An hour later, the five Gulls are at the Monarossabergie House. They sitting around the circular dining table, already have finished a nice lunch. Now they are to tackle the biggest problem yet: how to cure the musical curse.

“So what’s the cure for this ‘flash mob curse’?” Brandon starts, placing a hand on the surface on the table.

“An object,” Joseph replies flatly from next to him.

“This reminds of the curse with the outbreak of those powers,” Stu points out from the other side of the table. He has his fist holding up his head.

Matt’s eyes light up from next to Ryan. “Oh yeah!”

Brandon wraps up the points that were thrown out into one sentence: “So what’s an object that represents the cure to singing...and dancing...and doing a flash mob?”

Everyone responds with blank stares while mulling over their own various answers. Yet Ryan, who is in between Matt and Stu, has a frightened expression with his right eye twitching.

Matt quickly notices his stature. “What’s wrong, Ryan?” Concern sweeps over his face. “You’re twitching.”

“I hadn’t listened to my music in hours and I’m going insane without it,” he states quickly, clutching onto the edge of his chair tightly.

“Good, we don’t have to listen to that screaming,” Joseph replies brusquely.

Ryan turns to him with a worried mien. “But I really, really, REALLY need to listen to it…!”

Stu points to him. “If you do, you’d start breaking out in singing and dancing.”

“And I’d make you sure you’ve never listened to it,” Joseph adds in.

Matt tilts his head at the skaters and pleads: “Guys, let him listen to his music, he’s going crazy without it.”

“Please…?” Ryan squeaks out, gritting his teeth.

Brandon waves his hands in front of him with his head dipped. “Okay, okay.” He drops his hands and peers up at him. “You can listen to it right now. BUT get headphones and go to my room, so that we won’t hear it and won’t see you dancing.”

Ryan frowns with his eyes cast aside. “Shoot. I forgot my headphones at home.”

“No worries, we got some by one of the lamps.” Brandon points to his right, directing Ryan’s attention toward the living room.

Ryan nods at him. “Thanks.” He then lifts himself from his chair and strolls over to the living room.

On one of the end tables where one of the many lamps are placed on is a pair of headphones. Ryan grabs the device and ambles into the foyer and out of view.

Joseph then turns to his roommate with relief. “Thank you, Monty.”

Brandon nods. “Common sense.”

“Okay, so what’s the cure?” Stu speaks out, steering the conversation back on track.

Brandon faces him. “Something the opposite of music. Something that cancels out music. Something that makes us not hear music.”

Joseph knits his eyebrows. “Silence?”

Brandon frowns at him. “No, it has to be tangible.” He rubs his thumb against the pads of his pointer and middle finger.

Matt slams his elbows against the table while his hands in his hair, leaning forward. “This is so hard…!” he croaks.

Silence then fills the room as the hockey players contemplate over the question once again while drumming fingers against the table, staring hard at the floor, and letting out huffs of frustration.

Suddenly, Stu perks up from glaring at the table in a hint of realization. “Wait…”

Brandon, Joseph, and Matt break out from their thoughts and perk up at the tallest man in the house. “Huh?” they say in unison.

“Is Ryan listening to his music?”

“He should be,” Matt tells him. “His status is his current iTunes song.” He whips out his phone, which is displaying Ryan’s current status. “Why?”

“He’s supposed to be singing, right?” Stu points out with narrowed eyes and knitted eyebrows.

The five sit still, attempting to pick up any hint of Ryan singing or dancing. Yet all they receive is the still silence of the house.

Brandon turns to the others. “He’s not singing.”

They then launch out from their seats and rush to the other side of the room to Brandon and Nick’s bedroom.

They skid to a halt at the entrance of the room and peer inside.

There on the other side is Ryan. He is lying on Nick’s bed with closed eyes and a relaxed expression on his face. He has the headphones over his ears and his hands clasped on his stomach with his phone.

“Ryan!” Matt steps into the room. “Ryan!” He halts next to the bed and peers down at him.

Ryan’s eyes flutter open. Once he catches his friend’s worried expression, his eyebrows shoot up. “Huh?” He pulls the phone to his eye level and pressed the pause button. He lifts the headphones above his ears. “What’s up, Hacker?”

“You’re not singing!” Matt blurts out, throwing his hands out from his side.

“I know because you guys don’t want me to sing.” Ryan shrugs.

“And you’re not dancing!”

Ryan shoots him an incredulous expression. “I never dance to my music.”

“But remember the curse?!”

Ryan gazes at him with sudden realization. “That’s right!” He sits himself up. “I’m not singing or dancing to music!” He whirls his head to face the other three, who are now in the room. “Guys, I’m cured!”

Stu rubs his stubble-filled, well-shaped chin. “Strange.”

“Maybe the cure just wore off?” Brandon suggests with a shrug.

Ryan disconnects the headphone’s wire from his phone. “Let’s see.” He then hits the play button.

