Here we go, ppl- The moment you've all been waiting for. It's been slow going until now, but after this hopefully it will get a lot more interesting. Here we have the Halloween Dance/Feast of Fools, where Mich watches Quasi get thoroughly humiliated in a video. I wanted her to be there at the dance and try to save him, but I figured this was more lifelike, since Mich isn't allowed to go anyway.
Enough boringness, on with the story!
I stared forlornly at a rip in my black pants, shivering on the floor in front of my bedside table in nothing but my underwear and school shirt. It was Wednesday morning, and I had woken up at 7:30 and started at the ceiling till 8, not feeling up to school that day. In my mind I was wondering why I had the vague feeling that today was special in some way, like there was something I was supposed to do and I had forgotten. Now, as I wished for the thousandth time that I had the legs for skinny jeans and wondered if I could pull of the ripped pants look, I sighed and finished getting dressed, deciding not to care one way or the other.
Somewhere in the house, the phone rang, and one of the girls ran to answer it. A moment later, there was a yell.
"Mich, phone for you! It's Em!"
I pushed myself off the ground with a groan and trudged out to the dining room, dragging my feet. I took the phone offered and slouched against the table. "Yeah?"
"Mich?" Em asked.
"No, ya mum."
"Haha, you're hilarious. Listen, if you're still interested in the situation with that guy, go check your emails. I sent you the link to the video."
"What video?"
"Last night's video."
"Wha-?"
I heard her sigh noisily. "Halloween Dance prank, remember? Jeez, you're slow this morning."
"Oh my god." I slammed down the phone and raced into the study, where my laptop had been charging overnight. Opening the lid, I pressed the power button and tapped my feet impatiently as it booted up and redirected to the homepage. A few moments later I was typing in my Webmail password and scanning my list of emails for the one Em had sent. I found it and clicked the link, and a YouTube video appeared.
PARK RIDGE HIGH SCHOOL HALLOWEEN DANCE 2013- BEST PRANK EVER!
So read the title, and I paused it, nervously waiting for it load. As the little grey bar began to fill up, my fingers hovered over the mousepad. I wanted to see this, I needed to, but at the same time I didn't. Damn, this is not going to be pretty...
But my dilemma was solved by curiosity. Biting my lip, I braced myself and clicked play.
For a moment, the screen was black, faint strains of music and the sounds of people talking the only indications that the video was playing. Then the camera moved up and the profile of a girl filled the screen. She was scantily clad in a shiny gold corset, which managed to push her already-perfect boobs even higher and make her already-tiny waist even smaller, and a skirt that consisted of long strips of gauzy fabric draped in such a way as to show off every part of her legs when she moved. Her long curly hair fanned over her shoulders and her beautiful face wore an ecstatic expression.
"Hey guys!" she cried, waving both hands excitedly and tottering a little, while the person filming laughed.
"How much have you had?"
"Shut up and film." She winked at the camera. "So, welcome to the 7th Halloween Dance prank! As ya'll know we do this thing every year where we prank someone at the dance for everyone's entertainment. Well, forget all previous occasions cuz tonight is gonna be the biggest and best! We picked someone extra special to be our prank victim, and after months of planning and organizing, the night is set. So sit tight and stay close, cuz tonight is going to be epic!"
The scene cut to the hall, full of people dancing and laughing and yelling. Ahead, Esme stalked through the crowd, swinging her hips and jangling her gold jewellery, and jumped up on the stage with a microphone. "Hey, everyone, are ya'll having a good time?"
A universal roar of acknowledgement went up.
"What was that? I could quite hear that."
Another, louder, roar.
She leaned forward with a hand behind her ear. "Sorry, still didn't get it. How about a 'hell yeah'?"
"Hell yeah!" was immediately taken up.
"Huh?"
"HELL YEAH!" The sound was so loud that it turned everything to static for a moment.
