Chapter Ten: On Every Screen...
"Well, not too shabby." Pizzazz gazed around her in mild approval,
taking in the setting with a more detailed glance than first appeared.
"I guess this
really is a big deal show. Maybe Eric did something right for a
change!"
"Eric?" Roxy snorted. "Never. Fluke, that's all."
"Where is he, is he coming to see us or what?" Stormer asked. "I'm
nervous
as anything...What if it all goes wrong?"
"It won't. We're the Misfits. Relax and stop whingeing." Pizzazz
instructed. "We're playing live - so what? We've done it before!"
"Yes, true." Stormer nodded. "But not in England."
"No big deal, duckie. Pizzazz is right, it's like any other venue."
Jetta
told her, though if she was honest she had butterflies about it
herself. "Now
come on. We got a rehearsal to get through an' then we gotta fix things
for
tonight."
"We do." Pizzazz nodded importantly. "Forget that creep Eric for the
moment,
we'll find him later. Let's go mingle some with these so-called
British...Stormer?
Are you even paying attention?"
There was good cause for her sudden switch of topic, for Stormer's gaze
had
been caught by something across the room and her hand had gone to her
mouth
as she'd let out a delighted cry.
"I don't believe it! Craig!" She exclaimed, leaving the Misfits
far
behind her as she ran across the studio to where another band were busy
setting
up. At the sound of her voice, the band's percussionist looked up, a
smile
crossing his own features as he recognised his sister.
"Mary!" He returned. "I didn't expect to see you here...what's the
deal?"
"We're playing Top of the Pops!" Stormer was bubbling with excitement,
for
it had been some months since the two had last spoken. "It's so
exciting, Craig...and I'm so nervous! Didn't you know we were coming
over for a big publicity blitz tour?"
"I heard a rumour." Craig nodded. "Which I meant to ask you about, but
Top
of the Pops? How'd you pull that, kid?"
"Eric." Stormer shrugged. "You guys are charted then?"
"Yep. We're number eight this week." James, one of Craig's bandmates
nodded
his head. He had always harboured a secret fancy for Craig's unassuming
younger
sister, though he had never said as much to either Craig or Stormer
herself.
"Congratulations." Stormer dimpled. "I can't believe we're going to be
playing
the same night as you! Of all the coincidences!"
"It's fate." Craig laughed. "Say, you haven't seen Aja recently, have
you?
I've been so swamped I've not had a chance to call her. I saw her
briefly
when they were in London, but that was it." Aja Leith, the lead
guitarist
for Jem and the Holograms was Craig's long distance girlfriend.
"I've not seen her since you have." Stormer shook her head. "You know
the
whole Misfit - Hologram thing makes it difficult to socialise, even out
of
hours."
"Ah well." Craig shrugged philosophically. "I have you, anyway." He
glanced
around him warily. "I suppose that you're not alone, though, are you?"
"No...the others are, well...somewhere over there." Stormer turned to
scan
the crowd. "You see them? Can't have a Misfit performance without the
other
Misfits."
"Shame." Craig said dryly. "You're the talent, Mary...I reckon you'd do
just
fine on your own."
"Well, maybe I could, but this is where I belong." Stormer shrugged. "I
always
did, only they didn't realise it and nor did I. I'm pretty safe with
them
now, Craig. Really. I mean, Pizzazz can be scary sometimes, but a lot
has
changed. They're less like rivals and more like my delinquent sisters
these
days."
"Heaven forbid they become part of my family!" Craig said sharply. He
had
never had much love for the Misfits, for they had treated Stormer badly
in
the past and he was not one to forget such things.
"Craig, really, I'm okay." Stormer assured him. "Oh, they're coming
over.
Please try and be nice! I want tonight to go well..."
"Well, well, look what we found." Pizzazz eyed Craig with distaste.
"Pizzazz." Craig met her gaze with an equally cool one of his own. "I
can
honestly say it's a surprise to see you here."
"Well, don't be too surprised for too long, duckie. We're 'ere to stay.
Me
'ome turf, after all." Jetta put in. "Bout time we paid it a visit."
"You staying long then?" Craig asked Stormer, who shrugged.
"A few weeks at most, I think." She replied. "It all depends on Eric
and
on tour dates really. There's still a lot up in the air."
