Chapter 4. Help!
Stanford sat on the couch in Viv and Agura's apartment, music theory homework in his lap half-finished and half-forgotten. He couldn't care less about polychords if he tried. Not when he was still thinking about the disastrous auditions he and Zoom had sat through earlier.
Only four people had showed up, two of which were already in chorale with them. The choir members had been decent enough, but neither of their voices would fit well with the BF5. The third guy couldn't carry a tune and the last claimed to be a soprano, but definitely wasn't and sounded like plastic nails on a chalkboard.
A non-refundable registration fee. Two and a half months. Stanford was sufficiently panicked.
"You know, half those polychords are wrong." Viv said moving from her chair to sit beside him.
"You know I don't give a fuck about those polychords." Stanford replied dryly.
"Yeah," she snatched his paper and started erasing. "But I want you to pass this class, so." Her sentence trailed off.
"Well, he's not gonna pass if you keep doing his homework." Agura said matter-of-factly.
"I'm not! I'm just erasing the wrong ones! It's a gentle nudge in the right direction."
"You should try a shove."
Stanford looked at her, offended. "Rude." Agura shrugged and turned back to her own homework.
"Still thinking about the auditions?" Viv asked him.
Stanford nodded. "Auditions, the competition, the colossal asshat that is my brother whose name I refuse to say."
"Have you talked to him at all?"
"No. I blocked his number."
"That's fair."
"At least you think so." Stanford leaned back into the couch. "My parents don't understand. They think I'm blowing the whole thing out of proportion. Sebastian is trying, but he' in the middle of the ocean doing Navy shit, so I don't think he really cares."
Viv frowned. "I'm sorry."
"Not your fault." He looked down at the homework she'd placed back in his lap.
"So, you really won't take Simon's place?"
"No, Stanford."
He shrugged. "It was worth a shot. Maybe Tezz knows someone."
...
"The events that took place aboard Colonial One are unfortunate. Laura Roslin's actions in subordinating mutiny and sedition among the military could not be tolerated, therefore Commander Adama was left with no other choice than to remove her from office. Miss Roslin is now resting comfortable aboard this ship, where she will remain until such time as the Commander deems otherwise. As it appears obvious that the government cannot function under the current circumstances, I have decided to dissolve the Quorum of Twelve and as of this moment I have declared martial law."
Tezz was curled up next to AJ on the couch as the final moments of Battlestar Galactica played on the television. He could hear AJ sniffling again. He grabbed the remote off the coffee table and paused the DVD before the next episode started.
"You're crying again." He said to AJ. "I don't understand. No one dies in this episode."
AJ rubbed his eyes. "But- But Colonel Tigh declared martial law!"
"And?"
"It's a bad idea, Tezz!" AJ's lower lip quivered. "Bad things are gonna happen because of it."
Tezz sighed. Well, he wasn't wrong. "Do you want to take a break?"
"PLEASE."
Tezz sighed again. He would have to ward AJ before the Gideon episode, maybe before Pegasus too.
"It's a good show," AJ said, starting to recover. "I can see why you like it so much. It's just so sad."
Tezz opened his mouth to speak, but AJ cut him off. "We're gonna finish it, Tezz. I'm emotionally invested in the characters and the story."
"All right." Tezz reached for his phone which was also on the coffee table and scowled at the amount of notifications it had acquired.
"What's wrong?" AJ asked.
"Stanford." Tezz replied. AJ's eyes lit up. "He wants to know if I know anyone who could fill Simon's place in BF5."
"What? Simon quit? When did that happen?"
Tezz frowned. "Yes. Evidentially, no one outside a select few have been informed yet."
"I won't say anything!" AJ said quickly. "But don't they have a competition coming up?"
"Precisely why Stanford has taken it upon himself to text me thirty-seven times."
"Well, do you know anyone?"
"No."
The front door opened and Vert walked inside.
"I don't know if I should be relieved that you're not making out or concerned that you're watching Battlestar Galactica." He said.
Tezz glared at him. "Don't underestimate what I'm capable of."
Vert took several steps back.
"Hey, what about Vert?" AJ suddenly asked.
Tezz looked at him surprised. "That's actually not a bad idea."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Vert rapidly approached the couch. "What are we volunteering Vert for?"
"BF5, dude!" AJ said excitedly. "One of them quit right before a huge competition! They need you!"
Vert shook his head. "No way."
"Why not? You have a great voice?"
"That's not the point, AJ. I'm not a musician."
"But you could be!"
Vert was quiet for a moment. "You know what, AJ? Maybe I will think about it."
"Really?"
"No." Vert walked into the bathroom and closed the door roughly behind him. Minutes later the shower started up.
AJ huffed and leaned back onto the couch, his arms crossed. He looked over at Tezz. "Let's watch another one."