#keep on singing

[kentamplin]

Some words of encouragement...

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[andrea-odown]

Keep on Singing - Chapter 45

A Sing (2016)-fanfic.

Read it on FF.Net and AO3.

Description: A few months have passed since the grand re-opening of the Moon Theater. All in all everything seems to be fine. But under the surface, everyone has to deal with some problems. Ash is facing writer’s block with her new album, Rosita is enjoying her new life as a famous singer, but has less and less time for her family, Mike is still hiding from some angry bears, Meena may has overcome her insecurity when it comes to singing, but interviews are still a challenge for her, and Johnny wants to turn the garage he and his father used to live in into a youth center. And Buster has to keep the theater running while keeping Ms. Crawly from driving the new secretary crazy and writing a new play.

Chapter 45: Buster

If someone had told Buster a few weeks ago how things would turn out in the end, he wouldn’t have believed it.

Just a few weeks ago, he had no finished play, no idea how to keep Nana Noodleman interested in funding his latest play, and a new secretary who was being chased around by his old secretary.

Now his play is finished, Nana Noodleman loves it, and his old secretary has stopped driving the new secretary crazy. Actually, Ms. Crawly is now very nice towards Cia. Which might have something to do with the fact that she isn’t the new secretary any longer. Cia now officially is a writer. Yes, she still helps when Ms. Crawly’s desk seems to break under towers of papers, but it’s not her main job any longer.

And she’s doing great. He loves the idea she had for the next show. The one following up the one starring Johnny.

Rehearsals have already started, and so far, Johnny’s doing great. Although they had to go for only one performance per week because after the charity concert a label contacted Johnny and has him signed up for his first album.

Which is fine for Buster. Given Cia’s idea for the next play, he’s going to have another show up and running pretty quickly.

The charity concert was a huge success, by the way, which adds some extra workload to Johnny because now he’s organizing to get the youth center started as soon as possible.

Buster has even volunteered to do some classes on acting.

Ash’s album is finally out, and her album-release concert was a success, too.

Meena seems to love her new image as the always singing talent. Now she even seems to enjoy her interviews, something Buster would have thought impossible some weeks ago.

Just like he thought it impossible for Rosita to find a way to get her tour and her family reconciled. He never told her so, though. And she did it.

From what he can tell she and Norman spend every free minute in their motorhome because Norman needs to practice. Buster thinks it’s more because Norman loves to drive around in the motorhome. He even invited Buster and the rest of Rosita’s Theater-friends for a little tour, and it still makes Buster chuckle how much fun Norman had doing announcements whenever they passed something he thought worth mentioning. Like the Moon Theater. Or Johnny’s garage/youth center. Or the grocery store where Rosita uses to shop.

What still is a mystery to Buster is how Mike has changed after what happened on the rooftop. Yes, he still makes fun of the others, yes, he still has his moments when he can be very annoying, but somehow, he seems more open towards the others.

Although, maybe Buster shouldn’t be so surprised. Mike did call them friends on the rooftop, after all, something Buster never thought he’d hear Mike say.

With a deep breath Buster gets up from his seat, stretches and walks over to the door of his office.

He opens the door, giving the staggering towers of papers on Ms. Crawly’s desk a suspicious look.

He makes a mental note to ask Cia to help Ms. Crawly out in the next days.

When he closes the door of his office, however, the towers collapse.

Buster flinches.

“Sorry, Ms. Crawly!” he calls out as the iguana gets up as if she had all time in the world and starts picking up the papers again. “Do you need help?”

“No, Mr. Moon,” Ms. Crawly replies. “I have everything under control.”

Buster shakes his head with a small smile. Of course Ms. Crawly doesn’t need help. She never needs help.

He decides to ask Cia to show up at the office today.

Johnny’s coming in for rehearsals any minute now, so Cia can’t be far. She usually accompanies her boyfriend, showing up at Buster’s office to talk about her ideas for the new show or brings some notes on new scenes.

If Buster’s lucky he doesn’t have to go looking for them again. Sometimes, they disappear. And really, Buster could do without finding them making out in one of the dressing rooms again.

Although, it’s nice to see Johnny so happy when he’s with Cia. The young gorilla has been through so much, so who’s Buster to judge? As long as Johnny shows up for rehearsals and meetings in time or not waaaaaay too late, he’s fine with it.

He descends the stairs and runs into Johnny and Cia in the foyer. He smiles when he sees they’re holding hands.

“Hello, you two!” he greets them. “Ready for rehearsals, Johnny? I think we should try the song at the end of the first act. And Cia, do you have a moment?”

“On it!” Johnny replies. He shares one quick kiss with Cia before he gets to the stage area.

The snow leopard watches him leave before she turns to Buster. “Yes?”

“Do you think you could show up at the office?” he asks. “Ms. Crawly has to deal with another paper-flood.”

“Again?” Cia asks with a little laugh. “I’m on my way.”

“You know the drill, right?”

“Yes, accidentally show up at the office and start working as if it were the most natural thing in the world.”

“You got it!” Buster smiles at her. “Things are easier now with her, aren’t they?”

Cia shrugs. “She doesn’t chase me around and she calls me Cia, so I guess the answer is yes.”

Buster laughs a little at that. “I’ll tell Johnny where he can find you after his rehearsal. Good luck!”

Cia replies with a laugh of her own. “I’m gonna need it. Maybe.”

And with that she leaves for the office.

Buster shakes his head with a smile before he gets going himself.

Yes, if someone would have told him how things would be now a few weeks ago, he wouldn’t have believed them. Not one single word.

But to be honest, he couldn’t care less.

He has his theater, he has his friends.

Yes, life is good.

