*Hey guys, I'm back with another chapter of my version of Sing! Yay! This is published on September 25, 2021. If you guys like this chapter, don't be afraid to vote and comment. That would be greatly appreciated. I'm so sorry if this chapter is too long. The song will reprise "Wait for It" by Leslie Odom Jr and the song called "Non-Stop" part in it just for the memes. There's another song called "Bamboleo" by Gypsy Kings. LOL! Again, I'm sorry if this is too long. Enjoy!*

Today's the day! Rehearsals for the upcoming performance by the end of the week. Buster's plan was for the performers to perform their acts on Monday as a solid act to perform and then, tomorrow, they would choose their wardrobe and rehearsed in what order they all should be in.

Buster was excited yet anxious since the performers were practicing for a week and they may bring something unexpected to the table. Whether it's a stumble or an outstanding performance that draws a lot of emotions from the inside. The koala knew that Meena was let. It's been set in stone since the beginning. Buster was sitting on the front row of the theater with Mizuki and Eddie by his side to overlook the animals' performances.

Meanwhile, Johnny, Ash, Nancy, Mike, Gunter, Rosita, and Meena were all nervous about performing in front of Buster...even though they've done it every day but it's different doing on a stage covered in a duvet than doing it backstage where it's just them. What if they just stumble and fall? What if they don't do as well as they initially hope they do? They still had till Tuesday to get better but still...it didn't stop them from being anxious.

Johnny couldn't practice piano at home since his father would be home with the gang. Ash couldn't sleep, feeling sick from anxiety between the show and Lance. Gunter would work out the stress so much that he didn't get sleep until midnight. Meena was breathing anxiously all night while the thought of being on stage caused her to sweat profusely. Mike and Nancy were able to get decent sleep at Ms. Crawly's apartment. However, the one who didn't get any sleep due to her twenty-five children and constantly stressing about her dance steps was Rosita. Rosita practiced a few steps last night and fell asleep on the couch. Then she had to take her kids to school this early morning and her waitress job was stressing her so much that she had to quit. She already put in her two weeks notice two weeks ago after she made the decision to pursue theater and tried to look for another job.

So, Rosita was already anxious about doing this whole thing. However, she's lucky that she's not first in line.

"Okay, everyone! We'll call out by your names and you guys rehearse what you guys had been practicing in the past week. First, we have Mike and Nancy!" Buster announced from backstage.

Mike gulped while picking up his saxophone. Nancy tried to create a confident facade but both of the mice were intense about their performance.

Johnny, Ash, Meena, Gunter, and Rosita were watching intensely until Johnny's phone vibrated from his pocket. The gorilla discreetly took out his phone and saw his father's number on it. He gasped quietly as he snuck away from the group and into a discreet corner where he answered the phone.

"Yeah?" Johnny answered quietly.

"Johnny, the shipment's coming in," his father stated.

"Tonight?"

"Not tonight! Right now."

Johnny gasped while trembling.

"Meet around the corner of Hillsdale and Millard in five minutes," his father finished the call as he hung up the phone.

Johnny wanted to scream internally from all the stresses coming at him at once.

Why does the shipment have to come today of all days?

Johnny quickly snuck back over to the group and tapped on Ash's shoulder. "Ash."

Ash didn't pay attention to Johnny.

He tapped on her shoulder a bit harder. "Ash."

Ash quickly turned to Johnny. "Shh, Mike and Nancy are rehearsing--"

"I know, I know. Look, if Mr. Moon happens to put us next, just say that I went to the bathroom," Johnny whispered quickly.

"Uh...why don't you use the one upstairs?"

"It's clogged."

Ash pondered for a second and then shrugged her shoulders. "Oh, okay."

"Thanks, Ash." With that said, Johnny rushed out of the backstage door and into the alleyway, making his way over to the street corner.

"What's wrong with Johnny?" Rosita noted Johnny's rush out of the door.

"Uh...he had to go to the bathroom. The one upstairs is clogged."

"Oh...okay."

~.~

Johnny was driving down the road with his gang in the black truck with him as his father was giving him directions. Huh, somehow the routes were familiar to Johnny. The teenage gorilla parked in the alleyway where he saw a familiar warehouse just straight ahead of him. That's when Johnny gasped in shock to realize that the hyenas were in the warehouse...it might be a trap for Johnny's gang.

"Stay here," his father said excitedly as he hopped out of the car along with his gang. "We'll return about thirty-seven minutes exact--"

"Yes, Dad, you told me on the way here--but maybe this isn't a good idea to rob from this warehouse."

"Are you kiddin'? It's got twenty-five million gold. We gotta get it before the hyenas can take it," his father, Dexter, responded while rushing off.

"Wait, Dad, the hyenas are already there! It's a trap!" Johnny shouted but his father didn't listen and entered the sewers with the gang.

Johnny became more desperate. "DAD!"

The gorilla sighed heavily as he glanced down at his watch. Doing the math in his head, it took fifteen minutes to get from the theater to the warehouse and back. So, he had thirty minutes. If his performance takes less than five minutes...then he'll make it back just in time to drive them away from the police.

