Bile
licked the back of Talia’s throat. She tapped her chest to cough and ease the
tightness building inside. The owner of the venue and his investors were still
on their feet applauding, so her typical excuse to put distance between her and
a potential suitor wasn’t a complete falsehood on this particular occasion. But
it occurred to her that simply running wouldn’t work this time. She had to
scare him off using something outside her playlist. Something uncharacteristic
of the persona he might be infatuated with. After a quick chat, not only did
the investors welcome an encore, but they also agreed to an additional request
from Talia.
She
forced the curtains closed behind her upon her return. The balding man she saw
with Juan Paulo at karaoke had just joined them. Before any introduction could
be made, she brought her friends’ attention back to her. “Be ready to go on in
two minutes. I need to get the music I need from Alejandro.” Not singling out
any of the guys in particular, she added, “I secured your band the first
audition of the night. You can perform when we finish.”
“Wow,
that is an amazing help. Thank you,” an awestruck Javier answered.
“You
can thank me afterwards, Javier. The owner said you will find everything you
need in the storage closet.”
“Of
course, Talia, and…” She raised an eyebrow. He stopped short of finishing and
took the third member of his band with him to assist with the heavy lifting.
“Juan
Paulo,” Talia braced his shoulder while averting her gaze, “I asked them to
clear a spot for you to have a front row seat.”
“Thanks,
but you didn’t have to do that.”
“Oh,
trust me, I did.” She removed her hand and stepped away to signal the end of
their conversation. He took the hint without hesitation.
“Good luck up there. I can’t wait to see what
you have in store next.” Even as he jogged away from her, Juan Paulo was still
beaming. He failed to see that her reciprocated smile hadn’t reached her eyes.
Ruby
motioned for Alejandro and he arrived backstage with the collection of CD’s
they kept at the club. Talia flipped through, breathing heavier than before,
but maintained her composure. She settled on one disc and scrolled down its attached
track listing. “This one is twisted enough to work. Scarlet, Ruby, change into
the dark-green party dresses with the shiny fringe. Alejandro, I need you to
set up black lightbulbs in the foot lamps. And the space backdrop as well.”
“Of
course, but would you mind my asking how you knew you were going to need all
this?”
She
exhaled something between a sigh and a groan amidst rolling her eyes. “You know I always find it exhausting to give
you these details. But if you must know, I had this planned for Javier if he
did not pass my judgement. And as you know all too well, I am always prepared
to ward off unwanted advances.”
Taking
a moment to run his hand through his hair, Alejandro relented. “Fine. But just
so you know, this music belongs to…”
“Enough!”
She snapped, “no more details. Now go do it before I lose my patience.”
Ruby
and Scarlet emerged from the bathroom in their new dresses. Alejandro
halfheartedly wished them good luck, his arms full of black light bulbs. As she
unzipped the garment bag containing her slinky matching gown, her hands shook.
“Talia,” Scarlet leaned in, “are you okay?”
“I
have good news for you, Scarlet. Your man passed amazingly. Unfortunately, I
have another man I need to take care of.”
“JP?
What’s wrong with him?”
“Nothing.
Except for the fact he is here right now. Excuse me.” She disappeared into the
bathroom and slammed the door.
“Wow,”
Ruby blurted out, “how many times have you gone through this with her?”
“Vanessa
and I have lost count.” Her posture slumped with disappointment. “But it’s
usually because of something Alejandro did. Most of the locals know her
reputation now, so it’s been a while. I’m sorry you had to see this. If I
hadn’t…”
“Stop
it. Tonight was great. Besides,” she braced her shoulders, “I wanted to meet
Javi myself. He looks like he could be the one decent guy around here that
could make my sister happy. Nothing’s more important than that.”
“We’re
all set.” Javier rejoined them. The third member of his band nodded his head
before leaving them alone. At the far back of the stage area sat a complete
drum set, a guitar and two microphone stands. “Do you think everything is fine
there or do you want me to move them?”
“It’s
perfect where it is,” Talia replied, having just come out of the bathroom.
“Javier, would you mind helping me with this necklace?” She had her hands
behind her neck. The slight shaking in her fingers was making it difficult to
hook the clasp together.
“Sure,
of course,” he rushed over and had it done in no time at all. The silver chain
caught the lighting. Hanging from it were lines of jewels in varying shades of
green—the perfect compliment to the different tones in their dresses. “Wow,”
Javier admired once he stepped out from behind her back. “Whoever gave you this
must be a special guy.”
