Work Text:
It was a cold Friday at Westchester Country Day, but Chloe Garcia’s heart was filled with warmth as she walked about the halls, for it would soon be Valentine’s Day. She hadn’t thought too much about who she wanted to go out with on that day, but she knew she wanted to go out with someone because she was the kind of girl who wished she could be in love.
“Pardon me, Chloe…”
In fact, Chloe was so enamored with the idea of being in love that she didn’t notice the familiar voice addressing her:
“Chloe, reveille-toi!”
“Huh!?”
Chloe spun around to see who was addressing her: none other than her fellow student André LeMat. As if the idea of wanting to be in love wasn’t enough for her, seeing him again not only rekindled her crush for him, but got Vaseline smeared on her camera lens. She smiled:
“Oh, hey André! How are you?”
“I am doing all right, although I nearly came to blows with Brandon. Had Zoey not intervened, he would have suffered a few broken bones.”
Chloe giggled. “Oh André, there’s no need for violence! I understand you and Brandon have a bit of a rough relationship with each other, but really, he’s a cool cat once you get to know him.”
André gave a curt nod. “Hm. That aside, Chloé, since this Saturday is Valentine’s Day, I have two tickets to a musical variety show going on at Frets Bar & Grill at 6:30 PM. Would you like to go there with me?”
Chloe gasped and put her hands on her cheeks. “OH MY DAMN CHERRY BLOSSOMS!* Of course I’ll go!”
André smiled. “Excellent. I look forward to seeing you there.”
“By the way, do you know anything about which bands are gonna be there?”
André stroked his chin. “Not offhand, but there is this one singer named Angel Herrera who grew up here in Westchester and has become quite famous. I’ve only listened to a couple of her songs, but the ones I have listened to are good.”
Chloe smiled. “Sounds nice! Anyways, I gotta go to class. See you later, André!”
Chloe blew a kiss at André. He smiled, looking forward to the whole affair.
===
Speaking of looking forward, Chloe was looking forward to the whole thing so much that she was humming the Jem theme all day, which Zoeysha “Zoey” Franklin and Nikki Maxwell took notice of at lunch:
“Whoa, Chloe! Why are y’all on Cloud Nine?” asked Zoey.
Nikki gave a silly smile. “Yeah, the way you’re acting, we could’ve sworn you’re looking forward to Valentine’s Day!”
Chloe giggled. “Funny you two should ask! André is taking me out to a musical variety show at Frets this Saturday!”
Nikki and Zoey let out a simultaneous, emphatic “SQUEE!” as they put their hands on their cheeks:
“Chloe, I’m so happy for you!” said Nikki.
Zoey swiped her fist left. “Yeah, knock him dead, girlfriend!”
Chloe giggled some more. “Thanks, girls!”
“By the way, rumor has it that Max and Erin are going too,” said Nikki.
Zoey gave a thumbs up. “Yeah, tell him we said ‘hi’ if ya see him!”
Chloe gave a thumbs up. “Will do!”
===
The big Saturday came, and Chloe spent extensive time preparing for this one. For her outfit, she put on a pink, thigh-high pleated strapless dress with white hearts on it, pink opera gloves and a specially-ordered pair of Wesco Motor Patrol leather boots in pink leather, a color not normally offered by them. She did put on some makeup, but only just enough to look natural and fresh. As for her brown hair, she did it in a big, fluffy 80s style. After admiring herself in the mirror for a bit, she Ubered down to Frets Bar & Grill.
Originally opened in 1928 as a jazz club called Notes, it became a rock & roll diner in 1954 called The Sock Hop Joint, though with the arrival of The Beatles in 1964 and the subsequent rise of the hippie counterculture, it became a psychedelic rock club in 1965 called Rainbow Road. After the end of US involvement in Vietnam in 1973, it became a disco called Roland’s Tavern, which was initially popular with Westchester’s burgeoning LGBTQ+ community before being discovered by other crowds. However, with the decline of disco after 1979, it closed in 1981 and became a punk rock club called The Razor, which closed in 1985 due to fire damage. Though the club was closed and no one was hurt, the building sat abandoned for a few years before being extensively renovated and opening as Frets in 1989, which was probably its most successful iteration yet. In the intervening years, it had played host both to up-and-coming bands as well as established acts, from classic rock artists such as Ratt and Bachman-Turner Overdrive, to alternative rockers such as Soundgarden and Sonic Youth, to nu-metal acts such as Godsmack and Disturbed, and several non-rock acts as well.