"I can make it," Johnny said to himself.

Meanwhile, at the theater, Buster looked over his notes and then up at Nancy and Mike after they've performed.

"Okay, things to unpack here...Mike, I heard you using your singing voice before. You got talent!" Buster encouraged.

"Uh, thanks, Moonster," Mike uttered.

"I need you to use it."

"What about my saxophone?"

"Well, maybe save it till later?"

Mike pondered about it while shrugging. "Sure, I'll sing."

"Great! Why don't you start now? Let's see if we can pick out the difference between singing and playing the saxophone today."

"Uh...okay."

Back with Johnny, the teenage gorilla was driving like a crazy ape behind the wheel as a piece of a song played on the radio.

https://youtu.be/DPgE7PNzXag

"How do you speed like you're running out of time?

Speed day and night like you're running out of time?

Every day you speed like you have somewhere to go.

Like you have somewhere to go.

Do you have somewhere to go?"

Johnny veered into the corner of the intersection to turn towards the Moon Theater, unknowing cause an accident as the music grew more intense.

"How do you speed like tomorrow won't arrive?!

How do you speed like you need to survive?!

How do you speed every second you're alive?!

Every second you're alive?!

Every second you're alive?!"

Johnny groaned and shut off the radio while glancing down at his watch to speed towards the Moon Theater.

Come on, Come on!

Johnny dodged the vehicles and reached the theater.

~.~

"There you go, Mike! I would love to hear you sing in the talent show!" Buster encouraged Mike after the mice's performance.

"Wow, uh, thanks, Moonster," Mike uttered, not expecting a great reaction out of it.

Nancy smiled and held his hand, getting attention from the male mouse. She gave him a look that said 'I told you so' and they both went backstage.

"Alright, up next is Rosita and Gunter!" Buster announced.

Rosita and Gunter were ready to get on stage until Johnny slammed the backstage open.

"Rosita, Rosita," Johnny called while sprinting towards the mother pig.

Rosita turned to glance at Johnny for a second.

"I-Is it okay if we can take your place?" Johnny asked with a stutter, shocking Ash for a moment.

"Of course, yeah, sure." Rosita politely gestured them to the stage covered in a duvet.

However, the music began as Gunter was already on stage and unzipping his sweater to reveal his red unitard.

"I'm warning you, this stage is about to explode with major piggy power!" Gunter said exactly while looking to Rosita to come on stage.

Rosita clenched her teeth and picked up the microphone. "I'm so sorry, I have no control over this."

Johnny glanced down at his watch with a groan.

Rosita took deep calm breaths as she nodded to herself. "You can do this." With that determination, the mother pig began to sing.

"I stayed out too late!

Got nothing on my brain--!"

Rosita took the dance steps towards Gunter only to trip and fall down on stage right in front of Buster, Mizuki, Eddie, and Gunter.

"Oh gosh, are you okay?!" Buster shouted his question in panic.

Gunter helped Rosita up on her feet while glancing at Buster. "Oh yes, I'm fine, thank you. How are you?"

"Gunter, he was asking Rosita," Eddie said with a deadpan stare at his fitness partner.

"Oh, sorry," Gunter immediately apologized.

Mike sighed heavily while looking up at Johnny, who kept looking back at his watch. The mouse noticed this while climbing up on the gorilla's broad shoulder. "What's going on with you, kid? You in a rush to get somewhere?"

Johnny bit his lips with a slight nod.

Mike pondered for a second. "Timmy fell down a well?"

Johnny groaned while shaking his head.

Mike noticed Johnny looking over the watch and then he gasped for a minute. "Wait, I think I know what's going on. Correct me if I'm wrong."

Mike leaned over towards Johnny's ear. "It's the big heist, isn't it?"

Johnny nodded his head solemnly.

"What? Today of all days," Mike groaned but not at Johnny.

"I know right," Johnny uttered in agreement.

"What's going on?" Ash asked while looking up at Johnny and Mike.

Johnny and Mike exchanged brief glances at each other with clenched teeth.

"Should we tell her?" Mike questioned Johnny.

"Tell me what?" Ash probed.

Johnny sighed heavily as he knelt down on one knee to make the same level of eye contact with the porcupine. "Okay, I lied about going to the bathroom."

"You lied?"

"Yeah."

Ash chuckled a bit. "Okay, so, what are you? Some part of a gang?"

Johnny had his teeth clenched with widened eyes.

Ash stopped chuckling with a more serious gaze from reading his face. "Wait a minute, you are part of a gang."

Mike shushed her. "Keep it down, Spikes."

Ash smiled a bit. "That makes so much sense now."

"Really?" Johnny blushed from Ash figuring out.

Ash nodded her head. "Yeah. It would make sense why you use my quills as a lockpick and why you have a gun. Makes sense now."

"But he's not a criminal...he's a sweetheart," Mike replied while ruffling the gorilla's hair.

Johnny blushed madly more. "Guys, you're not helping."

Rosita entered backstage with tears in her eyes while Gunter was following her.

