Rum and Coke

“Can I talk to you for a second?” Matt asked kindly once he released Ellie.

“Sure, what do you want to talk about?”

“Several things, actually,” he said, shifting his weight nervously. “the first being if you talked to Gates last night?”

“I did,” Ellie confirmed, quickly becoming paranoid.

“Well, what did you talk about?”

“What’s with the interrogation?” she said, squaring her shoulders.

Matt took in her defensive stance. He was quickly becoming worried about her sudden change in attitude.

“I’m not- listen, I was just wondering because he came back to the bus giddy and wouldn’t talk to any of us. He didn’t even call home.”

“So it’s my fault?!”

“Can you just calm down?” Matt asked quietly.

Ellie shook her head and took several deep breaths. “I’m sorry about that. I- I don’t know what came over me.” she apologized. “As for your original question, we just talked a little about ourselves, it was nothing big.”

“Oh, ok,” Matt replied, still perplexed about her sudden change in moods.

“Anything else?” she asked as she leaned against the wall.

“Yea, I was wondering if can you teach me how to play that Click game? It looks really interesting.”

Ellie laughed. “Sure, but let’s sit down first. Something tells me that it will take awhile.”

Matt nodded. “The dressing rooms should be empty,” he said as he grabbed her elbow.

Ellie gave him a skeptical look.

“I promise not to do anything,” he smiled.

“I know you won’t, but you should really listen to how you sound when you say things like that,” Ellie laughed as she walked beside the front man.

Matt shrugged. “You know, they keep telling me that, and I never seem to listen to them,” he smiled, opening the dressing room door for her.

“Hm, maybe you should start paying attention more.”

“No, I’m too old for that. So, click.”

“Right,” she said as she sat down in a chair that was in front of the vanity mirror. She turned to face him. “It’s pretty simple, really. Your partner says a certain command, and you have to follow it.”

“Command?” Matt asked from the couch.

“Yea, you may be singing, but your partner is actually in control. Like, the command click means ‘go to the next song.’ Julie Andrews means that you’re singing too low for your range. back, which is the one I screw up all the time, is where you have to return to your previous song and pick up exactly where you left off. Sharp, flat, and prater are what their names imply.”

“Prater?” Matt questioned.

Ellie’s jaw dropped. “Prater song? A really fast, really wordy song that is mostly humorous?”

“I’m still not following.”

Ellie took a deep breath. “I am the very model of a modern Major-General,
I've information vegetable, animal, and mineral,
I know the kings of England, and I quote the fights historical.”

Matt gave her the same dumbfounded expression.

“Pirates of Penzance?”

“Say what?”

Ellie rocked back in her chair. “Wow, I really feel sorry for you. Did you know that the theatrical genre is the largest genre and has the most variance?”

“Ellie, focus. We’re talking about commands, not my lack of knowledge about theatrical
music.”

“I’m seriously going to teach you these things. But, anyways, there’s also commands that you should know: largo, moderato, allegro, and every variance of that. There’s also piano, forte, crescendo, decrescendo, amoroso, detache, dolce, really any other kind of musical words.”

Matt nodded. “Ok, that’s a lot.”

“Yea, sorry, but you’re at an advantage since you should know most of them, considering you’re a producer and all.”

“Yea. So, what happens when you go too high?”

Ellie laughed. “For me, that’s impossible.” Ellie’s laughter died when she saw Matt’s expression. You do realize who I am, right?”

“You’re Ellie Patterson.”

“I’m the girl who broke Mariah Carey’s record for highest recorded note. I was twelve.”

Matt’s eyebrows shot up. “I don’t believe you.”

Ellie shrugged. “You can look it up yourself. But, just for the record, I am basically royalty in New York. The mayor himself, called me the Crown Jewels of New York when I was seven. By the age of ten, I was offered to be in so many movies. Now, I can’t walk down the street without being recognized there. Now, if you’re done with me, I’ll leave.” She said, getting up and walking towards the door.

“You’re just like her,” Matt said as she reached her hand out for the handle. “You’re mother. I see the same spark in you that I saw in her. You’ll go far, I can guarantee that.”

“I’m already there,” she said over her shoulder before she walked out of the door.