Thorn still couldn't believe that the ritual had healed her hand. She was loving Wicca more and more by the minute.

Today was going to be an incredible day. The girls were set to record their first music video ever, as well as starting to record their first album. It was what Thorn had always dreamed of, and it was all happening in a week. This was going to be so much more fun than going to work with her dad.

Wait.

"Shit." Thorn swore aloud.

She was supposed to be working this morning. All of them were, actually. Maybe the other two had realized and just hadn't told Thorn, since Thorn went to bed before Dusk and Luna got home last night. Regardless, she would have to call her father and ask if he would be willing to give her the day off. She had gotten so excited about recording the album that she hadn't stopped to think about her other responsibilities for the day. At least this was the only day she would have to ask off, as the rest of the recording sessions next week could be in the afternoon.

She quickly leaped out of bed and changed into a black and red dress; it was the same one she had worn for the previous year's Autumn Fest. Thorn thought she looked quite good in it for the music video.

Thorn raced out of her room to go update the other girls on her condition, and to call her father to see if he would be willing to give her the day off.

"Good morning, Thorn! How's your hand?" Luna asked. She had on a dark purple dress and had already put on makeup, the latter of which being something Thorn still had to do.

"It's so much better! Doesn't hurt at all anymore!" Thorn informed.

"That was quick!" Luna looked surprised.

"Bridgit, Nia and Sam did a healing ritual with me last night. I think that helped heal it." Thorn explained.

This caused Dusk to look up from the paper that she was reading. She appeared to also have makeup on already, and donned a green dress. Dusk's face looked like she was suspicious of Thorn's explanation. "You're saying magic healed your hand?"

"Well...kind of. Not really magic." Thorn elaborated. "More positive energy."

"So if I want a million dollars, I could just be super positive and I'll wake up with it in the morning?" Dusk teased.

"No, that's not how it works." Thorn sighed, feeling like she was being mocked, whether Dusk intended to or not.

"Well, I'm glad your hand is healed." Luna responded. "We've had a lot of bad luck lately."

At first, Thorn didn't think anything of it, until she saw the sun from the window reflecting on the medallion around Dusk's neck; the one that she had found at the Autumn Fest.

"Maybe that medallion really is bad luck." Thorn shivered.

"Now don't start that again!" Dusk snapped. "Bridgit looked at that medallion and said it was fine, so stop worrying. That theater guy was an asshole and took advantage of you, and then I accidentally hurt your hand. Both perfectly logical explanations."

"Okay." Thorn said uncertainly, trying to push the thought out of her head. "Did you call Jack yet, by the way? We're not going to be able to work today if we're recording all day."

"Oh yeah, I talked to him last night. He was fine with it. He said that our music should always be the priority and he just appreciated me helping out." Dusk recounted.

"I called my dad when we got home last night, too." Luna said. "He said I could have the day off."

"I've still got to call my dad." Thorn blushed, embarrassed that she had waited until an hour before her shift to inform him.

"I'm glad you're feeling better, Thorn!" Luna said, as Thorn rushed for the phone.

"Thanks." Thorn said, as she dialed her father's number and let it ring.

"Hello?" her father asked.

"Hi, daddy." Thorn greeted. "I've got some exciting news and some bad news."

"Alright, I guess give me the bad news first." Robert sounded a bit worried.

"Is it okay if I don't come into work today?" Thorn asked. She was planning to quickly explain why, which was the good news, but her dad responded before she could.

"Of course, honey. What's wrong?" the level of concern in Robert's voice increased.

"Oh, nothing's wrong!" Thorn assured. "Our manager, Gus, wants us to start recording our first album today! We'll have it all recorded by next week!"

"That's not bad news at all!" Robert exclaimed. "I'm so proud of you, Sally. I'll get along fine on my own! It's always helpful to have you around, but the job is more supposed to be helpful to you, so you can pay back your car repair. I never want it to be a burden or an inconvenience to you."

