Based off of the episode "Add It Up" from Disney's "Shake It Up!"
"AND CUE PORSHA!"
The moment those words left his mouth, Buster beheld the sight of his little pup being shot up through the fake crater in the center of the stage dressed in a simple pair of shorts, shoes and a t-shirt, the set for the Planet of Joy receiving a bit of touching up as she and the cast of Out of this World prepared to reopen in three days. In fact, the hype for the show's return was so great, Buster, after some collaboration with he others, decided to mix things up.
"I throw my hands up in the air sometimes
Sayin' 'Ayo, gotta let go.'"
Needless to say, the idea of singing a different song every week really struck a chord with the others. Especially Porsha , who was energetically moving around the set, her hips moving and tails wishing as she sang.
"I wanna celebrate and live my life
Sayin' 'Ayo, baby, let's go.'"
"AND CUE ROSITA!"
And right on cue, Rosita, dressed in her usual casual attire, took the next spot in the song, dancing her way towards Porsha, the teen wolf eagerly meeting the mother pig halfway.
"'Cause we gon' rock this club
We gon' go all night
We gon' light it up
Like it's dynamite."
Then, the two joined in beautiful harmony.
"'Cause I told you once
Now I told you twice
We gon' light it up
Like it's dynamite."
"I must say," a voice sounded from behind Buster and the control panel, causing Buster to turn to see his lovely saluki girlfriend striding toward him, her hips swaying with each step as she finished scribbling down some notes on a clipboard. But, all Buster could do was focus on Suki's appearance, the dog having discarded her usual attire of her green dress and boots for a more business savvy white blouse and black skirt, accented by a pair of black open-toed heels.
"Everyone's really bounding back fast."
"You seemed surprised, my Sweet Saluki," Buster teased, earning an eye-roll from the frog technician that sat beside him, the amphibian paying more attention to the rehearsal in front of him the sickening display of affection to his right. And if he was being honest, the flirtacious eye wiggle the koala gave would have made him loose his lunch.
"Hardly, my Cuddly Koala," Suki playfully cooed as she leaned down to give Buster an affection nose rub, earning a chuckle from the koala and a giggle from the saluki, with an added groan from the frog, who had taken about as much as he could bear, especially when his boss placed an affectionate peck on his partner's lips.
"Get a room you two," he groaned, earning some teasing smirks from the couple in question as they returned their attention to the duo on stage, who were now joined by an exuberant Gunter.
"'Cause I told you once
Now I told you twice
We gon' light it up
Like it's dynamite."
And at that moment, as the song came to an end, the trio struck a triumphant pose, earning a round of applause from those around, from the rest of the gang practicing their own routines off stage, to Ms. Crawley, who briefly stopped in her grilling of Mason on the speed of his work, to Buster and Suki. Even Frankie let an impressed smirk form on his wide mouth as he reset the dials on the panel.
"Excellent work you three!" Buster called.
"Go ahead and take a break! Frankie, let's reset for Johnny and Nooshy!"
After giving the koala a nod, Frankie went to work, paying no mind as the performances moved about.
"Great work, as always Porsha," Rosita beamed, gently grasping the young wolf's hand as they made their way off the stage, Gunter flamboyantly following close by.
"ARE YOU JOKING ME?! SHE WAS SPICY, NO?!"
"JA!" Porsha responded with equal excitement, only for her expression to turn humbler as she looked at the two pigs by her side.
"But you guys are the ones who are really awesome! And I mean it. I'm just a side-girl and you guys are the stars."
"Remember what I told you, my little pup," Buster interjected as the group reached the control panel, "'there are no small roles…"
"'Only small actors.' Thanks Daddy," Porsha finished as she leaned down to give Buster a hug, the koala thankful he was still standing on the heightened chair so as to save Porsha the extra effort of having to bend down, the wolf soon turning her affection to Suki, the older female accepting the big hug offered to her by the young wolf.
"You were really great, sweetie," Suki said, her arms tightly wrapped around Porsha as Johnny and Nooshy made their way to the stage, the lynx dancer taking a moment to smirk teasingly at the two canines.
"You know, if Cherry didn't know it was Suki, Porsh, she might think…" she began in a teasing tone that matched her smirk, only to receive a gentle nudge from her boyfriend.
"Be nice, Noosh," he playfully, but firmly chided upon noticing Porsha's slightly offended scowl.
"Oh relax, ya wierdo," she laughed, "Porsh knows I mean nothing by it."
"Still," Porsha added, her playful smile long gone as she stared firmly at Nooshy, the lynx clearly not phased by the sudden shift of mood in the room, "I love Cherry too much to do something like THAT to her."
Porsha's face then softened some, a small trace of an affectionate smile on her lips.
"She's so sweet and caring. And so sensitive. I'd rather die than hurt her."
"I know you would sweetie," Suki cooed as she wrapped her arm around Porsha's shoulder.
"And I know Cher feels the same."