"Rosita, where are you going?" Gunter questioned the mother pig.

"I-I can't do this!" Rosita blurted out with a cry. "I-I'm really trying but...the fire went out a long time ago. I'm trying to count the steps--"

"Counting schmounting! You got to let the music flow your body!" Gunter instructed.

"Yeah, give it another go, Rosita," Meena encouraged.

Nancy nodded her head in agreement. "Yeah, you got this."

"No...I--I don't think I got it--" Rosita exited the building from the backstage door.

"Rosita!" Everyone called out while watching the mother pig running away.

Buster noticed this while groaning to himself. "Oh boy...I got one walking out already. Poor Rosita. Uh...Alright...uh...Johnny and Ash, you're up!!"

Johnny clenched his teeth while looking at Ash. "We have to do this quick."

Ash frowned while realizing that their song will be a bust if they just rush what they've practiced in the past week.

"Let's do an easy song," Ash replied in determination.

"Okay."

Johnny was pulling the piano out on stage while Ash followed and adjusted her guitar strings. They had the microphone ready as Johnny began to sing a song that was supposed to be easy...however...he's pressing all the wrong notes by mistake.

Meanwhile, Rosita was strolling down the street with a frown on her face and exhaustion in her steps. The mother pig wanted to cry but she knew she couldn't just cry right now. Now...her theater was her last hope and it just blew up in her face. However, she noticed the pawnshop and Norman walking out of it.

Rosita gasped as she froze like a deer in headlights to see Norman working at a pawn shop. Norman turned to see Rosita with a small smile.

"Hey, Rosita," Norman greeted happily.

"Hey, Norman," Rosita greeted back sadly.

Norman arched a brow while noting her tone of inflection was more sad than happy. "Is everything okay?"

"It's been a hard day."

Norman bit his lips while looking around the city. "Uh...wanna go grab coffee? I was off for my lunch."

Rosita smiled sweetly at Norman. "That would be wonderful."

Norman nodded his head as he locked up the pawnshop. "Okay, let's go."

The pigs ambled down the street, not knowing that they're being watched by a shadow that hid in the dark alleyway between the pawnshop and the other building.

~.~

Johnny and Ash finished their performance but...they messed up on a lot of notes due to Johnny being in the rush. Once they finished their songs, Buster flicked his ears a bit while sighing deeply.

"Okay...a lot of things to unpack here," Buster uttered with another sigh. "Johnny, I noticed that you're off-key on...a lot of parts."

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Moon--"

"Let me finish, Johnny," Buster interrupted firmly as the gorilla was silent. "Okay, I've heard you playing the piano and singing with Ash...and I know that you both could play better than that. And, if I recall correctly, you guys were practicing a totally different song than the one you are playing."

Ash nodded her head a bit while Johnny was glancing at his watch nervously.

Buster glanced down at his notes with Mizuki and Eddie looking at his notes with him. "Look, I know I'm asking for a lot from everybody. And I'm really...really sorry about all this but...if you perform like that in the final show then it's going to be botched. How about you guys play the song you've been practicing for the past week and then we'll--?"

When Buster, Mizuki, and Eddie glanced up, they saw the stool spinning round and round like someone just ran off and disappeared. Ash was sitting idly on the piano. She glanced at Buster, Mizuki, and Eddie while shrugging her shoulders to indicate that she had no idea what's going on.

Buster groaned deeply to himself. "Great...now I lost two."

Meanwhile, Johnny was rushing down the road in his black truck, attempting to pick up his father and the gang. The gang counted on him to pick them up and drive them away from the crime scene. However, he slammed on his brakes when he saw upcoming traffic up ahead. Johnny breathed heavily to see that there's an accident up ahead, causing all traffic to stop.

The gorilla was about to back up until the cars came up behind him and blocked his way. He's trapped in a traffic jam. The gorilla groaned and honked his horn, stressing out about the time and everything.

There's no way I could get to Dad on time, Johnny thought.

Within the other side of the town, away from the traffic, Dexter came out of the sewers with the gorilla gang.

"We did it, boys! We finally gold!" Dexter gave a hearty laugh as he got out of the sewers. However, his eyes went wide when the black truck was absent and Johnny was nowhere in sight. "Wait, where's Johnny?"

"He's not here," Stan gasped in shock.

All of the sudden, they heard police sirens.

"RUN!!!" Dexter shouted to his gang as they all made a run for it with bags of gold over their broad shoulders. They were zig-zagged out of the alleyway until Dexter saw that they were cornered by the cops and the helicopters pointing a camera at them.

That's it...they're finally caught. The gorillas soon surrendered when guns were pointing at them in all different directions.

~.~

Johnny honked again through the traffic while ready to release the tears of stress. He slammed his head against the wheel breathing deeply.

"It's okay, Johnny," A familiar soothing female voice uttered as Johnny perked his head up to see where the voice came from.

"M-Mom?"

Oh boy, am I hearing things now?

Johnny leaned his head against the cushion and closed his eyes to receive a flashback.