"Thanks, daddy!" Thorn beamed with excitement. "I haven't even told you that we're also recording our music video next week!"

"Wow! You girls are really starting off your career with a bang!" Robert replied. "Go and record your songs, honey. I'll be fine here."

"Thank you so much! Have a great day!" Thorn exclaimed.

"You -" Robert said. Thorn assumed there was a "too" at the end of that sentence, but she was so excited that she hung up before he could finish his phrase.

Thorn couldn't be more excited than she was right now. Her dream was finally coming true.

Dusk pulled the Soccer Mom Van into the first parking spot she could find at Decade Records. It had been weeks since she had driven, but it made more sense for Thorn to drive given her work was more conveniently placed.

As the other two girls freed Luna from being pressed up against the rear passenger door due to the bulk of the instruments, it almost felt as if they didn't notice how heavy it was to lift their instruments at all. The strength of their excitement was far greater than the drudgery of having to carry the heavy instruments.

The girls bounded to the building, but paused just as they reached the front doors.

"After we come here for a week, we will have recorded our entire first album." Thorn said. It was a simple statement, but such a shocking one that all of the girls felt strong emotions when they heard the black-haired goth say it aloud.

"And filmed our first music video." Luna added.

"Woah." Dusk gasped.

Thorn opened the door to see a surprised Gus standing on the other side. The girls were quite surprised as well, as they weren't quite expecting to see Gus standing right after the door.

"Oh!" Gus chuckled. "You gave me quite a fright there. I was just coming out to greet you if you'd arrived."

"No worries." Thorn laughed.

"Today's the big day, girls. After a few times in this studio, your first album will be completed." Gus stated. Even though Thorn had just said almost the same thing a minute ago, it still didn't hit her any less hard. Thorn had never felt so exhilarated in her life.

The girls followed their manager back to the recording booth, which was surprisingly only a couple of rooms away from Gus's office.

"Well, there it is." Gus pointed to an open door. The room had a large switchboard sitting on a desk with two chairs side-by-side. There were hundreds of buttons on the switchboard, more than Thorn could imagine ever needing. Thorn's eye caught a big red button towards the top marked 'record.' Right behind this switchboard was a door.

"Right in here, ladies." Gus ushered as he opened the door to reveal a recording booth. There were three microphones, as well as a sound system behind it with amplifiers to hook their instruments up to. The wall facing the switchboard in the main room was made entirely of glass, so the switchboard operator could see them as the song was recorded.

Thorn suddenly felt more pressure than she ever had before when singing. Normally, she was worried about looking momentarily foolish in front of an audience. Now, she had to record what would be the official versions of the songs that people around the world would hear. It didn't feel like as much pressure was there for "Hex Girl," as they'd recorded it a long time ago for a music class project. Back then, they never expected to be famous and were simply trying their best for a grade, rather than thinking they were recording the song for the whole world to hear.

"Once you girls are set up with your instruments, let me know, and I'm ready to start recording when you are." Gus informed.

Thorn quickly hooked up her guitar to the amplifier, as the other girls attached their instruments to the sound system.

"We're ready." Thorn said, as Dusk and Luna nodded in agreement.

"Okay! This is an exciting moment, girls!" Gus exclaimed. "Remember, if you ever mess up or need to stop, let me know and we can re-record until you're happy with it."

"Got it." Dusk replied.

"We're going in order with "Earth, Wind, Fire and Air," correct?" Luna asked.

"Correct! Alright, we are recording in 3, 2, 1…" Gus counted down.

Thorn began to strum the chords on her guitar, as Luna played her keyboard and Dusk began to hit her drums with their respective sticks.

"Earth, Water…" Thorn sang, before getting red in the face when she immediately realized she messed up. "Shit. I'm so sorry, guys."

"Don't be sorry!" Luna assured. "It's fine."

