Leah and Zoot Forever

[Twisted Tails]

I am all caught up with this fanfic. This is groovy, dude! I cannot believe you put me into a cliffhanger until now.

Oh well, I'm glad I got patient and tried to stay calm for more chapters to come.

 

[Zoot Fan 1981]

I am all caught up with this fanfic. This is groovy, dude! I cannot believe you put me into a cliffhanger until now. Oh well, I'm glad I got patient and tried to stay calm for more chapters to come.

I'm trying to decide how and when to wrap this up when the time comes. There will be more to come, though

 

[Zoot Fan 1981]

Chapter 9: Home again
It was Sunday. Zoot and Leah dreaded today because there were going to go home. They both had such a great time at Liza's house playing with the kids. Now it was time to go back home to be with the rest of the band. Back to reality. Back to having hardly anything but each other. Leah started crying. Zoot was packing their things and noticed her sitting on the bed, covering her eyes as tears rolled down her cheeks. Zoot looked at her and sat down next to her.
"Babe, what's wrong?" he asked.
"I don't want to leave!" Leah told him. "I like it here." He hugged her.
"I know but we have to get back to out lives." She looked at him. He wiped away her tears. "We'll come back and visit."
"How about we move here?" Leah suggested. "There are a lot of clubs here and maybe we can get a good gig. Back home, we're lucky if we get one gig a week!" Zoot thought for a minute. He wasn't too thrilled about moving back to his hometown but Leah was right. "Let's discuss it with the band before we make a decision." Leah wiped away her tears.
"Does Uncle Zoot and Aunt Leah really have to go home now?" Lily asked her mother. She was fighting back tears as she was changing Daniel.
"Yes, sweetie they do." she told her daughter. "They will come back and visit again."
"I don't want them to leave!" Lily cried. "I want them to stay!" She started crying and ran to her room. She slammed the door behind her and jumped on her bed. She buried her face into her pillow to muffle her crying. She didn't want anyone to hear. Everyone was upset that day. It got very emotional when Zoot and Leah boarded the bus. Liza and Leah hugged each other. Daniel could sense that everyone was upset. He reached out toward his uncle. Zoot held him and hugged him goodbye.
"Be good, little man or your uncle is going to get you." he teased. Daniel clung onto his shirt and refused to let go. He kept trying to pry his little hands off but he clung for dear life. He was saying in his own way that he didn't want them to leave either.
Liza pried his hands off of Zoot's shirt. Daniel started to scream. Zoot felt horrible to leave his nephew crying like that. He looked at his sister.
"He'll be okay, Zeph." she said. He hugged her. "We'll miss you." Tears streamed down her cheeks.
"We'll miss you too, little sis." Zoot said. "We'll come see you again."
"Uncle Zoot, Aunt Leah." Lily said. Zoot and Leah knelt so they could look her in the eyes. "I drew this for you." She gave them a picture of the family. It was drawn neatly but she had some trouble staying inside the lines.
"Thank you, Lily." Leah said, taking the picture from her. She had drawn Leah, Zoot, her brother and her parents. She has also written To Aunt Leah and Uncle Zeffir, I love you. Luv, Lily
Leah gave Lily a tight hug. She felt her eyes watering again. Lily started crying again.
"The buses are now boarding!" a guy announced over the intercom.
"We better get on the bus, Leah." Zoot said. "Or we'll have to find a way home." Once again Liza and Leah hugged.
"Call us when you get home." Liza said.
"We will." Leah told her. "promise." Zoot and Leah loaded their things onto the bus and found a seat.
"Hey." Zoot said, nudging her. "Don't let it get you down, babe. We'll be back again soon." Leah nodded and leaned against her fiance. The bus pulled away after all the passengers boarded and seated themselves.

(Chapter 9 will continue this weekend So until then, Rock on!)

