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BuzzFeed Staff

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You are Vanessa Carlton, and you MUST get downtown.

Can You Successfully Make Your Way Downtown As Vanessa Carlton?

You are Vanessa Carlton. You need to make your way downtown. You are homebound. IT'S URGENT.

The Start!

VROOM! You floor the sustain pedal on the piano and pass a few cars. Then you get on the highway. A few motorcycle dudes with road rage tailgate you.

Hop on my piano bench and begin driving it downtown

You stare blankly ahead. As you walk, you get to thinking: there's someone you NEED; someone you MISS. But who?

Walk fast, faces pass

You breathe a sigh of relief. You're homebound! You'll see your mom very soon. 

My mom

Yes...being Vanessa Carlton, you can't be away from your piano for too long without missing it.

My piano

Ugh. You NEED them. You MISS them. And now, you wonder...

Someone special

You're on a crosswalk when a taxi almost runs you over while trying to turn right on red. You curse the taxi driver out, pointing at the 'WALK' sign. "I HAVE THE RIGHT-OF-WAY, YOU MOTHERF*&%ER!" 

Just making my way, making a way through the crowd

Ahh, that's better. But you still have to get downtown!

Return to the garage where I keep my piano

That really pissed you off.  You'll probably be mad about it for a whi – Ooh! ZARA is having a sale!

I, I don't wanna let this go

You just realized you said this aloud. A guy sitting outside a coffee shop looks at you like you have two heads. "What does that even mean?!" he says.

If I could fall into the sky, do you think time would pass me by?

They have some nice blouses, but the line is so long that it wouldn't even be worth buying anything.

Go in

Ignore it

Everything's so wrong and I don't belong

"Vanessa!" says Michelle. "You're everywhere to me."

Oh my god, is that Michelle Branch?

Michelle's face passes as you make your way through the crowd.

Michelle, I can't talk right now. I'm homebound.

"Please tell me why don't you come around no more," says Michelle.

I, I, don't want to let this go

"All you wanted was somebody who cares," says Michelle.

It's always times like these when I think of you and I wonder if you ever think of me

"Alright," says Michelle. "Do you want to take Carlos Santana's limo? He lets me use it."

Michelle, we're talking in circles. I literally HAVE to get downtown.

You walk by a café and see Sara Bareilles having brunch with Colbie Caillat. They asked you last week if you wanted to join, but you said "I, I don't." They wave. You keep walking.

Keep walking

You pull over on the shoulder to let the motorcyclists pass. They were making too much noise anyway; you could barely hear your own piano or vocals! Okay, back on the road!

Let them pass

Yeahhh, suck on that! I'm Vanessa Carlton and I do what I want! And now we're in a no-passing zone, he he he.

Drive even slower to piss them off

You ask the limo driver to take you downtown, and step on it! 

Accept the offer

Michelle understands. You've always told her how important it is to you that you walk, even if you must walk a thousand miles.

You know I'd walk a thousand miles

The motorcycle dudes got so mad they rear-ended your piano! Smoke is coming out of it and you realize you can't play the lower octaves anymore! Are you freakin' serious?! How are you going to get downtown now?!

Keep driving your piano

Sigh. Making your way downtown...walking fast...faces...pass...a nd . . .

Get off the piano bench and start walking

You stand by the road and hold your thumb out. Your thumb doesn't want to hitchhike. It LONGS to play Middle C on your broken piano. You shed a tear. But just then, a big truck pulls up. When the dust clears, you realize the driver is none other than Natasha Bedingfield! "Reaching for something in the distance?" she asks over the growl of her truck's motor.

Try to hitchhike

Continue on the highway, abiding by the speed limit

Oh no! A police car is flagging you down! 

Go, like, 10 miles above the speed limit. I'm Vanessa freakin' Carlton!

You put on your piano signals by playing the tick-tock sound of a car's turning signals on your piano and then merge onto the exit for Downtown. Wait...where are you going again? You forgot to download Waze.

Take the exit

Oh, right, right. It's been a long day. You take the familiar turns you've driven on your piano a million times before. 

HOME! I'M HOMEBOUND!

You pull into a Guitar Center and buy some sheet music, which you feed into your piano for fuel. Now you're ready to go home.

I'm homebound, but I want to stop and fuel up my piano first.

The police car pulls over behind you. An officer gets out and stands next to your piano. "Do you know how fast you were traveling?"

Pull over

The sun beats down on you as you drag yourself down the long stretch of highway. How long have you been walking? Vultures circle overhead. But – wait! Over there!! A stadium of screaming fans! A stage! They're waiting for you to play! You wander off the highway. The stadium begins to melt in thin air. A moment later, it has completely vanished. It was all a mirage.

S t ari n g bLan k l y aH ea d

You collapse in the heat. All you wanted was to make your way downtown. You were homebound, but now you are only left to wonder, in your delirium, if you will fall into the sky.

