Fifteen: Free Fallin'

Chapter 42: Feel Good Inc.

"Aria sings?" Tara Ito questioned as they watched her get on stage in a vintage 1960's outfit. A jazzed-up version of 'You Can't Hurry Love' by The Supremes began to play and the audience was silent as Aria began to sultrily sing.

I need love, love to ease my mind
I need to find someone to call mine
But Mama said
You can't hurry love
Oh, you just have to wait

Caleb smiled at his girlfriend as she stared directly at him. He could tell the audience was captivated just as he was. "She's phenomenal," Patrick admired along with Margot. "Caleb, I seriously mean what I said. Do not mess things up with this beautiful and talented girl." He chuckled and nodded his head. "That's the last thing I ever want to do, Mom."

The outfit and stage props all seemed to take them on a journey to the 1960's and the crowd was loving it. They all should be mingling and talking amongst themselves, but they were rooted to their spots watching in awe.

"Why didn't you tell me you had a musical sensation in your midst?" Roger pressed while Jaden laughed. "I told her you'd say as much." Roger whipped out his phone and began recording. "I'm sending this to Maxwell over at Atlantic immediately." Jaden laughed harder. "Just wait Dad. You haven't seen anything yet. Something tells me you're going to be recording a lot at this event."

Brooke loved seeing Jaden with his dads and grandfather. He was so happy and light. It was the same when they were together. It brought her joy that he was so open and comfortable with her. His dads ended up crashing at the townhouse the night before, but she planned on showing Jaden just how much she cared and appreciated him as soon as possible.

Aria immediately went into 'Please Mr. Postman' by The Marvelettes and some of the older parents began to dance. The students chuckled a bit and then decided to join in. Alexander was whisked away by an old female classmate as they made their way onto the dance floor.

When Aria went into 'You Really Got Me' by The Kinks the dance floor was in full swing. She didn't expect the 60's segment to be such a hit, but she was happy it was. She sang 3 more songs from the decade before making her way back to change into her garb from the 1970's.

The girls swooned as Aria came back on stage in the cutest outfit from the 70's. "What a time that was," Christopher and Sade said in unison and laughed. The instrumental for 'Stayin' Alive' by the Bee Gees began to play and the audience went wild.

Aria sang all the hits and ended the segment with 'Best of My Love' by The Emotions and it had drawn more people from other tents into theirs. "She's amazing." All the parents nodded in agreement as Aria made her way back to change into another garb from the 1980's.

"Now this is my decade," Sade clapped as the stage was transformed into an 80's theme. Aria looked great in the fitted bright red dress with dangling earrings. As she began singing 'I Wanna Dance with Somebody' by Whitney Houston and the crowd went wild. By the end of the 80's segment, as she sang 'Girls Just Want to Have Fun' by Cyndi Lauper, Aria noticed that their tent seemed to be packed to capacity. She didn't think they would make it to the 2000's segment with the way the audience was doubling in size.

"You're doing great," Tommy said as she headed out of the dressing room. "Thanks. It's crazy out there. There are so many people." Tommy nodded with a huge grin. "That's the point. The other founding families are fuming and my parents are so happy. Thanks again for agreeing to this. I owe you big time." She shook her head. "Don't mention it. I promised some friends I would get out more, so this is just my way of keeping that promise." Aria made a note to text Quincy and Deja when the night was through.

The students were all excited about the 90's and Aria did not disappoint as these were her classics. She opened the decade with 'Wannabe' by the Spice Girls and all the girls were on the dance floor singing along. The guys laughed as some girls mimicked the music video and all.

"This has really been a fun day." Avery stated earning nods in agreement from the guys and parents. As Aria closed out the segment with '...Baby One More Time' by Britney Spears the boys thought the girls might lose it. "She really took her time curating this list. She's a natural." Roger beamed still recording every song.

Danica Day got on the stage as Aria went back to change to give a shout out to all the parents for their hard work and dedication in raising such fine and capable children. This earned the parents a round of applause from the students started by Caleb. "This next segment is short, but it's a reminder that the love you share for one another is the foundation set forth to keep our kids going." Aria stepped on stage in a blue sequins gown with her hair pinned to the side. She began to sing 'Sunday Kind of Love' by Etta James and one by one parents began to get on the dance floor and dance.

"Give me your phone and I'll record. You two go dance." Jaden ushered his dads towards the dance floor. Margot and Patrick made their way to the floor and smiled lovingly at one another. Caleb watched them with a smile on his face. He couldn't believe how stupid he had been all these months.

All that time wasted. He thought as he watched his mom laugh at something Patrick said. He wasn't going to waste any more time. He had already texted his sisters all that occurred and that he had apologized to which they responded, "finally you moron."

As Aria began singing 'Never Enough' by Loren Allred Caleb was enamored all over again. He told himself as she hit every high note and run that if they ever got married this would be their wedding song. Marriage? Really! He chuckled at himself as he watched her watch him and smiled. "Your perfect," he mouthed to her earning him a wink.

As the parents came back to their seats, he noticed that Roger was crying. "Hey is your Dad okay?" Caleb asked Jaden who just laughed. "He's fine. He just said Aria's voice brought him to happy tears." They laughed, but Caleb understood. She just had a way of bringing out emotions effortlessly.

Aria was thankful to get to the 2000s. It was already 6pm and she wanted time to shower and run through her performances once more before they all had to be at the auditorium at 7:30pm. She wore an outfit that screamed early 2000s and laughed to herself. As she opened the segment with 'Hey Ya!' by Outkast she laughed at the screams coming from the students and some of the parents.

Victor found himself dancing with all the girls and loved it. He knew college wasn't for him, but the activities sure seemed like it. Aria felt like a legit star doing these covers and surprised herself by reveling in it. She noticed that Roger was recording her and hoped he'd share the video with her so she could send it to her mom and friends.

As the beat to 'Crazy in Love' by Beyoncé dropped she found Caleb in the crowd and sang her ass off. "Oh, she is a powerhouse." Sade snapped her fingers in appreciation. "She always goes off when she sings for Caleb." Gracia offered elbowing him in the ribs. He smiled slightly watching his girlfriend perform.

'Umbrella' by Rihanna and 'Hollaback Girl' by Gwen Stefani were the next songs sung and everyone was up and dancing. As she finished out the segment with 'I Gotta Feeling' by the Black Eyed Peas the crowd was hyped. "I hope you all had a good time tonight. This concludes the founding families events." And with that Aria bowed at the applause she received and headed towards her friends.

"You my dear are a gem!" Roger exclaimed giving Aria a huge hug. "Thank you so much," she chuckled as she quickly asked if he could possibly send her those videos. They exchanged numbers and in minutes Aria had a video for every song she performed. "Aria, we need to go get ready." Sophia Kate instructed moving towards her best friend.

"We do. You guys should go grab an early dinner and then get changed before the show. It starts at 8pm, but doors open at 7:30pm. Please try and get there early so you get good seats."Aria pleaded as they all headed out. "We will be there at 7:15, dear. I'm not missing a Madame Boudreaux production for nothing." Sade was beyond excited to finally see a show. She had heard so much of the New Orleans native.