"How professional." Mason Hawthorne, Earl of Wissex but unconventional
enough
a nobleman to be leader of the band put in dryly, fixing Jetta with a
penetrating
look. Despite herself Jetta bit her lip. So Mason remembered the fiasco
in
Wissex, the debacle she had spent the last few months trying her best
to
forget. She and her parents had attempted to assume his title, though
there
had been many things behind the scenes that they had not been aware of,
and
as a result Mason had come close to losing everything, even his life.
He
was not a vindictive man, but he was also not one to forget Jetta in a
hurry.
Stormer saw the look and interpreted the tone with a frown. Her own
nature
bore little capacity for grudge-bearing, and she preferred to 'let
bygones
be bygones' where other people were concerned. Spying the look in
Jetta's
grey eyes, she hurried to change the subject.
"Who else is on tonight?" she asked. "Anyone we might know?"
"Not really sure, actually." Mason cast her a smile. "It's a surprise
to
us to see you, and we've not really looked at the other billing yet.
You
girls set up and rehearsed? There's a lot of tweaking about before the
cameras
go on."
"We're not amateurs." Pizzazz fixed Mason with an icy stare. "We can
take
care of ourselves."
"Oh, I've no doubt you can." Mason retained his pleasantly polite tone.
"And
so can we, so if you ladies don't mind, we have a song to run through."
"We're wasting our time with you losers anyway." Roxy put in her bit.
"Stormer, you comin'?" Jetta added.
"I'll catch you later, Mary, we can talk then." Craig cast his sister a
look.
Stormer nodded.
"Oh, of course. No problem." She agreed. "Later, then!"
And with a backward glance she headed off after her band mates. Craig
watched
her go with a sigh.
"I wish..." he trailed off.
"She's a grown woman, she can make her own choices and you have to let
her."
Alan, the group's keyboardist, who had listened in silence to the whole
exchange,
came up behind him, putting his hand on his friend's shoulder. Craig
started,
then frowned.
"Oh, I know she is. She's twenty two - almost twenty-three, if you
think
of it...and that's not a baby at all. But I've looked out for her so
long
it's habit, and it worries me, Alan, that she's mixed up with people
like
that creep Raymond and the Misfits. It really worries me."
"I'd say she can hold her own all right." Mason said wisely. "She seems
happy
enough, Craig. I don't like those girls much either, but if she's
happy..."
"Oh, yeah. Her happiness comes first." Craig agreed. "And she truly
does
want to be and like being a Misfit these days. I just can't help
thinking she could have been more, you know?"
"Most of us can say we could have done better, with hindsight." James
observed
philosophically. "But Stormer's a bright girl, Craig, she has a lot
going
for her. She'll do okay...don't worry."
"I'll try not to." Craig sighed again, returning to his drums. "Okay,
let's
go through it once from the top."
Several hours and several runthroughs later, the Misfits were all
beginning to feel somewhat apprehensive, though none of them were
willing to admit to
it. It would be no time at all before the cameras would be rolling and
they
would be cued to play, and though they had played live many times
before
there was an extra buzz in the air over this one. Even Pizzazz, usually
not
one to show her inner anxieties was pacing up and down the dressing
room,
examining her nails absent-mindedly for chips as she did so.
Stormer glanced across at her and swallowed hard. She was the most
nervous
of all of them, and the idea of going out there terrified her. What if
something
went wrong? What then?
"This sucks." Roxy, probably the least perturbed of the four broke the
tense
silence, sitting herself down in front of the mirror. "Why's everyone
so
quiet? Stormer, come do my hair, will ya? I can't get the clasp in."
"Sure thing, Roxy." Stormer nodded, glad of the distraction. It wasn't
uncommon
for her to be called upon to assist with her bandmate's hair, since
Roxy
had little patience to style it, and she was well-practiced as a
result.
"What do you want me to do with it?"
"Just tie it up." Roxy pushed the clasp over. "And be quick about it!
We're
on in twenty minutes!"
Across the dressing room, Jetta bit her lip imperceptably at this, and
Pizzazz
tossed herself down into a chair, reaching half-heartedly for her
hairbrush
and glancing it over without really thinking about what she was doing.
Scornful
to begin with, it had occured to her during the day what a big deal
this
performance really would be, and that in many ways it could make or
break
the Misfits' foray into England. As head and owner of Misfit Music, she
had
fits of responsible thinking, and this was one of those times. Nothing
could
be allowed to go wrong.
Stormer, for her part, took the clasp from Roxy without a word,
scooping up
the girl's hairbrush and beginning to brush back the platinum hair
without consciously focusing on what she was doing. She was feeling
decidedly queasy with nerves, for in twenty minutes she would be out
there on stage performing not only to a strange country but also in
front of her brother. She badly wanted Craig to be proud of her, even
if she was a Misfit...and this was her
perfect chance to do it. She couldn't blow it.
