Bebe in LaLa Land: 13

 

Recovering from his stress-related illness, John tries to cope with Bebe's ever advancing career.
An old nemesis reappears and threatens to upset the delicate balance of John's life as a teenaged girl.

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Author's Note: I'm sorry for the delay. Again - RL can be time consuming! Thank you to everyone who to everyone
who is sticking with me and Bebe! We both appreciate it! As always, I adore reading your reviews! Thank you, all! ~Clara.
 
This version of Bebe in LaLa Land: 13 has been updated with many corrections towards spelling and grammar.~Sephrena.
 
Image Credit: Image created through the use of ai at https://perchance.org/beautiful-people .~Sephrena.

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COMING TO TERMS -or- MY REALITY IS DIFFERENT THAN YOURS
 

"This is all the information that the studio is releasing at this point." Rita sat at the kitchen table with John seated opposite her and Rose and Ed sitting at the ends of the table. "They're using the writing team from the new Mary Poppins movie for the script, the Lopez's are writing the music and Rob Marshall, who has directed a ton of musicals, is directing. There is no story outline, but Lily James is playing the one of the leads and you'll be auditioning for the role of her younger sister. I forwarded the sheet music to Veronica and I have a copy here for you, too. At this point, that's all I know. So, can someone please explain to me why we are discussing this instead of preparing for this audition?"

"Because we care about Bebe's health, Rita," Rose said. "The doctor said very specifically that she needed to rest."

"Oh, for crying out loud, kids," Rita shook her head, "we can negotiate a shooting schedule that won't add to her work week for the show. This is all negotiable! Come on, this is a once in a life time opportunity! I've handled big names for years and I've never had anyone generating the kind of buzz that this little girl is generating. It's too early in her career to be overly picky. You can't just turn your back on this offer!"

Ed crossed his arms. "Look, Rita, I hear every word that you are saying, but I don't think you're hearing us. You didn't see her Saturday night when they took her out of here in an ambulance! Her lower body was covered in blood! We are very scared that too much work could actually kill her until she learns to deal with stress."

"Ed, I hear every thing you've said and I understand, but right now we are just talking about an audition! If she is offered the part, we negotiate for limited work hours, etc, and we make the environment appropriate for her health. This is the business, guys! It's tough and it's stressful, but that's how it is! We need to strike now, while the iron is hot or opportunities like this will pass on to other people!"

Ed looked at Rose and she looked as concerned and confused as him.

"Think about this," Rita continued, "there was a time when Emma Stone was only getting roles that Lindsay Lohan and Amanda Byrnes turned down. Then, Lindsay and Amanda, both of whom are immensely talented women, developed health issues - mental health, drug abuse, whatever, but health issues. How often do you hear about a movie starring Lindsay Lohan and Amanda Byrnes today, huh? Never! And don't you think that both of those actresses want to scream when they see Emma Stone in prestige films like 'The Help' or 'The Favorite?' Of course they do! They didn't capitalize on their momentum and their careers dried up and disappeared. Now, I can't predict the future, but I'm not brave enough to throw away this opportunity. If you decide to, then I don't want to hear any crap from any of you when a new pretty face starts getting the big pictures while 'Bebe Foley' moves to the 'Where is she now' section of the entertainment page."

There was silence while Ed and Rose digested this.

Rita looked at John. "You've been uncharacteristically quiet, young lady. What do you think about all of this?"

John folded his arms, just under his breasts, and looked from Rose to Ed. He shrugged and said, "I mean... I heard what the doctor said and all that, and I don't want to upset anybody, but..." He let it hang there while he considered his words.

"But what?" Rita looked around, trying to assess the family dynamic that had developed among these three.

"...but... I really, really, really... REALLY... think I should at least do this audition. I probably won't get it, anyway - they want a soprano and I can't sing nearly that high - but I really want to at least try to get the part. If I don't get it, then we don't have a problem, right? If I do get it, then Rita can work things out so that everything fits my schedule, right? I don't see a down side." Throughout this explanation, John avoided making eye contact with any of the other people at the table. Now his eyes were staring at the table.

"Alright." Ed looked at Rose, who nodded. "IF you are cast in the movie and IF we let you do this, then here are the rules. Rule one: You can ONLY do it if your shooting schedule for the movie doesn't coincide with the shooting schedule for the show."

John nodded.

"Rule two: You agree to work with us to find a therapist that you can help you with your stress problem."

Again, John nodded.

"Rule three," Rose said, "you come to a family therapist with Uncle Ed and me."

Ed looked at Rose and smirked. They hadn't discussed this, but he really didn't see a problem with it.

John just nodded.

"Rule four: IF you're cast and IF we can work everything out," Ed continued, "then you have to realize that your health comes first. If you feel sick, or stressed, or even if you have a hang nail, you tell us and let us take you to the doctor. Understood?"

"Yes, sir," John said sadly.

"Alright. Those are the rules and they are non-negotiable. If you violate and of those rules, then I'll pull you out of the movie in a heartbeat. I don't care if there's a penalty or how embarrassing it might be. If you violate our rules, it's over. Agreed."

John nodded.

"You need to say it," Rose said tersely.

"Agreed," John said quietly.

Rita was more than a little shocked by what she had witnessed. She'd seen scenes just like this before, but in all of those cases, the young actress was, in fact, a YOUNG ACTRESS. Despite their similar ages, she'd always seen John as younger than Ed, but it seemed that John had actually regressed to a teenaged girl and Ed seemed to have added fifteen years to his age. He acted like a nervous father, afraid that his baby girl might get hurt out in the world for the first time. It was sweet, but it was odd.

"Sooo..........?" Rita waited for confirmation.

Rose looked to Ed, who nodded, "She can do the audition, Rita, but her health comes first. After the audition, we're cutting back on her dance to twice a week until the show wraps and we'll figure out how the vocal lessons will fit into her schedule, BUT at the first sign of any physical problems or if she neglects her school or her therapy... that's it. It's over. Is that ok with you?"

"That's fine with me, kids," Rita smiled and organized her papers, "but let's keep this between ourselves, ok? The insurance companies don't like any hint of problems and if there is a chance that Bebe might have any condition that would cause her to pull out of the project, it would give them conniptions."

They all nodded.

"Wow." Veronica looked at the materials from the studio. "It looks like they're going all out on this. I didn't know that Lily James could sing, but she has a very pretty smile that I find very engaging."

"She was in 'Mama Mia, Here We Go, Again,'" John pointed out. "She did a good job in that."

"Oh, I'll have to watch that, then." Veronica returned her gaze to the sheet music. "We do have a problem, though. This song has a couple of high notes. I mean, you're rock solid up to a Bb4, but that is definitely your break-spot. Your head-voice-mix will get you up to an Eb5, but above that... I mean, we could probably get you there in a couple of months, but not in a week, and the audition is next Monday."