Flashback:

"Mommy, I messed up on one of the notes," The gorilla child, Johnny, whimpered, frustrated that he pressed the wrong keys on the piano.

"It's okay, Johnny," his mother soothed while scooping the young gorilla up in her lap. The young Johnny didn't pay attention to the oxygen tank behind both him and his mother. Johnny's little hands were on top of his mother's as he looked up to his mother's gentle gaze. "It's part of learning. We mess up and we get up and try again."

"But you're better at playing the piano than me."

His mother giggled. "Honey, do you really think that I was perfect on my first try?"

Little Johnny nodded his head while biting his bottom lip.

His mother smiled softly. "Johnny, I made plenty of mistakes in my life. I have fallen a lot of times to the point where I thought that it'd be better if I stay down. I'm fighting a disease right now so that I can live for you, my son. If you find something you love, don't be afraid to fight for it. There will be mistakes along the way, but you will go back to the right path and you will pursue what you love. And there's plenty of times where you won't know what that is. And that's the fun of life. It's finding who you are and finding a place where you belong. It's finding your true self. And maybe, who knows, you'll be able to teach kids how to play the piano someday. You'll never know."

Little Johnny beamed brightly.

His mother stroked his head. "Are you ready to try it again?"

Johnny glanced down at the piano while smiling and pressing on one note with his finger.

Present:

Johnny heard a honk and it scared him to open his eyes. He realized that the cars inched a bit but not to the point where it was far. Johnny groaned as he inched behind the car in front of him.

The teenage gorilla became deep in thought as he saw one lane opened. It's a turn lane that only allowed him to do a U-turn. The gorilla stared at that sign that allows U-turns for a long while music was playing in the background. He thought about the theater...he thought about the friends he made. How much he felt like he belonged there...how much he felt at home with the theater.

Finding who I am and a place where I belong.

He thought about that memory and sighed heavily as the music grew louder. Finally, Johnny began to sing.

https://youtu.be/ulsLI029rH0

"My mother appears in my mind every day.

I couldn't stop thinking about her as the years passed.

She's in a better place now,

I know that for sure.

But why can't she stay with me?

Just stay with me forever?"

Johnny leaned back against his seat while turning up the music to have his voice in sync with it. The gorilla stared at the lane and began to sing.

"Life doesn't discriminate

Between the sinners and the saints.

It takes, and it takes, and it takes.

And we keep living anyway.

We rise and we fall and we break.

And we make our mistakes.

And if there's still a reason why I'm still alive.

When she's the one who loves me and has gone away.

I hope she will wait for me.

I hope she will wait for me."

With a deep breath, Johnny immediately got on the turn lane and made the U-turn as the song grew louder and louder. With determination, Johnny drove back to the place where he belonged while singing his heart out while the choir in the background was singing out from the radio.

"I am the one thing in life I can control!!

I'm an original!

I'm irreplaceable!

I'm not going to fall behind or running late!

I'm still standing!

I'm not going to back down now!"

Johnny sped down the streets while all the animals stuck in the traffic jam all stood on top of their cars and danced to the music like it's some broadway musical along with the pedestrians walking down the streets and sang their hearts out. Johnny's tears were present on his face as he faced the skyscrapers ahead of him with his strong voice belting out the beautiful notes.

"I will face an endless uphill climb!

I have something to prove!

I got nothing to lose!

I will become relentless!

I won't waste time!

I will not become my father."

Johnny frowned in the thought of his father as the music began to grow soft. He saw the newspaper with his father's mug photo along with the gang's from one of the pedestrians reading the newspaper on the park bench. As he was driving by, Johnny knew it was too late to save his father and the gang as he began to sing solemnly.

"My father's greed will never satisfy.

He exhibits no restraints.

He takes, and he takes, and he takes.

Now he's stuck in jail.

He changes the plans.

He plays and he raises the stakes."

The music grew tenser as Johnny's voice cracked as he crooned with more determination.

"And if there's a reason

He accepts me when I knew his heart was hardened, then gosh dang it!

I hope he's willing to wait for me!

I hope he's willing to wait for me!"

Johnny drove faster and faster through the streets with tears in his eyes and the animals dancing in the streets were all just a blur. The gorilla arrived at the theater with a bright smile while singing his heart out on the last verse.

"Life doesn't discriminate

Between the sinners and the saints.

It takes, and it takes, and it takes.

And we keep living anyway.

We rise and we fall and we break.

And we make our mistakes.

And if there's still a reason why we're all here today!

When everyone has been walking by!

Then I'm willing to---!"

Johnny pushed the doors backstage open, startling the theater group. Buster smiled that Johnny came back while Eddie and Mizuki were staring at the gorilla in confusion. Gunter, Mike, Nancy, Meena, and Ash beamed at the gorilla teen in pure excitement.

Johnny smiled as he sang the last note with a whisper and an echo.

"Wait for me."

The song ended as Johnny gave one last sigh and approached the theater gang.

"Well, welcome back, Johnny," Buster said with a small smile.

Johnny softly grinned at Buster.

"Hey, look, Wonder Boy is back!!!" Mike replied excitedly.