Well, this is it, folks, the final chapter of “Keep on Singing”. It was one hell of a ride! I think I never wrote so much for a fandom in a bit more than two months. And I definitely never finished a multi-chapter fanfic in such a short time. I had a lot of fun with this story, and I hope you, my lovely readers, had fun, too. :) I want to thank you all for your support! You are the best! *hugs*

For those of you who want to read more about what’s happening afterwards (especially with Johnny and Cia) I plan on doing a sequel. ^^

[andrea-odown]

Keep on Singing - Chapter 41

A Sing (2016)-fanfic.

Read it on FF.Net and AO3.

Description: A few months have passed since the grand re-opening of the Moon Theater. All in all everything seems to be fine. But under the surface, everyone has to deal with some problems. Ash is facing writer’s block with her new album, Rosita is enjoying her new life as a famous singer, but has less and less time for her family, Mike is still hiding from some angry bears, Meena may has overcome her insecurity when it comes to singing, but interviews are still a challenge for her, and Johnny wants to turn the garage he and his father used to live in into a youth center. And Buster has to keep the theater running while keeping Ms. Crawly from driving the new secretary crazy and writing a new play.

Chapter 41: Ash

Ash is still surprised how finishing her album has changed everything for her. The label is happy, Mr. Moon is happy because they already found a date for her exclusive album release-concert, and of course, she herself is happy. More than anything.

Because she did it!

She wrote an album! An entire album!

The thought alone makes her giggle with joy.

And now all she needs to do is record it. And rehearse, of course.

She is going to start recording after the charity concert, so she decided to use the time left to rehearse and help with the preparations for the concert.

Funny thing is she hasn't ruined anything at the garage ever since she finished her album. No notches because she used her hammer with too much force, not almost killing someone because she sent her hammer flying, no, just her doing some decent work.

She likes how that feels.

And she likes, too, that Lance hasn't sent her any more flowers ever since Cia threw him out of the theater. Although she must confess, she misses Jared a bit. It was nice to see him every Wednesday, and it was nice to do something good with the flowers she didn't want to have. Jared kept telling her how much the people at the hospital loved the flowers.

Maybe she should buy some flowers and have Jared deliver them to the hospital. She could make this her own weekly ritual, maybe for Wednesdays.

So Lance's persistence was at least good for something. The people at the hospital are going to get more flowers out of it.

And maybe she should be there at the hospital, too, and help Jared because that way, she could see how much the people like her flowers.

Yes, that sounds like a plan.

She checks her watch. According to it, she has time to play her latest song - the one about the girl who's a sweetheart unless you tell her so - once more before she meets Johnny so the two of them can get to the garage.

With a smile she plays the first chord.

"So, how are things with Cia?" Ash asks when Johnny and she reach the foyer on the way to Johnny's truck.

"Good," he replies. "I apologized, we talked about it, she isn't mad at me, and we're talking again."

"That's great!" Ash calls out. "What did she say to the song?"

"Uhm, nothing."

"Nothing?" Ash repeats, her eyes widened in surprise. But then it hits her. "Let me guess. You didn't tell her, right?"

Johnny clears his throat. "Well, I've been so busy with the work at the garage and the concert two days ago, I simply didn't have the time to talk to her yet."

Ash rolls her eyes. "Yes, Johnny, that's what we call procrastinating."

"It's not!" Johnny replies. "It's … uhm …"

Ash waits for him to go on, but he doesn't. She waits a little longer. Still nothing.

"Then what is it?" Ash asks.

Johnny sighs. "Okay, maybe it is."

"But why?"

"Well, we are talking again, and I don't want to ruin that."

Yeah, because you have a crush on her.

Ash can catch her tongue just in time. Although she isn't sure why. Johnny is so slow on the uptake, maybe he just needs a little push. She could still say it, though. Maybe she should.

They've just exited the theater and Ash opens her mouth to do just that when she sets eyes on a familiar porcupine waiting at the foot of the stairs.

She closes her mouth with a snap and presses her lips into a thin line.

What's Lance doing here!?

She looks back at Johnny who gives her a little nod and moves closer to her side. Together they descend the stairs.

They haven't even reached the foot of the stairs when Lance comes closer.

"Ash!" he calls out. "Ash, please!"

He tries to get closer to her, but Johnny blocks his way.

"Ash, please, I just want to talk to you!" Lance begs, ignoring Johnny as best as he can as he tries to look around him to look at Ash. "You don't even have to say anything, just listen. Please!"

There's something in his voice that makes Ash frown. Or is it just the fact that she hasn't heard him beg for something in ages?

"Ash, please!" Lance says again.

Johnny looks at her over her shoulder. She bites down her lip, then gives a little nod. Johnny returns the gesture.

"Okay," he says, stepping out of Lance's way. "I'll be right over there if you need me." And with that he walks over to his parked truck.

Ash nods again, and then Lance is standing in front of her.

"Okay, Ash, look," he says. "You were right."

"Was I?" Ash asks. She doesn't even know what Lance is talking about.

"Yes," he says with a little shrug. "I never apologized to your face. I-I just thought saying it on a card would be enough. But it isn't. Writing it down on one-hundred cards still wouldn't be enough. Although I might have reached that number one day." He laughs nervously.

He could be right about the one-hundred cards, though, Ash thinks.

"But you deserve more than that," Lance goes on. "You deserve the whole story." He takes a deep breath. And another one.

"So?" Ash asks, twisting her mouth a little.

"Okay." Lance inhales deeply one more time and lowers his eyes to the ground. "Back when I started the band and was looking for a background singer, I must admit, I saw your talent when you rehearsed. But I didn't see all of it, just a glimpse, and I thought it would work. And it did, for a little while at least. We improved together, but then there came the day when I seemed to have stopped improving and you just got better and better. Your voice grew more amazing with every song you sang, and then you started getting carried away on stage. You upstaged, you almost pushed me off the stage a few times. I know you didn't do it on purpose, but it was getting on my nerves. Because here I was, the lead singer, the founder of this band, being upstaged by his background singer. And the worst thing was, during the few gigs we had, the people seemed to love you for it! And after that the koala only chose you, not me which was another punch at my already bruised ego. And if that hadn't been enough, you suddenly announced that you wanted to write your own song. Writing songs! That was the last thing I had left I could do and you couldn't, and there you were, willing to take that away from me, too."

