AUTHOR'S NOTES: This story is one which I wrote a long time ago, somewhat reorganised and re-edited. I never saw "Go Softly Into Morning" as the tv station which showed Fame here skipped right over it. Thus, I thought Nicole simply suffered from the "Montgomery/Bruno/Kate Syndrome" where a character vanishes with no explanation. Wondering what might have made Nicole leave the school, this is one scenario which I came up with. So let's just say that "Go Softly into Morning" never happened, and everything else here grows from that, with a little rewriting of history to suit my purposes, which will explain any glitches in Fame continuity. This story begins in the middle of February, the year after Baby Remember My Name Curious yet? Read on.....
DISCLAIMER:The Kids from Fame belong to MGM Studios. "I'd Give My Life For You" and "Miss Saigon" are written by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg.
THE CAFETERIA
"Of course I'm going to the auditions tomorrow!" Jillian Beckett declared to her friends in the cafeteria.
"Is there really any point?" Maxie Sharp asked cynically. "I mean, there's nobody really in this school who can play the lead role."
"What, you mean no-one's talented enough to play Kim?" asked Ian Ware, his eyebrows raised.
"I didn't say that. I'd love to play Kim," Maxie told him. "But the part is Vietnamese. None of us exactly fit that, do we?"
"Yeah, but Cassidy's directing it, remember?" Jesse Velasquez pointed out.
"So?" Everyone at the table posed the same question to Jesse.
Jesse looked at their faces, and quickly remembered that all but one of them hadn't been at the school at the time he was thinking about. "I'm just remembering the time he was directing this play, The Monster That Devoured Las Vegas...."
"The WHAT???"
Deciding to ignore the fact that his friends seemed to be practing for the part of "chorus" Jesse went on. "It was this weird science-fiction play he found. Anyway, my point is, that there was a lot of strange casting there - casting against type you might say."
"For instance?" Jillian Beckett asked.
"For instance, yours truly was the Japanese scientist, Dr Woo-Shoo. And Leroy Johnson was the white scientist."
"No way!" Dusty Tyler laughed.
"Reggie, this guy's even weirder than you are!" Ian joked to his girlfriend, who threw a balled-up napkin at him in mock disgust.
"I swear. You couldn't make this stuff up," Jesse told them. "Cassidy is a law unto himself. Tell them Nicki."
All eyes turned to Nicole Chapman, the only one of the group not smiling. In fact, she seemed to be a million miles away. "Definitely," she said absently. "You can't be too sure of him."
Jesse frowned slightly at Nicole, wondering if she was all right. He looked away hastily when he realised that Maxie was giving him a look that could cut through glass. He had thought his jealous streak was bad, until Nicole had come back. He'd told Maxie time and time again that she was his girlfriend now, and Nicole's return after more than a year away meant nothing to him. She had only half believed him, and most of the time, he felt like she was just looking to confirm her suspicions that any minute now he was going to run off with Nicole.
"Anyway," Jillian said, saving Jesse from what threatened to become an awkward silence. "I think we should all go to the auditions. Miss Saigon is a wonderful play, and after all, it's going to be...."
"The last one we ever put on at the School of the Arts" Jesse and Ian chorused together.
For their pains, they got another balled-up napkin thrown at them. "Come on you guys, stop it!"
"She's right guys," Reggie said.
"Yeah, after this, we'll all be out in the big bad world," Maxie reminded them. "Doesn't it mean anything to you?"
"Sure it does," Jesse tried to dig himself out of a hole, and looked to Ian for help.
"Us men," Ian started off, drawing rolled eyes from the girls. "Just feel things less than you girls do."
"Yeah, you didn't hear Amatullo going on about his last this and his last that last year did you?" Jesse finished the point off.
"You guys are impossible," Dusty huffed. "Doesn't leaving this place mean anything to you?"
"Yeah, freedom!" Jesse quipped.
"Take it from me Jesse," Maxie shot her boyfriend another withering glance. "The real world isn't all it's cracked up to be. It's hard out there. Right Nicole?"