That comforted her for a moment, until she saw Gus get up from his chair and open the door to the recording booth. Hopefully he wasn't going to be upset with her for messing up already on the second word.

"Thorn, it's okay." Gus spoke. "I can tell you're putting a lot of pressure on yourself, which is why you made such a silly mistake."

Thorn immediately realized this was true. "I just know this has to be perfect. I don't want to sound silly when these are going to be the official versions of our songs."

"That's exactly what's happening though, when you're putting so much pressure on yourself." Gus pointed out. "I don't want you to think about what other people think of your music. The most important part of music is remembering what you have to say. It needs to be authentic to you."

"You're right." Thorn agreed. Gus's sentiment helped her realize there was no reason to pressure herself so intensely that these would be the final versions. Gus was right. They could always re-record if Thorn messed up or wasn't happy with the final product.

"I'm glad you realize that. Now, are you ready to start over, Thorn?" Gus asked.

"Yes." Thorn said.

"Remember, don't think about what other people want to hear from you. They don't get to tell you what to sing, you get to tell them the message you want them to hear through your music." Gus reminded. "You've done the work of writing ten wonderful songs. Now it's time to make something that you're proud of."

"You couldn't be more right. I think I'm ready to record our first album." Thorn decided.

"Good. Are you girls feeling alright?" Gus turned his attention to Dusk and Luna.

"Yeah." Dusk nodded.

"We're good." Luna acknowledged.

"Okay." Gus smiled as he left the room. He began speaking through the glass again once he sat back down in his chair by the switchboard.

"Let's take it from the top. We're starting over in 3, 2, 1." Gus counted.

Once Thorn took Gus's advice and stopped putting so much pressure on herself, it felt very much like the girls were just performing for fun, rather than trying to create some perfect product for the world's approval. If people liked it, great, but if they didn't care for it, then the girls would still have created an amazing song that meant something to them.

"You girls did an excellent job today." Gus said, as he came into the recording room as the girls finished recording. They had recorded three more of their songs: "Earth, Wind, Fire and Air," "The Witch's Ghost," and "Who Do Voodoo?"

"Thanks, Gus." Luna appreciated.

"Recording just a few songs was more tiring than I thought." Thorn commented. "I'm a little tired."

"Oh! I was going to ask you girls about your cover." Gus remembered. "And this time, I actually mean album covers."

Dusk blushed a little, remembering her previous mistake. "I was thinking maybe we could pose for some shots at night in a cemetery, or something."

"You're indeed correct, that's what people would expect of a goth band." Gus nodded, not looking fully satisfied. "However, I can't help but feel you girls are still catering to what you think people want you to be, rather than who you are."

"I mean, I guess." Thorn shrugged. "Album covers are supposed to be glamorous and flashy, though."

"My dear, I'm afraid that's one of the worst stereotypes in the industry." Gus shook his head in disdain. "An album cover isn't supposed to be a fashion show. It requires the artist to ask themselves what image most authentically represents these songs."

Thorn, Dusk and Luna blankly stared at Gus for a moment. They most certainly understood his argument, but they couldn't think of what best represented all 12 of these songs.

"Think about it this way." Gus rephrased. "Is there any special memory that you've had while making this album that you think defines these songs?"

It was really hard to say, given the process of making this album had gone so fast. It was just a few weeks ago that they were still only halfway through the album, nitpicking over every single detail. That almost felt like a distant memory for Thorn. One thing she did remember well, however, was the Autumn Fest. The girls were finishing up their last year of high school at that time. They had always dreamed of making an album, but it was just that: a dream. That is, until Mayor Corey invited them to perform at the Autumn Fest a month before it took place. This was what ultimately pushed the girls to start writing more songs. Before, they had mainly just done covers of songs by other artists, and made a few embarrassing songs that they'd never share with the world. This was of course because of how cringey they were, but they also felt like a personal, meaningful memory that the girls didn't want to share with the whole world.

