A Story About Love
Chapter
Four - Spectacular, Spectacular
Brady's head turned and he looked at Phillip fearfully. Surely, there was no way to play this off as an innocent meeting. He nervously stammered, attempting to find the words to make up an excuse. But, for such a brilliant writer, he had a hard time saying anything at all.
"She... I... She... and..."
Chloe woke up, still a bit groggy from fainting and turned to see Phillip inside her room. "Oh... Phillip."
Phillip's beady blue eyes narrowed as he tried to keep his anger down to a low boil. "It's a little bit funny. This feeling inside?"
He repeated her words from earlier, but gave them an entirely different meaning. That funny feeling wasn't love, it was anger and jealousy.
Chloe tried to compliment him to ease his anger. "Beautifully spoken, Phillip. Yes, let me introduce you to the writer."
Chloe patted Brady on the shoulder and he smiled uneasily at Phillip. Phillip obviously wasn't buying it. "The writer?"
Chloe nodded and stood from her position on the bed. "Yes, oh yes... we were... rehearsing."
"Oh no, no, no... You expect me to believe that in the arms of another man, scantilly clad, in the middle of the night inside an elephant, you were *rehearsing*?"
Chloe cringed slightly. It did look slightly suspicious, that was true. Thankfully, Toulouse and the others had been watching from the balcony and quickly came out of their hiding places. Just in time to save Chloe and Brady.
Toulouse smiled at her knowingly. "How's the rehearsal going? Shall we take it from the top, my queen?"
Satie, the pianist went over to Chloe's piano and played an awful sounding chord. "Oh, I hope the piano is in tune!"
The Argentinean apologized for their lateness, and the Doctor tried to offer Phillip a drink, as Chloe and Brady breathed a simultaneous sigh of relief.
Across the way, Zidler was looking through his telescope and spotted the ruckus that was going on inside the elephant. He stood and immediately ran out of the building towards Chloe's apartment.
Chloe smiled in appreciation and spoke with false sincerity to Phillip. "When I spoke those words to you before, you filled me with such inspiration. Yes, I realized how much work we had to do before tomorrow, so I called everyone together for an emergency rehearsal."
Phillip was starting to understand, but still had some doubts. "If you're rehearsing, where's Zidler?"
Chloe laughed it off and patted him on the arm. "Oh no, we wouldn't bother Harold."
The door to her room burst open and Harold came through breathlessly, immediately apologizing to the duke. "My dear Duke, I'm most terribly sorry."
Chloe shouted with surprise, still faking as if this was all planned and thanking her lucky stars that the Duke was fooled thusfar. "Harold! You made it. It's all right, Phillip knows all about the emergency rehearsal."
"Emergency rehearsal?"
"Hmmm... Yes... to incorporate the Duke's artistic ideas. You see, Harold, the cat's out of the bag. Yes, Phillip's already a big fan of our new writer's work." Chloe pointed towards Brady and then gave Zidler a meaningful look, making sure to emphasize the last word in her sentence. "That's why he's so keen to *invest*."
"Invest?" Zidler looked at her questioningly and then suddenly realized exactly what was going on. "Invest! Oh yes, well invest! You can hardly blame me for trying to hide our..."
He had never seen Brady before in his entire life. If Chloe wanted him to write the show, then he would certainly trust her opinion. But, he realized he had no idea what the young writer's name was.
Toulouse jumped in, finishing Zidler's sentence for him. "Brady..."
"Brady."
Phillip nodded in understanding. "I'm way ahead of you Zidler."
Zidler wrapped an arm around Phillip's shoulder, trying to get him out of the room and over to the office to sign on the dotted line. "My dear Duke, why don't you and I go to my office to peruse the paper work."
"What's the story?"
"The story?"
Phillip's eyes narrowed again, clearly becoming impatient with Zidler and his bohemians. "Well if I'm going to invest, I need to know the story. "
Zidler paused awkwardly. He certainly didn't know what the story was, he had only just now found out the writer's name. "Oh yes, well the story's about... Toulouse?"
Toulouse gave him a look that meant 'why me?'. "Ugh... The story-the story's about it's- it's about um..."
Brady's eyes widened and he interjected loudly. "It's about love!"
Phillip stared at him with raised eyebrows. "Love?"
"It's about love, overcoming all obstacles." Brady looked at Chloe with a slight smile. She tried to look away from him, but couldn't. The man with those bright, optimistic blue eyes had a hold on her that she just couldn't explain.
Toulouse clapped his hands together excitedly, happily shouting. "And it's set in Switzerland!"
Phillip looked at him disappointedly. "Switzerland?"
Zidler shook his head, also disapproving of the setting. "It's not in Switzerland!"
Brady looked around the room for inspiration, spying a statue of the Hindi God, Ganesha in the corner. "India! India! It's set in India! And there's a courtesan..."
He glanced towards Chloe as he spoke his next words, and she smiled at him sweetly. "The most beautiful courtesan in all the world..."
Brady paced as he continued the story, making sure to emphasize the words 'evil maharajah' as he looked into Phillip's eyes. "But her kingdom's invaded by and evil Maharajah. Now, in order to save her kingdom, she has to seduce the evil Maharajah. But on the night of the seduction, she mistakes a penniless... a penniless..."
Brady paused, trying not to point at himself. "A penniless sitar player for the evil Maharajah and she falls in love with him."
He looked towards Chloe again, the words of his story having more meaning than Phillip even knew. He stared into her wide blue eyes as he tried to explain himself. "He wasn't trying to trick her or anything. But he was dressed as a Maharajah because... he's appearing in a play."