Once again, all eyes turned to Nicole, and once again, it was obvious that her mind wasn't really on the conversation. "What?" she asked. "I'm sorry, I was daydreaming."
Looks were once more exchanged amongst the others. "I was just telling the guys-" Maxie elbowed Jesse none too gently - "That the real world isn't always a nice place, and they should be grateful for this while they have it."
Nicole smiled. "You should listen to her guys, she speaks the truth."
"Come on, you're telling us you missed this place when you were off acting professionally in Florida?" Jesse wasn't buying it.
"Of course I did," Nicole protested. "Especially once I got back here and realised how far behind I was." She stood up and put her book bag on her shoulder. "Speaking of which, if I want to graduate with the rest of you, I'd better get to the library."
"At lunch time?" Reggie asked.
Nicole shrugged. "Tennyeson waits for no-one!" she said lightly.
"You'll be at the auditions tomorrow?" Dusty called after her.
"Wouldn't miss it!"
"Lou's tonight?" Dusty tried to ride her luck.
"I can't tonight," Nicole called back. "Tennyeson!"
Once she was gone, her friends looked at each other. "That was weird," Reggie proclaimed.
"You're telling me," Jillian agreed. "It was like she wasn't even there."
"You guys, she's been like this ever since she got here," Maxie pointed out. "She works all the time, she's hardly ever at Lou's, she's a million miles away whenever we have a conversation...I thought you told me that Nicole was fun."
"She is fun" Dusty defended her friend, to a raised eyebrow from Maxie.
"Or she was," Jesse pointed out. "She wasn't like this before she left for Florida." His assessment was greeted by nods from around the table.
"She's different now," Jillian agreed. "Quieter."
"Sadder," Dusty put in.
"She seems older, somehow," Ian observed. "Disillusioned."
"Maybe we're being a bit hard on her," Reggie tried to be fair. "I mean, she's gone for over a year, she comes back in February, when we're all practically looking forward to the end of things, and she's trying to start all over again."
"Starting at the end," Maxie murmured.
"And she's only been back a couple of weeks. Maybe she just needs more time. And more understanding from her friends." Reggie hammered the last point home.
"Well, it sounds like she's trying out for the play," Dusty pointed out. "Maybe that's just what she needs to get herself back into things."
"I hope so," Jesse said almost to himself. His thoughts were echoed by everyone at the table.
THE AUDITORIUM
THE NEXT DAY
"I can't believe he's making us all sing the same song," Maxie complained loudly.
"You've known for the past week dearest," Jesse reminded her.
"I know, I just never thought Shorofsky'd let him go through with it." Maxie grumbled.
"I think Shorofsky was just so thrilled he wouldn't have to sit through The Monster That Devoured Las Vegas again that he'd promise Cassidy anything!" Jesse told her.
"You may be right" Nicole agreed, coming up behind them.
"Nicole, you made it!" Dusty exclaimed, as she joined the gang gathered just behind the curtain.
"Just about. Who'd I miss?"
"Miltie...and me of course," Jesse proclaimed, with his usual amount of modesty.
"Ian's about to go on now," Reggie whispered, pushing her way to the front of the group to get a good view.
"What did the guys get to sing?" Nicole asked.
"Why God Why?" Jillian told her.
Sssh," Reggie whispered, as Ian began to sing. For once, silence descended over the group as the song went on. The power in Ian's voice, and the emotion in the song drew them all in, and left them speechless. There was an extra moment of silence when he was finished, then they all burst into spontaneous applause. Ian, slightly embarrassed, left the stage quickly.
In the auditorium, Cassidy turned to Mr Shorofsky. "I think we've found our Chris."
Meanwhile, backstage, the girls were preparing for their turn. Cassidy and Mr Shorofsky sat through them one by one, growing steadily more discouraged.
"What do you think?" Cassidy whispered when they got to the second last person. After the first verse, Cassidy stopped listening. While the girl had a very nice voice, it wasn't up to this song, or any of the others.
"I think that so far, Miss Higgins is the best voice we've heard."
