Lemonade Mouth Puckers Up (15 page)
“That’s right,” said the pink-haired girl with the ukulele. She stepped forward and gripped the microphone. Now her voice rang out even louder and clearer across the studio. “That’s exactly what this is. We’re speaking up for all the people who make sacrifices to come out here and do their best for you, only to be humiliated with some stupid, vicious comment. Nobody’s saying you have to
like
their acts, but you should at least
respect
the people themselves, because they deserve it. They’re
people
, guys. Come on, don’t you get that? They’re only trying to follow their dreams.”
I was bug eyed. I’d never known anyone with the nerve to stand up to those three like this, especially not a bunch of kid contestants. And what they were saying was true—every word of it. I looked around at the other stagehands and noticed I wasn’t the only one trying not to grin. At last somebody was giving those jerks what they deserved! Franco glared toward Helena in the control booth. It was obvious he wanted her to shut this down, but she shook her head at him and kept broadcasting, barely hiding a smirk.
There were twenty-two million viewers that night. This was going to make every morning news show in the country.
Helena wasn’t shutting this down. No way.
Stand
Until then my twin sister, Glenda Lee, and I had been feeling like two smudge marks on the floor. “Talentless and unattractive” was what the judges called us. After a comment like that, how could I help wondering if maybe it was true? But now this Lemonade Mouth thing, this bunch of kids we didn’t even know, was up there speaking out for us on national television.
“Stand up for justice!” the girl with pink hair was calling out, pointing toward the audience. “Stand up for reaching for your dreams! They belong to all of us, and they’re important! Nobody should be able to get away with shooting them down just for a cheap laugh!”
“That’s enough, young lady!” Franco said, his face turning purple. “All of you, back to your seats!”
But those kids just ignored him. Suddenly all five were
calling out for people to stand up. My fingers gripped tight to the armrests. This was
American Pop Sensation
, after all, and nobody had ever seen anything like this before. And then a few people in the audience started doing what the kids asked, rising from their chairs. I remember one of them, a big man with a Hawaiian shirt, glaring at the judges as he stood, and then looking over at me and the other contestants to give us the thumbs-up sign. One by one, others started standing too.
It was crazy. It was the beginning of an open revolt.
Thirty-Three Seconds
“Stand up for respect!” the ukulele girl shouted. “Let the world see it means something to you, and that none of us are gonna take cruelty sitting down!”
Franco slapped his palm against the table.
“This audition is over! Get back to your seats!”
But it wasn’t stopping. More people rose from their chairs, and some of them started clapping. Others cheered. And it was all for
us
, the contestants. To my astonishment, even a few of the stagehands were getting in on it, stepping out from the shadows.
I felt something happening inside me. I don’t know if I can explain it, exactly, but before that night I’d never been the kind of person who made a fuss about anything. Until a few seconds earlier, I’d been sitting slumped in my seat staring at my knees and wondering if I could ever face going to choir practices again. What was everybody going to say to me at school? I was so mortified I could hardly breathe. But
then I saw those twins and some of the other contestants rising to their feet, and the next thing I knew, I was pulling myself up from my chair and standing too. As soon as I did it the whole place erupted in cheers. It was amazing, as if the air in the studio had been electrified. Not everyone in the room was standing, but most were, and suddenly I felt like a whole battalion was behind me, an army of supporters applauding and filling the room with their voices.
Thirty-three seconds. That’s how much time passed from the moment Lemonade Mouth turned down the golden ticket to when the network finally cut to a commercial. I know this because since then I’ve watched the online video maybe a hundred times. It probably sounds weird, but something happened to me during that half-minute. It might just have been the greatest thirty-three seconds of my life.
Reconsidering Earl
The show went to a commercial as my daughter Stella and her friends left the stage. I’d been terrified for them, but at the same time I was so proud of what they’d done. People were still cheering and calling out for them. I want to be clear that the crowd was energized but not out of control—things never got to the point where there was any danger. But the atmosphere in the room was charged. As the kids headed to the exit and our little group of parents and friends trailed after them, the judges scowled at us from their table. But there really wasn’t anything they could do. Most of the audience was with Lemonade Mouth, not them, and the damage had already been done.
Not a lot of people know this because it was never picked up by any microphone, especially under all the shouting, but near the exit stood one of the network executives, a donut-faced man with slicked-back hair and a dark suit, and as the kids came near he spoke to them.
“You think you’re funny?” he asked, narrowing his eyes. “You think you own this place?”
That got my blood boiling. I was about to say something, but the kids’ response was better than any I could possibly have given. They simply marched past him through that door, with the rest of us following.
Now, I’ll admit that only a few minutes earlier I’d been furious at Mr. Decker. I’d even grumbled under my breath that he was an idiot for setting the kids up for all this. We’d all known, of course, that putting them in front of those unpredictable judges while millions watched was a risk, but I didn’t realize just how
big
a risk. It could have ended the band. But it didn’t. As our little entourage slipped through corridors crowded with onlookers who must have seen the whole incident on the monitors, what struck me was all the wide-eyed stares and the way people kept stepping back to let Lemonade Mouth pass.
Maybe I’d been wrong about Mr. Decker. Was it possible that somehow he’d understood Lemonade Mouth better than any of us?
