Angels and Guardians Pt. 02

Jill walked to the front edge of the stage with the poise of a Miss America winner. A vision that could grace any style magazine cover, she was wearing the elegant black gown Joe bought for her at the mall two nights ago. She looked like Evening Dinner Barbie, with a bit of playful sensuality thrown in. Jill smiled and raised her arms away from her sides and patted the air towards the ground. Her gesture had the proper effect and the chant started to die out. When the noise level reached about half its intensity, Jill smiled prettily and raise the microphone to her lips. "Thank you, and welcome to our Annual Talent Show!" The chant was completely gone now. She ad libbed slightly. "I'm sure Joe would have appreciated that welcome." A short cheer erupted. When it died away, she continued, still smiling. "I'd like to thank Sister Kate, our principal, for giving me a chance to emcee tonight's program, when Joe became unable to do it." A hearty applause ensued. While the crowd was used to seeing Joe as the emcee for the last three years, Jill was popular enough that they appreciated her filling in. The applause died, and Jill returned to her script. "Thank you, also, to those who were able to contribute at the doors tonight. Your generosity will help fund our school's many clubs, teams, and events. So, why are we here tonight? We're here to celebrate the many talents my fellow students possess. The performances you'll see tonight exemplify the spirit and diversity our halls hold every day. So, please, sit back and enjoy the night! Our first performance..."

Joe was listening from his seclusion in the locker room. He was flattered by the impromptu chant at the start of the show. But more so, his heart soared with pride for Jill as she masterfully worked the crowd. She was a natural leader, and if he hadn't been there the three years, SHE would have been the go-to person to lead events such as this. Her speaking was a talent itself. Perfect diction and eloquence, all could easily understand every word she spoke. If you were blind, you could hear the smile in her voice. "Atta girl, sweetheart," he said to the door.

One performance followed another. Each one was introduced by Jill with a background of the performer, or performers, and of the act they did. She was right. The acts were as diverse as the students. There were speeches, skits, dancing, and singing of all types. In the concession hallway, static representations of artwork, successful school projects, and competition trophies were displayed for musing during the reception afterward. Before long, Joe heard the performance of four junior friends who had formed a garage band. The music they produced wasn't bad, he judged, but their vocals were what kept them a garage band. After they finished their set, Jill announced that there was a planned pause while they cleared the stage for the final performance.

She unlocked the locker room door, and asked Joe if he was ready. He said he was, and she led him through the backstage to the piano behind the middle curtain. Jill told him that there was a dramatic plan to reveal him playing, so be ready for it. Joe nodded. He sat on the bench and looked at the piano. It was a concert grand who's twin resided in his living room. His parents had donated this one to the school in hopes that he would play it for events such as this. "Figures," he thought to himself. "The one time I do play it for an audience and they miss it." He sat, waiting for his cue to start playing.

Jill returned to stage front and center. The applause she received whenever appearing before the crowd now rivaled Joe's junior year. She waited for the appreciation to wane, then introduced Ashley. "Our next, and final, performance is from our newest senior cheerleader. She transferred to our school last Spring from California. She had taken voice and violin lessons for six years. The guitar she's playing in this piece was self-taught. Ladies and gentlemen, one of my best friends, Ashley Roberts performing Nickleback's Hero!"

Joe was confused at first, but then caught on. He was the school's surprise. This was Ashley and Jill's surprise for him. He listened to and felt the intricate chords being strummed on her guitar.

Ashley was already playing the chords before the curtain opened in front of her. It was a designed timing plan, to keep Joe from striking his keys prematurely. Her left hand danced about the fingerboard of her guitar, picking out perfect positions for the precise chords her right hand was strumming. Her voice, clear as a church bell on a frigid morning, started singing, "I'm so high, I can hear heaven..."

Joe propped his body with his elbow against the edge of the keyboard as he listened. He had heard her sing before in his living room, and again in the car last night. But, not like this. Her voice sang with an emotion that told her listeners that this song was directed to someone very special in her life. He also marveled at the elaborate chords and note embellishments she was playing on her guitar. She was very good. Not 'very good for her age', or 'very good for a talent show.' It was very good period. He was pretty sure she could turn pro, just playing the guitar.