"So..." John sounded dejected. After all the negotiating with Ed and Rose, it all seemed a little worthless, now. "I shouldn't audition, then?"

"Oh, don't be silly." Veronica smiled at the small, young girl in her private school uniform. She'd seen 'Civil Disobedience' and she knew that this little package was a powerhouse, but she was still a vulnerable, little girl who needed reinforcement. "We'll learn it two ways. First, we'll drop the song down a major third so the notes are accessible to you. That way, you'll have a well prepared version song to present. Second, we'll work on it in the original key and we'll see if we can open up these few high notes for you. If we show them that you can really sell the song in the lower key, then they'll have a good idea of what we can give them, eventually. Ok?"

The young actress smiled. "Ok."

"So, you willingly agreed to live this life... to change your sex and lower your age... give up all the freedoms of adulthood... for a career in acting?" Dr Shapiro was in her mid thirties, very attractive, with long, gold hair. She dressed comfortably, but very attractively in a nicely fitting, sleeveless, beige, sheath dress with a scoop neck. Her office was very comfortable as well, done is pastels, with a variety of manipulative Knick-knacks, Rubrics cubes, Slinkys, things like that, designed to relax the patient.

John nodded, but looked at the floor. For some reason, this seemed a bit shameful to say out loud, but Ed had told him to be honest with the doctor.

"Do you have any remorse, or regret surrounding this decision?" The doctor watched John carefully.

He thought for a moment. "No. I don't. I'm happier now than I have ever been."

"And what about your relationship with Rose? Obviously, that has changed dramatically. You were lovers, but now she's more of a mother figure to you. How does that make you feel?"

John sighed as he pulled his legs up under himself and reconfigured himself on the couch. He didn't like this conversation. "I love Rose. I want to be with Rose, but not like I used to. It's all different now."

"And how is it different?"

"Well, I mean... I used to want to be with her, like be her boyfriend, but now... I guess it's like you said. She takes care of me, but I don't think of her as a mother... I have a mother... I think of her as... Rose. Like, she's my big sister, or something."

"But you have a big sister, too."

"I know, and I love Nancy, but... I'm closer to Rose than I ever was to Nancy. When I'm with Ed or Rose... I feel safe... loved... you know. Like... like we are a better family together than my real family is. My mother and sister... well, they judge me when I'm with them. With Rose and Ed... well, they don't. I just feel loved when I'm with them."

"And how do you think Rose feels about this? Or Ed for that matter?"

He played with the B.B. necklace and looked out the window at the sprawl of downtown Los Angeles. "I don't know. I hope they feel the same. I just... I don't know."

The doctor watched John closely. "I like your necklace. Did Rose or Ed give you that?"

John shook his head.

"May I see it?"

John stopped fingering it and allowed Dr Shapiro to see it more closely. "Is it silver?"

He nodded.

"Does it symbolize something?"

"It's a B.B.," he stated simply and his hand returned to the ornament.

"Oh, I see. A B.B. for Bebe. That is sweet. Who gave you that?"

John sighed. He really didn't want to get into a conversation about Blaine. He knew that she'd ask him questions he didn't want to answer. He just looked at the view some more.

"Bianca? Who gave..."

"I hate 'Bianca.' I really, really, hate it. I'm Bebe. Please, just call me Bebe."

The doctor was surprised by the vehemence of John's reaction. "You 'hate' Bianca? Didn't you choose that name?"

"No. It was the character's name and I... well... it just sort of happened and that became my name. They say it at school all the time and... I just don't like the name. I only really hear it when I'm being scolded and I hate being scolded. I'm not Bianca. I'm Bebe. Ok?"

"Ok. I'm sorry, Bebe." The doctor made a note. "Getting back to the necklace... was it a gift?"

John nodded.

"From someone special?"

He nodded, again.

"A boy?"

John took a deep breath, then let it out slowly as he nodded, again.

"Your boyfriend?"

He nodded, again.

"How Old is he?"

"He'll turn sixteen in a few weeks."

The doctor thought for a moment. "Are you... sexually active with this boy?"

John shook his head.

"Does he know about..."

John interrupted, "He knows everything. He knows I'm a freakish little boy-girl. He knows I'm pretending to be something I'm not. He knows EVERYTHING! Ok? I know what you think of me! That I'm... weird and a liar, but it's not like that! I'm not really a boy! I never was! I thought I was! Everyone told me I was! But I wasn't! I've always been something else and it hasn't been easy to figure out what that was! Now that I know who I am and what I'm meant to do, I have to justify that to you for some reason and I just don't get it! I finally know who I am and what I am and I don't know why I have to keep talking about it! Do people make you talk about the most personal things in your life all the time? No, I bet they don't! You were lucky enough to be born as a woman - that's simple - you're just a woman! Not a woman who finds out twenty years later that she's a man! Not a woman with a penis! Just a woman! Good for you!
Look how lucky you are!"

The doctor was about to respond, but John went on, "How would you like it if one day, without any warning, you found out that you weren't what you thought you were. That you weren't even the opposite of what you thought you were? That you were some kind of in-between freak? That, if you stayed as you were, a woman, you'd start looking like a guy, anyway, and if you took the drugs that helped you develop as a guy, you'd never fully be one of those, either!? How would that make you feel? Huh? Like a freak, I bet! Well, that's what happened to me! And I came out here to start over. Why can't I just do that and forget about the mistake that I used to be!? I'm happy now! I have Rose and Ed and Blaine... can't I just be left alone!?"

It was at this point that John realized that his face was wet with tears. This was the worst part of being a girl - the emotions! He loved that he laughed harder than he'd ever laughed before, but he hated that he hurt so much more. He cried so easily, now, that he never felt as 'in control' as he should. Suddenly, he realized that his out burst must have sounded like a spoilt adolescent and that made him feel embarrassed. He looked away from the doctor. "I'm sorry," he muttered.

"Why?" the doctor asked.

"For yelling." John grabbed a tissue and dabbed his eyes.

"Bebe-" The doctor stood and crossed to her desk. "You're allowed to yell. You're allowed to cry. You're allowed to be angry with me or anyone else. That's what we're here for. Don't try to keep it in - just let it out. You're doing great. Honestly."

John blinked at the doctor. THIS was ok? THIS was doing great?

"I think we may have gone as far as we can for now, so, I'll tell you what; why don't you take a few minutes in the lav to clean yourself up, then we'll continue with Ed and Rose, ok?"

John nodded, a little exhausted and a little confused, but he stood and moved towards the door to the small powder room off of the doctor's office. He stopped before entering, though, and turned to the doctor and said, "I was confused. I didn't mean to get so angry. I'm sorry. I was just, confused by all these questions. That was all, ok?"

