‹ Prequel: American Girl: Can't I Just Be Chloe?
Amped Up: Why Is My Name Jason?
Killer Performance
The time in which Uncle Nick, Uncle Joe, and I were on our own in Washington D.C. passed fairly quickly. Practice, sound check, testing the arena. Now I know why my father is gone for a few days at a time for performances; it takes forever to get ready for a single performance. The one on New Year’s Eve would be even worse though; I was glad I didn’t have to do that one. But, still. This was annoying. And I want to follow my father into the music business. Yeah, I don’t know. This might be a little too…annoying…complicated…I don’t exactly know what word I should use to explain it. Oh, confusing.
By the time the rest of my family members arrived in D.C. I was ready to get this over with. Lovebug needed to be played so that my father would realize the error of his ways and agree to play the song on New Year’s Eve before midnight. Aunt Lizz came to our room at the hotel and greeted us with a smile. “You three ready to do this?” she asked quietly.
“Of course, Lizard,” Uncle Joe replied.
“I’ve been waiting for this day to come,” Uncle Nick said.
Aunt Lizz turned to me. “What about you, Jason?”
I sighed and looked over at my aunt. “I’m as ready as I’ll ever be. We have a week to convince my father to play this song and this may be our last chance to do so. It’s our last chance to convince him before Mom disappears from our lives for good. Not like he’d ever understand any of this,” I grumbled. “Dad just doesn’t seem to care about any of this.”
“He will,” Aunt Lizz told me.
“Okay,” I shrugged.
Evening soon came and my uncles and I headed out to the Washington Monument where we’d be performing. My guitar and my mother’s mandolin were both with me. Whereas my uncles’ instruments were already at the location, I wished for no one to touch my instruments, specifically my mother’s mandolin. Only Aunt Lizz, Uncle Joe, and Uncle Nick were ever allowed to handle Mom’s mandolin. After hearing that my father wanted to get rid of it when Mom died, there was absolutely no way in hell that I was about to let Dad touch the mandolin when he wanted it to be destroyed. I think that, according to him, since its initial owner was now gone, the mandolin should also be destroyed. That just wasn’t the case. My mother, according to what Aunt Lizz told me, wished for me to have it. The mandolin was hidden away, its location to be known only by her and me. Therefore, my father had absolutely no right to destroy the mandolin when it belonged to me from the moment that Amanda Lynne (Weimar) Jonas became a ghost.
My uncles and I were supposed to perform at eight o’clock that night so we left around six. I made sure that my father would be attending the performance before I left though. He and my siblings would be forced to attend where they would come to realize that I was musically gifted. My siblings, after watching Friday the 13th, always referred to me as Voorhees, reminiscent of the character Jason Voorhees, a killer. Yeah, I realize the irony there. My siblings came up with a nickname for me that implied that I was a killer, which technically I was because our mother died because of me. Well, I was going to prove to them and my father that I should be remember for the musical talent that I inherited from my father rather than the fact that my mother wasn’t strong enough to give birth to all three of us.
We arrived at the Washington Monument a short time later and I could see millions of camera already being set up. Aunt Lizz and my uncles weren’t lying when they said this performance would be televised. I sighed. This was going to be fun. Soon the whole world would know that my father was being forced into playing Lovebug again.
Eight o’clock rolled around and my uncles were already standing on the stage. I stood off to the side for the moment looking out at the crowd that had gathered to see this song being played. All the members of my family were seated near the front amid my father disguised so that no one would realize that Kevin Jonas wouldn’t be performing with Uncle Nick or Joe. When people started calling out for my father to appear and perform, I walked out and picked up my mother’s mandolin. “I’m afraid that my father isn’t going to be the one performing today. Unfortunately, he refuses to do that. So, I will be the one to do so. Despite the fact that I may be his son, my musical ability is just as good. Now, my uncles and I are going to be playing one of their old songs, one that people have wanted to hear for seventeen long years.” I glared at my father. “One that never got played.”
As my uncles and I began playing Lovebug, I noticed that my father’s jaw had dropped. I could tell that he was pissed at my aunt that she would find the sheet music and give it to me. They were arguing while my uncles and I were busy playing Lovebug again and ensuring that it got put back into airplay. Mom deserved that. She deserved to hear her favorite song. Every so often, I would look down at my father. Still pissed. Well, he’ll be even angrier when he learns what I intend on doing once the song is done being performed.
The song ended three minutes later and I continued speaking. “That was for you, Mom. Now, tonight was the first time since my mother’s funeral in which Lovebug was played. My father refused to play it. Well, no more. Lovebug, at my request, is being put back into airplay. And, to ensure that my father plays this song, I am broadcasting it to the world that Lovebug will be performed on New Year’s Eve at eleven-fifty. It must be played prior to midnight or else my aunt and I will have lost a part of ourselves. So, Dad, since I know you’re out here in the audience, if you should refuse to play my mother’s favorite song on that night, everyone in the world will know that you don’t care about me enough to do this,” I yelled. As an addendum, I continued speaking to give my father a reason to do this for me, Aunt Lizz, and my mother. “Plus, if you don’t, I’m going to be carrying a banana around wherever I go. And we all know how much you can’t stand the smell of bananas.”
I heard my father groaned. “Whatever.”
With that, I walked off the stage with my mother’s mandolin in hand and went backstage. I sat back there in silence until Aunt Lizz came in. “Hopefully this plan of ours is going to work. Now the whole world knows of this plan and will force your father to do what was asked of him. We’ve tried everything in the world in order to convince my brother-in-law that Lovebug must be played again. Kevin just wouldn’t agree. This was the only way and I’m sure he’s pissed because of what I did,” Aunt Lizz said with a sigh.
