Tamarinz: Phase 1 (Gorillaz FanFic)

Part 4

"Girl, I knew you could pull it off," she said gleefully.

"Thanks. You did good, Sam," I replied. "Guess who's going to get a jump scare from me when I go back to her apartment tomorrow with a picture of this." We both laughed but I could tell she imagined what would happen if I actually did it and the result wouldn't be good. It would be something along the lines of a solid punch in the nose.

"Your turn," she suddenly said.

"Wait, what?! Do your make-up?" I burst.

"Don't worry. Look at my face as a colouring book page."

"A 3-D page."

"You'll do fine! I trust you."

I don't think I was ever good with using colours like Sam is, so I let her choose what she wanted. I thought I might have some artistic ability, so I commenced as Amy finished the movie. I slowly did whatever I could with her occasional help, constantly worrying about poking her eyes. As soon as I stopped overthinking, however, I didn't even care about the finished product and had some fun with it. I gave her the mirror and saw her process what I've done. She glared at the mirror until she finally gave a crooked smile.

"Well," she commented. "You really got creative with the blending. Nice job on your first try... I'm assuming it's your first try."

"I've never met anyone as passive-aggressive as you," I laughed.

"I mean it! No one starts off like a pro, but now we know who's really gonna scare someone tonight."

"Dang it, Sam," I said in defeat. Ah, Sam. She's a cinnamon roll, but you can tell we're close by how we constantly give each other smart-aleck remarks. The movie was finished and Amy called us over. We both turned around to face her in unison and unintentionally startled her with our looks, or at least Sam's, as expected. I was almost worried about the yelp she gave out being loud enough for the step-parents to hear but was too distracted by her overdramatic reaction.

"You both ready to take pics?" Amy asked afterwards.

"Let's do one with just the three of us first. Unless you won't be visible in the picture, Amy." I jokingly replied.

"I ain't no vampire! Know your ghouls!" she shot back, catching the joke.

Sam pulled out her cellphone and handed it to Amy who detached her head and handed it to Sam so her body could take the picture. This ultimately creeped me out and confused me in a way, but I brushed it off. The two and a detached head of us gathered closely when the sort-of selfie was taken. We had a look at the outcome and I was impressed with how Amy apparently perfected this without her head on her. With that out of the way, Amy waved goodbye as she returned to Sam's necklace so the two of us can see the foster parents. Sam tossed her phone on her bed and we left the room and walked towards her parents to take the pictures as promised. Having already finished their dinner, the two sat on the couch together in the middle of a conversation. As soon as we got their attention, her step-father choked on his drink out of shock and his wife stared dumbfounded at us. I'd found out where Sam received her judgement.

"Leave her alone, guys," she jokingly warned her step-parents. "It's her first time." Sam and I sat on the larger couch beside the couple's individual sofas. They asked me small things such as what I thought of the movie and what my experience was like there, to which I gladly replied. Then we went into an ice-breaking conversation and I slowly grew more curious and comfortable around them. Eventually, the step-father grabbed his cellphone so he could take a picture of us ladies sitting together. This time I didn't get to see the picture because I began to grow tired so the two of us retreated to the bedroom after we all said goodnight to each other. After switching to our pyjamas and removing our make-up, I set up the blanket and pillow I brought and placed them aside Sam's bed, although the cold, carpetless floor could have been a bit more comfortable. While we were still partially awake, I decided to ask some last-minute questions.

"Sam," I inquired. "If your real mum is a ghost, where is your real dad?"

"I never met him," she answered. "She never got married. She had my oldest brother B. when she was still in high school and was forced to have him because my grandparents were against abortions. So am I, but I can't imagine being in that situation, you know. Then she had my brother Michael and me so he wouldn't be an only child. She doesn't like to talk about the three guys she slept with. Did I tell you she was also a stripper?"

"No, but that sure escalated quickly!" I laughed nervously.

"What's it like not having siblings?"

"I used to hate it, but I figured if my mum could grow up with no siblings, having grown up with two loving father-like figures and a guy she cared about, I could deal with it. Plus, it's hard to be alone when you live with them, but that's just me. Did you ever want a sister?"

"A big sister would have been cool, but I'm not complaining. Well, goodnight, No-Eyes. I hope this was all worth it."

"It really was."

The next morning, May came over to pick us up for practice. I shook Sam's parents' hands and thanked them for their hospitality. They offered breakfast before I left, but I declined. Sam kissed them goodbye and we walked towards May's car. We saw how oddly happy May was as if something amazing happened to her while we were gone. We hopped in the same seats as last time and she wondered how the sleepover went.

"How childish was it?" she asked returning to normal but still in a good mood.

"Childish or not, it was a blast," I defended. "It looks like you had fun, too. What have you and that boyfriend of yours been up to?"

"Oh, I forgot I told you about him. That's none of your business."

As we rode towards Rose's apartment, I stared out the car window reminiscing that sleepover and sighed. Once we reached the destination, everything went back to normal, but the thoughts remained. We went back to practising Rose's songs, but with a new outlook. I never considered how performing can be more than just an escape because there's no escaping from your mistakes. I think Rose said something like that when we were rehearsing one afternoon.

"You guys all make mistakes because you are human beings," she lectured. "But make sure you make as little as possible because I have no patience today. Don't forget that I'm not gonna write all of your music sheets anymore. I'll stick to my own and the lyrics."

"You expect us to improvise?" May asked.

"Just take what I gave you, copy it and change it up a bit. No guitar solos."

"Don't you have any songs with a solo?"

"Not yet. You could always write a song in our next album."

"What do you mean 'album?!' We're amateurs! You only have two songs and you know how I am with coming up with them. It wouldn't hurt to have one of them stand out in this imaginary album."

"Just thinking ahead. You're gonna find inspiration one day and I'll fix up what you had in mind... In the next album."

May did not like that answer. They drifted into an argument while Sam and I just watched, entertained by their persistence. I realised that I could find enlightenment in hard times as Sam told me. I'm still that easily flustered girl, but I'll try to find the fun in any situation.

...