Ash opens her mouth to interrupt, but Lance holds up his hand, cutting her off before she even gets the chance to speak.

"And every morning you left for rehearsals, so excited and happy, and I was left behind. I felt so hurt, but couldn't let it show. And then I met Becky. She was looking up at me and she loved everything I did, she loved to sing songs together and she didn't get carried away, and I guess it was just what my bruised ego needed."

Ash tries to process what he was trying to tell her. Was he trying to apologize or was he trying to blame her for what happened? She isn't sure about that.

Lance sighs. "The thing is, Ash, I never meant to hurt you, I never meant to push you down, I never meant to do you wrong, but the truth is, I did all of that, probably more, and I am sorry for that. I should have supported you, instead me and my stupid ego ruined everything. And I am sorry for that, too."

Ash blinks a few times, still trying to process what she's just heard. She hasn't heard Lance apologize for anything in a very long time. She hasn't seen him so contrite in a very long time.

And then she remembers. He's so much more like he used to be back when they started dating. There's a bit of the Lance shining though she has fallen for all this time ago.

And somehow it's a relief to know that she hadn't fallen for a complete jerk, that something of the Lance from back then is still left.

Lance shrugs. "Now that I spent a lot of time thinking about this, I would understand if you could never forgive me. I just wanted to let you know the whole story, well, my side of the story at least. And I wanted to apologize. So, yeah, good-bye, Ash. And sorry again."

And with that, he stuffs his hands into the pockets of his jeans, and leaves.

Ash just stands there, dumbfounded, her brain still trying to catch up with what Lance has said.

It takes her a while to realize that Johnny has walked up to her and is now standing next to her.

"That sounded genuine," Johnny says.

"Yeah," she says, looking after Lance. "Yeah, it did."

And then she runs off.

"Lance, wait!" she calls after him.

He stops and turns around to face her with his eyes wide.

"Thanks for your apology," she says. "It means a lot to me. I think I …"

"Can forgive me?" Lance cuts in.

She shakes her head. "No, but maybe we can …"

"Start over again?"

"No! Would you please let me finish my own sentences!?"

"I-I'm sorry. Again," he says with a sheepish grin. "Guess I got carried away."

She almost laughs at that, but pushes the laughter down just in time and settles for an eye-roll instead.

"Well, what I was trying to say, maybe we can go grab some pizza together or something and, you know, talk?"

"Sure!"

"Okay, I'll call you. Bye, Lance!"

"Bye, babe!"

She has already turned around, but now looks back at him over her shoulder with a glare.

"Easy on the babe, Lance," she says.

"Oh. Yeah, sure," Lance replies. "Bye, Ash!"

She rolls her eyes for real this time before she walks over to Johnny, ready to finally get some work done at the garage.

[andrea-odown]

Keep on Singing - Chapter 40

A Sing (2016)-fanfic.

Read it on FF.Net and AO3.

Description: A few months have passed since the grand re-opening of the Moon Theater. All in all everything seems to be fine. But under the surface, everyone has to deal with some problems. Ash is facing writer’s block with her new album, Rosita is enjoying her new life as a famous singer, but has less and less time for her family, Mike is still hiding from some angry bears, Meena may has overcome her insecurity when it comes to singing, but interviews are still a challenge for her, and Johnny wants to turn the garage he and his father used to live in into a youth center. And Buster has to keep the theater running while keeping Ms. Crawly from driving the new secretary crazy and writing a new play.

Chapter 40: Mike

Mike has to admit, he never thought helping with the preparations for the charity concert at Johnny’s garage would be so much fun.

Okay, fun probably is too strong a word.

But it helps.

It helps a lot, actually.

Whenever Nancy leaves alone, Mike can’t think of anything else to do, but to get into his car with his bodyguards and drive to the garage. There’s always work that needs to be done there.

Okay, he can think of other things to do - like checking his phone every two minutes or rehearsing or planning a new pop-up concert.

But checking the phone doesn’t help. It makes him even more anxious.

Rehearsing helps for as long as he can concentrate - which is only for a song or two before the thoughts about what could happen to Nancy get overwhelming again.

And same goes for planning a new pop-up concert. He can concentrate on it for fifteen minutes, then starts thinking about Nancy again.

So he decided to give up on pop-up concerts for the time being.

He’s too busy with the preparations for the charity concert anyway.

Because it helps.

And he isn’t even sure why.

Is it because he actually has to do something with his hands? That’s a possibility. He really needs to concentrate or he might hurt himself.

Or is it because he is among other animals? He doesn’t like to think about it, but it’s a possibility, too. He didn’t think about Nancy and what could happen to her that much when they all were watching Meena’s interview and then trying to cheer her up.

What still amazes him is that he went after Meena and tried to help her.

It’s so not like him.

But he felt sorry for her. And he understood what was going on. So that’s probably the reason why he did what he did.

And because he didn’t have anything better to do.

Yes, that’s important.

He wouldn’t have done it if he had anything better to do.

Which he hadn’t.

But still.

And of course, he had to play it cool when Meena arrived at the garage together with Rosita and cookies for them all.

He took the cookie because if she had already baked it, it would be a waste not to take it. That’s how he put it. He didn’t say thank-you.

And the smile he gave Meena was an accident. He has no idea where that had been coming from.

He looks at his phone, the second time within five minutes.

Because five minutes ago was when Nancy left.

He sighs and shakes his head.

Well, it looks like it’s time for the garage.

But before he can set into motion, his phone rings.

He frowns before he takes the call.

“Hi there, Jumbo!” he greets the caller. “What’s up?”

