Author's Note: I left out some of Beard's lyrics of the song because when I listened to it in a video, I couldn't interpret what he was saying so I left his bit out.
Chapter 7:
While most of the Muppets rehearsed at the theater, Miss Piggy and Annie Sue took Aria on a bit of a shopping spree, buying her new clothes and other things she might need. They were gone for pretty much the whole day and didn't get back until an hour before dinner.
Miss Piggy told Kermit about their trip later that evening, "Aria was a little scared because of how many people were in the mall, but she seemed to be okay."
"Well, kids her age tend to be a little shy around big crowds," Kermit said.
"I know, but she had a bit of a death grip on my hand the entire time, and she seemed very wary of the people around her, like she was scared someone might try to hurt her," Miss Piggy explained.
"Well, if Clifford is right about her past, maybe she was worried she might run into her old caretaker," Kermit suggested.
"If we ran into her old caretaker, I'll see to it that they'll get a karate chop for treating that sweet little girl so badly," Miss Piggy stated, standing boldly.
"I'm sure you will. I just wish I knew what exactly happened to her so we could help her recover from it better," Kermit said.
"I think she's recovering just fine. She was pretty happy today. Happier than she was this morning," Miss Piggy said.
"I know, but-," Kermit said until Piggy cut him off. "Kermit, we're doing fine. If anything happens with her, we'll figure out what to do about it and make sure it doesn't happen again."
"Okay, but I'm still worried about her," Kermit admitted.
The next day, the Muppets were at the theater getting ready for their show that would be on later that night. They decided to take Aria with them so she could see what the theater looked like and let her sit in the audience during the show.
While Robin was giving Aria a tour of the place, Solid Foam was rehearsing for their number for the show.
"So you don't know anything about her except her name and age?" Digit, the band's cyborg keyboardist, asked Clifford. When Solid Foam arrived to the theater, they asked about Aria as soon as they noticed her presence, and Clifford had explained everything.
Clifford nodded, "Yeah, and since she's not talking, I don't think we'll learn any more about her for a while. Robin plans on teaching her the alphabet in sign language so she'll be able to communicate with us in some way."
"That's a good way to start, especially since she doesn't seem to know how to write yet," Digit said. "However, if she's going to learn sign, the other Muppets will have to learn too so they can know what she's saying, which might take a while."
"Well, not all of us; Kermit knows a bit of sign language, and a few others took some ASL classes in high school, so they're familiar with it," Clifford stated.
"Kermit knows sign language?" Beard, the guitarist, asked.
"Yeah, he learned while he still worked on Sesame Street when Linda was on the show," Clifford explained. "But listen, the main issue here isn't the fact that Aria isn't speaking. I think she may have been abused wherever she came from."
Charlie, Solid Foam's drummer, gasped, "Abused! What makes you think that?"
"Well, she was really dirty when we first found here, and she's been pretty anxious around everyone, like she's scared she'll do something wrong and make someone mad," Clifford said. "She kind of started doing that after Darci yelled at her."
Beard frowned, "Why is Darci even a Muppet? She's got the worst attitude and from what I can figure, a lot of people here don't like her."
Flash, the saxophonist, then mumbled something to Clifford, where Digit asked, "What did he say?"
"Flash is guessing that Darci re-joined the Muppets to take advantage of their newfound popularity and get famous again," Clifford explained.
Charlie rolled her eyes, "Figures. So where's little Aria now?"
"Robin's showing her around the theater," Clifford said. After saying that, the sound of someone messing with the keys Rowlf's grand piano could be heard from backstage. Clifford smirked, "Sounds like she found Rowlf's piano."
After a couple of more seconds, the band heard "Chopsticks" being played.
"Ah yes, Chopsticks, a classic," Digit said. "Maybe she'll take up piano."
"Sam Eagle would probably like that...unless anyone in the Electric Mayhem introduces her to one of their instruments! Then she'll become another hippie musician," Clifford said, laughing.
"Do they know about her yet?" Digit asked.
"Yeah, Scooter told Janice and Lips. They'll probably pass the info onto the others," Clifford said. "Janice and Lips were pretty shocked to hear about her."
"I don't blame them, especially Janice. I know she's really fond of little kids," Charlie stated. "So, are you guys going to keep Aria permanently?"
