Stardom (2000 Hit Milestone)
Catnap was staring at his fingers while he dunked them in warm water. They continued to shake and tremble, and Catnap couldn't feel any of the warmth of the water. He grabbed his bottle of water but he couldn't bring it up to his mouth to take a drink because he was just shaking so much and spilling the water everywhere.
"Oh god, I can't do this. I'm shaking so... so much." He said to the person who was by his side, Baba Chops. Her hair was all curly and she was wearing a nice dress for the occasion. In fact, her and all of the Smiling Critters were nicely dressed since they were gonna perform for their High School's reunion. Their teacher had wanted them all to perform here for the last act.
"You can do this, Catnap. I know you can. You've done it before when it was just our friends and family for my birthday party, you can do it now in front of a bunch of strangers and students." Baba replied to the trembling Catnap, who was now looking up at her.
"I...I...I- I'm not sure... W-what if I forget the words? The whole town is gonna be watching us perform an-an-an-and if I mess up then we'd be ridiculed!" Catnap said while clutching his hands, turning them white, but they didn't stop shaking.
Just then, Dogday, Bubba, and Kickin ran up to Catnap and Baba. "Listen guys. We're gonna be announced soon." Bubba said which made Catnap put his hands over his head.
"Oh no. I don't know if I can do this!" Catnap said as he started pacing around himself. Then Dogday grabbed onto Catnap's shoulders to stop him from pacing around, and looked him in the eyes.
"Listen, Catnap. I know you're nervous, but look here. I'm nervous too, and I'm barely gonna do half as much singing as you do. Heck, all of us are!" Dogday exclaimed as Kickin, Bubba, and even Baba nodded in unison.
After taking a couple deep breaths, his hands slowed down their trembling, and he grew a small smirk. "Okay... Let's kick it." He said as he followed Dogday, Kickin and Bubba to the back stage while baba went back to their friends waiting in the audience, consisting of the rest of the Smiling Critters and an entire high school of students and their parents, and faculty. So nothing too spectacular.
"...And our last performer, or should I say performers, are guys that you are all probably familiar with. Please welcome, Dogday, Bubba, Kickin, and Catnap from Section C!" The person on the microphone shouted to the audience which made them applause and cheer as they walk onstage. Catnap goes up to the microphone without an instrument, since this song doesn't use a piano. While Dogday and Kickin have two guitars and Bubba has his viola. Catnap grabs onto the microphone with two hands as his trembly breathing gets picked up on the microphone, while his friends and the audience looks at him, expecting a show. Catnap looks back at Dogday and nods at him, prompting them all to begin. Dogday starts strumming some notes as Catnap takes a deep breath.
"Yesterday"
Catnap almost didn't sing on beat, and he had a light tremble as he sung.
"All my troubles seem so far away. Now it looks as though they're here to stay. Oh, I believe in yesterday."
Catnap sang out to the star struck crowd, who now started to cheer for Catnap, when it was all silent just moments earlier. Then Kickin and Bubba joined in.
"Suddenly. I'm not half the man I used to be. There's a shadow hanging over me. Oh, yesterday came suddenly."
Catnap's back relaxed slightly as he also started smiling.
"Why she had to go. I don't know, she wouldn't say. I said something wrong. Now I long for yesterday."
Then Dogday joined in with his singing, the two weren't even harmonizing but were just singing together, but the audience still cheered for them.
Yesterday. Love was such an easy game to play (Game to play) Now I need a place to hide away (Hide away) Oh, I believe in yesterday (Yesterday)"
Now Dogday was singing the last words of the lines along with Catnap.
"Why she had to go. I don't know, she wouldn't say. I said something wrong. Now I long for yesterday."
Catnap sung without Dogday this time.
"Yesterday. Love was such an easy game to play. Now I need a place to hide away. Oh, I believe in yesterday. Mmm-mmm-mmm-mmm-mmm, hmm-hmm."
The four finished singing and promptly bowed as the audience clapped and cheered for them like they never seen before. Catnap was exceptionally delighted to see that his friends and especially Baba was clapping and cheering for him the hardest as the four left the stage...
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"You really aren't gonna come and see us all perform our debut?" Catnap said to Baba Chops who now looked incredibly different. With her now looking exceptionally grungy. A far cry compared to the nicely dressed Catnap.
"No. I... I have found some other friends who would like me more." Baba said while slightly looking away from a surprised Catnap.
"You made new friends? That's fine by me." Catnap said with a smile.
"You should go with your band now, I gotta go with my friends." Baba said as she turned around, but not before getting stopped by Catnap with a "Wait." and a tap on the shoulder.
"Me and Dogday are gonna make a music club, it's gonna have all of our friends there and you and your friends could join too." Catnap said. They were gonna debut their club by performing in the college auditorium as a way of advertising and to gain new members.
"I'll... umm... I'll think about it. See you Catnap." Baba said as she waved goodbye and ran away, as Catnap also waved back. Catnap then quickly went backstage to meet with his friends and now bandmates. Along with Dogday, Kickin, and Bubba, there was now Hoppy on drums, and Bobby, Crafty, and Piggy as Backup vocals. And also Kickin now has a bass instead of a second guitar. Sadly, the song that they chose meant that Catnap couldn't play the piano again because the song didn't call for a piano. But it did call for a second guitar, which Catnap had learned extensively just for the debut so that he didn't have to just stand around.