Ashley's voice faltered when she reached the third stanza, and nearly choked with emotion.

"Now that the world isn't ending, its love that I'm sending to you.

It isn't the love of a hero, and that's why I fear it wont do."

She fought the tears back, but was able to play and sing through the refrain and end the song.

There was no question in the audience's mind as to who this song was directed to, or why she chose to perform it. Everyone knew the story of what happened three weeks ago, and they were reminded of it when Joe was missing from the stage. Before Ashley played the last chords, the crowd was on it's feet, cheering and clapping. The applause ran on for several minutes. They were applauding her strength to perform so quickly after that horrible wreck. And, they did it to show genuine appreciation for her clear talent. Jill had joined Jasmine in the front row after Ashley's introduction. Both girls had tears streaming down their cheeks, not unlike many in the audience. From somewhere behind Jill, a female shouted, "We miss you Joe!" Another, "We love you Joe!"

Ashley stood on the stage in awe. The noise was deafening. When she heard the spontaneous shouts about Joe, she lost it and the tears started flowing. She kept mouthing to the crowd, "Thank you." The shouts started another chant that engulfed the audience, "Joe! Joe! Joe!"

Just before the chant erupted, he heard Ashley's soft sob in the speaker next to him. Joe got up and went around to the side of the stage. She glanced over at him, and he went to her. When they met at the center of the stage, he gave her a bear hug, and the crowd went nuts. It didn't seem possible, but the noise was even louder. She looked up at him and smiled. He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. He knew his principal would frown on the public display of affection (it was barred at their school), but he didn't care. Their embrace renewed the cheers in the audience. After a few moments, Joe grabbed the microphone, his arm still around Ashley's shoulders. He flipped into his emcee role, quieting the crowd with a gesture of the mike.

"Oh my God," he said happily into the mike. "Thank you so much! What about this voice here?" The cheers started anew, and Ashley smiled appreciatively for the crowd. "Would you all like to hear her sing again?" More cheers. "Great! Then I'll get out of the way and let her sing another song for y'all. This is 'Uninvited' by Alanis Morrisette." Another round of applause started as he handed Ashley the microphone and took her guitar with him offstage. He put it in her case, then out of sight of the audience, he returned to his position at the piano.

For all the crowd knew, the first haunting notes he played were piped in from a recording.

Ashley started singing precisely on cue from the musical introduction,

"Like anyone would be

I am flattered by your fascination with me..."

Her voice was like bells ringing. Crystal clear, delicate at times, strong and assertive at others, and in all the right points of the lyrics.

For Joe's part, his piano playing was brilliant. The technique and expression flawless. While he was playing his solo after the second stanza, the curtain flew apart to reveal Joe animately striking the keys during a spirited bar. Realizing that the music was not piped in, and was actually Joe playing, the crowd stood and cheered. Ashley continued singing the third stanza, her voice getting particularly strong while singing

"But THIS is not allowed!

You're uninvited.

An unfortunate slight!"

Her emotion was clear, and Joe knew it was pointed at Bill. They wrapped up the piece with some embellishment from Joe's piano, and the audience remained on its feet and went wild. The pair met each other and hugged again. Ashley leaned into him and said in his ear, "Thank you." And then she gave him a kiss on the lips. The crowd ate it up and the ovation continued. The applause started fading, giving way to calls, "Encore! Encore!"

Ashley was still holding the microphone and she brought it to her mouth. "Really?" she asked. A short cheer sprang up. "Very well. This one is for a friend I've never known, Joe's long departed sister. 'My Immortal' from Evanescence." She had planned to sing without accompaniment. But, while she waited for the cheers to die down, Joe sat back at the piano, and began playing the delicate intro to the song. Working perfectly together, Ashley and Joe were able to make the audience's spirit rise and fall at will throughout the song. The imaginations they stirred was like being on a ride through a magical dreamland, and the crowd became lost in their musical fantasy. When Joe played the last fading notes, the gymnasium was filled once more with a resounding ovation. Not a dry eye could be found.