It was a long ride home. Zoot slept with his hat over his face most of the time while Leah was thinking of the great time she had. She already missed Liza and her family.
Back home, Lips, Janice, Floyd, Animal, and Dr. Teeth boarded their tour bus.
"Zoot and Leah are going to be surprised to see us waiting for them at the bus station!" Janice said excitedly.
"I bet they had a groovy time with his family." Lips said. Dr. Teeth turned on the ignition and they drove off. Soon, Leah felt the bus coming to a stop. They were at the bus station now. She shook Zoot.
"Huh?! Wha-" Zoot said as he woke up.
"We're here, sleepyhead." Leah told him. Zoot smacked his lips and stretched. Leah handed him his things and she carried hers. As they got off the bus, she could see Janice. A smile approached her face as she ran up to hug her. Zoot struggled to keep up with her but his bags were too heavy. "Jan Jan!" Leah screeched as she hugged Janice as tight as she could. Janice hugged her back.
"Uh, Zoot is having some trouble." Dr. Teeth said.
"I'll help him." Floyd said and rushed over to his friend. "Here, dude. Let me help." He took a couple of bags and his sax.
"Uh no I have it, man." Zoot said.
"It's okay. I got it." Floyd insisted. "You're going to hurt yourself carrying all that stuff." Zoot decided to let Floyd help since Floyd was being persistant. "How was your trip?"
"It was groovy. Man, It's good to be back."
They all got on the bus and headed home. Both Zoot and Leah were exhausted. Janice helped Leah unpack and put away her clothes.
"You would not believe this, Janice but Zoot has actually changed his nephew's diapers." she said.
"Rully?" Janice said in disbelief. "I can't imagine him changing diapers."
"The first time was so funny." Leah continued. "He went through 3 or 4 diapers."
"How did he go through that many?"
"He kept putting them on too loose." Leah told her. "Liza and I were laughing so hard watching him." In his room, Zoot was sitting on his bed playing his sax. His suitcases were still sitting by the door.
"Hey, man what'cha doing?" Floyd asked from the other side of the door. Zoot stopped playing.
"It's open, man." he called. Floyd opened the door and walked in.
"Dude, you didn't say anything to us about your trip." he said. Zoot shrugged. "I do have something both Leah and I need to talk to you guys about."
"What's that, brother?" Floyd asked.
"She wants to move to the old neighborhood."
"Where we grew up?" Floyd asked.
"Yeah."
"How's everyone there? Did you run into our old buddies?"
"I only saw Rowlf." Zoot told him. "I'm pretty sure everyone we knew moved away. The clubs around there are looking for new bands to play."
"And you're thinking that maybe we can get some good paying gigs in the old neighborhood." Floyd finished. Zoot nodded. "Well it sure beats living here. Every place we have tried to play at always turned us away."
"I checked out the places while we were there." Zoot told him. "They are always looking for new bands. Remember the coffee house?"
"Oh yeah!" Floyd said. "We were little rockers then! We had fun playing there."
"The old neighborhood brought back a lot of memories." Zoot said. "Henson Elementary school looks different and by what my sister told me, they completely changed the inside."
"How does Liza know?"
"My niece will be going there for preschool this year." Zoot told him. "Liza thinks they'll have her go into kindergarten early. Lily is as smart as a whip. She's going to be bored when she goes to preschool."
"Wow! I bet she knows how to add and stuff." Floyd said.
"She knows some addition and subtraction." Zoot said. "I wasn't that smart at 4 years old. They expect so much out of these young ones these days. It's unreal."
"Oh tell me about it, man." Floyd said. Zoot started playing his sax and Floyd joined in with his bass.

(more tomorrow. Promise!)

Later in the evening, Leah called The Electric Mayhem to a meeting. Zoot knew what it was about. He didn't really want to move back to the old neighborhood but he was willing to if it made his girl happy.
"What's all this about, Leah?" the good doctor asked as everyone sat down. Leah took a deep breath.
"I think it's best for all of us to move out of this town." she said.
"Why?" Dr. Teeth asked.
"Think about it, man." Floyd said. "How often do we get a good paying gig?"
"Fer sure!" Janice agreed. "Like we're lucky if we get one gig a week! They don't pay very much and most of the time we scrounge just to keep food in our belly." Zoot just sat back in his chair listening to the conversation.
"I just talked to my man Zoot and he told me that he checked out some clubs back in the old neighborhood." Floyd told everyone. Everyone looked at Zoot.
"Look, guys." he said. "I've been lucky to find a place to rest my head now and then since Kermit sold the studio and I'm sick of it. I've had to play on the streets for a little money just to eat."
"We're not doing it for the money." Dr. Teeth reminded his band.
"True." Floyd said. "But doc, you gotta think logically. Leah has a point. Zoot's sister can help us move and find a place to live."
"Yeah, Dr. Teeth." Janice said. "If we can move away, we can get better gigs and make way more money than we're making now."
"Leah and I have a wedding to pay for and with what little we make, we have to use for food." Zoot said, leaning back in his chair with his arm hanging over the back."
"I think we should do it." Janice said.
"Yeah me too!" Floyd said.
"MOVE! MOVE!" Animal shouted. Dr. Teeth couldn't believe what he was hearing. He glared at Leah. Leah pretended not to notice.
When Dr. Teeth found Leah by herself, he walked up to her.
"What are you doing?" he asked. "Are you trying to destroy us?"
"What are you talking about?" she asked whirling around. "I'm just trying to do what's best for this band and Zoot agrees with me!"
"I don't want us to move."
"You're being selfish. You have to have money to live too, Dr. Teeth. Like they said, they are tired of scrounging for money just to eat. Zoot and I plan on having a child in the future and we can't live like that anymore."
"But Lee, we've lived here for 7 years now."
"It's best, Doc." she said gently putting her hand on his shoulder. "Please trust me on this." He touched her hand.
"Lee," Dr. Teeth said. His voice cracking. "I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"For what I said and did." he said. She looked at him, confused. He continued. "For your parents' death. I never got to really apologize to you about it. It haunts me everyday." She stared at him for a long time. He was hoping to hear "I forgive you." but she didn't say anything. Leah wanted so bad to forgive him but she had a hard time saying it. She knew it was an accident.
"I know you are." Leah said. "I just can't say those words." She quickly walked away, leaving Dr. Teeth. Leah entered her room and picked up the phone to call Liza.

