Chapter 10 – The Replacement II

In the early morning, Johnny and Ryan set out for an outdoor shopping center near the heart of the city, a location Ryan said resembled a skate park. Activity was sparse with the shops not being open yet, giving Johnny enough freedom to ride his skateboard around and try a few tricks. Ryan sat on a set of steps, sipping away at the orange juice that was the only leftover from the fast food breakfast they grabbed on the way there. He was mesmerized by Johnny's moves, like watching an artist weaving a masterpiece right before his very eyes.

After a few minutes, Johnny rode back over to Ryan, frustration clear on his features. Ryan knew what was bothering him; everyone was reeling since yesterday when Buster told them Celeste Cassidy was ending Out of This World early.

"I can't get a read on this Cassidy lady," Johnny said. "First, she fires Porsha, then she ends the show early. Is she having a laugh? What do you think?"

"After watching that Across the Stars trailer, I can see her point. If a bunch of shows come out to rival us it might make Out of This World look like old hat."

"If everyone's responding to us, it means we're doing something right, yeah?"

Ryan took another gulp of orange juice. "It's probably an ego thing with her too. I heard she fell out with Crystal years ago, like real bad. She really hates his guts. Having to clean up his mess and run a show he took credit for must drive her up the wall."

"I had a bad feeling when Crystal stepped down. I didn't say anything because I knew how that would sound," Johnny murmured. "Anyway, I thought Mr. Moon would've fought a little bit harder to keep the show going."

"He did almost die for this show," Ryan said. "Maybe he wants to do something new without those painful memories? A fresh start for everybody."

Johnny fell silent from the sudden stab of guilt. He never looked at it from that perspective. To be able to do another show of that caliber but without the trauma, bad memories, and controversy associated with getting Out of This World off the ground was a rare opportunity. A way for Buster to set himself free. That would be true for all of them.

With those thoughts on his mind, he couldn't help but notice how chill the tiger was with it all. "You're taking this pretty well. Better than I am."

"I've been dancing in shows like this for years now. Some last a while, some don't last at all. I'm used to bouncing around."

"I didn't think about it that way. I guess this was just another gig for you."

"Not this time. I made some great friends here. And met someone that's more than a friend."

If that last sentence didn't get the point across, the sultry smolder in the tiger's eyes certainly did. Unused to being the center of such strong desires, Johnny let out a nervous laugh and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Gotta say, when I mentioned this place, I thought you'd bring Nooshy too," Ryan said. "I'm starting to feel bad. We used to be the Three Musketeers, now it's like we're leaving her out."

"I don't want her to feel like a third wheel."

"How would she know when she's still in the dark? What are you afraid of? You think she'll be jealous? For all you know, she might end up rooting for us."

Johnny sucked in a breath like he was stricken with sharp pain. "I know, I know," he replied, barely above whisper. "But if this is thing between us is gonna work... there needs to be time for just us. Sorry, I'm still figuring things out. What I know is I did want you to myself this morning."

"Oh, so you turned this into a date?" Ryan asked with a wry grin.

"Wait, what? Uh... is this a date?"

"A date doesn't have to be dressing up and going to some overpriced restaurant or clubbing all night until you puke your guts out. It can just be spending time in good company. If we're counting this as a date... I think it was a good one."

Ryan got up and closed the gap between them with a kiss.

"Okay. I think it's a good one too," Johnny confessed after a giggle. "I do feel a little awkward being the only one skating around. Where's your board?"

"Don't have one."

Johnny did a doubletake. "But it was your idea to come here."

"I would see you ride around on your skateboard behind the theater after a bad session with Kickenklobber. Just wanted to watch you up close without feeling like a creep."

"So... you've never skated at all?"

"Nope!"

Johnny shouldn't have been surprised by the answer. Ryan screaming "sick!" after watching him do a simple kickflip on his board should have been a huge tip off before.

The tiger leaned forward and wriggled his eyebrows. "Why, you offering to teach me?"