Satisfied, Esme put her hand on her hip and stared into the camera, putting on what she probably thought was a sexy pout. "Well, it's about to get even better." A cheer went up and she smirked. "Ok, ok, settle down, they'll be time for that later, I promise. Now..." She paused as someone walked up to the stage and whispered something in her ear, and even from the distance the glint in her eye was visible. "Very good," she continued, winking at the girl. "Thank you. Alright, so , some of you might've known that there was going to be a contest, but most of you wouldn't have. For the last half-hour, I've had scouts selecting the best costumes, and now that the last entrant has been selected I'd like to ask all those with red ribbons to come up on stage, please."
A murmur started up as those selected made their way onto the stage, some in the crowd complaining about the lack of warning but most speculating excitedly about who they thought would win. After a moment on confusion, the group onstage organized themselves into a straight line. Such an assortment of costume would only be found in a cosplay shop- animals, superheros, movie characters and other crazy cosplays line the stage, some store-bought, others DIY. The was even a typical sheet-ghost. But the strangest thing of all was the ugly boy at the end of the line without a costume. He stood there in his ordinary shirt and trousers, fingering his red ribbon and and looking nervous, not understanding what he was up there for but happy to play along.
As the murmuring dulled to a whisper and the group onstage stood at attention, Esme was joined by a boy holding a cardboard crown.
"Ok, everyone up? Good. So, my cousin Clopin and I will be the judges of the competition, and we're going to need a minute or so of quiet while we decide."
The crowd watched silently as the pair of them walked the length of the stage and back, examining every contestant intently. Then, slowly, they started eliminating. Esme walked up to the ghost and tapped his (or her) shoulder whispering a few words in their ear, and the contestant nodded and made their way offstage. Then Clopin did the same with Superman. The same for a cat, a bunny, Indiana Jones, Pikachu, until finally they were left with just one. The crowd started murmuring again as they realized what was going on.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Esme cried as Clopin and dragged the winner to the center of the stage and held the crown above his head, "I give you the winner of the 2013 Halloween Dance Costume Contest, Quasimodo Frollo!"
The sound turned to static again as everyone cheered and clapped, and Esme watched smugly for a moment before raising her hands. "Alright people, quiet down." Turning to Quasimodo, who was fingering the crown with a look of pleasant surprise, she smiled and held out the mic. "Congratulations, Quasimodo. I'm so happy for you! I'm sure it took a long time to pull off the look, but it sure paid off! I'm sure you won't mind me asking, is that a mask or prosthetic makeup?"
A titter went around the audience, and the boy's expression changed from surprised to upset and confused, staring at her.
"I just love the detail that went into all of this!" continued the irrepressible Esme as muffled laughter began to echo around the hall. "Tell me, where can I get a costume like that?"
There was silence from Quasimodo as he struggled to understand what was happening, and Esme straightened up, unable to contain her smirk. "While he ponders his answer, some friends and I have taken the liberty of preparing some entertainment in honour of our winner. Please welcome to the stage the students from Drama and Dance!"
There was a smattering of applause as the buy was suddenly surrounded by a large group, who organized themselves around him, incidentally blocking any route of escape. Esme passed around microphones to about half of them and took her place in the middle, next to Quasimodo, then nodded to the DJ at the back. A fanfare of music began to play, and the group began to bop in time before the boys with microphones started to sing.
"Hey Quasimodo
You sure look awful
We've never seen you this close
You're always hiding
from everybody
Half gargoyle, and half Park Ridge High ghost..."
At that, the girls broke in.
"Hey Quasimodo
I wonder did you know
When you walk down the hallway
We hide our eyes now
And keep our distance
For fear that you'll come eat us alive!
Who are you...?"
They held the last note together, and Quasimodo, after staring around in horror, tore off his crown and attempted to leave, only to have those at the exots push him back. He continued trying to leave, checking every exit and being repelled each time, as the song continued.
"Hey Quasimodo
Who did your hairdo?"
One of the girls tweaked a lock of hair as he went past, then pulled her hand back as if it had been burned, a look of fear on her face.
"Is that a permanent wave?
It's mighty girlie
When it's that curly
But we hear that red's all the rave..."
As he tried to push past, he was cornered by two boys and a girl, who got right down to his level for the next bit of the song.
