Chapter 11

Chapter Twelve: It is What You Make of it

Back in Black
As you know, the Crumpets were invited to the Zeitgeist Music Awards, meaning that they were nominated for an award, but they wouldn’t know what the award category was until the night of the show (that is just how the ZMA works). The girls did wonder what kind of award they might qualify for, having only debuted only a little over four months prior. Regardless, they were excited about the opportunity to wear elegant, black Vicwardian dresses at a black-tie affair, and to be photographed on the red carpet, which is in itself a rather big deal.

A few days before the show they were sitting around the dining room table and the topic of hair styles came up, resulting in their first ever real argument.

“I know we were in WHS colors for less than a month, and that we will be in Candy Goth colors come spring, but it is going to feel good to be back in black, even if it is only for a short while,” Yulia commented.

Pointing to a picture of her dress, which was, at that very moment, being completed by the school’s wardrobe department, Tinsley said, “I know, right? I am gonna rock this dress so hard, especially with my hair in black and styled just like Sojung’s in the ‘So Wonderful’ video.”

Tinsley was expecting and hoping that her unnies would be impressed and envious of her clearly epic choice, but that wasn't exactly the case. All of the other members looked at her with shocked expressions and Sarah blurted out, “That was my idea!”

“No, no, no! There is no way! I had exactly the same concept and I am her biggest fan!” Kari exclaimed.

It seems that virtually all of the Crumpets had the same idea and the room quickly became a cacophony of arguing. Even Tabitha was in on it, trying to claim that she has some convoluted mathematical connection to Ladies’ Code, and therefore dibs on Sojung’s hairdo.

With the argument in full swing, Yulia played what she thought was the winning card, saying, “Since I am not about to dye my hair, and all of you were planning on going black, it looks like my red version wins.”

Suddenly the room went quiet. At first Yulia thought that she had won, but her glory was short-lived.

Sarah broke the momentary calm, exclaiming, “That is the worst argument that any of us has made!”

“So you are saying that the rest of our arguments are bad as well?” Kari batted back.

“Yes, we are all being ridiculous,” Sarah replied with a red face.

“It seems that we are all wrong, so why are we still shouting?!” Analey blurted out.

Tabitha stepped in and said, “Okay, okay, let's all calm down. Whether or not we win anything at ZMA, we will be seen on national TV, so we all want to look our best, but we can’t all have the same hairstyle. So we need to come up with a fair and impartial way to decide who gets Sojung’s do.”

“What if we vote for which member we think would look best with it, and you can't vote for yourself?” Analey suggested.

“Brilliant. I’ll get some paper,” Tabitha said as she headed to the kitchen.

The tension was as thick as jellied brains while the Crumpets machinated on their votes. The ugly truth is that they all were trying to think of who would get the least votes, so that they could essentially throw away their votes on that person, thus maximizing the likelihood of being chosen themselves. Once the votes were cast, Tabitha collected them and announced that the almost-unanimous winner was Kari.

Before Kari could react, Tinsley snarked, “Seriously, she looks better in my pants cuz she’s 'svelte,' now she’s gonna rock my do!”

Kari became uncharacteristically empathetic and said, “Aww, Buttercup, I voted for you.”

Tinsley looked at Tabitha, who shrugged and said, “There were five votes for Kari, and one for you.”

Tinsley looked back at Kari with big eyes, but before she could say anything Kari said, “I voted for you because I knew how much you wanted it, despite the fact that I think you would look awesomer with a Park Choa do even if you don't dye it blond.”

Tinsley’s eyes got even wider and she wailed, “Oh, Kari, I am such a terrible person! I voted for you because I thought you would lose, and here you voted for me for a kind reason and then you go and point out how much I will look like Choa! I am not worthy to be your friend!”

While Tinsley sobbed on Kari’s arm, the other members also confessed their unseemly voting strategies. Even though Kari had realized what the deal was almost as soon as Tabby announced her as the winner, she feigned shock and would mercilessly use her unnies guilt to her advantage for years to come.