 

[Twisted Tails]

Cliffhanger... again?

BTW, I love your fanfic! Right now, time to get serious until 4th of July comes to an end. Thanks for sharing, Zoot Fan 1981!

 

[Zoot Fan 1981]

Cliffhanger... again?

BTW, I love your fanfic! Right now, time to get serious until 4th of July comes to an end. Thanks for sharing, Zoot Fan 1981!

Thank you and sorry for the cliffhanger. It's late and I needed to get to sleep. Problem is, I can't! Happy Independence Day, everyone.

 

[Twisted Tails]

FANTASTIC!

(more tomorrow. Promise!)

Keeping my fingers crossed for the next chapter.

 

[Zoot Fan 1981]

Chapter 10: Moving back

"Really?" Liza squealed. "You and Zeph are moving here?" She was excited.
"The only one who doesn't agree to move is Dr. Teeth." Leah told her. "Zoot doesn't really care what we do."
"Yeah. That's my brother." she said. "He's the laid back kind of guy. He just does his own thing. Lily is going to be so excited to hear the news. She has been asking when you guys are coming back."
"Awww." Leah said. "Tell her Aunt Leah and Uncle Zoot will be back soon to see her." Zoot was sitting on Leah's bed waiting for her to hang up the phone. He sighed. Women. They talk nonstop for hours. Zoot decided to take a cat nap while he waited for Leah and Liza to say goodbye. An hour later, Leah woke him.
"Huh?" he grumbled.
"I need to talk to you." Leah told him.
"I'm listening." he said.
"I talked to your sister and she's letting us all stay at her place until we save some money and buy our own house." Leah explained.
"Where are we all going to sleep?"
"We'll stay in the same bedroom we stayed in before and the others can sleep in the basement. She has like 2 or 3 bedrooms down there."
"Groovy!" Zoot said.

(more of chapter 10 later.)

"I can't believe we're moving back to Summerfield City!" Floyd exclaimed. "It'll be great to be back home." The band loaded their luggage onto the bus.
"How far is Summerfield?" Dr. Teeth asked Zoot.
"It's about 5 hours." Zoot answered. He leaned back in the back seat with his sax in hand. Janice and Leah sat at the table talking and Floyd practiced his bass. Lips was fast asleep on the bunkbeds. Floyd started thinking of his childhood and when he met Zoot in Jr. High school. Floyd managed to keep a couple of his yearbooks. He opened one of them and flipped through 7th grade. He chuckled as he looked at the pictures.
"Everyone ready to leave?" Dr. Teeth asked. "We're only going to stop for food when we get hungry. We want to get there as soon as possible."
"Alright." Janice answered.
"We're ready to pull out." Floyd shouted as the bus pulled away. "Let's go, Baby! WOO!" Zoot started playing Body and Soul on his sax. He noticed Floyd flipping through his jr high yearbook.
"Hey, man! What are you looking at?" Zoot asked as he moved to sit next to Floyd.
"It's our old jr high yearbook. We were in 7th grade." Floyd flipped to the P section and pointed to his picture. "Here I am."
"Where is my picture?" Zoot asked. Floyd flipped to the S section and found Zoot.
"Here you are. Zephyr Simms." Floyd said. Zoot cringed. He remembered why he hated that picture. His face had some pimples on it and his voice was going through some changes. He was awkward.
"Ugh! Now I remember why I hate that picture." he said.
"Your mom had it hanging in her living room for years!" Floyd said with a laugh.
"It's my most embarrassing school picture ever!" Zoot moaned.
"Not necessarily." Leah said. "Liza showed me a picture of you when you were a baby. You were completely naked!" Zoot sunk slowly in his seat and pulled his hat over his eyes in embarrassment.
"I would rather she showed you my 7th grade picture, Leah." he moaned. "That's even more embarrassing!" Everyone except Zoot burst out laughing. He was too embarrassed.
"There's more pictures of us, Zoot." Floyd said, turning his yearbook to the band section. All of the students stood proudly holding their instruments. There was a shot of Zoot and Floyd sitting on the stairs after school playing their instruments. There was an individual picture of Zoot standing up in front of band class. The teacher was using him as an example for all the kids who played woodwinds.
"That was so long ago, man." Zoot said, yawning. "Brings back some memories." He pulled his hat over his face and fell asleep.

(Rock on! More tomorrow night.)

