Gizmo 2 by Basak Serin - HTML preview

Gizmo 2

Written by: Basak Serin

Section 1

Gizmo and his friends are back at Emerald Career School for another year. But this time, changes have been made to the school. Emerald Career School is now called Emerald Music School. The school now focuses on music students. The number of students has been altered as well. There are now only ten students attending.

The staff also changed. The good news is that Miss. Annie Bell continues to teach music, and Elliot (who is also Gizmo’s friend) is still the school’s electrician.

There are only ten students attending this year, and they are: Gizmo, Gracie, Apricot, Razor, Oatmeal, Mocha, Rocco, Thunder, Teal, and Sky.

Oatmeal, Mocha, Rocco, Thunder, Teal, and Sky are new to the school.

Gizmo is a gray tabby cat with emerald green eyes. He wears a dark blue collar. He has dreams of becoming a music producer and a musician. He owns an electric guitar.

Gracie is a medium-sized, dark gray cat with long fur with bright green eyes. She is nice, softhearted, and intelligent. Gracie has dreams of becoming a songwriter, and she owns a purple book where she writes about her thoughts and feelings. She wears a dark purple collar with a golden tag.

Apricot dreams of becoming a musician. He is determined to get what he wants. He is a light orange tabby cat with light orange eyes. He wears a red bow tie. He is cold-hearted, rude, and a self-absorbed individualist. Apricot gets jealous of those who are better than him. He is the antagonist of the story.

Elliot is an electrician who is the same age as his friends. He is an orange and white tabby male cat with orange eyes. He wears a sparkly red bow tie. He is nice, intelligent, and serious. He also fixes musical instruments and laptops.

Razor is one of Gizmo’s friends. He is nice, but stern. He is a dark charcoal-colored tabby cat with yellow eyes. He wears a black bow tie. He wants to be a music producer and a rapper. He is also a drummer.

Miss. Annie Bell is the music teacher at the school. She is a white, brown, and black calico cat with green eyes. She is a calico cat with long, beautiful fur. She is nice and smart. She wears a light pink necklace.

Section 2

Everyone is seated in the large music classroom. They are waiting for Miss. Annie Bell’s directions.

“Welcome back, everyone! Welcome, new students! I hope everyone is doing great! How was your summer vacation?” Miss. Annie Bell exclaimed.

Everyone smiled and nodded.

“Recently, there have been changes made to the school. The school now focuses on music rather than other subjects. There are only ten of you here! Some of you are new, and some of you are returning! Throughout the year, we will be learning about different genres of music, playing different musical instruments, audio editing, and more! Any questions?” Miss. Annie Bell continued and asked the class.

Everyone nodded, and the teacher continued her class.

“I am so excited for this year!” Gimzo shouted.

“May I share my song lyrics?” Apricot asked.

“Go ahead,” Miss. Annie Bell replied.

“Thanks,” Apricot said as he hopped off his chair.

“I am going to read you all my song lyrics!” Apricot said.

There was a sudden knock on the door. Elliot came by to put up a new clock in the classroom.

The teacher got up and opened the door for Elliot.

“Hi, Elliot, what’s up?” Miss. Annie Bell asked.

“Hello! I have to put up the new clock in the classroom. It’ll only take ten minutes.” Elliot told her.

“Okay!” she said.

Apricot cleared his throat and read his work.

“I am Apricot. Too much stress gives me restlessness. Too much stress gives me acid reflux.

Music helps calm me down. I am-“ Apricot said.

Elliot drilled holes in the wall with his loud tool.

Apricot was interrupted by the loud power drill.

Apricot gets frustrated. The sound of the tool stopped, and he continued to read his work.

“I drive so fast, like lightning speed. I drive past the speed limit. I don’t care what anyone else says! Screw the posted speed limit! It’s Apricot! I am-“ Apricot said.

He gets interrupted once more by the loud power drill noise.

Apricot gets very upset and angry.

“Elliot! Quit it! You are too dang loud!” Apricot shouted.

“Bro, I am just trying to work!” Elliot said.

“Almost done! There! The new clock looks good!” Elliot said this as he was done with his work.

“Thank you, Elliot.” Miss. Annie Bell told Elliot. Elliot left the classroom.

“Ugh!” Apricot said. “I need to take a break!”

Apricot sat down at his desk with his arms crossed.

“That’s okay, Apricot. Who wants to go next?” the teacher asked.