"There's a picture of us at Autumn Fest." Thorn finally answered. "That was around the time we started writing more original songs beyond "Hex Girl" for that class project."

"Oh yeah." Dusk said in awe. "That would be a great album cover."

"You mean the one where we're standing up on stage after the show?" Luna rhetorically asked. "That'd be awesome."

"That sounds like an excellent choice of album cover." Gus agreed. "If you can get that picture to me as soon as possible, I could have your CD in production by Monday and finished by mid-week. Of course, you wouldn't need to release it that fast, but I could send out a call to start the mass production as soon as you wanted me to."

"Wow, really?" Thorn gasped.

"Absolutely." Gus confirmed. "It really doesn't take that long to mass-produce a CD. Fun fact, it only takes about three seconds to press information onto a disc."

"That's so quick!" Luna exclaimed.

"Yes, it's much quicker than people think." Gus said, momentarily looking up the clock. "I see it's already a few minutes before noon. Would you girls like a break for lunch before recording the music video?"

"That would be nice, yeah." Thorn said, right after her stomach grumbled.

"We could run home and eat lunch, and that way we could get the picture." Dusk suggested.

"That's a great idea!" Luna agreed.

"Wonderful! Let's plan to meet back here in an hour to film the music video." Gus planned.

"Sounds good to me." Thorn responded, before turning to Luna and Dusk. "Oh my gosh, once we get him this image, we could have our CD out in a freaking week!"

"Well, we don't need to get that crazy." Luna laughed. "But it is a cool thought."

Thorn, Dusk and Luna returned to Gus's office with their picture. Upon entering, Gus was finishing up the last few bites of a turkey sandwich for his lunch.

"We got the picture, Gus." Thorn informed.

"And I've got the video camera." Gus piggybacked, chuckling lightly. "Girls, I'd like you to meet our cameraman, Rick."

"Nice to meet you." Rick greeted. Each of the girls said the same in return.

"Now, run it by me again, how exactly are you wanting the music video to start?" Gus inquired.

"Well, I think we were thinking something like this…" Luna previewed.

Thorn and Luna's hair swayed in the gentle breeze, as the girls walked into Decade Records with hopeful looks on their faces. All of them were carrying their instruments.

"Do you think this is our big break, Thorn?" Luna inquired.

"We've been working on releasing this song for over a year now. It has to be." Thorn believed.

"The producer would be a fool not to love this!" Dusk exclaimed.

As they got into the building, the girls walked past the posters of Bob Dylan, The Cure and Bon Jovi in the main entrance.

Looking cautiously optimistic, Thorn knocked on the manager's door.

"Come in!" the manager's voice called.

"Hi! We're The Hex Girls." Thorn introduced. "I'm Thorn."

"I'm Dusk."

"And I'm Luna."

"Yes, yes." Gus sneered. "Well, don't expect me to learn your names, as I only bother to learn the names of the artists who can wow me."

"Okay?" Luna questioned with a hint of sadness in her voice.

"If he wants us to show him who we are, then let's do it!" Dusk exclaimed.

After a moment of setting up, Thorn picked up her guitar, her hands ready to play.

"Hit it, sisters!" Thorn yelled.

Thorn began playing her guitar, as Luna's hands tapped the keyboard, and Dusk used her drumsticks to hit her drums with great force.

"Stop, stop, stop!" Gus shouted.

"Is there a problem?" Thorn asked.

"Well, there's just one." Gus stated calmly, before raising his voice. "Your music is terrible! I've heard dogs play better music than that! Now get out of my office immediately and stop wasting my time!"

"What's this jerkwad's problem?" Thorn snapped in an annoyed voice.

"This dude just doesn't get it. He's probably never rocked out a day in his life." Luna rolled her eyes.

"Hey, if this guy's not going to even give our music a chance, we'll make him give it a chance!" Dusk threatened, as she began playing her drums again.