“It
was a good luck present from the owner of this building. He’s very generous,
especially with my employers.”
“My
mistake.” He humbly put his hand over his heart. “I can only hope they are as
generous as you say and give us this gig. Neither of us have been in music for
years and with JP writing again, this would be a great outlet for his creativity.
When we were growing up together, this was our dream. But with some drama happening
with our families, we’ve had to give up that dream to look after them. Plus,
doing this will help him know the culture here and help him understand why I
decided to stay here with my mom when my parents separated. This trip of his is
a reunion of sorts, I guess you could say.”
Most
of his words regarding Juan Paulo went in one ear and out the other, so Talia
remained unmoved. But Javier continued to impress her and she made sure to let
him know that. “If you are as good as your demo, I have no doubt it will go
well. But before we get to that, you need to join your companions in the
audience and we need to perform one final time tonight.”
“Oh,
of course. I’m so sorry for keeping you.” He backed away and made a beeline for
Scarlet. “I’ll see you later, Scarlet.” He leaned to kiss her on the cheek. She
was so focused on Talia’s receptive body language toward him that she almost
didn’t have time to react. But the gesture felt so warm and so natural, her
face lit up immediately.
Once
he was gone, she patted her cheek. “Did that really just happen? This almost
doesn’t feel real.”
“I
think my big sister’s in love.” Ruby hugged her. “I am so happy for you.”
Talia
patted her shoulder. “As am I.”
The house lights flicker out. A
moonscape backdrop comes into view. The black-lit foot lights rise. The intricate
swirls in Talia’s dress and the fringe of Scarlet and Ruby’s skirts glow in an
otherworldly neon green. Back to back, their arms at their sides, the twins
stand in front of Talia whose bare back is to the audience. Finally, the main
spotlight engulfs the stage. The sirens are exposed, but their on-lookers remain
in the dark.
The second they clear space between them
for Talia, all three turn together and face forward. Raccoon-eyed with longer
lashes and black lipstick, Talia’s face exhibits an expressionless intensity. The
twins’ quick and precise Paso choreography meets the beat step for step.
Despite their flawless chemistry, Talia fits perfectly into their dynamic. A display
of robotic arm movement is her key element.
Pumping their arms in a slow run to the
edge, Scarlet and Ruby meet in front of Talia. They form a gate separating her
from the others. Palms turned inward, their arms veil their faces, crossing
over one another in a blur before falling to their sides. After each twin spins
individually, their right arms meet in the middle with their left resting on
their hips. This step repeats, but with the arm positions swapped. Talia moves
up as they fall back until they are a solid line again. More rigid arm movement
follows, this time from all three.
The lyrics balk at a man’s pitiful advances.
Devoid of emotion, her hips and midsection not coming into play once, Talia forbids
any of the chinks in her armor to show. This lighting arrangement lends her the
advantage. It prevents eye contact between her and Juan Paulo and, by
extension, any distraction that could take her out of the performance. But
while he is able to see her for the duration of the performance, his reaction will
be a mystery until the song comes to an end.
The
lights gradually returned to the rest of the venue as the music faded away. Again,
the crowd rose to their feet and roared their approval. Talia allowed herself
to crack a smile as her eyes flickered to Juan Paulo. His mouth hung open as if
struggling to find the words. Using her palm to cover the side of her face, she
whispered her instructions to Scarlet before taking her leave.
“Thank
you so much for your enthusiasm tonight. On behalf of Talia and all the sirens
of Calypso, it has been an honor to dance for you. Now, it’s time for us to be
the spectators as the newest band in town takes the stage. I think I can speak
for all of us when I say,” Scarlet shared a glance with Javier who nodded
earnestly back to her, “that you are in store for something really special.”
Alejandro
drew the curtains closed. Scarlet’s hands fell on her knees as if euphoria had
been maintaining her posture for her entire speech. Her sister rubbed her back.
“You did a good job out there.”
“You really think so?” She gasped between
breaths. “I don’t know how Talia keeps talking me into doing that. I can sing
and dance for a crowd, but public speaking… not my strong point.” After
catching her breath, she straightened herself out. “Why doesn’t she ever ask you?
You’re the fearless one who stars in these productions.”
