Sing-Song

"Are you nuts?" I gaped at Stefani. She nodded and repeated to me, "A song- by Tuesday," I couldn't believe what I was hearing. A song- by TUESDAY! Tuesday is like two nights away. And I still don't have a single song for Stefani. She nodded and told me a different thing, "You know the thing is, I have to perform a song on our high school's Dance Night," she started. I shivered. "And since it's a Dance Night, I want it to be a funky, dancey, keeps-everyone-in-the-mood song. I'll give you a list after the last class. Oh-o! Bell rang, gotta go to history class!" she ran out, humming a song. By the time it was home time, my eyes were weary. Really weary. Stefani came out, thudding from the stairs. She held out a paper to me in the noisy hallway at the locker, where I was at. "Here's the list- Whatever it says you have to contain, you must do it!" she pointed out and skipped away outside.

I got home, looking at the list, groaning. There are like a thousand things it 'must' contain. It went like this:

Song must be called Everlasting Dance

Song has to be dancey, keep-everyone-in-the-mood and groovy.

Deanna Michaels is making the dance moves because she goes to hip hop classes.

It has to contain guitars, petrol drums, pop keyboard and a DJ (Maybe a piano once I hear it and it sounds good enough for a piano.)

Make sure you and Deanna agree on the dance moves that I and my girls are going to dance.

The tune must be pop, not classical or rock or opera- POP

You have to rehearse to me on Saturday. Meet me at the Colinals Dance Studio by 10.

You have to also…

Yala! This is a lot to think about. Doesn't Stefani know that I can only play piano, pop keyboard, trumpet and classical guitar? (Well, she didn't mention what kind of guitar it has to be.) I told mum about this tangy mess and she said she'd help me write the song. NOOOOOOO! No way will mum be helping! But I gotta admit that she is good at playing trumpet but I just said, "You can help out on the headphones and vocals and computer thingy migigy things," Mum got back to watching TV on the coach. I sat on the piano chair and played something that I know. Mozart is my kind of thing but that's classical. What about Guizena? She is a romantic pianist but I remember that Stefani wanted it all poppy and dancey. "Omigod," I whispered under my breathe. "Omigod…" I needed some help. I called out Deanna to come over to my house. You know the girl with all the speckles and she uses textures to cover her forehead so she looks like a hippy? OK, I know you don't know her but she is ringing the doorbell…

"Nooooo!" Deanna yelled above the piano music playing. I froze my fingers. "It has to be poppy as Stefani said! Piano is for classical. Get the guitar and hurry!" It was 4:21 after school on Friday. I was worn out by all the errors and stuff caused by Deanna. I got out my classical guitar of out the case in a hurry. Oh, and I also received a zipper cut from the case. I wrapped around a bandage quickly before Deanna could go off with her horrid, glass breaking screams. I can't believe it. We haven't even written down the lyrics. I placed my left hand on the nut and started playing my favorite guitar chord. "Hey that's pretty nice," admitted Deanna, who stopped dancing. "Record it with the headphones!" I called out mum to help me out with the cords. I didn't want to get another bleeding cut. "You made a mistake!" said mum, turning the vocal off. "Start again. Ready?" I nodded. Then she said in the mike, "Guitar chords- take two," That was the one with no mistakes at all. "It sounds good. Now all you need to do is the pop keyboard, petrol drums, the DJ and remember Stefani said that you could do the piano in background," Mum reminded me. I groaned and plopped on the recording chair. I forgot about those things! I decided to get started with the pop keyboard right away. Mum left the room because she doesn't want to be stuck in a stuffy recording room with dusty instruments. It is very hard to explain how to use a pop keyboard. A pop keyboard has two layers. Oh, forget about it! When I finished, I recorded it on the headphones separated from the guitar chords and put them together. It sounded great. I looked at the list. I still have DJ and petrol drums to go and piano. I walked in the piano room and saw Deanna doing belly dance moves. When she saw me she cried, "Hey Ruby! How about this dance for the song. If it's everlasting dance we can do_" I interrupted her saying, "OK, OK! Just do it and let me see the dance if matches to my half-music finished," She started to dance, ridiculous, horrible belly dance moves. She took off her shirt and everything and danced in her bikinis and underwear! The moves were yucky. Like, shaking your chest at first and then, she started to swing her bum to side to side for like, four times and then swinging her head around like an insane person. Next she did kick her leg, but with her bum moving. Ick! The next part was like OMIGOD!!! She collapsed to the floor purposely and shook her bum in the air saying, "It's an everlasting dance___." What? Did she make up the chorus or one line without me? Next, she sprang up and shook her hair. "Do you like it?" she smiled, still with her bikinis on. I didn't know what to say. Honestly, it was not good at all. "Can you get changed first, Deanna? The changing rooms are next to the kitchen," I said quickly, not looking at the horrible sight of her. She went and I blew a sigh of relief. What a dance! When she came back she told me an 'idea'. "Look, how about the DJ says a rap and then, Stefani could sing and dance. She can sing, 'Everlasting dance___' every verse after the DJ plays." She told me. OK, Hindu Mcduff was the schools very best DJ's so he can do it. But I don't think I like the dance at all. The teachers are going to be disgusted and say to me, "Ruby, that dance you and Deanna made up was crap and pathetic!" I don't get humiliated by teachers. I didn't want to be busy like this so I just said, "OK." Even though everything is not OK. When Deanna left, I finished the piano background music into a low bass tune. I recorded it. As I listened it sounded horrible and stupid with the guitar and pop keyboard. The piano thing I did sounded jazzier- not pop. But for once, who cares? It's just background stuff. I couldn't do the petrol drums, so I cheated. I downloaded a drum beat from the internet and recorded it. When I put all of the instruments together, everything sounded good except for the piano. I decided to tell Stefani tomorrow at the studio that the music had to be a little more quiet than usual. I started doing vocals. I can't do it. Plus I hate rapping. I'm not good at the stuff. But LUCKY I recorded the sound of Deanna singing it before she left. So as I put the instruments and vocals together, it sounded better with the music soft. The only thing is that it didn't match the dance from Deanna. My music was normal her one was… steamy. I just sighed and burnt it on a CD, ready for tomorrow.

"Why?"

"Because it sounds better that way," I told Stefani about the song. She seemed happy about it as she listened to it. I hated it. "Hindu, ready. Make it good." Then, horrible rehearsal. Deanna already showed her the moves this morning. I couldn't stand the sight of it. After the 2 mins and 30 sec song, Stefani looked shallow and told Deanna that she didn't appreciate the dance or the song. Then she told me everything's good except for the DJ and low music. "That was Deanna's idea," I pointed out. Then I turned to Deanna. "Let's change a few bits. The music is fine. Let's change the dance, rap and words into a sing-song. Not a rap. "I said to Deanna. Then told her we shouldn't even have a rap. Hindu looked disappointed and took off his headphones and scattered away. Stefani looked hopeful. Then Deanna screamed, "I quit this job!" it echoed through the entertainment hall. "I'm telling Tom that I quit being this schools dancer! OBSERVE!" then, she closed the door with a slam. I groaned, thinking I should start again. Stefani and I sighed. What are we going to do? "Let's make the words float a bit. Poppy, but softly," Finally Stefani said. And it turned out to be great! The song was poppy and smoother. Tuesday is the day…