Sing!

Chapter Twenty-Two: Life Ain't Worth Living When Your Dead

IF MUSIC IS A PLACE-THEN JAZZ IS THE CITY, FOLK IS THE WILDERNESS, ROCK IS THE ROAD, CLASS IS A TEMPLE.

|Vera Nazarian|

*  *  *

"Milo!" Oscar screamed towards the knocked out Milow. Oscar continued to shake Milo's body, but Milo made no movement. He was knocked out cold. "He's out cold," Oscar informed Calliope who sighed in defeat.

What were they going to do?

Milo was their main actor. He was the one that had the most lines in the production and he was to sing. Without Milo, the production was doomed.

"Go and get the nurse," Calliope instructed as she paced in her spot.

Rapunzel was moving the cast members to their correct positions for the end of the production. She positioned them all until she noticed someone one was missing, "who stands here?" She questioned as she frantically looked around.

"Milo," Calliope informed her with a sigh as she continued to pace.

"We got to re-write the show!" Someone exclaimed towards Calliope as Elsa sat in a seat, looking defeated, "get somebody to do his part!"

"Yeah, but who knows his lines?"

"Who knows the dances?"

"Who knows the song?"

Rapunzel thought. An idea. Smiling wildly she turned to jack, crossing her arms in satisfaction. Jack noticing, Rapunzel's gaze shook his head furiously, chuckling Jack asserted, "no way."

"Let me out of here, god damn it!" Ratcliffe yelled impatiently for the millionth time. He continued to run into the door, hoping it may give way if he was too hit it hard enough.

Coming to the conclusion that his technique was not going to work, Ratcliffe gazed around the room. He looked at all the windows. All appeared to be locked. He was trapped and there was nothing he could do about it.

•    •    •

On stage, both Romeo and Juliet were placed on tilted slabs. Several people surrounded the graves, circling them with depressed expression along the faces. They sang a religious sonnet as they walked.

"They ain't going to know what hit. Charlotte Le Bell is brilliant," Travis assured his girlfriend as she took deep breaths in an ignored her oblivious boyfriends, "especially the pyramid..." Travis murmured the last sentence, knowing full well that Charlotte had no interest in performing the pyramid, "break a leg honey," Travis went in to kiss her cheek.

"I told youI'm not doing the pyramid," Charlotte exclaimed before returning to her breathing techniques.

"To late bade, I already told the other kids," Travis murmured nervously towards his girlfriends who was glaring daggers towards him.

"Oh, Jesus, look, do not bother me with this shit now," Charlotte stated.

"Why?"

"Because I have to go out there a save this show," She exclaimed yet again with enthusiasm. Travis looked confused. The show didn't need saving because it wasn't losing.

One last breath. Out she went.

"Out, out, grim reaper," Charlotte ordered as she shooed away a cast member dressed in a black cloth, skeleton face, and a long, deadly scythe, "for I am the angel of light."

The spotlight was placed on Charlotte.  She had a long white gown on and she had a silvery halo floating on top of her wavy dark hair. Small white wings lay behind her.