“Hello, Mike!” Meena replies. “Well, I thought about what you said about figuring out what to do next and…”

Mike rolls his eyes. The one thing about Meena he still doesn’t get is how someone who hates talking so much can actually talk so much.

“Yeah, I remember, Jumbo,” he cuts in. “I’ve been present.”

“Oh. Okay,” Meena says.

He waits for her to say more which she doesn’t.

He rolls his eyes again.

“So, is there something you wanted to tell me? Something I don’t know already?” he suggests.

“Oh, yes,” Meena says quickly. “I have this concert coming up tonight together with Johnny. He’ll do the first part and I’ll do the one after a little break, and I thought,” - he feels the urge to say something so she’ll finally get to the point, but he bites down his tongue - “maybe you want to come?”

“Me?” he asks. “Why?”

“Because you helped me,” Meena replies. “Because you like my singing. And because I think I found a solution and I want you to be there to hear about it first-hand.”

“You could tell me first-hand now.”

“No.” He can practically see her shake her head. “I can’t. It would make more sense at the concert. I already talked to Mr. Moon. You can watch from backstage. Your bodyguards, too. So what do you say?”

“I guess I can show up,” he says with a shrug. “If I don’t have anything better to do.”

“Awesome! Thank you, Mike! Bye!”

“Bye, Jumbo!”

Somehow, Mike has this feeling that he isn’t going to have anything better to do tonight.

He has no idea where that is coming from, though.

His feeling was right because the same night, he’s standing backstage, watching Johnny perform.

Sure, he could have shown up after the break, but well, he really didn’t have anything better to do. Nancy was home for a bit in the afternoon, but left to meet a friend for dinner.

So he decided he could just as well watch the whole concert.

He isn’t alone backstage. Eddie Noodleman is there, and that snow leopard-girl whose name Mike has forgotten. He doesn’t ask, though, because he doesn’t really care. Actually, he doesn’t even want to talk, so he just listens to Johnny’s music and waits.

When Johnny ends his last song, Mike feels that he’s getting a bit nervous.

Which doesn’t make any sense.

Why would he be nervous? He isn’t nervous when he performs himself, so why on earth should it make him nervous to wait for Meena to perform?

As far as he knows, Meena is doing a pretty good job on that one herself.

When the break is almost over, Mr. Moon arrives, and Mike nods at him for a greeting. Johnny joins them backstage a few moments later, and then, finally, Meena arrives.

“Good luck, Meena!” the snow leopard says, and Mike rolls his eyes.

She doesn’t seem to know much about this whole theater-stuff, does she?

“Hey, break a leg out there, Jumbo!” he says to Meena.

The elephant just smiles at him, then enters the stage.

Mike waits for her to shrink a bit into herself as she walks over to the microphone, to put her ears over her face, and/or to knock over the stand of the microphone, but she doesn’t do neither.

Actually, he never thought he saw her walking that confidently before. Not that he really paid attention. So he could be mistaken.

And then Meena’s standing at the microphone, takes a deep breath and opens her mouth to say something. But she doesn’t say anything, she sings.

She sings her introduction, she welcomes the animals at her concert, singing the words.

Mike feels the grin spreading over his face.

“What’s she doing?” Mike hears Johnny ask behind him.

Mr. Moon chuckles.

“That, Johnny,” the koala says, “is Meena’s new image. She has problems talking, so now she sings. The animals love her for it.”

“Good point,” Johnny replies.

Mike feels the grin on his face grow even broader.

Way to go, Jumbo!

[andrea-odown]

Keep on Singing - Chapter 33

A Sing (2016)-fanfic.

Read it on FF.Net and AO3.

Description: A few months have passed since the grand re-opening of the Moon Theater. All in all everything seems to be fine. But under the surface, everyone has to deal with some problems. Ash is facing writer’s block with her new album, Rosita is enjoying her new life as a famous singer, but has less and less time for her family, Mike is still hiding from some angry bears, Meena may has overcome her insecurity when it comes to singing, but interviews are still a challenge for her, and Johnny wants to turn the garage he and his father used to live in into a youth center. And Buster has to keep the theater running while keeping Ms. Crawly from driving the new secretary crazy and writing a new play.

Chapter 33: Mike

Mike gives a little laugh when Meena storms off. He looks into the round. They all look very confused and unsure of what to do.

Really? Don't they get it?

Granted, he isn't even sure why he gets it. Okay, he is sure, he just doesn't know why he cares.

With a roll of his eyes he lets his banner fall to the ground and motions to his bodyguards to follow him as he sets into motion.

He does make sure, though, that he looks bored and like he doesn't care.

He doesn't run, he just walks, his hands stuffed into his pockets.

He could be walking anywhere. It could be just a coincidence that he's walking into the same direction Meena stomped off.

He isn't sure if the others watch him. He presumes they do. He doesn't care.

Okay, he doesn't like it, but it can't be changed.

He adds a little extra "I'm just walking here"-attitude to his tread.

Which doesn't make any sense. If he actually left, he'd take his car.

But hey, he has a reputation to keep.

As soon as he's sure he's far enough away he picks up a little speed.

For a moment, he even thinks he lost Meena, but she's easy to find.

She's tall.

He follows her at a little distance. Then she turns into the park.

Mike looks over his shoulder to check if his bodyguards are still with him.

Which they are. Of course.

Heck, he's paying them well.

And with that he enters the park.

He finds Meena sitting on a bench, her face buried in her hands.

And suddenly he doesn't feel so sure what he's doing here any longer.

He shouldn't care.

He's Mike, "I only care about myself"-Mike.

No, more like "I only care about myself and Nancy"-Mike.

Maybe that's the problem.

If one can call it a problem.

Nancy has turned him into a caring being.

Maybe that's the price you pay when you love and care for someone. You start caring about others, too.

He shrugs and then jumps up on the bench next to Meena.

