Switch Mitchell’s - Chapter 10

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As Michelle opened the door Steve asked her, “Look, should I maybe call someone? The police, anybody?” “No!” said Michelle. “No, thanks for the ride, but there’s no need to call anybody.” Michelle got out of the car and then thought of something.

Leaning back into the car she said, “But do call Michelle, tomorrow. Things will be different, I promise.” Michelle had to resist the urge to kiss Steve. After closing the door, she watched briefly as he drove off. Then Michelle turned and ran. “Hey, back of the line,” she was told as she turned up the stairs that led to the theatre. “You can’t go in there,” said the security guard as Michelle pushed past into the building. “Hey, buddy. Hey! Get back here!” he called as he turned to follow.

Jerry slammed the brakes, bringing his car to a screeching halt. Jumping out onto the road he said, “That’s her – him! He went in that building!” “Do you want me to park the car?” asked Gordy. “Forget the car!” boomed Jerry. “Get in there and find that freak!” Michelle found her way backstage.

She didn’t know where the security guard had gotten to, but that was the least of her worries. Well, maybe still in the top five, but more importantly she had to find Mitchell, assuming he hadn’t already blown her chance at fame and fortune.

Then she heard a voice“And this is Shanna, I think she plays piano. Oh, yes, she does, because she’s at the keyboard, right? Um, when we were in grade six, Shanna and I” “Look,” said the second judge (the sympathetic one) for the third time. “For the third time, we don’t care.

So are you ready to play or not?” Mitchell opened his mouth, not knowing what to say, when suddenly he heard the words, “We’re ready!” It was his voice or rather Michelle’s voice, but he didn’t say it. Looking off stage, he saw Michelle adjusting one of the spare headsets, and giving him a ‘thumbs up’ gesture. “About time,” said the female judge. “Mark, count us in,” Mitchell said with relief.

Then he reached for the switch on his headset and turned it off. Mark raised his drumsticks over his head, then struck them as he counted, “Five, six, seven eight!” Suddenly the theatre was filled with music. Mitchell stood on stage, in the middle of a swirling sea of notes, a hard rock intro that had him mesmerized.

“These guys are actually pretty good,” he thought to himself. The music filled his head, but there wasn’t enough room for it there. It crept down to his shoulders and forced them to move. The music continued downward until it filled his whole body. Mitchell couldn’t help himself – he was dancing! Michelle waited offstage for her cue to sing. She smiled, then laughed as she saw her brother’s performance.

Hilarious to know it was really him, but somehow, on stage with the music, it looked great. Then she heard… “How the crap should I know? Look back there, he’s gotta be somewhere!” Michelle looked around for a hiding place. She couldn’t run; she didn’t know the range of this headset. Running and singing were not a good combination, either.

Then she saw a ladder, bolted to the wall and heading up into the catwalk, high above the stage. Michelle started to climb, just as the band reached her cue. She had no choice; she sang as she climbed: So it’s Saturday night, and you’re all alone, You’ll never find this girl, waiting by the phone. If you’re not here, another boy will take your place!

Mitchell couldn’t believe this! Michelle’s band was actually good, and Michelle’s voice was amazing. Fortunately, he’d had time to memorize the lyrics; all he had to do was lip sync. Except, somehow that didn’t seem enough. Mitchell was inspired by the music, by the singing. He needed to perform! As he danced across the stage, lip-synching to Michelle’s voice, he acted out the song. He chastised the judges with a wag of his finger, he talked to his hand as if it were the phone, and he cozied up to Eddy as if he were the new guy in his life.

Mitchell was having a ball! Well, you want me for your girlfriend, wouldn’t that be handy, But as far as you’re concerned, this girl’s just eye candy, With a body like this, I don’t need you in my face! “Wait a second – that’s him!” said Jerry. “On stage, that’s the guy!” “Are you sure?” asked Danno. “How’d she get changed so fast?”

