Chapter Nine: The Misfits In London
"Well, here we are again." Pizzazz stretched out on the sofa in the
lounge
of the hotel suite, putting her hands behind her head with a smile of
satisfaction.
"Merry old England. Whatever that witch Jem and her friends can do, we
can do better."
Jetta glanced up from her magazine, shooting Pizzazz an amused look. It
was
almost two years on, and the Misfits were more a unit than they had
ever
been. Many things had changed since Jetta's first day as a Misfit. Her
clever
facade to conceal her true heritage had gone up in smoke more than a
year
before, but in the end it had hardly mattered. She had learnt to belong
with
the band more than she ever thought she could, and was secure in her
role
as the group's saxophonist. Often her role was more like Pizzazz's
second
in command, a position she had all but usurped from under Roxy's nose,
and
the blond did not love her any better for it, but Jetta didn't care.
She
was a bona fide Misfit now, and her doubts and insecurities had all but
left
her.
Over her time with the band, other things had also changed, She no
longer
held the view that Stormer was a wimp, for when the truth about Jetta's
unsavoury
family had surfaced, noone had been better support as her cool and
unconcerned
air had shattered into frustration and fear. Now the two had a more
amicable
relationship, though in some ways Jetta knew that Roxy would always
come
first to the synth player. Sometimes she resented this fact, for though
she
and Pizzazz were both close and amiable with each other, theirs was a
friendship
built out of a mutual love for fun, and therefore not prone to deep and
meaningful
conversation. Jetta was not fond of baring her soul, but it was good to
know
that if the need arose, she had someone who would listen and who would
not
laugh at her. Shrewd as ever, it had occured to her more than once that
it
was Stormer who actually held the Misfits together.
Now they were in England for the third time since Jetta had become a
Misfit,
and this time for more than simply frivolous reasons. Jem and the
Holograms
had recently completed a successful sell-out European tour, and Pizzazz
was
determined that the Misfits were not to be left behind. Having
discovered
that, of all the countries Jem had visited, the UK was their weak spot
(though
on balance it was hardly weak at all, for Jem's popularity was
universal),
she had immediately ordered her company's chief executive, the long
suffering
Eric Raymond, to organise a Misfit publicity blitz in England. Eric,
though
henpecked thoroughly by his protegees was good at his job, and the
Misfits
had flown into Heathrow hours earlier, checking into a suite of rooms
at
a glitzy London hotel. Their P.R would begin the next day, and for the
time
being Pizzazz and Jetta were alone, for Stormer and Roxy had retired to
their
individual rooms to sleep off their jetlag. Roxy, though she did not
admit
to it, had always hated flying, being nervy when it came to heights,
and
Stormer, though she loved planes often found being in a confined space
with
her three bandmates for ten hours solid was more than she could bear.
"So what exactly do you 'ave in mind, or are you leavin' it all to Eric
this
time?" Jetta spoke now, putting the magazine aside. Pizzazz shrugged.
"Who knows? We'll see how it goes." She cast Jetta a glance. "You know
England,
right? What's to do here?"
"England's more than just London, duckie, an' I can't say I've been all
over
it." Jetta looked amused once more. Her companion's ignorance about
England
and English custom never failed to entertain her. "But there's a lot of
life
in the city. You've been 'ere before, don't tell me you never explored
the
place?"
"I did." Pizzazz shrugged, her expression unconcerned. "But I found
other
things to do. I never stayed over long, anyway, and never as a music
celebrity
except to wreck Jem's fun or somethin'. This time the stage is ours...we're
the centre of attention. I wanna make the most of it!"
"When have you ever failed to do that?" Jetta grinned. "I 'ave to admit
I'm
lookin' forward to crackin' me home country. Eric's made a big thing
about
the bringin' the British Misfit 'ome side of this tour...it was kinda
nice
to come off the plane a celebrity."
"It was alright." Pizzazz shrugged nonchalantly. "But it'll be nothing
compared
to the reception we get when we're through tourin' here. England ain't
never
gonna forget the Misfits!"
"Duckie, nobody who's met us ever forgets us." Jetta smirked.
"We
got a busy schedule, mind you, from 'ow Eric was talkin'."
"Where is Eric?" Pizzazz glanced around her. "I told him to
come up
here once he'd settled things downstairs...Men!"