She doesn't seem to realize.

He looks for his bodyguards who are close-by, gesturing at them to stay at a distance.

"Rough day, huh, Jumbo?" he says matter-of-factly.

Meena jumps a little at the sound of his voice, then sits up a little more straight. She lets her hands slide down her face a little, so she can look at him.

"What are you doing here?" she asks.

He shrugs. "Sitting on a park bench on a beautiful day."

"That's not what I meant," Meena says.

"But that's what I said." He shrugs again. "Besides, it's the truth."

Actually, he isn't so sure what he's doing here any longer. He's not good at this giving comfort-thing. Never has been.

He knows how to comfort Nancy, but something tells him expensive jewelry and fancy clothes wouldn't work for Meena. Exquisite chocolates, maybe, but Meena probably doesn't care about the exquisite-part.

Meena takes her hands from her face and stares into the distance.

She seems to wait for him to speak up, but he has no idea what to say. Except for one thing.

"You screwed up," he says.

There are a lot of things that can be said about him, that he's a pleaser and a trickster, and they are all true, but he's never been dishonest with Meena.

He's been a little too honest, probably, when he told her to get off the stage because she was useless during rehearsals, but he did have a point back then.

And he has a point now.

Meena turns her head to look at him.

He isn't sure, but that in her eyes could be surprise.

"Yes," she says, her voice little more than a whisper, "I did."

Mike shrugs. "So what are you going to do next?"

"Next?"

"Yes, this is how this works," he explains. "The screwing up, I mean. You try something, you screw up, you pick up the pieces, and then you do something."

"But what?"

"I can't tell you that. You have to figure it out yourself."

You have to figure it out yourself, Mike.

The words his father said to him so many years ago.

It was after he's been caught cheating during a test at school.

His father could have told him that he should have studied harder, that he shouldn't have been so stupid to get caught, all these things, and he said neither of them.

He just told Mike that he screwed up and that now he has to figure out what to do next.

And that, he did. He took the test again after begging his teacher to give him another chance for three days straight. That time, he had a better cheat sheet and didn't get caught.

And suddenly it all comes together in Mike's head.

He isn't here because he cares - well, not primarily, and somehow, this makes him feel better.

He's here because he knows a whole lot about screwing up.

"I know it all looks terrible right now and you wish you could turn back time and do it again, better this time. But first, you can't, and second, who says you're actually going to do better a second time? So you pick up what's left of your pride from the ground, take a deep breath and figure out what to do next."

"Hm." Meena lowers her eyes to the ground. "Any ideas?"

"A few," he admits.

Really, he does, maybe a side-effect of having screwed up so often in his life.

Meena looks at him. "Mind sharing them with me?"

"Nah," he says with a little laugh. "I told you, you have to figure it out yourself."

"Oh." She lowers her eyes again.

"Only that much, Jumbo," he says as he gets up. "It's not as bad as you think."

She looks at him again. "What do you mean?"

He laughs again, a little louder this time. "You really want to get an answer out of me, huh?"

"Well, duh!"

"Okay, they can say a lot of things about you now, but there's one thing they can't deny," - he pauses a bit for some dramatic effect - "you, my lil' Jumbo, have an amazing singing voice."

He taps his hat as a greeting, jumps down the bench and walks back to his bodyguards before Meena can say something.

He feels somehow relieved which is kind of odd.

Must be because he's finally getting away from Meena, he tells himself when he reaches his bodyguards.

That's the only logical explanation, isn't it?

[andrea-odown]

Keep on Singing - Chapter 16

A Sing (2016)-fanfic.

Read it on FF.Net and AO3.

Description: A few months have passed since the grand re-opening of the Moon Theater. All in all everything seems to be fine. But under the surface, everyone has to deal with some problems. Ash is facing writer’s block with her new album, Rosita is enjoying her new life as a famous singer, but has less and less time for her family, Mike is still hiding from some angry bears, Meena may has overcome her insecurity when it comes to singing, but interviews are still a challenge for her, and Johnny wants to turn the garage he and his father used to live in into a youth center. And Buster has to keep the theater running while keeping Ms. Crawly from driving the new secretary crazy and writing a new play.

Chapter 16: Buster

The thing Buster hates about last minute-meetings with Nana Noodleman is that they are last minute. And the fact that they are meetings with Nana Noodleman doesn't make things any easier. So it might be legit to say that he hates everything about last minute-meetings with Nana Noodleman. Period.

Meetings with Nana Noodleman are difficult even when he knows about them for days.

Yes, he and the old diva get along better now, but that doesn't mean she's friendlier, especially not when it comes to funding a new show. The success of Dreaming the Singer's Dream made her more open to fund his next show, too, but now she wants to see progress at least every two weeks. Unless she calls for a last minute-meeting. Then she wants progress right now.

Buster managed to get on her good side by telling her about the nationwide tour of Dreaming a Singer's Dream. And when she asked about the play he's recently working on he didn't actually lie. He just extended the truth by telling her that he's making great progress with the writing since their meeting last week. Great was the part where he extended the truth because, really, even two sentences are progress, right?

Then he told her about what he has planned for the squids to do during his new show. Nana Noodleman loves the squids. So Buster is doing his best to include them the best way he can. He even improved his squid-powered stage when they rebuild his theater. The stage is a normal stage most of the time, but the panels can be removed and then there it is, the first squid-powered stage in theater-history! Well, second, actually, if he counts in his first attempt on it. Which he shouldn't. Not after what the poor construction did to his beloved theater. But the new stage is amazing, and he loves every bit of it. And so does Nana Noodleman.

So he went on about the squids and the different formations and colors, and it did the trick. Nana Noodleman didn't ask about the status of his new show again.

He couldn't help to release a deep sigh of relief once he was out of her mansion, though.