“How the crap should I know!” Jerry yelled at him. “Maybe it’s a magic act. You guys, go around to the other side so he can’t get off stage that way. This freak is going to lose some teeth tonight.” When a girl’s as hot as me, There’s no way that she could be, Tied down to one guy, Look me in the eye, And tell me what you see! Michelle finished climbing the ladder and pulled herself up and over, onto the catwalk. The song had reached the instrumental section, and just in time; she was breathless from singing while climbing the tall ladder!

Michelle looked down to see what was happening. Mitchell was still dancing his heart out, which made her laugh. Then she saw Jerry and his friends. Jerry was pointing at Mitchell on stage, and then he sent his friends around to the other side. Now he was after her brother? He must think that Mitchell was her. What was this guy’s problem?

During the instrumental section, Mitchell had nothing to do. While he was singing, the dance moves seemed to come easily to him, but now he started to feel self-conscious. Mitchell looked around the stage and spotted one of the spare guitars. He crossed to it, picked it up, strapped it on over his shoulder, and began to play. Standing back-to-back with Madison, the two girls laid down alternating guitar riffs! Michelle looked around from her hiding place, high above the stage.

When Mitchell finished and walked off stage, those guys would jump him! Michelle didn’t really understand why, but she didn’t want that to happen. Really, why should she care? It was just her brother, but for some reason, she couldn’t understand, she did care. She looked around for anything she could use. “In the movies, there’s always a sandbag up here you can drop on the bad guys, and knock them out!” she thought to herself.

There was nothing like that up here, just a lot of ropes and curtains. Lost in thought, she almost missed her cue to sing: Boy, you’re only thinking of yourself, Well a product this hot won’t stay on the shelf, You snooze, you lose, there’s no other way with me! You only get one chance, if you want more that’s tough, You gave it your best shot, which wasn’t good enough, But it doesn’t matter anyway, there’s no one guy for me! When a girl’s as hot as me, There’s no way that she could be, Tied down to one guy, Look me in the eye, and Tell me what you see!

When a girl’s as hot as me, There’s no way that she could be, Tied down to one guy, Look me in the eye, And tell me what you see! ‘Shards of Glass’ finished their audition with an instrumental flourish that brought the judges to their feet. Mitchell beamed and took bows for the entire group, as the judges applauded their performance. “I didn’t know you could play guitar!” said Madison, rushing at Mitchell and then hugging him tight. “Um, we, never had an extra one before?” suggested Mitchell. “Absolutely cracking!” said the British judge. “Girl, you are a real firecracker, aren’t you?”

“Thank you,” blushed Mitchell. “I’m serious. You’ve really got it all going on, haven’t you? Beautiful, obviously, but out of your mouth comes this amazing voice, then you also play guitar, and your dance moves – was it just me, or was that performance incredibly hot?” “Oh, it was hot,” said the sympathetic judge. “That was so hot, I wanted a piece of her!” said the female judge. “Woooo!” she screamed. “That’s all I needed to hear,” said the British judge, holding his ears. “When Marie screams, you’re through to the next level.

Michelle Everett and Shards of Glass, you’re going to Los Angeles!” Mitchell didn’t have time to be astonished, the rest of the group was on him so fast. Even Mark was smiling as he gave Mitchell a hug. “Could one of you exit stage left to do a bit of paperwork, the rest exit stage right?” asked the stagehand who had somehow appeared before them.

Mitchell was unanimously chosen to be their representative. After a few more congratulatory hugs he walked off the stage alone, right into Jerry’s waiting hands. “Surprised to see me, freak?” said Jerry as he grabbed Mitchell and shoved him against the wall. “Cute little act you’ve got going there, let’s see how it goes over without any teeth!”

Gordy and Danno were on the other side of the stage and moved to join Jerry. Unfortunately, before they got the chance a very large and heavy curtain fell on them, trapping them like a net. Michelle looked down from above. “Two down, one to go,” she said. Turning to see what was happening to her brother, Michelle realized she was going to be too late. Jerry had already cornered Mitchell and was prepared to make dog food out of him.

