"Really?" Asher asks skeptically. "You saw real ghosts? That's why you've been acting all weird?"
"Yeah," Vincent says softly. "I know it sounds crazy, but I did. I mean...she was long dead when I saw her by the swing already."
"Oh wow! Look at that!" Asher says when they finally can see the large dead tree. "The news wasn't kidding...what the hell happened to it?"
Vincent shrugs. "I have no idea. That thing has been there for so long...it's weird." Vincent doesn't want to tell Asher anything that could get himself or the crazy adults he was with in trouble. "Seemed perfectly ok when I got the autograph from Wadim..."
Helena chooses an album to play on her phone and slides it into the band around her arm. After tugging on her ponytail, she continues her run, following the familiar path she's taken since finding herself in Savannah. Unsurprisingly, it takes her right by the tree she and the others helped destroy just a few days ago.
ReplyDelete"How was that?" Asher asks, looking in the direction of the tree. "You said you got to ghost hunt with him?"
ReplyDeleteVincent stares at Helena, making sure it's actually her and not someone else, before he gives her a weak smile and a wave.
When Vincent doesn't respond to him, Asher turns to look at him and frowns once he realizes Vincent is paying attention to some girl running.
Helena catches Vincent's wave out of the corner of her eye and changes direction, slowing down as she approaches the two boys.
ReplyDelete"Hey Scooby," she smiles, winking at him. She pulls out her earbuds and hangs them around her neck. "Any more dreams?"
Vincent shakes his head. "No. I think It's ok now. You?"
ReplyDeleteAsher stuffs his hands into his pockets. "Scooby?" he whispers, looking at Helena.
Helena flashes a smile at the other boy. "You must be Asher," she says sweetly. "I'm Helena. And no, it seems the mad fuckery is over with, finally."
ReplyDeleteThe blonde boy nods and looks at Vincent.
ReplyDelete"Ash, this is the um," he looks down at his feet as he whispers, "The scary crazy lady I was telling you about that saw the ghosts too."
"OH! Ok." Asher can't help but smile a little.
Helena pouts a little. "Aw, come on, Scooby, I'm not scary! A little fucked up, but that's not really my fault." Turning to Asher, she bobs a pretty, but mocking, curtsy. "It's a pleasure, Ash. What are you two doing out here?"
ReplyDelete"Not Scooby," Vincent mumbles and rolls his eyes at Helena's attempt at sweetness.
ReplyDeleteAsher laughs a bit. "She's not too bad...OH! Vince and I wanted to see what the tree looked like. They made a big deal about it on the news. I wonder what happened to it. I heard someone tried to blow it up I think for some reason a few days ago. I wonder if that killed it."
Helena laughs. "I heard about that. Crazy people who would blow up a tree, right? Listen, I'm running a pretty awesome light show tonight with a local DJ, why don't you boys come along? I can leave your names at the door and you'll get in free," she offers. "That is, unless your grades would suffer," she adds with a smile at Vincent.
ReplyDeleteBoth of them look down bashfully. "Like a...social thing?" Vincent asks. "You know I don't do well with that..."
ReplyDelete"You're just as bad as Scooby," she laughs. "But not really social. You can come sit up on the stage behind me and the DJ. Or dance if you want. Just an offer, I get free passes for every show I do, but never have anyone to give them to."
ReplyDelete"So we can just sit off by ourselves and watch your light show?" Vincent asks, looking at Asher.
ReplyDelete"You're smart Vince...your grades will go back up soon enough. This might be fun?" Asher smiles. "I kinda wanna go..."
"You sure can. Free sodas all night, too. I might even play a little tonight."
ReplyDeleteVincent nods. "Ok then. We'll go. Where and what time?"
ReplyDelete"Yay!" Asher cheers softly with a smile.
She gives them the name of the club. "It's just down the street. You aren't old enough, but tell the doorman you're with Hell and you won't have a problem. I'll be there at six to set up, show starts around nine."
ReplyDelete"Ok. That's plenty of time to get some homework done," Vincent nods. "I guess we could just sit at a table here Ash? Then we won't have to walk around."
ReplyDelete"What about food?" Asher frowns.
"I'll buy us something. Don't worry. You pick." He turns to Helena. "Do you want anything? Even just to take on your run?"