At around 11:00 at night, they entered Summerfield. Floyd was driving now. Dr. Teeth had driven for 2 and a half hours and needed a rest.
"You remember where Liza lives, right Floyd?" Leah asked.
"I remember." Floyd told her as he turned down Musk Street. He scanned the road for Liza's car. "It's 1620 Musk Street. We're about to pull up to the house now. Wow the old neighborhood still looks the same." He turned around in the driver's seat. "We're here, guys." Liza, who was watching for their tour bus, came outside in her pajamas.
"Can you guys go around to the back?" she asked Floyd. "There's more room for your bus behind the house."
"Sure can." Floyd said. After he parked the bus in the back, he tried to wake everyone up but they were sleeping too heavy. Leah finally fell asleep next to Zoot who was holding his saxophone close to him.
"Aren't they all coming in?" Liza asked.
"Can't wake 'em up." Floyd said. "We'll sleep here tonight. In the morning, we can get our things inside and get settled in. Thanks for letting us all stay here, Liza."
"It's not a problem." she said and smiled. She walked into her house to go to bed. Floyd walked to the bunk beds which were in the back of the bus, climbed in and fell asleep. It was a long trip.
Around 9 in the morning, they awoke.
"Let's get everything off the bus and get settled in." Floyd said. They all helped each other carry in their stuff. Liza and Andrew even rearranged and sound proofed the basement so they could practice their music while the kids slept. First they carried in their clothes and then their instruments. Lily couldn't believe that her uncle's band was going to stay in her house.
"Who are you?" she asked Janice.
"I'm like Janice." she said.
"Like Janice." she repeated. "That's weird. Why is your name Like Janice?" Janice chuckled.
"It's Janice, honey." she said. "You can call me Jan."
"Kay." she said. "Where's Uncle Zoot and Aunt Leah?" Zoot walked through the door carrying his sax. He didn't notice Lily standing in his way. He almost tripped over her.
"Lily," Zoot said. "Would you mind moving out of the way? Uncle Zoot doesn't want you to get hurt and some of us have heavy instruments to carry inside."
"Sorry." Lily said and skipped off to her room. Behind Zoot was Leah and Dr. Teeth. Floyd was carrying his bass and Janice's guitar in each hand. Leah had her microphone and stand. The cord was wrapped around her hand so nobody would trip and hurt themselves. Dr. Teeth had three keyboards to carry in plus 2 stands. One held 2 keyboards and the other one held up just one. Lips and Zoot helped Dr. Teeth and Animal carry in their instruments. Once all the instruments were inside, it was time to set up their stage.
"That was a lot of work." Lips said, wiping his forehead with a cloth.
"I'll say." Dr. Teeth said. "I'm beat, man." Lily was standing in front of the stage quietly watching.
"Who's fuzzy guy?" she asked curiously.
"Oh his name is Animal, little one!" Floyd told her. "He's our drummer." Lily looked a little scared by Animal's appearance.
"He won't hurt me, will he?" she asked. Animal shook his head.
"Animal no hurt little girl." he said. "No. No. NO!"
"Can I help you set up your instruments?" she asked. Everyone looked at each other. Leah walked over to her and knelt down so she was at Lily's eye level.
"Honey," she said gently. "how about you sit in that chair over there." She said pointing to a chair that is sitting in the corner. "Aunt Leah and Uncle Zoot would rather you stay out of the way so you don't get hurt."
"Okay, Aunt Leah." she said and did what she was asked.
"Anyone thirsty?" Liza asked. She had a large tray of home made lemonade. Everyone grabbed a glass and quickly gulped down some lemonade. "I have breakfast made if any of you are hungry."
"We should be done here soon." Dr. Teeth told her. "I have to get my equipment set up." Zoot put his sax in the corner opposite of his niece and helped him get his keyboards set up. Lips helped too. Leah plugged in her microphone and soon the whole stage was ready.
"Yeah!" Lips exclaimed as he and Floyd slapped a high five. "Now we can practice." The 6 of them followed by Lily went upstairs to eat.
"Thanks, so much, little sis for letting us stay here." Zoot said in between bites.
"It's no problem." Liza said. "It's good to see you all again."
"Same here." Floyd and Janice said.
"I didn't know you knew my sister." Zoot said to Janice.
"We met a few years back." she told him. "We were like rully good friends and hung out almost everyday."
"We had some great times huh, Jan Jan?"
"Oh fer sure."
(More tomorrow evening. Rock on!)

Later that afternoon Leah, Liza, and Janice went to the bridal store while the guys stayed at the house. Leah wanted to go shopping for dresses. She tried on so many dresses and nothing seemed to feel right to her.
"Why don't you just pick out a dress and be done with it?" Janice asked. "You've tried on like a million dresses."
"The prefect wedding dress is important." Liza told her. "I did the same until I found the perfect one. Take your time, Leah." Out of the corner of her eye, Leah saw a mannequin wearing a white mini dress with some blue down the middle. It had a large jewel covering the stomach area. The straps were spaghetti straps and the veil sat on the head.
"That's the one!" Leah shouted. "That's the dress! I want to try it on." Liza got one of the employees to get Leah the dress. Janice and Liza sat in the chairs and waited for Leah to come out of the dressing room. When she finally walked out, Janice's jaw dropped. Leah looked stunningly beautiful.
"You look gorgeous!" Liza breathed.
"Fer sure! Zoot is going to love you in that dress." Janice said.
"You really like it?" Leah asked.
"How do you like it?" Liza asked. "It doesn't matter what we think."
"I want to buy it." Leah said. "It's perfect." After they bought the dress and shoes, the girls left to go home. On the way home, Leah asked Janice to be a bridesmaid which she graciously accepted. When they got home, the girls carried in Leah's dress.
"What's that?" Zoot asked his sister.
"That's my dress and no peeking." Leah told him and giggled. "Liza is storing it in her room for me." Zoot embraced his fiance.
"Don't worry. I won't peek." he told her.
"You better not, big brother." Liza said. "It's bad luck."