Buster walked up to Johnny while tilting his head. "I've noticed you're in a rush. What's the rush?"

Johnny frowned while scratching the back of his head. Before the gorilla could say anything, Buster had his eyes widened in realization and shock.

"Oh no," Buster uttered worriedly.

"What?" Mizuki probed nervously.

Eddie blinked while tilting his head. "What happened? I'm confused."

Buster had his lips sealed and looked at Johnny.

Johnny took a deep breath while gazing at the group. "The truth is...I was part of the gang...My father was the leader of the gang and we...we would rob banks just to open the auto shop back up. When I saw the talent show audition, I just thought I give it a try since there's nothing wrong with giving it a try. But I never thought I would get accepted. However, during those times, Dad planned a heist...in the warehouse that held twenty-five million dollars. Mr. Moon came to discover that I was part of the gang and I explained to him everything...and then Mike came to know about me being in a gang. Today was the big heist and I didn't know about it until rehearsals. I was hoping it was tonight but it's daytime and...well, I was supposed to be the getaway driver."

Everyone was silent, listening to Johnny telling his story.

Johnny continued to confess. "But I thought I could do both. I told Mr. Moon that I could do both. But Mr. Moon was right...it's stressful to do both because...you're trying to please both sides and you ended up pleasing no one. There is a time where I had to decide between the gang and the theater...And I decided to be here in this theater because...I don't want to be part of the gang. And that's...what caused my dad and his gang to go to jail. I'm hiding from you all just like how I'm hiding from my father. And I'm sorry for hiding all of this from you all."

Johnny bowed his head, expecting everyone in front of him to be furious with him for all the lies he told about being part of the gang. However, there was silence. Eddie seemed to be wrapping his head around everything while Mizuki tilted her head and gazed at the young gorilla sympathetically. Meena, Nancy, and Ash glanced at each other briefly and softly and then back at Johnny. Ms. Crawly overheard the whole thing as she smiled gently at the young gorilla.

Gunter grinned at the gorilla. "Have you told your father about being part of the theater?"

Johnny shook his head. "I don't think he would understand."

Mike glanced up at Gunter. "Yeah, like Wonder Boy would go to visit his dad in prison and be like 'Hey Dad, the reason why I ditched you guys is that I love being in the theater more than being in the gang. Gang life sucks!' I mean...I don't think that's going to go over his father's head well."

Johnny glanced up at the group like an idea just hit him in the head. "Or maybe you guys were right in telling Dad all along. For a long time, he didn't know me...maybe...just maybe...if I tell him why I wasn't there. Maybe he would understand. It's better to say it now than never, right? But I'm definitely not going to say it the way Mike said it."

"I figured you wouldn't," Mike uttered.

Johnny gasped as he realized that it was Meena's turn to perform. "Oh, Meena, are you about to perform?--"

"Oh no, I already did," Meena replied while shaking a bit in her body. "But...I had a panic attack in the middle."

"Yeah, we were back here to help her take deep breaths," Eddie replied.

Buster looked at everyone around him while sighing. "Well, we got Rosita running out on us. What are you going to do, kid?"

Johnny smiled a bit. "I-I'm going to tell Dad about the theater."

"We can go with you for emotional support," Ash replied.

"Yeah!" Everyone responded in agreement.

Johnny arched a brow. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, of course," Meena answered with a small smile.

Buster smiled at the group, proud of the community of people he created. "You know what, I think we need a little break from rehearsals for today."

Johnny grinned at Buster while nodding his head. "Okay."

~.~

"Geez louis, it's scary in here," Mike uttered as soon as the theater group got inside of the prison.

Gunter shushed Mike as Eddie gulped at the officers around them.

Mizuki held Buster's hand tightly, who glanced down at her hand in shock but he gladly accepted it anyway. Ash and Meena watched Johnny going forward towards the front desk. Nancy hugged around Mike's arm, who blushed madly when she's holding him to feel safe.

"Who are you here to see?" the receptionist at the front desk asked.

"Dexter," Johnny uttered the name.

"There you are. We'll get your father ready in a moment," the receptionist said.

Johnny took a deep breath as he sat next to his theater gang, anxiously waiting to get inside.

"Hey, Johnny," Buster called the gorilla as Johnny turned to see the koala showman. "If you ever need anything...don't be afraid to ask."

"Of course, Mr. Moon. Thank you so much," Johnny replied with a small smile.

"He's ready to see you now," the receptionist announced.

Johnny looked to see the door wide open for him to walk through. With a sigh, the gorilla looked at the theater group and stood up.

"Do you need emotional support in there, kid?" Mike asked softly.

"I think I'm good. This is between me and my father," Johnny stated with a small smile. "But thank you for the offer."

"Well, we'll be out here waiting for you, J," Ash assured him.

"Yeah," Meena added with a nod in agreement.

