This one is another favorite of mine, not the episode mind you, but the chapter. In case you haven't guessed, Fatso is my favorite of the Ghostly Trio and any chance I get to put him in the spotlight, I will gladly take it. And given how much the lovable oaf enjoys singing, this episode was the perfect opportunity. At the same time though, I still wanted to focus on Libby's insecurities and Molly's inclination to lie to her, which of course, will be explored further next time (or three chapters from now, once I get these bad boys in order).
On a side note, did anyone else think Scratch was excessively cruel in this episode? It's like they took all his character development and threw it out the window. And keep in mind, this episode was in production after "Not So Honest Abe" where he admitted he cared about Molly and right before "The Turnip Twist" where he expressed guilt for causing trouble. I don't know. It just seems odd to me.
Let's go!
Stretch, Stinkie, & Fatso: Muahahahahahaaaa!
Molly: Can't believe you're all mine
Fatso: Uh, what?
Molly: You and me for all time
Stretch: No way!
Molly: I'm never, ever, EVER gonna be alone again
Stinkie: This stinks!
Molly: It's just you three and me
Fatso: For all eternity?!
Molly: For all ETERNITY!
Stretch, Stinkie, & Fatso: NOOOO!
Molly & Ghostly Trio: It's the Ghost-Ghostly Trio and Molly McGee
Fatso: We've been cursed!
Stinkie: It's the worst!
Molly: Now you're stuck with me
Molly & Ghostly Trio: We're never gonna be apart
Stretch: Is there a way to hit 'restart'?
Molly: Nope!
Molly & Ghostly Trio: We're the Ghost-Ghostly Trio and Molly McGee
Molly: That's me!
Stinkie: Well, that's she. Hee, hee, hee!
Molly & Ghostly Trio: Ghostly Trio and Molly McGee!
Fatso: Oh yeah!
Chapter 16
Brighton's Got (No) Talent
The lunch bell rang at Brighton Middle School. All of the students were seated in the cafeteria for their daily midday nourishment. All except one: Andrea Davenport. She was too busy filming herself in front of a bulletin board, which had a new, additional sheet attached to it.
"Check it out, Fan-dreas!" Andrea said. "There's a talent show happening at my school! AKA, another chance for me to share my incredible gifts with the world!" she took the pen next to the board and signed her name in the column that read "Talent."
Molly looked up from her sandwich to notice this. The Ghostly Trio also took notice from inside Molly's lunchbox.
"A talent show, eh?" Stretch observed. "Finally somethin' worthwhile to come outta this lousy school!"
"Yeah, this'll be the best day of our afterlife!" Stinkie agreed.
Molly was surprised. "You guys like talent shows? I didn't expect those to be your kind of thing."
"Are you kiddin'?" Stretch guffawed. "Talent shows are the greatest! In the Ghost World, they're the gold standard for misery!"
Molly frowned and rolled her eyes. "I should've known…"
"We love it all!" Stretch picked up a pair of pretzel sticks and pretended they were curtains. "There's stage fright…"
"There's gas caused by stage fright…" Stinkie belched.
"There's backstage meltdowns…" Stretch continued.
"There's throwin' up after backstage meltdowns…" Stinkie finished.
Fatso picked up a cookie. "There's the feelin' of pride you get when the audience gives ya a standin' ovation because it lets ya know your gifts are appreciated by someone, so ya shouldn't worry about what others think of 'em…"
"Ha!" Stretch laughed, swiping the cookie from his youngest sibling. "That is so stupid, ya made me laugh!"
"Yeah!" Stinkie agreed. "I'd say doin' stand-up is the only talent ya have, but yer only good at that when yer not tryin'!"
"HAHAHAHAHA!" the elder ghosts laughed.
"Why do you two always have to pick on poor Fatso?" Molly questioned.
"'Cause that's the way the cookie crumbles!" Stretch joked, crushing the cookie in his hands and getting crumbs on Fatso.
"Ha! Prop comedy!" Stinkie high-fived Stretch. "Good one!" he whispered to Fatso. "See that? That's how it's done."
