I Am Moehawk: Part Two

     “I’ve told you a billion times – she doesn’t want to waste her neopoints on me.”

     Eliza sighed and hugged Moey. “Someday, you’ll be famous and she’ll wish she paid you more attention,” she assured him.

     “I just wish she’d pay me attention normally...” he said, frowning. “I love her – she’s alright for a human – I just wish she’d love me back.”

     When they got close to Eliza’s neighbourhood, she made an abrupt turn.

     “Where’re we going?” asked Moey.

     “Just a shortcut,” said Eliza, smiling, as she lead him through the Neopian Bazaar.

     When they reached the docks, Moey realised that she had lied and was not taking him back to her house. “Where are you taking me?”

     “You’ll see.” The smile on her face became a grin as she marched along the wooden planks of the harbour to a row of boats. “Excuse me!” she yelled “I need a boat to Tyrannia!”

     Soon enough, Moey and Eliza were in a boat with an elderly Techo, on their way to Tyrannia. The sea was a glorious shade of cobalt and Eliza spent the whole journey peering at it over the edge of the boat, spotting families of Peophins and surfing Skeiths.

     Moey was more concerned with the world above the waterline; he saw Blumaroos sunbathing as the waves lapped the shores of Roo Island, faeries flitting through the clouds, and he watched the little brown speck in the distance, that was their destination, get closer and closer and closer as he got tenser and tenser and tenser.

     Eliza paid the Techo with a shiny dubloon and he thanked her kindly, promising to return in an hour to pick them up.

     “Eliza, this isn’t funny anymore. Tell me where you’re taking me,” the Moehog insisted.

     “Just follow me, alright? You’ll find out soon enough.”

     She took a map out of her purse and orientated herself. She then led Moey through the unfamiliar island, sand and tiny rocks filling her sandals and getting caught in Moey’s hooves. The pair whimpered every time they passed a local and stared, dumbfounded, at the giant omelette.

     When they finally reached their destination, Moey was furious. “Why’ve you brought me to the Concert Hall? You know Yes Boys Ice Cream is on tonight – why would you purposely make me see them? I’m too embarrassed that I never got to read their neomail!”

     “That’s not why I brought you here. I brought you here for an audition. You wanted to be famous and you will be famous. You’re good, Moey – what’s it going to take to make you realise that?”

     “An audition for what?” He stared at her blankly. “If there was a band with an opening, I’d know about it.”

     “For your own band.”

     “My own band? How can I have my own band? Nobody would want to be in a band with me...” A look of confusion was plastered across his face.

     “Moey, when Tyrannia hears you sing, the whole of Neopia is going to want to be in a band with you! You’ll do a concert, Yes Boys Ice Cream will be jealous, Sylvia won’t trade you in for a Krawk and they’ll pay you enough neopoints to buy a real red paintbrush!”

     He shook his head. “I can’t do this. This is ridiculous. Haven’t I humiliated myself enough?”

     “Do it for me,” she pleaded, her eyes wide. “It took a lot of effort to get you this opportunity. Don’t waste it just because you don’t believe in yourself. I believe in you enough for both of us.”

     ***

     “Dear Moehawk,

     We were so impressed with your singing that we would love to have you do a concert at the Tyrannian Concert Hall this weekend, providing you can find a band to back you up.

     Please get back to us.

     Yours truly,

     Allison Graal” read Fred aloud to Moey.

     Moey stared in disbelief, partly at the fact that his brother had turned a page of Tyrannian

     (which looked like:

     Ugga Moehawk,

     Ugg uggg uggga ugaaa ugg ugg

     Ugga ugg

     Ugg

     Allison Graal)

     into comprehensible sentences and partly at the fact that the Manager of the Concert Hall had actually asked him to perform.

     Immediately, he rushed over to Eliza’s house. He got there faster than he’d ever got anywhere before and began pounding on her door and calling her name.

     An irritated Ruki answered the door. “She’s already left for school.”

