Story Challenge #4 - Spamalot

[writer365]

Okay, so here's the challenge. Write a story about the goings on backstage at Spamalot. Can't you just see him running around trying to get into costume on time?

The catch: Clay must say, "You can't be back here!" and "Come to Daddy, baby!"

[Eurydice]

Alright, this story is told from the viewpoint of a little girl raccoon who finds her way into the backstage door...


    I was cold and freaking hungry. I hadn't been able to find a warm place to stay ever since the opossums took over my family's tree in Central Park. For three days, my siblings and I had scavenged the back streets of New York City, before we got separated this morning, that is. As the sun set, I was all alone in a dismal alley. Even for a raccoon, being on one's own could be scary. But then, after scuttling around trash bins for dinner, I heard a squeak, felt a warm artificial light, and saw a door swing open.
    Out into the alley stepped a rugged man who pulled out a cigarette and lit it. He hadn't bothered to close the door, which made me guess he would not be out long. I deliberated my options. My brothers and sisters would be looking for me, and as a sister, it was my duty to continue looking for them. But the light seemed so inviting. Perhaps I could even find some better food!
    My family could wait.
    After stamping out his cigarette, the man made his way back to the door; I had to act fast. I lithely scampered past his ankles and into the building. Once in, I made a few turns past the opening where thousands of humans sat and towards a smaller, brightly lit passage at one end of the dim area. Trotting past huge wooden sets and gigantic props, I realized where I was. This was a theater, just like the one daddy used to tell us about when we were little. That would explain the copious amount of humans on one side of the curtain.
    Something caught my nose's attention...could it be? It smelled like chicken! The scent got stronger as I ran toward the fluorescent-lit opening. The next thing I knew, I was surrounded by...feet? Many pairs of human feet hustled around, some with costumes dragging on the floor, others nearly colliding with me. I dodged as nimbly as I could without getting caught; it was only a matter of seconds before I found a point where the delicious scent was strongest. I shot a glance around before entering the room.
    And there he was. A human clad in green, silver and white, with hair the color of a beautiful squirrel sat in a chair facing away from a table filled with powders and brushes. Another human assisted him by dabbing different brushes on his face. I would have hidden myself, but once I saw that chicken salad finger sandwich on the makeup table, all caution went to the wind. The assistant turned to leave and the man in the chair remained, and that's when I leaped. That sandwich was mine! It was all...
    Just as my paws hit the table, the man turned around. His reaction was that of shock and fright.
    "You can't be back here!" he shouted suddenly, rattling my frisky animal brain. On its own accord, my body flew off the table and zoomed to the only hiding place in sight; the underside of a small table nestled in a corner. I made myself as small as possible. The human, on the other hand, seemed to soften his look as he bent down to my level. As our eyes met, his expression became curious and full of wonder.
   "Aww...I'm sorry, little guy," he cooed in a soft voice that made me relax, despite the fact that he had called me a male. "I didn't mean to snap...you scared me, that's all. Just don't bite me, alright?" He grabbed a bit of his sandwich and lay it on the floor between the two of us. "We'll need to get you back outside where you belong, little guy. Now come on," he coaxed, motioning for me to come forward. "Come to Daddy, baby!"
    The sincere look on his face was enough to make my heart melt. Shyly, I tip-toed my way from under the table to the bit of sandwich, sniffed it, and stuffed the whole thing in my mouth. "Good raccoon!" I heard him say. "I can see why you came in; you must have been famished! Tell you what," he proposed, standing up and taking the sandwich plate, "if you follow me to the back lot, this whole thing will be yours!"
    He slipped out of the room in a different direction from which I came, but I followed him unquestioningly. After only a few steps, he stopped by a door and opened it. Instantly, the chilly air nipped at my fur. The man ceremoniously placed the plate on the step leading back down to a more well-kept part of the alley. "There you are! Oh my, you're a little girl coon!" I turned around, embarrassed of having trotted out the door with my tail in the air. "Well, since you came backstage for Spamalot, I'll call you...Princess!"
    "Clay, you're on in one minute!" yelled a voice from inside.
    "Be right there!" responded Clay (wow, I thought, what a cool name!). He turned back to me and whispered, "Take care, Princess," before going back inside and closing the door. 