Just then, Kat, Molly's pink-haired friend, came by to sign up, intending on showing off her yo-yo tricks at the talent show.
"Aww…" Andrea cooed as Kat demonstrated her skill. "How adorable…that you consider that a talent."
Kat felt her spirits break upon hearing Andrea's harsh words and began to cry.
"That's what I'm talkin' about!" Stretch encouraged.
"Bring on the water works, baby!" Stinkie cheered.
Molly, ever the sympathetic do-gooder, immediately spoke up.
"It's okay, Kat! I love yo-yo tricks! Can't wait to see you perform! You'll do great!"
"Hmph…spoilsport…" Stinkie grumbled.
"Tell me; when will ya quit taintin' everythin' with your exhaustin' positivity?" Stretch questioned.
Molly smirked. "When you stop bullying Fatso."
"Oh please. I'd sooner wear a tutu on a scare raid." Stretch commented, removing the straw from Molly's juice box so he could pour it on Fatso.
At that moment, Molly's BFF, Libby, joined her at her table.
"Ooh, is the talent show sign-up sheet up?" Libby asked.
"Sure is!" Molly replied. "Everybody's got a talent to share! What's yours, Libby?"
Libby approached the bulletin board and picked up the pen beside the sign-up sheet.
"Oh no, no, no, no Molly. I have no talent. I just like helping out backstage." she moved the pen under the column that read "Tech."
Fatso wiped the crumbs and juice off of him.
"Yeesh, poor kid. She's just like me. Both of us are doomed to be invisible to the world, never to grace it with our unique flairs. Whether it be, in my case, operetta and show tunes, or…whatever she's good at. There is one big difference between us though."
"What's that?" Stinkie inquired.
"Unlike me, she has a choice of whether or not to put herself out there."
Stretch snickered. "Or does she?"
Stinkie and Fatso watched as their eldest brother zipped over to Libby's hand and took possession of it as she was writing down her name on the sign-up list.
"You see, Molly," Libby continued, not even looking at her hand. "Though I admire the bravery of the kids who face the blinding spotlight, with all my anxieties, that is definitely not-wah!"
All of a sudden, Libby felt her hand jerk involuntarily to the "Talent" column, where it scribbled her name down at the bottom.
"Oh noooo!" Libby cried.
"What happened?" Molly asked worriedly.
"I don't know! I was signing up to be a stagehand when suddenly, my hand moved on its own and wrote my name on the wrong list! In permanent ink!"
Stretch zipped back into the lunchbox and Stinkie gave him a high-five.
"Nice! Or should I say, 'not nice'?"
The both of them laughed while Fatso just looked on with a concerned expression. Molly glared, deducing that Libby's 'mistake' was their doing.
Libby calmed down. "Okay, it's okay. I'll just cross it out."
But right when she was about to pick up the pen again, she was horrified to learn that the sign-up sheet was gone, now being carried out of the room by Mrs. Roop.
"NOOOO!" Libby screamed while charging at the cafeteria doors.
Molly held her back. "Whoa, whoa! Libby, chill out! This was no accident!"
"It…it wasn't?"
"Believe me, no it wasn't." Molly shot Stretch another glare. "Don't you see? This is the universe's way of telling you that it's your destiny to perform! You may not know it yet, but you do have a talent! And deep down, you wanna share it with everybody! Am I right?"
Libby shrugged. "Well…I guess I can…sing?"
Molly gasped, along with Fatso.
"She sings, too?" Fatso squealed. "This girl and I are practically twinsies!"
"Great," Stretch retorted sarcastically. "As if one of you weren't bad enough!"
He and Stinkie laughed, much to Fatso's annoyance.
After school, Molly went to Libby's apartment to help her rehearse. As it turns out, Libby had already picked the song she wanted to perform and once Molly arrived, she wasted no time singing it for her. Or at least, trying to.
"I have a voooiice! Hear my battle cryyyy! The spotlights blind me and my fears confine meeee!"
Molly cringed. Libby's singing was absolutely awful! It might have been the worst singing voice Molly had ever heard. Every note Libby hit was so off-key and off-putting, in fact, that it even frightened her pet turtle, Simon, into hiding in his shell.