"Yeah, let's make this old geezer get with the times." Thorn snarked.

"I'm only 35!" Gus interjected.

"Shut up." Thorn said as she started playing the opening chords of "Hex Girl" on her guitar.

"I'm gonna cast a spell on you!" Thorn sang-threatened, as all three girls made the motion of casting a spell on Gus. "You're gonna do what I want you to!"

"Stop this nonsense right now young ladies!" Gus shouted. "I do not allow insubordination in my office!"

Thorn did a mixing motion with her guitar as she sang the next line. "Mix it up here in my little bowl. Say a few words and you lose control!"

The girls raised their vocal tones to be a bit louder for the chorus. "I'm a Hex Girl, and I'm gonna put a spell on you!"

"We're gonna put a spell on you!" Dusk and Luna echoed.

"I'm a Hex Girl, and I'm gonna put a spell on you!" Thorn sang.

"Put a spell on you!" Dusk and Luna once again echoed, this time threatening Gus with a hand motion that appeared as if they were casting a hex on him.

"You feel the fog as I cloud your mind!" Thorn began the second verse.

"Hey...this isn't bad." Gus realized, speaking his line whilst the girls continued to sing.

"You'll get dizzy when I make the sign." Thorn sang. As she sang the next line, she crossed her hands over her face, and made her fingers look almost like claws as she slowly uncrossed them. "You'll wake up in the dead of night, missing me when I'm out of sight!"

"I'm a Hex Girl, and I'm gonna put a spell on you!" Thorn repeated the first line of the chorus.

"We're gonna put a spell on you!" Dusk and Luna added.

"This is really good!" Gus's opinion shifted.

"I'm a Hex Girl, and I'm gonna put a spell on you!" Thorn sang.

"Oh yeah!" Dusk and Luna changed it up.

"With this little cobweb potion." Thorn took her fingers on her right hand and interwove them with the fingers on her left hand. She then lifted her interwoven fingers onto her heart and gave Gus a theatrically sultry look. "You'll fall into dark devotion. If you ever lose affection, I can change your whole direction!"

"Why, you're the best band I've ever heard!" Gus exclaimed, looking completely shocked.

"I'm a Hex Girl, and I'm gonna put a spell on you!" Thorn began the final chorus.

"We're gonna put a spell on you!" Dusk and Luna interjected.

"I'm a Hex Girl, and I'm gonna put a spell on you!" Thorn sang her last line.

"I'm signing you girls immediately!" Gus exclaimed as he pulled out a contract. "This is exactly what the music industry needs right now!"

"We don't work for people. People work for us." Dusk sassed, as she took out a contract of her own for Gus to sign.

"Of course! This is the future of the music industry!" Gus jovially cried out, as he surprisingly began removing every poster of any other musician from his wall and tossing them on the ground, after he signed the girls' contract.

"We're gonna put a spell on all of you!" the girls concluded, baring their fake fangs, which they had made sure to put in when they went back to the apartment for lunch. Even Gus joined in for the final line.

"Cut, print, scene!" Gus exclaimed, motioning for Rick to turn off his camera. "Wonderful job, girls! I hope I didn't come off too mean."

"Of course not." Thorn laughed. "We hope we didn't come off too mean either."

"Not at all, girls." Gus chuckled. "You all are excellent actresses! Did you get all that, Rick?"

"Yep. Everything looks great!" Rick responded.

"Stupendous! I think the video turned out amazing! I quite liked the symbolism of you girls coming into the music industry and disrupting the status quo by convincing me to like your song." Gus informed. "There was even some nice humor at the end with my character's amusing reaction of removing all the other musicians' posters from the wall. I think this video is going to be groundbreaking for you girls. It's definitely a bit quirky, but it's something different than what everyone else is doing. It sets you apart from the other artists."

"Thanks, Gus." Luna appreciated.

"When do we want this to come out?" Dusk inquired.