Joe stood and met Ashley center stage once more. She handed the microphone to him, and held onto his arm, resting her head on the side of his shoulder. He took the mike and said into it, "Thank you, Ashley." She tipped her head up, smiled, and they held a friendly kiss for a second. That picture of the two of them on stage burned into the heads of the crowd, and they were instantly accepted as "the cutest couple" at the school. Ashley resumed her earlier position on Joe's arm. When the crowd grew quieter, he went back into his speaker mode. He knew this part well from the previous years. "Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you so much for attending and supporting our fellow classmates tonight. That concludes our official program." The last sentence really got the crowd's attention. "Please enjoy the refreshments in the concession hallway. If you don't, I'll have to give it all to my Guardians!" They laughed at his reference to the offensive line. Smiling, Joe continued. "While you're out there, please check out the exhibits showcasing the academic talent our students possess. Take your time. We're going to reset the gym for the surprise, so I hope you'll return to join us in about a half hour. Thank you!"

He whispered something to Ashley, and she got a wicked grin. She took the microphone and flirted, "Could we have The Scorpions back on stage? We need to move your... equipment."

They were laughing as they exited the stage. Joe turned to her when the curtain closed and said, "God, Ashley, I meant could you find the band and ask them to see me? Not invite them to bed over the PA!!"

Her eyes twinkled when she replied, "I thought it would be more fun that way." She saw the group racing up the steps to the backstage. "Besides, it was easier," she nodded toward them.

Joe shook his head and smiled. He told Ashley what he wanted to do, and she went off to find her group of friends to recruit their help. Joe talked to the stagehands and the group of juniors who formed The Scorpions, running his plan by them. They all seemed to like it, and he continued talking to the band to feel out what pieces of music they knew.

The Angels found Ashley on her way down to the gym floor. They asked what was going on, and she told them what Joe had in mind. The girls peeled off to find their boyfriends to recruit some muscle. They succeeded, and soon the eleven seniors were busily stacking chairs and wheeling them to the equipment storage room. As people grew tired of the reception, they trickled back to the gym to find the basketball court open and free of chairs. Intuition and curiosity provided a natural guide to the crowd, and soon the gym floor was a sea of students, with their parents and teachers sitting in the bleachers on the sides.

Jill had returned to the stage to give the lighting crew and stagehands cues for the unrehearsed show. When the crowd had mostly settled, she nodded to the guys manning the curtains and they raised them to Joe beginning the piano introduction to Evanescence's "Bring Me To Life." Ashley sweetly joined the instrumental, singing,

"How can you see into my eyes

Like open doors?

Leading you down into my core

Where I've become so numb..."

When the first stanza ended, Joe played a few notes softly for effect, then sang the rough vocal cue, "Wake Me Up!" On that, The Scorpions began their hard rock accompaniment to Ashley and Joe for the rest of the song.

The piece, and the way Joe put the parts together took the crowd's breath away. And so began the impromptu concert. The music performed included a wide range of songs, stretching from "Think of Me" from Phantom of the Opera, to upbeat modern variations of classics like "Twist and Shout." Their audience loved every minute. At times, even parents and teachers joined the students dancing on the gymnasium floor. Joe was everywhere on stage. Sometimes singing, sometimes playing the piano, sometimes grabbing Ashley's guitar and joining the band in playing.

After the musicians played nearly an hour and a half, Joe walked off stage and returned with the two fiddles. Jasmine in the crowd called out, "Yeeow!" Which was answered with sporadic whoops. He handed Ashley hers, and whispered something in her ear. She nodded, brought the instrument under her chin, and waited for Joe's signal. Joe readied his fiddle as well, looked at her, and mouthed the slow count. Together they played "Ave Maria" in an incredibly moving duet. No wonder Jasmine was excited. She was right. No vocals were needed for this song, as Joe's violin literally "sang" the melody. Ashley's play provided the perfect harmony compliment. They finished playing and the air erupted in thunderous applause. Joe leaned over to Ashley and said in her ear, "Hope you didn't mind me taking lead there. It's the only time I can 'sing' soprano." She laughed and shook her head.