Johnny took a deep breath and entered the jail, walking down the hallway towards the visitation room. To say that Johnny was nervous was an understatement. The gorilla was anxious, thinking of what to say and creating dialogue for himself to go through his head to talk to his father. His mind went through all the routes that his father would react. His father could disown him and act like he's never his son. His father could be yelling at him and blaming him for everything. His father could be mad at him for not being who he should be. All the routes had been mapped in his head as he entered the visitation room. There he saw glass panels lined up in eight slots and phone booths on both sides of the glass panels

The teenage gorilla searched and saw his father at the last glass panel, with a narrow gaze and brows furrowed at him. Johnny was sure his father was enraged at the fact that Johnny wasn't there. It was justifiable...and he knew he owe his father an apology.

Johnny walked up to his father and sat down on the orange chair, shrinking under his father's stern glare. Johnny picked up the phone from the other side with his father copying his movements.

"Where were ya?" His father growled the question at Johnny.

Johnny bit his lips while all the routes in his mind were wiped off of his mind from the moment his father spoke angrily.

"Well, speak up, boy!" his father snarled at Johnny.

Johnny tensed up, immediately going for the lie. But...he held his tongue and realized that he had lied to his father enough. It's time to tell him the truth.

"I---I was at rehearsal," Johnny answered in a mutter but his father heard him.

His father arched a brow with a stern gaze. "Rehearsal? For what?!"

Johnny sighed heavily, avoiding eye contact with his father. He couldn't look into his father's eyes without getting teary-eyed. "It was a rehearsal for the talent show."

"T-Talent show? You must be joking," Dexter, Johnny's father, responded with almost a chortle. "My own son doing a talent show? That's...That's a good joke, son."

Johnny didn't expect that response but he knew his father didn't believe him. His hazel eyes shifted up to his father's and with a deep breath in a small form of determination. "I'm not joking, Dad."

Dexter lost his chortle and blinked his eyes. "Wait...it's not a joke?"

Johnny shook his head as he straightened himself up a bit, noticing him slouching in his seat.

There's a brief pause as Dexter tilted his head in confusion.

Johnny kept his stare up into his father's eyes. "Dad, I know that you're mad at me for not being there when you needed me...and I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I left you guys to get arrested. But...Dad, I've never told you about what I wanted to be because you wanted me to be someone I'm not. And I'm afraid of disappointing you for wanting something else. I tried out for the auditions and I ended up getting in. And then you were planning this huge heist and...I was worried about the timing and everything. I made some friends at the theater and they were wonderful people...I think...I think I'm able to find my mother there."

There's a brief pause between the men as Dexter was staring at his son in shock. What went through Dexter's head was something that Johnny would never know. All this time, the reasons behind he's acting weird. The reasons he had others with him. Was the small koala his friend? Was this the reason why he stole a couple of hundred dollars to fix something? Was one of his little friends in his leather jacket pocket the other night? All of these lingering questions were answered the more Dexter listened to Johnny.

That...surprisingly makes a lot of sense as to why Johnny had been acting weird about the huge heist and would come home late at night. It's because of the theater.

Dexter looked up at his son. "What do you mean you're able to find your mother there?"

"I saw pictures of my mother back before you guys met," Johnny uttered sadly. "She was a pianist and a singer. And...I was inspired to be a singer and a pianist. Dad...if I had to be honest with you...I-I didn't want to be in your gang for a long time. And I didn't tell you that because--"

"Because you're afraid of disappointing me," Dexter finished Johnny's sentence.

Johnny frowned while nodding his head.

Dexter nodded his head solemnly while he appeared to be hurt with a slump position and his gaze drifting off to the floor, away from his own son. Johnny's father shook his head after a brief pause. Dexter just hung up the phone and got out of his seat. Johnny watched his father stormed off back to jail without another word. Johnny had no idea what his father was thinking but the teenage gorilla was relieved that he's finally able to get it out after so long of holding it in.

Johnny hanged up the phone while sitting there for a good minute to gather himself. The gorilla got up from his seat and exited out of the visitation room with a frown stuck on his face.

~.~

Everything had been quiet since Johnny had visited his father from the prison. Some of the theater group noticed a frown on the gorilla's face but didn't probe about it since Johnny didn't seem like he wanted to talk about it. The theater crew went home later on that night after working on their rehearsals as Buster and Mizuki were staying in Ms. Crawly's apartment with Ms. Crawly, Mike, Nancy, and the mice that were at the nightclub the other night.

Buster's back was turned towards the bathroom door Mizuki was changing from while he just stared at the wall in the thought of what happened today.

"So, I have a question," Mizuki began the conversation softly. "Why didn't you tell us that Johnny was part of a gang? Besides being told not to tell...was that the only reason?"

Buster pondered about that answer for a while as he was taking off his shirt. He shrugged his shoulders while rubbing his back to feel some sort of old scars from before. He didn't hear Mizuki stepping out of the bathroom with the look of horror on her face.

What Mizuki saw was something that she never saw before on any occasion. She saw scars on Buster's back. Has he been whipped? No, the words were carved on his back, like someone took a knife and carved him when he's just a puppet with skin.

"Buster, where did you get those scars?" Mizuki almost wanted to shout in panic.

