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Tough Love Part 96; Part 5 (5)
** all credit goes where itâ??s due. ~Aariyan &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Chapter 96; Part 5 (5) Making it in America â??Can I use your bathroom again?â? â??Sure.â? â??Sorry for going again.â? â??No itâ??s fine.â? Now I was wondering should I show him to Michaelâ??s bathroom and risk him seeing my stuff in the room? Half of America or maybe even half of the Jackson clan probably thinks thereâ??s more than what meets the eye but thatâ??s not true. Michael and I ARE really just friends. Now if it wasnâ??t for my unconventional relationships with other members of the opposite sexâ?¦things might be like how it was with Tatum. Jermaine was still looking at me to give my answer. â??Oh yeah, Iâ??ll show you. Just follow me.â? I ended up directing Jermaine to mine because although I knew it was already weird enough to be leading him to my room, but I kinda rather him see my things in my room than my things being in his brotherâ??s room. Right? When I went back to the couch, I got to thinking that until now, I hadnâ??t even noticed there were only TWO bathrooms in the whole beach house. I mean thereâ??s not one in the living room; thereâ??s not one in the kitchen. â??Thereâ??s this open mic.â? â??Yeah?â? â??When I heard you sang, I heard something there. You got a nice vibrato. Even youâ??re hum is nice.â? â??â?¦Yeah?â? â??So do me a favor, to pay me back for spending approximately 28,334 words telling you about my familyâ??â? â??Youâ??ve COUNTED?? And some of those words I helped you with Jermaine. You know, my input. And I donâ??t think Iâ??m up to itâ?¦Iâ??m NEVER up to singing in-front of people.â? â??But I know you like to sing along with the tracks.â? â??Who told you that?â? I pointed to him. â??Michael. He KNOWS you cheat when youâ??re singing with the person who ACTUALLY sing the song, but you sound GOOD with it, so weâ??re thinking youâ??ll sound good by yourself too.â? â??Un-huh? What are you saying?â? This is sounding AWFULLY like Hugh Hefner. I havenâ??t attempted to write another song after Hugh declined â??Teardrops on My Guitarâ?. Plus I wasnâ??t going to sing a LICK if I couldnâ??t â??cheatâ? and sing along with the track. Iâ??d be damned if I was going to sing along with an instrumental. Iâ??m just not strong enough. â??Jermaine, my CHORUS TEACHER taught me to HUM, okay? No diggity.â? â??Oh but diggity.â? Iâ??m not even dressed up. While he was in the bathroom, I SHOULDâ??VE put on a shirt. Iâ??m feeling REALLY naked with this bikini top on. â??This time itâ??d seem like I wonâ??t be able to change, but I got some clothes in the car.â? Oh damnitâ?¦Jermaine is really serious about this. So for that reason, I began fathoming up about what I was going to wear. â??I know what I can wear.â? And I walked past him, but while walking, I mumbled â??Yâ??know Iâ??m going to be a sight with this CAST on.â? Since I moved back to my room, my things were slowly making their way back. One of those things was my suitcase. I flipped the cover over with a beaming smile. I was going to wear something Michael had bought me when Angela told me I was going shopping with Michael since we were coming here. For the top, it was this red-and-white mini flowered popcorn crop stretchy top, sandalâ??wait excuse me, SANDAL, and the hard part was deciding should I wear jean shorts or short overalls. For some reason I just felt it was better to wear shorts this time so that what I chose. Luckily I didnâ??t put on any sun block because I knew Iâ??d be under the umbrella again and I had no need for the somewhat annoying smell. I was afraid Jermaine was going to wear some professional clothing attire like a suit, and my fears were confirmed when I saw him in a red dress shirt and a suit. â??Why?â? I simply ask. â??Because Iâ??m all about business.â? â??Okayâ?¦â? I shrug. For some reason, I felt I should clarify what I was saying earlier about race. I actually wanted to while we were dancing, but I got side-tracked. â??Jermaine, um you know that conversation about race and how I donâ??t get it how one person can strongly hate another race for Godâ??s know whatever reason, well I got to thinking that sometimes itâ??s probably that way because one person caused harm to another person out of their race and for that reason, the person that was hurt decides to dislike everyone else for that same reason. Have you ever thought of it from that angle?â? â??Lyric, donâ??t beat yourself up about said. I understood what you meant because I was able to put it in context of what you were talking about. Ready for some happy times now?â? â??Sure am.