DANNY Chapter 27 by Roberta J. Cabot This is a story about Daniel, a guy with a unique talent and an even more unique problem: A great singing voice and the looks of his gorgeous sister. And how he and his family deal with his having breasts. And how he deals with getting turned on by his girlfriend. And how he ends up as the female lead singer for a high-school pop band as well as a radio DJ. After they've made Janet's replacement by Fallon official, the gang looks forward to an uncertain future for the band. Never a dull moment with Batch Fourteen, and Dan & his gang.

 
Chapter Twenty-Seven:  Musings

***** (Nikki) *****

Seems lots of things were happening with Danny and her band. I mean his band.

All of us were preoccupied with helping the band prepare for their first solo TV concert, and Danny and Danielle were constantly in marathon phone meetings with Mrs. Piper and her people. It's all pretty exciting actually. But very frustrating for me.

And in all these things, I felt there was a distance that was developing between Danny and I. And I was not gonna let that continue.

In the morning, at school, I saw a tall man in a suit accept an envelope from Danielle. Danielle explained later that it was someone from Mrs. Piper's company who was supposed to get the papers from last night notarized. I was sooo suspicious until Danielle explained what it was about.

And then Danny told us he couldn't hang with us after school because he and Danielle needed to work on stuff. When I found out that Betsy was going with them, my reaction was a big glow of jealousy. But then, of course, Betsy was going with them - she was part of the band. But he explained he was afraid we'd just get bored if we tagged along. Guess what? We tagged along.

I knew I shouldn't feel this way, but that was how I felt. In my mind, I knew I could trust Danny, but what I couldn't trust were other girls. Even Danielle and Betsy. In my mind, I had to wonder why I couldn't trust them despite knowing them so well. In my heart, I debated with myself - what has changed? Why was I so suspicious of them now? Why don't I trust them anymore?

Still, whatever the case may be, I was gonna do something about it.

I asked Danielle for Tracey's number and then called Tracey at lunchtime. I asked if Danny had anything to do the following day. Tracey said there were lots to do tonight but there was nothing scheduled tomorrow, so I asked her if she could make sure nothing will come up since I was planning a date. Tracey giggled and said she'll make sure, making me feel like we were co-conspirators or something.

I made some excuses to Danny, Danielle and the others after my call, and said I had to take care of something. I gave Danny a kiss and went to the almost-deserted library, pulled up the local Holiday Inn site on my phone (actually, our little town didn't even rate a real Holiday Inn - only a Holiday Inn Express) and booked a room. I had a driver's ID that stated I was Nikki "Smith," and was twenty-one years old. It was pretty good since Drew's older brother Jim got it a couple of months ago using his connections in the DMV. It could even stand up to an ID check - if it was nothing too rigorous, of course, and if it was just a regular check, then I'm good. I could even use it for driving.

Jim did suggest to keep the name close to my real one, but I said, wouldn't that make it easy to track me down, but he said that wasn't the purpose of the card.

"The driver's license you'll get will only be good for when you get carded," Jim said, "or when you want to get into a club, or to check into a hotel or something. It's no good if you're trying to hide from the FBI or anything like that, or if you're caught stealing or something. So it doesn't really make sense to change your name completely. Just change the last name. That way, no one would make the mistake of calling you by your name instead of your fake name while you guys are out bar-hopping or something."

In that case, I just picked the last name "Smith," and kept everything the same. And that was why Nicolette Anne Smith has the same name as Nicolette Anne Anderson. lol

Using my new ID, I was able to get an AmEx Bluebird prepaid debit card under the same name. I withdrew some money from my bank account and put it on the card. I also top it up whenever I can. By now, it had a couple of thousand on it.

Crossing my fingers, I typed in my debit card's number for my hotel booking, hoping that a prepaid card would be accepted, and booked a room for two for tomorrow. To make them less suspicious, I typed in the comments window that I'd be accompanied by my cousin Danielle, and that we just needed a room for the night coz we were waiting for our bus ride to Bethesda the following day (I knew that there was only one bus that passes by Bethesda, and it leaves the station daily at 9AM). Hopefully, those details would take away any assumptions the Holiday Inn people might have made when I booked a room with a king size bed.