History aside, Frets was quite a popular hangout for Valentine’s Day, though when Chloe arrived, André was nowhere to be seen, so she texted him:
“Hey André I’m here. Where are you?”
She got a text back:
“I am in the lobby, ma chèrie. I arrived a few minutes ago. Come inside.”
Chloe went inside, and sure enough, André was there, wearing a pastel blue suit with a dark blue button-down shirt, a red bowtie and black leather dress shoes. While Frets was the kind of joint that would accept anyone regardless of dress code, he wanted to look good for her too, and she took notice:
“Looking good, André honey!”
“As do you, Chloe.”
André and Chloe gave each other a kiss and hug. While Frets did accept traditional physical tickets, patrons also had the option of scanning a QR code on their smartphones, which was what he did, and a maitre d’ – a short Black woman of average build – showed them to their table, which was front and center of the stage. After they sat down, Chloe commented on it:
“You got us front-row seats!? OH MY DAMN CHERRY BLOSSOMS! This is gonna be fun!”
André smiled. “Only the best for mon chou.”
Another waitress – a tall, thin White woman with red hair – came by.
“Hi, welcome to Frets! Can I start you two off with some drinks?”
“I’ll have a ginger ale, please,” said Chloe.
“I’ll have a Coke, s’il vous plait,” said André.
The waitress left to get their drinks.
“So Chloe, have you decided on what you want to order?” asked André.
Chloe smiled. “Oh, I already know what I want to order, honey!”
André leaned in a bit closer. “Which is?”
“The loaded bacon cheesy fries.”
André stroked his chin. “Curious. Any reason as to why?”
“Well, I usually prefer plain French fries, and I much prefer turkey bacon to traditional bacon, but the way they make these is really good. Plus, they are super with the sour cream!”
Andre nodded. “I see.”
Andre perused the menu. Much of Frets’ menu consisted of traditional, affordable bar fare such as bacon cheeseburgers, fried chicken tenders and fish & chips, though they did have some fancier stuff such as a Porterhouse steak and veal abruzze – a variant of veal parmesan with ham and mushrooms added.
“Well, I must say, the Chicken Maryland sounds intriguing, though I do not know what that is.”
Chloe shrugged. “I never ordered it either. Why not ask the waitress once she returns?”
André nodded. “Very well.”
No sooner had Chloe suggested this than the waitress returned with their drinks, which they thanked her for.
“Are we all set to order?” The waitress whipped out a pen and notepad.
“I’ll have the Loaded Bacon Cheesy Fries, please,” said Chloe.
The waitress took Chloe’s order. “OK, and for you, sir?”
“Pardon me, but what is this ‘Chicken Maryland’?”
“It’s a boneless fried chicken cutlet topped with bacon and mushrooms in a cream gravy. It comes with a side of potato and a vegetable.”
“I shall have that, then.”
“And how would you like your potato: baked, mashed or fries?”
“Baked, s’il vous plait.”
“Do you want the baked potato with sour cream or butter?”
“Butter, s’il vous plait. Also, what vegetables do you have?”
“We have green beans, beets, carrots, broccoli or squash.”
“I shall have carrots, s’il vous plait.”
The waitress left to put their food in.
“Well, the Chicken Maryland sounds intriguing already,” said André.
“Yeah, I never heard of that dish before and it’s already got me hungry!”
André tapped his chin with his index finger. “Though I do also recall reading somewhere that the Titanic’s menu included a dish called ‘Chicken à la Maryland’…”
Chloe smiled. “Huh, didn’t know it was that old!”
“I do read a lot, whether it’s in electronic or print form, and I stumble upon the most unusual stuff sometimes. Once, an American friend of mine told me about a rock star named Sammy Hagar, and from there, I accidentally discovered an old movie from 1981 called Heavy Metal. From that article, not only did I discover that it was based on a magazine, which was subsequently an American version of a French magazine that I liked called Métal Hurlant, but I discovered another related movie called Rock & Rule.
Chloe giggled. “André, you are one smart guy! I love that about you!”
André smiled. “Well, I was the top student in my class…”
“Still, you should be doing your own blog about this stuff!”
André stroked his chin. “That does sound like an intriguing proposition.” He lowered his hand and smiled. “But enough about me. I want to learn more about you.”
