A/N: I wrote the first four chapters a couple of years ago, and am just now adding to the fic with a new co-author! So chapters one, three, four, and five are mine. Chapter two is Cade's. - dearjoan
4: Reaction from the Holograms
It was past nine-thirty when Jerrica Benton finally waltzed into Starlight mansion. Tossing her purse by the door, Jerrica found her way to the family room where she found the Holograms watching the news.
"Oh,
there you are!" Aja exclaimed when she noticed Jerrica slip into the room.
"Where have you been?" Shana inquired.
"Yeah," Kimber, her younger sister, piped up from across the room. With a mouthful of popcorn, she said, "Rio's been calling here every half hour since six, asking if we've seen Jem."
Settling herself on the couch cushion beside Aja, Jerrica sighed. "I went to a concert tonight," she announced.
"Oh, really?" Shana leaned toward Jerrica with a smile. "Who'd you see?"
"The Misfits."
Kimber nearly choked on a popcorn kernel. Recovering quickly, she cried, "Are you crazy?!? Why would you want to see
that trash perform?"
"The Misfits are not trash!" Jerrica protested. "In case you have already forgotten, they have just gone through a tragedy! They're people too, and they need our support!"
"Were you Jerrica or Jem while you were there?" Aja asked.
"I was Jem," she informed Aja. "Now can we just drop this? I'd like to see the news before I go to sleep tonight, and I'd like to watch it in peace!"
"Whatever you say," Aja breathed a sigh. Holding the remote control in her hand, she turned up the volume. "We've already talked over the first couple of minutes."
"… the president has passed the new curfew bill," the female news anchor on the television announced. "It is now federal law that all children under the age of thirteen remain inside their homes within the hours of ten o'clock and five in the morning."
"Now that should be interesting!" Shana smiled. "Now it's not
our rule that the girls come home before ten!"
"They're going to love that one!" Jerrica stated with sarcasm.
"…Now we turn to Sharon Lathers for the entertainment news! Sharon?"
The newscaster disappeared, and a perky young woman with wild blond hair came onto the screen.
"Tonight was the biggest concert of the century for the rock group, the Misfits!" She reported to the public. "People gathered from miles around to see them perform, and Times Square, New York, was mobbed!"
The screen showed an overview of Time Square filled with people.
"This is what our helicopter picked up right before the concert! The turn-out was incredible, considering the loss of one of their band members. However, what made this concert spectacular was definitely not the music! It was what came as unexpected at the event!"
When Jem and Pizzazz came on television, the Holograms gasped. They listened and watched as the same booing from that evening's concert filled the room.
"You can hear how the crowd did not enjoy the Misfits' act! But there you see it, folks! Jem, of Jem and the Holograms, is actually on stage with the Misfits! Not only that, but she gave a speech! Just listen!"
The Holograms each took a moment to glimpse at Jerrica before Jem's face covered the entire TV screen.
"Shame on you!" Jem spoke. "How can you do this to Pizzazz and Stormer? …"
"You actually stood up for those creeps?!?" Shana exclaimed.
"Shhh!" Aja hissed, and Jem's speech continued.
"They have worked hard to prepare this piece! I know how tough it is to create new songs…"
Kimber bolted out of her chair. "What do you mean, you know it's tough creating songs?!? I write them all!"
"Everybody works on them!" Jerrica stated. "You may write the lyrics, but you know there's more to music than that!"
"… Let's show our thanks for them!" Jem finished. The camera moved back, giving a wider view of the stage.
"Watch this, folks!" Sharon Lathers commentated. "This
really added to tonight's excitement!"
The television zoomed in offstage, to the wing to where Jem had gone. Eric came into the picture.
"Eric Raymond!" Kimber cried. "That jerk! You must have hated standing so close to him!"
On the screen, Jem approached Eric and gave him a hug on national television. Then, the screen went black.
"I can't watch anymore of this!" Aja announced, placing the remote control on the table in front of her. "Jerrica, how could you do this? You know our fans hate the Misfits! Their music is not only of bad taste, but it's depraved! It sends out awful messages to kids! Do you know what this could do to us?"
"Gross!" Kimber burst out, then added, "You hugged Eric Raymond?!?"
"Kimber, you know Eric's been through a lot!" Jerrica, completely amazed with how the Holograms were reacting, rose from her seat. "Don't be heartless!"
Shana shook her head. "It's enough to feel sympathy for the guy, Jerrica! But Eric's not the type of person who you really can feel sorry for! He treats us like garbage!"
"He wants to change!" Jerrica assured them.
"I doubt it," Aja replied.
"Unless anyone has anything important to say," Jerrica raised her voice, "then I'm going to bed!"
Kimber got to the door before Jerrica. "This is important!"
"Look, I've had enough of this!" Jerrica pushed Kimber out of her way. "We'll talk about this in the morning, when I have the energy for this!"
Jerrica stormed out of the room.