The Sirens of Calypso- Chapter 41- Raising Hell

"Would you love me if I ruled the world..."

            During her untimely departure from La Scala earlier in the evening, Scarlet contacted her sister to stand in her place for the remainder of the showcase. “I don’t want Javi to get the wrong impression, but I just couldn’t take any more. Talia really did a number on JP and she’s gonna hear it whether she wants to or not.”
            Juan Paulo’s spirits improved as the evening went on and his material took a turn for the better by the time Ruby arrived. Once or twice, Javier caught her shaking her head as she thought, “what was Scarlet going on about? JP looks fine to me.” It was when he entered the home stretch Ruby finally found the answer she was looking for. Not only was each song about what could’ve been and feeble attempts at moving on, but he went as far to use troubling phrases like “I’m losing my mind” and being “set up only to be knocked down.” Some of the best songwriters have made names for themselves with gravelly voices and women were attracted to them for that reason alone. However, in Juan Paulo’s case, his voice sounded less sexy and more strained. It was the most difficult performance he’d given in his life. He fought his hardest to keep his complicated emotions in check and he wouldn’t know until it was over whether he succeeded.
            The set ended around 10 o’clock at night. Juan Paulo managed a quick and polite “thank you for coming” to Ruby before going into the office to meet with the executives.
            Javier patted her on the shoulder. “It was good of you to come, Ruby. It means a lot.”
            Her cheeks flushed, “Wait, you knew it was me the whole time?”
            “What? You think I can’t tell my own girlfriend from her twin?” He smiled with such ease despite his disappointment. “I was looking forward to us seeing each other tonight but I understand if she still needs a little time.”
            “Wow, you really are too good. I’m so sorry about Scarlet. Next to Emilia, nobody was more invested in Talia and JP as a couple than her.”
            “Yeah,” he scratched the back of his neck, “I mean, most days he is better than this. Maybe it just hit him that the summer is almost over, and he wanted to accomplish something, you know.”
            “So, what? Does he go back to America when the season’s over?”
            “Oh yeah. He’s starting college in the fall to support his mama but she insisted he try once more to fulfill his music dreams. It’s a long story.”
            “Guess I shouldn’t be surprised. He has such a good heart. I wonder if Talia knows anything about that.” She crossed her arms, staring off into the distance.
            “I’m sure she knows he’s only here for the summer but maybe not about school. Who knows what those two were talking about when they were together?” He checked his watch. “It’s getting late. I hope Scarlet made it to Amber’s show.”
            “Oh yeah,” Ruby gasped, “She told me she was going to talk to Talia but maybe I’ll stop by Calypso on the way there.” She jumped off the stage and raced for the exit.
            “Give her my best, ok?” He called after her just before she vanished through the doors. Juan Paulo reappeared shortly after with some good news. Their spectators enjoyed the show and would reach out in a couple weeks when they made their decision. Despite this, he looked as defeated as he had during the sadder parts of the set. Deciding not to press his friend for further details, Javier commended him and sent him on his way while he stayed behind to pack up their equipment. Juan Paulo needed one important thing right now—some alone time to clear his head.