Helena grins and kisses his cheek. "No thanks, Scooby. I've got to get going. I perform as much as the lights do, so I've got to get dolled up." She grimaces. "And I think Agent Steve is coming."
ReplyDeleteAsher and Vincent both look a little shocked by the kiss. "I...I thought you liked him?" Vincent stammers. "Or...or do you like Wadim? Or...never mind...you're confusing...I guess we'll see you later?"
ReplyDeleteShe laughs. "I don't know about liking him, but I'll probably fuck him. Or Wadim if I get the chance." She grins and turns her shoulders seductively. "Or both if the opportunities arise. They're both pretty good with their hands."
ReplyDeleteIn addition to the shocked look on their faces, they both turn a bright shade of pink.
ReplyDelete"I told you she was crazy," Vincent whispers. Asher simply nods.
"You have no idea, kiddo," she laughs, waving as she jogs away. "And don't want my ass like Wadim does," she calls over her shoulder with a chuckle.
ReplyDeleteAsher laughs and heads over to a table so they can get some homework done.
ReplyDeleteAfter leaving their names at the door, Helena's waved in and drops her bag by the stage. The place is pretty empty except for the owner and a few employees, and the general house crew. A large sunken dance floor dominates the space, with tables spaced evenly along the rails. Above head is the VIP section, and above that are the main light rails.
ReplyDelete"Now, Helena, I want something amazing!" the owner tells her, hands waving. "Smoke and mirrors and lights and lasers and everything!"
Rolling her eyes, she slips into her harness/tool belt combination. "Do I ever do you wrong, Harry?" she asks, looking around. "Who's lifting me up?"
A strong young man approaches, and she follows him up the uppermost level before hooking her harness into the safety lines. It takes about two hours to get all the lights on the main rails , the lights along the second level, and the lights on the stage all adjusted and programmed into the computer. She and the DJ discuss the set list, and she makes a few adjustments to the light and smoke cues.
Once everything's in place, she goes to change for the show.
Vincent and Asher grab some fast food and eat it on the way over to the club. Vincent wants to get there early to avoid any crowds and maybe find a nice lonely spot for them to watch from.
ReplyDeleteThey walk up to the doorman and Vincent gulps. He could kill me... Asher walks closely behind Vincent, almost like he's hiding behind him.
"Uh...I'm Vincent and this is Asher and uhhh...we're here for Hell," he says a bit above a whisper.
The doorman crosses his arms and looks them up and down, ignoring the people at the front of the line trying to say they're with the two boys. "You're with Hell?"
ReplyDeleteVincent nods his head. "Yeah...but I mean...if we can't get in, we'll go."
ReplyDeleteAsher nods in agreement.
"I'd understand and all...just tell her that we did show up so she doesn't think we bailed on her...cuz I don't want her to think that...we tried..." he quickly stops talking, realizing he's talking too much, and waits for the doorman to say something.
After a moment of staring at them, the doorman holds the door open. "Takes all kinds, I guess," he says to himself. "She might not be dressed yet, so you'll want to wait for her by the stage."
ReplyDeleteWhen they walk in, it seems quiet and empty, almost eerie. "For fucks sake!" they hear above them.
Looking up, they see Helena dressed in a frilly, light blue costume hanging from a belt harness, her wrench in hand and arm wrapped around a pole with lights hanging off it. It looks like she's being held up more by the pole than her harness.
"Get that God damned rail weighted like it's supposed to be!" she's shouting at someone across from her. They can't see who, but it seems that the person is off to the side, possibly against the wall.
The two almost jump at her sudden cursing and look up.
ReplyDelete"She's scary," Asher whispers.
"Yeah I know," Vincent responds.
"And why does she call you Scooby?" Ash asks with a raised brow.
Vincent sighs. "I don't know. She seems to think I'm a sad puppy version of Scooby Doo?"
They hear her scream and see her hanging upside down, still clutching the rail. The tie line of her wrench is wrapped around her wrist, but she's lost hold of it.
ReplyDelete"Fuck fuck fuck! Too heavy! Too fucking heavy! Are you trying to kill me you asshole?" Looking 'up' at the floor, she notices the two boys. "Oh, hi guys!"
"Are you ok?" Vincent asks concerned. "You...you did say light show? Not trapeze act..."
ReplyDelete"It will be a light show if this dildo-brain will weight the God damn light rail correctly!" she screams up at the unseen person.