"If you really want to learn, sure."

"Where do I start?"

Ryan stepped onto the skateboard and barely put his full weight on it before he felt his legs fly out from under him. His feet went into the air and his back hurtled toward the ground just before a pair of strong arms caught him from behind.

"You okay?" Johnny asked, his breath tickling the tiger's ears.

"Whoa! That thing shot right out from under me! Thanks for catching me."

"S'no problem. The first lesson, by the way, is balance."

"Dance is all about balance so I figured this would be no problem. Speaking balance, not that I'm complaining, but you can let go now."

Johnny responded by tightening his grip, pulling Ryan in closer. "Is that what you want?" he growled over the tiger's shoulder.

"How about getting a room," someone suddenly cut in, startling them both. A teenage raccoon with a skateboard of his own glared at them with more annoyance than anything, as if their public display of affection was dirtying up his space.

"The brat's kinda got a point," Ryan said. "Maybe we should start heading for Crystal Entertainment. Don't want to miss the audition." Johnny nodded. As they were leaving, Ryan added, "Have fun, kid."

"Whatever."

"You can start anytime you're ready, dear," Ms. Crawly said.

"Thanks," Roxy replied, watching the elderly lizard shuffle around the velvet curtain. She waited until Ms. Crawly was out of earshot to let out a tumultuous sigh.

Roxy sported a white skirt and jacket, with a matching pair of knee-high boots. The skirt and forearms of her jacket were lined with tassels, and silver rhinestones ran along the seams of her clothes.

The peregrine falcon looked like a superstar, but she couldn't have felt further from one.

Around Roxy's neck was a feather encased in a globe of amber, ensnared in gold like a coiling snake. The feather belonged to her great grandmother and was passed down through the family. It was called a breakthrough charm, and Roxy remembered how it was explained to her the day she inherited it: good luck charms were kept for bringing good fortune, to change the tides as one went through everyday life. But a breakthrough charm, that was an emergency necessity, something called upon only when facing insurmountable obstacles. The power of luck vs. the power of miracles.

It was as she thought about that while gripping the charm that she even realized she was wearing it and the implications behind that. Was this insurmountable? Until recently, Buster Moon was a regional theater owner and the members of his troupe were hometown heroes at best. She'd successfully auditioned in front of Jimmy friggin' Crystal in the middle of a coffee shop, not to mention all the places her career took her from there. She wasn't some amateur. So why was she afraid to step out on that stage and blow them away?

Because nobody wanted her here.

Roxy was over the moon when Celeste Cassidy called her and said she wanted her to audition for a role in Out of This World. Although she wasn't too keen on all the accusations of fraud and violence behind the scenes, and the bit of conflict that spilled over into the Getting Back to Good benefit concert, Roxy loved what she saw of the show. Crystal announcing a sort of public truce with Moon by renewing the show at his theater meant that everyone could, hopefully, put that behind them. But then she found out she was replacing Porsha, and the circumstances behind her exit, and it made Roxy nauseous. Just thinking about it made her feathers curl.

She spoke to Porsha beforehand. She had her blessing. But that didn't mean everyone else would give her a fair shot.

Roxy finally let go of the charm. What did she care about a fair shot? The world wasn't fair. That's why you go out there and knock them off their feet. She'd walk out on that stage and do the best audition she ever did. Then she would know for certain that any rejection wasn't because she wasn't good enough.

Roxy took a step forward.

She relented.

In the Crystal Entertainment audition room, Suki took a seat next to Buster. When she saw the koala's smile, she couldn't help but match it with one of her own.

"Thanks for coming," Buster said.

"No problem. But you don't really need my opinion to help you judge Roxy Sin, do you?"

"I'm just covering all my bases. I don't think I'm biased here, but it's good to have a second opinion from someone I trust and respect." Buster's hand was dwarfed as he placed it atop Suki's on the armrest. "And... it was a great excuse to meet up again considering our busy schedules."