"There. I'm done." She said finally. "That okay, Roxy?"
"Yeah, it'll do." Roxy scrutinised her reflection, then shrugged.
Despite herself, Stormer hid a smile. That was as close as Roxy
generally got to saying
thankyou.
"Girls?" Eric pushed open the dressing room door, his own expression
harried.
"They want you up on stage, since you're the first act, to make sure
all's
set up properly. Come on, you can't not be ready yet!"
"We're ready." Pizzazz seemed to snap herself out of her daze. "C'mon,
Misfits,
let's rock 'em!"
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Hey, Top of the Pops is on!"
Laura settled herself in her seat, sending an interested glance up at
the
television set. She and her local friends from work and school often
spent
time together at one or other of their houses, particularly on a
thursday
evening when Top Of The Pops aired, for it was a game to them to
adjudge
each song as it played. Tonight they were over at Stuart and Cassie's,
and
it was a more select group than usual, since only Laura and Charlotte,
a
girl she worked with had had the night free. In the years since Jetta
had
left England, Laura had not forgotten her friend, but communications
had
wavered with Jetta's constant travelling. With a wistful sigh, Laura
had
put the friendship behind her, and had focused on other things, but
often
she wondered how her old school pal was getting on in her chosen
career.
"Who's on tonight?" She asked. Stuart, her and Jetta's former flatmate
shrugged,
finally getting the lid off his bottle of beer, and putting his arm
around
his girlfriend's shoulders. It was the cause of no end of amusement for
Laura
that Stuart had found himself a 'decent bird' whom he'd actually made a
commitment
to and moved in with some months before. Cassie was a level-headed girl
and
kept him well in order, which in Laura's opinion could only be a good
thing.
Though he had a good heart, he had never had many brains.
"Whoever turns up on stage is my guess." he said now. "The presenter
was
talkin' too quick to pick it up."
"You mean your ears were goin' too slow!" Cassie grinned, sending Laura
a
conspiratorial look. Stuart shrugged good-naturedly.
"Well, whatever." he said. "We'll soon know, anyhow. Who had the
crisps?"
"Relax, Stu. Munchies are here." Charlotte looked amused, pushing the
bowl
across to him. "Just don't munch all through the opening song, huh?
It's
hard to hear then!"
"Whatever." Stuart repeated, taking a fistful. "Difficult to eat these
things
quietly..."
"Who's this lot?" Cassie frowned, squinting at the screen. "I don't
recognise
the look or the song...anyone?"
"Whatever it is, it ain't in the chart." Charlotte observed. "Laura,
you
know?"
"Huh?" Laura glanced absently at the screen, doing a doubletake as she
took
in what she saw.
"Holy..." Her jaw dropped and she grabbed Stuart by the arm. "Stuart!
Stuart
look! It's Sheila!"
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Woo, we were cookin' tonight!"
Pizzazz dropped down into her chair, a self-satisfied look on her face.
"We
sure showed them how the Misfits perform!"
"We rocked." Roxy nodded her head. "Totally awesome...they didn't know
what
hit 'em! They loved us!"
"It was a buzz." Jetta agreed. "What's next for us, Pizzazz? Top of the
Pops
today...what else?"
"Who knows? The world!" Pizzazz laughed. "Oh man, were we hot...our
tour
can't help but take off now!"
"Congratulations, girls, you were wonderful." Eric lounged in the
doorway of the dressing room. "Another professional
performance...you've done yourselves no harm tonight."
"It was so cool, being out there in front of all those cameras and
lights
and people..." Stormer's eyes became dreamy. "Oh, I love England..."
"I gotta say I kinda like it right now." Pizzazz smirked. "Best bit is,
no
Jem! Eric, what's up for tomorrow?"
"Nothing fixed yet, but I got a call from a lady who wants you girls on
her
talk show tomorrow night. Says you're the hottest thing out of America
since...well,
ever." Eric replied.
"All right!" Roxy punched the air. "We rule!"
"Well, so long as you don't wreck her set, you got another great chance
to
bury Jem in the dust." Eric nodded. "Just remember, play it tame, all
right?
I know you girls like causing trouble, but if you could do it when
cameras
aren't about..."