ReplyDelete"Yeah, yeah, keep your panties on, bitch," they hear.
They watch her slowly turn right side up as the rail raises and pauses at the correct height. "Better?" they hear.
"Yes, thank you," she says. "Tom, you can lower me down now."
Slowly and smoothly she's lowered to the floor and they get a better look at the costume she's in. She wears a short-sleeved jacket made of some filmy, see-though shimmery fabric that hooks up the front and shows off a dark blue bra with a lighter blue ruffle across the top. Her skirt is a bunch of ruffled layers of sequined fabric, the same shimmery fabric as her jacket, and what looks like a plain solid blue fabric- all light blue and trimmed in hot pink. Mixed in with the ruffles are a couple tags that say things like "Eat me" and "Fuck off." In the back the ruffles reach down just past her knees, and she wears white tights covered in torn black sequined fishnets and high heeled Mary Jane shoes. She also wears sequined fishnet elbow gloves, and her hair is crazy curly. Her tool belt and harness are strapped over it, making it poof out in weird places.
"Stand over there for me, for just a second," she says, unhooking from a rope and tugging on it as she walks over to the stage and slides a couple switches.
"Interesting outfit," Vincent comments, trying not to laugh. He finds it a bit strange to see her in ruffles. "You aren't going to drop anything on us are you?" He asks nervously, moving to where she pointed.
ReplyDelete"Yeah, but I actually like it. Very Alice in Wonderland," she murmurs, picking up a handheld light panel. She types in a couple codes and watches how it lights the boys from a couple angles, then sharpens the focus. "There we go! Should be good now."
ReplyDeleteHitting a button, the club goes dark. After a moment, a blue light shines, the light beam cut into a diamond pattern and hitting several refractors, shooting light around the room. Lasers and other lights begin to fade in, and everything starts spinning, pulsing, and flashing.
"Perfect!" She says, hitting another button and turning it all off.
"Do you do everything manually or do you use some type of computer program and set it all up ahead of time after you set up the lights and stuff? Is that lasers?" Vincent asks looking around the room when all the lights flash.
ReplyDelete"A little of both," she explains, leading them over to her stage setup. There's a switchboard about three feet long and two feet wide covered in buttons, switches, slides, and dials next to a small computer. "Things like strobes and pulse go into the program so I don't have to worry about them, they'll function in time with the music. You've seen programs that mix music, right? This works on the premise, only with lights. Others, like the big cues I played a minute ago, I have set up on cues, so I can just hit cue button whatever and it goes off." She smiles and moves six slides at once. "But I can override everything and run it manually if I want, or add bits and pieces in manually as we go. I'll also control the cameras and what goes up on the screen."
ReplyDeleteVincent nods as he quietly listens and takes in everything she is saying. "Cool," he finally whispers while he looks the switchboard over.
ReplyDeleteIf I wasn'r so scared of her beating me to a pulp, I'd mess with all of this...
He looks up and Helena and then at the rest of the room. "So...where should we sit?"
"Anywhere. I can set you up in VIP, a reserved table down here, or back here," she points to a table behind her setup and the djs. "Hatter won't care, and I might let you run lights while I play."
ReplyDelete"Really?" Vincent says surprised. "You'd let me do something with the lights?"
ReplyDelete"But...what if I mess it up?" he says nervously, looking out at the empty room. "All the people that will probably be out there..." He starts to wring his hands and then sighs.
Helena laughs. "Take it easy. I'll spot Hatter and shadow you so no one can see you well. And if you just use the slides and dials and don't hit any buttons on the laptop you'll be fine."
ReplyDelete"But...I don't want to risk a mess up to your show..." he mumbles. "I'll just sit somewhere with a good view and watch."
ReplyDelete"Vince...you can hack into...almost anything, and you're afraid you'll mess up lights?" Asher laughs.
"I'm afraid I'll mess up her lights..."
Helena laughs and fluffs her hair. "You can't mess these up, Scooby. All the dials and slides do is raise and lower the lights. You can't move or unfocused them, and you can't kill the program or show."
ReplyDeleteJust then a tall skinny guy walks up. He's wearing red and black striped bell bottoms with green and orange flings hanging around his knee, an orange T-shirt, and a purple jacket with lime green straps and buckles. Topping it all off is a green Mad Hatters style top hat covered in sequins.