[writer365]

So I wrote this and it doesn't really comply with the challenge But i figured I'd post it anyway...

I walked into the theater, looking for a bathroom. I had no idea where I was. If I could find someone to give me directions, that would be even better.

“Um, excuse me?” I asked into the empty lobby.

There was no answer, there wasn’t music coming from the actual theater, so I figured I could go in.

I opened the door. The house lights were on, but the stage was empty. “Um, hello?”

No answer.

I walked up to the stage and noticed a lit hallway to the right of it. I followed it and ended up in the middle of a big make-up room.

“Hey! You can’t be back here!” A man exclaimed, as he scrambled for a shirt.

I stared at him for a moment as he pulled the shirt down over his stomach, covering the swirl of dark hair that stretched up from the waistband of his trousers.

“Did you not hear me?” he asked. “You can’t be back here.”

“Um, I got lost,” I tried to explain, snapping back into reality. “There wasn’t anyone in the lobby, I just need directions back to my hotel.”

He studied me sternly for a moment. “So you’re not here for a scoop?”

I smiled. “On, you? No way, what could I possibly say about a good southern boy?”

“So you know who I am?” he asked, almost hesitantly.

I nodded shyly. “I do. I’m actually coming to the show tomorrow, but I got separated from my group and I don’t really know where I am to get back to my hotel.”

“Hey! Clay, the food’s here!” Someone yelled down the hall.

“How about we go out and get you a cab back to your hotel?” He offered.

I shrugged. “I can just walk if someone can give me directions.” I offered.

He looked at me for a moment. “I think I’d rather get you a cab.” He offered. “Just so you don’t get lost again.” He winked.

I smiled.

“Here,” a woman handed Clay a plate of food, containing mashed potatoes and fried chicken. “Mmm.” He reached for a piece of chicken, “Come to daddy, baby.”

I giggled.

He smiled at me through a mouth full of chicken. He swallowed. “Okay, lets go get you a cab.”

We walked into the lobby. “Jenny,” he walked up to the woman at the ticket window. “Can you get this young lady a cab?”

She looked up. “Sure thing, Mr. Aiken”

He smiled. “Where are you staying?” He asked.

“The Hilton in Times Square.” I offered, preparing to rehearse how my uncle had gotten me a discount for the rooms.

“How many people are coming with you to the show tomorrow?”

“Six.” I offered, starting to wonder what he was up to.

“Okay.” He offered me a friendly smile.

The cab pulled up outside and he walked out to it with me. He walked to the window and handed the driver some money and told him where to take me before opening the back door for me.

“We’ll see you tomorrow,” he paused and laughed a little. “What’s your name?” He asked.

I giggled, “It’s Victoria.” I offered.

He smiled. “Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow then, Victoria.”

I smiled and got in the cab. When I got back to the hotel and walked inside, someone at the front desk stopped me. “Are you Victoria?” He asked.

I nodded.

“Did you just catch a cab from the Schubert?”

I nodded.

He smiled, “Here, someone just sent these over for you.” He handed me an envelope.

“Thanks.” I started back to the room and looked into the envelope.

I opened the door and Theresa pounced on me. “Oh my gosh! Thank goodness you’re safe!”

“We were so worried!”

“Where were you?”

I smiled, “I got lost and ended up at the Schubert, so I went in to get directions, and I met Clay.” I offered.

“What?!” all the women in my room exclaimed.

I smiled. “He upgraded our tickets. We’re front row center for tomorrow.”

“Oh. My. God.” Theresa offered.

“Ahh!”

We stood in the middle of the room and jumped up and down together, giggling like little girls.