Harsh, gritty riffs of an electric guitar blare out from his phone’s speakers. Instantly, his teammates mimic playing the guitar while whipping their heads just like a rock star.

Ryan stares at their actions in fright. “Whoops, just kidding.” He quickly hits the pause button.

The others halt playing the air guitar number and let out sighs of relief.

Ryan eyes them quizzically. “Why are you guys still singing and dancing and I’m perfectly fine?”

"Well it was all perfect until YOU took the headphones off from the jack,” Joseph snarls with narrowed eyes at him.

Ryan eyes him silently as an idea comes to mind. He then connects the headphones to his phone, gets up from the bed, saunters up to him, and without warning, shoves the headphones over Joseph’s head and pressed the play button.

Joseph’s eyes immediately widen at the cacophony being shoved into his ears. “WHAT IS THIS--?!” He tears the headphones off from his head and thrusts them at the ground. He then whirls around and storms out of the room.

Brandon raises an index finger. “Headphones.” He scoops up the thrown headphones and slips him on his head. He warily gazes at the owner of the song. “Can you change the music?”

Ryan frowns at his phone. “What’s wrong with my song?”

“Ummm…” He grimaces at the screeching singing.

Matt peers down at the phone and swipes his finger across it.

The screaming immediately changes to the sweet, calm notes of classical music.

Brandon’s face relaxes. “Thanks.” He then pulls the headphones off. “Yeah, they’re the headphones!” He gazes at them. “Oh well, can’t dance and figure skate well anymore!”

“Better than angering coach,” Matt points out. He receives the headphones from Brandon and pushes them over his head. His eyes light up. “I should put these on Mr. Ernie!” He dives his hand under his shirt and pulls it out.

In his grasp is his friend’s pet hamster, Mr. Ernie, whom he is hamster-sitting at the moment. He pulls the headphones from his head and presses one of the ear pads against the hamster. “There, now we won’t dance every time we hear music.”

Mr. Ernie peers up at him with his beady, black eyes in response.

The other three give Matt an awkward stare as their response.

---

An hour later, the Monarossabergie House is buzzing again as the partygoers of Matt’s party are back. They are lounging around the living room, chatting among themselves as the cure, the headphones, are being passed around.

“Whoa, Jaycob, put these on before you get yourself lost,” Shea calls out, pulling his best friend back into the sofa to sit next to him. He then hands him the headphones.

“FINE.” Jaycob shoves the headphones over his head.

On the other side of the living room, Brandon is looming over the karaoke system’s microphone, which is on the coffee table. He gazes at it with a sad look.

With a heavy sigh, Brandon grabs the microphone, then spins around to face the television. On the end table next to the television is where all of the boxes necessary to work the television are located, including the karaoke system. He steps up the boxes, unplugs the karaoke system’s box, and slips it into his arms.

He then begins making his way to the other side of the room with the technology in his arms. One skater in particular spots what is being taken out of the house.

“I can use that—!” Bryan exclaims, rushing up to him.

“No, it’s cursed,” Brandon cuts in, stepping up into the foyer.

Bryan halts in his tracks, watching his teammate exiting the house with the karaoke system. “Pooeys,” he mutters. He then throws an index finger in the air. “Number twenty-three on my birthday list: karaoke machine.” With a satisfied smile, he whirls around and ambles back into the living room.

Sitting on the sofa by the window is Matt and Ryan. Matt is silent in disappointment with a frown and wide eyes on his face.

“I’m so sorry!” he cries out. “I didn’t mean to put this curse on everyone! If it wasn’t for my party, this wouldn’t have happened!” He then begins to sob, covering his face with his hands.

“Hey, hey--” Ryan pulls him close to him with an arm around his shoulder. “--we were the ones who thought of the party, put it together, and brought out the karaoke, not you.” He tilts his head to get a better look at him. “It’s not your fault.”

Matt raises his glassy eyes up at him. “But-but it was from my birthday party…”

“Hey, but you know what’s great?” He shoots his eyebrows up with a small smirk.

Matt responds by gazing up at him with a sniff.

“This is the fastest we’ve been cured!” Ryan points out. “Less than six hours!”

A hopeful expression crosses Matt’s face. “That’s right…!” He pulls away from him in growing delight.

“Happy belated birthday present?” Ryan suggests, eying him.

Matt grins at him with his arms out from his sides. “Yes!” He then pulls him into a hug. “Thank you for finding the cure!”

“Thank Monty, not me,” Ryan tells him from his shoulder.

Matt pulls away, yet still faces him. “That’s right! I’ll be back!” He then rises to his feet and strolls deeper into the living room.

Ryan watches his goalie buddy walk away from him. He then pulls out his phone, taps on its screen a few times, then presses the bottom of it against his ear. A satisfied smile grows on his face. “This is the life.”


The End.

Notes

E.13 "Sing!"
Part 4/4
Episode 13/20