Ophelia stood backstage, trying to steady herself. Relax, Lia, she told herself. It’s just a show, like any other. You’ll do fine. I mean, when you were a kid, you always thought it would be cool to be a musician and maybe be in a band with Graham, right? And now you are, more or less. So, chill. It’ll be okay. And if anyone gives you hell, you can dish it just as well as you can take it. She nodded to herself. She was ready.

She took a long slow breath, tensing her muscles, and then relaxing them. As she heard Graham announce that she would be replacing Tacita for the evening, she heard a few boos but a great number of cheers. Encouraged, she stepped out onto the stage, head held high.


“Hey, everyone,” Ophelia greeted the audience. “How’s everyone doing tonight?”

The audience responded with a loud cheer. A young man in the audience yelled out, “Take off your shirt!”

“Take off yours!” Ophelia retorted. “It’s closer.” She paused for a second, then added, “On second thought, don’t. No one wants to see that.” The audience responded with snickers and chortles, and the young man shrunk back, embarrassed.

“If you wanted to see that kind of thing, you could have gone to Bourbon. This isn’t a strip club, buddy!” Ophelia said. “Now, for the rest of you here to see a kick-*** band perform, you’re in the right place. So, who’s up for some music?”


Tacita rolled over, groaning. Her head was pounding, and her mouth tasted… well, she’d rather not think about that now.

“Got a show to do,” she muttered. “Got a show to do.” Slowly, she eased herself up into a sitting position, then collapsed back onto her side. “Can’t do it. Damn.”

What are they going to do without me? Tacita thought. They’re not going to… oh, they’d better not do what they did last time I wasn’t feeling up to performing!

“Ophelia!” she shouted. “I’m going to get you, I swear!”

She was going to say more, but she leaned over and vomited into the nearby trash can.

I’ll get you, just as soon as I can stand up without puking, she mentally added.


The next day, Tacita stared in bewilderment at the article online. She shook her head, unwilling to accept what was before her:

Substitute Singer May Be Much-Needed Improvement
Article by J. T. Michaels

By now, most Oakdale residents are quite familiar with Elsinore Revolution, the local band that made it big. They’re accustomed to hearing about the antics of lead singer Tacita Brown, whose drunken mishaps and relationship woes practically define her. So, when she failed to appear in concert last night and was instead replaced by Ophelia Foley-Cloud, whose contributions to the band have made fans call her “the sixth Revolutionary,” it was a welcome change of pace.

Foley-Cloud, better known for her work at Elemental Fashion, has appeared on every Elsinore Revolution album to date. In addition, she has stood in for Tacita Brown in several concerts when the latter was unable to perform.

A welcome contrast to Brown, Ophelia Foley-Cloud is fairly uncontroversial; the one aspect of her life that receives some disapproval is her long-time partnership with Charlotte Cloud, local transgendered model. Of her relationship, Foley-Cloud says, “[Charlotte Cloud] is the most important person in my life. We’ve always been there for each other, even through some really tough things, and I honestly couldn’t see myself with anyone else.”

Recent fan polls have shown that 43% of Elsinore Revolution fans think Tacita Brown is a potentially bad influence on younger fans, in comparison to a mere 8% for Ophelia Foley-Cloud. In addition, 37% of fans consider Foley-Cloud to be a better choice of lead singer for the band.

Mona, a teenaged fan of the band, said, “I really prefer Ophelia as the lead singer. She really respects herself; she doesn’t run around half-naked or do stupid stuff in public. She’s very nice to her fans… and that voice! She’s so talented! Indeed, Ophelia Foley-Cloud learned everything she knows from fellow bandmate Graham Gibson, who was her music teacher when she was younger.

Reader poll: Who do you think is the better lead singer? Why?

Tacita read the responses, her breath coming in faster and faster. “No, no, no,” she muttered to herself. The responses seemed to say more or less the same thing: that the main reason to go to an Elsinore Revolution show when Tacita was there was because you’d see her half-dressed; sure, she was talented enough, but she was irresponsible. Didn’t she have a kid? Wasn’t Ophelia Foley-Cloud supposedly taking care of said kid? What kind of role model was Ms. Brown? And Ophelia, she was awesome-- she was raising a kid who wasn’t hers, had her own business, was a frequent guest at LGBT events, and she generally acted like a decent person. Like this one time…

Tacita pushed herself away from the computer, scowling. “It’s not fair,” she complained to herself. “I tried my best. Really, I did! Who are they to judge me?”