“Miss. Annie Bell? Can I share my new beat with everyone?” Razor insisted.

“Yes, Razor,” she said.

“The genre of this beat is the 808 beat!” Razor said.

Razor played his musical work. Everyone thought it was good.

Miss. Annie Bell thanked him and continued on.

“Now, I will play some songs that I need you all to guess the genre of.” Miss. Annie Bell requested.

The teacher turned on pop music first.

“Ugh! It’s bad!” Apricot said. He covered his ears.

“You are right, Apricot. Wow, that’s the first time in fifty billion years that I agree with you on something!” Gizmo said.

“It’s pop!” Gracie shouted.

“Clever, Gracie!” the teacher said.

Miss. Annie Bell played the second song.

“I definitely know what it is. It’s my all-time favorite genre! Phonk!” Razor shouted.

“Right!” Miss. Annie Bell said. “Now, for the last and final song?”

“It’s trap metal! I like this genre!” Oatmeal said.

Oatmeal is a brown and orange tabby female cat with hazel eyes. She wears a yellow-colored necklace.

“Nice!” Miss. Annie Bell said.

“Now, pack your stuff, class. We are heading to the recording studio!” she said.

Apricot laughed. “What? Is it some sort of orchestra party?” he asked.

“No! We will learn to mix and master songs. We will learn to edit audio and more! FX sound effects are very important in music. Now everyone, get ready!” Miss. Annie Bell said.

Everyone packed their stuff and followed the teacher to the recording studio.

Section 3

The whole class and Miss. Annie Bell entered the big, cool, and updated recording studio.

“This is so cool!” Gizmo said.

“This is better than my summer vacation!” Apricot shouted.

“Everyone, listen! Before we get into producing and editing music, I need to inform you all that there are over four hundred different sound effects, and there are many types of FX or audio effects!” Miss. Annie told her students.

“Can someone guess some of the different types of audio effects?” she asked.

“Well, there’s the filter, echo, gater, delay, reverb, flanger, stopper, compressor, phaser, and many others! They make music sound way cooler and better. Just makes it more unique!” Gizmo explained.

“Excellent, Gizmo!” the teacher said.

“The purpose of audio effects is to modify sound.” Razor added.

“Today, we will focus on audio effects,” Miss. Annie Bell said. “First, I will choose several students to make a song. They must explain what types of instruments they will employ while using this music program.”

“I will choose Gracie, Gizmo, Thunder, and Razor!” she called out.

The rest of the class watches from the window; of course, they can hear them.

They are ready to learn!

“Gizmo, Gracie, Thunder, and Razor, I need you all to explain to the class your process! Have fun!” Miss. Annie Bell said.

Gizmo sits in the chair and puts the headphones on. He uses the computer and the musical equipment and software.

“Okay, let’s start off with a beat. I will choose hip-hop drums and bells as the percussion instrument.” Gizmo said.

“Then, I will use the electronic/ambient bassline.” Gracie said.

“Okay, nice flow; what else?” Miss. Annie Bell said.

Thunder is a brown tabby male cat with blue eyes. He wears an orange bow tie.

“Allow me! The melody and lead are the most important of them all in creating a song! Of course, all instruments are vital to working together! I will choose the melody in the genre of ambient trap!” Thunder said.

“See how much better that sounds? Now it’s my turn!” Razor shouted. “I think I prefer to use the flute for the second melody!”

“Nice tune! This song is good! But, students, we are forgetting something!” Miss. Annie Bell shouted.

“Sound effects!” Apricot shouted.

“Right! Tell us more about sound effects, Apricot!” the teacher asked.

“I believe that Gizmo and the others should use cymbal crash, engine, and motor sound effects to use for hard beats. As for soft beats, I’d go for forest sounds, birds chirping, rain, and people talking in the background.” Apricot said.

“I am surprised you know that!” Razor laughed.

“Thanks!” Gizmo said.

The crew used some of Apricot’s suggestions.

Now, it’s time for sound editing.

“Now, students, it’s time to modify the original audio sound. It helps the song sound better than before!” Miss. Annie Bell told her students.

“Okay, I guess we can try to use the echo effect,” Razor said.

“That sounds great!” Gizmo said.

“Now, let’s add the filter in the middle of the song!” Gracie suggested.

“Okay!” Razor said.

The students are done with producing their instrumental song. The teacher lets everyone listen to it.

