The Ghost and the McGee Twins

Talent Show

Today at school, during lunch, Molly and I noticed Andrea promoting the upcoming school talent show to her 'Fandreas'. "A talent show?!" Scratch gasped. "Oh, this is gonna be the best day of my afterlife!" "Really? You're into talent shows?" I asked. "Doesn't seem like your type of thing, Scratch." "Amber, you could not be more wrong if you tried. I love talent shows!" Scratch replied. "You see, in the Ghost World, they're the gold standard for misery." "Oh, boy." Molly sighed. "I mean, look, you got stage fright, you got backstage meltdowns, your face plants, forgotten lyrics, and then, there's always someone who's confidence is so huge, it crushes everybody else!" "Aw, so cute..." Andrea says to Kat, who was playing with a yo-yo. "...that you think of that as a talent." "See?" Scratch wondered. "Harsh words, Davenport." I said. "Kat, I love yo-yo tricks!" Molly encouraged Kat. "And I can't wait to see you perform!" "Your positivity is exhausting, Molly." Scratch said, hiding as soon as Libby and Cleo joined us for lunch. "Ooh, the talent show sign up sheet is up." Libby said as both of them walked over to sign up. "Yep, and everybody's got a talent to share." Molly replied. "What's yours, Libby?" "Oh, no, no, no, Molly. I have no talent." Libby replied, signing the wrong side of the paper. "But I do like to help out backstage. I mean, sure, I admire the bravery of the kids who face the blinding spotlight, but with all my anxieties, that is definitely not me..." Libby gasped and dropped the pen on the ground. "You know, you could've just handed me the pen." Cleo said, signing her name on the paper. "What? What? What happened? What's wrong?" Molly asked. "I signed up on the wrong list!" Libby panicked. "In pen!" "Yes!" Scratch exclaimed. "I'll just cross it out." Libby said, turning around to see that the list was gone. "I gotta get that sign up sheet back!" "Whoa, whoa, whoa, Libby!" Molly shouted as she, Cleo, and I stopped her. "Don't you see? This was no accident!" "It wasn't?" Libby asked. "No!" Molly replied. "This was your subconscious telling you that you actually want to perform. Deep down, you know you have a talent, and you want to share it!" "Well, I guess I can, uh, sing?" Libby questioned. "You sing?!" Molly gasped. "How did I not know this?" "Probably because you never asked." I replied.

Libby invited all of us to the library after school. Let me tell you, Libby is awesome, but her singing voice was not that great. "Guys, why are you looking at me like that?" Libby asked. "Strike! Misery is back in the game, folks!" Scratch shouted. "Oh, no! You guys hate it!" Libby cried, hiding inside her sweater. "No, no, no. That's not it!" Cleo reassured her. "Amber, your thoughts?" "Libby, you don't want to know what I think." I said. "Molly, what did you think?" "I thought it was, um..." Molly began. "Awful? Atrocious?" Scratch interrupted. "Appalling?" "...awesome!" Molly finished. "Really? You like it?" Libby asked. "I've never heard anything like it!" Molly commented. "Alright, that's true." Scratch agreed. Cleo and I nodded. "You know, girls, knowing you think I can do it, makes me think I really can do it!" Libby stated. "Oh, she really can't." Scratch snickered. "She's gonna be a disaster!" "Yeah." Molly said. "Yeah."

Back at home, Molly was getting worried about Libby's performance. Scratch, on the other hand, is looking forward to seeing Libby humiliate herself. "Oh! Libby's gonna humiliate herself in front of the entire school!" Molly panicked. "How do I stop this?" "You can't! You either let your friend humiliate herself in front of the whole school, which is a solid option, or you crush your friend with brutal honesty." "Oo-kay, I don't like the sound of "brutal honesty."" Molly said. "Is there a "tender honesty" option we're overlooking?" "Nope! All honesty is brutal." Scratch replied. "What Libby needs is voice lessons, but even so, she probably wouldn't be ready for the talent show." I commented. Molly groaned with frustration. "Okay, okay. Think, think. Hey! How about this? If the music industry has taught us anything, it's that a little studio magic can make anyone a star!" "You sat on my chips, Molly!" Scratch complained.

We went over to Brighton Middle to help Libby practice, this time with autotune. Libby began singing as soon as Molly played the song on her phone. However, even the autotune was terrible. "Molly, what the heck is this?" Libby asked. "Just, uh, giving your song a little oomph!" Molly replied. "A little pizzazz! Pizzoomph if you will." "Stop making up words!" I groaned. "You're ruining my grammar!" "Um, I appreciate your help, Molly, but what I really need is..." Libby said. "Maybe she needs some different music to sing to." Cleo suggested, dragging a cello into the auditorium. "Whoa! Cleo!" Molly gasped. "You play the cello?" "Since the 6th grade." Cleo responded. "I'm actually gonna perform a piece myself for the talent show." "I can't wait to hear it." I smiled. "Sorry, Libby. Continue." "Well, what I was going to say was I needed..." Libby began. "A backup dancer, or two!" Molly interrupted. "To distract... I mean, dazzle the crowd with movement!" "Molly, I'm not dancing." I said, just as Molly began dancing around and Libby tried singing again. "Molly, I know what's going on here." Libby said. "You do?" Molly asked. "Yes, but singing is my gift, Molly." Libby responded. "You need to find your own talent. And don't take this the wrong way, but it's not dancing. Ooh, my mom's waiting outside. See you tomorrow night." "See? She can be brutally honest!" Scratch pointed out. Molly ran outside after Libby. "So, we both agree that Libby needs voice lessons?" I asked. "Yup." Cleo agreed. "Hey, out of curiosity, what are you performing for the talent show?" I wondered. "I actually composed a medley of different video game soundtracks." Cleo replied. "Think of it as an evolution of gaming music."