"I don't mind, but nothing beats a real lunch date, don't you think?" Suki said with a sparkle in her eye. The koala's ears were aflutter from the suggestion.

"It's all a bit morbid, ain't it?" Nooshy's voice cut in from behind them. She was back in the next row with Rosita, Gunter and Ash, with Meena, Alphonso and Darius in the row behind them. "Porsh was supposed to be back in the show, now we're sitting here judging her replacement. It ain't right."

"Porsha told me she was friends with Roxy," Ash said. "She's the one that showed her dad the video Roxy did that went viral. She couldn't have asked for someone better to fill her shoes."

"That don't make it right! That boss lady is clueless. Give that girl a new role, but don't take Porsh's away. Let her finish it out."

"I agree with you," Rosita said, "but it is what it is."

"What it is, is a huge, stinkin' pile of bull—"

"Nooshy," Buster started, standing on the seat and peering over its back. The turmoil in his eyes betrayed his professional disposition. "I can't quite keep the promise I made to Porsha and Mr. Crystal, but if things go in our favor, she'll be right back on the stage where she belongs. For now, we can't rock the boat too much."

Nooshy almost had the outrage shocked out of her. "What? Moon-man, rocking the boat is your whole thing!"

"She's got a point," Ash added.

Buster scratched at his headfur. "Things are about to get even more hectic and wonky with winding down a show while trying to develop a new one. I just don't want to jeopardize a good opportunity with... hijinks, like what happened when Mr. Crystal was still in charge. There aren't too many venues clamoring for us in Redshore right now."

Ash played with her phone as she said, "No one said we have to stay in Redshore City." Buster watched the porcupine, unable to tell if she was being sarcastic.

Johnny and Ryan entered the small auditorium, greeting everyone as they did. Nooshy was suddenly upon them.

"Where've you two weirdos been?"

Johnny's eyes flickered around the darkened room. "Oh, you know... around."

"That ain't a place, mate."

"Don't worry about it," Ryan said, "we're here now. We didn't miss Roxy, did we?"

"She's taking her sweet time."

"Yeah, she's like, totally late to her own audition!" Gunter said.

"Oh, good," Johnny said, plopping down in the seat in the same row. "Was looking forward to this!"

"Wipe that dumb grin off your face, big guy," Nooshy hissed.

"What did I do?"

"This shouldn't be happening. It ain't right."

Rosita shushed her. "We're not starting this again."

"Fine," Nooshy huffed.

A few more minutes of chatter—and Roxy still not showing up—was broken up when another group of spectators arrived.

"Guess who?"

Buster didn't need to guess. He popped out of the seat and squeezed Eddie in a hug. He pulled the sheep along, introducing him to Suki and pushing him into the seat on his other side.

"What are you doing here? You never told me you were coming for another visit!"

Eddie responded with an exaggerated shrug. "When you told me about Roxy's audition, I figured why not? It's not everyday you get to see her."

"But how did you get here? Where are you staying? You know what, that doesn't matter. You're staying with me in the villa. I won't take 'no' for an answer!"

"I know better than to argue with you," the sheep said. "But I came here with Nana. She was right behind me, but she ran into an old friend and they've been doing a lot of catching up."

Nana finally entered with Clay on her arm and a dreamy smile across her face unlike any she'd had before. The lion leaned in and whispered something in Nana's ear that made her let out a giggle appropriate for someone a fraction of her age. Hobbs followed up behind them, his face contorted in a way that made it clear that he was a little disturbed with seeing this side of his employer.

"Nana, I didn't realize you and Clay went way back," Buster said. "You never said anything before."

"Mr. Moon, I've lived a long and storied life," Nana replied. "You never asked." She gave him a familiar wink.

"I was certain I made us miss the audition," Clay said once they took their seats. "Looks like we didn't miss a thing."

"She is taking an awfully long time," Buster said. "She, uh... she was back there when you checked on her, right Miss Crawly?"

"Oh, yes, Mr. Moon," the lizard responded. "I gave her the mic and she was wearing the cutest little outfit."