The Ghostly Trio, who had tagged along with Molly, were just as shocked at Libby's horrendous falsetto. But while Fatso simply cringed alongside Molly, Stretch and Stinkie were delighted, for this meant Libby would be laughed off stage for sure. Libby stopped singing when she noticed Molly's expression.
"Molly? Why are you looking at me like that?"
Molly's only response was to twitch her eye.
"What's wrong, Molly?" Stretch teased. "Ain't ya gonna answer her?"
"Yeah, go ahead, Moll!" Stinkie snickered. "Give 'er yer honest feedback…hee, hee!"
"Oh no…" Libby realized, hiding her face in her turtleneck. "You hated it!"
"What? No, no, no! That's not it at all!" Molly insisted. "Actually…I thought it was…"
"Awful?" Stretch guessed.
"Atrocious?" Stinkie held his nose.
"Apallin'?" Fatso plugged his ears.
"Awesome!" Molly finished.
Libby uncovered her face. "Really? You think so?"
Molly sat down beside the invisible Trio. "To be honest, I've never heard anything like it."
"Well, at least that part is true." Stretch remarked.
"Oh, Molly!" Libby hugged her best friend tightly. "I'm so glad to hear that! Before you came over, I was actually considering dropping out of the talent show altogether. But knowing you think I can do it, makes me think I really can do it!"
"But she really can't!" Stretch chuckled.
"Yeah, she's gonna bomb worse than the 2016 Ghostbusters!" Stinkie added.
"Heh, heh…" Molly nervously laughed. "Yeah…"
When Molly got home later, she was completely conflicted on what to do about Libby.
"This is a disaster!" she lamented to the Trio. "Libby's gonna humiliate herself in front of the entire school! You guys, how do I stop this?"
"Easy. Ya can't!" Stretch answered. "The way I sees it, ya got two options. A. You let Libby look like a fool in front of everyone, solid option I might add, or B. You tell 'er the truth and crush her little dream!"
To demonstrate the latter choice, Stretch yanked the bag of chips Fatso was eating from and crushed it between his fingers.
"Just so you know, we don't care what ya choose." Stinkie claimed. "Either way, we'll still get to see that pathetic skin sack be sad."
"Well…maybe not!" Molly theorized. "Maybe there's a way I can let her down gently? Can't you be honest and tender at the same time?"
"Nope! They're practically opposites!" Stretch responded.
Molly groaned in frustration. "I gotta think…wait! I got it! If the music industry has taught us anything, it's that a little studio magic can make anyone a star! All I have to do is auto-tune Libby's voice and no one will know she's a terrible singer! What do you think?"
"I think you're nuts." Stretch stated bluntly.
"I think you're deluded." Stinkie mentioned.
"I think I lost my lunch…" Fatso whimpered.
The others gave him disgusted looks.
"No, seriously." Fatso explained, pointing at Stretch. "He crushed my chips. What am I gonna eat now?"
The day before the talent show, Molly and Libby prepared for another rehearsal after school, this time in the auditorium. The Ghostly Trio were sitting in the audience chairs, anticipating Libby's failure. Stretch and Stinkie even had armloads of refreshments.
"This is gonna be a hoot!" Stinkie said, munching on popcorn. "Oh, sorry, Fatso. Did you want some?"
Fatso shook his head, still unsure about the whole situation. "Uh, no thanks. I'm not hungry."
"You? Not hungry?" Stretch repeated. "But eatin's one of the two things yer known for!"
Fatso raised an eyebrow. "Really? What's the other?"
"Bein' our personal butt monkey!" Stinkie answered, throwing his popcorn bucket at him.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Fatso grumbled and at the same time, ate some of the popcorn that landed on him.
Meanwhile, up on stage, Molly had gotten Libby's song ready to go on her phone, as well as a little addition to hopefully enhance her performance. Libby stepped up to the mic.
"I have a voooiiiice!" she sang, but this time, it sounded a bit more robotic than usual. "Molly! What the heck is this?"