“Well, I really love going to the mall with Nikki and Zoey because there’s a claw machine there, and I love trying to get the adorable plushies within.”
André nodded. “Interesting. A friend of mine from England told me about a trick to these machines.”
Chloe leaned in closer. “Huh? Tell me more!”
“There is a control box inside that determines how many plays must be made in order to receive a prize. To ensure success, observe the people using the machine until someone wins one, and then count how many people play until someone else wins a prize. After that, you need only wait for more people to play until enough have played to the point where a prize will be won on the next round and then play the machine yourself. You can’t fail.”
Chloe scratched her cheek and smiled. “That sounds like a lot of work, but at the same time, it sounds cool!”
“So, what is your favorite plushie?”
“I have these two plushies of Shadow and Amy. They’re like my OTP from the Sonic games!”
André smiled. “You play the Sonic games too? Very nice!”
“Sweet! Who’s your OTP?”
André smiled. “I don’t know what an ‘OTP’ is, but I love Sonic and Rouge.”
“So, your OTP – One True Pairing – is your fave, which would be Sonouge in your case.”
André nodded. “Indeed. I may just get into Shadow and Amy too, though for me, Sonic and Blaze and Sonic and Sally are a close second to ‘Sonouge’, as you call them, and I also really love pairing Sonic with Princess Daisy from the Super Mario games.”
Chloe frowned. “Yeah no, I don’t like pairing humans with animals.” She smiled. “But, I am curious as to why you love Sonaisy.”
“Well, just as I feel that Sonic’s confidence pairs well with Rouge’s flirtatiousness, I feel that his personality also goes well with her sportive personality. Sometimes, too, I like imagining them as brother and sister.”
Just then, the waitress got back with their food, which they thanked her for. André cut into his Chicken Maryland and ate it, nodding as the salty savoriness of the chicken and bacon intermingled with the earthiness of the mushrooms and the richness of the gravy:
“This ‘Chicken Maryland’ is most delicious. I should learn to make this at home.”
Chloe swallowed a fry. “You cook, André?”
“I do love it, yes.”
“Sweet!”
Just then, the lights dimmed, and a spotlight focused on the stage, where the MC – a White guy with perfectly-coiffed black hair, who was wearing a tuxedo – stepped up:
“Ladies, gentlemen, and people of all gender identities, welcome to another Valentine’s Day at Frets! I can see plenty of loving couples here tonight, which always warms my heart! Hopefully, tonight’s acts will bring you closer together, starting with this one! Straight from San Francisco, it’s…The Limp Lizards!”
The audience cheered as the show opened with punk band The Limp Lizards, who looked just like refugees from the 80s as they opened with their biggest hit “Broken Glass”:[1]
“My life is a garbage heap,
My life’s full of choking gas,
Since you left my world’s like…
Broken glass!
Broken glass!
Broken glass!
Broken glass!”
It was clear by the awkward, sparse clapping after the song that nobody particularly liked The Limp Lizards, though lead singer Rhonda Razor didn’t care:
“What!? That’s all you normies got!? OK, we’re gonna lay it on for you!”
The Limp Lizards banged out a few more punk numbers such as “Last Caress”,[2] “Police Truck”[3] and “Six Pack”[4] before wrapping things up with “Corona”,[5] all of which got a lukewarm reception at best. Even André commented on them:
“OK, I love rock and roll, but punk isn’t my thing.”
Chloe frowned and uncovered her ears. “Yeah, and my ears were bleeding! You’re lucky the food’s good, otherwise I would’ve walked out the door!”
“Er, sorry…” André averted his gaze.
The MC stepped up:
“OK, so maybe The Limp Lizards were as advertised, but we know you’ll like our next act. Straight from Providence, Rhode Island, it’s…White Freightliner!”
The crowd cheered, relieved to be rid of The Limp Lizards. As for White Freightliner, they were a hard rock/heavy metal band who dressed up in 70s/80s rock fashions such as denim, leather and spandex, with lead singer Jim Piatek – a muscular, rather tall White man with black hair and prominent sideburns – dressed up in an old NYPD Highway Patrol leather jacket with two dummy bullet belts criss-crossed over his chest, blue jeans and black Wesco Motor Patrol leather boots. As was typical of such bands, most of the members were White guys, except for bassist Linda Glover and her brother Steve the drummer, who were both Black. They opened with a song called “Born to Raise Hell”.[6] During the bridge, Jim seemed to focus on Chloe, much to her surprise, though she got a shock with the line “you’re pretty useless!” By the time this song was over, White Freightliner got a better reception, though mainly from the men.