I had my fingers crossed and was relieved when it was confirmed. Whew! And I'm sure "Nicolette Anne Smith's" driver's license, and "Danielle Louise Fairchild's" bus pass would be good enough when we check in at the front desk tomorrow (I had to find a way to get Danielle's bus pass!).

I pulled up the check-in and check-out times - 3PM check-in, and 11AM check-out the following day - which was excellent. I typed in the comments of my registration that we'd be checking in between 4 and 5PM, and were leaving before 9AM the following day.

Anyway, I finished up and went back to join the guys. Lunch was almost over by that time but I didn't mind. I'll just mooch off Danny later - he always has munchies. I held Danny around the waist and whispered in his ear.

"Just found out you're not gonna be busy tomorrow after school," I said, wagging my eyebrows. "Wanna hang out?"

"Sure!" he said. "Let's tell…"

I gave him a kiss to stop him talking. Why would I want to invite the others?

"How about just the two of us?" I said. "We haven't hung out for a while when it was just us."

He looked delighted, and gave me a kiss. "Sounds great!" he said.

Later, I pulled Mel aside and asked if it was okay with her if she covered for me, and tell folks I was staying at her place tomorrow night. She asked what was up, and I said I had something going on with Danny tomorrow.

She gave me a somewhat hostile, jealous look, but after a moment, Mel sort of blinked, smiled and agreed. She said she'll want details afterwards, and we both giggled. Whatever that look was, it was gone so quickly, I hardly noticed.

Even though Danny and I weren't talking much, Danny was always in the center of our gang's activities. Plans for tonight were mostly set and we talked about it - hanging in our town's own "coliseum," the Arclight, while the band, the producers and the floor director worked out the program, the band's moves and their blocking. The costume director was also going to be there as well as all the other technical people. Morgan was part of it as well since he was officially the guy who would be building up the band's playlist (with the band's input, of course), and Danielle was there as the band's manager, making sure the band was represented and got what they needed.

Morgan had an incredible idea for the event's theme song. I didn't know where he dug up that old song but everyone agreed that it had the right tone for radio, and it had, as Danny and Morgan said, all the right retro hooks… whatever that meant.

We liked it. A little too disco for my taste, but Morgan said that was just what was needed.

As for us, we'd just hang out with Danny and the band as Danny's, well, entourage, I guess. Not that we felt we weren't doing anything, or were just hangers-on. For example I was Danny's sort of gofer girl, or as Mrs. Piper called it, her Girl Friday (whatever that meant), and Mickey and Jerry were there geeking out. There wouldn't be too many pretty girls around this early in the planning, Danny said, but there were lots happening to keep the boys' minds occupied. Joanne, too, actually - she was into that kind of thing as well, I guess. As for sexy ole Drew, she was Morgan's Girl Friday. And Mel would probably just be sitting and watching everything with a contented smile on her face - she was the self-admitted concert geek, and to be backstage in an event like this must be close to heaven for her.

However, Danielle stressed that we would be working on school stuff before everything starts at six, giving everyone a little under three hours to do their school assignments. Normally, no one would have paid attention to that except that Danny had an agreement with Mrs. Piper, aided and abetted by the Fairchilds, that required him to maintain a minimum B-minus grade average, so everyone just went along with group studies since Danny had to. Most everyone always went along if it was with Danny. Truth be told, though, I wouldn't complain - I was doing better than I ever did at school, and I suspect the others were as well. And I got to spend more time with Danny, which was the whole point.

Danny had asked his guitars to be stored at the venue last night, and the rest of the band followed suit, as usual. Danielle said someone from PiperCorp passed by their house early this morning and picked up Danny's stuff, and it was the same with the others. The only holdout was Fallon, who didn't want her stuff to stay there, so she would be bringing her guitars herself every night.

