Hello all!
We are now up to Gertrude's chapter! YAH! I love her character, as she is really relatable to me in her struggle to find herself, and is a great character to write about. I have based her a little off the in a 2009 production of Seussical, done by Warragul Theatre Company in Gippsland (search it up, it is a great little theatre company and they did Seussical beautifully and also CATS the year before). Sorry in advance, if anything is wrong with this. I wrote this a while ago, during my writing bonanza, but now reality has punished me for enjoying myself and stamped my story with a big case of writers block… Nevertheless, don't fret, as it isn't severe. Luckily, I have written the majority of Chapter 11 and 12, which are more off cannon originals, so I have done pretty well in that sense. After that, it's mostly scripted with only a few off cannon moments until the end of Act 1, so that should be easier.
A huge thanks to my latest reviewers, which includes guest Fera, and also Arixa23 (Check out her story 'The Forty-Second Week', it is brilliant stuff). Thank you again, your review has helped me soooo much in finding my determination to write whilst coping with school!
Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Seussical whatsoever. Not the characters, songs or even the stories which make up this wonderful musical. It all belongs to Ted Geisel, Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty. I only own Kirsty, my names for the Bird Girls and Wickersham Brothers…you get the gist. If I did own it, it would be made into a movie, and it would NOT bomb out like it did on Broadway.
Keep Smiling and please R&R!
Sophie (now an 'Old Codger' for the next year, according to Trixygirl's birthday logic…)
P.S. Just to let people know, I am now on DeviantART! There is a link on my profile, otherwise, just search up SophieHall on dA. Art coming soon!
Chapter 9: The Tale of Miss Gertrude Part 1
Gertrude McFuzz sat outside, at about six in the morning, watching the jungle slowly coming to life. She had all seen it all before, but she felt like something was different.
She looked to Melissa, Tayla and Sammy's, or the Bird Girls, as they were commonly known, tree. The first she saw was Melissa, who had electric blue feathers. Being the oldest and the most beautiful of the sisters, she was the leader of the trio. She was looking over herself in the mirror, which was quite usual. The next she saw was Tayla, who had jade green feathers. She was the middle sister and was the best dancer of the group, who was, as usual, making up a new routine for their next performance. Lastly, she saw the youngest sister, Sammy, who had lemon yellow feathers. She was styling her feathers near her oldest sister, who looked like to be giving her tips. Sammy was the only one of the sisters who even seemed to notice her, the two young birds once friends.
Well, there's nothing unusual there, not from what I can see.
Next, she looked to the Wickersham's areas, which was surrounded by banana trees. The brothers were all still sound asleep in their hammocks, snoring very loudly. This wasn't very surprising, as they had most likely been up all night doing work for the Sour Kangaroo. When they weren't with Sour, which wasn't much after the speck incident a few months ago, they were either pranking each other or dancing in a corner of the jungle. They weren't bad, they just being typical teenagers. There was Chase, who was the oldest and best dancer of the three, Kyle, second oldest and best prankster, and then there was Jay, who was the youngest of the monkey brothers. He was the outspoken, shy member of their trio, often being pushed around and teased by his older brothers and the Sour Kangaroo. Since the Wickersham's were in Sour's team, they can get all the food they want, have a whole area all to their own and have higher power in the jungle. However, that came at a price. They were forbidden to flirt or interact with The Bird Girls or any other attractive female in the jungle. No one knows exactly why, and no one is allowed to talk about it. Even if they were allowed, they wouldn't anyway, as they were in fear of being heard by Sour.
Definitely not new…why do they always have to snore so loudly?
After that, Gertrude looked toward to the tree where her neighbour Mayzie lived. She was, not surprisingly, on the phone. She was probably talking to her new boyfriend, as those were the only people she ever talked to on the phone. Mayzie was literally a guy magnet, her words combined with her mass of feathers making anyone do anything for her. She has had as many boyfriends as she has feathers, breaking and capturing men's heart every single week. Gertrude, like many other females in the jungle, silently envied her. She couldn't get a guy to like her, not even the one who noticed her the most.
Mayzie, how do you do it? Why can't I have as easy run with love as you've had?