“Damn straight I’m pissed!” my father exclaimed as he came into the room followed by Garrett and Madison. “Betsy, how could you take the sheet music for Lovebug and have my brothers teach the song to him? You knew I never wanted the song played.”
By the time the rest of my family members arrived in D.C. I was ready to get this over with. Lovebug needed to be played so that my father would realize the error of his ways and agree to play the song on New Year’s Eve before midnight. Aunt Lizz came to our room at the hotel and greeted us with a smile. “You three ready to do this?” she asked quietly.
“Of course, Lizard,” Uncle Joe replied.
“I’ve been waiting for this day to come,” Uncle Nick said.
Aunt Lizz turned to me. “What about you, Jason?”
I sighed and looked over at my aunt. “I’m as ready as I’ll ever be. We have a week to convince my father to play this song and this may be our last chance to do so. It’s our last chance to convince him before Mom disappears from our lives for good. Not like he’d ever understand any of this,” I grumbled. “Dad just doesn’t seem to care about any of this.”
“He will,” Aunt Lizz told me.
“Okay,” I shrugged.
Evening soon came and my uncles and I headed out to the Washington Monument where we’d be performing. My guitar and my mother’s mandolin were both with me. Whereas my uncles’ instruments were already at the location, I wished for no one to touch my instruments, specifically my mother’s mandolin. Only Aunt Lizz, Uncle Joe, and Uncle Nick were ever allowed to handle Mom’s mandolin. After hearing that my father wanted to get rid of it when Mom died, there was absolutely no way in hell that I was about to let Dad touch the mandolin when he wanted it to be destroyed. I think that, according to him, since its initial owner was now gone, the mandolin should also be destroyed. That just wasn’t the case. My mother, according to what Aunt Lizz told me, wished for me to have it. The mandolin was hidden away, its location to be known only by her and me. Therefore, my father had absolutely no right to destroy the mandolin when it belonged to me from the moment that Amanda Lynne (Weimar) Jonas became a ghost.
My uncles and I were supposed to perform at eight o’clock that night so we left around six. I made sure that my father would be attending the performance before I left though. He and my siblings would be forced to attend where they would come to realize that I was musically gifted. My siblings, after watching Friday the 13th, always referred to me as Voorhees, reminiscent of the character Jason Voorhees, a killer. Yeah, I realize the irony there. My siblings came up with a nickname for me that implied that I was a killer, which technically I was because our mother died because of me. Well, I was going to prove to them and my father that I should be remember for the musical talent that I inherited from my father rather than the fact that my mother wasn’t strong enough to give birth to all three of us.
We arrived at the Washington Monument a short time later and I could see millions of camera already being set up. Aunt Lizz and my uncles weren’t lying when they said this performance would be televised. I sighed. This was going to be fun. Soon the whole world would know that my father was being forced into playing Lovebug again.
Eight o’clock rolled around and my uncles were already standing on the stage. I stood off to the side for the moment looking out at the crowd that had gathered to see this song being played. All the members of my family were seated near the front amid my father disguised so that no one would realize that Kevin Jonas wouldn’t be performing with Uncle Nick or Joe. When people started calling out for my father to appear and perform, I walked out and picked up my mother’s mandolin. “I’m afraid that my father isn’t going to be the one performing today. Unfortunately, he refuses to do that. So, I will be the one to do so. Despite the fact that I may be his son, my musical ability is just as good. Now, my uncles and I are going to be playing one of their old songs, one that people have wanted to hear for seventeen long years.” I glared at my father. “One that never got played.”
As my uncles and I began playing Lovebug, I noticed that my father’s jaw had dropped. I could tell that he was pissed at my aunt that she would find the sheet music and give it to me. They were arguing while my uncles and I were busy playing Lovebug again and ensuring that it got put back into airplay. Mom deserved that. She deserved to hear her favorite song. Every so often, I would look down at my father. Still pissed. Well, he’ll be even angrier when he learns what I intend on doing once the song is done being performed.
The song ended three minutes later and I continued speaking. “That was for you, Mom. Now, tonight was the first time since my mother’s funeral in which Lovebug was played. My father refused to play it. Well, no more. Lovebug, at my request, is being put back into airplay. And, to ensure that my father plays this song, I am broadcasting it to the world that Lovebug will be performed on New Year’s Eve at eleven-fifty. It must be played prior to midnight or else my aunt and I will have lost a part of ourselves. So, Dad, since I know you’re out here in the audience, if you should refuse to play my mother’s favorite song on that night, everyone in the world will know that you don’t care about me enough to do this,” I yelled. As an addendum, I continued speaking to give my father a reason to do this for me, Aunt Lizz, and my mother. “Plus, if you don’t, I’m going to be carrying a banana around wherever I go. And we all know how much you can’t stand the smell of bananas.”
I heard my father groaned. “Whatever.”
With that, I walked off the stage with my mother’s mandolin in hand and went backstage. I sat back there in silence until Aunt Lizz came in. “Hopefully this plan of ours is going to work. Now the whole world knows of this plan and will force your father to do what was asked of him. We’ve tried everything in the world in order to convince my brother-in-law that Lovebug must be played again. Kevin just wouldn’t agree. This was the only way and I’m sure he’s pissed because of what I did,” Aunt Lizz said with a sigh.
“Damn straight I’m pissed!” my father exclaimed as he came into the room followed by Garrett and Madison. “Betsy, how could you take the sheet music for Lovebug and have my brothers teach the song to him? You knew I never wanted the song played.”
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