I couldn't care much about that, since I was all excited for tomorrow. My excitement was almost all-consuming. In fact, my classes for that day didn't go well - I was too distracted. And I counted the minutes when school would be over and I would be with Danny again.

After my last class for the day, I shot out of the room and made a beeline to Danny's class. I got there just as the kids were walking out of the classroom, and when I saw him come out, I felt a visceral kind of relief. I was a little confused by that, but that disappeared when I got to hold him and give him a kiss.

***** (Nikki) *****

At the Arclight Coliseum, we found a bunch of tables pushed together in front of the orchestra pit for us. Mrs. Piper came bustling in with Tracey, her daughter. She said the tables were supposed to be the gang's personal space, where we could stay or do whatever we wanted.

"And where we'll be out of the way and not bother anybody," Tracey mock-whispered. No one said anything, but after a beat, everyone broke into laughter.

"Tracey!" Mrs. Piper said. "How could you say that!" Tracey giggled and stuck her tongue out at her.

Mrs. Piper sighed theatrically. "Ignore her, kids. Anyway, I'm gonna leave all of you and will come fetch the band in a few hours." She pointed to the side. "The craft service table is there, and the bathrooms are beyond that. Make yourselves at home."

All the guys jumped at the invitation, while the rest of us just started to pull out books.

The boys came back with various munchies, and Danny came back with an apple, chips and a diet coke - my usual snack, and a big plate of stuff for himself. The other guys put big plates of assorted stuff and bottles of water in the middle of the table, and we started to picnic.

"Guys?" Danielle waved to her books. The guys groaned and started on homework.

From time to time, Mrs. Piper would grab a piece of fruit or a bottle of water or something from craft services, and pass by our table, checking up on us, apparently. Because of which, Tracey also stayed with us to work on her homework as well. Despite looking older than us, she was actually our age, apparently, and though she studied in the private school just outside of town, her books and stuff seemed much like ours. She was awfully nice and so well-meaning. It was a shame she wasn't prettier.

But as I looked closer at her, I realized something.

I whispered into Danny's ear and she, I mean he, confirmed my suspicion - Tracey was actually a he, or rather, she was transgender. Her shoulders were a trifle too wide, and she didn't have the hips that you'd expect. And her voice, though quite feminine, was just a touch off. And though she no doubt had work done on her face, it was just enough to let her pass. You'd probably not notice if you didn't know, and just assumed she was just a homelier kind of girl than the rest of us, and was just a trifle too tall.

But she was Danny's friend, which meant she was my friend, too. So I'm not gonna hurt her, and the first one to say anything mean to her will have me to face. And besides, with a little bit of help, I'm sure we can make her quite cute.

Unsurprisingly, Danny and Danielle were the first ones to finish their school stuff, and they helped out the rest of us. Danny, of course, was my personal tutor. Heehee. I took that time to let Danielle know I was planning a date with Danny after school tomorrow. After a moment when she gave me some undefinable, slightly angry look (it disappeared so quickly, I wasn't sure if it happened at all), she gave me a hug and said she'll make sure everyone was off our backs.

A close third to Danny and Danielle finishing her homework was Tracey. She packed away her school stuff when she finished but stuck around to help the others. Particularly, she helped Mike more than the rest, and it was obvious Mike was flattered. All of us grinned at each other, and gave each other knowing nods and wagging eyebrows. I had a fleeting idea about telling him Tracey's secret, but I thought about it and decided not to. There was nothing to worry about, and no use hurting Tracey, or Mike for that matter, but if it progresses beyond being friends, someone has to clue Mike in (if Tracey doesn't). Not because of anything, but only because Mike had a right to know. Anyway, it was still academic at the moment, so I think we'll just cross that bridge when we're there.

Betsy missed much of the by-play because she was constantly texting people. Class president stuff, no doubt. And it's a wonder that she was able to do all her homework. But she was the smartest among us, I think, and it's no wonder she was at the top of our class.

