Serial

07. Divine, Delectable, Delightful, Drag Show

     On the Thursday of Bonbury's Centennial week, the town held a “Taste of Bonbury” festival. It was a night where locals could showcase the diverse foods in Bonbury, with stalls by local restaurants, and a large potluck where residents could bring in their special dishes. The evening went on as planned, without any major disasters.

     The next day was a busy one, with crews coming in to town to setup a carnival for the weekend on the empty fields of Mr. Tony Martinez. Millie Baker spent half the morning and afternoon running around making sure everything was put in its place promptly and in order. The other half of her time was spent gossiping with anyone who would listen, tell a more and more exaggerated tale of the woes of Rose Kimborough.

     The evening, however, Millie had taken off. She had planned a girls night in the city with her friends, and didn't want to risk missing out on any more excitement. So as the lights turned on on the Ferris wheel and carnival stalls, the lights turned off at the Baker house as she locked the doors and got in her vehicle.

     Millie, always dressing to impress, was in a designer dress that some might have called inappropriate for a 42 year old housewife living in a small town. It was short and black, form fitting on Millie in all the places she wanted to show off, and had drapes in any of her less flattering areas. Her makeup was done well, enough to make her skin look younger, but not enough to be noticed in a poor light. On her nails she wore a special polish, able to change colours when dipped in a drink that had been laced with drugs.

    Millie picked up her girlfriends from their various houses, and then they drove off into Ernesting.

      The girls were seeing a show at the Aurora Theatre in Ernesting. Aurora Theatre was always hosting special days and events, but this Friday was a special Halloween edition of one of its most popular forms of entertainment, being its Drag Shows. That night, there was an all star cast of different performers doing a Drag rendition of the Rocky Horror Picture Show.

      Millie and her friends got there early, found a spot close to the stage, and proceeded to get drinks. Millie, being the designated driver, took it easy on the alcohol. However she made sure her friends were steadily getting tipsier and tipsier, especially Rose, who came there with jumbled nerves. The more drinks they had, the looser their tongues, making gossip much easier.

      Finally it was time for the show to begin. The first drag queen, who went center staged and introduced herself as Ovarie Houston, warmed up the crowd with a couple jokes and a short lip syncing performance to Rockwell's “Somebody’s Watching Me.” She then caught her breath, did a bow, and turned on her mic once more.

     “And now, for your main host of the evening. She's Divine. She's Delectable. She's Delightful. She's DemetriYAS!” Ovarie yelled the name out in a long sing song voice, as the crowd cheered and another performer strutted on stage, wearing a long black gown with silver spiderwebs embroidered on. Her makeup was dark and exaggerated, with high eyebrows and long lashes. Her hair was a dark wig, tied up with a black witch's hat pinned on top. DemetriYAS took a walk around the stage, stopping to pose occasionally as the crowd cheered. Finally she took center stage, posing one last time before taking the microphone from the other performer.

     “Thank you darling,” DemetriYAS said to her cohort. DemetriYAS spoke in a deep voice, and pronounced darling with an old fashioned, drawn out drawl.

     “Now before we begin the show… I want to tell everyone a scary story. It's Halloween after all! The best part of this story, is that it happened where you're all sitting. You see, many people believe this building is cursed.” A sound effect of thunder banged over the speakers with her last words. The crowd oohed as DemetriYAS continued.

     “A long time ago, a decade at least, this building was not called Aurora Theatre, but instead The Regal Hall. It was built in the early 50's, and for a long time it held performances that captivated and awed the audiences.

     “It all started when the cast at the time was running a performance of… Well I cannot speak the name, as that’s what brought the curse on in the first place. In theatre terms, it's called “The Scottish Play.” Written by William Shakespeare about a man who kills his king to take over his throne. I'm sure you all can infer to what I'm speaking about. If not, well then perhaps you need to retake your high school English class.

     “It happened about 20 years ago, opening night of… the play. The actor playing Duncan made the terrible mistake of speaking the play's name before the performance began. During the performance, his prop dagger was replaced by a real one, and the actor was stabbed in front of a live audience.

     “The show was put on a temporary hiatus, time was taken to mourn his death, but as they say… the show must go on. The crew wished to give it another shot, and the opening curtain rose yet again, but with it came more tragedy.

     “The Scottish Lady, in her sleepwalking scene, fell off the stage, breaking her neck on the way down. This time the show was cancelled. Time was again taken, and after a few months the curtain rose on a new show.

     “However that wasn't the end of the curse. Over the next few months the theatre was struck with tragedy after tragedy. Catwalk falling, harnesses breaking, and strings of suicides and other mysterious deaths.

     “It finally ended the night of the fire. A single candle, left burning on stage, as it always was, started a inferno that engulfed the theatre, burning down every last beam. Since then it has obviously been rebuilt. But some still say they can still see the ghosts of the people who died here.”

     Another bang of thunder crashed through the room, and the lights flickered on and off. A strong wind blew through the building, and all the doors slowly creaked open before slamming shut.

     After a moment the room settled and the lights went bright once more, then dimmed into a spotlight ass the show began.

     The show was a great success, with the audience giving a standing ovation at the end. After the show, the performers got off the stage and mingled with the audience, serving drinks and taking pictures. Millie Baker made sure to get a picture with DemetriYAS, who had played Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the show.

     When closing time came and the guests left, DemetriYAS went to the dressing room and sat down with a big sigh. She untucked, peeled off her false lashes, and began to wipe off the layers and layers of makeup she wore. After a while Ovarie Houston came in, half undressed herself.

     “That was a huge success! You won't believe what we made in tips tonight. Are you sure you can't be here for the Halloween show? It's not going to be nearly as good without you.”

     DemetriYAS turned to her companion, gave her a smile and flipped her fake hair, “Sorry darling, I've told you I have plans.”