"Awwww," Meena cooed, her hands clasped to her chest in adoration, the pachyderm having left her own stage-partner to his own self-centered devices, "Porsha, you and Cherry are just the cutest."
"Where is Cherry anyway?" Buster quickly added in, curious that Cherry hadn't accompanied her aunt to the theater as she always did.
"Visiting some colleges," Suki responded with a proud smile, "though I think she's going to take a year off to think over her options first."
"That reminds me…"
The group internally flinched at Nooshy's brash tone, her playful gaze once again on the teen wolf before her.
"How come you didn't go to school when the show started, Porsh? I mean, you only turned seventeen before it started, soooo?"
Despite the fact that Nooshy was trying to poke fun at her again, Porsha decided to put Nooshy in her place.
"Weeeell, Nooshy" she said confidently, redirecting some of the street-cat's sass back at her, "I was actually part of the gifted program and graduated early."
"Really?" Buster asked in astonishment, the pride he felt for his surrogate daughter growing by the second.
"Oh yes," Suki added with a laugh, going to stand beside Buster as she spoke, "she was able to skip ahead and complete her senior course her junior year, and without Mr. Crystal's influence no less. It was all her, and I'm so proud."
"Yeah sure…"
The group let out a collective groan at the forced laugh.
"Little Miss 'Sky-Fi' is some prodigy."
And while Nooshy thought she was being funny, she failed to notice Porsha's proud smile scrunch up into a frown of indignation, her ears pinned back, and her hackles barely raised enough to see the tips of her canine's. Now, Buster had seen her mad before, namely the whole 'firing incident' some months earlier, but this was something on a whole new level.
"You know what Nooshy," she lowly growled, the shift in her tone causing all eyes to land on the teen wolf with some concern. Even Nooshy found herself looking at a wolf she had not seen before. A wolf who was usually so bright and happy. And while her face read anger, the lynx could see something else in her eyes, which she herself believed were a window to the soul…
Hurt.
"I'm not some ditzy little rich girl. I'm way smarter than people like you give me credit for. I know how to say SCI-FI! I know my acting sucks! But, that program was my one chance to show people that I could accomplish something on my own instead of it being handed to me on a silver platter because of my family's name!"
At this point, even though she was angrily fuming in the shocked lynx's face, Porsha found it hard to hide the hurt and sorrow leaking through her expression, especially the thin line of tears that threatened to fall from her eyes.
"AND IF YOU ONLY KNEW ABOUT THE THINGS IN MY HEAD, THE THINGS I HAD TO OVERCOME, AND HOW MUCH HARDER I HAD TO WORK…!"
"PORSHA!" Suki softly, yet firmly interjected, causing the wolf to snap her attention to the Saluki, the older dog's face displaying a look of concern, one shared by everyone else in the room. Even Frankie briefly stopped in his work to cast a very uncomfortable gaze at the emotional teen. And upon realizing the spectacle she had made of herself…again, Porsha bolted from the area, not all out running, but at a very brisk walk, her arms clung tightly to her sides as she kept her head down. She didn't even take notice as she brushed past a newly arrived Ash and Clay Calloway as the duo walked in through the stage door.
"What's eatin' her?" Clay asked as he reached the group, only for all eyes to shift their accusatory glare toward the resident lynx, who's typical bravado had greatly diminished as she visibly shrank under the hard glares.
"What did you do now, Nooshy?" Ash inquired with a groan.
"I'll go talk to her," Buster quickly interjected, only to point a firm finger at Nooshy before leading, "and by the time we get back, I expect you to have a good apology ready, Nooshy."
With that said, Buster ran in the direction Porsha went, leaving the lynx alone in a very uncomfortable position.
"That was pretty mean, Nooshy," Meena timidly said, twiddling her fingers as she turned to walk away to rejoin Darius, the yak having be more invested in his phone the the little spectacle that had just transpired.
"Ja," Gunter interjected, giving one of his judgmental pouty faces to Nooshy before walking away, "that was, like, totally crossing a line."
"I'm getting it from you two, now? I was just joking," Nooshy attempted to laugh off, only for her mirth to falter as she saw the others turn away from her, either sending her cold glares or shaking their heads in disappointment as they walked away, leaving Nooshy alone with her boyfriend, Suki and the frog technician. But not even Frankie bothered to stick around, wanting to get away from the tense atmosphere by getting a cup of coffee, leaving Nooshy to shrink under the harsh stares from two pairs of eyes.
"I mean it's what we do right. Push each other's buttons, have a laugh, and move on."
"Nooshy," Johnny practically yelled, though not too loud. Just enough to get the lynx's attention, the feline starting to realize she had messed up by the look of frustration on her boyfriend's face.
"Didn't you see the look on Porsha's face? Clearly you hit the nail too close to the head."
"What are you talking about?" Nooshy asked in slight annoyance, only to receive a shocking answer from Suki.
"Porsha is dyslexic."
"What?" Johnny and Nooshy asked, their mouths slightly agape in surprise as they looked at the stern expression of the Saluki that towered over the little lynx.