(Sorry so short but I will do more tomorrow. I will try to put more on tonight but if I don't get to it, there will definitely be more tomorrow. Rock on!)

Early the next morning, Lily got out of bed. Today was her first day of school and she was excited. She put on her clothes and combed her hair. Then she went into Leah and Zoot's room to wake up her Aunt Leah.
"Aunt Leah! Aunt Leah!" she said as she climbed onto the bed. "Wake up! I have school today!" Leah groaned and sleepily looked at her clock. It was almost 7:00 and to her, it was like 3 or 4 in the morning. "Come on, Aunt Leah!" She shook Leah.
Zoot who was on the other side of Leah, just snoozed away as if nothing was going on. At least until he too was awakened by his niece. "Uncle Zoot! Uncle Zoot!! Come on! Get up!" She shook Zoot really hard because Zoot was the hardest to wake up.
"Oh man it's time to get up already?" he moaned. His hat covered his face. She finally got tired of shaking her uncle so she grabbed his arm and pulled him up. "Wha-? What? I'm up I'm up." Zoot said, sitting up and smacking his lips. Leah sat on the side of the bed and stretched.
"Isn't your mom taking you to school?" Leah asked. Lily nodded.
"I want you guys to come with me." she said.
"Well we better get moving, Zoot." she said.
"Don't wanna." Zoot moaned as he put his hat back over his face and laid down. Leah thought.
"Okay, Zoot. You don't have to come with but when me and Liza come back, you get to change Daniel and I'm sure his diaper is very full right now." Zoot's eyes suddenly widened. He sat up.
"We better get going then." he said and rushed out the bedroom door. Zoot bolted downstairs past his sister. Liza never saw Zoot move so fast in her life. Leah and Lily walked downstairs together.
"What's with Zeph?" she asked Leah.
"I told him that if he didn't get up, he would be the first to change Daniel." Leah giggled. Liza started laughing.
"Are you that scared of a full diaper?" she said to Zoot.
"I love the little guy but diapers just ain't my thing." Zoot said. Liza, Lily, and Leah just laughed. "Seriously, I'm not changing diapers anymore." he said. That made Liza and Leah laugh even harder. After Lily was dropped off at school, the rest of the band were in the basement practicing some music. Zoot and Leah walked in during the jam session.
"We were waiting for you two." Floyd said.
"Lily wanted us to go with her on her first day of school." Leah told them. "She insisted on it."
"Alright, everybody let's jam!" Dr. Teeth shouted. Animal lead on the drums and soon they were playing The Sweet Tooth Jam.

After jamming the entire morning, the band decided to take a break. Leah, Floyd, and Zoot decided to check out some clubs and maybe talk to someone about getting some gigs. The rest of the gang decided to stay at the house to clean house and do what ever else needed to be done.
"Are there any clubs open this time of day?" Leah asked.
"There are a few." Floyd said. "If you want to go clubbin' then you got to go in the evening. They're awesome and they have the most awesome bands play."
"Hopefully we're awesome enough to play at a few of these clubs." Leah said.
"Just think positively." Floyd told her. "I'm sure we'll get in a few places." The three band members turned a corner and stopped at Summerfield Club. There was a sign in the window.
"Look!" Leah said, pointing to the sign. "It says bands wanted. Talk to manager for details."
"Well, let's go in!" Floyd said. He couldn't believe it. Maybe they'll finally have a steady paycheck and who knows, they could become a well known band. They walked in.
"Groovy place." Zoot said as he looked around.
"Fabulous!" Floyd said. "Is there anyone around?" He looked at the bar and there was a guy wiping down the counter. He approached him. "Hey, my man!" The guy looked up and stopped what he was doing.
"Hi. What can I do for you?" he said cheerfully.
"I'm Floyd and this is Zoot and Leah." Floyd said, introducing his friends. "We would like to schedule an audition with you." The guy chuckled.
"You don't want me." he said. "I'm just an employee here. You want to talk to my boss. He's in his office. I can get him for you. Wait here."
"Groovy!" Leah said. Soon the manager came out of his office.
"Who did you say they are, Joe?" he asked.
"Their names are Zoot, Floyd, and Leah. They're here to set up a time to audition for you."
"I see." he said, studying the three band members. "My name is Barney. Does your band have a name?"
"Yes. It's called The Electric Mayhem." Floyd said. Barney puffed on his cigar. He was a tall guy with orange skin and brown hair and very built. "How many of you are there? Is it just you three?"
"No. There are 7 of us." Leah told him.
"What kind of music do you play?"
"We play rock and jazz." Zoot said. He looked at them deep in thought.
"Alright." he said after a long pause which seemed like forever. "When can you come in and audition?"
"We can do it tonight if you have any openings." Floyd said. Barney looked at his schedule. It was full for tonight.
"What about tomorrow evening?" he said.
"Is there anything going on tomorrow?" Zoot asked.
"Not that I know of." Leah answered.
"Tomorrow it is!" Floyd said.
"Okay. Be here at 6:00 sharp." Barney said and shook their hand. Zoot, Leah and Floyd were so excited that they couldn't wait to tell the others about their first audition they had in months!

