Janet Blue
A story for the True Fiction Project by Michael Kobzik
It was a cloudy night at the Perky Parrot nightclub. The audience buzzed with anticipation for the headlining act, Beatrice Deluxe. With her platinum blonde hair, red lipstick and thrumming tenor voice, she was the reason everyone was there. But, before she could go onstage, there was an opening act. And she was staring at herself in the vanity, trembling in fear.
She thought to herself, “How did I even get here?”
Her mind went back in time.
Every day, Janice Blue clocked into the office for the day. She signed into her workstation and lost herself in the world of numbers, figures, and tax documents. This was something she did every day, ever since she was hired by the firm. It was a world where even the slightest mistake could mean financial ruin for the client. But, as she worked, she tapped her foot and bobbed her head to the sweet sound of electro swing music. The stress melted away with the music.
One night, she went to see the local cabaret legend Beatrice Deluxe live. She sat in the audience, sipping her martini glass as she watched Beatrice dance and sing onstage. The light reflected off of her sparkling dress, almost blinding Janice as she watched with her mouth open. Time seemed to stop as she watched her idol on stage.
By the end of the evening, Janice had a few too many drinks. She fixed her glasses and caught up with the loud applause of the audience as Beatrice left the stage. Janice held her breath as she followed Beatrice’s path backstage. Just a few minutes later, she was knocking on the door of her dressing room, her name written in loopy cursive on the door.
“Hello?” Beatrice said, popping her gorgeous head out of the door.
Janice lost her words for a moment before laughing.
“I…loved you up there,” Janice said, trying to keep her composure.
Beatrice’s unsure expression turned into a nervous smile.
“Thank you,” Beatrice said, unsure how to reply.
Janice leaned herself up against the doorframe. “I…really want to do something like this, but…I dunno if I ever could.” Janice put her hand on Beatrice’s shoulder, startling her. “You’re so…pretty. I wish I could be that pretty.”
Janice did her best impression of Beatrice’s voice, but Beatrice stopped her.
“Okay, okay,” Beatrice said. “If you’re serious…I can teach you.”
Janice opened her eyes wide.
“Really?!” she exclaimed.
Click below to listen to Janet Blue on the True Fiction Project.
A few months later, here she was. About to go on stage as Beatrice’s opening act.
Janice checked her eyeliner, made sure her lipstick had no smudges, and looked at every single curl in her freshly-permed hair. She wasn’t looking at Janice. She was looking at Janet Blue, the cabaret singer.
“Ten minutes to showtime, Janet,” a playful voice reminded her. Though it was meant to comfort her, Janice felt a chill.
Janice bristled as a thousand questions filled her head.
“What will Mark think?”
Mark, her husband, waited in the audience. Mark was a lawyer, and spent much of his time advising clients on things like estate settlements. Thrilling work. He was quiet, but tall and intelligent.
One night, when washing his black socks, he had found her outfit in the wash the other night. It was meant to be a surprise, but she just told him to wait and see her on stage.
Another irrational thought crossed her mind.
“Is he going to leave me?”
She shook her head, wiping her forehead of sweat with a handkerchief.
“Are Louie and Martika with him? God, should I have gotten a babysitter?”
Together, they had two children together: Louie and Martika. They were four years old now. Being a mother? That was nothing compared to being a performer.
Janice held her head as her mind clouded up with fear.
Then, Janice felt a gloved hand on her back.
“Janet, are you okay?”
She turned to see her mentor, Beatrice Deluxe. She looked like she had just stepped off the poster of a 1950s blockbuster. Compared to Janice, she was perfect for the stage.
The two of them stood together, their red and blue dresses contrasting.
“Bee…” Janice said, her lip trembling. “I don’t know if I can do this.”
Beatrice looked right into Janice’s eyes.
“You’re gonna do great,” Beatrice said, rubbing her shoulder.
“This…this isn’t me, though,” Janice said, shifting her shoulder away from Beatrice. “I’m Janice, not…not Janet! I’m a public accountant, I’m married, I have two kids… God, who am I fooling with this whole act? I should just — ”
Beatrice put a finger to Janice’s lips.
“Janet,” Beatrice said. “Can you keep a big secret?”
Janice nodded, her face frozen.
“I’m a dentist,” Beatrice said, stifling a laugh. “All day I look at TEETH! But when the night falls and I get in this dress and go up on that stage, I’m a new person. You say you’ve got fear, girl? That’s totally fine. F ‘fearless’. You have to be brave, okay?”
Janice wasn’t sure what to say. But she didn’t need to say anything.
“Trust me,” Beatrice said. “Once you get up there, it’s like magic. You’re another person.”
Janice couldn’t imagine what kind of a person Beatrice was like outside of this nightclub. She was like a superhero, with a secret identity and everything. A dentist? Janice couldn’t believe it.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” boomed the announcer, “put your hands together for our opening act…live on stage for the first time ever…Janet Blue!”
The moment had come for Janice to perform.
Beatrice and Janice hugged.
“Knock ’em dead,” Beatrice said, patting her on the back.”
Janice was ready. She clasped her hands together and walked out on-stage. She searched around the crowd for Mark and found him in the front row. He smiled, holding onto something on the table that Janice couldn’t see. She found the microphone and stood up on stage.
The spotlight shined bright on Janice. The music hadn’t started yet. It was just her and the audience. She could feel the eyes of everyone in the audience on her, burning into her like she was standing outside in the sun without any sunblock. Like magic, time stopped for Janice. Her heartbeat faster and faster as she clasped the microphone stand. She looked behind herself, seeing the smiling faces of the accompanying band. Somehow, the smiles comforted her for a moment.
She opened and closed her mouth in the same second. She wanted to say something like “Thank you all for coming,” or “I wanted to dedicate this one to my dear husband Mark,” but she didn’t want to embarrass him in front of everybody.
Instead, she decided that all she needed was the music.
She raised her hand and snapped her fingers.
“Hit it, boys!”
The band roared to life and began to play the jazzy song. The brass horns blew, the drums boomed, and the backup singers danced. A rush of energy filled Janice, and she closed her eyes as she waited to begin.
One…two…three…four…five…six…seven…eight…
Finally, her part of the song arrived.
Her lips parted and her alto voice rang out of her tiny throat.
In that moment, Janice Blue disappeared, and Janet Blue was finally born.
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