Before Molly could answer, she noticed her phone had short-circuited and caught on fire. Apparently, not even it could tolerate Libby's poor use of vocal cords. Molly promptly stomped out the fire before Libby could see it. Unfortunately, she wasn't quick enough to keep the Trio from seeing it.
"Well, at least one thing was on fire durin' that performance." Stretch noted. "Too bad it wasn't Libby!"
"Yeah, she sounded real melodious." Stinkie snarked. "Oops! Did I say 'melodious'? I meant 'malodorous'! So easy to get the two confused."
"I tell ya what, that voice of hers is enough to make a grown man cry…" Stretch began. "…and then beg for it to stop!"
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Fatso scowled, having had enough of his brothers' nasty behavior. He decided right then and there that he was going to teach them a lesson once and for all. So, he got out of his seat, flew towards the stage, and zipped down Libby's throat. All of a sudden, the turtle-loving brunette started to sing in a low, captivating, and beautiful voice.
"I have a voooiiice…hear my battle cry…The spotlights blind me, my fears confine me. I'm scared, but I still gotta tryyyy!"
Molly, Stretch, and Stinkie's jaws dropped at the sudden change in Libby's pitch. It sounded…perfect!
Once the song ended, Fatso exited Libby's body, leaving her dazed and very confused.
"Uh…what just happened?" she rubbed her head.
Molly came up and hugged her. "Libby, that was incredible!"
Libby didn't seem to recall anything. "What…what was incredible?"
"Your voice! Your song! It didn't sound like dying cats that time!"
"Aww…thanks!" Libby acknowledged before processing what Molly had said. "Wait…you thought it sounded like dying cats before?"
Molly quickly backtracked. "Uh…no, of course not! I wasn't implying that. I was just making an observation that it didn't sound like dying cats this time the same way it didn't last time. Get it? Never mind! The point is, you're gonna nail it at the talent show tomorrow! You'll blow 'em all away!"
Libby smiled, full of pride. "Aw, you mean it? Thanks, Molly! I've never felt more confident in myself than I do now! Probably because I've never really felt confident before, but all that matters now is I feel it! And it's all thanks to you! I'm gonna go home and tell my mom all about my newfound courage!" Libby embraced Molly one more time before bolting out the doors. "See you tomorrow!"
Molly waved goodbye.
"Wow, I don't believe it!" she said to the Trio once she was alone. "Libby can sing after all!"
"Yeah, but it don't make no sense." Stretch pointed out. "She was practically tone-deaf yesterday! How'd she get so good overnight?"
"I feel pretty, oh so pretty! I feel pretty and witty and briiight!" Fatso was heard singing from behind them.
Molly, Stretch, and Stinkie turned and stared at him.
"What?" he shrugged. "Natalie Wood nailed that role!"
"Fatso?" Molly had figured it out. "That was you singing for Libby? I wondered how her vocal range had expanded so suddenly."
"Yup!" Fatso nodded. "Was I all right? I didn't have time to warm up beforehand, so I may have missed a few cues…"
"Were you all right?" Molly repeated with a chuckle. "You were fantastic! I mean, I've heard you sing before, but that right there? It was magical."
Fatso blushed. "Aw, gee…ya think so?"
"Heck yeah! With a voice like that, you could definitely be in the talent show!"
"Yeah. Too bad it's Libby, not him, who's gonna be in the talent show." Stretch pointed out.
"And her voice still stinks!" Stinkie held his nose. "PU!"
Molly frowned, realizing they were both right. Until she got an idea.
"Wait…maybe they can both be in the talent show?"
"Huh?" Fatso went.
"Fatso, your voice is beautiful."
"Yeah…"
"And Libby's is…er…not. Right?"
"Uh-huh…"
"So…what if instead of her singing, we had you sing for her at the talent show tomorrow night?" Molly suggested.
Fatso beamed. "You mean…I'd perform in Libby's place? I'll finally have a chance to share my talent with the world?"
"You bet! And the best part is, this way I don't have to tell Libby the awful truth that she can't sing for toffee!"
"Wait, we get toffee just for singin'?" Fatso anticipated. "Now I'm definitely in!"