"That was great, Bebe. Doesn't it feel better to get all of that off of your chest?"

"I guess," he shrugged.

"That's what this is all about, Bebe. Getting it out so it doesn't eat you up inside - literally eat you up inside, in your case. Now, clean yourself up, fix your makeup and let's continue with Uncle Ed and Rose, ok?"

"And, how do you view your relationship with Bebe?"

Rose smiled and looked at John. "My relationship? Whew, well, I guess I see her as my colleague... my roommate... my little sister... my friend... my... responsibility, I guess? She's my... Bebe. My little Beebs." She reached over and ran her fingers through John's hair and she smiled.

The doctor nodded and smiled. "And how do you feel about your little 'family unit,' the one you share with Bebe and Ed?"

Now, she looked to Ed. "I know it must seem odd to people on the outside, but I couldn't be happier! And I'm not just saying that to be agreeable. When I moved out here, I was just a selfish, pretty girl who got her own way and only really thought about herself. Now, I'm part of a wonderful family and we have an extended family with our friends, Don and Vivian and Blaine and Joanne. Even our friend Oscar is wonderful. So far, it's all been great, Doctor. Honestly!"

The doctor looked at Ed. "And you, Ed? How do you feel about your current life?"

Ed took Rose's hand and smiled. "Honestly, I couldn't be happier."

"Really!?" The doctor looked surprised. "I noticed on the questionnaire that you filled out, that you have never had a long term, romantic relationship. Wouldn't that make you happier?"

"I suppose," Ed shrugged, "but I have Rosie and Bebe. They're pretty great."

"Yes," The doctor smiled, "but physical intimacy is an important part of a young person's life. Neither of you seems to be considering that. Do you rely on each other for that?"

"No," he replied a bit hastily. "To tell you the truth, doctor, I kind of came to terms with my attraction to men recently, so... I guess I'm still looking for Mr Right."

The doctor pondered this for a few minutes before she asked, "Rose, if Ed were to start dating someone, how would you feel about it?"

"I'd be happy for him, I guess."

"And Ed, if Rose were to start dating, how would you feel about it?"

"I'd be thrilled. All I want is for my girls to be happy. What are you getting at?"

"Nothing," The doctor made an innocent face. "I'm just reading a lot of intimacy in your body language with each other. You've been holding hands since you sat down, you smile at each other constantly... to tell you the truth, if I weren't asking you these questions, I'd just assume that you were romantically involved. In fact, I think that on an emotional level, you probably are. In all aspects of your relationships that I've observed today, I would classify you as a couple."

Ed laughed. "But I'm gay, Doctor."

"Yes, Ed, but are you truly gay, or are you just slightly left of normal on the 'sexuality scale?' I would think that anyone who lives with Bebe would have had to examine his or her sexuality, but I do think that you two need to consider how deep your relationship truly runs. Are you friends? Lovers? Supporters? Enablers? Parents? I'd like you to give this some thought this week, ok? When I see you next week, maybe we could delve a bit deeper into this. What do you, say?"

Ed and Rose looked at each other and shrugged. "Ok, sure," they said in unison.

"Ok, well, Bebe and I had a great session today and I think that the four of us have had a great first session, as well. Let's get back together next week and continue, ok? Feel free to call anytime if you have any questions and I'll be happy to chat. Sound good?"

They all acknowledged that it did sound good, shook hands and left.

When they were traveling down in the elevator, Ed noticed that Rose sniffled just a bit.

"Are you ok?" he asked.

Rose gave a quick short intake through her nose and blinked her watery eyes. "I'm fine," she said and gave his hand a squeeze as she fixed a brave smile to her face.

"Excuse me, Mr McNeal." Someone was knocking on the door to Ed's car as he sat and waited for John to come out of his voice lesson with Veronica. Ed had been considering what the doctor had said a few days earlier and was lost in thought until the knock and voice roused him.

Ed pushed the button to lower the window. "What is it?"

"Would you mind stepping out of the car, sir? We'd just like to ask you a few questions."

At first, Ed had thought that the man, who wore mirrored sunglasses, was a fan, but now he realized that the man wearing wearing an LAPD uniform. He shook his head to clear it, then stepped out of the car and stepped to the rear of the car as the officer indicated.

"What is this about?" Ed asked as he reached the space between his car and the car behind him, which bore no police department markings. He looked around at the quiet side street. There was no one around but him and the officer.

"Put your hands on the back of your car, please." The policeman took an aggressive stance, his mirrored sunglasses reflecting Ed's own image back at him.

"What?" Ed was confused. "Why?"

The police office took his baton in hand and pressed a button so that the truncheon telescoped to its full length. "Do as I tell you, sir."

Ed looked from the man's right hand and the baton to his own reflection in the man's glasses. "Not until you tell me what this is all about."

Suddenly, the policeman's right arm swung towards Ed. It was a strong, but imprecise swing and, after months of working out and training in screen-combat, Ed sidestepped easily and, instead of hitting Ed, the swing landed on Ed's Tesla, breaking the rear window.

"What the hell is wrong with you!?" Ed called out as the officer recovered.

"Shut the fuck up, you prick!" the police officer hissed, causing Ed to take a closer look at man's uniform. Something wasn't correct about it. It looked more like a costume than a uniform.

Again, the officer made a powerful, but inaccurate swing at Ed, but, again, Ed stepped out of the way and moved to the side of the vehicle causing the officer to over reach and stumble.

"Bebe! Come back!" Ed heard a call from behind him, but he didn't dare look away from his attacker.

The officer, however, glanced over Ed's shoulder and saw a woman running after a teenager. "Shit," he spat, as he brought his attention back to Ed just in time to see Ed's right fist as it came in contact with the left side of his chin.

He stumbled back, but didn't fall down. He steadied himself on the rear of the car and squared himself off opposite Ed, once again.

That was when he was slammed in the gut with the head of a small, teenaged girl, who tried, to no avail to knock him down. "Get off of me," he shouted as he pushed the girl to the ground. When he looked back to Ed, his first sight was Ed's knuckles as they crashed into his left eye socket, knocking the mirrored sunglasses from his face and knocking him to his knees.

Ed looked to his niece, but Veronica was already helping her to her feet. When he turned back to the man in the police uniform, two things occurred to him. 1) He recognized this face from the Starbucks parking lot. He was the scumbag that had taken the money for Ms Stephanie and 2) This sonofabitch had just hurt Bebe.

With his left hand, he grabbed the man by the collar, then he landed six powerful punches, in rapid succession, to his face, until his knuckles and the man's face were both covered in blood.

The man held up his hands and cried, "Enough! Enough! I give up!"