“Hello Westchester!” said Jim. “Y’all ready to get fucked up on Marshall amps!?”
Again, plenty of cheering from the guys.
“All right! Any Cheech & Chong fans in the house?”
Quite a few audience members responded affirmatively.
“OK, more than I thought! Anyways, this next song is from their second movie, and it’s called…‘Hell On Wheels’!”[7]
White Freightliner rocked on with numbers such as “Hell On Wheels” as well as “Bad Boy Boogie”,[8] plus an original blues rock number titled “Born to Rock”:
“I never did what they told me to,
I never cared ‘bout their stupid rules,
I made my way on my own terms,
I never listened to no goddamn fools…
‘Cause I was born to rock,
I was born to rock,
I was born to rock,
I was born to rock,
I was born to rock,
And that’s a fact, Jack!”
For their final number, White Freightliner did something unusual as they went in a disco direction with a danceable hi-NRG metal cover of “Diamonds and Rust”.[9] By the time they were done, it was clear that André was having a fun time:
“Wow, that was one of the best rock and roll bands I have ever seen!”
Chloe, however, had an angry look on her face as her arms were crossed.
“What?”
Chloe growled. “You and these stupid rock bands! One more bad band and I’m outta here!”
André smiled nervously. “I am so sorry, ma chère Chloe! I promise you’ll like the next band!”
“Yeah, well I better!”
The MC stepped up again:
“Are we feeling the love, Westchester? Well, I hope so because the next group’s got plenty of it! Straight from Miami, it’s…The Super Five!”
The audience cheered for The Super Five, who – in contrast to the past two groups – were a disco band. They were all dressed in white suits, and the five principal members – including lead singer John Bronson – were Black, though the band also included a couple of Hispanic and even White members. As they opened their set with “Love Machine”,[10] people got up and boogied, and Chloe gently tugged at André’s hand:
"C’mon, André, let’s dance!”
“OK.”
André and Chloe proceeded to boogie down, and both of them were quite the dancers. While he liked disco, it wasn’t often he danced to it, but sharing it with her made it that much better, and she felt the same way as she gazed deeply into his eyes. When this song was done, the audience cheered on the band.
“Hey Westchester, y’all are a great audience!” said John. “I bet alls of ya are quite the love machines, but I hope all y’all will be ready…when the shit hits the fan!”
For their next number, The Super Five played “When the Shit Hits the Fan (Rocket Pocket)”,[11] plus more traditional disco numbers such as “That’s Where the Happy People Go”[12] and “More Than a Woman”[13] before concluding with an original song called “Funk City”.
“Don’t ya wanna groove?
Don’t ya wanna move?
Don’t ya wanna dance
Then make some romance?
Well then get on down
To the hippest town,
While there, be sure
And get on the floor…
In Funk City!
Funk City!
Funk City!
Funk City!”
In contrast to the Marshall-fueled hard rock sound of White Freightliner and the stripped-down punk stylings of The Limp Lizards, the disco sound of The Super Five had more universal appeal amongst the audience, and the MC took note:
“Wow, you folks really ate that up, didn’t you? Well, I hope you’ve got room for dessert, because we’ve saved the best for last! She was born right here in Westchester to Puerto Rican immigrants before finding fame in LA. Putting on a special intimate performance for you tonight, it’s…pop star Angel Herrera!”
The audience cheered, and a spotlight focused solely on the keyboardist as she played a synth intro while dry ice fog poured in from the stage. Soon, the spotlight focused on the whole band, after which Angel Herrera emerged. She was a tall, voluptuous woman with her blunette hair in a 70s feathered style, and she was wearing a pink bodycon dress, a diamond studded necklace, diamond wristbands and pink pumps. For her first song, she sang “Angel’s Song”,[14] which André and Chloe danced to, as did plenty of others. At a couple of points, during spoken word sections of the song, André was transfixed on Angel because he could’ve sworn that she was looking right at him and addressing him. Chloe took notice:
“André…”
Andre failed to respond.
“André!” Chloe waved her hand in front of André’s face.
Still no response, so Chloe smacked him:
“ANDRÉ!”
“Wha…!?” Andre shook his head. “What was that about, Chloe?”