He just hopes Cia did a good job getting together all the necessary information for Johnny's charity concert. But really, why shouldn't she? She's been doing a great job so far, even managed to get some of the work on Ms. Crawly's desk done when the iguana was out for lunch or just not looking. And that although Ms. Crawly does all she can to make office life hell for the snow leopard-girl.

He has to admit, he's a little bit amazed by Cia's endurance. He can only guess, but every other secretary her age would have quit by now.

Well, better for him, right? And for his theater - which is even more important.

He hums a little melody as he walks back to his theater - or, to be more precise, home.

"Well, I guess Johnny thought about everything," Buster admits as Cia is done with her explanations and showing him the little sketches and notes she made. She doesn't seem to be that good at drawing, but he can imagine what Johnny meant when she explains them to him.

The only thing he doesn't get is why she went over the details for the roof so quickly. To him, it sounded important, and Johnny's ideas for the roof are rather ambitious. But hey, she gave him all the necessary details, so who is he to judge on how she presented them?

"I guess so," Cia says with a little shrug. "There wasn't anything else I could think of. Johnny will come in after rehearsals to hear your opinion on this."

Buster nods. "Good. Thank you, Cia!"

"You're welcome!" And the young snow leopard turns around and leaves for her desk.

Buster waits till the door shuts closed behind her before he reaches into his drawer for a pen and paper. He better continues working on his new play so next time he has a meeting with Nana Noodleman, he doesn't have to talk about squids ninety percent of the time. Not that he couldn't pull it off - again -, but it'd be better if he could actually show Nana Noodleman some progress.

He stares down on the sheet.

Just a few notes, Buster, he tells himself. If you can distract Nana Noodleman by talking about squids for most of your meeting, you for sure can take a few notes for the next scene. Now come one! Do it!

When he looks at his clock again, he realizes he has been staring down on the piece of paper for ten minutes straight.

Before he can stop himself, he lets out a frustrated groan.

Well, there's still time left until Johnny shows up. He's sure he'll get something done by then.

However, when he hears Johnny greet Ms. Crawly and Cia, there are still no notes on the piece of paper, just pure, sheer whiteness. He crumples it up anyway, just because it might make him feel better. Which it doesn't.

As he tosses the paper into the bin, Johnny enters his office, and Buster puts on a smile, although he'd prefer to scream in frustration.

"Johnny!" he says way too cheerfully. "How are you, boy?"

"I'm fine, Mr. Moon," the gorilla replies in his usual gently voice. "How are you?"

"Great, great." He broadens his smile to hide the fact that he's anything, but great.

"Did Cia show you my plans for the concert?"

Is it just him or did Johnny's voice sound a little insecure?

"She did." Buster finally manages to get his thoughts away from the empty piece of paper and to the charity concert, and his fake smile turns into a real one. Because a concert, no, a charity concert! That's great, right? That's something he can organize, right?

It's the moment he realizes he could have told Nana Noodleman about the concert, too, and just catches his hand before it impacts on his forehead. Well, at least now he knows what he's going to tell her about during their next meeting. If he doesn't get any writing done on his new play. Which he would. For sure.

"So?" Yes, there's no doubt there, Johnny does sound insecure.

Buster's smile turns into such a big grin, the corners of his mouth start to hurt.

"I think all your ideas are great," he says.

"So it's doable?" Johnny asks, still with some insecurity in his voice.

"Yes, it is."

"Yes!" Johnny calls out, doing a joyful leap and punching the air.

It makes Buster laugh silently.

"And I've talked to all your fellow performers. They're in."

"Even Mike?" Johnny asks.

"Even Mike," Buster confirms.

Now it's Johnny's turn to laugh. "What did you do? You didn't sell your soul or something?"

"No, no, I can be very convincing if I have to." Actually, Buster has no idea what made Mike change his mind, but well, never look a gift horse in the mouth.

Buster opens his mouth to say something about how great charity concerts are for a singer's career and that Mike must have realized that, he hears Ms. Crawly address Cia.

"Lucia, be a dear and fetch me that pink binder over there?" the iguana says.

He doesn't know why, but this makes the words get stuck in his mouth and he listens to what happens next.

Johnny looks at him with a frown, but he couldn't care less. He has a bad feeling about this.

"There is no pink binder, Ms. Crawly," Cia replies.

"Isn't there or are you just not looking hard enough?"

Buster flinches inwardly, and even Johnny's eyes widen in surprise at the angry undertone in Ms. Crawly's voice.

"No, really, Ms. Crawly," Cia insists, "no pink binder there."

"Oh? And what about this one?"

"That's purple."

"Well, it looks pink to me."

Johnny's eyes grow even wider, and Buster decides he has to intervene.

"Excuse me for a second," he says to Johnny who doesn't do as much as nod, and gets up. Once in the secretary's office he finds Ms. Crawly holding up a purple binder in some sort of a triumphant gesture.

He has to give it to Cia. She doesn't look as close to scratching Ms. Crawly's eyes out as he expected her to. Actually, she looks rather calm, although a bit annoyed.

"Cia, would you be so nice to get down and help Eddie with the setup for Meena's interview training tomorrow?" he asks.

"Sure!"

"But Mr. Moon …," Ms. Crawly starts, but he cuts in before she can go any further. "As for you, Ms. Crawly, could you make me some coffee? Oh, and hot chocolate for Johnny."

The iguana's face lights up a bit at the mention of Johnny, and Buster is relieved that his plan worked out.

"Of course, Mr. Moon," Ms. Crawly says.

By the time she finishes the sentence, Cia is already out of the office.

When Buster is back in his office Johnny looks at him with such wide eyes, he's afraid they might fall out of his face any second.

"What was that!?" the gorilla asks.

"Office life as it is around here nowadays," Buster explains with a sigh.

Johnny's eyes grow even wider, and the koala decides to change the topic before the eyes falling out-part finally happens.

"So about this charity concert," he says as matter-of-factly as he can. "Maybe we should start thinking about a date."