 

[Zoot Fan 1981]

Chapter 11: Getting off the ground

Tonight was the audition at the club. The band had rehearsed all day and most of the night. Leah had to take frequent breaks so she didn't strain her vocals. The only time everyone took 5 was when they got hungry or thirsty.
"Okay, everyone." Dr. Teeth said. "Tonight is the audition so let's impress them! Animal, no chasing after the ladies."
"WOMAN! WOMAN!" Animal shouted.
"No, Animal! You concentrate on your drumming!" Floyd said sternly. "Guess I'll have to use the chain and collar on him tonight."
"Animal be good." Animal said, sitting back down on the stool.
"Like what song are we going to start off with?" Janice asked.
"I was thinking of Sweet Tooth Jam to start off with." Dr. Teeth said. "That'll knock them off their feet. Then Leah can sing Fever with Animal on the drums." It was agreed. Leah is going to sing her song first then they were going to play Sweet Tooth Jam.
The gang arrived at the club at 6:00 sharp. Barney recognized Floyd, Zoot and Leah. Each band member wore their best clothes. Leah was dressed in a sparkling blue dress with a slit up her leg that stopped just below her hip. Her hair was curled and she wore a white headband. Dr. Teeth wore his best tux. Floyd wore a nice vest with a short sleeve dress shirt underneath with some blue jean bellbottoms. Janice wore a pretty red sparkling dress similar to Leah's only the slit went up to her knee and a pair of pink platform shoes. She had a barrette in her hair and a couple of stylish bracelets on her wrist. Lips wore his brown plaid suit he always wears to auditions. Zoot wore his black and white tux (the one he wore in Rockin' Robin.) and Animal wore his usual attire. The first band up were The Stray Cats. That's just what they were. A bunch of cats.
"The Stray Cats." Barney called. "You guys are up." Three cats who wore zoot suits and matching hats walked up to the stage. One had a sax, the other had a guitar and the last one was the lead singer. "Whenever you're ready, guys."
"Alright, fellas." The singer said. "Hit it." The guitar sounded out of tune and the sax sounded squeaky. Everybody covered their ears.
"Man, these guys sound awful!" Floyd complained.
"I'll say!" Leah agreed.
"Guys, thanks but you're not what we're looking for." Barney said.
"But I haven't even sang yet." the leader declared.
"Get your instruments fixed first then come back." Barney said. They grumbled to themselves as they got off the stage for the next band. Barney scribbled some notes beside The Stray Cats and called up the next performer. "Rowlf the dog."
The piano was pushed onto the stage. Rowlf was wearing his black and white tux.
"I'm going to play English country Garden." he announced.
"Go on." said Barney. Rowlf sat down and played his song. Everyone was impressed with the dog's piano skills. He was hired on the spot. Next up was The Electric Mayhem. "Alright, guys. Let's see what you all can do." Barney said to the band. Leah and the gang got up onstage.
"Okay, let's give it to 'em." Floyd said. Leah had her back turned to the microphone. She turned around and walked up to it. All the guys stared at her. She looked very sexy with her moves. Animal played the drums to the beat and Leah began to sing.
"Never know how much I love you, never know how much I care
When you put your arms around me, I get a fever that's so hard to bear
You give me fever - when you kiss me, fever when you hold me tight
Fever - in the the morning, fever all through the night.
Sun lights up the daytime, moon lights up the night." Barney nodded and smiled, urging Leah to continue with her song.
"I light up when you call my name, and you know I'm gonna treat you right
You give me fever - when you kiss me, fever when you hold me tight
Fever - in the the morning, fever all through the night."
When she finished, Dr. Teeth said, "Alright, everybody let's jam!" signaling the band to start Sweet Tooth Jam. They got the whole room jumping with that song! Everyone was dancing and tapping their foot to the music. After all the bands auditioned, Barney said, Congratulations, Electric Mayhem! You got the gig." Leah and Janice squealed and jumped up and down and hugged each other. Dr. Teeth and Zoot slapped a high five.
"So when do you want us to start?" Floyd asked.
"Wednesday is when we officially open for the live entertainment." Barney said. "I was very impressed with your music and especially Leah's singing." Leah blushed.
"Thank you." she said. He pulled out a contract and the band read it. Leah's eyes widened. "$800.00 a night." she read. They have never made that much playing in night clubs. Not even close.
When the 7 of them got home, Liza was on the couch playing with Daniel.
"How did it go?" she asked. Leah tried to look disappointed but she couldn't hide it.
"WE GOT THE GIG!" she shouted excitedly.
"Oh congratulations!" Liza said, hugging Leah and Zoot. "When do you start?"
"Wednesday." Zoot told her.