Hwaiting not Fighting
After the waterworks ended and the girls mended their fences, Sarah said, “Wow, that was a barn burner. We have never fought before, and I hope we don’t do this again for a long time — or ever!”

“Yep, that really sucked. Fortunately no one saw us go at it,” Yulia added.

At that moment, Enid cleared her throat and said, “We are in the room, you know.”

The girls all turned to see that while the drama in the dining room was unfolding, EinBe had been in the TV area, calmly reading.

“EinBe, you saw us fighting?!” Tabitha exclaimed.

“What is the big deal? We have seen you get into it many times,” Bess replied.

Tabitha quickly responded, “Oh no, we have never fought before. All of those other moments were just playing and/or conferring. This, on the other hand, was real.”

“But you girls are always teasing each other and arguing,” Enid said with a puzzled tone.

“It's hard to explain. It was how we were feeling, more than what we were saying,” Sarah said, adding, “It is all what you make of it. Know what I mean, Jellybean?”

Enid still didn’t understand, so she tried, “Sure thing, Membrane?”

Breaking the flow of the “conversation,” Bess shook her head and said, “As usual, I have no idea what is going on here. Is everything okay?”

Tabby looked around the table, received nods from all of the girls and then replied, “Yes, we are a-okay. Now we just need to pick four more hair styles. Crumpets hwaiting, not fighting!” (Just a side note that "hwaiting," or sometimes "paiting," is a derivation of the English word “fighting,” and is commonly used in Korea to encourage someone to do well — kind of like the cheer "Go, Fight, Win!")

Ultimately, in an unexpected twist, Kari decided to bequeath Sojung’s do to Sarah because she felt that she was the one who would truly rock it the hardest. Now, you might be surprised to know that Tinsley fully endorsed this because, in her opinion, Kari should do a Kwon Yuri hairstyle. When Kari, who was quite excited by this, asked her which one, Tinsley said, “Any of them. You could be her sister, you know.”

Needless to say, Kari was very flattered and the two friends found a lot of common ground that day. For the rest of their days TinKa always wore ChoYu hairstyles when attending award shows. Now that they were being mutually supportive, it didn't take long for the remaining Crumpets to make epic hair decisions as well, thus finalising their preparations.

ZMA
The Crumpets arrived at the ZMA show dressed to kill and feeling good. When they stepped out of Dean Eobseo’s vintage limo onto the red carpet, they knocked the socks off of both the local and national press. While they may not be the first group to have successfully pulled off elegant dorkiness, they certainly showed that they could do it with the best of them. For example, after making it out of the limo with no slips, trips, or falls, then having strut perfectly up the carpet to the photo area, Tabitha led her unnies in a flawless IMGT. While all of this is what the ZMA is about, the girls just couldn't completely yield to the stuffiness of the event, so for their first group pictures they all pulled derp faces while Tabitha posed perfectly. Tabitha sensed that she was being photobombed, so she pulled a derp face, but by that time the other members were now posing properly. In the end, three of their photos made the inside cover of the National Entertainment Review (five derp faces, one derp face, and then six perfect faces), with a title that read "Exquisite Silliness".

After the red carpet, the Crumpets headed into the auditorium, where they mingled with other idols and music industry elite. Despite succumbing to a lot of fangirling and a fair bit of charming awkwardness, the Crumpets took to the whole affair like fish to water. Bess, Enid and Dean Eobseo, who were seated in the visitors area, watched their girls working their magic from a distance.

“They are doing so well,” Bess commented with pride.

“Yes, it is hard to believe that only a few days ago they were fighting like badgers,” Enid responded.

“What? The Crumpets were fighting?!” Victor exclaimed.

Bess patted him on the shoulder and said, “Jellybean, it is all in what you make of it. Membrane, ya know.” Victor was expressionless even though Bess smiled brightly at him. Despite only getting an awkward half-smile in return from the Dean, she turned to Enid and said, “Pretty good, yes?”