"Soon, preferably." Thorn suggested. "The interest for our song is clearly happening right now, so we should give the people what they want."

"I agree." Luna responded. "We don't want to wait too long. Besides, maybe the music video will help boost our chart performance even more."

"Yeah, that makes the most sense to me." Dusk said. "How quick can we get this out, Gus?"

"There's a tad bit of editing to do to remove the parts of you setting up your instruments, and adding special effects for the part where you look like you're putting a spell on me. Final Cut Pro - it's a new software that just came out, all the music labels are using it, you know - makes the process so much easier than having to splice together footage and such like we used to." Gus noted. "I imagine I could get it to the television stations in time to air during the morning music premiere block two Sundays from now."

"Woah!" Dusk gasped. "That's so quick!"

"The music industry has to move quickly to remain relevant to people's interests." Gus explained. "Some people take longer than others to produce their material, but for artists that don't have an established following, it's important to ensure you are releasing things in a somewhat timely manner so that people do not lose interest."

This made Thorn feel a little pressured. She wasn't a big fan of making instant decisions before she had time to think through things, but it appeared that this industry somewhat required it.

"Girls, why don't you follow me into the editing room?" Gus said, leading the girls back towards the direction of his office. As the girls followed him, they quickly realized he was in fact leading them to his office.

"The editing room is just your office?" Luna inquired.

"Well, we can't have a room for everything, you know." Gus blushed.

The girls had been going into the studio every day for the entirety of the week. It was now their final day of recording, on Thursday. Thorn had strummed the final note from "Petrified Bride," as the impact of it vibrated in the room for a moment.

All three of the girls did a group hug as Gus came into the room.

"Girls." Gus said, with a slight smile on his face. "You've just finished your very first album."

"Oh my god!" Thorn yelled excitedly.

"I can't believe it!" Luna shouted.

"Wicked!" Dusk exclaimed.

"Everything sounded wonderful, girls. Not a note or a lyric out of place." Gus complimented. "Now, just to ensure I have the right tracklist: the order is "Hex Girl," "Earth, Wind, Fire and Air," "The Witch's Ghost," "Who Do Voodoo?," your cover of "A Forest," "Those Meddlin' Kids," "Trap of Love," "Good Bad Girls," "Love's Curse," "It's a Mystery," your cover of "Fear (of the Unknown)," and "Petrified Bride." Is that all right?"

"Yep, that's right." Thorn confirmed. "I still can't believe our album is freaking done!"

"Speaking of which, I forgot to mention your song leaped to #37 this morning. 1,438 plays on the radio. Pretty incredible for a first single just a couple weeks after its release, if you ask me." Gus pointed out.

"It is incredible." Luna said in awe.

"You girls have put in a lot of work today, and you should truly be proud of yourselves!" Gus suggested.

"Thank you for all your help. None of this would have happened without you." Thorn appreciated.

"It's my pleasure, girls. Now, you girls should go home and get some rest, or celebrate, or something! You deserve it." Gus smiled. "I'll see you all next Thursday for our meeting."

"Thanks, Gus!" Luna appreciated, as the three girls headed out of the studio, immersing themselves in the thought that they had just finished their first album after over a year of hard work.

It was rare Thorn went to the arcade in the mornings anymore, but early Sunday morning was a perfect time for her to go. There were no people other than the employees there, which allowed her the peace and solitude of self-reflection that she craved. Whilst playing The Wizard of Oz game which she so loved, Thorn thought through all the things that had happened in the past week. She not only had a top 40 hit, but she had just filmed a music video and finished her entire first album. The latter of those things was something the girls had been trying to do for over a year, but it was beginning to feel like their progress was completely stalled. Just a few weeks ago, it seemed like the album would take years to finish, but now it was entirely complete and just waiting to be released. The girls really had no idea when they'd release the album, mainly because they were still so shocked it was finally finished in such a short period of time after so many months of tireless work. Everything felt like it was happening so fast, and Thorn's mind struggled to keep up.