The Argentinean grabbed the sitar out of the corner, and gently strummed it. "I will play the penniless tango dancing sitar player. I sing like an angel and I DANCE... like the devil..."
Phillip seemed intrigued and questioned them curiously. "And... and--and what happens next?"
Brady continued, the ideas coming endlessly now. "Well, the penniless sitar player and the courtesan, they have to hide their love from the evil Maharajah."
Satie grabbed the sitar from the Argentinean and threw in his own idea. "The penniless sitar player's sitar is magical. It can only speak the truth."
Toulouse hopped forward enthusiastically and grabbed the sitar from Satie. "And - and I will play the magical sitar."
He looked towards Chloe and strummed the sitar, speaking the truth. "You... are beautiful."
Toulouse moved to Zidler and frowned as he strummed. "You are ugly."
He looked at the Duke strangely. "And you are..."
The rest of the group rushed forward covering Toulouse's mouth with their hands to shut him up. Heaven only knows what a truth-speaking magical sitar would have to say to a weasel like Phillip.
Phillip nodded in understanding, clearly involved in the story. "And so the sitar gives the game away."
Everyone nodded their agreement, shouting a chorus of 'yes' at him.
Zidler looked toward Brady encouragingly. "Tell him about the can-can!"
Brady stood in front of Phillip and picked up from Zidler's cue. "The tantric can-can... It's an..."
Brady didn't have a chance to finish. Zidler was caught up in the enthusiasm and pushed him out of the way to continue his thought. "It's an erotic spectacular scene that captures the thrusting, violent, vibrant, wild bohemian spirit that this whole production embodies, Duke."
Phillip looked at with interest. "What do you mean by that?"
Zidler over-dramatized his words, emphasizing them for maximum effect. "The show will be a magnificent, opulent, tremendous, stupendous, gargantuan, bedazzlement, a sensual ravagement, it will be..."
Satie played a few opening chords on the piano and Zidler began singing to Phillip."
***Spectacular, spectacular.
No words in the vernacular
can describe his great event
You'll be dumb with wonderment
Returns are fixed at ten percent
You must agree, that's excellent,
and on top of your fee...***
The rest of the people in the room began singing along with Zidler. Enthusiastically describing the show for Phillip's eager eyes.
***You'll be involved artistically.
So exciting, the audience will stomp and cheer!
So delighting, it will run for 50 years!
So exciting, the audience will stomp and cheer!
So delighting, it will run for 50 years!
Elephants! Bohemians! Indians! And courtesans!
Acrobats! And juggling bears! Exotic girls!
Fire-eaters! Muscle Men! Contortionists! Intrigue, danger, and romance!
Electric lights, machinery, powered with electricity!
So exciting, the audience will stomp and cheer!
So delighting, it will run for 50 years!
So exciting, the audience will stomp and cheer!
So delighting, it will run for 50 years!
Spectacular, spectacular!
No words in the vernacular,
can describe this great event,
You'll be dumb with wonderment.
The hills are alive, with the sound of music...
So exciting, the audience will stomp and cheer!
So delighting, it will run for 50 years!
So exciting, the audience will stomp and cheer!
So delighting, it will run for 50 years!***
The music paused, and Phillip looked at them anxiously. "Yes, but what happens in the end?"
They all ran around the room, setting themselves up for a miniature version of the story. Chloe as the courtesan, the Argentinean as the sitar player and Zidler as the evil maharaja. Brady took his place at the edge of the mock stage and narrated the tale for the duke.
***Ahem! The courtesan and sitar man, are pulled apart by an evil plan...***
Chloe looked towards him, just one glance speaking volumes between him.
***But in the end she hears his song...***
Brady smiled in understanding, there was denying that he shared a connection with this woman that could only be described as love.
***And their love is just too strong.***
Phillip interjected with his off-kilter, off-key singing.
***It's a little bit funny, this feeling inside...***
A strange, horrified silence fell amongst the others for just a moment. But, they quickly returned to what they were doing, trying to shake off just how unsettling the duke's presence was.
***So exciting, the audience will stomp and cheer!
So delighting, it will run for 50 years!***
Brady continued the next part of the story.
***Sitar player's secret song helps them flee the evil one...
Though the tyrant rants and rails, it is all to no avail!***
Zidler jumped in as the maharajah, his voice burly and sinister sounding as he shouted at them. "I am the evil maharajah! You will not escape!"
Chloe looked at him enthusiastically. "Oh Harold, no one could play him like you could!"
Zidler grinned and winked at her. "No one's going to!"
***So exciting, we'll make them laugh we'll make them cry!
So delighting --!***
The group was interrupted again by another question from Phillip. "And in the end should someone die?"
There was another awkward silence, but they quickly jumped back to finishing their song.
** So exciting, the audience will stomp and cheer!
So delighting it will run for 50 years...!***
The song ended and everyone came to a posed position, waiting for a reaction from Phillip.
He looked a bit uneasy, but impressed by it all. "Generally... I like it..."
They all began jumping and cheering, crowding around the duke in appreciation. Congratulations were in order for everyone, and Toulouse proclaimed loudly that the Bohemian Revolution had truly arrived.
***
Yeah, I know this chapter is kind of choppy and bad, but it's hard to write because of all the different singing parts. Musicals are hard to write as a short story, as I have recently found out. If it wasn't so extremely important to the story, I could have cut it out. But, it is very important.
I have also found out that I know how to spell the word 'spectacular', but I have a hard time typing it. Weird.