Everyone likes it. They also learned a lot from this lesson.

“Everyone, let’s head back to the classroom!” Miss. Annie Bell told her students.

Everyone gets ready to head back to class.

When they get there, they are greeted by the principal, who has some unfortunate news to share.

Section 4

The class followed each other in a straight line.

“I am hungry! Is it time for lunch?” Apricot said.

“Be quiet, Apricot!” Gracie shouted.

The students sat at their desks. All of a sudden, the principal comes and speaks to Miss. Annie Bell.

“Hello, Principal Merlin! How are you?” Miss. Annie Bell said.

Principal Merlin is an orange tabby male cat with orange eyes. He wears a white bow tie. He is new here.

“Hello, I am fine. I have some news to share. Students, I am sad to say that the school is going to shut down due to not having enough students applying for this school. It is trouble to maintain budget for this school. So, you all must head home by the end of week.” Principal Merlin said.

“Aw, what?” Gizmo said.

“That’s not fair!” Gracie said.

“My dream of becoming a music producer is ruined! Ruined!” Razor cried.

“I am sorry! But if we have any ideas of how to keep the school going, we will inform you!

There’s no way we can do that by the end of the week.” Principal Merlin said.

“Wait! I have an idea!” Gizmo hollered out. “What if we hold a small concert here at the school?

We can get people from town and other cities excited that they’d want to apply to go to this school! Who’s with me?”

“No! That won’t work! Loser move!” Apricot shouted. “Maybe it’s better this way!”

“I think Gizmo’s plan is worthy. We can try that. I mean, I don’t guarantee it’d work, but let’s try for our dreams?” Principal Merlin said.

Everyone agreed.

“Okay, I hope it will work out!” Miss. Annie Bell said.

“Okay, class, after lunch, we will go to the band room and practice playing instruments for tomorrow’s concert. It’s to help save the school. Who’s ready?” she asked.

“I am!” Gizmo said.

“Me too!” Oatmeal said.

The students and the staff go off to lunch.

Elliot overheard the news and got upset. He was eavesdropping. He thinks that if he also performs in the concert, the school will be back to normal. So he heads to the band room and tries out some instruments. He has expert knowledge of music, so he is good.

Section 5

The students are done practicing and are ready for tomorrow.

The next day, the cats get prepared to perform their songs. Miss. Annie Bell decided to split them up into two bands.

The first band: Gizmo, Gracie, Razor, Oatmeal, and Thunder.

The second band: Apricot, Mocha, Rocco, Teal, and Sky.

Both bands have given their all. But the crew does not know that Elliot will be performing as well. He will perform by himself.

“Students, you all are going to do your best. Do not worry if this doesn’t work. You all have learned so much! Good luck!” Miss. Annie Bell said.

It’s time to get ready to perform at the concert. A lot of people showed up, even from out of town.

“Wow! That’s a lot of cats!” Miss. Annie Bell said.

“I am a little nervous,” Gizmo said. He was shaking, sweating, and trembling.

“So am I.” Razor said in a serious tone.

Principal Merlin came by to say hello.

“Hello! Good luck, students!” Principal Merlin said.

Everyone gets ready to see the show. Miss. Annie Bell announced the first band out loud.

“So glad all of you are here! I present you all the first band: Gizmo, Gracie, Razor, Oatmeal, and Thunder!” Miss. Annie Bell shouted.

Gizmo, Gracie, Razor, Oatmeal, and Thunder gathered around.

“Do not worry if this doesn’t work; we are all still musicians. Let’s show them who’s got game!”

Gizmo said.

“This song is instrumental, so there are no lyrics. The genre of this musical work is ambient and electronic.” Gracie said through the microphone.

Gizmo played his electronic guitar. Gracie played the space piano. Razor played the drums.

Oatmeal played the bass guitar. Thunder played sound effects on his laptop.

They did a good job! Everyone cheered! Miss. Annie Bell saw some cats wanting to apply to this school. She smiled.

Apricot and his bandmates realize that it’s their turn to perform.

Apricot turned and said something to them.

“We better prosper. Other than that, I don’t really care, actually.” Apricot said.

“But I care!” Mocha cried.

Mocha is a black and orange cat with amber eyes. She wears a tan-colored bow tie.

Apricot scoffed.

“Pffft! Yeah, whatever. Who cares? There are plenty of other career choices!” Apricot told Mocha.

