Chapter 7 : The Singing Contest
Once the two pets were done celebrating the victory of Sunil's magic trick a purple dog came over to them and Mango. She strutted proudly, with a raised head and tail. This was not being done on purpose. She did not have some colossal piece of news to share or some important role in a dog show to play. No, she was simply being herself. When she walked she strutted, when she talked she usually stuck a song in, and when she was in the spotlight she owned the spotlight. She was Zoe Trent. The diva of the Day Camp and proud of it.
"Sorry to interrupt but I was dying to ask Mango something. By the way I saw your trick Sunil and I thought it was great. Good work." Zoe said as she sat down in front of the group of pets. She flipped her ears as she did so her face would not be covered.
"Thank you Zoe. That trick took a lot of hard planning and work to get it to work to perfection." Sunil boasted proudly.
"I'm sure it did." Zoe said already turned away. "Mango I was wondering if you wouldn't mind having a little singing contest with me? Of course all the pets now how amazing I am at singing, but you haven't had the pleasure of watching me perform and we haven't had the pleasure of actually hearing you sing." Zoe fluffed her ears as she spoke.
Mango was backed into a corner, figuratively and literally. She was figuratively backed into a corner because she wasn't sure what to do about the singing contest and literally because the magic trick had taken place in a corner of the room. One side of her did not want to sing in front of everyone. But, the other side did not want to disappoint everyone either. The two sides battled ferociously for a few minutes. Mango wasn't sure who would win. Finally she took a deep breath and prepared to say her answer.
"Um…" Mango began as she remembered that she had forgotten to actually think of an answer. Her eyes darted from side to side as she looked for a way to escape.
"All right Sweeties, time for Mango to go home!" Mrs. Twombly yelled from the doorway. She walked in carrying the same yellow and pink crate that Mango had arrived in. Mango looked at it with relief. It seemed to shine in the light. She was so happy to see it.
"Sorry Zoe, but I'll have to tell you tomorrow. Bye!" Mango yelled as she jumped into the crate. She made sure not to make eye contact as it was carried away.
"Oh okay, bye." Zoe watched as Mango was taken out of the Day Camp.
The next day, Mango arrived at Littlest Pet Shop to find a huge crowd of pets staring at her. All seven were there to see if she would agree to sing against their best singer. Mango also noticed a new face in the crowd. A girl with big blue eyes and an even bigger head was sitting in the middle of all of them. Her brown hair was done up in a ponytail and she was wearing a stylish purple shirt with a red skirt. Mango figured that she was just there to play with the pets. Maybe she had heard that there was a new one and just wanted to see it. Mango had noticed that most people had a soft spot for pets and would visit places to play with them even if they did not plan on getting one of their own.
"Hey everybody! Great to be here again." Mango finished with a big smile, even giving a little bark. After all, she had to put on the good girl show for the human. Her tail wagged as she walked up to her new friends, hoping that they had forgotten about the contest.
"Blythe, this is Mango. Mango, this is our friend Blythe." Russell introduced the human to Mango. He smiled as Mango stepped forward to receive a scratch on the ear.
"Hi there. I hope you like it here Mango. Littlest Pet Shop is great and I think you're gonna love it!" Blythe leaned down to talk to Mango better and gave her a big, friendly smile.
"Did she just talk to me? Oh who cares, this is insanely cool! Wow, it is so great to have a human that can actually understand me." Mango couldn't hold it in, she began to jump up and down out of pure excitement. She had completely forgotten what had made all of the pets come to greet her in the first place. Until Pepper brought it up.
"So, Mango. You gonna sing against Zoe or what?" Pepper's tail exploded with a pink fog, it smelled like peppermint.
"Thank you Pepper, for reminding me and everyone else." Mango said while plastering a fake smile on her face. "Um… yes I'll sing against Zoe. But it probably won't be that good."
"I'm sure you both will be great. RTW." Blythe began to stand up until she saw the confused looks on all the pets faces. "Right This Way." She explained.
"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh." The pets said in unison.
"Wouldn't it just be easier to say that in the first place?" Mango wondered out loud.
All she recieved for an answer was a shrug and a smile from Russell.
They arrived in a far off corner of the day camp area where a small stage had been set up. It had a curtain and lights, with plenty of space for both pets to stand up there and sing. The other pets and Blythe sat down in front of the stage. They motioned for the two performing pets to get up on the stage. Zoe immediately did so, quickly striking a pose when she got to the top. Mango went up a little more slowly with her head down and her tail dragging. She did not strike a pose and instead tried to hide behind the purple dog.
Sunil scratched his chin. Mango seemed nervous. Of course, he would be nervous too if he was in her situation. He began to grab his tail just thinking about it but then stopped when he realized that he was sitting safely with the others. He snuck a glance at Vinnie to see if he had noticed. His green friend was just staring at the stage, oblivious to everything else other than what had caught his attention. Sunil shrugged his shoulders and diverted his attention back to the singing competition.
"All right, here are the rules. You will each sing a short song." Russell said with a pointed look a Zoe. "Explaining a little more about yourself. Whoever does best will be named the winner. Sound fair?"
All the other pets and Blythe shook their heads yes.
"I, of course will go first. To give an example to Mango. Ahem… ladies and gentle pets, the Fabulous Zoe!" Zoe jumped into the air while striking a pose before beginning her song.
When I sing, yeah, I know it's amazing!
Don't you just wanna sing just like me?
And my clothes, yeah, I know they're amazing!
My scarf is a velvety paisley!
