Chapter Text
"So, why are we here again?" Lee Harvey Oswald asked, a white pamphlet with an advertisement for auditions in his left hand.
Charles Guiteau grinned while reading the paper out loud, his smile growing. "Be a member of the upcoming band Bullseye Boys and get your ticket to stardom? I'll get more recognition than I do now!" That resulted in a dirty look from Leon Czolgosz, who had also gotten a pamphlet.
John Wilkes Booth stepped onto a pedestal made of dusty books, holding up a pamphlet of his own, with the same advertisement that Guiteau had read. "You see, we've enjoyed singing since we were first introduced to this carnival, is that so?" The other 3 nodded. Booth turned around and stood up straighter. "But, as we all know, there inevitably comes a day when the novelty of being welcomed as officially an assassin wears off after a while, and every day becomes a boring blur with nothing changing, is that so?" The other 3 nodded again. Booth stepped down from his high ground, opened the paper, and began. "I've recruited you 3 to rejuvenate the dull lifestyle of a resident here with me, make this carnival one of music, and kiss your worries goodbye."
"I call it-Bullseye Boys!"
Oswald and Czolgosz looked at each other in utter confusion and shock, then looked back at Booth with the same stare.
"We're gonna be starting a band, ok?" Booth bluntly said.
Czolgosz inquired after thinking for a while, "What kind?" This wasn't usually questioned whenever Booth moved forth with an action he was about to take, or at all. Booth was the pioneer of the gang after all, so they all depended on him.
Booth walked out of the room and brought in a projector once owned by the Balladeer. The projection was of many other boy bands; videos of bands much like the proposed Bullseye Boys performing flashed on the screen. All these bands had something in common: they were all young adults, and they typically sang love songs. (much like the ones Hinckley often performs to himself all the time, Czolgosz thought.)
"Oh, so those boy bands I've heard of?" Oswald asked. To nobody's surprise, the Bullseye Boys were to be exactly like those boy bands that Oswald has heard of. The 3 were introduced to 4 flamboyant costumes. Booth, slightly smiling, said, "These will be what we wear when we sing, ok?" The costumes were each colored a different shade of blue (Booth's was Cerulean, Guiteau's was Prussian Blue, Czolgosz's was Indigo, and Oswald's was Steel Blue) with little stars on the right shoulder of the costumes. The stars were covered with white sequins that would change into prints for a target. The shirts had turtlenecks, into which holes were cut to resemble bullet shots. The bottoms of all of them were black trousers with belts attached. The belts had a star design, to represent the states of the U.S.. The shoes were a deep vermillion, with stains drawn on to resemble blood stains. Each member's hats were fashioned to pertain to a trait of theirs: Booth's hat was a dark navy fedora with pieces of the comedy and tragedy masks on either side of the hat, resembling wings of some sort; Guiteau's hat was similar to that of a pilot, but it looked worn out, it was a lighter navy, and a cross (for Christianity) was added as a medal; Czolgosz's hat was the same as the newsboy hat he had often worn, but it was cleaner and less worn out, and it had the A-for-Anarchy symbol engraved into the left side of the hat; Oswald had a beret which looked like a sailor hat, adorned with a small stripes pattern made by bullets.
"These look beautiful, Booth! I can only imagine how the fans would react to my very presence. They'd faint over me!" Guiteau exclaimed in joy. Oswald looked at the costumes, and said, "My costume looks girly." Czolgosz looked at Oswald and said, "These are not bad, Lee. Try before you cry." Oswald exasperated to himself, "The fuck does that even mean?"
"As for the songs we'll write," Booth added, "We'll have to go with making our own. Any suggestions?"
"How about a song about the wonderful teachings of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ?" An elated Guiteau responded. Nobody responded to his suggestion. Czolgosz said, "We should do a song about finding solace in--"
"Jesus Christ, God, and the Holy Spirit!" interrupted Guiteau. "Not everything has to be about Jesus," grumbled Oswald. "Anyway, what do you all think about of a song about--"
"HIS TEACHINGS!" Guiteau screamed, with clenched teeth, and a big, forced smile, despite his eyebrows showing clear fury. Booth said, "Don't mind him, guys. I'll just have to write the songs myself." Oswald moved 2 seats away from where Guiteau was sitting.
Inside the pamphlet were 3 empty spots beside a posed Booth in his cerulean costume and hat, pointing to the camera with a serious expression. There was text above that said, "Be a member of the upcoming band Bullseye Boys and get your ticket to stardom!" On the second page, information about the band and what spots weren't already filled. The third page announced that tryouts were open. Oswald looked on the back side, but it was essentially the same thing. Guess he didn't have enough budget to make different pictures for the back, then, Oswald assumed. For now, the 4 would just have to get this thing over with.