â? Biting my nails, I finally lock up the house. Iâ??m like how many times am I going to be able to luck out with Michael? So because of this, I didnâ??t really talk with Jermaine on our way to this open mic place. But when he pulled up to the same parking lot, I was thinking â??No way!â??. â??Ready to go in?â? I shrug. I got to thinking that Iâ??m about to sink, and REALLY fast. â??Well come on!â? I couldnâ??t slow up or anything; Jermaine was determined to get me in there, so he had my arm in order to make sure I didnâ??t run off. When we got in there, the place was dim, and Jermaine told me to sit in the back while he got someoneâ??s, Iâ??m guessing the coordinatorâ??s, attention. While this woman was performing, Jermaine motioned for me to follow him. When I reluctantly went towards them, Jermaine smiled although I could only half-see the man. â??Jody Sandler, this here is Lyric Swan. Sheâ??s a decent singer.â? â??Well then I wanna see what she has.â? Then the man sticks his hand out so I can shake it. â??I guess.â? I respond with. And as the woman finishes â??Baby Loveâ?, she gets a moderate clap from us. â??Well it looks like your turn sweetheart.â? â??Jermaine?â? My eyes were getting big. â??You can do it Lyric. Itâ??s your timeâ?¦.Act like your friends and family are out here to cheer you on.â? I was about to go on stage, but then something CLICKED in me. once again, a sign from God. God, if You got me doing this, let this be right! Pleaseâ?¦.Iâ??m just trying to make it in Americaâ?¦thatâ??s all. â??Iâ??ll do itâ?¦under one condition.â? â??What is it?â? They asked. â??Iâ??ll perform, but the first song has to be mine.â? I was serious, and they werenâ??t saying anything. â??You you wrote a song?â? â??Youâ??ll just have to wait and see.â? Then I go on stage and grab the mic. â??Hey, Iâ??m going to sing this song I wrote, think you can follow it?â? â??Yeah, sure.â? They say. â??Since you wonâ??t know it yet, I can sing like the first verse and yâ??all just follow.â? â??Okay.â? I go up to the crowd although I kind of couldnâ??t see them, I move the stool out the way a little, and with a beating heart, for once, Iâ??m singing in-front of people without music. â??Got a one-way ticket down a two-way street Got the wind in my hair and thereâ??s dust on my feet Iâ??m just tryingâ?¦to make it in Americaâ? I take a deep breath â??Only thing to my name is an old t-shirt Faded 1945 from World War II And Iâ??m dyingâ?¦to make it in Americaâ? Another breath. â??And Iâ??m singing the words to my favorite song With the rag top down and my glasses on And Iâ??m drivingâ?¦straight through Americaâ? It was after I was shaking my shoulder and I was starting the concert that I heard the band behind me catch on better than I thought couldâ??ve been possible. It felt like a burst of sunlight. â??I wanna taste the suun! â??Cause baby Iâ??m born to ruuun! I got a feeling that Iâ??m not the only one And Iii, I wanna show some skin Yeah baby I need the ocean Well you canâ??t stop me Now Iâ??ve my got heart in motion And Iiiâ?¦wanna make it in America Make it in AMERICA!!!â? There was a short pause but I kept on. â??I can see my star sunset and vine Gonna carve my name in the Hollywood sign Yeah I gotta, gotta make it in America See me wearing a smile, even if Iâ??m broke Iâ??ll be singing the words from a song I wrote And I called itâ?¦â??Make it in Americaâ?? I wanna taste the suun! â??Cause baby Iâ??m born to ruun! I got a feeling that Iâ??m not the only oneâ?¦ And Iii, I wanna show some skin Yeah baby I need the ocean Well you canâ??t stop me Now Iâ??ve my got heart in motion And Iiiâ?¦wanna make it in America Yeah make it in AMERICA!!! I can feel the sweat dripping down my face I can hear my heart as it starts to race And sometimes this worldâ??s such a lonely place If I just push on I know that I wanna taste the sun! â??Cause baby Iâ??m born to run! I got a feeling that Iâ??m not the only one And Iii, I wanna show some skin Yeah baby I need the ocean Well you canâ??t stop me Now Iâ??ve my got heart in motion And Iiiâ?¦wanna make it in America Make it in AMERICA!!!â? There was a pause; an awkward pause to me, but then I got a thunderous clap after that and whistling. I was breathing hard as I COULDNâ??T believe I just did that. I just got in-front of a crowd and now theyâ??re clapping for me. â??We werenâ??t EXPECTING that now were we???â? Jody Sandler asks the crowd, apparently from the side of the stage. â??Want her to go again??â? the whole crowd claps and whistles again.â? â??What?â? I ask him. â??You can do that you know, if youâ??re really good.â? And Jermaine smirks. Jody Sandler points at the band again, and thatâ??s when I noticed there was a D.J.â??FINALLYâ??controlling the music. All of a sudden I hear â??Whatâ??s Going Onâ?. Fine by me. This song is SO peaceful to me. itâ??s veryâ?