Zoe finished with a twirl and pose with one paw behind her head and he leg stuck out behind her. She was tempted to do the Glamour Glare, but decided against it. The song itself was amazing enough to make her win. She then strolled over behind Mango. Mango didn't move at first so she gave her a little nudge. After all, that's what friends do.
Mango was terrified at the idea of going in front of all these pets and one person. She was tempted to back out before she felt a nudge from behind. That nudge pushed her to the front of the stage and caused her to fall down. When she opened her eyes she was face to face with the green gecko named Vinnie. He was blushing fiercely and seemed terrified. His eyes stretched wide as he stammered out, "S-s-s-s-sorry!"
"It's not your fault. You didn't do anything." Mango said, laying another subtle hint. This time aimed at Zoe. The diva dog seemed to not notice.
Mango stood up and prepared to sing her song. She had not given any thought to what she wanted to sing. Mango had figured that when it was time the right song would come to her. She tried to remember the sound of those soothing bells she heard the day before. Letting the gentle sound wash away her fear, Mango took a deep breath and began to sing.
(To the beat of One Direction, You Don't Know You're Beautiful)
Friends here like I've never known before
They all want to learn so much mo-o-ore
There's no way out
Its time to sing
A song to tell about me-e-e
Don't know how good I'll be
Not sure what they see in me
I'll try like I've never tried before
A new life as soon I stepped through that door
I must be strong not insecure
To sho-o-ow
What's inside this Mango.
Mango stole a glance at Russell to see if her song was running too long. He motioned for her to keep going, so she did.
I'm loving toward my family
My friends all mean so much to me
I'm living my life and trying to help you see
I want to sho-o-ow
What's inside this Mango-o-o
Here's what makes me Mango
She began to gain confidence and started to sing her song a little louder. Her voice filled the Day Camp and her song rang loud. It might run a little long, but they wanted to know about her and she was going to tell them.
So l-listen up
Cause here I go
Me and my friends
Get alo-o-ong
I'm gonna fly
Not gonna cry
Someday my dreams
are gonna be reali-i-ized
Making a name for myself
Showing what I can do
Dreams are realized with hard work through and through
I know I can share my hopes with all of you
Writing my stories here I go
To sho-o-ow
What's inside this Mango
Mango closed her eyes and let herself be swept away by the music. She didn't dance, she didn't pose. She just sang.
I'm usually very happy and friendly
But get me mad and I'm quite snarky
I got more comebacks than you can see
Just trying to sho-o-ow
What's inside this Mango-o-o
Here's what makes me Ma-ango
Mang mang mang mang
Mang mang mang go
Here I go go go go go
Go-o-o
Woah-oah-oah-oah oah oah
She was nearing her big finish. All she saw was darkness and she tried not to think of what was behind her eyelids. Instead she focused only on the song.
I love the world that's around me
I live in it quite happily
The birds, the grass, the sky, the trees
Let me sho-o-ow
What's inside this Mango
I revel in the nature that's around me
Behind every bush, behind every tree
There is magic hidden in all I see
Now you kno-o-ow
What makes me Mango
Having friends like you helps me see
That magic is reality
I am so happy that i got to show
Show-o-ow
What's inside this Mango-o-o
I'll never go-o-o
Because I am Ma-ango
She slowly opened her eyes. They were already beginning to fill with tears. Of course they hated her sappy song! What was she thinking? How could she have been so personal with all of them? She had just met them and now she had probably scared them all away with her lame song. The fact that she was probably going to cry in front of all of them like a little pup was enough to make her eyes fill with tears even faster.
What she saw next was enough to surprise the tears right from her eyes. Every pet, even Blythe, had tears forming in their eyes. They wiped their eyes and stared at her with smiles on their faces. Mango didn't know what to think. She couldn't be that good. She wasn't that good. She knew that. How could her song do any of this? Mango constantly wondered why people seemed to get so emotional around her, she was always doing or saying something to stimulate some kind of emotion. Mango knew she wasn't that great, so why did people always treat her like it?
Her ears began to drop, time for someone to go on and on about how great she was. How perfect she was. She knew she could never be what they called her. How could she possibly keep impressing everyone when everything she did should have let them down? She knew deep down that she could never be as great as people thought she was. They just haven't seen that yet.
"That was great Mango." Russell clapped his paws together. That was all he said.
The other pets looked at him with surprise. They had expected him to go on and on like he normally did. He could go on for a good hour on the proper way to fluff a pillow, but he barely said a single sentence about the song they had just heard. But Mango glanced at him with her eyes full of appreciation. He knew that she did not need a lot of flattery or compliments. She was the kind of pet that enjoyed someone loving what she did but began to feel uncomfortable if she was the center of attention for too long. It was a tough combination to be and Russell had a feeling that she struggled with it often. He wasn't about to add to her problems. He sensed that a simple 'good job' meant the whole world to Mango.
"I believe we all know who won the singing contest." Russell turned to the audience.
"Mango! Mango! Mango!" They all began to chant.
Mango's heart filled to bursting with joy. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. They accepted her, no, they liked her! Her feet were resting on air. The world seemed to shimmer and shine. The bells chimed louder than ever. Then they stopped.
"But her song was too long!" Zoe complained.
"Yes, but I wanted to hear the rest of it." Russell said while giving Zoe a 'don't you start' look.
"Why didn't you want to hear more of mine?" Zoe continued to whine.
"Did the entire song talk about how amazing you and your clothes were?" Russell said as he folded his arms and gave Zoe a glare.
"Maybe." Zoe admitted as she looked away/
Russell just raised his eyebrow at Zoe and turned away. The other pets continued to cheer for Mango, oblivious to the exchange between the hedgehog and the dog.
Zoe's eyes narrowed. She hated losing.