Fallon, Dale, June and Mongo arrived eventually, and Mrs. Piper called the band in when they did. Morgan and Danielle went with them as well and they started "working on sort of important things," as Mongo would say.

There was no singing or anything. The work was all a lot of planning and technical talk about music, song lengths, blocking, lighting, and a lot of work with the floor director and the choreographers. It was a case of all hands on-board, and everyone was busy. Including me. I ended up fetching things for Danny and other errands. I didn't resent it in the least, and was pleased that I got to do important stuff.

One of the bigger topics of discussion were their outfits, believe it or not, but Danielle was there to smooth things out, making sure the guys had final approval for anything the costume director decided on. As for Morgan, he had his hands full, too, talking to the band, the director and Mrs. Piper, and explaining his ideas for the music. The music director wasn't too happy having to consider suggestions from a teenager, but Mrs. Piper insisted.

The main director also complained about this being such a rush job, and having to do things on the fly, but with Mrs. Piper breathing down his neck, he eventually accepted the state of things, and made everything happen.

By the end of the night, they had a more-or-less solid plan for the program. Mrs. Piper's decision for doing this planning at the venue was right-on, as it would never have gone as smoothly as it did if it was just done at the office. Being at the venue itself allowed them to confirm their plans immediately since they had the place itself to confirm lighting, spacing, music & sound levels, logistics and crowd control plans.

They also turned up some things that they needed to work out, one of them being they needed more people - like backup singers - and Fallon suggested recruiting the glee club from school. Mrs. Piper was all about hiring professional singers, but Morgan said that Fallon's idea was so much better. One of the things UB was known for was that they were just an amateur band made up of kids. So having a bunch of kids as backup singers would just add to that vibe.

Mrs. Piper said these kids better be good, and Fallon and Danny stepped up to vouch for them. Mrs. Piper reluctantly agreed, and only did so with the provision that, if they didn't perform up to expectations, she was going to get professionals.

She then called her legal people to find out how to get kids in the program.

It was just as well, Mrs. Piper said, that they couldn't start right away on practicing - they'd need all of tomorrow just to prepare things. So there'd be nothing scheduled for them tomorrow, and they'd just resume work the following day. (I cheered silently - that meant my date with Danny could push through with no hitches.)

Of course, that meant someone needed to contact the glee club's adviser and arrange things. Danielle and Fallon promised to take care of that tomorrow, and that was that.

I could tell that everyone worked real hard tonight. But for us - not so much: we were eventually reduced to just staying out of the way and watching all the frenetic work around us.

Later, over dinner, Morgan said that most of his song and music suggestions were accepted, and they were designing the show around them.

"Well, duh?" Mickey said. "Of course, they will! What else?"

"Shut up, Mickey!"

Betsy did ask if someone could find the sheet music for the songs (we all knew Betsy preferred having the sheet music since she never played by ear), but Morgan said that the music director promised those would be available day after tomorrow.

With that, Morgan brought out his Android phone, turned up the volume to maximum, and used his VLC app to play all the originals of the songs to be used in the show. Everyone, even Mongo, agreed that the playlist was great, and we all enjoyed the music while we enjoyed our dinner.

At the end of the meal, everyone was singing along to the songs until our waiter said some of the other patrons were complaining. It was just as well that we were done.

"High fidelity, high!" everyone sang at the top of our lungs as we walked on the sidewalk to our various vehicles.

As usual, I rode with Danny, with Betsy and Danielle at the back (Danielle had long ceded the front seat to me, and I appreciated it). And, as usual, she, I mean, he, dropped Betsy off first and then me.

I gave Danielle a farewell hug and "accidentally" hooked her purse. It fell on the ground and the clamshell lock popped open, spilling her purse's contents on my driveway. Dutifully, I helped her put her stuff back in her purse but I surreptitiously pocketed her bus pass. She rarely rides the bus anymore, so she probably wouldn't miss it.

I turned to Danny and reminded him about our date tomorrow, and that it'll just be the two of us. And after a long kiss, she got in her car, and drove away. I mean he! Dammit!

to be continued...

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