Writing Prompt from Creative Writers' Club

In Creative Writers' Club this week, we all gave each other a post-it note with a character and two elements we had to incorporate into a story.  I got: Character - Pink the singer, Story Elements - Cannibalism and Ballet Performance.  Here's the finished product.  I hope you enjoy.  :)

            “Ticket sales are down,” my manager noted, looking down at his tablet.  “We haven’t had a show sell out in weeks.”

            “So what?” I questioned, looking up to him from my dressing room table.  “I’m still a rock star.”

            He rolled his eyes, showing me the declining numbers.  “Pink, we have to do something.  We need to make your shows must-see hits.  We need something big.  Something no one has ever done before.”

            “Full of evil clowns,” I suggested.

            “What?”

            “A funhouse.”

            “A funhouse full of evil clowns?”

            I shook my head.  “This used to be a fun house, but now it’s full of evil clowns.”

            “Pink, no.  No, that’s a terrible idea.  Everybody hates clowns.  Especially evil ones.”  He paced around the small room, the numbers on the tablet intimidating us both.  He sank into the chair next to me, sighing heavily.  “I’m sorry, Pink.  This is my fault.  I couldn’t keep us up to date with the Iggys and the Gagas.” 

            I rested a hand on his shoulder and said, “Pretty, pretty please, if you ever, ever feel like you’re nothing, you’re fucking perfect to me.”

            He smiled.  “Aww.  Thanks, Pink.  You’re right.  I am perfect at my job.  I will find something to incorporate into the shows.  Let’s see.  We’ve already done acrobatics.  Hmm.  What about ballet?  That’s a crowd pleaser.  What do you think?”

            “Don’t be fancy, just get dancy.”

            “Oh, you might be right.  Ballet is prissy.”

            I nodded, asking, “Where’s the rock’n’roll?”

            “Yes, how does rock’n’roll fit in with ballet?”  He contemplated it for a few moments.  “Aha!  All your back-up dancers dress up like famous rock stars.” 

            It was a start.  But we would need more than that to get my fans back in their seats.

            “What would Gaga do?  Or Perry?” he continued.  “Pink, if one of them came in here right now, what would you do?”

            “I’d stand up and punch them out, ‘cause they’re all wrong.”

            “They are,” he agreed.  “They don’t know what the fans like.  A meat dress?  Colorful hair?  No.  We can top that.  But how?”

            I shrugged my shoulders.  “I am capable of really anything; I can cut you into pieces when my heart is broken.”

            A light flickered through his eyes.  “Pieces.  Yes.  There’s something there.”  He jumped back up to his feet, prancing around the room with excitement.  “Imagine it, Pink.  A rock’n’roll ballet about a spurned lover – you – and she must take revenge.  So, you attack our leading man in the ballet and rip his heart out – we’ll give you a machete or something – and you rip it out and eat it right there on stage.  Just eat it, blood pouring down your chin, the works.  Whataya think?”

            It sounded messy.  And a bit extreme.  And we’d have to replace a dancer after every show.  But this was show business after all.

            “Just give me a reason.  Just a little bit’s enough,” I requested, needing some reassurance that cannibalism was the way to go.

            “Oh, absolutely, Pink.  This is for your career.  Do you want to end up like umbrella-wielding Britney Spears?  Or has-been Christina Aguilera?  No.  You’re Pink.  You’re rough and tough.” 

            “Nitty, gritty, dirty little freak,” I added.

            “Exactly!  And what better way to promote that image than by eating a raw human heart just ripped from the chest cavity?  Nothing I can think of!  So, what do you say?  Are you in?”

            Slowly, I stood from my seat, smiling.  “I’m coming up, so you better get this party started.”