"Hey Quasimodo
Who picked your wardrobe?
Your clothing fits you so well!" They laughed, and on of the boys slapped his back and sang right in his ear.
"It looks much bolder,
With one padded shoulder!
Feel confident that no one can tell...
Who are you...?"
As the last note soared again, Quasimodo was pushed back into the middle of the stage, and most of the group began to dance, only 4- 3 boys and Esme- of them standing with mics and surrounding the poor boy.
"Do you think he understands the mockery and ridicule?" asked Clopin.
"And better yet I wonder if we're safe if he should start to drool!" continued another boy.
"And can so large a cranium contain a tiny brainium, that's weak..."
"Well the story they tell," continued Esme as the music softened, getting right next to him with her beautiful voice, "is he's deaf to our yells, but still has the power to speak..."
"And think?" asked Clopin with a grin.
"And stink!"
The music continued, and the others joined the group in dancing around him, bopping and weaving and smiling, as Quasimodo desperately tried once again to escape. But the moving bodies and loud music confused him, and time and time again he let himself be pushed back. Giving up, he stood still and stared at the ground, and as the others prepared for more singing, two girls cornered him and leaned on his shoulders at either side, smiling at the audience, who by now were jumping around and cheering. Esme took her place at the front of everyone and raised the microphone, her voice dominating everyone else's.
"Hey Quasimodo
Where are your parents?
I've heard they looked suspiciously alike!" This last bit was whisper-sung to the audience, a shocked look on her face, earning more cheers and whistles. Quasimodo looked up and glared at her, his expression unusually angry as the song went on.
"Is that the reason, that makes you perfect,
for this, playing the part over us all...
Of king of fools!"
As the note was held for longer than usual, everyone moved back to the edges of the stage, leaving Quasimodo in the middle by himself. Esme grabbed a rope and raised the mic for the last bit, her triumph evident.
"King... of... Fools!"
At the last word, Esme pulled the rope, and before the ecstatic view of the hyped-up audience, a stream of green slime rained down from the ceiling directly onto Quasimodo. As the last note faded out, there was a shocked silence from everyone in the hall... and then such a clamoring, clapping, cheering, wall of noise rang out as the audience went crazy that the static on the video made it hard to make any of it out. The barricade of people on the stage bowed and finally parted, and the forlorn, crooked, slime-covered figure onstage stood there for a moment, rooted to the spot, before snapping out of his shock and running off the stage and out of the hall, leaving a trail of jeering, laughing people in his wake.
The video cut to outside again, shaking and wobbling as the person holding the camera ran after the fleeing figure. They ran through the carpark and onto the street, the camera-man shouting incoherent jeers at Quasimodo and laughing madly, and stood there filming until the humiliated boy was out of sight.
Another scene- this one back inside, where Esme and Phoebus were crooning a love song. Then the video became multiple clips of bad footage, showing dancing, drinking, kissing, and finally the performers stumbling out to their cars, drunk and hyper, laughing and yelling about what a great night it was. And then it ended.
I sat at my computer, staring shocked at the screen, unable to comprehend what I had just seen. Of all her pranks, this had to be the worst. I couldn't believe how far she had come, and how far she was happy to go, just to provide some entertainment! But I had hated her before, and the feelings I had for her now were nothing new. Stronger was the compassion I had for poor Quasimodo, although in all fairness he had refused to listen to my warnings. This was party his own damn fault. But I couldn't feel like that for long. I was overwhelmed by anger and horror and pity and the desire to make things right, smooth things over. But it wasn't possible. For now that Kaz would no longer have Esme's protection, hell was about to be unleashed on his head. Things would never be the same. His whole life would become worse than it ever was before, and there was nothing anyone could do to stop it.
Especially me.
There you go. It's happened. All hell is to break loose. What did you think?
'Hey Quasimodo' is an actual song by Dennis Deyoung, but there's no video for it, and you can only find lyrics online. I have the album it was on, so I have the song. (haha suckers- JK :))
Please review and tell me what you think.