As Ed pulled him to his feet, he could hear Veronica's voice speaking into a phone, giving the address and explaining that a parent of one her students had been attacked by a man dressed as a police officer. Ed spotted the hand cuffs that were tucked into the man's belt. He grabbed them and cuffed the man's wrists behind his back, then sat him on the curb while he checked on John and Veronica.

"Are you ok?" he asked the teacher first.

She nodded. "Yes. I'm fine."

Ed turned his attention to John. "Are you ok, Bebe?" He offered a hand.

"I cut my leg," he said as he stood. Below the hem of the grey, uniform skirt, John's knee was bloodied with a broad, but shallow abrasion that was dirty with gravel from the street.

"Oh, Bebe," Veronica put her arm around John's waist, "come with me and I'll clean that for you and put some disinfectant on it. It doesn't look too bad."

Just then, a police car pulled up and two actual police officers got out and took in the scene.

"I'll talk to the police," Ed said. "Thank you for taking care of her." He turned away from Veronica and John to talk to the officers.

Veronica sat John on a wooden chair near the front door while she hurried to the lavatory to retrieve some first aid supplies. When she returned, she knelt in front of John and began to carefully clean the scrape. "Oh, that's not too bad," she cooed, as if speaking to someone considerably younger. She wiped the abrasion lightly with an alcohol covered cloth, causing John to wince slightly.

When the wound was clean, she applied a disinfectant gel and taped a gauze pad over the knee to keep it clean. "That should do it." She smiled and stood.

"Thank you." John stood and received a supportive hug from his vocal teacher.

"You're very welcome, sweetie," she smiled. "Now, let's go see how your uncle is doing with the..." Veronica had been leading John to the door, but she stopped as she saw what was happening outside. She expected to see the assailant in a police car and Bebe's uncle giving a statement, but instead, she saw the assailant being loaded into into an ambulance with several attendants seeing to his well being, while Bebe's uncle was bent over the rear of his own car and hand cuffs were being clasped onto his wrists. "What the hell?" she muttered.

John looked past her and saw what was happening. "Uncle Ed!" he yelled as he tried to push past the older woman.

"Just Wait here, Bebe," the teacher restrained her student as she went out the door to speak to the police.

"Officer!" She called as she hustled down the path to the street. "Officer! I think you may have the wrong idea about what happened here."

The officer held up his hand, indicating that she should stop. "Please stay back, ma'am. We're handling this."

"But he's done nothing wrong! He was the victim! What are you arresting you for!?"

Ed looked over his shoulder and called back to Veronica, "I'm being arrested for aggravated assault, Veronica. Do me a favor, call Rosie and tell her to come get Bebe, then have Rosie call Don and have him meet me at the courthouse with a lawyer, ok? Thanks!" He seemed angry, but controlled.

"Uncle Ed!" John came running out of the house as quickly as he could with his bandaged knee. "You can't arrest him! He was attacked!"

"And he beat the crap out of that guy!" the police officer said, pointing to the departing ambulance.

The police ushered Ed into the back seat of a cruiser and pulled out

It was past 8:30 when Ed finally opened the door to the condo. Rose ran to him and hugged him. "Oh, Ed, I was so worried!"

Don followed him in the door and closed it behind him.

Ed said, "I'm sorry, Rosie, I couldn't call you until we left. Don brought his lawyer and after a few hours, he straightened everything out."

"But what the hell did they arrest you for?" Rose gave Don a hug, allowing John to move in next to Ed for a hug. He remained under Ed's arm as they all proceeded into the kitchen.

"According to the police," Don explained, "our boy, here, used excessive force to subdue his assailant and they were trying to push things a bit further by stating that, when Ed used that jackass's own handcuffs against him, he was holding the man against his will, meaning - kidnapping."

"Don's lawyer was great, though," Ed said. "He called the guy who arrested me a 'Barney Fife,' and he had me out within an hour."

Don looked at his phone. "Uh Oh," he murmured, "Viv says that we need to watch the episode of TMZ that's coming on right now."

"Oh, shit," Ed muttered as he hustled back into the living room and grabbed the remote.

When he found the right station, he sat and watched the end of a commercial until the unsavory host of this sleazy show appeared. They ran a piece on a comic who had been arrested for drugs and then the announcer said, "The young stars of the hit series, 'Civil
Disobedience,' had a big day today. Here is a photo of Ed McNeal, who plays the partner of the show's star, Don Ferry, who was pulled over by a police officer. It appears that McNeal didn't care for the officer's tone and, as this picture shows, he resisted arrest and eventually punched the officer in the face. When the officer tried to fight back, McNeal's niece and costar, Bebe Foley, tried to come to his aid, but was easily subdued by the officer. Eventually, McNeal was arrested and the officer was taken away in an ambulance. My guess is that McNeal's career is about to be put on hiatus, what do you think, Frank?"

Don took the remote and shut off the TV. "Jesus, there's never a dull moment with you guys!" He shook his head as he let out a frustrated laugh.

"Those are all lies!" Ed raged. "My family is going to see that! All I did was defend myself! How could they just lie like that!?"

"Welcome to the fame-monster, buddy." Don patted Ed's back. "Relax, people will believe what they want to believe and these vultures love to feed the frenzies. You can go on talk shows and set the record straight, but I think you're missing the big picture, here."

"What's that?" Rose asked.

"Someone has a video of the whole event," Don smiled. This looks like it came from someone's home security camera. My lawyer will track them down and get a copy. If either the slime-ball who attacked you or the idiot cop who arrested you want to pursue anything, we'll have proof of what really happened."

"How did this get on TV so fast?" John asked, still nestled beside Ed. "I mean, shouldn't this have been sent to the police, not TMZ?"

"The police don't pay for the footage, angel," Don laughed at the naivety of the question. I bet TMZ gave them a few thousand dollars for that. It has nothing to do with morality - it's all about profit."

"What's wrong with these people?" Rose shook her head.

"Again," Don sat, "I think we may be missing something here." He gave Ed's knee a slap. "You can survive some bad press, Ed. We can get this straightened out and you can tell your side of the story. Our big problem is Bebe."

John perked up. "What did I do?"

"You got yourself into the sights of the vultures at TMZ. Not intentionally, of course, but the last thing any of us want is for anyone at that place to be digging into 'The Life of Bianca 'Bebe' Foley.' Catch my drift?"

"Good God, Almighty, Don." Rose sat and put her head in her hands. "Is this ever going to stop? I mean, Ed is sitting on the side of the road, minding his own business and this piece of crap, who should be in jail awaiting trial, shows up and tries to beat him up, Ed defends himself and now, because these jackasses make their money with these salacious stories, everything we've done could get destroyed! What the hell is the point of trying if everything is this easy to ruin?"

"Ok, Rose," Don smiled, "it's not time to despair, yet, but we need to organize some damage control to keep things. The studio lawyers have created a document trail that the paparazzi will scrutinize and they'll decide that they believe them or not, but we need to be sure that we're ready if one of them stumbles onto the truth."