In spite of all this, her life didn't feel much different. Sure, the girls had to work in the mornings now, but it didn't feel like as big of a life adjustment as she thought it was going to be. Despite having a top 40 hit, their life felt very much the same, which Thorn was happy about.

"Hey." a voice said. Thorn was momentarily a little frightened by the comment because she was so zoned out, but calmed down once she spun around and saw the face was a familiar one. It was the pink-haired employee she'd talked to a couple weeks ago, Rena.

"Hi." Thorn smiled.

"Aren't you one of those girls who sings "Hex Girl"?" Rena asked. "You played at the Autumn Fest a week ago, I think."

"Yep, that's me." Thorn nodded. "I'm Thorn, by the way."

"Nice to meet you. You had an incredible performance! I just heard your song on my way here this morning. It's one of my favorite songs on the radio right now." Rena complimented.

"Thanks!" Thorn smiled. Her eye caught the clock on the wall, which was above Rena's head. It was already 7:36, and Gus said their music video would be on television at 8 today.

Rena had averted her attention from Thorn and started sweeping the floor. As Thorn headed out the door so she could get home in time to watch the music video, she made sure to get Rena's attention.

"Bye! Have a good day." Thorn smiled, waving at the employee.

"You too!" Rena smiled.

Thorn wondered if this was going to become a trend, where people around town would recognize her. It had happened for a few weeks following the Autumn Fest last year, but people quickly forgot and the recognition stopped. However, now the girls had a song climbing the radio charts, so Thorn pondered if maybe this would lead to more recognition.

Thorn came in the door to the girls' apartment with just a few minutes to spare. Dusk was already sitting in front of the TV, waiting for the premiere of their music video. Some sort of show for young children was on, but Dusk was apparently so intent on not missing a second of their music video premiere that she didn't seem to mind. Thorn didn't see Luna anywhere in sight, though.

"Ugh...Luna's still sleeping." Dusk grumbled. "I'm going to have to wake her up or she's going to miss it."

"Well, it'd certainly give her a memory she'd never forget. Missing the premiere of our own music video." Thorn chuckled.

Dusk headed down the hall to Luna's room, and walked back out with a very sleepy Luna a few moments later.

"What's going on? It's the weekend, I don't have to go to work." Luna mumbled groggily.

"You have to see this!" Dusk shouted, trying to wake her disoriented bandmate up.

Thorn turned her attention to the TV, which currently had a fuzzy red monster of some sort standing next to a large purple elephant. A hip hop style beat played in the background.

"Uh, uh, two plus three is five, but one times one is one, do ya jive?" the elephant rapped.

"This is what you wanted me to watch?" Luna looked confused.

"No!" Dusk snapped. "Our music video is on TV in a second, remember?"

"One is such a lonely number, Mr. Trunksworth." the red monster on the television said in a sad voice.

"That's quite an emotionally intelligent observation, Stanglewoovius." the cartoon elephant replied.

Suddenly, the cartoon disappeared, and was replaced with a female live-action news anchor wearing a formal blue jacket.

"My name is Nancy Chang, reporting for Channel Three News. We hope you enjoyed this week's episode of Math Is Dopetastical. We've got news coming up next, but now it's time for the special world premiere of The Hex Girls' brand new video, "Hex Girl!" the news anchor exclaimed.

"Oh my god!" Dusk gasped.

"This is it." Luna's eyes became glued to the screen, even in her groggy state.

"Our music video is being shown on television." Even though she was expecting it, Thorn's jaw dropped as she said it.

The next morning, Thorn heard a loud noise that rudely awoke her out of a peaceful sleep.

"Wake up, Thorn!" a voice shouted at her. Once Thorn became alert enough to process her surroundings, she realized the voice was coming from Dusk.