Before Molly could gently explain what she actually meant, Stretch cut in.
"Whoa, whoa! And what makes you two nutsos think this is a good idea?"
"It isn't. It's a great idea!" Molly claimed. "Fatso will get to live out his dream, Libby will be the talk of the school, and I won't have to hurt her feelings! Everyone wins!"
"Except us!" Stinkie argued. "Our misery levels will plummet!"
"Even better! C'mon, Fatso!" Molly headed for the door. "Let's go home! You've gotta rest those vocal cords for tomorrow!"
"Coming!" Fatso called before looking at his brothers. "Whaddya know? Guess there's more to me than just eatin' four times my own weight. I ain't so worthless after all, eh fellas?"
Stretch and Stinkie glowered as their younger sibling flew off.
"Hmph…we'll see about that…" Stretch promised ominously.
The next night was the night of the talent show. All the kids who signed up to perform had gathered behind the curtain in the auditorium to do some last-minute preparing, none of them wanting to get laughed off stage. Unbeknownst to them, however, they were already being laughed at by Stretch and Stinkie, as each one continued to mess up their acts.
Perry and twins Piper and Penny were doing a dance routine, but Perry was having difficulty holding the girls in the air without collapsing. A boy named Nashua was trying and failing to tune his bassoon. Sheela was attempting to chop a board of wood in half with her hand, only to hurt her wrist. And Kat was still struggling to get the hang of her yo-yo. Each time a student failed, Stretch and Stinkie laughed it up. They were clearly the only ones having any fun. They floated beside Molly.
"Well, well! I can already see this is gonna be a veritable feast of fears!" Stretch observed. "A cavalcade of calamity!"
"Yep." Stinkie agreed, gesturing to Libby as she was warming up her voice. "And our dear little Libby will be the cherry on top of this rancid sundae."
"What are you talking about?" Molly asked. "I already told you, Fatso's going to sing for her. Everything's gonna be fine!"
Stretch and Stinkie's only response to this was to giggle.
"Wait…what's so funny?"
"Oh, nothin'…" Stretch chuckled. "Just the fact that there's one teensy little problem with your plan there."
"Oh yeah? And what's that?" Molly demanded.
"Hey, Fatso?" Stinkie offered. "Why don't you tell 'er? Heh, heh…"
"Fatso?" Molly worried. "What's wrong?"
Fatso didn't say a word. Instead, he only pointed inside his mouth.
"You're hungry?" Molly guessed. "Dude, you just ate like 20 of Mom's pork dumplings before we got here. You can wait until after the show."
Fatso shook his head. He picked up a record album that depicted an opera singer on the cover. He then pointed at the singer and waved his hand from side to side.
"Fatso, we talked about this." Molly lectured. "If you're going to sing for Libby, you have to sing the song she chooses. And she didn't choose cheesy opera, now did she?"
Fatso facepalmed and tossed the album. He then started doing various movements and gestures to describe the situation.
"Ugh!" Molly was getting annoyed. "Fatso, quit playing around! Why can't you just tell me what's going on?"
"'Cause he can't talk!" Stretch explained.
"Yeah, and he can't sing neither!" Stinkie added.
"What?" Molly gasped as she finally realized what was happening. "Oh no…Fatso, did you lose your voice?!"
"Bingo!" Stretch confirmed. "You're right on the money, McGee!"
"Except he didn't so much 'lose' his voice…" Stinkie continued. "As much as it was stolen!"
Stretch took out a bottle. "By us!"
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" the two ghosts chortled.
Molly glared. "I should've known! You two are always picking on him!"
"Oh, you're absolutely right." Stretch claimed. "But that ain't the reason we did it. See, we need those misery numbers and the only way we're gonna get 'em is with Libby's sickenin' serenade burstin' everyone's eardrums! Ah, I can see it now. The tears fallin' off her face as the crowd boos 'er."
"No!" Molly scolded. "That can't happen! I won't let it happen!"
"Chill out, bone bag." Stinkie assured her. "There is one way you can stop us. You can always tell Libby what ya really think about her singin'. In fact, that's even better! It might make her more miserable if the harshness came from her BFF."