"Ok," Ed nodded. "So, we just stay cool for now, right?"

"Right," Don smiled and turned to John, "and if anyone from TMZ or any other paparazzi tries to engage you, you just smile and walk away as dignified as you possibly can. Understood?"

John nodded.

"So, tomorrow's the big auditions huh?" Ella asked as she sipped on an ice cream soda. MK, Ella, Blaine and John had gone to see the new Anne Hathaway movie on Sunday afternoon. After the movie, they'd had a light dinner at a salad place in the food court of the mall and now were having dessert together.

John nodded as he swallowed his spoonful of strawberry gelato. "Yeah. I'm leaving school at eleven. My audition is at two."

"Nervous?" MK asked.

"Oh, Yeah!" John giggled. "Nervous doesn't come close to describing how I'm feeling!"

"Why?" Blaine asked.

"Why!? Are you serious!?" MK laughed. "She's auditioning for a movie, Blaine! Wouldn't you be nervous?"

"Well, Yeah, Of course, but I'm not Bebe Foley. She is. She's done this before, obviously, and she's already a TV star and you guys all saw her on the set of the show. Not only did she do a great job, the whole cast and crew deferred to her. I mean, if I were as talented as her and had the track record she has, I'd be pretty relaxed about auditioning."

"Blaine," John wiped the corners of his mouth with a napkin, "I auditioned and auditioned and auditioned for 'Civil Disobedience' and they didn't cast me. Rose and Ed were cast after just one audition each. Getting this movie would be huge!"

"Yeah," Blaine smiled, "but you're amazing! Either you'll get it and you'll be amazing or you won't get it and you'll be amazing in the next thing that comes along. You know how I know? Because YOU'RE AMAZING! End of story!"

John looked at Blaine and blinked at how simply he put everything. He looked to his girlfriends and shrugged. "Well, I guess that settles that."

"He's kinda right, though Beebsm" Ella slurped on her straw. "You know that people love you on the show, so things are going to happen for you. Maybe this is the right thing, maybe it's not."

"Yeah," MK joined in, "I mean, it's good that you're ambitious and all, but I don't think you need to worry an awful lot. All you can do is your best and they'll make their decisions based on what they need."

"That's how show business works, right?" Ella nodded at MK's statement. "So, Blaine's right and there's no reason to get stressed about it."

Suddenly a light bulb went on on John's Head. "Wait a minute," he laughed and looked at Blaine, "did Rose or Uncle Ed tell you to talk to me about being stressed?"

MK and Ella looked to Blaine, who smiled and shrugged. "Yeah, but Bebe..."

John took a spoonful of gelato and smudged it into Blaine's cheek. "But, Nothing! You guys are supposed to be my friends, not the minions of my guardians." He smiled and shook his head. "Oh, I am going to throw such a temper-tantrum when I get home!"

Blaine wiped the pink gelato from his cheek and laughed quietly. "Look, Bebe, you really scared the bejeezus out of me... well, all of us, last week and, well, we're all worried about you."

"We'd like you to get old enough to at least get into Club 27," MK teased.

"Club 27?" John asked. "Is that that really exclusive club at Disneyland?"

The three Californians laughed. "Seriously?" MK was, as always, amazed at how little people from New England actually knew about the real world.

"The club at Disneyland," Blaine explained, "is Club 33. Club 27 isn't a club you want to be a member of."

"What is it?" John looked around for an answer.

"Its what they call all the famous, talented people who died at 27," Ella said. "You know, like Amy Winehouse, and that fat guy from Tommy Boy..."

"Chris Farley," Blaine interjected.

"...and Janis Joplin..."

"... Jimi Hendrix..." MK added.

"...Kurt Cobain..."

"...Jim Morrison..."

"...The Rolling Stones' first lead guitar player..."

"Alright, Alright, Alright." John looked around in shock. "You guys want me to live long enough to die at twenty-seven years old!" He smiled a cockeyed smile, "Well, that's awfully sweet of you, but I'd kinda like to live a little longer than that, if you don't mind."

"Well, right now," Ella said with uncharacteristic seriousness, "we just want to make sure that you get through this week, ok?"

John smiled at her maternal sound. "Ok."

"Seriously, Bebe," Blaine reached around John's shoulders and rubbed John's arm, "we're all worried about you. Please take care of yourself."

"Aww," John leaned into his boyfriend and pressed his head against Blaine's chest, "you guys are all so nice. Thank you. Hey! Did you guys see Kylie's first ad this weekend?"

"I did!" MK smiled.

Neither Blaine not Ella had.

"You've got to see it," John smiled, thinking back to how scared his redheaded costar had been at her audition for 'Civil Disobedience.' "She's so good!!! Her smile is beautiful and she has such great presence on the screen. It was really impressive! I don't think I could do something like that."

"Really!?" Ella said surprised. "You mean there's something that the great actress can't do!?" She assumed a stereotypical acting pose and giggled at her own teasing.

"Oh, Yeah, The 'great actress.'" John laughed, too. "Kylie's so much prettier than I am! I bet she'll be a big star, someday. Mark my words!"

They all laughed, happy for their friend's success.

"Well, I certainly don't think that she's prettier than you." Blaine kissed the side of John's head.

"That's because you're blinded by love," MK scoffed and threw a crumpled up napkin at Blaine.

"True. True." Blaine smiled.

"Excuse me," they were interrupted by a woman in her mid thirties, "you're that girl from that TV show, right? Bianca Foley?"

John smiled, then looked around at his friends as a bit of an apology for the interruption, then smiled at at the woman, again. "Hi. Yes, I am, but please, call me Bebe." He extended his hand to shake the woman's hand, but instead, the woman placed an envelope in his hand.

"Consider yourself served, little girl. Make sure that you give that to your mommy." The woman turned and walked away.

"Served?" MK looked around the table. "What does she mean by 'served?'"

John tore open the envelope and looked at the papers within. "Oh, my God!" he said in near hysterics. "I'm getting sued by Mr Crawford!"

"The coach?" Ella asked, surprised. "The one they arrested for blackmailing your uncle?

"Yeah! It says that he's suing me for hurting him when he attacked Uncle Ed!"

Blaine leaned in and the girls ran around behind John and they all read the legalese that comprised the legal notices. Very little of it made sense to them, but it was obvious that Bebe was correct.

"How can he do that?" Ella looked to Blaine as if he could offer an explanation.

"Yeah," MK did the same. "I mean, that douche-bag attacked your Uncle, right!? He can't really sue you just because you tried to defend your uncle, can he!?"

"He can try, I guess," Blaine was as flummoxed as the girls, but he was trying to sound confident, "but I don't think he can really win. It's probably just to try to get some money out of you."

