Guys!" yelled Ace. "Hold on!"

They all stopped playing. Ace looked at his band and chuckled nervously. He realized they had A LOT more work to do.

"Why don't we try teaching you one-on-one," said Ace.

Over the next few practice sessions, the gang worked one at a time with Ace or Jessie. First, Ace tried to show Arturo how to play his drum solo, but he kept playing three beats behind Ace. Next, Jessie tried to show Billy the keyboard, but he kept playing the wrong notes. Then, Snake tried to improve on the saxophone with Ace, but he could not make the notes last long enough. Afterward, Grubber tried to follow Jessie on the rhythmic guitar, but could not stay on key. They tried and tried again, but it seemed hopeless!

Finally, as the day before the concert approached, Ace and Jessie were sitting outside their hideout, looking unsure.

"I think we've tried everything possible," said Ace. "They just aren't getting it." He sighed. "Well, I guess it was fun changing it up this week at least," he said, trying not to sound disappointed. "I mean, I've never played rock with the guys before."

"Hey," said Jessie putting her hand on his shoulder. "We did our best."

Ace looked at her and smiled. "I know." They stood up. "And whatever happens tomorrow, I'm really glad we started this together."

Jessie smiled. "Me too."

It was getting late. They hugged goodnight and Ace started for home.

Jessie started thinking about the situation. "Maybe there's something we're missing…" she said to herself. "Well, either way, Ace is right. It WAS fun changing it…up…"

All of a sudden, she realized what the problem was!

"That's it!" she cried out. "That's what's been holding them back!"

The next day at the showcase, a stage was set up in the center of the city square for the bands' performances. Hundreds were gathered in front of the stage, cheering on the acts.

Backstage, a nervous Ace was pacing. Then, Jessie and the gang came out from behind the curtain.

"There you guys are," said Ace relieved. "Jessie, are they-"

"One minute 'till you're on, Green Scheme," said the stage manager.

"Don't worry," assured Jessie. "They're all ready."

Ace looked at her and smiled. "Okay," he said. "Let's go, guys."

The gang cheered as they went on stage. Ace went to the microphone with his guitar.

"Hi," he said into the microphone. "We're Green Scheme. And this is our song, 'Jump to Today.'" He paused. "One, two, three, four." They started playing the intro and, to Ace's surprise, it did not sound bad. It actually sounded good!

He turned to look at his bandmates play and was shocked by what he saw. Jessie was still on bass guitar, but the gang was now on different instruments than what they practiced with! Snake was on rhythmic guitar, Grubber was on saxophone, Arturo was on keyboard, and Billy was on drums!

He looked with slight confusion and then turned back toward the microphone as he sang his lyrics. "Thinking about all that's happened, I just want to jump to toda-a-aay." Suddenly, Ace's nerves disappeared. He owned that stage, as well as the rest of the band, playing as powerfully as they ever did.

The audience cheered as the song continued into the instrumental mix.

"If I can just jump to toda-a-ay…It'll all be okaaay," sang Ace closing out the last verse of the song. The audience cheered wildly for Green Scheme, the band with a fresh, new sound!

As the band went backstage, they laughed and celebrated their performance.

"I can't believe we just did that!" said Ace excitedly. "Wha…how…Grubber, weren't you supposed to be on guitar?"

"It was all Jessie's idea," said Arturo.

"It's because of what you said last night, Ace," laughed Jessie. "When you said 'it was fun changing it up.'"

"Ssshe thought changing our instrumentsss up could do the trick," finished Snake.

It turned out to be the best thing for them. Arturo's nimble fingers could work the keyboard's keys at any speed. Snake's reptile-like fingers were better at maneuvering guitar strings. Grubber, always blowing raspberries, could hold each note no matter how long, on the sax. And Billy's immense strength helped give the drums a powerful echo when he played them!

Ace looked at his gang blankly. Then, he smiled. "Wow, that's brilliant, Jess."

"It sure is," said a voice as he approached the band. There stood a man in a business suit and a fedora. It was Max Phillips!

"You all really have talent," he said. "I love the name, too. 'Green Scheme.'"

"Uh…um…" started Ace. "Thank you, sir." He tried to be cool.

He reached into his pocket and took out his card. "If you and your band want to play professionally, give me a call."

Ace took the card as Max walked away. He looked at it.

"Max Phillips," he read to himself. "Guys…" he said out loud. "Do you know what this means?"

"That man with the funny hat wants to be friends with us?" asked Billy.

Jessie smiled and went up to Ace. "We're one step closer to our dream?"

He put his arm around her. "Can you believe it?"

Ace imagined about the future of Green Scheme. Not only would he be performing in front of thousands of people on stage, but he would get to do it with Jessie and his gang! He looked at his bandmates. He could not be any more ready!