"What's going on?" Thorn said, her sleepy gaze turning towards her alarm clock to see she still had an hour left before she had to wake up. "It's only 6."

"Just wake up!" Dusk shrieked. "There's something you have to see right now!"

"Okay, okay." Thorn mumbled, as she sleepily rolled out of bed.

Thorn followed Dusk in a tired state, barely able to keep her eyes open. It seemed Dusk was leading her to the television, leading Thorn to wonder if perhaps their music video was being shown a second time. Despite the trouble Thorn was having staying awake, her eyes stayed open once she saw what was on the television.

"- Channel Three news. My name is Nancy Chang, and in case you missed it a minute ago, the world premiere of the new Hex Girls' music video yesterday had astonishingly high ratings given they are a relatively unknown local band. It is estimated 19,000 people watched the world premiere of the video yesterday, which has in turn led to the song making a gigantic leap on the pop radio charts. The song has leaped from #42 to #32 practically overnight, with the song amassing 1,927 plays this week alone on the radio across the country."

"Holy shit!" Luna gasped.

"You just heard her say that a minute ago." Dusk laughed.

"I know. I still can't believe it!" Luna's jaw remained open in shock.

"People could not be more excited for this song right now, and I think the band is going to see a lot of success with this." Nancy added.

"It's now." Thorn realized.

"What's now?" Dusk asked.

"Remember when Gus was talking about how we'd know when the moment was?" Thorn asked. "It's right now. The moment is now."

"Oh my god, you're right." Dusk gasped. "It is now."

"What's now? What are you guys talking about?" Luna looked confused.

"I'm not sure how you feel about this…" Thorn started, pausing to think of what the best words would be. "...but I think we should release the album this week."

Author's note:

I'm sure that's not the ending you were expecting there haha.

I wanted to explain a bit about the remark about the girls recording "Hex Girl" in music class. I always want to be fully transparent about my writing, and admittedly, I wrote myself into a corner a bit since I hadn't previously considered the fact that it was never really explained how the girls recorded "Hex Girl." I didn't want to cram in a "the girls recorded it with Gus in a scene that the reader didn't see" type explanation, as that felt like it would seem cringey and rushed. I thought it would make the most sense to say the girls recorded it for a music class project, since that would explain why the girls already had a recording of that particular song, but not the others. I apologize that I didn't think through that detail as well as I should have, but hopefully you feel I handled it well. I do want to give credit where credit is due though, because the idea was inspired by another fanfic on this very site, "It's a Hex Life" by Grumpydrawer. It's one of the best Hex Girls fics out there as far as I'm concerned, and I would absolutely recommend checking it out if you have not already.

The mention of Final Cut Pro is not intended as an advertisement, though I wouldn't say no if anyone from that company is reading this and wants to sponsor this fanfic haha. I put it in there as a historical reference, as Final Cut Pro came out in 1999 (and for sake of canon, I'm imagining this fanfic takes place in 2000, the year after Scooby-Doo and the Witch's Ghost was made) and the world of filming music videos was just starting to change. Before, people had to splice film together to edit it, which was obviously much more challenging, so this was quite a turning point in the film and video industry. I watched an ad for Final Cut Pro from 1999 as a bit of research, and it was quite amusing how the advertised features were "Now, you can view AND edit your videos!" What shockingly advanced features! lol It's amazing how much multimedia production has advanced in just a few decades.

The reporter's name being Nancy Chang is a reference to the What's New, Scooby-Doo? character who appeared in "There's No Creature Like Snow Creature" and "Riva Ras Regas," along with a brief cameo in "Wrestle Maniacs."

I hope you enjoyed reading the process of the girls creating their first music video. After next week's chapter, I'm going to take a little break since I'll be traveling during the holidays and will resume posting in the new year on January 7. Stay tuned next Friday for the final chapter of the year of Nabisco's Hexed! (Disclaimer: This fanfic isn't actually sponsored by Nabisco lol)