"But I don't have any money!" John said. "My mom has all my money in a trust... That's what she meant by 'Make sure you give it to your mommy!' She must have known that!"

"I think we'd better go," Blaine said. "You need to talk to Ed and Rose about this."

As John gathered his purse and trash together and prepared to leave, a man in his early fifties appeared. He had a microphone and he was accompanied by another man of comparable age who was aiming a video camera at John and his friends.

"Bebe Foley," the first man said, "do you have a statement regarding this law suit?"

"What!?" John asked, the others were all frozen in confusion.

"I'm Austin Meadows from TMZ. Do you have a statement regarding this law suit?"

Blaine began to move forward in a defensive posture, but John stopped him. "No, Mr Meadows, I have no statement. Good night." He looked strangely dignified as he spoke to reporter. He shook his hair from his face and straightened the fall of his pretty little dress, then said to his friends, "Come on. We need to go."

They headed towards the mall entrance, but Austin Meadows was in front of them before they reached the exits. "Come on, Bebe, tell, your fans - After your little encounter with Mr William Crawford in broad daylight on the streets of Los Angeles, do you consider yourself a threat to the community at large?"

Since beginning his work on 'Civil Disobedience,' John had been warned about TMZ and the paparazzi in general, but his conversation with Don was still fresh in his memory. He'd been instructed, over and over, to not engage with them - to just walk away with a smile and a wave. He knew that's what he was supposed to do. He understood why he needed to do it, but this Meadows guy was relentless. He was walking backwards in front of John with a microphone shoved in his face. It was irritating - infuriating and embarrassing. It was drawing attention to him and his friends and the accusation was not only ludicrous, it was laughable. At the very worst, John had distracted Ed's assailant - he certainly never injured him.

All of these things churned in John's belly. This was just not right. He needed to confront this jackass and he needed to do it in a polite, businesslike way that couldn't be taken out of context.

He stopped abruptly and asked his friends to excuse him for a moment.

"Umm, Bebe..." Blaine tried to keep John from talking to the 'reporter,' but John held up his hand.

"It'll be fine. Don't worry." He indicated that his friends should step to the side.

John brightened his eyes and pasted on his sweetest smile. "What can I help you with, Mr Meadows?"

"Well, thank you for taking the time to talk to me, Bebe," Meadows began, a little surprised that the actress was talking to him so freely. "It has come to our attention that you are being sued by the man you assaulted last week. Do you have any statement to make regarding the event or the law suit?"

John feigned a look of total surprise, but remained flirtatious with the reporter and the camera. "I think you may have me confused with someone else. I have not been accused of assaulting anyone." His sweet smile broadened.

"That may be, Bebe," the man continued, "but TMZ has obtained a surveillance film in which you attacked a man dressed as a police officer."

"Oooohhhh!" John chuckled and gave the reporter a sympathetic look. "I understand what you're talking about now, Mr Meadows..."

"Hi, Bebe," a passing fan called and John waved as he continued.

"... you're referring to the man who attacked my Uncle. Yes, you are correct, I did, foolishly, try to defend my uncle, but all I did was get myself knocked down. I scraped my knee pretty badly, too. I've been wearing tights ever since. It's so uncomfortable..."

"Yes, Yes," Meadows interrupted. "But you attacked a police officer..."

"Oh, now, Mr Meadows," John's flirting tone sounded almost like a kindergarten teacher speaking to a student, "you and I both know that that man was not a police officer. He was just a very bad man trying to hurt a very good man. Like I said, I was trying to help, but I just got myself hurt."

Throughout this interview, a small crowd of people began to gather around Bebe and Meadows. They were interested in the novelty of something being recorded right there in the mall, but they also recognized Bebe and they wanted to say hello and maybe take a picture.

"Yes," Meadows tried to regain the upper hand, "but about the law suit..."

"Law suit?" The perfect look of confusion crossed John's face. "What law suit?"

Now, Meadows looked a bit confused. "Come on, Bebe, you were just served papers. You know you're being sued."

"I am!?" John looked at the envelope in his hand. "Is that what these are all about?" He shrugged and made a comical grimace. "Wow. I didn't realize that."

Some of the crowd of fans giggled at that.

"What!?" The reporter wasn't thrilled with the gathering crowd. "You read the papers. How could you not know...?"

"Mr Meadows! I just turned fifteen! I read the papers, but I didn't understand a word of it. Have you ever read a legal document? I mean... there's a lot of words in there that I never heard before." He gave an innocent laugh, self-effacing and youthfully ignorant.

The crowd gave a big laugh at that. Of course she didn't understand the document - she was just a kid! Most of the adults there wouldn't have understood the documents.

The reporter huffed and waved to his cameraman to stop recording.

John knew he'd won this round, but he had another point to make. "Oh, hi, everyone!" He said to the crowd, as if noticing them for the first time. "I'm sorry, I've been keeping Mr Meadows all to myself and you're all waiting to meet him, aren't you?" John linked his arm through Meadows' and turned him to face the crowd.

There was a murmur amongst the gathered people. "No, 'Alex,'" a woman smiled as she came forward with a pen and a piece of paper. She was using John's character name on the show. "We're waiting for you. May I just get an autograph for my daughter?"

"Me!?!?" John looked shocked. Really!? But I've only been on TV for a few weeks! How long have you been on TV, Mr Meadows?"

He knew that this child was making a point. "Fifteen years," he admitted.

"Fifteen years!?!? Wow! See, everyone, Mr Meadows is a much bigger star than I am. He's been on TV since the year I was born! Come on. I'll pose with Mr Meadows for as many pictures as you'd like." He turned and smiled at the reporter. "You don't mind if I share a little of your fame, Mr Meadows, do you?" John was already signing autographs and posing with his arm still linked into the reporter's.

The reporter stood and allowed Bebe to use him as a prop for a good few minutes, until he realized that his own cameraman had resumed recording. He knew he was being made to look foolish and he didn't like it. There was no respectable way to exit the scene, so he just shook himself free of the actress and stormed off.

Most of the crowd didn't even notice.

Monday, John went to school in his usual uniform, blue, Oxford shirt and grey, pleated skirt, but his makeup was unusually well done. Rose had taken a great deal of care with his look that morning. His lips, which usually had just a soft pink finish, were lined and had a deep, velvety red finish. His eyes, which usually had just a hint of blue, today were done with a thin line of mascara and a blending of several colors, making them pop more than usual.

"Well, Miss Bebe," his history teacher pretended to be taken aback by his sultry look, "aren't we looking a bit more beautiful than usual, today!?"

John blushed. "Thank you, Miss."

"Are you going to tell us what the occasion is that has inspired this look?"

He sighed. "I have an audition this afternoon, Miss. I think that my cousin went a bit overboard this morning."