“Okay, hold on.” I handed off the envelope. “I need to use the bathroom.”

[LadyC]

 

Nice, Tory.   

[writer365]

okay, here's my second attempt. It still doesn't really stay backstage, but I think it's better. It's a little bit darker, just to warn you.
I don't have a title, or a name for the main female character, if you have any suggestions, please let me know!

She sat in his makeup chair, watching him pull a brown robe over his costume. He pulled it over his head and caught her eyes. He smiled as he pulled it down over his chest. “I’m glad you’re here.”

She smiled and stood. ”Anything to help.”

“Clay!” Someone yelled into the dressing room. “We’re on in five!”

“Yeah, I’m almost there.” He yelled back.

She leaned up to kiss his cheek. “Okay, I’m gonna go sit down.”

He pulled her into a tight hug. “I love you.” He whispered softly.

She tightened her arms around his torso before pulling away. “Love you too.” She looked up at him, catching his worried glance. “You’ll be great.” She encouraged.

He smiled feebly. He knew his lines and he knew the songs and he even knew the dance steps, but he was still worried that he was going to mess up when putting it all together.

She reached for the door handle and the door swung open.

A flashbulb went off and she stumbled back.

“Hey!” Clay yelled. “You can’t be back here!” He moved forward and stepped in front of her.

The photographer snapped another picture before turning and running into the audience.

“Security!” Clay bellowed.

He was standing in the doorway when the orchestra started tuning their instruments.

She stood and walked over to him, laying a hand on his shoulder. “Go, I’ll take care of it.”

“But you have to go sit down.” He protested.

She smiled. “I’ll watch from the wings.” She offered. “Plus, it’s not like I’m never gonna see it again.”

He smiled. “Okay, just don’t go out there. That maniac is going to be looking for you.”

She nodded. “I know. I’ll stay backstage and walk out behind Jerome when we leave.”

He looked down at her. “Thanks.”

She beamed. “Go break a leg.” She pushed him out of the dressing room.

He walked out and took his place on stage and a burly man strolled up to the dressing room. ”Someone called for security?” He asked.

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, a photographer got back here.” She offered. “He even got into Clay’s Dressing room.” She explained.

He stared at her for a moment. “That’s impossible, we screen everyone’s bags before they come in.”

She rolled her eyes. “Well, he got around you.”

He looked down at her with raised eyebrows.

“Well,” she looked up at him. “When there’s a picture of this dressing room in the news tomorrow, you’ll see.”

He chuckled. “Okay,” he nodded. “I’ll be sure to keep my eyes out for it.”

She glared as he turned and walked back down the hall. She walked out to the wings and watched Clay preform.

***

The next morning, she got up and walked to the computer to check her emails. As she checked through the Google alerts, the headline, “Picture of Clay’s dressing room, and possibly his new leading lady.” Caught her eye.

She rolled her eyes and opened the link. There they were. The two pictures the man had taken the day before. One was of her, with Clay in the background, and the other was of Clay stepping in front of her.

She shook her head as she closed the browser window. “That guy should be fired, I bet he even let him in.”

Clay rolled over to look at her. “Who let who go where now?”

She spun around to face him. “The security guard from last night.” She informed. “I think he let that photographer in last night.”

He flopped onto his back. “Are the pictures up?”

She nodded. “They’re on TMZ.”

He groaned. “Well, we can go talk to the security manager today.”

She sighed and stood. She walked back to the bed. “I just wish they would let us be normal for once.”

He laughed softly. “You’re never going to be normal again, engaged to me.”

She looked down at him, “I think I can put up with abnormalcy for you.” She offered as she laid down next to him.

He reached out for her. “Come to daddy, baby.” He purred.

She giggled and scooted into his arms.

“I guess we’ll figure out what to do.” She offered softly, tucking her nose into his neck.

“We’ll figure something out.” He assured, tightening his grip around her.