Molly snarled. "You guys can be real jerks sometimes, you know that? This is going to crush Libby's spirit!"
"Spare us the sob story." Stretch snickered. "Actually, don't. We could use a good laugh."
"Stretch, you give Fatso his voice back right now!" Molly tried to snatch the bottle from Stretch, but failed.
"Ah-ah-ah! It's his voice. If he wants it back so bad, he needs to ask for it. Go ahead, Fatso."
Fatso remained silent.
"What's that?" Stinkie held a hand to his nonexistent ear. "We can't hear ya! You'll have to speak up! Oh! That's right! Ya don't have a voice! Guess that means ya can't ask for it back, huh?"
"Face the facts, Moll," Stretch boasted. "You're done for!"
"You're history!" Stinkie added.
Fatso frowned, wanting so badly to chime in with some random song lyric or pop culture reference. But he couldn't.
"Huh. I can definitely get used to that." Stretch remarked.
He and Stinkie burst into laughter once more before flying off. Fatso clenched his fists in anger, but then looked down in despair.
"Don't worry, big guy." Molly patted his back. "We won't let them get away with this! There's still plenty of time before Libby goes on. You go get your voice back and I'll find a way to stall her."
Fatso shrugged, as if asking Molly a question.
"How am I going to do it? Oh, I have a few ideas."
And so, Molly set out to keep Libby busy in any way she could. First, she tried blocking her dressing room door with a chair. But the janitor accidentally swept it away while he was dancing with his headphones on. Next, she dressed up as a cop and insisted Libby wait for a bug to cross the hallway. Libby, however, just jumped over it.
Obstruction!
I'm gonna get in your way
Obstruction!
Cause a major delay
I'm gonna slow you down
Impede your speed
Gonna make you wait like the DMV
Obstruction!
Fatso wasn't having much better luck with retrieving his voice. When his brothers sat back and watched Kat's yo-yo tricks, he took an opportunity to swipe the bottle while they weren't looking. Unfortunately, his arm got caught in the yo-yo's string and both him and Kat managed to tie themselves up, much to Stretch and Stinkie's amusement.
Obstruction!
I'm talkin' total disruption
Stop the presses and pause the production
I'm gonna break your will and waste your time
I'm gonna make you give me feedback on how I mime
"Now I'm in a box…" Molly demonstrated while blocking Libby's path.
"Molly, I don't have time for this!" Libby pleaded. "And mimes aren't supposed to talk!"
Once the mime act fell through, Molly next tried to obstruct Libby with a whole herd of cows (don't ask us where she got them).
I'm gonna hold you up
I'm gonna slow you down
Like a sadistic gym coach
I run you 'round
I'm a herd of cattle that you can't drive through
I'm blocking the road like
"Mooo!"
Stretch and Stinkie continued to laugh at the students' pathetic performances, until they noticed Molly sneaking a huge box toward the back of the auditorium. Suspicious, Stretch sent Stinkie to investigate, right when Fatso was about to snatch the bottle containing his voice. Stretch picked up his youngest brother and gave him a smirk as if to say: "You never learn."
Molly's final plan involved posting fake signs with arrows pointing toward the auditorium. Libby, being more naive and desperate than usual, followed the arrows to the front door of the school. Once Libby was outside, Molly threw the box on top of her and tossed her into a nearby mail truck. Unbeknownst to her, though, Stinkie was now behind the wheel after knocking the driver out with one of his belches.
Obstruction!
I'm gonna change your location
Send you away on a forced vacation
Whatever you do, I'm gonna stall
Next on the program: nothing at all!
Obstruction!
Soon, it was almost Libby's turn to perform. Andrea was just finishing up her song that had a not-so-subtle, shameless plug.
"Don't you wanna toast bread like me? With a toaster on sale for $29.93? At Davenport's! Everything's a bargain at Davenport's!"
Fireworks shot off on stage while Molly and Stretch watched from behind the curtain.
"Whoa…" Stretch was admittedly impressed. "I never thought I'd say this, but I'm sold! She got me! From this day forward, consider me a Fan-drea! I'm gonna go buy a T-shirt real quick. Don't worry though; I'll be back in time to watch Libby blow her big number. It'll be the grand finale of gloom!"
