Miss Jenn: "So, the next morning in our decrepit rat palace of a motel, I was awakened by a call from Mr. Eduardo. He instructed me and the class to come to the House and bring all of our luggage. That's when we were officially introduced to Juliet and El-J."
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The House of Blues establishment was closed that morning when Miss Jenn and the Wildcats arrived. Juliet and El-J waited along their vehicle – a decommissioned 2010 Ford Crown Victoria EX-40 police car that had their band logo imprinted on the driver and passenger side doors. This vehicle was their Bluesmobile, or a new-age version of the one their father and uncle once drove, forty years ago.
Juliet and El-J sat upon the hood of their Bluesmobile as cool as they could be. Their arms were crossed and their faces came off as stoic and expressionless, partially due to the sunglasses that obscured their eyes.
Eduardo happily stepped out of the House, once Miss Jenn and the Wildcats pulled up in their shuttle bus. "Fantástico! You muchachos and muchachas made it!" He moved in close to his niece and nephew and quickly switched to business mode. "Juliet and El-J have agreed to a one night only performance at your school for the procurement of the 10Gs, once the show's finished."
"Deal," Miss Jenn agreed, much to the discomfort of her students. "Are we all ready to leave for the airport?"
"Oh, mi amor, I'm afraid there's been a mistake," Eduardo said. "I'm the only one takin' a flight to your neck of the woods in Salt Lake City. Juliet and El-J are drivin' back there with you and your estudiantes."
Needless to say, Miss Jenn and the students were less than thrilled to hear this.
"You're joking, right?" E.J. asked.
"That's a whole day's drive!" Ashlyn indicated.
"Yeah, and there are only three days left to prepare for the show," Kourtney added.
"No drive, no gig," Juliet established, her Chicago accent heavily detectable.
This only pressured Miss Jenn to agreeing to these terms. "Alright!" she blurted in her frustration.
"Muy bien!" Eduardo acknowledged, just as a taxicab rolled up. "I'll see you amigos in Salt Lake tomorrow!" He got into the back of the cab and rode away, leaving Miss Jenn and the Wildcats with the Blues.
There was awkward silence for nearly a whole minute before Miss Jenn finally asked Juliet and El-J, "So, how do you both intend on getting all of us back to Salt Lake in your little car?"
Juliet's face twitched. She leaned over to her brother and whispered, "Did this witch just call the Bluesmobile a 'little car'?" El-J merely nodded in reply.
Not a moment after Miss Jenn asked her question did another bus arrive, madly driven by an anthropomorphic Mexican rooster in a sombrero. Once the dust kicked up from the speeding bus settled, Miss Jenn and the Wildcats were able to recognize the rooster as Panchito Pistoles – one-third of the Three Caballeros, along with Donald Duck and José Carioca, who were also on the bus.
They weren't the only three passengers. Love Händel members Danny, Bobbi Fabulous, and Swampy were on board as well.
"What's all this?" Miss Jenn inquired.
"Our band," El-J said, his Chicago accent just as detectable as his sister's, although it was more resigned.
"We didn't see them onstage with you last night," Ricky recalled.
"Uncle Ed called them last night about the gig," Juliet told him. "Speaking of which, are we rollin' or not?" Wasting no time, she hopped into the passenger side of the Bluesmobile while her brother took position behind the wheel. They sped away immediately, whereas Miss Jenn and the Wildcats were still taking in the bus they were forced to share with the Caballeros and Love Händel.
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Carlos: "It was a decommissioned prison bus. You know how we could tell? The bars were still on the windows! I hold to my hypothesis that Juliet and El-J Blues were once professional hitmen...who served time!"
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The first stop on their road trip back to Salt Lake City was Mama Murphy's, a quaint soul food restaurant on Maxwell Street. "Alright, alright," Kourtney in particular approved of the stop. "My folks used to take me to a place like this when I was little." She took a whiff of the air and smiled. "Even smells the same."
They sat at adjacent booths where the menus had already been placed for them.
Gina picked up the one at the booth she shared with E.J., Carlos, and Seb. Her fingertips briefly stuck to its edges from some greasy, sticky substance that must've been on there for decades. "Ugh," she gagged. "How long has this place been in service?"
Carlos felt his skin crawl just sitting near a wall that had a couple of holes in it, anticipating a cockroach to emerge from one of them. "If I were to guess...the Stone Age," he griped.
Hearing their complaints, Kourtney told them, "O.K., maybe it has a few problems in architecture and sanitation, but y'all gotta admit what they're cookin' back there smells like heaven!" She looked to Juliet and El-J, whose booth she shared along with Miss Jenn. "What made you guys pick this place?"