Chloe frowned and put her fists on her hips. “André, I’m the only girl whom boobs you can stare at!”
André chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. “My dearest apologies, Chloe.”
Chloe smiled. “Now, focus on your real angel, mmmkay?”
“OK.”
The audience gave Angel plenty of applause after the song, after which she addressed the audience, her accent being more neutral compared to Chloe’s mild accent:
“Thank you, Westchester; it’s great to be back here! I really love LA, but I get so homesick sometimes, so it’s a real honor to be able to come and perform here! Anyways, this next one is for all the ladies who aren’t afraid to step out and be their true selves!”
For her next song, Angel performed “20th Century Foxes”.[15] In fact, her set seemed to consist of pop, R&B and disco, such as “True Colors”,[16] “Right In the Middle (Of Falling In Love)”[17] and “Spiderman”.[18] She finished off her set with a funky pop number titled “Love Me For Who I Am”:
“I’ll be your honey girl,
I’ll be your comfort zone,
I’ll be your sweetest dream,
I’ll be your very own
If you love me for who I am.
I’ll give the greatest gifts,
I’ll cook you tasty meals,
I’ll be at home for you,
I’ll show you how it feels
When you love me for who I am.
‘Cause baby, I don’t want no one else,
Oh baby, I want you to myself,
Just love every part of me,
And I can make you feel that glee.”
After her set, Angel got nothing but a standing ovation, and the MC took notice:
“OK, looks like we got a great audience tonight! But we’re not done yet! I’m told that Angel Herrera is a good friend of White Freightliner lead singer Jim Piatek, and together, the members of her band and his band are gonna put on a special encore performance! Give it up for them!”
The audience cheered, and Angel went into a rare hard rock direction as she did a duet with White Freightliner with the song “Send Love Through”. While not ordinarily into hard rock and heavy metal, Chloe did love this song, and she eagerly headbanged and moshed out with André as the air filled with a mix of Marshall-powered guitars and analog synths. Overall, it would be a night to remember for both of them.
===
As they were exiting the club – André having paid for their food and drink – Chloe commented on the show:
“Well, I wasn’t too fond of The Limp Lizards and White Freightliner causing my ears to bleed, but I LOVED The Super Five and Angel Herrera, plus the food was great as always, so I’ll give you a major pass!”
“I didn’t like The Limp Lizards either, but what’s wrong with White Freightliner? They were a perfectly cromulent rock band.”
Chloe giggled and ruffled André’s hair. “Shut up, you silly!”
André laughed. “Hey!” He gently brushed Chloe’s hand away. “Silliness aside, this night’s not done yet. There is one more thing I wish to do with you…”
“Oh? Does it have anything to do with that bag you’ve been carrying around?”
André smiled. “Why don’t we find out?”
===
André brought Chloe to the Blue Mountain Reserve, one of the highest hills in Westchester, which she asked about:
“OK, what’s with the hike? I feel like I might pass out!”
Once they got to the top, André pulled out a sleeping bag. “Chloe, since there is a full moon out tonight, not only did I want to see the stars with you, but I also wanted to snuggle with you.”
Chloe gasped and put her hands on her cheeks. “OH MY DAMN CHERRY BLOSSOMS! That’s hot! Of course!”
Once the sleeping bag and a pillow were set up, André and Chloe slid inside and snuggled with each other as the light of the full moon bathed them in its ethereal glow. There they lay, watching all the stars and basking in each other’s company.
“André, this was the best Valentine’s Day I ever had. I don’t know how I can thank you.”
“Chloe, being with you was thanks enough. To be honest, you were the first girl I ever dated, and at times, I felt as though I was faking it today, so knowing that you appreciated my efforts means more to me than all the gold and silver in the world.”
Chloe smiled. “Of course! And don’t ever worry about faking it with me! Just knowing that you cared enough to do all of this for me tonight made me happier than I’ve ever been!”
André smiled. “Really?”
“OK, I could’ve done without the hard-rocking antics of The Limp Lizards and White Freightliner, but other than that, this night was perfect!”
“You will never forget about them, will you? Well, I shall have to buy you a White Freightliner album, then.”
Chloe playfully shoved André. “Oh, shut up, you! In all seriousness, I wish we could spend the night together, forever and ever.”
“Really?”
“Really!”
Chloe kissed André. While neither of them were 100% sure what the future held, in this moment, it looked like the world was full of possibilities.