Lastly, but certainly not least, she turned to where her other neighbour, Horton, lived. He was awake, looking outside his hut at the beautiful sunrise. Gertrude sighed, her mind melting at the sight of him. To Gertrude, he was simply perfect. He was so thoughtful, caring, positive, funny, kind; there weren't enough words to describe him! They were quite good friends, one of the only creatures who ever liked her. But Gertrude's feeling had always been more than friendship, ever since she had first laid eyes on him. When she had first arrived in the Jungle of Nool, after trying to find shelter during a storm, Horton had helped her and given her a place to stay the night. From that day on, they had always seemed to run into each other and soon after, she had fallen immensely in love with him.
She hoped that one day, she could tell him how she really felt about him, but her attempts had gone unnoticed. Gertrude had come to the conclusion that her tail might have been the reason, that and her lacking appearance. Her tail had been like this ever since she could remember a lot smaller than the average bird tail. Her mother had told her, when she was younger, that her tail was unique and special, and it didn't matter that it was smaller. Being the polite bird she was, she always listened to her mother's advice, but in her heart, she always dreamed for a bigger tail, like Mayzie's, that might help her fit in better.
Oh Horton, when will you see me the way I see you? Can't you see that we are perfect for each oth-?
While gazing at Horton, Gertrude spotted someone. Quickly, she grabbed her binoculars, focusing on the person next to Horton. It was that creature who stood up for him! She gasped, out of shock or part jealousy, you couldn't tell. She watched as the two talked to each other casually, before they slightly embraced. Being the inquisitive girl Gertrude was, for the last few weeks she had been reading the papers, and had found out some quite interesting rumours about the creature.
According to many, no one knew what on earth she was- they did know that she was female, that was clear to anyone- and some even thought that she could be some sort of new cross species. But one piece of gossip that did catch the young bird's attention was that the two were together! That news made her fume with annoyance, someone trying to take Horton away from her. But she knew that she couldn't know for sure until she talked with the girl, and more importantly Horton. This was beginning to turn into one of her most serious investigation yet.
When she looked back at him, the girl was now gone. "Good," she said out loud to herself. "Now I can practice my song in piece." Since she was too shy to talk to him about how much she cared about him, she thought that she could write songs to tell him instead. Every time she tried to sing them to him, they just didn't seem right and she would get even more nervous.
She quickly changed out of her nightgown, grabbed her songbook and ukulele, and flew out the door, nearly crashing into a tree branch and knocking herself out. When she looked at Horton, she could get so distracted. Fixing up her glasses, she sat herself down on a rock next to the River Walloo, and started brainstorming, strumming as she did.
"Now… I know how it's going to finish and where to start, but I have no idea how to tie it all together!" Gertrude flipped through the pages and pages of failed songs and unsuccessful drafts, becoming frazzled. "How about I make it slower, to emphasise the last lines? Or maybe it would sound better faster with a swing, to make it sound more exciting?" She groaned too many choices that had to be debated. "When can I get a burst of ideas? When will it ever be perfect for him?"
Just as she was about to scream from frustration, Gertrude felt the presence of someone behind me. She took a deep breath in, in case that someone might have been Horton. Unfortunately, it wasn't Horton, but that girl who she had seen with him earlier. "Oh, I'm sorry. Are you Gertrude McFuzz?"
Now having a better view of the girl, Gertrude covertly looked her over. This girl was tall for her age, half a foot taller than Gertrude. Her blonde hair was tied up in two braids, suiting her casual outfit. Her overall look was pretty plain, nothing incredible special. "Uh, yes. I am," she said, breaking out of her observation. "What did you want?"
The girl fidgeted, obviously nervous. This surprised Gertrude, expecting the girl to have over-whelming amounts of confidence, which was far from what she saw. "Horton just asked me to tell you thank you, for helping him on that day he found the Whos. Also, I wanted to say thank you as well, for believing in him."
"I just did what any good person would have done," Gertrude told her, blushing slightly after hearing Horton's comments. "I'm sorry, but I don't know your name."
"Kirsty, just Kirsty."
Gertrude smiled, knowing this was her chance to know more about this girl. "So, you're living with Horton, are you?" When she nodded, her curiosity grew. "Is it true that you two are together?"