"Not at all, Miss Bebe, or should we be more formal and refer to you as Miss Bianca, today?"

"No, Miss. Bebe is just fine, please."

"Well, I think you look just lovely, Miss Bebe. Take a seat and we'll get started." She patted John on the back and he headed to his seat.

"Ooh," MK teased. "Look who's a pretty girl today!"

"Knock it off," Ella warned MK as she hugged John. "You got this audition, babe, right?"

"Babe?" John laughed. "Did you just call me, babe?"

"She's working on her street-cred," MK joined the hug, "but her heart's in the right place. Good luck, Bebe."

"Thanks, guys." John was truly touched by their support. The bell rang and they broke their group hug so that they could take their seats.

A history test, followed by a series of rather silly improv exercises with the new Theater teacher, Miss Amy, then a World Religions quiz and a Math class that, as always, left John's head spinning, and it was time to leave.

"Bianca Foley," the announcement came through the speaker in Math class, "report to the office for dismissal."

Many of the girls wished him luck as he headed down the hall. When he reached the office, both Rose and Rita were waiting. Rita was carrying a garment bag.

"Hi," John greeted them. "Rita, I didn't expect you to be here."

"I didn't expect to be here, either, sweetheart," she kissed John's cheek, "but I just couldn't stay away."

"Is there a ladies' room where Bebe can change?" Rose asked the surly secretary.

"Just across the hall," she replied, barely looking up.

"Come on, Beebs," Rose took him by the hand and they left Rita waiting in the office.

The small lavatory was a tight fit, but they'd be able to deal with it. Rose hung the bag on the door to the stall and pulled the zipper. "Rita didn't like what I'd picked out. She said it was too little-girly, so we went shopping this morning. I hope this all fits."

John stripped to his bra and panties. Rose handed him a pair of opaque, black tights and told him to sit on the toilet seat and put them on.

"Tights?" John followed the instructions, but questioned the choice. "I never wear tights, except for dance class."

"I know, sweetie, and I hope they're comfortable, but Rita was concerned about the scrape on your knee. The tights will cover that."

John stood and pulled the waistband over his hips.

Rose handed him a small, black, sleeveless, knit top with a V-neck. He pulled it on and it hugged his form nicely, accentuating his modest breasts.

Next came a little, circle skirt. It was black, with bright red roses printed on it. Rose held it open so John could step in. She pulled it up and zipped it up in the back.

"You like it?" Rose asked.

The skirt billowed around his thighs, ending at least four inches above his knees. "I do. It's really pretty. And soft."

"Yeah, it's real silk. Rita doesn't believe in going to an audition in bargain basement clothing, I guess. This skirt cost more than all of my prom gowns put together."

"Should I be wearing a slip with this?"

"The sales lady said, 'No.' she said that it needs to hang on its own, without a slip."

"Ok. It is very pretty and it kind of tickles through the tights."

Rose smiled at that - he'd become such a girl. She pulled a pair of kitten heals out of the bag and helped him get them on. "Ok, princess," she smiled, "let me touch up your makeup."

John assumed the prone position that he always took when someone went to work on his face. It just took a minute or so before Rose said, "Ok. I think you're all set!"

John relaxed and checked himself in the mirror. He looked cute. He liked that. "Thanks, Rose." He kissed her cheek.

"Your welcome, Beebs. Oh, my goodness, you are adorable. Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be!"

They returned to the office where Rita was laughing flirtatiously as she spoke to Mr Carlin, the new headmaster.

"Oh," Mr Carlin said, "here's the beautiful Miss Bianca, now! My goodness, you look absolutely beautiful, today, Miss Bianca!"

John smiled, flattered by the remark. "Thank you, Mr Carlin."

"I won't hold you up, ladies," he said as he shuffled some papers he had in his hands. "I wish you luck, Miss Bianca. I hope that it all goes well!"

"Thank you, sir," he smiled as Rose and Rita led him out of the building.

"Bebe Foley, right?" a gregarious man jogged down the hall with his hand extended.

John took his hand, but Rita spoke for him. "Yes, this is Bebe Foley," she explained to the man who beamed at John. "We have an audition appointment in fifteen minutes. Are you a production assistant?"

The man chuckled. "No, I'm the composer. I'm Robert Lopez."

John's eyes went wide as he stuttered to say something.

"She's a big fan of yours," Rose smiled, "and your wife, too, of course."

"Of course," the man's grin was infectious. "And we are both big fans of you, young lady." He took John's arm in his and led him down the hall. "I'm afraid that Kristen couldn't be here today, one of our girls is home sick from school, but we are both very excited to have you audition for our project. What do you know about this script?"

"Nothing," John finally formed a word. "I was told that I was auditioning to play Lily James' sister, though."

"That is true," he chuckled. "Are you a fan of hers?"

"Well, Yeah!" John giggled. "I mean, Cinderella, Baby Driver, Mama Mia Two... she's amazing!"

"Excellent, Excellent!" he continued. "There are actually three sisters, you will, obviously, be auditioning for the youngest sibling, and just today we locked in Anna Kendrick as the second sister."

John stopped in his tracks.

"What's the matter?" The man seemed concerned. "Are you familiar with Anna's work?"

"Ummm?" John was completely taken aback by what he'd just heard. "Into The Woods? Pitch Perfect? I mean, yeah, I know her work and..." he looked at Rita and Rose. "Maybe this isn't the best idea. I mean, they are so far out of my league..."

"Are you kidding me?" Robert Lopez guffawed. "Anna is waiting to meet you because she's such a big fan of yours."

John went pale.

"Beebs." Rose touched his shoulder. "Are you ok, baby?"

"I think I'm going to throw up," he muttered.

Robert Lopez gave out a big, hearty laugh this time. "I know what you mean, Bebe. I've only been working at this level for a few years, too. It can be overwhelming, I know, but she's just another actress. She's really sweet, I promise. Come on down the hall. She's very excited to meet you."

John's cute little pumps felt like they were made of lead as he allowed Robert Lopez to lead him down the hallway and into the audition room.

The door opened and there were two women sitting at a table with their backs to the door.

"Anna?" Robert said, causing the smaller of the two to turn and smile, "This is Bebe Foley."

"Oh, my goodness," the woman stood and hustled over to John. "I am so happy to meet you!" She hugged him and stepped back. It was her! It was really her! The narrow eyes! The huge smile! It was really her! It was really Anna Kendrick. As John stood dumbfounded, Anna looked beyond John to Rose. "Oh, my, I recognize you, too. Anna Kendrick."

She shook Rose's hand. "I'm Rose," Rose smiled. "It is truly an honor to meet you. I think my cousin is a bit... surprised, I guess... to meet you."