She couldn’t possibly get down in time to help, unless. There was a rope at the other end of the catwalk, dropping down directly above Jerry and Mitchell. Michelle ran to it, grabbed on, and swung her legs over the side, sliding down the rope to the stage below. At least, that’s what she’d intended. Michelle had drastically overestimated her own ability to support her weight on a rope.

After about ten feet, her arms gave out, leaving a twenty-foot fall to the stage. Michelle crumpled as she hit the ground. “What the” said Jerry, seeing Michelle land in a heap beside him. “Who’s this guy?” he asked Mitchell. “My brother?” responded Mitchell with a whimper. Jerry was undeterred. Pulling back a fist the size of a five-gallon tank, he aimed at Mitchell, “Freeze!” said the security guard, who had finally caught up to them.

Even this would not have stopped Jerry, except it seemed the security guard was late because he had called the police. Two officers had their guns trained on Jerry.  Mitchell sat on the side of the hospital bed, swinging his feet in their tiny white ankle boots as he finished Michelle’s pudding. “This is good. Anything else left in your dinner?” he asked as he poked through the remnants on her tray. “How can you eat that?” asked Michelle.

“Hospital food is gross.” Mitchell scraped the bottom of the bowl, then put it and the spoon back on Michelle’s tray. “Oh, in all the excitement I forgot to ask. How was the rugby tournament?” he asked with a laugh. Mitchell opened his purse, looking for lipstick to fix his makeup.

Mitchell was baiting his sister, but instead of getting angry, she looked thoughtful. Then she said, “It was a lot of fun. Not at first, but once I figured out what was going on, I really had a great time. Do you know, I scored three times? I think I might actually try out for the team.” Mitchell looked at the cast on his sister’s arm. “I’m thinking, it may be a while before you’re playing sports again!” he laughed. Michelle smiled back at him.

“So what about you? How was school today, little Sis?” “It was so amazing,” replied Mitchell without hesitation. “You have the most incredible life.

Everyone in school is your best friend, everyone wants to talk to you and be with you. And finding out you were in a rock band, how cool was that?” “If you want to know the truth,” confessed Michelle, “I was so nervous about performing.

I’ve been nearly sick about it for a week now, just thinking about it. It was nice to have something to distract myself, these past couple of days!” “You’ll be great, in the competition next month,” Mitchell told her. “I can’t do what you did,” said Michelle. “You were amazing, the way you danced, the way you performed. And you played guitar, I didn’t know you were so good!”

“It was your voice, though,” Mitchell told her. “I would have just stood there, and been a nervous wreck. I wouldn’t even have been able to sing.” Just then the hospital door opened. “Mom, Dad!” cried out Michelle. Mrs. Everett ran to Michelle and hugged her gently. “Oh, Mitchell, my poor baby boy, look at you!” “Where have you been?” asked Michelle.

Her father answered, “The police wanted to question you two, but since you were taken to the hospital they figured we were the next best thing. That boy they arrested had a very strange story to tell. I’m afraid we weren’t a lot of help at sorting it out.” “I don’t know what I could have told them,” said Michelle. “He’s been following me all weekend, trying to kill me, but I’ve never seen him before in my life.”

“He said he met Michelle at a party,” said Mrs. Everett with a glance at Mitchell. “He says you beat him up, and that you’re really a boy dressed as a girl.” Mitchell looked embarrassed. “It’s true,” he told them. “I did meet him at a party. He tried to get physical, but he fell and hit his head, and I just ran. I didn’t beat him up!” “Don’t worry, Kitten,” said his father. “No one looking at the two of you together would ever believe that you could have beaten him up!” he laughed. “But why does he think you’re a boy?” Mitchell couldn’t think what to say, but Michelle spoke up.