Buster immediately stiffened up as he was about to hide them by turning to her with ears perked and a blanket around his small body. "Scars? What scars?"

Mizuki gave him a deadpan stare when she saw that he's plastering a smile.

Buster lost his plastered smile to understand that she's not fooled so easily by his mask now. "N-Nothing happened."

Mizuki softened her gaze as she climbed onto the bed next to him. They both exchanged soft gazes at each other as Buster was tightening the blanket around him.

Mizuki frowned. "Can I see them?"

Buster paused for a while to ponder about what's going on. He trusted Mizuki more than anything at this point like how he trusted Eddie. But not even Eddie saw the scars on his back. Eddie would've reacted strongly and hunt down the person who gave him those scars. But those scars...were from a long time ago, way before he even met Eddie and Mizuki.

Buster knew he couldn't hide the scars any longer as he just dropped the blanket a bit to reveal his back to her. The koala bit his own lip while lowering his head to look down at the bed, almost as if he's completely ashamed of it.

Mizuki scooted a bit to see the scars on his back better. The words were definitely carved on him, some words were slanderous and some were just there.

Mizuki saw one word that stood out the first time she saw it.

Gang Member.

Mizuki tilted her head in confusion as she thought about something for a while. Buster knew that Johnny was part of a gang and didn't even react strongly like kicking him out of the theater or banning him because he's a criminal. Buster did none of that and both her and Eddie didn't know why. They knew that Buster was the boss of his own business but they had no idea why the actions were taken. But Mizuki now could theorize why he let Johnny stay in the theater.

"Is this why you let Johnny stay?" Mizuki asked softly this time. "Because you used to be part of a gang too?"

Buster bit his bottom lip ragged to not bring up those awful memories. He took deep breaths as he turned to Mizuki slightly. "I was fifteen when I joined the gang. I wasn't given much choice back then...I---I spent three years in a gang and then...just went to college."

"Were those scars from your gang?" Mizuki questioned sympathetically.

Buster didn't answer that.

Mizuki noticed another word on his lower back.

Coward.

The doe traced the word gently, causing the koala to clutch the blanket tightly.

Buster shut his eyes tightly while trying to breathe normally.

"Mizuki, stop it," Buster blurted out, finally opening his eyes as if he had a bad dream.

Mizuki stopped tracing his back immediately, her hazel widened in concern. "I'm sorry."

Buster breathed heavily as he wrapped himself around with the blanket, burying himself to hide from the world again.

Mizuki thought about the words she saw.

Gang Member.

Coward.

Stripper.

Childish.

Murderer.

Burden.

Mizuki saw Buster trembling under the blanket, almost as if he's ashamed of letting her see his scars. "It's okay, Buster."

Buster stopped trembling when he felt a hoof on his shoulder.

"I understand now about why you had Johnny stay. It must have been hard being a part of the gang...a crime gang, I mean. You...you must have gone through a lot," Mizuki uttered sadly. "You were hiding your scars just like how I was hiding my bruises."

Buster perked his ear up to listen to her.

"I may not know your backstory or why you have those scars, but I know that you don't have to be ashamed of them," Mizuki replied softly. "And if you want, I won't tell anyone about your scars."

"That would be nice if nobody else knows about this," Buster muttered from underneath the blankets.

Mizuki nodded her head. "I won't tell then."

Buster sat up and pulled the blanket down to reveal his head. "Thank you."

Mizuki smiled and nodded. She turned over to the small drawer next to her and pulled out a sharpie.

Buster arched a brow as Mizuki turned back to the koala with a small grin.

"Give me your hand," Mizuki requested softly.

Buster blinked in confusion as he extended his paw out slightly. Mizuki scooted beside Buster and wrote on his palm, not letting him see it. The antelope helped curl up his fist loosely while she turned to him.

"If the scars on your back ever get too overbearing to handle, don't be afraid to look at your hand," Mizuki instructed sweetly. She turned off her light and began to relax. "Goodnight, Buster."

When Mizuki began to fall asleep into the night, Buster didn't turn off his light yet as he looked down at his hand. He uncurled his fist to read what Mizuki wrote.

Friend.

This brought a soft smile to Buster's face as he turned off the light with his other hand. As he laid down on his side, Buster just stared at his hand until he could close his eyes and fall asleep.

~.~

In the evening, Rosita and Norman were walking down the street, just enjoying the evening. Rosita was wearing a red dress with orange dots on them while Norman was wearing his red suit and an orange tie.

"I really should thank Nora for watching the kids," Rosita replied.

Norman smiled at her. "You said thank you to her plenty of times before we walked out."

"I know, but I want her to know how much it means to me for her to watch the kids. You know?"

"Yeah, it's no problem. As I said, she has forty-five kids to raise. I'm sure twenty-five piglets are just as easy as gooseberry pie."

"Yeah, it's been a rough day," Rosita uttered sadly.

"I'm sure the theater thing will work out eventually. You seem to love it," Norman replied solemnly. "It'd be a shame if you just throw it away."

Rosita sighed deeply. "Yeah, I've gone this far."