Wednesday finally came and the band was nervous.
"Do we have the list of songs we're playing?" Dr. Teeth asked.
"Yeah." Floyd answered. "Right here in my pocket."
"What time do we have to be there to set up?" Janice asked.
"Around 5:30." Floyd answered. "Show starts at 6."
"Where is Leah at?" Janice wondered.
"She's changing clothes." Zoot answered as he was cleaning his sax. "She and my sister went out and she bought a new outfit to wear for tonight."
"Like, I can't wait to see it! She's going to look great!" Janice said excitedly. Soon, Leah walked down a few steps. She could see the band but they couldn't see her.
"Are you ready to see me?" Leah asked.
"Yeah!" they all answered together.
"Okay." She slowly walked down the rest of the steps with Liza behind her. Leah looked gorgeous. She had on a blue sparkling dress with one sleeve. Her hair was curled and she wore a red sparkling headband and the dress had a slit up the side that stopped at her knee. She had off white high platform shoes on. All the men's jaws dropped in amazement. Zoot accidentally dropped his sax.
"Babe, you look uh. . .uh. . ." Zoot stammered.
"Sensational?" Floyd asked.
"Yeah." Zoot said. "What Floyd said." Leah blushed.
"You do look beautiful." Janice said. "We're definitely going to knock 'em dead tonight."
"Andrew is going to watch the kids tonight." Liza said. "I want to be there to see you play and support you all."
"Of course!" said Dr. Teeth. "We'd love to have you come with us." Finally, Zoot realized he dropped his sax. He picked it up and examined it to make sure there were no dents and played a couple of scales just to make sure. It sounded good so no worries.
After the gang ate their supper, they left for the club. They got there a few minutes early to give themselves a little more time to set up. After the guys got their stuff set up, they had about 10 minutes to hang out.
"I still can't believe we finally have a show to put on." Dr. Teeth said.
"Me neither." Janice said. "We've been struggling for sooooo long and now things are finally happening for us."
"We deserve it, man." Zoot said. "We've been down on our luck since the Muppet Show."
"We've been waiting for an opportunity like this for years and we're finally going to put on some shows." Lips said. "It's about time." The others nodded in agreement.
Barney approached them. "It's time to get into your positions. People are going to start coming in soon." They got up and quickly took their places on the stage. Curtain goes up in just a few minutes. Everyone was lined up at the door patiently waiting to be let in. No sooner did Barney unlock the door, everyone scrambled to find seats. The rats who were the servers almost got ran over.
"Hey, Buddy! Watch where you're stepping!" one shouted as he jumped out of the way.
"AHHHHHHHH!" shouted another. "This is nuts!"
"HELP! He's gonna step on me. Help! He's gonna step on me!!" panicked another rat. He found a place under a chair and hid, shaking. One of the guests sat down. He stepped on the rat's tail but the rat didn't notice until he tried to walk away. "What the?" he tugged at his tail. He couldn't get his tail. "Uh, Excuse me. Sir? You're on my tail." he shouted. The guy didn't notice. In the kitchen, Rizzo was doing a head count. There were 11 rats.
"Hey, where's Randy?" he asked the other rats.
"I don't know." one said.
"I thought he was with you." another said.
"Sure beats me." said a third rat.
Back under the chair, Randy was grunting and tugging as hard as he could to get his tail from under the shoe.
"There you are!" a voice said. It was Rizzo.
"Ah, Rizzo. Thank god." Randy said. "I'm stuck."
"You're always stuck!" Rizzo said.
"No. I'm really stuck. He's on my tail and I can't pull it out from under his shoe." Rizzo looked closer.
"After the count of 3, pull." he ordered. "1, 2, 3, PULL!" Both rats pulled as hard as they could. After a few minutes, Rizzo and Randy sat down. Gonzo appeared and took the person's order. The rats pulled again and the guy moved his foot off of Randy's tail causing both rats to tumble. Rizzo stopped on his head and the other rat was sitting.
"Get to work, Randy." Rizzo said pointing to the kitchen. Randy scrambled off.
"I want to introduce to you our new band." Barney said from the stage. "The Electric Mayhem!" Everyone cheered and the curtain went up. Animal beat on the drums as Floyd played his bass.
Leah once again had her back to the microphone. She walked up to it and took it off the stand and started singing.
"Never know how much I love you, never know how much I care
When you put your arms around me, I get a fever that's so hard to bear
You give me fever - when you kiss me, fever when you hold me tight
Fever - in the the morning, fever all through the night.
Sun lights up the daytime, moon lights up the night
I light up when you call my name, and you know I'm gonna treat you right
You give me fever - when you kiss me, fever when you hold me tight
Fever - in the the morning, fever all through the night."
She walked off the stage and approached one of the guys.
"Everybody's got the fever, that is something you all know
Fever isn't such a new thing, fever started long ago." Leah sat on his lap and put her hand on his cheek.
"Romeo loved Juliet, Juliet she felt the same
When he put his arms around her, he said "Julie baby you're my flame"
Thou givest fever, when we kisseth, fever with thy flaming youth Fever - I'm afire, fever yea I burn forsooth." She got up and moved onto the next table. She leaned in toward the next couple.
"Captain Smith and Pocahontas had a very mad affair
When her Daddy tried to kill him, she said "Daddy-O don't you dare"
Give me fever - with his kisses, fever when he holds me tight
Fever - I'm his Missus, Oh daddy won't you treat him right."
Leah was looking very sassy and sexy as she winked at the man. The guys couldn't stop staring at her. She made her way back onto the stage with the last verse.
"Now you've listened to my story, here's the point I have made:
Chicks were born to give you fever, be it Fahrenheit or Centigrade
They give you fever - when you kiss them, fever if you live and learn
Fever - till you sizzle, what a lovely way to burn.
What a lovely way to burn.
What a lovely way to burn." The lights made a sillouette of Leah and blacked out the rest of the band. The crowd cheered. They wanted more. The band couldn't believe they were thirsty for more so they played New York State of Mind to calm everyone down. The next song on the list was Floyd's solo While my guitar gently weeps. After Floyd's solo was Rockin' Robin. After Rockin' Robin they played Sweet Tooth Jam then wrapped up the night with Chopin' Polonaise.