¦atmospheric. Brings me to tears. â??Mother, mother There's too many of you crying Brother, brother, brother There's far too many of you dying You know we've got to find a way To bring some lovin' here today Yeaahâ? Once again I got applause. But I always sing the â??Whatâ??s going on?â? and the picket lines and signs part with my heart and rhythm, respectively. By now I was getting comfortable and I was sitting on the stool. I also wanted to do something a little different, so when I heard the Beatles in the background say â??Ah, look atâ? I already KNEW it was â??Eleanor Rigbyâ?â??one of my favorite Beatles songs. I couldnâ??t help singing this song as if I was telling a ghost story at camp because I kept everyone on edge as if theyâ??d never heard this before. The next song was less heavy: it was â??Please Mr. Postmanâ?. â??Wow, this donâ??t usually happen here. Do you wanna continue?â? Jody Sandler looks at me. â??Just as long as THEY want me too.â? I HAD to have a lot of nerve to say that because I had to appear confident. I got clapping and a little bit of whistling. â??Looks like they want you too. D.J. drop that beat!â? And thatâ??s WHAT he DID. As soon as I heard the piano glissando upon and I heard the MAJOR bass, I knew I had a monster to attack: the Jacksonâ??s 5 â??I Want You Backâ?. â??When I had you to myself, I didn't want you around Those pretty faces always made you stand out in a crowd But someone picked you from the bunch, one glance was all it took Now it's much too late for me to take a second look Oh baby, give me one more chance Won't you please let me back in your heart Oh darlin', I was blind to let you go But now since I see you in his arms Yes I do now Ooh ooh baby Yeah yeah yeah yeah Na na na naâ? I already knew Michael and his brothers had all dibs on this song because they made it THEIRS, so I knew Michaelâ??s voice would be my biggest challenge to go against. Therefore I really impressed people, but at the same time, I had fun with the song. It represents my childhood in the early â??70s, so it was fun. Next though had to be a downer. I had to sing â??Iâ??ll Be Thereâ?. That makes anyone cry from the genialness of the song. Plus remember when this came out, I wasnâ??t even eight yet and I was crying how I was in love with Michael Jackson and was crying because this song upsetted me because I knew Michael and I didnâ??t have that at the time. I sang my heart out like I just buried my pet dog. â??Just look over your shoulders honeyâ??oooh!â? This song was never really hard for me to sing. I mightâ??ve started off singing it off pitchâ??when I was little that isâ??but the feelings were ALWAYS there. I bowed then. I felt I was an attention hog long enough. Plus I needed to drink somethingâ??I was overheated and had to pee now. Damn nerves, they always do that to me! People clapped, some said â??Stayâ?? or even booed a little, just to keep me up there. Not to be conceited or anything, but nobody else got up on the stage after me, so the D.J. and the band was forced to do all the work so we wouldnâ??t be bored out of our minds. I looked at Jermaineâ??expecting him to rebuke me for hiding this all inâ??but he didnâ??t. He remained his normal self, and even that started to get on my damn nerves. Instead, Jermaine just asked what made me want to sing so much today. â??I donâ??t knowâ?¦itâ??s my grandmaâ??s birthday todayâ?¦maybe I just wanted to do it for her.â? Jermaine said we were going to leave soon and even though he called himself â??coaxingâ? me to the stage, the truth is, he didnâ??t have to encourage me at all. I liked the stage now. At least beginning to. â??And here she goes again! Ms. Magnificentâ??â? â??Umm umm,â? I told Jody Sandler. I didnâ??t want to give me name out. Not like it wouldâ??ve made a difference if these people have been tuning into the news since October. When I was hit with the heavy rock-nâ??-roll, I IMMEDIATELY identified it as â??Barracudaâ?. I had to think of the words real quick, even though I loved to imitate the singers. Letâ??s just say I didnâ??t need the stool for this one. After â??Barracudaâ? was Michaelâ??s version of â??Dogginâ?? Aroundâ?. Fine by me, Iâ??m just being challenged by his amazing voice anyways. Then after that, it just seemed like a freakinâ?? Michael Jackson concert because they kept playing his records! Next were â??Ainâ??t No Sunshineâ?, â??Never Can Say Goodbyeâ?, â??Rockinâ?? Robinâ?, â??Benâ?, and â??Got To Be Thereâ?. I basically had to have the pipes that I never had before. Made no sense, all of those songs, except for â??Never Can Say Goodbyeâ? and come on, â??Rockinâ?? Robinâ? are the only ones that ARENâ??T hard. Well okay â??Ainâ??t No Sunshineâ? isnâ??t that hard to me either. But still, back-to-back in