I...I...don't...

"Release your inhibitions," Natasha says as she motions for you to join her in the truck. She will take you downtown.

Making my way downtown!!

"So, what have you been up to since we last hung out?" asks Natasha.

Get in the truck

"Well, you were going about ten miles over the legal speed limit," says the officer. "License and registration, please?'

I, I don't.

"You mean you don't have a license to operate this instrument?" asks the officer. "Please step away from the piano. I'm afraid I'm going to have to take you to the county jail." You protest, but it amounts to nothing. You get in the back of the police car. Your dreams of getting downtown have been foiled.

I, I don't...

YOU'RE HOME! You walk inside your house. A pair of eyes stare back at you. You hold back tears. "You know I'd walk a thousand miles if I could just see you...if I could just hold you...tonight," you say. You walk to the bookshelf, where the never-opened, limited-edition Vanessa Carlton Barbie doll, complete with stand and piano, awaits you. You have made it home to her.

Pull into your driveway

Your piano's running GREAT now. You play some awesome chords as you pass the old Applebee's and strip malls you used to frequent as a bored teen. The nostalgia hits you hard. Then you turn the corner to your house.

Head home

You cruise down the bike lane with the wind in your braid. Suddenly, another Citi Biker rides up alongside you. It's Jewel. "Vanessa, you're not wearing a helmet," she says. Who will save your soul?"

Rent a Citi Bike

"I see," says Natasha. "Hey, open up the dirty window." You roll down the passenger side window just in time to see a sign that reads "DOWNTOWN NEXT EXIT." You're almost there!

Living in your precious memory

Natasha looks at you, furious. She pulls a piece of sheet music from the glove box. "THESE WORDS ARE MY OWN!" she screams. Then she kicks you out of her truck.

You mean, since you stole my lyrics?

What does she know? You keep biking. But suddenly, out of nowhere, a pedestrian walks into the bike lane! You swerve and fall off your Citi Bike. You will not be making it downtown by tonight.

Stare blankly ahead

You thank Jewel and walk your bike to a bike store, where you purchase a helmet. Your braid still looks pretty good under the helmet. 

You're right, Jewel. I could fall into the sky!

You start to miss your piano. It's a lot easier to drive, since all you have to do is play the keys to drive it. Oh well, you already paid for the Citi Bike and time is running out. 

Keep biking downtown

Natasha navigates through your neighborhood and pulls into your driveway. 

Give Natasha directions to your house

You veer onto a narrow, gravel road. It's hard to bike on, but you know this road connects with another that leads to your house. You start to sweat as you bike on the rough terrain. You start to realize this road probably wasn't meant to be driven on. Are you lost? Did you mix up the turn?

Take a shortcut home

You bike down the highway. There isn't much of a shoulder, so it's a little dangerous. Cars keep having to pass you. You keep telling yourself you'll be downtown soon. You suddenly get tired, so you stop to rest. You park your Citi Bike on the side of the road. A tractor trailer runs it over! WHAT THE HELL!

Take the highway

You continue down the road. It becomes narrower until it's not even a road anymore. The gravel has turned to large rocks. You are at a dead end. Your Citi Bike is supposed to be returned soon and you need to be downtown ASAP. You're lost, you don't have your piano, and this wouldn't even make a good song.

Keep going

You realize it's better to turn around and get back on the main road. You wasted a little time, but it was worth it. You stay on the main road for a while until you find the REAL shortcut. Yikes, if you had stayed on that other road, you would have gotten lost! You continue on, and make the turn onto the next road. You're close to home.

Turn around

You walk to the bus stop and make sure the bus line is headed downtown. Luckily, it is. You wait 20 minutes for the bus to come. It finally arrives. You throw a bunch of change into the change slot and get on.

Walk to the bus stop

You look at the route map and find the stop you need to get off at. Oh, how you've fallen. You're VANESSA CARLTON. You used to drive a piano everywhere. And NOW? Now you're taking public transportation just to get home. As the bus approaches your stop, you pull the cord. The bus is crowded as you try to exit. "MAKING MY WAY, MAKING A WAY THROUGH THE CROWD!" you yell.

Take the bus downtown

You walk a few blocks until you see your house. You made it! You're home! You run up the driveway and up to the house. You remember something Jewel once said to you and the rest of the girls at Singer-Songwriter Camp, "Don't leave the keys in the door." You take them out.

Get off the bus

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Can You Successfully Make Your Way Downtown As Vanessa Carlton?

Recommended listening while you play this game:

View this video on YouTube

I guess, in a way, we're all trying to make our way downtown.

Can You Successfully Make Your Way Downtown As Vanessa Carlton?

Recommended listening while you play this game:

View this video on YouTube

I guess, in a way, we're all trying to make our way downtown.

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