*      *      *

            Back at Calypso, the show had just ended and the audience couldn’t be more appreciative. Slowly, the roars transformed from hooting and hollering to chanting demanding, “Encore! Encore!”
            Amber was beside herself with pride. She beamed at Emilia. “They loved it. They want more. I couldn’t have done this without you.” Shaking with enthusiasm, she threw her arms around her. Vanessa gasped, covering her mouth. She’d never seen Amber so uninhibited and happy.
            Emilia broke away, her nervous giggling indicating that she’d been caught off guard as well. “So, what do we do now? How do we follow that?”
            “I really wanted Scarlet to be the one to finish things off,” Amber scrolled through her phone, “but she hasn’t called. Not even a text message. Hopefully everything went ok with Javier.” The volume of the crowd suddenly picked up and the encore chants reverted to cheers. “Wait, maybe that’s her now.”
            The newcomer raced up the stage right steps and bent over, hands on her knees, panting.
            “Oh good, you made it. All your stuff is in the dressing room ready to go. Anything else you might need is near the front of the warehouse in the back.”
            She stuttered amidst catching her breath. “My stuff? But…”
            “You came all this way, Scarlet. The least you can do is go through with it. Besides, listen to that crowd. You don’t want to disappoint them, do you?”
            “Wait, what did you… but I’m not…” Ruby managed to open her eyes and kept them firmly fixed on the floor. She knew how she and her sister were hard to tell apart without their contrasting highlights, but Amber never mistook one for the other.
            But even while she tried to explain, Amber was too hyped up on adrenaline to get her meaning. She got behind her and practically pushed her into the dressing room. “If you need anything, we’ll be at the bar celebrating. You missed a hell of a show.”
            Her heart thudding against her ribcage, Ruby investigated the box of items sitting at Scarlet’s station. Under the mess of wigs, there were glow sticks and glow-in-the-dark bangles. Noticing the electronics sewn into the black dress on the clothing rack, the light-up props made more sense in her head. After getting dressed and suiting herself up with the bangles, she placed a call on the phone attached to the wall that was a direct line to the bar. Despite her misgivings, she kept up the pretense with Alejandro so he could arrange the lighting scheme. Before hanging up, he added, “and Scarlet, I’m glad you came out tonight. Amber is thrilled.”
            She hung up without saying a word. She buried her face in her hands and groaned, “oh god, Amber will kill me if she finds out.” She took a few deep breaths and resigned to her fate. It took her a few extra minutes to wheel the set pieces off stage. The last remaining detail: the music. She examined the tracks on the disc to see which one fit her look the best and the choice was immediately clear.
            Music started pulsing through the speakers and the crowd grew louder with anticipation. Utilizing the control panel under the counter, Alejandro opened the curtains and activated the strands of light hanging from the ceiling. The lighting aspect of this contraption was designed to synchronize with the rhythm of the beats. It only worked well with EDM so it’s only been used a handful of times. They flashed together for the first couple of bars. Then they rapidly cascaded from front to back numerous times until they all went out. After which, they blinked together on every other beat.
            Thanks to the red LEDs in her dress, Ruby was the only other thing visible on stage. She kept her face as neutral as possible. She held her arms out, locking them at the elbow, as she pivoted her waist from side to side. All of this enhanced the robotic vocal delivery. One flick of the wrists later, her bangles lit up as well. She paused for a moment just before the chorus took off. As Amber had done in her number, Ruby treated her arms like the hands of a clock. In her case, she had her left hand at twelve o’clock and did a full revolution with her right arm until they met together above her head. On the next beat, she moved them apart and braced her head on both sides, titling her body to the left three times. Following this, she brought her arms in front of her midsection, one arm tucked against her ribs with the other pointing outward and then the other direction. And the whole pattern repeated for every chorus.
            If it was possible, the audience still had more than enough energy to show their appreciation. Emilia shook her head, almost speechless, “wow… when did Scarlet even have time to put this together? And how long have we had those lights in the ceiling?”
            “I actually have no idea.” Vanessa shrugged. “Whenever it was, I wasn’t there that day. Talia certainly never mentioned it. She thinks this sort of thing is a little tacky. So only….” A thought popped into her head and her heart stopped. She whispered, “oh no…” She turned toward Amber and she gulped. Judging from the drop-dead stare on her face, the aftermath of this mix-up wasn’t going to be pretty.
            Despite the flames of anger licking her insides, Amber found herself equally as entranced as the rest of the crowd. The whole thing felt like a scene straight out of a sci-fi movie. All that was missing were backup dancers and lasers. When Ruby arced her arms down from her head before the signature choreographic section, lasers could jut outward from the ends of her fingers. It’d start with her on stage alone, followed by two more and by the second chorus, there’d two dozen girls moving together like an army of androids. Then because of one or two lyrics referring to a downpour, it’d be outside in the pouring rain and the drops would roll off like nothing.
            She snapped back into reality when it was all done and the crowd was chanting “Ruby! Ruby!”
            “Ruby?” Emilia gasped, taken aback. “But how…”
            “Yeah, I’d like to know the same thing…” She dejectedly replied, her eyes narrowed toward the stage. To herself, she added, “…how could I be so foolish to let this happen?”
            As soon as Alejandro drew the curtains closed and started closing things down on his end, Amber took off for the stage. Vanessa cursed under her breath and followed her with Emilia close behind.

***

Music: 

"Heavy Metal Lover" by Lady Gaga

As was the case with "Starstruck," the fantasy aspects of this performance were my original intentions for it. That was before I decided it'd be too complicated to have dozens of backup dancers also working here. How would all of these secrets stay secret for so long? 
The funny thing about this song was that I didn't get it the first few times. Then once, I played it twice in a row because I wasn't paying it full attention the first time. I'd had a soft spot it ever since. 

The dress Ruby wore for this number (as well as the dresses featured in "Mannequin" and "E.T.") was inspired by my favorite cosplayer in the short-lived SyFy series "Heroes of Cosplay", Victoria- aka Scruffy Rebel. 
I saw this costume maybe 10 years ago but it left a strong impression. But I kinda forgot that her Tron-inspired dress didn't have green lights in them, lol

(All credit goes to @ScruffyRebel on Twitter & Instagram)