that fashion? Not fair. Guess They were testing me. I mean why not throw in â??Lookinâ?? Through the Windowsâ? or Dolly Partonâ??s â??I Will Always Love Youâ? to make things more complicated. Better yet, what about Minnie Ripertonâ??s â??Lovinâ?? Youâ? because thereâ??s no way I can REACH her angelic notes at the end. Iâ??ve tried before and it gave me a migraine. Minnie is blessed to have a whistle register, and if I EVER had a talent like that, then Iâ??d surely use it. But after â??Got To Be Thereâ? which I absolutely loved and at one time, hoped and prayed that would be mine and Michaelâ??s wedding song, I was relieved that I got an easier song to sing: â??All I Do Is Think Of Youâ?. Because in â??Got To Be Thereâ? I felt like I had to play like I was a soprano; a full blown soprano. I knew when I was saying â??Beside, meeeeeeâ? I was getting out of my rangeâ??well I think since it didnâ??t feel natural, and was actually putting a little stress on my vocal chordsâ??I had to play it off. But I canâ??t get mad at the little Michael. I refuse to. I got the joy of performing â??I Wanna Be Where You Areâ?. Then Jermaine made me get off the stage. Phooey. I was even moving around. It didnâ??t bother me. I mean I had to work the stage right? But before I was able to get off, Jody Sandler, who Iâ??m guessing is the owner of this place or something, comes on stage with me. â??Tonight, weâ??ll deem her the â??Queen of Open Micâ??.â? â??The King!â? this man corrected Jody, and we laughed. Then for him, especially, I sing the Jacksonsâ??s song that theyâ??d sing sometimes to tell the audience thank you for letting us perform and entertain you. I was a little shaky, but whatever. It was acapella anyway. While walking out, the band began playing the instrumental part, I guess, of my song â??Make It In Americaâ?, so I sang it one more time for everyone. For some reason, Jody Sandler quickly lead me to the rear exit with Jermaine waiting. â??I know you want to say something Jermaine.â? I tease him. He shakes his head. Hmm, I wonder how long heâ??ll be able to keep that manly front up. But he lost it once we got in the house. â??I mean DAMN did you SEE how those people reacted to you Lyric?! If you make me, Iâ??ll sign you my damn self. I mean DAMN, that was good, that was GREAT! Where the HELL have you been all this time?!â? I giggle. But he just looks at me for an answer. â??Living Jermaine. Living and watching yâ??all leave me in the dust.â? â??Shit, I mean damn, you could have said something! You wouldâ??ve been great with us if you couldâ??ve done some performances with us.â? â??I mean like I said, Iâ??ve started when I was in church of course. I think my grandma put me in it the church choir at fourâ??like I knew what I was doingâ??but even before then, they would have this â??Childrenâ??s Churchâ?? where we got to sing a song, pray, have a lesson read to us, and go back to our seats to continue the service. During those times, I had to be three, and I remember this, okay? But I would go up and sing the â??ABCsâ??, not yâ??all â??ABCâ??,â? we laughed, â??and I basically sang it every Sunday I think. â??ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZâ??. That was my Sunday song for church.â? Jermaine just laughs, â??Oooh you funny.â? â??Itâ??s true! And I know youâ??re hungry or thirsty from seating through all of that. How long we were gone anyway?â? â??Like two hours.â? â??Thatâ??s what I thought.â? â??And itâ??s after seven now. But seriously I need to get going.â? â??Okay.â? â??But not after we have a few high lights about tonight.â? Jermaine had me cracking up by telling me how confident but nervous he was for me, and how I worked that cast. We were howling and kidding around until the door abruptly opens. When I looked at the door, I already knew it was Michael, but come on God, donâ??t do me that way. Sure enough though, I see his hardening expression when he had his hand on the doorknob. He looked as if he knew all along. But thatâ??s not the reason I wished I hadnâ??t gone with Jermaine to that open mic place. I just didnâ??t want anyone knowing about my â??talentâ? or whatever you wanna call it. Iâ??m an actor; not a singer. &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Once again all of the credit goes to the rightful owners when it comes to the songs. And I know â??Make it in Americaâ? is actually performed by Victoria Justice, but for the story purposes, Lyric writes it and that why I had to change some of the words, like the â??t-shirtâ? line since 1985 hadnâ??t happened yet. This is just one of the early examples so get ready! :) And while listening to â??Make it in Americaâ? it really seemed like a 4th of July song. --A.
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