Enid beamed, “Yes, I think you just about have it, although I don’t know what ‘it’ really should be.”

With that, EinBe wandered off, analyzing Bess’s use of Crumpet vernacular, leaving Victor alone to shake his head and muttering, “I understand them a little less every day.”

As the VIPs were ushered to their seats, they were handed programs that contained the information regarding who was nominated for what. Once they were settled in, the girls poured over the nomination lists. Naturally they were looking for their nominations, which turned out to be the Rookie of the Year award and the Song of the Year award for “Gothy Crumpets.”

“Wow, this is big! I still can’t believe that we were nominated for anything, much less Rookie and Song of the Year!” Analey exclaimed.

“I know? Look at other nominees we are in with. This is just nuts,” Yulia added.

Running her finger over the list, Tinsley said, “I really think that SBC should win Rookie of the Year. His climb from poverty and being self-trained is so inspiring, not to mention that he is just so good.”

“Heck, yes! SBC fighting!” Sarah shouted and then quickly covered her mouth when she remembered that they were at a black tie affair, where everything was being filmed from every possible angle.

Rookie of the Year
The ZMA is not just an award show; it is also a spectacle of epic performances — a place where idols perform for each other just as much as they perform for the fans. Because the Crumpets were so new, they weren't eligible to do an act, as those are chosen and in the works at least four months in advance of the show. Regardless, and because they were together in the audience, they actually enjoyed just watching (although sitting still was a bit of a struggle). When the Rookie of the Year award came up, the girls were completely lost in the spirit of the evening, and almost forgot that they were now idols and nominees, and not just hopeful trainees sitting in the nosebleed section dreaming of a future that seemed so far away.

"Here we go," Tabitha said as the names of the nominees were announced.

"I'm gonna puke," Sarah whispered to Yulia.

"Me too," she replied.

The girls all held hands and braced themselves. After an obligatory tension-building hesitation bit, the announcer finally read, "And the ZMA Rookie of the Year Award goes to SBC!"

Tinsley exclaimed, "Yes!" and the Crumpets began applauding loudly.

SBC stood up, smiling and shyly waving to the audience. As he made his way to the stage, the crowd cheered him on and the girls jumped to their feet. By the time he reached the podium, the deafening roar of the crowd was almost overwhelming. Now, SBC is a powerful opera singer, but his speaking voice is very soft, so a fair bit of calming the crowd by the MCs was needed before he could say anything.

SBC quietly began, "Wow, uh, I have no idea what to say. This is my first award of any kind and it is a ZMA. I…" Teary-eyed and choked-up, he did his best to continue, "Only a little over a year ago, I was an orphan living in an alley behind the docks in Bay City, and now I am here, being given an award for doing the only thing I know how to do. All I can say is thank you and that I will work very hard to deserve this." He had a small list of people to thank and when it was clear that he had said all he needed to, the audience was back on their feet and the Crumpets were alternating between shooting him heart signs and applauding.

SBC returned to his seat, holding his award like it was a newborn kitten.

"This whole thing must be so overwhelming for him," Tabitha whispered to Tinsley as they watched him settle in.

"I know. Going from outcast to beloved, from living in a box to living at the Brunsdale, all practically overnight. Maybe we should see if we could get him to visit the school sometime? A little exposure to his peer group might be helpful," Tinsley replied.

"Good idea. Let's do it," Tabitha said and fistbumped her.

Song of the Year
One of the last awards of the evening was the Song of the Year. Unlike the Rookie of the Year award, which is determined solely by a vote of the ZMA board, the Song of the Year is determined by popularity and sales numbers. The Crumpets smiled brightly and waved with properly reserved excitement when "Gothy Crumpets" was announced as a nominee. Once again the tension was allowed to build before the numbers for each of the four nominated songs were displayed. And once again, the Crumpets didn't win (their song had the third highest score). When the winning song was announced, the audience applauded with enthusiasm and the Crumpets were among the first on their feet.