“Because,” Ruby took her hands, “she
knows you are capable of more than you think you are.”
Footsteps
advancing up the steps to the stage prompted them to break apart. The band’s
drummer introduced himself as Steve, shaking each of their hands before taking
his place behind the drum kit. Javier joined the twins. “Great speech,
Scarlet.”
She
brushed her hair past her ears, fighting the urge to bite her lip. “Thanks, Javi.
But I was just passing on Talia’s message.”
“Well,
whoever it’s from, we appreciate the vote of confidence.” He unbuttoned the top
button of his shirt and loosened his collar. His hands slid into his pockets.
“JP will be a few extra minutes. Ever since Talia left the stage, he had been
scribbling in his notebook. We might be premiering some new music tonight.”
“Huh,”
Ruby uttered, “has he always been this creative?”
Javier
shrugged. “What can I say? The guy’s a romantic. That’s one thing that’s never
changed.”
“Done!”
Juan Paulo raced up the steps. “I thought maybe we could start with the song from
this morning, do a couple minutes of that and…” He paused when he saw the three
of them together. “Sorry, I hope I’m not interrupting.”
“No,
it’s fine, Juan Paulo. We were just leaving.” Ruby shared a quick glance with
her sister and she followed suit. “We’ll be right there in the front row.” He
opened his mouth to speak, but Scarlet quickly adjusted the flow of the
conversation, “Talia’s probably somewhere in the back of the house.”
“Thank
you.” Taking a moment to think, he added, “That performance just now, it was
really something. Tell her I thought it was… very unique.”
As
Scarlet said she would be, Talia had her back against the wall nearest the
entrance. Her arms were crossed as she waited for the band’s audition to begin.
She held Juan Paulo’s dumbfounded expression in her mind, and the
self-satisfaction that came with it, until the curtains parted.
The
guitar solo she heard on the demo minutes ago returned with a vengeance. Scarlet
and Ruby rose to their feet. Immediately, they were shaking their heads and
grooving their hips to the beat. Juan Paulo approached the microphone and sung
his lyrics with the same grit, but with a hint of bewilderment. The lyrics
required that attitude. His eyes scanned the crowd and it wasn’t long before they
located her. She quickly put a hand against the wall to steady herself.
Suddenly, the music changed, giving way to another song entirely. Juan Paulo
cracked a smile and sang about a rebellious woman that held his heart in the
palm of her hand. His tone was almost self-deprecating, but he had a carefree
air about him. That song played all the way through.
It
was the third song when Talia started to feel weakness in her ankles. As blood
pounded in her ears, she looked around the room. All of the investors were
nodding appreciatively, captivated by the performance. The other bands, standing
on either side of the room, clapped along with the beat and cheered. It hadn’t
yet dawned on them that this was going to be a difficult act for them to surpass,
let alone follow.
Upon
hearing the opening lyric and seeing Juan Paulo once again beaming in her
direction, Talia couldn’t take anymore. She slipped out the door into the balmy
summer night. A decent number of tables at the nearby outdoor cafes were still
occupied. Most hosted starry-eyed young couples chatting over drinks and
sharing desserts. Normally, Talia would have rolled her eyes, but she didn’t
have the energy anymore. Much to her annoyance, the music carried for blocks with
the utmost ease. In passing, she heard people taking note of it and voicing
their approval. Anyone who greeted her, she nodded to them, but couldn’t muster
a verbal response.
All
she could think on the way back to her apartment was that she had failed. Juan
Paulo was still infatuated with her and until she could bring herself to be
brutally honest with him, that wasn’t going to change.
***
Music:
Siren encore: "Mannequin" by Britney Spears
(The accompanying dance would be in a robotic jazz style... I'm sure I saw something on "So you think you can dance" that inspired it but I'll have to do some digging to be sure)
Band setlist- "Out of my head" by Daughtry (also the song on the demo) plus "She's a Rebel" and "Extraordinary Girl" by Green Day
I picked up that Green Day album the same day as the Nelly Furtado one. One interesting thing I noticed was how the timing of the chorus in "No Hay Igual" (from the previous chapter) and the opening bars of "Extraordinary Girl' have the same number of counts and measures.
Or maybe it's just me--- when I heard the Green Day song the first couple of times, my mind superimposed the chorus in the other song over this opening sections.
So in my mind, I could see JP being inspired by that group performance and figuring out the lyrics after the encore.
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