"Aww, that's nice," Anna said, Looking at the smile and a few tears that dominated John's face. "I love your skirt!" Anna she continued, trying to relax the younger actress.

"Thank you," John replied, as he noticed that this amazing star was wearing nearly the same thing - a sleeveless, black top, black tights and pumps and a skirt, but hers was grey wool and fit more snuggly. "I like yours, too."

"Why, thank you," she smiled and adjusted the skirt. "Come on over to the table and let's look at the sides. I'm going to be reading with you."

John looked at Rose and opened his mouth, but nothing came out. Anna Kendrick took his hand and pulled him towards the table.

"We'll wait outside," Rita said.

"Oh, don't be silly," Robert Lopez smiled. "You can stay. I'm hoping that this is just a formality."

Rita and Rose joined the others at the table.

"I'm from New England, too, Bebe," Anna Kendrick was trying to relax John. "Portland, Maine. Where are you from?"

"Worcester," John said, knowing she'd know that Worcester was in Massachusetts.

"Wiss-tah, Huh?" The star teased, pronouncing the city's name with the horribly course accent that the natives of the city used. "I've been through there. Lots of colleges, right? What's the name of the one that the highway curves around, you know, the one I mean? Lots of brick buildings."

"That's Holy Cross," John beamed. "My mom teaches there!"

"Oh, how cool!" She put her hands on his shoulders and guided him into a seat. "Diane, this is Bebe Foley." She introduced John to the woman at the table as she took a seat herself.

"Oh, I know who Bebe is," the other woman at the table smiled and extended a hand. "I'm a big fan of Civil Disobedience. It must be great working with Don Ferry, huh?"

"Oh, it is." John was still finding his voice.

"Diane is our accompanist today, Bebe. I worked with her on Into The Woods. She's amazing."

"Awesome," John took a big breath. "I'm sorry, Ms Kendrick, I must look like an idiot, I just... Well, I'm kinda shocked to see you here. I didn't know that you were attached to this project."

"Well, I wasn't until about an hour ago." She smiled that beautiful, big, toothy smile of hers. As she smiled, two Disney executives entered and took their seats around the table as well.

"Gentlemen," Robert Lopez smiled at everyone, "this is Bebe Foley and, of course, you know Anna Kendrick. Bebe will be auditioning for us in a few minutes.

The men nodded and opened their tablets to start taking notes.

Anna Kendrick turned her smile back to John and asked, "What would you like to do first, Bebe? Read or sing?"

"Oh, read, please!"

"Ok. Then, when you're relaxed, we can do the song together."

"Holy shit," John whispered, but everyone heard it and laughed.

Rose took note of how Anna Kendrick was working with John - helping him to relax and allowing him to act instead of just reading. She'd only ever seen one person behave this way at an audition before and that person was John. He'd helped Ed, he'd helped Kylie and all those other kids and he'd helped her. 'How wonderful,' Rose thought, 'that someone is doing the same for him. Maybe Karma is real!"

They read the scene a couple of times times and Robert Lopez offered critiques and guidance. It was a playful argument about what Bebe's character should wear on a date. There was the mention of a 'bustle,' so John assumed that the story had to take place sometime on the late nineteenth or early twentieth centuries. He didn't question that though, it just didn't seem to matter.

"Excellent!" Robert Lopez clapped when they'd read the scene for the last time. Everyone applauded them.

"That was great, Bebe." Anna Kendrick hugged him.

"No, YOU were great. Thank you." John hugged back.

"Ready to sing?" Diane asked as she stood and headed to a digital piano at the side of the room.

"Well, not really." John stood, as did Anna. "Umm, my voice teacher told me to ask you this. Is it possible to try the song in the key of Bb, first?"

"Fine with me," Diane said, "is it ok with you, Mr Lopez?"

"Yeah, sure, Bebe, but I want to hear it in D, as well. Ok?"

"Ok," John nodded. "She tells me I'm an alto, but I'll do my best."

Anna offered John a fist bump. "Altos rock, sister!" She said, then, as they bumped fists, she said, "I really do love that skirt! We're about the same size. Maybe I could borrow it, some time."

It was meant as a joke to relax him, but John was so mesmerized just being near her that he replied, "Sure! Any time!"

Diane pushed a couple of buttons on the keyboard, transposing the instrument down a major third, then began playing the introduction.

"Mind if I sing along the first time through?" Anna asked.

"No, please do," John let out a relieved laugh. "And, please, sing loudly!"

She laughed.

They sang it through together and Anna did sing it loudly, which offered John a bit of a shield so that he could sing out loudly, too.

"I think your teacher's right, Bebe," Anna said when they were done. "I love it in that key! So much easier to sing!"

"Yeah, well it's supposed to be dramatic, not easy." Robert Lopez smiled and shook his head. "By yourself, now, Bebe, please."

"You'll be great," Anna Kendrick said. "Just close your eyes, listen to the music and sing."

He nodded, closed his eyes and listened. When he sang, it all seemed to flow out of him effortlessly. He even felt comfortable throwing in some ornamentation he'd practiced at home.

"Alright!" Robert Lopez applauded and Anna Kendrick hugged him. "Can I hear it in D, now, please, Diane?"

She reset the tuning on the keyboard and played it again. Again, Anna Kendrick sang along the first time through. She stopped him once at the start of the second verse and offered some advice to support his breath better and produce a stronger note. He nodded and did as she told him and it really helped.

"Ready to do it by yourself, now, Bebe?" Anna asked as they finished.

He shrugged and grimaced.

"Oh, come on. Do it just like you did it before. Close your eyes, listen to the music and just let it come out. It's just long, sustained dialog. Just be awesome."

"Ok," John looked to Diane who started playing. He closed his eyes and started just a bit tentatively, but it didn't feel quite right. He stopped and held up his hand. When Diane stopped, he said, "Could I please start again? I'm sorry, I messed up the words."

"Of course." Diane smiled and started again.

This time, he let the music surround him. He felt every note as it bounced around the room, and when he opened his mouth to sing, it was as if he'd been a singer all of his life. His tone was round and beautiful and his pronunciation was clear and natural. He could feel his voice as it mixed with the sound of the piano in a way he'd never heard it before. There was a perfect symbiosis between the two and he sensed that Diane was working with him, building when he did, falling back when he did. It felt so good. So natural. Perfect.

As he reached the end of the last note, he nearly fell over because Anna Kendrick hugged him while his eyes were still closed. "Yes! Yes! Yes!" She said as she hugged him and kissed his cheek. "What do you think, Bob?" she asked Robert Lopez.

He looked to the two executives, who nodded. He looked back to Anna at his heart and the piano and said, "I think I need to talk to her agent," he grinned.

"Well, then," Rita leaned across the desk and handed him a card, "you are in luck!"
 
 
To Be Continued...