As the award was presented, EinBe and the Dean, who had a decent view of the girls, did their best to keep their attention on the winner, but couldn't help being distracted by wanting to watch the Crumpets’ reactions. During the pause that followed the acceptance speech for Song of the Year, Dean Eobseo looked over at EinBe to see that they were both crying.

Bess looked back at him and said, "How can you not cry? Our girls are so precious — just look at them smiling and clapping; they are so brave and humble."

"While I am sure that they are disappointed that they didn't win, I think that they are truly happy for those who did, not to mention that these were huge nominations for such a new group," the Dean replied.

"Nonetheless, they are being very gracious and mature," Enid said with pride.

Sniffling, EinBe looked back at the Crumpets and Bess leaned in to Enid, whispering, "None of the other nominees' hair looks half as nice as our girls’."

"You got that right, sister," Enid replied as she discreetly high-fived her.

When the ZMA show ended, the girls made their way back through the media shuffle, pausing for the occasional photo and mini-interview. All along the way, the Crumpets expressed their excitement and gratitude for having been nominated, as well as their heartfelt congratulations to the winners. Up-beat and shining as brightly as if they had spent the evening in the winners’ circle, the Crumpets stepped out into the crisp winter night air, where they were greeted by a final wave of the press. Just as they were about to get into the limo, a reporter asked if they were disappointed to have not won any awards.

Despite being the ninth time in the past fifteen minutes that she had been asked this question, Tabitha graciously started to answer. However, before she had a chance to say anything, a strange noise emanated from the far side of the limo and the crowd looked past the girls to see something unexpected: An open-air, double decker party bus had pulled up on the street, with a small group of people shivering on its top deck.

Once the bus had stopped, the revelers held up a sign that read "GC: Best Nominees Ever!” They all exclaimed, "Gothy Crumpets Fighting!" and began waving makeshift fan lights as their bus driver — not wanting to hold up traffic — moved on. Naturally this little stunt was the work of Ava (whose brother owns a party bus rental company) and the Familiars, who just couldn't let the Crumpets go home empty-handed.

The girls waved back excitedly and shot their fans heart signs while Tabitha turned back to the reporter and said, "It looks like we received an award after all!"

Even though the Crumpets didn't win an award at their first award show, they had a great time, and because of the way that they conducted themselves, they received a great deal of positive attention. One entertainment writer commented, "The Gothy Crumpets, showing a maturity that belies their rookie status, may not have stolen the show, but they definitely added a sincere quality to the evening, making every award seem extra special." In fact, the Crumpets were nearly as much of a national topic as the award-winners, which, while bringing them some notoriety, also created some lofty expectations (or at least that was how the girls viewed it).

Back at the LGC, the Crumpets were greeted as if they had won a major award and a party was held in their honor at Thornbury. The next day, Analey's grandfather, along with his new friends at the assisted living center, also had a party for them. After being run ragged by the seniors, the Crumpets finally had a chance to catch their breath, and settled into a dogpile in their TV area that evening.

"Wow, that was a lot of activity. Can you imagine what it would be like if we actually won an award?" Kari commented.

"I know. I am exhausted. I love my Dedulya, but I am worried how he will handle it when we do win an award — he will probably have a parade for us or something," Analey replied.

Casts Off
The next day, both Gracie and Yulia had appointments with Dr. Golja (Dr. G to her LG patients) to assess how they were healing. Now, YuGra had been doing physical therapy at the school's health center for a while, and Yulia was on her fourth check-in with Dr. G, but as this was their big final visit, they decided to go together. While YuGra were being examined by Dr. G, the Crumpets sat in the lobby, waiting to find out if Yulia was going to be able to play the piano, and if Gracie would be able to return to her security duties.

While there was some concern over YuGra's fate, things had been going well, so hopes for complete recoveries were high. Despite this confidence, Tinsley seemed rather frazzled and started mumbling to herself while rocking back and forth in her seat. Tabitha was the first to notice this and discreetly pointed it out to the other members, who were all torn between concern and trying not to laugh.

