Tamarinz: Phase 1 (Gorillaz FanFic)

Part 9

"You alright, Rose?" he gently asked.

"Just leave me alone," she whispered back as she sat at the table and put her head down.

You can't always help everyone, but hey. There's always an almost convenient place for talks where you can make yourself helpful to whom you can.

"No-Eyes, Sam," Nick called us. "To the balcony."

He pointed as he walked towards the balcony preparing for a discussion. Sam and I looked at each other with slight confusion but we did what we were told. We've never stepped foot on that old rusty balcony that can hardly hold itself so that discussion ought to be good. We were three stories up and the first step I made on it sparked a loud creak to make the matter riskier. Amy must have sensed our fear of falling to our deaths so she flew out of Sam's necklace as soon as Nick closed the door on us.

"I wouldn't have minded if y'all talked in the bathroom," Amy commented as she supported the balcony with her hands. "Well, maybe a little."

"Thanks, Amy," Nick smiled and then began his talk. "Okay! So we need a plan."

"Kill her," Amy boasted.

"Do you even have any context of the situation?" Nick laughed.

"Not really," she replied. "I don't always secretly listen to everyone's conversations."

"Don't worry, guys," Sam clarified. "She's never actually killed."

"How are you gonna stop May from ruining the show?" I asked Nick.

"I could bring holy water from church," Sam suggested.

"That might stump her a bit," Nick added. "But there's probably more to it and I'm no demon expert. But perhaps a slayer. Rose might want to settle things herself, but I want you all to be able to perform live. Except for May, of course. I'll make myself useful by holding her off. I hope that things don't go wrong and Rose does get to perform. In case she doesn't want to, we might have to crop her out of the projection but keep her bass audible and maybe have Amy look like she's playing it. Or I could step in so there can be a ghost versus demon battle, but I'd rather not show my face there again. I'm sure you three will perform out there no doubt. I'll make sure your experience is just fine."

"I think the first idea will work," Amy advised. "I look like a hologram anyway so the audience won't be scared of a supposed blue bassist at all. Especially if they're just playing games on their cell phones or whatever. I'm the queen of improv."

"Although holograms aren't such a big deal anymore, they'll never fail to impress me," Sam commented. "But if the rest of the students won't watch, then the easily amused senior citizens will at least."

"Now we sort of know what to expect," I stated. "I'll talk to Rose in a bit."

"I'm glad you two made up," Nick smiled at me. "She probably needed your kindness more than ever."

"Yeah..." I sighed knowing that it wasn't true.

We all went back inside but Rose wasn't there. Sam remembered that she wasn't supposed to stay long because of her foster parent's Sunday rule.

"I better get going," she opined. "I'll see you guys tomorrow!"

She drove away and Amy soon went back inside the necklace. Nick decided to hang out in the hallway outside to leave me and Rose alone. I really appreciate his concern for our well-being and the band's chemistry, but I won't admit that to anyone. That doesn't mean that I want Nick to get himself hurt, though. I saw that Rose's bedroom was wide open so I walked in as she was lying on her bed. I didn't have to ask her much.

"Hey, Rose--" I started.

"I know," she confessed. "This is all my fault. How could I stoop so low and take the opportunity of something so stupid? I try to seem like I'm in control, but I'm just another one of her gullible victims. I summoned her when I was a kid without my mum knowing. Believe me, she's unaware of everything. All I wanted was something to get me out of the mess I was in. I wanted something to answer my question on how I could be useful with what I had. When she appeared, she chose to look my age. I think six? She would just go out on her own, looking for you. Then she had an idea one day, and she promised me eternal youth and riches. All I had to do was find you and some other band members."

"All I said was 'hey, Rose," I nervously laughed.

"I'm a mind-reader," she replied. "I was waiting for you to walk in and be a burden."

"Well, why was she tracking me down specifically?" I asked.

"Just because you're the daughter of a Gorillaz member. In fact, I went to your school only because she said so. I mean I did school work so I wouldn't look suspicious, but I could easily drop out like that and no one would care."

"So you're not really a student either?!" I gasped. "You were both just out to get me?! Next thing I know is Sam is my guardian angel."

"Pretty much," she admitted. "Not the guardian angel thing. May wants you dead. I don't know what your family was doing in Hell, but she's probably bitter about it."

"Oh, my gosh," I felt my heart sink. "This is something you started, but it's also something you can finish. Does she have any weaknesses that you're aware of?"

"Look it up."

"You're so helpful."

"Like she'd tell me! 'Hi, I'm May! And I hate holy water and crosses!'"

"I guess all we can do is scare her away."

"Done. I'll take care of this."

"That is exactly why I wanted to talk to you. Nick wants us to be safe and in good performing condition but he doesn't know her as you do. He also wouldn't want to fight a girl. And yes, you scare me sometimes, so why not May? I really want to be in this band. Despite what she thinks, you aren't a mindless servant. This band can still strive and we don't have to go down a filthy path. We're still young, but with heart and determination, we can achieve so much--"

"Okay, okay," she interrupted. "I've heard enough. Friday is going to be fun. Be prepared."

I think I pulled a Samantha there, but I'm not complaining. I hope she didn't completely ignore me because I meant what I said. It was a huge distraction academically for me but I did try to prepare myself until the night before the performance arrived. I was definitely sleep deprived thinking about the worst that could happen, which no one should ever do. At least we actually formulated a plan and we're actually ready to execute it.

Yes, Sam did manage to collect holy water from her church and she was as sly as she could be. She tried to explain without blushing. An empty plastic bottle was dropped in the fountain right before mass and she made it look like an accident that she didn't cause while nobody was looking. Then after mass, she raced back to grab it but failed to be unnoticeable, so she pulled a No-Eyes.

"Who would do such a thing?" she overdramatised to the few confused citizens that cared. "Well, maybe the trees will like this water."

"Or you could just dump it back in there," someone suggested.

"But what about the trees?!" another argued.

"I'm sure they get watered enough by the sprinklers or the rain."

"But they can be holy trees!"

"They're already holy trees!"

Before Sam knew it, she started a holy debate about trees and she has never felt so awkward watching them. All for a bottle of water. She and her foster parents just walked away trying to forget. Thankfully, those two didn't think about why this was happening and didn't see her put on the lid and slip the bottle in her purse... Come to think of it, I feel a lot better about the show now. If that went right, then maybe the show will, too.

...