Journey to the Center of Attention

Hard Hearted Hannah

"Jackson, Jackson, Jackson!" The entire bar chants. He pulls out a cherry stem from his mouth.

"It's Bosun's knot, all right!" Percy yells out. The entire bar chants again.

"Can we get an encore?" The same brunette from the last time asks him.

"Sure thing, Lex." He tells her. "Now for my encore, the Star of David." He says as he puts another cherry stem in his mouth.

Suddenly, the door opens, and all the men start exclaiming, "April!"

Jackson accidentally swallows the cherry stem.

"Hey, it's April! It's April! Hey, April!" Alex shouts.

"Hi, guys!" She greets back.

"Hi, April!" George greets her with a huge smile on his face.

"Hey, April, how are you doing?" Ben asks her.

"I'm doing the best with what I've got. How are you doing, Ben?"

"I couldn't be better." He says as they both proceed to sit at the bar.

"April, what are you doing here?" Jackson asks her. "What did you do to your hair?"

"Well, which one do you want me to answer first?"

"April."

"Alright, alright." She says before she hisses at him. "I chopped it and dyed it to this fabulous red color today. Don't you just....love it?"

"Uh, it's uh.." Jackson starts. 'I freaking love it. Red is now my favorite color.' He thinks to himself.

"And as for what I'm doing here, well, I felt like getting out tonight after I did out laundry. I had no place in mind, so I started to wander around and I ended up here."

"Thank God you decided to swing by here tonight because it was totally dead in here. Can I buy you a drink, April?" Preston asks.

"No, I wanna buy her a drink, Preston." Alex tells him.

"Screw you both, because I'm buying her the drink." Percy says.

"No you aren't because I-" Ben starts, but April cuts him off.

"Come on. Boys, boys, boys! I am woman enough for all of you." She tells them all.

"I like her! Is she dating anybody?" Lexi asks Jackson.

"She's taken." Jackson repeats, again.

"So are you planning on singing to us again, April?" Alex asks.

"Yeah, are you?" Some of the patrons ask.

"No, I don't think I will sing for you guys tonight." April responds.

"Come on, please?" Ben asks.

"Oh, I'm not prepared." She tells Ben.

"Pretty please?" Preston asks.

"I wouldn't know what to do." She says humbly.

"Come on, you gotta sing for us again." George says.

"Oh, come on." Lexi says.

"April! April! April! April!" The bar chants while April is now digging in her purse for something.

"Now come on guys, she said that she isn't prepared, so-" Jackson starts but April cuts him off.

"Oh! Would you look what I found in my purse! Sheet music!"

"Yeah!" The bar erupts with loud cheering.

"Well come on down, April!" George tells her, and she moves towards the piano. Everyone, sans Jackson, follows her.

"But, we were gonna do a conga line and tell dirty jokes." Jackson says, but some people tell him to shut up.

"Later, Jackson." Alex says.

"Yeah. We're gonna listen to April sing." Percy and Lexi tell him.

"Yup, and it's one of my favorites." April says.

"And a one, two, one, two, three, four." George says before playing the keys.

In old Savannah, I said Savannah,
The weather there is nice and warm!
The climates of a Southern brand,
But here's what I don't understand,
They got a gal there, a pretty gal there,
Who's colder than an Arctic storm,
Got a heart just like a stone,
Even ice men leave her alone!

They call her Hard Hearted Hannah,
The vamp of Savannah,
The meanest gal in town,
Leather is tough, but Hannah's heart is tougher,
She's a gal who loves to see men suffer!
To tease 'em, and thrill 'em, to torture and kill 'em,
Is her delight, they say,
I saw her at the seashore with a great big pan,
There was Hannah pouring water on a drowning man!
She's Hard Hearted Hannah, the vamp of Savannah, GA!

They call her Hard Hearted Hannah,
The vamp of Savannah,
The meanest gal in town,
Talk of your cold, refrigeratin' mamas,
Brother, she's a polar bear's pajamas!
To tease 'em, and thrill 'em, to torture and kill 'em,
Is her delight, they say,
An evening spent with Hannah sittin' on your knees,
Is like travelin' through Alaska in your B-V-D's.
She's Hard Hearted Hannah, the vamp of Savannah, GA!

Can you imagine a woman as cold as Hannah
She's got the right name, The vamp of Savannah
Any time a woman can take a great big pan
And start pouring water on a drownin' man
She's hard hearted Hannah
The Vamp of Savannah GA!

The entire bar cheers louder than ever as she humbly takes her bow.

"That was incredible!" George tells her, and she kisses him on the cheek. Jackson, who witnessed the kiss, is now fuming with anger.

"Jackson, what's wrong?" Matthew, the bartender asks him.

"Oh, nothing's wrong at all. Just one little thing. I feel like I've just died and gone to hell." He says, turning away from the scene to look at Matthew.

"Because your girl is interested in someone?"

"She's not my girl, Matt."

"Sure, Jack. And right now we are in the Smithsonian's right next to Fred Astaire." Matthew replies sarcastically.

"You're a hoot." Jackson deadpans.

"Honestly Jack, how do you feel about her?"

"I uh..."

"I see the way you look at her." Matthew tells him, with a smirk look on his face.

"It's..."

"What are you gonna do now, J?"

"Well, I don't know what I'm gonna do, but this is partially my fault. I wanted her to go out more often and now she's the center of attention."

"Hey, you gave her the gift of life. Granted it's a bar, but it's still something. There's nothing wrong with that at all." Matt reassures him.

"This must be what they call the joy of giving. If I was a woman, I would say that this feels a lot like cramps, Matt." He says uncomfortably.

"Well, you might as well give birth because everybody is literally carrying April over her for a drink."

"Excuse me. I have to go.....vomit now." Jackson tells him, going to the restroom.

"O....kay." Matthew says slowly.

"I have to stop them from feeling the love." Jackson mutters to himself. "They are not reproducing tonight or any other night." He says to himself, in a determined manner.

'Jackson is such an idiot.' Matthew thinks to himself with a smirk on his face.

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Song Used - Hard Hearted Hannah