Just as Tabitha was about to put her hand on Tinsley's shoulder and ask her what the deal was, Tinsley got up like a zombie and wandered over to a corner where she stood with her back turned toward them, swaying from side to side and making strange hand gestures. Again, just as Tabitha was just about to touch her, Tinsley suddenly moved. This time she spun around and started to say, "Eureka!" However, when she saw that Tabitha was standing right behind her and reaching toward her, she instead shrieked, "Heol, Tabby-cat, what are you doing?!"

Tabitha stumbled back, giggling, and said, "Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to startle you!"

While Tinsley was prancing off her case of the willies, she said "Geez, I was just thinking about some stuff we should do for the kids at the Children's Hospital. I'm not totally crazy, you know."

"I know, I know. It's just that you looked like Gollum, weirding out over the ring. I kind of thought we were losing you," Tabitha said through broken laughter.

"Oh, please, Gollum isn't even cute. You could have at least compared me to Katie in Horton Hears a Who.” Tinsley fired back.

"Okay, Katie Ssi, what is your idea for the children?" Tabitha asked her. However, before Tinsley could share her idea, Yulia appeared from her visit with Dr. G and everyone's attention (including Tinsley's) was diverted to her.

"Aww, did I miss a Tinsley punishment moment?" Yulia asked as she trotted over to the group.

Tinsley gave her a derp face and replied, "No, they just thought I was weirding out. Tabitha even called me Gollum. How's your wrist?"

"Aww, your weirding out moments are fun too. At any rate, my wrist is good. See?" Yulia said as she held out her now cast-thingy-free hand. All of the girls gathered around to examine her slightly more pale wrist and scar.

"Even though, for the next nine months, I will need to wear a wrist guard anytime I am active, Dr. G says a little more physical therapy and I will be right as rain," she said. Then she held up the plastic bag that held her cast-thingy and announced, "It's a bit stinky now, but it will air out and then I can put it in our empty trophy case."

Now, the girls had all won trophies throughout their individual careers, but as the Gothy Crumpets, their cupboard was bare. Even though her cast-thingy wasn't an actual trophy, it was a symbol of their struggles and unity, not to mention that, while rather beat up, it still had Tinsley's painting of Sally on it, so they all agreed that the trophy case was exactly where it belonged.

At about this point, Gracie emerged from her examination.

"Gracie, how did it go?" the girls all chimed in when they saw her.

"Well, Dr. G has cleared me to return to work, although she did say that I should cut back on the physical stuff as my ability to heal isn't quite what it used to be," she told them with a bit of a solemn tone, adding, "It's not like I try to be injured. I'm just accident-prone."

The Crumpets all rallied around her to cheer her up. Unfortunately Tinsley was the first to offer words of encouragement, so they weren't exactly greeting-card material. "Gracie, think of this as a blessertunity. For example, I won't always be impossibly cute, so I have my drawing to fall back on. You need to diversify too, you know. Find something you can start doing now that will be there for you when you are all old and such," Tinsley told her with a bright smile.

Everyone was quiet and Gracie just stared at her, blinking rapidly, but then she said, "You mean like buying a business or something?"

"Exactly. I could see you power-brokering deals and kicking some business butt," Tinsley replied.

Gracie's eyes narrowed and then got wide, and she said, "I like it. Kicking business butt sounds fun. Thanks, Tinsley."

The girls all shrugged and gave YuGra a quick and quiet cheer, whereupon Tabitha declared, "To Thornbury for banana uyu and to tell EinBe and the Dean the good news!”