"I hope all this attention didn't intimidate her," Nana said.

Meena noticed the curtain to the right wing of the stage billow as if someone or something was shuffling behind it. After hearing what Nana said, she felt something in the pit of her stomach that forced her to act.

"I'll be right back, Alfie," she whispered. "I think I know what's wrong."

Roxy paced along the wing of the stage, trying her best to shut out the voices. She hadn't even performed yet and she was already leaving a negative impression on everyone.

She approached the curtain with every intention of throwing it aside but grew cold feet and trudged away. Cursing herself, she turned back to the curtain, ready to march on the stage for sure this time, but nearly dropped the mic when she met the beady eyes of a pachyderm holding the curtain aside.

"I didn't mean to startle you, Miss Roxy," the elephant apologized, slipping her way in and making the space feel a lot more cramped.

"Miss?" Roxy repeated in confusion. "I can't be that much older than you."

"Oh, yeah. I guess that's true. Um... I'm Meena. I was just checking to make sure you're okay."

Roxy could've lied, but she didn't see the point. Meena did make the effort to check on her, after all.

"I'm just anxious right now. I thought I could overcome it, but..."

"Really!?" Meena blurted out before covering her mouth. "I get stage fright, too. But you... you're Roxy Sin! You've done all kinds of concerts and performances in front of hundreds, maybe thousands. I still get scared just doing regional theater."

"I guess it sounds silly when you put it that way," Roxy said. "But I've always gotten a little anxious before a performance. It just isn't this bad, usually. It's ridiculous that I still get nervous after doing this for years. Why is this still happening?"

"Depends on your perspective," another voice said, and they turned to find that Clay had joined them.

Roxy shrieked. "Oh my god! Clay Calloway, my grandparents love you!"

Clay winced. "Yeah, that's me... I'm a hit with the seniors... but like I was sayin', those jitters you get? Just about everyone gets them, even me, even when I still had Ruby. And they're important to have. You wanna know why?" Meena and Roxy nodded, completely enraptured. "Getting the jitters means that you care. Apathy is the worst thing that can happen to an artist. If you don't care about your work or how it reflects on you, everyone will see it."

"I never thought about it that way," Roxy said.

"Don't let your fear of getting it wrong stop you from doing it at all. You get out there and show everyone just how much you care."

Clay finished with a wink that compelled Roxy to finally breach the curtain and take her spot at the center of the stage. The auditorium was intimate in size and blanketed in darkness, the sole spotlight focused on her. Even in the dark she could see their faces, waiting, watching, anticipating.

"Whenever you're ready," Buster said. Roxy nodded, closed her eyes and exhaled.

And when she opened her eyes again, that's when she saw her. The familiar silhouette isolated in the furthest row all the way in the back. The pointed ears, the fluffy cheeks. It was the final push Roxy needed, because if Porsha could show up in support despite the circumstances, she could prove Clay right and show her how much she cared, show them all this role was in good hands. With the mic in her grip and her anxiety an afterthought, Roxy began singing her version of Could've Been Me.

As Buster watched the falcon perform, all worries about bias melted away. He was entranced by how Roxy filled the stage all by her lonesome with her voice and movements. Once again, he found himself struck by how lucky he was to gather so many individuals brimming with talent and light within them, all helping to bring his vision to fruition.

Roxy finished with a bow, and Buster was the first one out of his seat, starting the wave of applause.

"Congratulations, Roxy," he said. "You've got the part. Welcome to the Moon Troupe."

A/N

I thought it was pretty obvious from Roxy's debut chapter in Operation: Moonfall but I'm reiterating that she is fully anthropomorphic like the rest of the cast. I've mentioned it before but some of the species in Sing don't really fit in the universe and the birds are included because they're semi-anthro. It's why they're relegated to gags or audition scenes. I found that creatively limiting and did not want to avoid having any avian characters because of it, soooo... I'm bending canon. I don't think anyone's going to be too upset about that.