"Probably found a pretty young 'otel employee to chat up." Jetta
laughed. "I think 'e believes 'e's here on 'oliday, Pizzazz. He's
certainly got that
air about 'im."
"Well, we'll see about that." Pizzazz's mouth set in determined line.
"He's
here working for me and I didn't authorise him to flirt with
the local
trash. He'd better be here soon, or else."
"Watch what you're sayin' about the locals. I'm one of 'em, remember?"
Jetta
scolded. Pizzazz shrugged.
"So? You ain't trash. You're a Misfit." She said airily. Jetta
shook
her head in amusement. Life with Pizzazz was never dull.
"If I didn't know better, I'd say you were jus' worried about Eric
payin'
attention to girls other than you." She said, casting her companion a
glance
to see if she'd taken the bait. As usual, she had.
Pizzazz glowered.
"And what's that supposed to mean?" she demanded, putting her hands on
her
hips. Jetta shrugged unconcernedly, examining her black painted nails
for
chips.
"Just that 'e's your chief executive, duckie, an' 'e ain't doin' a
blind
thing you're tellin' him, not while he's off after other birds." she
said
carelessly. "Why, what did you think I meant?"
Pizzazz shot Jetta a long hard look, but chose to drop the subject. She
merely
shrugged.
"Well, if he wants payin' this month then he'd better start doing some
work
for a change." she said finally. "He's a liability at the best of
times."
"You hired him."
"I know I did." Pizzazz snorted. "Don't need to rub it in! But I wasn't
doin'
all that paperwork myself!"
"And I'm glad we don't 'ave it to worry about, neither." Jetta owned.
"I
'ad 'ad enough of paperwork when I left school."
"Precisely." Pizzazz nodded. "Oh, where is he? This is really
making
me mad!"
"Nothing new there then, my dear." A fresh voice came from the doorway
and
the two girls turned to see Eric lounging against the doorpost. "You
wanted
to see me?"
"It's about time!" Pizzazz snapped. "So what's the deal? What took you
so
long? You better have a good reason!"
"I do." Eric came into the room, shutting the door and taking a seat.
"I
was talking on the phone to a friend of mine...he's not someone you
would
have heard of, but he and I did some work together a few years back,
before
you girls were in the picture. He's involved in television now, and
he's
pulled a few strings for me. So, tomorrow night you girls are going to
be
performing live on Top Of The Pops."
"Top of the what?" Pizzazz looked blank.
"It's one of the biggest music shows in the country, Pizzazz." Jetta
told
her. "Anyone who's anyone playin' over 'ere plays Top of the Pops, only
they
only usually let in chart 'its. How'd you manage to get us billed? We
ain't
released a proper single out 'ere yet!"
"Like I said, he pulled some strings." Eric winked at her. "Anyway,
you're
playing. They're billing you as a special performance...it'll be great
publicity."
"This show is a big deal then, huh?" Pizzazz was beginning to look
interested.
Eric nodded.
"The biggest." he agreed. "Everyone will know your faces if you play
Top
of the Pops live in front of an audience of millions - think of the
promotional
advantages for your live shows elsewhere! You can't go wrong!"
"Sounds pretty ace to me." Jetta nodded her approval. "I used to watch
Top
of the Pops sometimes as a kid, over at me grandpa's 'ouse...it'll be
cool
to actually play it."
"Did Jem play there?" Pizzazz demanded. Eric shrugged.
"To be honest I'm not sure. I don't think she did, because their single
only
hit the chart here the day after they left for Paris."
"Then we'll do it for sure. Anything to get one up on the Holograms."
Pizzazz
decided.
"Good. Just decide what song you're playing, something up-beat and
strong
that people will remember, because we wanna break down the British
market."
Eric told her. Pizzazz dismissed it with a wave of her hand.
"Yeah, yeah, we will, don't fuss. Now, get lost, will you? If we're
doin'
television, we gotta work out what to wear! When is this
gig...tomorrow? That
don't give us much time for shoppin'!"
Eric rolled his eyes, but shrugged, getting to his feet.
"All right, I'll leave it to you. I'll have a car come pick you girls
up
around ten tomorrow morning, the show starts at half seven but you'll
need
to be there to run through your act and everything."
"Okay." Pizzazz was only half listening. "Jetta, go wake Stormer, will
ya?
I'll get Roxy...we're goin' clothes shoppin', courtesy of Misfit
Music!"
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)