Molly held Stretch back. "Oh, I don't think so. I have a feeling Libby will do just fine now that we've got…this back! Right, Fatso?"
She gestured above her, as if expecting Fatso to be there. Looking up, she realized he wasn't.
"Huh? Where-? How-?"
Stretch had a cheeky smile on his face.
"Oh yeah, he's actually a little 'tied up' at the moment. Heh, heh, heh!"
He pointed behind him where Fatso was indeed tied to the wall with a microphone cord.
"Oh no!" Molly panicked.
"You're pretty clever, McGee." Stretch poked her on the nose. "But Fatso, on the other hand? Not so much. Looks like Libby's gonna have to go as herself after all. And we both know how 'wonderful' her real self is, don't we?"
"Uh…no, no, it's okay!" Molly reassured herself. "Because Libby isn't even here! She's in the capable hands of the U.S. postal service."
"Special delivery!" Stinkie's voice could be heard from behind her. "From the U Stink postal service!"
Molly was shocked to see Stinkie in a mail uniform holding the same package she had put Libby in. He dropped it on the floor, allowing Libby to break free.
"Phew." Libby sighed with relief. "That was close. Good thing I got back when I did or I would've missed my chance to perform!"
Molly's eye twitched. "Oh yeah…good thing…"
While Libby strapped on her handmade sequin cape, Stretch and Stinkie floated beside Molly in a taunting manner.
"Aw, just look at her." Stretch cooed. "All full of false confidence."
Molly started to sweat. "So much confidence…"
"Yep! She's totally unaware of what's in store for her." Stinkie teased.
"She has no idea…" Molly worried.
"It's gonna be a total riot!" Stretch theorized. "And the best part is…it'll be all. Your. Fault. Some best friend you are, huh?"
Finally, Molly couldn't stand it anymore and got in Libby's way.
"Libby, you can't go out there!"
"Huh? Why?" Libby glanced at her cape. "Did I lose a sequin?"
"No, no. You can't go out there because…" Molly paused. "Brutal honesty time…Libby? You're a terrible singer."
Libby was shocked to hear this, but more shocked about the fact that Molly had previously told her otherwise.
"But…you said-"
"I know I said you were amazing before, but I lied, okay? I'm sorry. I just didn't want to hurt your feelings."
"And you couldn't tell me until now?! When I'm about to go on?! This is way worse!" Libby started to panic.
Stretch and Stinkie poofed up a couple of chairs and more popcorn.
"Ooh, here it comes!"
"This is too rich!"
While they were busy spectating, they didn't notice Fatso starting to break free from his bonds.
"Well, hold on!" Molly suggested. "We can still get you out of this! There's a trap door in the stage. We can just tunnel under there and escape! We'll probably have to change our names and live on the road, but we can always hitch a ride on a train like they do in the movies!"
"No." Libby refused. "No more being afraid. I got this far and I don't wanna let anyone down. Especially not my mom."
"Wait…your mom came?" Molly peeked behind the curtain and was surprised to find that Ms. Stein-Torres was indeed seated in the front row. "But it's Slam Poetry Saturday! No one takes slam poetry more seriously than your mom!"
Libby smiled. "That's what she told me, too. But she also said she wouldn't miss my performance for the world. It's just too bad I'm going to disappoint her whether I get up on that stage or not."
Molly thought for a moment. "Hm…I think I have an idea."
Andrea was still taking her bows after her standing ovation, so luckily, Libby had some extra time to change clothes in preparation for what Molly had in mind.
"Thank you, Brighton Middle School! Don't forget to follow me on all platforms! And shop at Davenport's!"
Right as Andrea came backstage, Libby came out of her dressing room in an all-black outfit with a beret to match.
"Okay," she told Molly. "I'm ready."
The turtle-loving girl took one more deep breath and then finally, stepped out into the open. She set down her stereo in front of the microphone and a spotlight shone on her, allowing her to see her mom in the front row. Molly, Stretch, and Stinkie watched from behind the curtain.