"Well, it's kind of hard to tell now, but we'll probably know in the future," Clifford said.
Later that evening, when the Muppet Show went on, Aria was seated in the front row of the audience, clutching her raccoon toy. She wondered what the show was going to be like, since beforehand she's never heard of it.
Clifford was seated in the orchestra pit, wearing the typical purple tuxedo they had to wear, waiting for the cue to start playing the Muppet Show theme. Floyd was right about what he said about the theme in season 1; it WAS pretty square. The purple Muppet looked forward to Solid Foam's performance in the show, where he could hopefully redeem his status as expert on everything cool.
He saw Aria sitting in the audience, staring at the stage, waiting for the show to begin. Clifford waved at her, where the small child waved back and returned her focus to the stage. It was Kermit's idea to have her sit in the audience for this show, since he was unsure how she would handle the backstage chaos during it. He told everyone that went onstage to check that Aria was still in her seat throughout the show, in case anything happened.
Then, the Muppet Show sign lowered in front of the curtains, where Kermit popped out of the iconic letter "O".
"It's the Muppet Show! With our very special guest star, Tom Bergeron! Yaaaaay!" Kermit announced.
Then, the Muppet Show theme began. Clifford noticed that Aria bobbed her head a little to the music, which was a sign that she was enjoying it so far. The Muppets would probably be devastated if the little girl had turned out to hate their show, but Clifford was sure that wouldn't happen.
Halfway through the show came Solid Foam's number. Clifford gripped his bass and stood on his spot on the stage, ready to show the world what their band was made of. He heard Kermit onstage announce, "And now, filling in for the Electric Mayhem, performing for the first time in nearly 30 years, Solid Foam! Yaaaaaay!"
As soon as the curtains opened, Clifford looked into the front row of the audience to see Aria still sitting in her seat, watching them with a smile on her face. She seemed very excited about this part of the show.
The band started up the music and began to sing:
The music just keeps on rolling along
I got my friends, I got my song
We're living for the rhythm and can't go wrong,
Because the music keeps rolling along
Come on, pretty mama, and do your things
Spirit of the music and the joy it brings
So kick of your shoes
You know we can't lose
Cause the music keeps rolling along!
Then Flash began his vocal solo in the song
I make my own decisions
I go by my own rules
Gotta live the life I want to, I'm no fool
Clifford: There you go
As Beard went into his solo, Clifford looked into the audience at Aria again to see her bobbing to the music, like how she did during the opening theme, but she seemed more intrigued by this performance than the first one. He began to wonder if Aria would be interested in rock and roll music in the future. However, before Clifford had a chance to think further, he heard Flash and Beard:
And every time I hear those sweet sounds
Hey-ey-ey-ey!
Clifford: Hey-ey-ey-ey!
Flash and Beard: What can I say-ay-ay-ay!
Clifford: Yeah!
The music just keeps on rolling along
I got my friends, I got my song
We're living for the rhythm and can't go wrong,
Because the music keeps rolling along
Then Flash did his small saxophone solo in the song
Spirit of the music and the joy it brings
The Flash played a few more notes
Cause the music keeps rolling along!
Then it came time for Clifford's solo in the song:
Come on, little darlin', ain't no time to stop
Smile that smile and take us to the top
Beard: When you get that feeling, there is no denying
Flash: You're going to find your spirit without flying!
The music just keeps on rolling along
I got my friends, I got my song
We're living for the rhythm and can't go wrong,
Because the music keeps rolling along
Come on, pretty mama, and do your things
Spirit of the music and the joy it brings
So kick of your shoes
You know we can't lose
Cause the music keeps rolling along!
The music just keeps on rolling along
I got my friends, I got my song
We're living for the rhythm and can't go wrong,
Because the music keeps rolling along
Come on, pretty mama, and do your things
Spirit of the music and the joy it brings
So kick of your shoes
You know we can't lose
Cause the music keeps rolling along!
After Solid Foam finished the song, they received thunderous applause from the audience, which made the band really happy since it's been awhile since they got such praise from a crowd in a long while. Clifford looked at where Aria was sitting again to see the little girl clapping as well. It was pretty safe to say that she was a Muppet fan now.