(More tomorrow night or tonight. Enjoy!!)

 

[Zoot Fan 1981]

When reading Leah's part when she sings, think of the episode with Rita Moreno.

 

[Zoot Fan 1981]

Here's the big moment. The moment you all have waited for!
Chapter 12: The Wedding
The day has finally come. Everyone was up early getting everything together and getting cleaned up.
"Leah," Liza called. "When do you have to be at the salon?"
"In a half hour!" Leah called back. She was getting her favorite summer dress on. Zoot was still asleep in their bed. Floyd ran in and shook him violently.
"Dude! Wake up! You're getting married this afternoon!"
"AH!" Zoot screamed as he rolled off the edge. Daniel was standing in his crib in his wet diaper screaming for someone to change him. Zoot trudged into the toddler's room and quickly changed him. "You have a long life ahead of you, kid. Enjoy it while you're still little." Zoot told him as he carried him down to the kitchen. Leah loaded the last of her and her bridesmaid's things into the van.
"Are you okay, Zoot?" Leah asked as she walked by her soon to be husband.
"My head hurts." he complained. "I drank too much last night."
*Flashback*
The night before, Dr. Teeth, Floyd, Animal, and Lips took Zoot out to one of the local bars for his bachelor party.
"I don't want to go out." Zoot said. "I want to stay here."

"Oh yes you are!" Floyd said, pulling Zoot off of the couch.
"You can't get married without partying the night before." Dr. Teeth said.
"Yes!" Lips agreed. "This is your last night as a single man."
"PARTY! PARTY!" Animal shouted. Zoot sighed.
"Well Leah is out with her bridesmaids having a great time as a single woman and you should do the same." Floyd insisted.
"What if I don't move from this spot?" Zoot said, trying to stand firm.
"Then we make you." Lips said.
"Yeah, man. You don't have much of a choice." Floyd said. Zoot got up off of the couch. He really didn't feel like going out but since his friends insisted, he decided to take them up on their offer to take him out for the evening.
At her bachelorette party, Leah was having a great time with her girls although in the back of her mind she was thinking about Zoot. Her bridesmaids took her out to eat and then to a club.
"This is going to be a night you'll never forget, sis." Liza told her.
"Like fur sure!" Janice said.
"Where are you taking me?" Leah asked. She was blindfolded because Janice and Liza wanted to surprise her.
"You'll see." Liza said. Janice giggled. The girls lead her into the night club. "Don't take off your blindfold until we tell you to."
"Okay." At the club there were some bands playing. There was a bar with some refreshing beverages including alcoholic beverages. It was one of Leah's favorite clubs. The girls sat down at the table.
"You can like remove your blindfold now, Lee." Janice said. Leah removed it and to her surprise, she was at her favorite club. It was nicely decorated for her party and there were lots of gifts.
"How did you two manage this?" Leah asked in surprise.
"Let's just say I know a guy who knows a guy who owns this place." Liza said, grinning. "It's just friends and family only."
"This is awesome!" she exclaimed and hugged Liza and Janice.
That same evening, Zoot's friends found a cozy place to chill out. The five friends sat down at the bar and hung out as guys do. Zoot ended up getting drunk to the point that he couldn't stand up or walk straight. By midnight, they had Zoot back home and asleep although he didn't want to go to sleep. He even tried to play his sax and he sounded horrible.
"DUDE!" Floyd shouted over the noise.
"He sounds much better sober." Dr. Teeth said.
"Let's get him to bed." Lips said. "He's gonna be hung over tomorrow."
"I don't wanna go to bed!" Zoot shouted. His words were slurred. The four friends ended up lugging a drunk and tired Zoot up to his bedroom. "I want my sax." he said. "Gimme my sax!"
"Here ya go, buddy." Lips said, bringing the saxophonest his sax. Zoot snatched it and played it for a good hour before he drifted off to sleep with the instrument still in his mouth.