The Gospel Truth (A Disney Fanfic)

Chapter 43. The Muses

"Calli," Thalia whispered, "I'm nervous."

"What chu nervous for, you ain't even singin," Poly hissed.

Calli bit her lip. "No, I hear that. We've been working for this moment for a long time."

"Everything is going to be just perfect!" Erato said cheerily, although Calli could hear the stress in her voice.

"Well the worst that could happen is they could get dead last, but that won't be different than any of the years before this one, so really, we have nowhere to go but up," Clio said drily.

Calli glared at her. "Thank you, Ms. Sunshine."

"Hello, ladies," a voice said from behind them.

They turned to see the headmaster, standing tall and holding what looked like a carrier cage for animals.

He smiled. "Are you ready? I hear the students are quite nervous about their performance."

Erato smiled widely. "Well, if ya don't mind me saying so, sir, every student is nervous right before a big competition. But I told them to eat bananas, so I'm sure it'll be fine."

He raised an eyebrow. "Bananas, you say?"

"The chemicals in bananas help calm your nerves," she explained.

"I'm not so sure that's true, but whatever," Thalia muttered.

The headmaster laughed. "May I sit with you? I wanted to watch the competition." He lifted the carrier cage. "Mickey and Minnie wanted to come as well."

Calli stood up. "Of course. You can have my seat. I was about to go back stage, give 'em a quick pep talk."

She slid out into the aisle and the headmaster sat down, resting the carrier cage on his lap. Calli took a deep breath before walking towards the back of the auditorium, filled to the max with people to watch the competition. She wouldn't have thought so many would come out to see a high school chorus competition, but apparently, this was a bigger deal than she thought.

As she slipped out the back doors, she heard the announcer say, "Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the 26th annual High School Chorus Competition for our district..."

~~~

"Okay," Calli said, striding into the room where the kids were waiting, "how's everyone feeling?"

The room fell silent and everyone turned to stare at Calli.

She looked over their serious, closed-lipped faces. She had never seen these kids so nervous before. They were a rowdy, lively bunch. Seeing them like this scared her more than anything.

She cleared her throat. "Everyone remembers the order, right? We open with Circle of Life, then Cinderella's solo, A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes. Follow with the girls singing Vuelie, transition right into the guys singing Frozen Heart. Next up, Belle's solo, Beauty and the Beast. Then Zip-a-dee-do-dah, then Mulan's solo, Reflection. Then we finish with our showstopper, you guys know what I'm talkin' bout."

She was met with silence and the stoic faces of 28 students.

She took a breath. "Alright. Here's the thing. When we took this job, we were expecting a ragtag group of kids with off pitch voices and no sense of timing whatsoever. And at the beginning of the year, we thought we were right."

A few of the kids raised their eyebrows.

"But then, we watched you transform. We watched as you worked hard and listened and really cared about what you were doing, even if a silly ol' chorus class was the least of your worries. Now, the girls and I aren't just teachers. We wanted to keep tabs on how our students were doing. And y'all know how Thalia likes to keep up with the gossip."

A light ripple of laughter spread throughout the room.

"And what we saw astonished us. I have never seen a more remarkable group of young people. You were faced with challenge after challenge, difficult decisions, and hardship no high schooler should have to bear.

"But you overcame it. You looked your challenges straight in the eye and faced them. Not only did you succeed, but you worked your way to success with kindness in your actions and love in your hearts. You are nothing short of spectacular. And that's what really makes you a strong choir."

Calli looked around the room, trying to make eye contact with every single person. "Music isn't just notes and words all strung together. Music is passion come to life. Music is the outpouring of the soul. Music is nothing short of magic."

She smiled. "When I listen to you sing, it's the purest form of magic I've ever heard."

The students were smiling now. Aurora looked like she was getting a little teary eyed.

She grinned wider. "So go out there and knock 'em dead."

A/N: Hellooooooo precious darling readers!

I'm so sad... the story is almost over... BUT, we still have a little more time together. NEVER LET GO, JACK!

(Actually I've never even seen titanic, so do I even have the right to make that reference? I'm not sure. Your thoughts?)

See you in two days!

And remember...

"A sweep is as lucky as lucky can be!"

~Paint_splatt