"Alice, you're looking lovely as always! And welcome friends!" He says to the boys. "I am DJ Hatter, the ringleader of this mad tea party you're about to enjoy!" He bows dramatically and sweeps his hat off, revealing a good looking, normal young man beneath the clothes. "At your service. Any requests?"
"Well...ok...maybe..." Vincent mutters looking at the dials. He has a hard time passing up the chance to mess with any technology.
ReplyDeleteThe boys look at each other and shake their heads. "Nope. Just play whatever you're going to play. But if we think of anything, could we let you know later?" Asher says.
The DJ looks at them both carefully. "I don't suppose you two are performers? I could make a real show with somebody on keyboard and drums."
ReplyDeleteHelena laughs and puts an arm around Vincent's shoulders. "Not a chance, Hatter. Scooby's shy."
His face and shoulders droop. "Ah well. It'll happen, Helena. One day I'll call you up and you'll be Alice forever," he promises, moving to his music station.
House music begins to pulse loudly, and Helena hits a button and the regular lights go out, replaced with colored lights just spinning and moving. "They'll open the doors and start soon," she says, ushering them to their table.
They take their seats and Asher leans over toward Vincent. "Keyboard and drums...we could have done that," he whispers.
ReplyDelete"No...I couldn't have," Vincent mumbles shaking his head. "I'm not very good at the keyboard."
"That's your favorite instrument," Ash nudges him with his elbow. "Musical and on the computer." He stares at Vincent then laughs. "And how are your grades right now?"
"Horrible," Vincent sighs and Asher laughs again.
"You are doing better than me with all your A's, Vince. You're being silly."
"Maybe..."
The show starts like any other night at a club. Lights whirl and pulse, Helena dances onstage and interacts with the DJ as if they were Alice and the Mad Hatter. About a half hour into it, though, fog machines start filling the place, and on the screen is a vertigo of a clock face and lights start going crazy. Helena takes her place behind her set, adjusts her headset and microphone, and starts hitting buttons.
ReplyDeleteThe crowd, most of whom seem to be familiar with the show, goes nuts. Hatter screams out "Welcome to the Mad Tea Party!" through his mic, and glitter starts falling from the ceiling.
"Now everybody knows I am your host and DJ for the evening, the Mad Hatter, and my scrumptious little delight here is the incomparable Alice. And she has agreed- finally- to pick up her violin and-" He's cut off by an adoring crowd cheering. "Manners! Manners! I'm not done," he charmingly scolds, motioning for them to quiet down.
"He means shut the fuck up," Helena interjects, eliciting more cheers.
Hatter puts his hands on his hips and frowns at her. "One of these days I'm going to gag you, you foul mouthed chit."
Helena panders to the crowd, grinning mischievously. "Oh please, Hatter," she croons seductively.
Hatter throws his hands in the air. "If you can't control yourself, we'll just go back to my wonderful music mixed that everyone really came to hear."
Helena winks back the boys behind her and motions for Vincent to step forward. "Not a chance, Hatter. You got all these people excited, and I'm a girl who keeps her word."
In perfect timing, Hatter starts playing music and the lights start changing and moving again. As promised, the switchboard is dark. Helena moves forward and produces an electric violin. She stands next to the DJ and plugs in.
All at once, she starts playing along with the music, the notes moving above and below the original track, in and out of the beat. After a few seconds of cheering, the crowd goes back to dancing.
Vincent makes a sort of muffled quiet yelp sound as Asher practically drags him up to his feet, and shoves him toward the board. "Come on. I know you want to. You won't ruin anything."
ReplyDeleteHe nervously stares at the switchboard before he finally decides to play with the different dials and switches. She said I can't mess it up...I can't mess it up...she would know...
It takes him only a few seconds of tweaking everything before he has figured out exactly what each control does.
This is easy.
The show is a mixture of the DJ spinning and mixing music, he and Helena singing covers, comedy, and all around playfulness. Helena lets Vincent stay at the switchboard with her, letting him okay as she works.
ReplyDeleteWhen the show is over, the house DJ takes over and she gathers her violin, computer, and what little equipment she brought. Covered in sweat and glitter, she approaches the boys after changing into a shorts and a pink tank top.
"What'd you think?" she asks as she leads them through a dressing room of sorts and out the back door.