“All his friends must have kidded him, about being beaten up by a girl. Then he ran into me. Michelle and I look a lot alike, maybe he thought I was her.” “Well, no one will be mistaking you for each other for a while,” said their mother. “For the next two months, Mitchell is the one with the cast on his arm!” Mitchell and Michelle just looked at each other. This hadn’t occurred to either of them – they couldn’t change back! There was a long moment of silence as they struggled with this thought. If they were ever going to confess, now was the time, “Right, that’s me!” said Michelle. “Right, that’s him!” said Mitchell at the same time.

“Hey, has Michelle signed your cast yet?” asked their father. “You should have a signature from a genuine, rock star celebrity.” Michelle held out her arm to her brother, and Mrs. Everett supplied a pen. In his most feminine handwriting, Mitchell signed, “Michelle Everett.”

Epilogue:

Twelve Years Later. Mitchell went to answer the front door but first checked his lipstick in the hall mirror.

You never knew who might be dropping by. Opening the door he found Michelle, dressed in her usual suit and tie, looking like she’d just come from the office. “Hey, Mitchell,” said Mitchell. They had long ago given up trying to keep their own names, even between themselves. “Working late tonight?”

“You guessed it,” she said as she entered, dropped her briefcase, and headed for the couch in the living room. “Just finishing up some contracts for the tour next month. Make sure you don’t get any black jelly beans in your dressing room, that kind of thing.” “Stop it,” giggled Mitchell. “You know I’m not like that. This is how rumors get started.”

He sat on the couch beside his sister. “Did you bring me something to sign?” “Not this time, no need,” said Michelle. “I just wanted to ask a favor. I wondered if you’d mind if I took the kids this weekend. I haven’t seen them in a while.” “Not a problem, no problem at all,” said Mitchell. “You know they both love spending time with their Uncle Mitchell.” “I also wanted to talk to you, seriously, about them. Michelle, I notice that you’re still dressing them alike.” “I know. They’re just so adorable, they’re like little twins, they look so much alike.” “Michelle,” said Michelle. “I know you’re their mother, but I’m their mother too!

I carried them for nine months each, don’t forget, while all you carried was a big piece of foam rubber!” Mitchell was shocked. “Mitchell, I never forget that you’re their mother, never for a minute! I always try to keep you involved in their lives.” “It’s just, that they’re getting too old to be dressed the same. Alexandra is a girl

and needs to be treated like one. And Alexander, the last time I saw him you had them both in skirts.” “No, they were in matching kilts. Their father is part Scottish, you know.” “Just try to remember, how much we appreciated when Mom finally let us be ourselves. Please, Michelle?” said Michelle. “Okay,” sulked Mitchell. “You’re right, I’ve known it for a long time. Maybe you can take them shopping on the weekend I couldn’t do it!” “Exactly what I had in mind,” said Michelle. “Just don’t cut Alexander’s hair!” said Mitchell. “I’m just not ready for that.”

“Okay, we won’t touch his hair,” said Michelle. Michelle then shifted uncomfortably. “I also wanted to tell you, I saw Steve the other day.” “Oh, no!” said Mitchell. “No, I am not going to have a conversation with you about Steve!” “But Michelle,” said Michelle. “You know, I still have feelings for him.” “You do, I don’t!” said Mitchell. “I can’t believe, you convinced me to marry him for you! Five years of marriage and two children with him was all I could stand. Even if you agreed, it wasn’t working.

Do you know, I actually had to have sex with him once?” “Really?” said Michelle, having never heard this before. “How did you do that?” “I don’t want to think about it,” said Mitchell. “He’s still in love with you, you know.” “Yes! I know, I know. He looks at me every time he picks up the kids, like a puppy that’s been kicked and doesn’t understand why. Mitchell, I am not getting back together with Steve. Find yourself any other guy and I’ll date him for you, but not Steve.” “I know, it’s a lot to ask.

What if I asked Julie out again? What if I invited her on tour with us? Adjoining hotel rooms? You could have Steve up, just one night, I promise!” “Adjoining hotel rooms?” said Mitchell hesitantly. “Double-blind, double switch?” “Same old routine,” said Michelle. Mitchell was quiet for a while. “I’ll think about it,” he finally agreed.