And this plan works out just as fine as his plan with Ms. Crawly just a few moments ago.

Johnny's eyes go back to normal size.

"Sure!" he says with a smile.

[andrea-odown]

Keep on Singing - Chapter 12

A Sing (2016)-fanfic.

Read it on FF.Net and AO3.

Description: A few months have passed since the grand re-opening of the Moon Theater. All in all everything seems to be fine. But under the surface, everyone has to deal with some problems. Ash is facing writer’s block with her new album, Rosita is enjoying her new life as a famous singer, but has less and less time for her family, Mike is still hiding from some angry bears, Meena may has overcome her insecurity when it comes to singing, but interviews are still a challenge for her, and Johnny wants to turn the garage he and his father used to live in into a youth center. And Buster has to keep the theater running while keeping Ms. Crawly from driving the new secretary crazy and writing a new play.

Chapter 12: Mike

"What do you think?" Nancy asks, twirling around in a dark green dress.

"You look amazing, babe," Mike replies for the felt - or maybe actual - hundredth time.

It's not even a lie. Nancy looks amazing in each and every color and each and every sort of clothing. Heck, she'd even look amazing in a tow sack.

Nancy smiles at him, and he smiles back at her, and then she walks back to the changing booth, swaying her hips, which, Mike has to admit, he really likes.

He sighs when the salesgirl adds the green dress to the pile of clothes Nancy has chosen to buy today - or let him buy for her, to be more precise.

Which is totally fine. He loves buying nice things for her.

What he doesn't get is how buying that many clothes can make someone so very happy.

Sure, he likes a nicely tailored suit as much as the next mouse who likes the finer things in life. And he sure has his own little set of tailored suits and hats - emphasis on little. What he doesn't get is how someone could actually need hundreds of dresses, not to mention the other kinds of clothes Nancy owns by now.

But yes, whatever makes his girl happy makes him happy.

And he never gets tired of watching her modelling all kinds of dresses for him.

It's just - well, he has this pop-up concert coming up in a few days, and he really should be working on the details right now. He already has a bunch of missed calls, but when it's shopping time with Nancy, he never answers his phone.

He feels his phone buzzing, checking the caller ID.

Well, he usually doesn't answer his phone when he's out with Nancy, but he better takes this call.

He feels like someone is watching and finds Nancy peeking out of her changing booth.

"Are you really taking this?" she asks, her mouth twisted.

"I have to, babe," he replies. "Buster Moon doesn't call for no reason."

Nancy twists her mouth a little more before she disappears in the changing booth again.

Mike takes a deep breath. Then he answers the phone.

"Greetings, Mr. Moon!" he says. "What can I do for you?"

"Hello, Mike!" the koala replies. "I have some news for you."

"Oh?"

"Yes, well, you see, Johnny approached me today," Mr. Moon goes on. "He wants to turn his garage into a youth center, and to get the money for it, we plan on doing a charity concert. He thinks of the old group from back in the day, and this, of course, includes you."

"Charity?" Mike repeats doubtingly. He doesn't like how that sounds. "As in no fees?"

"Well, actually, yes."

Mike blows a raspberry. "Pssht, sorry, Mr. Moon," he says. "I don't do charity."

He glances over to the pile of clothes Nancy has chosen today.

I'm not sure I can afford it, he adds mentally.

"That's a pity, Mike," Mr. Moon replies. "This could be a real boost for your career. The fans love it when their idols do charity."

"I don't know, Mr. Moon," he says. The thought of spending his time for a concert where he doesn't even get any money out of somehow rubs him the wrong way. Yes, he did it once, back at the concert in the ruins of the Moon Theater. But that was different. He had to make a point back then. And just to be clear, it almost got him eaten by a bear. If Nancy hadn't shown up … he doesn't want to think about it.

"Just think about it and come back to me, okay, Mikey?"

"Okay. Bye, Mr. Moon!"

"Bye, Mike!"

Mike blows another raspberry as he hangs up.

"As if!" he says.

"What was that I heard about charity?"

Mike flinches a bit at the sound of Nancy's voice this close to him and turns around to look at her.

On a side note, he realizes she's wearing her black dress again which somehow makes him feel a little relieved.

"Oh yes, Buster Moon asked me about a charity concert," Mike explains. "Johnny wants to turn his garage into a youth center and they want to set up a charity concert to earn the money."

"Really?" Nancy's eyes light up. "Oh, I love charity concerts! They are amazing! And you can show anyone what a kind-hearted guy you are!"

Mike frowns a bit at that. Kind-hearted doesn't really describe him. Or so he thought.

Nancy looks at him, her eyes wide and sparkling, and he could simply drown in them.

"You are doing this, right, Mike?" Nancy asks, the light in her eyes fading a bit which he doesn't like. At all.

"Yeah, yeah, sure!" he replies. "I just needed to … uhm … check my schedule. That's … uhm … what I was about to do, heh-heh!" He gives a nervous laugh, tapping away on his phone in attempt to make it at least look like he's actually checking his calendar. Which is pretty futile. He doesn't even know when this charity concert is going to take place.

He keeps up the act for a few moments. "Well, I think I'm available," he finally says.

"Oh, this is amazing, Mike!" Nancy calls out, wrapping her arms around his neck and placing a quick kiss on his cheek.

"Thanks, babe."

"Now let me look for a special outfit for the occasion." And with that Nancy turns around, leaving for the shop floor.

"Heh-heh, take your time, babe!" he calls after her.

As Mike dials Mr. Moon's number he thinks what actually has just happened.

He, doing a charity concert? A few months ago he would have laughed at the thought, and now, with Nancy, things seem to have changed.

Maybe it is true, he thinks, love brings out the best in people.

He laughs silently and shakes his head.

"Hello, Mr. Moon?" he says as soon as the koala answers the call. "It's Mike. About that charity concert, count me in."