"Agreed. But..." Cassidy paused. "I'm just not so sure she's Kim. Y'know?"
Shorofsky looked sideways at the young man next to him, and smothered a grin. "Agreed." Looking back at the stage, he was just as relieved as Cassidy to hear the piano fade out. "Very nice. Thank you." Seeing Cassidy look at him askance, he shrugged. "What do you suggest I say?"
"Never mind," Cassidy bit back some responses that he was sure would end up getting him a week's detention. "Who's next?"
"Nicole Chapman."
Cassidy perked up. "I didn't know she was trying out."
"I don't think she was going to. But I talked her into it. She needs something to get her back into the loop."
Cassidy nodded. "If she's as good as I remember, we may have found our Kim."
Shorofsky nodded too. "Whenever you're ready Miss Chapman," he called, to reassure her. Maybe he was getting too old for this, maybe his memory was failing him, but he couldn't remember ever seeing Nicole this ill at ease before. Although, he had heard stories about her in the teacher's lounge. The general feeling was that her stay in Florida had wrought a major change in the girl, and not necessarily for the better. He resolved to have a chat with her to try and get to the bottom of things.
Then Nicole began to sing.
And all rational thought went totally out of his head.
Maybe his memory really was failing him, because he definitely didn't remember Nicole singing like this, with this much power and emotion.
You who I cradled in my arms, you
Asking as little as you can
Little snip of a little man
I know I'd give my life for you
You didn't ask me to be born, you
Why should you learn of war or pain
To make sure you're not hurt again
I swear I'd give my life for you
I've tasted love beyond all fear
And you should know it's love that brought you here
And in one perfect night
When the stars burned like new
I knew what I must do
I'll give you a million things I'll never own
I'll give you a world to conquer when you're grown
You will be who you want to be, you
Can choose whatever heaven grants
As long as you can have your chance
I swear I'll give my life for you
Sometimes I wake up
Reaching for him
I feel his shadow brush my head
But there's just moonlight on my bed
Was he a ghost?
Was he a lie
That made my body laugh and cry?
Then, by my side, the proof I see:
His little one, gods of the sun, bring him to me!
You will be who you want to be, you
Can choose whatever heaven grants
As long as you can have your chance
I swear I'll give my life for you
No one can stop what I must do
I swear I'll give my life for you
All around the auditorium, there was silence, as Nicole looked around her uncertainly.
"Lovely Miss Chapman, just lovely," Mr Shorofsky called out, after a pause for thought that seemed like centuries. He was doing much better than Cassidy who was still staring up at the stage, awestruck.
Nicole smiled into the audience, and walked offstage, straight into a fan club. "That was bloody amazing," Ian was the first one to comment.
"Fantastic." Reggie agreed.
"Exceptional," Jillian offered.
"You're sure it was ok?" Nicole's question, it was clear to see, was genuine. This was no false modesty, as Maxie noted from the fringe of the crowd.
"C'mon Nicole, you got this part sown up girl!" Dusty told her. "There's no-one close to that."
Reggie nodded. "And if they did offer it to someone else, no-one'd take it. Not after that."
"You ok?" Jesse came up behind Maxie.
"Are you?" Maxie raised an eyebrow, but for the first time in two weeks, there was no jealousy in her voice as she asked the question. "You were pretty rapt when Nicole was singing."
"Wasn't everyone?"
"You said she was good." That had been the first time Maxie had ever seen Nicole sing. "You didn't say she was that good."
"She was good. But she's gotten better. I guess that's what a year in Florida does for you."
"Guess so." If Jesse had been listening hard enough, he would have heard that Maxie didn't sound entirely convinced. And if he'd been looking, he would have caught the suspicious look that Maxie was giving Nicole as she was surrounded by her well-wishers. Maxie had been in showbusiness for as long as she could remember, and she prided herself on being a shrewd judge of character. It was a trait she'd acquired on her many travels, where being able to size up a co-star, an agent, anyone quickly was a valuable asset. If there was one thing she knew it was people.
And she was sure there was more here than met the eye.
To Part 2 ***Not available yet!!***