     Moey proceeded to sprint to school, not stopping to thank the Ruki for the information. Finding Eliza was more important than manners.

     He saw Eliza just as she was passing through the neoschool gates. He called after her, “I’m doing a concert! I’m doing a concert!” but she didn’t hear him.

     “Doing a concert, eh?” Danni the Shoyru smirked. “I did one of those last week with my band. You may have heard of us – we’re quite popular. We’re called Yes Boys Ice Cream.”

     Moey was gobsmacked – Danni, the boy who picked on him and made his life miserable, had been a better singer than him? “Well, my band’s called Moehawk, and we’re every bit as good as Yes Boys Ice Cream. Better, even,” he boasted. “We’re so good that I shouldn’t even have to waste my breath on you.”

     “Maybe I’ll show up to your next concert and see just how good you are,” replied Danni nonchalantly and then he walked away. Instantly, Moey regretted what he’d said – he didn’t even have a band! Why had he told Danni that he was better than him? He should’ve just kept his mouth shut.

     Unfortunately, it was too late to take it back. He’d said it and now he needed to prove it to be true. With only two days until the proposed concert and no band to play with, Moey was at a loss for what to do. How could Allison Graal give him a gig without a band? It was ridiculous!

     ***

     Moey was at auditions again, but this time he wasn’t the one auditioning. He’d set up a classroom during lunch break and pets from around the school were coming in to play for him.

     He tapped his hoof against the linoleum anxiously. He may have been on the opposite side of the audition to last time, but he was just as nervous. Finding the right band was essential – if his band wasn’t any good, how could he expect to be any good?

     The first pet that came to play for him was a rainbow Aisha. He fumbled over the fret board, attempting to play some basic chords. There was no way he’d be good enough to play by the weekend.

     The second was a sweet-looking Korbat who wanted to play the drums. Unfortunately, she couldn’t hold a beat and had trouble sitting still – partway through the piece she was playing she lost control of her wings and found herself levitating above the drum kit.

     The third to come in was Mr. Lupid, who wanted to know why Moey hadn’t asked permission to use his classroom. Moey proceeded to explain to Mr. Lupid that he was his favourite teacher, and he was so flattered that he allowed them to continue.

     The auditions went on in a similar fashion, useless pet after useless pet struggling to play a coherent tune. Half of them didn’t even know how to hold the instruments properly. Moey rubbed his temples in frustration – how was this ever going to work?

     Eliza offered to play the keyboard – she’d had piano lessons when she was younger – but Moey had to put in plain words the fact that her rendition of ‘Mary had a little Babaa’ was hardly going to captivate the interest of an audience and it wasn’t the style he was going for anyway.

     To which she replied, “Moey, what exactly is the style you’re going for?”

     “I don’t know. But I’ll know it when I hear it,” he assured her.

     “Well, you need to hear it soon, because we don’t have time for this.” Underneath her frustration, Eliza sounded hurt – she’d gone through all this trouble to get Moey this great opportunity, and here he was telling her she wasn’t good enough to play with him.

     Moey was about to give up and decline the request to do a concert all together, when a proud-looking pink Krawk entered the room and picked up the guitar. She didn’t say a word; she just played the intro to ‘Look Through the Window’. It was a tune written for techno synthesisers, but the Krawk made it sound fantastic on guitar. Moey was mesmerised by her swift chord changes, fast strumming and flawless showmanship.

     “That was brilliant!” he commended, clapping. “What’s your name? How come I haven’t seen you around neoschool before?”

     “I’m Jewel and I’m new,” she explained, “I used to be a petpet of the band Sticks N' Stones, but this morning I was sold to a girl who took me to Krawk Island where something miraculous happened! And, well, now I’m here.”

     “Well, will you be in the band, Jewel?” he asked hopefully.

     She smiled. “I’d love to. My new owner will be so proud of me – Sylvia doesn’t even know I can play guitar!”

     Out of nowhere, Dr. Death appeared in the doorway. “I’ve come to take a Moey to the Pound,” he said coldly.

To be continued...