Chapter 15: Movers, Shakers and Players “Five, six… five, six, seven, eight,” said Fatima.  The guys, along with the girls, were in the dance studio, rehearsing for the upcoming tour.  Laura, Lauralee, and Veronica were sitting on the couches, watching their moves.  The boys were getting the moves, but with a little trouble.  They were trying to do a routine with hats for a song called “All I Have to Give,” but they couldn’t nail it down right. “Stop, stop,” Fatima had her hands on her forehead.  “Guys, does the word ‘focus’ mean anything to you?  You’re not dropping the hat in sequence.” The boys looked at her.  “We know, we know,” Brian squatted down on the floor. “Look, anyone can do this, you have all the moves except that last part.  You need to get your stances right.” The girls were standing, leaning on the bar along the mirror.  They looked on as Fatima was admonishing the group. “She’s right, you know,” Veronica stared at their positioning.  “They’re a count late,” agreed Laura. “Plus, they standing too wide apart to keep up with each other,” Lauralee concentrated on their dancing. “If anyone can do this, then how come we can’t?” Nick said to Brian. “You want to see if anyone could do this?” asked Fatima.  “It was a joke,” said Nick in jest. “I’ll show you,” Fatima looked at the girls.  “You ladies are watching them right?” “Uh… yeah.” Veronica looked puzzled. “Then show them what you got,” Fatima said. “Oh no, we can’t,” said Lauralee. Nick let out a deep breath.  “Come on, Tima, they don’t have the experience.” Lauralee, sensing a challenge, walked on the studio floor.  “Fine we’ll do it.” Veronica looked on wide-eyed.  “We will?” “OK, OK, very funny,” Howie said.  “Like they could get it from watching us.” Veronica gave him a dirty look.  “I’m in.”  She grabbed a rubber band from her bag and put her hair up in a ponytail. “Lau, you in or out?” Lauralee stood there with arms crossed. “If you can’t beat ‘em…” Laura joined them on the floor.  Fatima gave them some hats.  “You know the count?” “Think so.” Lauralee put on the hat. The four of them stood in front of the boys.  “Music?” Fatima pointed to the stereo.  Alex pressed the play button.  “Five, six… five, six, seven, eight!” The four of them moved perfectly.  Every move, every twist of the hat, every spin, even the throwing of the hat in sequence was done with flawlessness.  When the routine stopped, the boys clapped.  Alex let out a long whistle with his fingers. “How did you move like that?” asked Kevin. “Dance lessons since I was 4 years old,” said Lauralee. “Since I was 5,” said Veronica. “Since I was 6,” said Laura. “You guys can really move,” said Fatima.  “I’m impressed!  So,” she turned to the boys.  “You think you can do that as well as they did?” “Think so,” said Alex.  “You all ready?” “Let’s go,” said Brian. ~*~ After finally nailing the routine down, they all decided to take a lunch break.  All sat down to a huge spread, courtesy of their record label. Since there wasn’t a chair, they leaned against the piano as a makeshift table.  “So what do you guys think of the choreography?” Brian concentrating on his chicken sandwich. “I like it,” Lauralee finished her bite.  “And I love the song… the harmony is tight.” “Thanks.  And I must say the dancing you did was awesome.” “Yeah, why didn’t you tell us you guys could move like that?” Alex leaned his elbow to the side to face the girls. “Never came up,” Laura said. “Don’t like to brag, but…” Veronica looked at Lauralee. “…We’ve been know to clear a dance floor or two,” Lauralee finished. “It shows,” Kevin put his arm around Laura’s shoulder.  Laura looked up at him and smiled. After they had all eaten, they had all segregated into groups.  Howie and Veronica had gone into the corner for some chitchat.  Kevin and Laura were having a conversation with Fatima and Lou Pearlman.  Nick and Brian went to play with the Playstation they had brought with them.  Lauralee and Alex had stayed at the piano, cleaning up what was left of their lunch. “You're not bored are you?" Alex asked. "Why would you think that?  I'm having a great time."  Lauralee threw all the wrappers away.  She sat at the piano bench, while Alex and the rest of them had to have a brief business meeting with Lou.  The girls had all joined her at the piano. "Hey is anyone here?" A voice called out.  The girls turned around to see a man standing at the entrance. "Can I help you?" Lauralee looked a little leery.  But she knew that Marcus wouldn't let anyone in unless he knew who he was. "I'm Tommy Smith," he walked over to the girls.  "I play keyboards for their band." "I'm Lauralee," she shook Tommy's hand.  "This is Laura and Veronica." "Nice to meet you.  Listen, are the guys here?" "They're having some kind of meeting in the other room," Laura said. "Oh, I'll just hang out here then."  Tommy noticed Lauralee sitting at the piano.  "You play?" "Oh, uh..." Lauralee looked down at the keys. "Come on, I can tell from twenty paces." "She... plays," said Veronica. "Would you grace me with a song?" asked Tommy. "Oh, I don't know," Lauralee started. "Come on Lau, you haven't played in a while," said Laura. "I'm kinda rusty," Lauralee cracked her knuckles.  "But I can try."  She looked up at the sky, then picked out a piece in her mind. "OK, here we go."  She placed her hands on the keys and began. She played an instrumental piece of the song "Vanishing" from Mariah Carey. Lauralee closed her eyes, feeling every inch of the song.  Tommy, Laura and Veronica leaned on the piano, tuned into every note.  Lauralee wasn’t noticing, but the boys, Lou, and Fatima had silently walked into the room.  Tommy turned around, waved slightly, and motioned them to come over.  They had all stayed where they were, shocked at what they were hearing. When she finished playing the song, Lauralee opened her eyes to find silence among them. "Wow that was great," said Tommy.  "You played that by ear?" Lauralee nodded.  "I just love that song." "You have a gift.  Are you pursuing this?" "Um, no." "You should... you're REALLY good.  May I ask why?" "Um..." She looked at Veronica. "The world isn't ready for a talent such as hers," Veronica laughed. "Two surprises in one day?  I don't think my heart can take this."  They all turned around to see the rest of her mini audience.  Alex walked over to Lauralee.  “Why didn’t you tell me?” “Didn’t think it was important.” “Not important?” said Kevin.  “You play piano so beautifully!” “I haven’t played all summer,” said Lauralee.  “I thought I was gonna forget.” “You can’t forget talent like that,” Tommy looked on.  “If you ever feel like pursuing that, give me a call.” Lauralee nodded.  “Alright, enough guys.  You still have 2 more songs to learn." With a unanimous groan, they trudged back into the studio. Chapter 16 Contents Chapter 14