[andrea-odown]

Keep on Singing - Chapter 9

A Sing (2016)-fanfic.

Read it on FF.Net and AO3.

Description: A few months have passed since the grand re-opening of the Moon Theater. All in all everything seems to be fine. But under the surface, everyone has to deal with some problems. Ash is facing writer’s block with her new album, Rosita is enjoying her new life as a famous singer, but has less and less time for her family, Mike is still hiding from some angry bears, Meena may has overcome her insecurity when it comes to singing, but interviews are still a challenge for her, and Johnny wants to turn the garage he and his father used to live in into a youth center. And Buster has to keep the theater running while keeping Ms. Crawly from driving the new secretary crazy and writing a new play.

Chapter 9: Buster

A new morning, a whole new day to work on his new play, Buster thinks as he settles in at his desk. He got up extra early, simply hopping down the steps to his office from the little apartment he had himself made here in the theater. During the rebuilding of the theater he had decided to turn some of the space under the roof into an apartment. It is better than living in one of the drawers of his desk, that’s for sure. He still has all the conveniences of a full apartment - kitchen, bathroom, a living room with a really big TV to play video games with Eddie, a bedroom with an actual bed - and yet, he’s always home. The theater has always been his home, even back in the day when he still owned an apartment near-by.

But being able to stay at home, that is something precious.

He glances at his watch. He asked Ms. Crawly to come in a bit later today because he wanted to show the new secretary around. That was his official explanation. In reality he just doesn’t want to have Ms. Crawly be at the girl’s throat right from the start.

The girl - her name is Lucia - asked about a dress code, but he told her to wear something comfortable. He has this feeling that Ms. Crawly is going to chase her around all over the theater.

Another glance at the watch tells him that he has thirty minutes left to work on his play. Thirty minutes! That’s a whole 1.800 seconds which is a lot! Such a big amount of time! He’s sure he’ll have the next scene figured out by the time Lucia arrives.

Thirty minutes later, the doorman calls to let Buster know that the new secretary is here.

With a twist of his mouth Buster realizes that he has just been staring down a white sheet of paper all these wonderful 1.800 seconds long before he tells the doorman to send the girl to his office.

A few moments later, there’s a soft knock on his door.

“Come in, come in!” he says, shoving the white sheet of paper away.

And in comes a young female snow leopard, wearing a pair of jeans, black sneakers and a short-sleeved black T-shirt.

Yes, this looks comfortable enough so that she’s going to survive a day of being chased around by Ms. Crawly.

“Good morning, Mr. Moon!” the girl says.

“Good morning, Lucia!” he replies. “Or do you prefer Ms. Clawson?”

“Actually, I prefer Cia, if that’s fine with you.”

“Cia it is, then,” he says. “Ms. Crawly should be in in about an hour. Let me give you a tour of the theater first.”

Cia just nods.

When they cross Ms. Crawly’s office he watches Cia from the corner of his eye to see how she reacts to the tower of papers on Ms. Crawly’s desk, but she doesn’t even blink.

Buster decides that’s a good sign.

“And now we’re back at the office,” Buster says as he opens the door again an hour later.

He immediately sets eyes on Ms. Crawly standing in front of her desk. He doesn’t know if she just arrived or if she just took up station there so she wouldn’t miss when he comes back. The tower of papers on her desk would make it impossible to see him enter from her working place.

“Oh, hello, Ms. Crawly!” he says as cheerful as he can although there’s something in Ms. Crawly’s real eye that sends a cold shiver down his spine.

However, he keeps that smile plastered to his face. “Ms. Crawly, may I introduce Cia to you? Cia, this is Ms. Crawly.”

“Hello, Ms. Crawly!” the snow leopard says in a friendly tone, holding out her hand as she walks up to the iguana.

Buster isn’t sure, but he thinks Ms. Crawly is frowning as she takes Cia’s hand and shakes it.

“Cia? What kind of name is that?” she asks, proving him right.

“It’s short for Lucia,” the girl replies. “I prefer Cia, though.”

“I see.”

“Cia, we don’t have a workstation for you just yet,” Buster says quickly. “Someone is coming later today to set it all up for you. In the meantime, I am sure, Ms. Crawly has some work for you.”

“Indeed I do, Lucia,” Ms. Crawly says. “You can help me organize the binders over there. By color, please.”

Buster turns his head to look at a pile of empty binders in a corner.

Really? There’s this tower of papers on Ms. Crawly’s desk and she wants the new secretary to organize some empty binders by  color?

But what does he know about office work? Maybe that’s just some sort of a warm-up. At least, he hopes so.

“Will do!” Cia replies. “And it’s Cia, please.”

“Oh yes, of course.” Ms. Crawly shuffles over to her chair, disappearing behind the papers and Cia kneels down to organize the binders.

“And after that, maybe you can organize the sticky notes over there? That’d be great, Lucia.”

“By size? And it’s Cia.”

“No, by color, just like the binders.”

“Will do!”

“Thank you, Lucia.”

“Cia, please.”

Buster decides that now would be a good time to get back to his office and to working on his new play.

Now that Ms. Crawly has help, the pending work should be done in no time - once all these warm-up work is done, Buster is sure about that.

Although that doesn’t explain why he can feel a terrible headache building up. But maybe that’s just his creativity trying to break free! Yes, this must be it! He can’t get to his desk fast enough. He takes a pencil and a sheet of paper, waiting for the headache to explode into a rush of creativity for the next scene, but instead he can only hear Ms. Crawly and Cia talking.

“You can organize the pencils after that, Lucia.”

“It’s Cia, please.” The girl’s voice doesn’t sound annoyed at all, which - to Buster - is a miracle. If Ms. Crawly got his name wrong all this time he for sure would be annoyed.

“By color?” she asks.

“No, by size of course.”

Buster still waits for his creative fluids to finally start flowing. Instead his headache increases.