"That's what she meant when she talked about the 'things in her head.' Her mispronunciations, her stilted acting. She's always had those problems ever since she was a little girl. She managed to improve, but she is still very self-conscious about it. Even though she was in the gifted program, she still received quite a bit of bullying because she couldn't read or write as well as the others. And your remarks regarding Cherry, I will have you know that my niece has been hurt several times in the past, and not because of cheating. That's why your comments really rubbed Porsha the wrong way, Nooshy."
Upon taking all this new information in, Nooshy began to fully realize just how much she messed up. She had it in her head that she was just playing, but instead she had pretty much just bullied one of her friends without realizing it. And with speed that surprised both Johnny and Suki, Nooshy bolted in the direction she had seen Buster and Porsha go, her mission very clear to the other two who just watched with proud smiles.
Needless to say, it didn't take Nooshy long to find Buster and Porsha, the koala and wolf sitting on some steps in a deserted stairwell backstage, the younger female's fur being gently smoothed by Buster's tiny hand as her head rested in his lap. And upon seeing the wolf in such a broken state, the twinge of guilt gripping Nooshy's heart turned into a stranglehold. And while at first hesitant, Nooshy took a few quiet steps forward, her soft footsteps hitting the large ears of the koala, who looked behind him with a curious gaze.
"Can I talk to her?" Nooshy immediately asked, getting straight to the point. And even though he was still upset with the lynx, Buster couldn't stop the small smirk that formed on his lips as he nodded his head, gently positioning Porsha so that the wolf would sit up, the canine letting her folded hands sit in her lap, which soon became her main point of focus as Buster left, but not before gesturing Porsha to lean closer.
"Be patient."
And after given his girl a kiss on the cheek, Buster left...
And Nooshy sat.
For several minutes the two girls sat in silence. Neither saying anything as they just stewed in the other's presence. But as Nooshy cast a sideways glance at the wolf beside her, she could help but feel the guilt in her become unbearable as she saw the lines of mascara on Porsha's cheeks. And so, after takign a deep breath to steel her nerves, Nooshy, her gaze on her knees, finally spoke.
"I'm sorry...about what I said."
A little turn of the head toward Porsha.
"I mean it."
"I...I know," Porsha whispered, turning her head slightly to meet Nooshy's gaze, a small trace of a smile forming at the corner of her mouth. The smile fell, her gaze back to her hands with what Nooshy said next.
"Why didn't you just tell me you had dyslexia?"
A few seconds pass.
"I was too embarrassed."
Nooshy, despite herself, let out a small chuckle.
"That shouldn't embarrass you, girl. That little tantrum you threw should embarrass you."
The small huff of laughter that followed was a good sign. Still, Nooshy knew that levity should come later. Gently, she took a hold of one of Porsha's hand's as she began to gently speak.
"Porsha, this isn't something you need to be embarrassed about."
"How do you know?" Porsha practically snapped.
"Sometimes I look at words and it just looks like alphabet soup. Sometimes I wake up terrified that I may have to read something aloud. I mean, the way I do my acting is the only way I can remember my lines."
"I never knew that," Nooshy added gently, scooching herself closer to Porsha, who merely hung her head in defeat.
"Because I didn't want you to know…I didn't want anyone to know."
"Why?"
"Because people can be mean," Porsha snapped once more, her gaze now squarely on Nooshy, who now realized that her words, while playful, where used in ways to hurt Porsha in the past.
"Especially when they find out you have some weird disorder."
"It's not a weird disorder," Nooshy quickly interjected, "millions of people have it."
At this point, Porsha's look of annoyance contorted into sorrow, tears once again filling her eyes as she bled her heart out to Nooshy.
"Yeah, but, Nooshy, sometimes it affects my performing. Song lyrics, dancing, left and right, words, they just get jumbled up in my head and I can't do anything about it. And then I think, who am I kidding? I'm never going to be as good as any of the others!"
At this point, Nooshy pulled Porsha close as the wolf began to cry into the smaller lynx's chest, her body racked with violent sobs as her fellow performer, her friend, gently squeezed her, rubbing soothing circle son her back. And while Nooshy wanted to just hold Porsha for as long as the wolf needed it, the lynx knew that Porsha needed some words of encouragement. And that, off course, meant some tough love.
"Porsha, stop. Stop," she gently, but firmly said, pushing the wolf away, but still offering some comfort as she cupped the whimpering teen's face, using her thumbs to wipe away her tears as she spoke.
"You know what that dyslexia tells me about you? That you're ten times as tough as I thought you were. And I'm sorry for not seeing that."
"Really?" Porsha gasped, leaning in to rest her head on Nooshy's shoulder, the lynx just letting out a soft chuckle as she continued to speak.
"Yeah. I mean look at how much you've accomplished. All without Crystal. You're a Dynamite gal."
"Thanks Noosh," Porsha responded, gently wrapping her arms around her friend as they just sat in silence, the two friend's bond now strengthened by what was shared between them.
And if Nooshy knew one thing, she was definitely going to keep her mouth in check in the future.