Free Shows
Their little impromptu gathering for YuGra at Thornbury Hall ended up effectively turning into yet another party; as news of Gracie's return to duty and Yulia's full recovery spread, seemingly every Lookzen had to swing by to say hi to Gracie and to check out Yulia's scar. Once EinBe, Dean Eobseo, Jimmy, Squeaker, and Amber were with them, thus letting them monopolize a full table, Tabitha finally had a chance to revisit Tinsley’s idea for the children. Since Yulia was effectively in a receiving line, but also wanted to hear Tinsley's idea, she was seated at the end of the table, where she could just stick out her arm in the air for people to look at. She quickly found a rhythm that allowed her to acknowledge her examiners, while still being a part of the Children's Hospital discussion.

While Yulia's head swiveled back and forth, Tinsley explained that since they didn't get to distribute the Hareys themselves, she felt that they should do something that would give them more direct contact with the children. To this end, she envisioned sending autographed photo cards to all the kids who were in the hospital when the Hareys were given out. Of course, any newly admitted patients would also receive a card and a Harey. The cards would effectively be an invitation to a free show that the Crumpets would put on in the hospital's auditorium. Because the auditorium was very small and because many of the children wouldn't be able to leave their beds to come to it, the Crumpets would first make the rounds to say hi to them in their rooms, and then their mini show would be broadcast on TV. Tinsley also wanted to include as many other Lookzens as possible to make the whole hospital feel like one big event. Obviously, being at a hospital would make the logistics a bit tricky, but she figured that it would not only be good for the kids, but it could also open a relationship between the hospital and the LG that would benefit both organizations, thus making the effort worth the trouble.

Dean Eobseo was very impressed and everyone loved the idea. However, it was a lot to accomplish in a short time. You see, the free show in Pinedale couldn't wait because it had already been promised, and the show/visit at the Children's Hospital couldn't wait due to Yena's delicate health. Adding to the log jam was the fact that the Dean needed to spend some time with Eugene in Bay City, and the girls had been planning on filming their first full-on music video during the late winter lull. While still engaging YuGra's well-wishers, the group set about trying to figure out how it could all be done.

With ideas flying about like confetti on New Year's, Tabitha, who had been rather quiet, suddenly exclaimed, "Reality show!"

This went unnoticed for a bit, but then, like a needle scratching across a record, the cacophony paused and Enid asked her if she had said "reality show."

"I did," Tabitha replied. "Remember that Dean Eobseo was planning on doing a reality show of us on 'vacation' this summer? Well, why not do it now?"

Kari patted her on the head and said, "Aww, Tabby, the burden of leadership has finally cooked that big brain of yours. We are trying to figure out how to do a lot of work in a short time, not add to the load."

Tabitha sat back and said, "It would add more work, however, since the reality show is being produced by the ZBC (Zeitgeist Broadcasting Company), we would have access to additional resources."

"So we would dump some of the logistical burden on the ZBC producers, not to mention some of the costs?" Jimmy asked.

"Precisely. Although I think I would have worded it more along the lines of ‘sharing the opportunity’ with them," Tabitha replied with a wink.

Dean Eobseo ran his hand over his beard, but before he had a chance to say anything, Gracie excitedly blurted out, "So we would be kicking some business butt?!"

Tabitha laughed, "I guess so. However, I think I would have worded it that we are ‘expanding our business strategy’."

"Well, I think you may have just found our answer," Dean Eobseo said, grinning at Tabitha. "Since Gracie is on light-duty security, I think I will, with her agreement, put her on coordinating things with ZBC."

Gracie’s eyes widened. "Me? Are you sure?"

"You want to kick some business butt? Here is your chance," Victor replied as he awkwardly tried to high-five her. The Dean then went on to delegate bits to everyone at the table. Being Lookzens and having a deep love for what they do, they all gladly accepted their added burdens, although Squeaker did jokingly comment that this was the last time he was going to sit at the big table.

So it was that the winter lull turned into yet another crazy busy time. As the group dispersed to begin their work, Bess looked at Enid and said, "You just had to ask Tabitha about her reality show remark, didn't you?"

Enid grinned, and while ruffling Bess's hair, replied, "Oh, it will be fun. It is what you make of it. Know what mean, Jellybean?"