Victrollious

Chapter 2

     "No, dad. Listen..." Poppy said, while talking on the phone in Branch's backyard. "No... there's... there's no way you can drown at my school."

     Branch walked outside, seeing Poppy on the phone. He didn't know she was out there, until he saw her. He was just trying to get away from his sister. She had been rehearsing her song for the last five weeks nonstop, and if he stayed in that house any longer, his eardrums would explode.

     "You're not gonna fall in a toilet!" Poppy yelled into her phone. "What?"

     She looked up at Branch, and smiled, waving slightly, before going back to her conversation with her dad.

     "Look, I gotta..." she started. "I... I have to... dad? Dad! Ugh... I'LL CALL YOU LATER!"

     Quickly, she hung up the phone, putting it into her pocket.

     "Hey," she finally said to Branch.
"Your dad's gonna go to the big Showcase?" Branch asked, walking over to her.
"Yeah," Poppy replied. "It's gonna be the first time he's left the house in six years."
"Why?"
"'Cuz the man's afraid of everything! People, umbrellas, Rabbis, bikinis, breakfast foods!"

     "So if he saw a Rabbi in a bikini eating pancakes..." Branch questioned with a smirk. "The man would burst into flames," Poppy laughed.

     "I mean... I kinda see where he's coming from," Branch shrugged, sitting down on a lawn chair. "The world is a pretty dangerous place."

     "Hey!" Leaf yelled from inside the house. "Quit slacking you two! Get back in here!"

     Branch sighed, rising to his feet.

     "Guess it's back to rehearsal," he sighed.
"Let's go. Before she gets even angrier," Poppy said.

     They walked into the house, Leaf standing in a fancy dress.

     "So? What do you think?" she asked, doing a little spin to show off her dress. "Fabulous, right?"

     "You really need to wear that just to rehearse?" Branch questioned, raising an eyebrow.

     Leaf groaned, rolling her eyes, as she put her hands on her hips.

     "A performer needs to feel the part to be the part!" she sassed, tapping her brother's nose gently.

     Branch pushed her hand away, glaring at her.

     "I thought we talked about not tapping my nose anymore."
"Whatever," she groaned. "Let's just start my song."
"And by your song..." Poppy said. "I'm guessing you mean the song that I wrote."
"No one cares who wrote the song!" Leaf said with a quiet laugh. "Now play."

     Poppy rolled her eyes, heading to the piano. She played a few notes, Leaf quickly cutting her off.

     "SLOWER!" Leaf screamed, startling Poppy a bit.

     "But the song's supposed to be..." Poppy objected.
"I said, slower!" Leaf repeated.
"O... ok..." the pink troll said, playing the tune a bit slower.

     "You don't have to be afraid to put your dreams in action!" Leaf sang loudly and terribly. "You'll never gonna fade, you'll be the..."
"Uh... Leaf," Branch interrupted.
"WHAT!?" Leaf yelled, turning her attention to her little brother.

     "I... I..." Branch stuttered, getting nervous. Whenever he talked back to his sister, it always turned out badly. "I think Poppy was right..." he continued softly. "You should let her play the song in a faster tempo."
"And what do you know!?" Leaf snapped. "You don't even sing! You know nothing about music!"

     Branch's ears drooped a bit, as he lowered his head.

     "No, no, no," Leaf continued. "It has to be a power ballad! So, all the important people can hear my range. And vocal clarity!"
"But, I just think..." Branch tried to say again.
"Just shut up," Leaf interrupted. "Poppy... just take it from 'When I make it shine.'"

     Poppy looked at Branch, mouthing the words; 'it's ok...' and then began playing the piano again.

     "When I make it shine!" Leaf sang terribly, holding the high note for so long, her voice began to crack. She looked to Poppy and Branch, who where cringing at her voice. "Well?"

     Poppy looked at Branch, getting a major headache from the terrible sound.

     "Do you have any aspirin?" she asked Branch.

     Branch pulled a container of aspirin out of his hair, pouring several pills into Poppy's hand.