Kirsty seemed puzzled at first. "What do you mean by together?" When Gertrude whispered a simple meaning of what she meant in her ear- having a feeling that she was a little naïve in that sense- Kirsty raised an eyebrow. "Of course not! What would give anyone that idea?"
"So, you two aren't a thing?" Gertrude exclaimed, relieved and interested by this development.
The teenager shook her head. "We're just friends. Nothing more."
Gertrude breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. "Horton is a great person. I'm happy that he's found another friend." Gertrude looked away, sadness filling her. "I've known him for a long time, and we've been good friends for a while, but I don't think he cares about me anymore. He's too busy with the Whos to notice me."
Sitting down next to the bird, Kirsty looked into the water, having a moment of reflection. "Horton has done so much for Whoville, even though he wished he could do more. Sometime I just want to tell him to go and enjoy himself, to stop worrying about things he can't control…" She sighed. "Being an outsider, I don't know what he's been through, and I wish I could help him more as well."
"What do you mean an outsider? You're not from Nool?"
"I'm actually from another universe entirely. How I got here is still a mystery, not to mention how I managed to have a life on that speck of dust, which is called Whoville. It has its own society, even a Mayor, who thinks that I'm his daughter. They have so many problems for such a small planet, with a war going on and issues with their environment. My best friend over there, Jojo, he got sent to a military academy for having a creative imagination, which was my entire fault."
"That sound terrible, but I'm sure it wasn't your fault."
"Well, all I can do is hope that he's all right for the time being. Maybe he'll come back, the same as I remember him." Her eyes went back to Gertrude, trying to hide her anguish. "Anyway, I liked your guitar playing earlier. Do you write songs?"
"More like try…" Gertrude whispered. "You see, I actually like Horton more than a friend. I love him, and I've been trying for years to get his attention of that fact. But nothing so far has worked…" Suddenly, an idea came to the bird's mind. "Hey, Kirsty, would you be able to maybe help me with my song? I just thought you would be a good person to help me, since…you know Horton…and all that…"
She nodded in reply, as Gertrude smiled in appreciation. After reviewing her words and notes, she picked up her guitar. "Love Song for Horton: Number Four Hundred and Thirty-Seven," she announced, getting ready to sing. "Doo doo, doo doo, doo doo, doo doo doo doo..."
After doing a little scat, to familiarise herself with the key and rhythm, she continued. "There once was a girl bird named Gertrude McFuzz. And she had the smallest plain tail ever was," she told Kirsty sadly, motioning to her small lilac tail. "One droopy-droop feather, that's all that she had. And oh! That one feather made Gertrude so sad," Next, she stood up and acted out all the following lyrics, to emphasise her countless attempts. "She curled it, she dyed it, she gave it a puff, she decked it with flowers but it wasn't enough."
Sitting back down, the tempo slowed down. "For no matter what, it just was what it was…a tail that simply wasn't meant to catch the eye of an elephant...the one feather tail of Miss Gertrude McFuzz," she sighed, as she finished the song.
The two were quiet for a few moments, Kirsty knowing that Gertrude deserved a moment. "That was beautiful. I can tell that you really love Horton, and I'm sure you'll get to tell him how you feel. You have such a lovely voice, Gertie." Gertrude's face went bright red, to where she quickly apologised. "Oh, I'm so rude! I'm so sorry for calling you that, Gertrude-"
"No, it's okay. I actually like it!" she smiled, and hugged her tightly. "You're so nice! I bet we're going to be great friends!" She then let go of the embrace and moved away from the girl. "But Horton will never notice me like this. There must be a better way…Oh, what can I do?"
Abruptly, a quick salsa beat started playing, the calm air of the jungle fast forwarding to its typical chaos and activity. The two girls stood up quickly. Kirsty didn't know at all what was happening, but Gertrude had a very good idea, that beat confirming that Kirsty wasn't the only one who had heard her new masterpiece. Someone else had been listening in, and they were about to turn everything on its head, and back again.
(EDIT: This chapter was redone on the 17/04/2014. I have changed the POV to third person, to fit with the flow of the rest of the story, added on to some of the story and some spelling and grammar fix ups. If you have the time, could you please comment on this edited version?)