27

Episode 1:

There's no point to this. I've tried all I could. This world is too cruel to live in anymore. Thanks for the memories. She wrote on the paper next to her bed. She pulled out a small pouch. She undid the lacing and snorted all of its contents.

Her stomach began hurting immensely and her mind became slippery. Her body starting fidgeting uncontrollably and she fell to the floor. She heard the door open and the last thing she heard before slipping into unconsciousness was her poor mother call out her name:

"Beatrix!"

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"What are we doing here?"

"I don't know. Janis, any ideas?"

"You clueless bastard, go sing to the lizards or something. We were obviously summoned. You know, cause we almost got a new member of the club?"

"They saved her, though. Is that why we're here, Amy? Are we finally going to break the curse?"

"Don't look at me Kurt. Mama Janis is the one with all the answers here."

"Well then Janis, old friend. Why were we summoned?"

"I like your tone, Jimi. Take notes, asshole, on how to be polite. We were summoned to teach this poor girl a lesson or two."

"Calm down, Janis, I don't want to hurt her. Life's been bad enough for her lately."

"I didn't mean it like that, Brian, I meant we're here to help her love herself, so she can make it to 28 and break the curse."

"Ohhhh!"

"Hey, I think she's waking up."

"Shit."

Beatrix rubbed her eyes as she sat up in her hospital bed. She looked around at all the people sitting in her room.

"Hiya, honey," the lady with blue tinted fingernails and lips said. She had a bunch of bangles and necklaces and a flowing blouse. Next to her was a man with shoulder length curly hair wearing a pink shirt and a blue sweater around his neck. Next to him was a man with an afro, a blue jacket, and bellbottoms. Across from him was a thin woman with tattoos, a tank top, and a big beehive hairdo. Next to her was a tired-looking man with straight dirty blonde hair with a cigarette and a bottle in his hands. Next to the lady who first spoke was a shy looking guy with blonde bangs. The lady looked back at her and smiled. There were 7 people in the room total, and Beatrix was confused as to who any of them were.

"Who are you? Are you my mom's friends?" Beatrix tried. One of the guys shook his head. "Nope. We were all celebrities at one point or another, but it didn't work out for any of us," the blonde man said with an English accent. Beatrix hugged her knees.

"How so?" They looked at each other, not knowing what to say. The lady in the middle got up at last and walked over to the bed. She put her hand on Beatrix's shoulder. "Well sweetie, now don't be alarmed, but we're all dead." Beatrix yelped and jumped back.

"Don't be alarmed!" The man with the Afro started. "That's why we're here." The man with the curly brown hair sighed. "You tried to take fate into your own hands through overdose. We've all been there. But you nearly died at 27, like we all did. Are you a musician?" Beatrix nodded. "Lead guitarist. Why?"

"Have you ever heard of the 27 club?" the lady with the

beehive said. Beatrix shook her head. "It's an urban legend started by these four here," the lady said, gesturing to the people sitting in the middle.

"They all died at the age of 27 from 1969 to '71. Then Kurt died," she gestured to the man next to her. "Then I died. So now there's a curse on up and coming young musicians that'll kill them too at our age."

Beatrix tried to pinch herself, and sighed when it didn't work.

"Who are you??" The man with the afro stifled a chuckle. "I'm surprised you don't know any of us, for being a lead guitarist. This electric lady in the middle is Janis Joplin. Great singer. The dude next to her is Jim Morrison. He was the main guy of The Doors. I'm Jimi Hendrix, a decent guitar player, not as good as Terry Kath though. The Brit over there is Brian Jones, the founder of The Rolling Stones. I doubt you haven't heard of them." Jimi crossed his legs.

The other blonde guy raised his hand at him. "I'Il take it from here, Jimi. I'm Kurt Cobain, I was the lead singer of Nirvana. This lovely lady next to me is Amy Winehouse, she had some pretty good songs back in the 2000s. We're here simply cause you tried to kill yourself with heroin. I remember trying that shit. It didn't work, but suicide's how I got here." Kurt looked up at her. "But you made it. We'd like to help you learn to help yourself, as Simon and Garfunkel once put it. If you make it to 28, you'll break the curse for all other musicians. But we need to help you fast. Today's July 1st. When's your birthday?" Beatrix looked up. "27 days from today. There's also a new moon that day." Jim's eyes widened. "Well shit, no wonder we were summoned. Anyways, in that time, we're gonna make you into a new person with a new sense of self-confidence. If we're successful, you end the curse. If not, we'll let you successfully kill yourself."
"Woah, woah, woah, Jim! I never agreed to having a hand in someone's death!" Brian said hastily. "Yeah, peace and love, man!" Jimi chimed in. Janis slapped the back of Jim's head. "We're not killing her, or letting her do it herself! Ignore that asshole, Bee," she said, her demeanor completely changing from Jim to Beatrix. "We fully have the intentions of helping you, despite what it may seem. You seem to be having a rough life, what's wrong?" Beatrix swung her head up dramatically and stared at her with dead eyes.
"Dysthymia."
"Oh. Okay. What got you like this?"
Beatrix looked as if thinking hard. "Well, let's see. I had a miscarriage, my fiancé cheated on me, then dumped me after seven years of being together, then I was evicted from my apartment, my band broke up, I lost my job, my dog died, then my dad died. Shall I continue?"
The club looked shook. "Nope. I think we got the gist of it," Kurt said, eyebrows raised. "You poor, poor girl," Jimi pitied. "That's terrible, but this all will pass. It has to. There's no reason to kill yourself. You'd just be hurting the people you love as well as yourself. You'd just be hurting the people you love as well as yourself. You scared your poor mom to death with your actions. You may think you're not important to everyone, but you're important to her. I wish I had had a mom up to your age, enjoy the one you have! Your father just died, so you're all she's got left, and she loves you. Do you really want to leave her behind, all alone?"
Beatrix nodded shamefully. "I understand. You're right. I'm sorry." Jimi walked up to her as she spoke and put his hand on her shoulder. "Don't be sorry, Miss Taylor. Be better." He seemed to hug her, but she seemed to hug her, but she
couldn't feel his arms around her.
All of a sudden the door burst open and Mrs. Taylor runs in and hugs her daughter as well. Jimi doesn't seem to feel a thing, as her mom goes through the ghost's body. "You scared me, mija! Don't do that ever again! Ay, I was so worried about you!"
She reached for her sandal and slapped Beatrix across the cheek. "Don't ever do that again, you hear me? Never! I love you!" She shouted aggressively. The doctor peaked into the room. "Ms. Taylor? Can I talk to you?" he asked. Her mom turned and nodded. She broke away from the hug and walked out the
door.
Jimi backed away too. Janis strode to his side and leaned on his shoulder. "So what do you say, Bee? Let us help you?" The club smiled at her. Beatrix looked down, thinking about it. Then she looked up with a new sense of hope.
"Ok."

A/N: First episode! Comment ideas for lessons the club can teach Beatrix!