"Ooh, what's this?" Stretch asked with malice in his voice. "A new act, huh?"
"Can't wait to see how big of a stink this is gonna make!" Stinkie giggled.
Libby's song began to play. This time, though, instead of singing the words, she recited them like a poem.
"I have a voice. Hear my battle cry. The spotlights blind me. My fears confine me. I'm scared, but I still gotta try. Thrown in a fire. Kiss my comfort goodbye. I feel the heat on my skin. My head starts to spin. I'm scared, but I still gotta try."
Molly beamed at her best friend's confidence.
"She's doing it! She's actually good! For real! Go, Libby!"
Stretch and Stinkie, on the other hand, were none too pleased. They floated off to the side.
"What the heck is this?!" Stretch complained to Stinkie. "This is supposed to be a misery fest! Where's the stage fright?"
"Where's the intestinal distress?" Stinkie wondered.
"Where's the beef?" a deep voice asked from behind the two.
They turned to see Fatso flying over them, holding an empty bottle in one hand and a microphone cord in the other.
"Oh yeah! I'm back, baby!"
Before Stretch and Stinkie could react, Fatso lassoed them with the cord, tying them up for good and ensuring they wouldn't sabotage Libby's performance.
"I'm not giving up." Libby continued. "Gonna look my doubt in the eye. I'm facing my fears. Gonna hold my dizzy head high. I won't be cowed by the crowd. Gonna make my mom proud. I'm very scared, but I still gotta try. Do not stay silent. Don't clam up 'cause you're shy. If you have something to say, speak up! Don't delay! You can be scared, but you still gotta try. You can be scared but you still gotta try!"
As soon as Libby finished her little poem, the entire auditorium was completely silent. Until a few seconds later when it erupted into cheers and applause.
"That's my Libby!" Ms. Stein-Torres shouted.
Libby couldn't contain the smile on her face. She was so proud of herself that she jumped off the stage and into her mom's arms, where she promptly cried tears of joy. Molly observed the scene from backstage, feeling just as proud, if not more proud, of Libby. Fatso was right next to her.
"Aww…" Fatso wiped away some tears of his own. "There ain't nothin' like a mother's unconditional support."
Molly looked up. "Fatso? You got your voice back!"
"Yep! Flotsam and Jetsam over there couldn't hold on to it forever!" Fatso gestured to the corner. "And speakin' of poor unfortunate souls…"
Molly directed her eyes to where Fatso was pointing. Tied agains the wall were Stretch and Stinkie, both of whom had on headphones that were blasting a recording of Libby's awful singing.
"Ugh! Kill me! Again!"
"This really stinks!"
"Make it stop!"
Fatso shrugged. "Hey, they wanted misery; they got it!"
Molly couldn't help but chuckle at the two ghosts getting their just desserts. "Well, I guess everything worked out then! Well, except one thing. Sorry you missed out on your chance to perform."
"Aw, fuggedaboudit. At least I still got to stand up to my brothers. I betcha next time, they'll think twice before they decide to pick on me again. They'll probably still do it, but at least they'll think twice about it!"
"Well, they were right about one thing. I should have just been honest with Libby from the beginning. So, from now on, that's exactly what I'm gonna do!"
"Hey, Molly!" Libby suddenly came up from behind her. "Who are you talking to?"
"NOBODY!" Molly shoved Fatso away.
Ghostly Trio and Molly McGee!
Okay, now that we've hit number 18, I can finally rearrange the chapters in the sequence they were meant to go in (I totally forgot you can just put the chapters in whatever order you want without having to take them down and reupload them). Now nobody will be confused because "Chapter 18" will actually be "Chapter 18" instead of "Chapter 14" or whatever number I originally put it at. Speaking of, I'll also go back to the chapters I haven't relabeled and correct the numbers there as well. I probably won't change the author's notes that come with them though, I'm too lazy for that. Hopefully, this will be the last time I'll ever have to do this.
Well, we've almost reached the halfway point, which means I'll be taking a break soon. But don't worry! I'll make sure the first half of Season 1 goes out with a bang...
...Review.