When the applause died down, Joe looked at Ashley with a mischievous grin. She cocked her head, and he plucked out the first few notes of "Dueling Banjos" on his strings. Ashley and the crowd laughed. "You really think you can keep up with me?" she asked into the microphone, which resulted in a series of cat calls and cheers from the crowd. He laughed, shrugged and answered by playing the first bar of Mary Had A Little Lamb horribly out of tune. The crowd laughed heartily, and gave him a mock applause. He walked back over to Ashley and gave the name of the piece in her ear, then returned to his spot. Her eyebrows went up. "Really? You're sure?" She said this into the mike. He nodded for the crowds benefit. She chuckled into the microphone, shrugged and said, "Okay, but I am so gonna kick your ass!" This elicited a whoop and whistles from the crowd. The audience took sides and began chanting their favorite's name. Joe let them for a bit, then raised his bow up and down to give Ashley the count, and they began playing a rousing rendition of "Devil Went Down To Georgia." The band joined in, while Joe sang the story. He changed his narration to put Ashley in the story instead of 'Johnny'. She caught it and sang "Johnny's" (now her) dialog when Joe's narration reached those parts. Joe played lead on the Devil's portion then Ashley played her part. True to the story, Ashley played her solo perfectly. They played the final chorus together and the six on stage concluded the song simultaneously. Panting, Joe laid his fiddle on the floor in front of Ashley and backed away, giving her exaggerated worship bows.

The crowd ate it up, cheering, clapping, whooping. They started chanting her name, "Ashley! Ashley!" Joe took the cue, and resumed his worship bow in time with the chant. He got up and went to each member of the band to shake their hand. Laughing, Ashley bent down and picked up his violin and bow and held them for him. She blew gracious kisses to the crowd, thanking them for the compliment. Joe gave Ashley one last hug, then turned to face the crowd. He said to them, "Thank you all so much! This was fun to do, and I hope y'all enjoyed it! I'll be back at school on Monday, and I'd like to take this moment to thank all of your wishes and good thoughts while I was recovering. Thank you again, and I'll see you Monday. Good night and drive safe!" The curtain closed, and the band played the last few bars again for effect.

Ashley ran over to him and jumped up, wrapping herself around him while he caught her. "That was so much fun!" she exclaimed.

Joe smiled at her and playfully said, "Fun? That was fun? No no no. THIS is fun." He put her down and sat at the piano. The tune he started playing was very familiar to Ashley.

She shook her head vehemently. "NO Joe!" she hissed.

But he kept playing. The tune was cute enough that Ashley gave in and played along. Joe leaned into the mike and said dramatically, "Ladies and Gentlemen, 'Ashley's Song'."

Ashley rolled her eyes and flipped her microphone back on. She began singing the playful, seductive, and naughty song she sang in the car with Joe last night. Part of her couldn't believe he was already beautifully playing a piece he had only heard being hummed once. The other part of her merged into the song, and she started openly flirting with Joe by swaying and moving to the music only inches from him. The group that was left on stage felt their heart rate increase as they watched her blatant seduction. As the song finished, Joe whispered to her, "See, I told you THAT'S what's fun!" She smiled and shared an intimate kiss with him. They jumped at the smattering of applause.

The pair had been so lost in her song that they didn't notice the stage crew opening the curtain. They realized in short order that the performance was witnessed by about a forth of the school that was still milling around. They smiled at each other, embarrassed; and then began cleaning up and putting away their instruments. No one saw the red light glowing on the camera in the corner of the gym.

Chapter 8

What's On TV?

Joe, Jill, and Ashley came down from the stage and met up with Jasmine, Sally, Marybeth and Allison. Hugs were shared all around, and the three girls gushed over their three star friends. "That was freaking amazing!" Sally exclaimed. Allison agreed, "Y'all should be on the road playing in every major city!"

Joe countered, "Well, I doubt that would happen, but it sure was fun."

They chatted excitedly about the show, then Sally, Marybeth and Allison said goodbye and went home with their parents. The gym had emptied with the exception of some of the drama students finishing up putting away the last of the equipment. The four heard Sister Kate come up. "May I speak with you, Joe and Ashley?" They said yes, but she looked at Jill and Jasmine. "Alone?" They took the hint and walked toward the instruments to put them in the SUV. Sister Kate called after them. "Ladies, great job on your parts with the show."