"Oh, relax, Eric, we can handle it." Pizzazz waved her hand
dismissively. "We're the hottest sensation out of the States,
remember?" She smirked. "Soon
they won't even remember Jem."
"Jem who?" Roxy laughed. "Oh, I could get used to this." She stood.
"Hey,
we goin' to hang out someplace tonight or what? I'm starvin'!"
"You're always starving." Jetta told her dryly.
"So? I been workin' hard!" Roxy put her hands on her hips. "I even
missed
lunch for this, c'mon!"
"All right, let's blow this joint." Pizzazz nodded. "We'll go check out
the
London nightlife, see what kinda vibe we can find. Girls?"
"We're comin'." Jetta nodded her head. "Stormer, you with us?"
"Yeah...I just wanted to...to say bye to Craig before we go..." Stormer
hesitated.
Pizzazz rolled her eyes, but clearly the success of their performance
had
left her in a good mood, for she shrugged.
"You got ten seconds. We'll meet you by the car." she said. "Jus' don't
take
all night, all right? We wanna have some fun!"
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Sheila?" Stuart stared blankly at Laura as if she was mad. "As in
Sheila Burns? No way, Laura! She's in America...ain't she?"
"It is Sheila, I swear it is!" Laura exclaimed. "Just look,
Stuart...it is her! Who else do you know who plays sax like
that?"
"You know...it does kinda look like her." Stuart conceded after
scrutinising
the screen for a moment. "What was her band again?"
"The Misfits. You remember she signed with them when the Tinkerbillys
were
out in L.A." Laura looked excited. "Oh, I don't believe it, my best
friend
in the whole world just played live on Top of the Pops! She's a real
celebrity...this
ain't sinking in!"
"You knew the Misfits were a big name in the States." Charlotte pointed
out.
"I remember you telling me about it when she first signed for 'em...its
only
natural that she'd want to break open 'er 'ome ground."
"I guess." Laura looked pensive. "She must be very busy though...I
don't
suppose she'll 'ave time to meet up. I miss 'er more than I ever
thought
I would, you know...it's just so cool to see 'er on television, and
such
a surprise!"
"She's a big star now. Probably don't 'ave time for normal people like
us."
Stuart grinned. Laura swiped him playfully.
"Sheila wouldn't be that way. Not with me." she said firmly. "We grew
up
together...she's no snob."
"She is a star, though." Cassie observed. "Wow, I'm impressed. I'm
hobnobbing
with the friends of a celebrity!"
"Song's good." Charlotte decided. "But I reckon you're right,
Laura...she won't 'ave time for reunions of any kind. If I remember
Sheila right, and I only met her a couple of times, but if I remember
'er right, she's the kind
to get swept up in 'er new world at the expense of the old...and the
old
was never that good for her anyway."
"She had an 'ard childhood." Laura agreed. "But she promised me she
wouldn't
forget me, when she left. I dunno. I suppose it's all speculatin'
anyway.
She'd be wound up in 'ype and publicity...no time for old aquaintances,
even
if she'd wanted it." She looked wistful. "Least I know she's okay,
though."
"Come on, cheer up." Charlotte told her. "I'm sure you're right and
that
she hasn't forgotten you. Guess we can only imagine what her life is
like
now."
"Bloomin' good, I woulda thought." Stuart decided. "I wish I could
sing..."
"Don't let him sing!" Cassie exclaimed. Laura laughed.
"I lived with that for long enough, I know 'ow earsplittin' it is." she
replied.
"Pipe down, Stuart. We wanna watch the rest of the show!"
PART ONE: SHEILA
Chapter One: Life in London
Chapter Two: The Saxophone
Chapter Three: A Friend In Need
Chapter Four: Never Again...
PART TWO: A DESIGNING WOMAN
Chapter Five: Sheila's Decision
Chapter Six: A Band In Crisis
Chapter Seven: First Night
Chapter Eight: Making It Happen
PART THREE: BACK IN THE CITY
Chapter Nine: The Misfits In London
Chapter Ten: On Every Screen...
Chapter Eleven: A Musical Reunion
Chapter Twelve: Jealousy
Chapter Thirteen: An Old Acquaintance
Chapter Fourteen: Doing London
Chapter Fifteen: Sabotage!
Chapter Sixteen: The Final Straw
Chapter Seventeen: Opening Night
Chapter Eighteen: Jetta
(The Misfits and Holograms and other animated Jem characters are copyrighted to Hasbro Inc. All characters who do not appear in Jem episodes are my own creation. This story is copyrighted to E.A Woolley (2001)