Maybe Earl Decker wasn’t an idiot after all.
Maybe he was a genius.
When all seems perfect and contentment sets in, that’s when to be most on guard that disaster is waiting to leap from its dark hiding place and eat you.
—Phineas Flynn
On the Verge
INTERIOR. LYLE’S MESSY GARAGE—MIDDAY
Lyle, wild-haired and intense, stares at his computer monitor as the five members of Lemonade Mouth, plus Naomi Fishmeier, watch over his shoulder.
CHARLIE (V.O.)
Over the next few days the online video clip of our appearance on
American Pop Sensation
went viral, peaking on the favorites charts for a whole week.
REVERSE ON: The computer monitor. The camera closes in on the glowing screen as we see and hear a few seconds of the clip: Stella calling into the microphone. The furious faces of the judges.
The defiant audience members rising to their feet, applauding, cheering. Chaos in the studio.
CHARLIE (V.O.) (CONT’D)
(over the ongoing audio from the clip)
In the first twenty-four hours alone it was watched and shared more than two hundred thousand times. Let me say that again: the video clip got
two hundred thousand views
in just one day.
REVERSE ON: The seven dumbfounded faces still watching the clip.
CHARLIE (V.O.) (CONT’D)
We were only doing what we thought was right, but I guess we must have hit some kind of a nerve out there, because there were lots of comments from all over. Not all of them supported us, but most did.
REVERSE ON: The monitor again. We pan down to the comments area. As the words fill the screen, the monitor image fades so that behind the words we can also see a series of commenters, each one speaking the words aloud as we read them. (Note to whoever directs this: I’m thinking we could use big-name actors for this part. Good idea, right? It’d be a chance to put some A-list stars in cameo roles. Just a thought.)
COMMENTER #1: RUMPLED MOTHER HOLDING A BABY
It’s about time somebody stuck it to Franco. Nice job, guys!
COMMENTER #2: CUTE TEEN GIRL
OMG! Way to go, Lemon Head! Those judges had it coming!
COMMENTER #3: MIDDLE-AGED DUDE IN A SUIT
I laughed out loud the first time I saw this. Didja catch the look on Franco’s face? Classic.
COMMENTER #4: HEAVYSET BOY WITH A BACKPACK
Thank you, Lemonade Mouth! You said exactly what I’ve been thinking for a long time!
COMMENTER #5: GRUMPY OLD MAN
Who do these snot-nosed kids think they are? And that name! Lemonade Mouth? Really? What kind of twisted person makes up a crazy name like that?
COMMENTER #6: KNOW-IT-ALL GIRL
Fake, fake, fake. Is it me or is it not totally obvious this was a publicity stunt staged by the show to get higher ratings??? Come on, people!!!! What are you, gullible?
COMMENTER #7: LITTLE KID WITH BRACES
Lemonade Mouth for president!
CHARLIE (V.O.)
And on and on …
DISSOLVE INTO: A television set. The late-night talk show host CHET ANDERS (late forties, shaved head, dapper) is doing the opening monologue of his nightly show.
CHARLIE (V.O.) (CONT’D)
(over Chet’s voice and the audience’s reactions)
For a few days, not only was Lemonade Mouth all over the blogosphere, but the story got picked up in other places too. We even got mentioned on
After Midnight with Chet Anders
, a late-night talk show that was available on cable outlets across most of the country.
CHET
(relaxed, a pro at this)
Oh, so anyone happen to catch
American Pop Sensation
last night? Those kids who turned down the golden ticket because they didn’t like how Franco and the other judges made fun of the other contestants?
Audience laughter, applause.
CHET (CONT’D)
Well, uh, as I understand it, Franco’s agent still isn’t taking calls after the testy incident. When asked if he’s planning to take the kids’ advice about being a little nicer, Franco reportedly responded, “Shut up, stupid. You’re ugly and you bother me.”
(deadpan)
Which for him is gentle, so I guess that means he’s taking it under consideration.
Howls of laughter from the audience. A gap-toothed grin from Chet.
INTERIOR. EARL DECKER’S STRETCH LIMOUSINE—NIGHT
CLOSE-UP ON: Mr. Decker’s face. He’s happily checking his messages as highway lights speed past the window behind him.
CHARLIE (V.O.)
As for Mr. Decker’s reaction to what we did, well, he was a little hard to read. Even back then there was talk that maybe he’d known ahead of time that something like that could happen, so I asked him.
MR. DECKER
(looking up from his messages)
Did I know
exactly
how it would play out? Well, no, Charlie, of course not, but I had a feeling you kids might stir up some press, and, well … you sure did.
CHARLIE (OFF-SCREEN)
So … you’re not mad at us?
MR. DECKER
(a half-smile)
What can I say? You took a chance and veered off the traditional map a little and it worked out … this time.
(a pause, smile suddenly vanishes)
But we can’t push our luck again, guys. From now on, we stick to the map.
Dissolve to …
EXTERIOR. OLIVIA’S BACKYARD—LATE AFTERNOON
Lemonade Mouth, plus Lyle and Naomi, having an epic water fight in Mo’s backyard with hoses blasting and huge plastic water guns firing away. Everybody’s soaked and laughing.