Norman frowned while holding her hand. "Hey, if you need any support, you got me, okay?"

Rosita glanced up at Norman in surprise while smiling fondly at him. "I know. I know that now since you didn't freak out about the kids."

"No. It's natural for pigs to have that many kids," Norman replied with a shrug. "Nora has forty-five kids. One litter was twenty-two and the other litter was twenty-three."

"Oh wow, I can't imagine myself taking on two litter," Rosita said with a giggle.

"Well, apart from twenty-five kids and working two jobs...well, now none at the moment, you're pretty much a determined woman. I know that things will fall into place for you."

"Oh, you don't know that."

"I do."

Rosita rolled her eyes at Norman as they went into the restaurant that had a dancefloor in the middle of it. Rosita and Norman liked to go there often as they found their usual seating.

As they sat down, they began to chat away when an acoustic guitar began to play in the background. Norman noticed his girlfriend beginning to tap her fingers to the beat while shaking her hips.

https://youtu.be/BXbrXRIr2F4

Norman tilted his head while smirking a bit. He stood up from his seat, earning a confused gaze from Rosita.

"May I have this dance?" Norman offered his hand out to her.

"Oh, Norman, you know that I can't dance," Rosita replied while blushing.

"Doesn't hurt to try again, right?" Norman responded with a small soft smile at her.

Rosita took his hand hesitantly as he helped her up on her feet. They both had their eyes on each other as Norman began to take her hand and hold her hip. They both were dancing softly to the music at first as Rosita tensed up in thinking that she's going to mess up the movements between her and Norman now. However, Norman's eyes and gentle movements reassured her that everything was going to be fine. She let Norman take the lead since she's afraid that she'll stumble over his feet.

However, Rosita stopped counting the steps when she looked into Norman's eyes and the music began to take control of her. That's weird...she thought that the fire went out a long time ago but here, she's proven wrong.

As the music began to grow louder, Norman watched his girlfriend shaking her hips while her body moved out of sync with Norman's dancing. Instead of forcing her to change, he danced along with her as he spun her around loosely, adapting to her body language. When the music got tenser, Norman could instantly tell that Rosita was going to dance off into the music. Norman smirked and spun her around, letting go of her hand to let her fly on her own.

What the pigs didn't know was that they were attracting a crowd of animals in a circle to watch Rosita and Norman dance. Some had their phones out to record the whole thing for the people on the internet to see.

As it got to the chorus, Rosita spun around and around by herself. Norman ran up to catch up with Rosita, his hands on her hips from behind as she shook her hips softly without touching his hands. Norman strode in front of her and grabbed her hand to dip her in front of the applauding crowd.

Norman pulled Rosita up back on her feet as he smiled at the way she's moving her hips. It's funny that she said that she couldn't dance but her body was doing the exact opposite of what she said she couldn't do. Norman smirked as he grabbed her hand and pulled her back against his body, causing them to stare into each other's eyes.

Their eyes were locked with each other's as Norman spun her around without paying attention to the crowd egging them on. Rosita took some extra steps with her foot like she's tap-dancing as she spun by herself, holding on to the rims of her dress to make it spin.

Norman jumped in and had his arm around her hip, spinning themselves around and around as the song continued on happily. The Dj controlling the soundbox turned up the music to encourage them to dance more.

The bull in the crowd got out a red rose and threw it at Rosita as Rosita saw the red rose and caught it with her mouth, her teeth holding the stem of the rose. She swiftly turned to Norman, who moved in sync with her body. He held his hand out for her to take as she didn't hesitate to take it, letting him spin her around towards his body. Her back was against his chest, her heart pounding in excitement while she cornered a small smirk from holding the red rose.

As the song was in its final verse, Norman and Rosita were moving in the flow of the music as Norman twirled his girlfriend around and around, their eyes never looking away from each other.

Rosita jumped up to Norman and wrapped her legs around his hips as Norman spun around while holding her sides to keep her in balance. He let go and let her jump down on her feet on the floor. Rosita spun away from her boyfriend, who gripped her hand so that she wouldn't spin away too far. He pulled her into his arms and, as the song was holding the last note, he dipped her towards the floor. Their brows were sweating from the passionate dance and their clothes were damped a bit but they hardly care. The song ended as everyone was applauding wildly at their movements.

Rosita peeled her gazes away from her boyfriend to see the crowd applauding and whistling as if to say 'encore, encore!'

The mother pig gasped in shock as Norman pulled her up on her feet. Rosita took a moment to realize that the dance she did with Norman...she didn't even count the steps or even go step by step. She just let the music take control of her as it did just now. She glanced at Norman with her eyes brightened.

"Flow of the music...Gunter was right," Rosita muttered to herself but Norman heard it with a small smile. "Thank you so much, Norman!"

She got up and hugged Norman, kissing his cheek. It earned a blush from the pig artisan while she grabbed his hand and pulled through the restaurant. Rosita knew that Norman was right about one thing...she couldn't quit the theater yet. She had some unfinished business with it. Now, she's more determined to go back to it tomorrow than ever before. 

To Be Continued...