“Then, why are you here?” Mocha asked.

“Well, because if I am going to burst my rage out, it’s going to be by scream rapping my heart out. Ya feel me?” he said.

“No!” Mocha, Rocco, Teal, and Sky shouted.

“No?” he asked.

“Look, Apricot, you can’t provide anyone with negative feedback. Success doesn’t happen overnight.” Mocha told him.

“Whatever! You losers better get ready! Our performance speaks for itself. Wait, I meant mine!”

Apricot said. He then laughed manically.

“Okay! Give it up for the second band: Apricot, Mocha, Rocco, Teal, and Sky!” Miss. Annie Bell excitedly called out.

“Let’s do this.” Apricot said.

“The genre of this song is trap metal and hip-hop/rap.” Mocha said this through the microphone.

Apricot, Mocha, Rocco, Teal, and Sky get ready to show their musical skills to the audience.

Apricot is the lead singer. Mocha plays the electronic guitar. Rocco plays the drums. Teal plays the electric bass guitar. Sky plays the sound effects on her laptop.

“Mocha, Rocco, Teal, and Sky: hit it!” Apricot shouted.

“Cellphone”

No car! No race!

No phone! No call!

No soda! No acid!

Beep! Beep! I am coming right behind you

With my big SUV

Make fun of me one more time

I dare you!

Don’t give up

I need directions to peace so I found a map

So tired that I want to take a nap

Are you jealous of my rap?

My favorite genre of music is trap

No car! No race!

No phone! No call!

No instruments! No music!

Apricot and his bandmates were a success. Apricot began to lose his voice after scream rapping.

“Wow! That was good!” Miss. Annie Bell said.

Apricot began to cough and lose his voice.

“Wow, are you okay, Apricot?” Miss. Annie Bell asked.

“I think I need some water!” he said.

More individuals wanted to sign up for the school after seeing the recent performance.

“I think that’s all for to-“ Miss. Annie Bell said while being interrupted by Elliot.

Elliot whispered to Miss. Annie Bell that he wanted to perform at today’s musical event.

“Are you sure, Elliot?” she asked.

“Yes, please.” Elliot said.

“Okay, good luck, Elliot!” Miss. Annie Bell.

Elliot gets ready. Gizmo is confused about why he is performing; either way, Gizmo is excited.

“Elliot? I can’t believe he is going to perform! Good luck, Elliot!” Gizmo shouted and cheered.

“You bet.” Elliot told Gizmo.

Gizmo, Gracie, Apricot, Razor, Oatmeal, Mocha, Rocco, Thunder, Teal, and Sky all clapped for him.

“I am Elliot, the school’s electrician. This song is called “Electricity”, and the genre of this song is a mix of deep house, rap, and electronic.” Elliot informed the audience.

“Electricity”

Name’s Elliot, and I am here to save the day!

I don’t just do electrical work

I don’t just fix musical instruments

I don’t just fix anything else

I also love music!

It’s dark, and you need to see?

Electricity!

Electric!

Power outage giving people rage!

Feel that power

Feel that energy

With no electricity, ain’t nobody getting reliability!

Name’s Elliot, and I am here to save the day!

Everyone cheered! Lots of people want to join now!

“Elliot, that was really good! You are really talented! Maybe being a musician will be your second career?” Miss. Annie Bell told Elliot.

“Thanks,” Elliot said.

Miss. Annie Bell, Gizmo, Gracie, Apricot, Razor, Oatmeal, Mocha, Rocco, Thunder, Teal, Sky, and Elliot all gathered together on the stage. They thanked the audience for being here and being supportive of newcomers.

Principal Merlin also went on stage.

“I have some good news to share! The school won’t be closed down after all! We are good!”

Principal Merlin exclaimed.

Gizmo cheered. Everyone was very happy.

The story ended with happiness and cheer!

What’s next for the cats?

Gizmo Shorts

Sky is a white cat with blue eyes. She wears a light pink bow tie. Sky had been practicing writing songs.

Gizmo: I can’t wait to hear your song, Sky!

Sky read her song to the whole class.

“No Limit”

No limit to music

No limit to writing

No limit to success

Do the math

See the instruments?

Make it rain

Instruments help us to make music

Also, tools help us to fix things

No limit to music

No limit to writing

No limit to success

Everyone cheered and liked Sky’s song.