"... Our next club that are gonna be presenting and performing for us, is the Smiling Critter's Music Club! With their song choice of I Wanna Hold Your Hand, by the Beatles. Give them a round of applause!" The announcer said as the audience clapped and cheered for the Smiling Critter's who were now walking onstage and waving to the excited audience. The band quickly got ready, and with a quick nod from Catnap, everyone started on his cue. With Hoppy banging away on her drums, Kickin and Bubba providing the bass line, Dogday and Catnap playing the two guitars and the main vocals, and Bobby, Crafty, and Picky were clapping along to the song.
"Oh, yeah, I'll tell you somethin'. I think you'll understand. When I say that somethin'. I want to hold your hand! I want to hold your hand. I want to hold your hand."
The crowd cheered as the entire band performed perfectly. Dogday and Catnap sung perfectly. Bobby, Crafty, and Picky sung perfectly. They more than likely aced the entire performance and overshadowed every other club that had presented or performed.
"Oh, please, say to me. You'll let me be your man. And please, say to me. You'll let me hold your hand! You'll let me hold your hand. I want to hold your hand. And when I touch you. I feel happy inside. It's such a feelin' that my love. I can't hide! I can't hide! I can't hide!"
The crowd cheered even louder than last time as the majority of them started to even sing and dance along.
"Yeah, you got that somethin'. I think you'll understand. When I say that somethin'. I want to hold your hand! I want to hold your hand. I want to hold your hand. And when I touch you. I feel happy inside. It's such a feelin' that my love. I can't hide! I can't hide! I can't hide!
Yeah, you got that somethin'. I think you'll understand. When I feel that somethin'. I want to hold your haaahhhh!"
Catnap pulled a voice crack at that last one, but he just shrugged it off with a smile and kept singing as some of his bandmates playfully laughed.
"I want to hold your hand. I want to hold your hand! I want to hold your ha-a-a-a-a-a-and."
The band finished to an exceptionally ecstatic audience who applauded and cheered for the band. To which they then all bowed in unison as they walked off the stage while smiling and waving goodbye to the audience. While backstage, the band congratulated themselves as they finished their first of many successful performances....
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Catnap was dipping his hands into warm water because he has trembling again, just like his first public performance. But not because he's nervous of the crowd, he's nervous about his performance to Baba, a memorial service. He isn't sure if it can ever live up to Baba's expectations, but he does know that Baba would've been fine with whatever, so that gets Catnap a little less trembling than before as he sits next to his friends, all in the black and gold graduation garb and hat, waiting to be called on.
"This next segment is intended to be a memorial service for a student who has passed. Baba Chops, a student who was loved by many, will now be immortalized as our institution's first ever memorial service. Please welcome, The Smiling Critters who will lead the service with a very special performance." The speaker said which had the Smiling Critters stand up and walk onstage, while Catnap patted himself dry with a handkerchief. They all walked up and went to their respective spots and instruments, with Catnap sitting down on his piano and angling the microphone so that he could talk to it.
"This performance goes to Baba Chops, to some, a troublemaker, but to us and the people who knew her, she was a very close friend of the Smiling Critters and the Nightmare Critters." Catnap said as all of the seated down Nightmare Critters shouted out "WE MISS YOU BABA!" which had gotten some chuckles from the audience and from the Smiling Critters, especially Catnap.
"She was a very near and dear friend to me, especially. Because she was there for me since the start from when we were just kids. Back before I even met Dogday here." Catnap said as he gestured to Dogday who was beside him.
"And this song goes to her. Unchained Melody. From and album called Unchained Melody. Makes sense, right? Okay... Let's kick it." Catnap said as he reangled the microphone and did a quick run of the piano to get started, to the delight of the audience.
"Oh, my love, my darling. I've hungered for your touch. A long, lonely time"
Catnap sung while the crowd stayed mostly silent, in awe from the way that Catnap was singing. Trembling and quivering, but it was still filled with power, grief, and sadness. He still played the piano perfectly, even though his entire body was trembling.
"Time goes by, so slowly. And time can do so much. Are you still mine!? I! Need your love. Ooooohhh... I need your love. Godspeed your love, to me."
Bobby, Crafty, and Picky played their part on harmonizing with Catnap.
"Lonely rivers flow to the sea, to the sea. To the open arms of the sea."
Catnap looked over to where the Nightmare Critters were seated, and saw a big sign that they were holding up. "BABA"S TRUE FRIEND CATNAP" Which gotten Catnap a little smile before he closed his eyes and focused on the song.
"Lonely rivers cry, wait for me, wait for me. I'll be coming home, wait for me!
At the same time, Dogday, Bubba, Hoppy, and Kickin joined in with their instruments and Dogday, Bobby, Crafty, and Picky had joined in with singing along with Catnap. As he started to move his hands across the piano with perfected accuracy, as he was singing his heart out, as he shut his eyes closed because tears were flowing through them.
"My love! My darling! I've hungered for your kiss! A long, lonely time."
"Time goes by! So slowly! And time can do so much. Are you, still MINEEEE!!? I! Need your love. Ooooohhh... I need your love. Godspeed your love, to-oo-oo-ooo! me!
The entire band finished their performance to the absolutely insane reception to the audience who was moved to tears. Catnap was also wiping away his own tears with a smile as Dogday checked up on him. The Smiling Critters bowed and later got their diplomas and graduated their college. One special diploma was personally hand delivered by Catnap, to Baba's family.