"We've been comin' to Mama Murphy's since we were kids," Juliet said.
"Except there's a catch," El-J included.
"And what catch is that?" Miss Jenn asked.
"When Mama Murphy passed, ownership of this place also got passed to her daughter, Aletha Murphy," Juliet explained. "And she's got no idea El-J and I are the offspring of Elwood Blues. It's because of that lil' loophole we've been able to eat here, without gettin' thrown out on our @$$es!"
"Why would she throw you out?" Nini overheard the conversation. "Didn't you say you've been coming here since you were kids?"
"We didn't say our pops brought us here," El-J emphasized.
"Mama Murphy barred Pops and Uncle Jake after they got Aletha's daddy, Matt 'Guitar' Murphy, arrested for that gig they did in 1980 at the Palace Hotel Ballroom," Juliet said. "Little did Pops and Uncle Jake know, that lil' exploit nearly led in Mama Murphy's getting shut down. Since then, there's been great animosity towards the Blues family from the Murphys."
"I KNEW IT!"
Everyone in the restaurant jumped and went silent on the outcry made by one of the waitresses – a young African American woman in a bright pink dress with a white apron. Her long black hair was done up in a bun, and she wore heavy makeup.
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Kourtney: "At first, I thought she was Jennifer Hudson. I mean, she looked like Jennifer Hudson...even sounded like Jennifer Hudson. Could she had been Jennifer Hudson? Naw, that's crazy. Why would Jennifer Hudson work up in a soul food restaurant in Chicago?"
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"I knew from the second I saw those hats and shades that you two just had to be the son and daughter of that leech, Elwood Blues!" the waitress maliciously bellowed, bringing attention on herself as she scolded Juliet and El-J at their booth. "Both of you get yo sorry butts outta here, before I call the police!"
"You can't throw us out, Aletha," Juliet protested.
"Like hell, I can!" Aletha yelled. "And don't give me that jive crap about you two bein' on 'a mission from God'!"
"What I meant is that you can't throw out the only woman who's ever seen the way you look at your handsome fry cook, Orton." On that reference, the attention suddenly shifted from them to Orton himself, who worked back in the kitchen. When he heard his name mentioned, he looked away from the burger patties he had on the fryer and towards the booth Aletha stood by.
Aletha began to sweat, with Orton's attention on her.
Miss Jenn got a look at him through the open doorway to the kitchen.
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Miss Jenn: "He was definitely a handsome fella. Rippling muscles beneath a tight white shirt. A sexy mustache. Reminded me of Michael B. Jordan when I saw him."
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"I...I don't know what the hell you're talkin' about!" Aletha refuted.
"Oh, don't be like that," Juliet went on with her scheme. "I know there's somethin' goin' on between you two. That special lil' spark. It's like electricity. Isn't that the way he makes you feel?"
"I...I..." Aletha stammered, locked in a state of awkwardness.
She stared directly towards Orton, unable to find the right words to say.
So, she sang them instead...
Looking out on the morning rain (ho-hoo)
I used to feel so uninspired (ho-hoo)
And when I knew I had to face another day (ho-hoo)
Lord, it made me feel so tired
Before the day I met you, life was so unkind
And you're the key to my peace of mind
'Cause you make me feel, you make me feel
You make me feel like a natural woman (woman)
Juliet, Miss Jenn, Kourtney, Gina, Carlos, Nini, and Ashlyn stood from their booths, working as Aletha's impromptu backup singers as she continued serenading an otherwise perplexed and overwhelmed Orton, who was no longer in the kitchen but standing out in the serving area. He was amazed by Aletha's voice, never before hearing such angelic harmony.
When my soul was in the lost and found
You came along to claim it
I didn't know just what was wrong with me
Till your kiss helped me name it
Now I'm no longer doubtful of what I'm living for
And if I make you happy, I don't need to do more
'Cause you make me feel, you make me feel
You make me feel like a natural woman (woman)
Oh, baby, what you've done to me (what you done to me)
You make me feel so good inside (good inside)
And I just wanna be (wanna be)
Close to you, you make me feel so alive
You make me feel, you make me feel
You make me feel like a natural woman (woman)
You make me feel, you make me feel
You make me feel like a natural woman (woman)
You make me feel, you make me feel...
By the time Aletha finished her song, she and Orton were standing close, looking deeply, lovingly into each other's eyes. And then, not a second later, they shared a long, passionate kiss to the cheers of all the patrons, including Miss Jenn, the Wildcats, Juliet, and El-J.
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Ashlyn: "It was so romantic! I can't believe Juliet made it all happen on the spot! I wonder if that's why her name is 'Juliet' – like Romeo and Juliet."