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Editor Note: The images used for this story were purchased and used under royalty-free license* from Istockphoto.com . ~Sephrena
Author Note: Please email me at AngelJediGirl (at) gmail (dot) com before posting this story to any other site. Posting to a pay site is prohibited.

Comments and suggestions are also welcome at the above email address.

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Chapter 24 - Holliday Surprise

Wednesday morning had me dreading school again. I couldn't believe that the day before I had been excited to go to school as Megan. Now, I was considering dressing up as Brett again.

Eventually, I was able to talk myself into jeans and another t-shirt, both out of Megan's side of the closet. This is what I wanted. I would have to take the bad with the good.

The walk to school was fairly somber. I hoped that today would be better than yesterday, but I didn't see any reason why it would be. Most people would leave me alone again, but those few who didn't would probably torment me until the bell rang to go home.

"Don't worry, Megan," Emily said while we walked. "It won't be as bad as yesterday."

I appreciated what she was trying to do, but it wasn't working.

"What makes you think it will be any different?" I asked her.

"Well," she started. "I'm pretty sure that Tom and Carrie and the others thought you were completely female when they left the beach yesterday. They'll tell the others, and people will stop harassing you."

I didn't agree with her. Even if I had somehow convinced Tom and his friends, I doubted it would stop anyone else from harassing me. I wasn't even sure that I had convinced them of anything other than the fact that I could look female in a bikini.

Living my double life, I was more than aware that looks could be deceiving.

My mood improved when I managed to make it to my first class without incident. I'd passed a few people who had called me names yesterday, but all they managed to give me that morning were sneers or dirty looks.

First period was interesting. After the morning announcements the school-wide TV system came on and we all sat through a ten minute video about tolerance. They didn't specifically address anything about gender issues, but I got the feeling that my situation may have been the catalyst for showing the video.

Principal Hall then got on the speaker and talked about the punishments that would be handed out for discrimination-based incidents. His stern, uncompromising talk about possible expulsion and missing finals left me with mixed emotions about whether I would be taunted more or less because of the video.

The rest of the day had been pretty uneventful. We still had our boring lessons to prepare us for next week's finals, and nobody really had a desire to be there.

But nobody really said or did anything to me. I heard comments a few times while walking down the hall, but nobody said anything directly to me. I did get pushed from behind by a girl as we exited one of our classes, but it was so light that I couldn't tell if she meant it as an insult or if she was trying to get out of the door quickly.

By the end of the day I felt that I'd be able to make it to the end of the school year if every day was like that day had been. I was in a lot better mood while we walked home.

"Better day?" Emily asked with a smile on her face. I could tell that she already knew my answer.

I smiled back before answering. "Much better. Nobody said or did anything to me today."

"I bet the tolerance video helped a lot," Ethan said.

"Yeah," I agreed. "Even if they didn't say anything specifically about what I'm going through, it still seemed to have that feel. Either way, it really helped."

We continued walking home and talking about our days. It was nice to be in the company of Emily and Ethan for a second day in a row. I'd spent far too little time with them since Johnny's party the week before.

"Do you guys want to hang out at my house?" I asked them. "We could finish our homework and then watch a movie or something."

"Sure," Emily said.

"Sounds good to me," Ethan agreed.

"Great!" I told them. "I've missed hanging out with you guys.

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I was engrossed in a math problem when the doorbell rang. Ethan and Emily were watching TV, having already finished their homework, but it was my house and I had to extricate myself from underneath my textbooks.

I walked over to the door and opened it.

"Josh!" I gasped, not expecting to find Josh Holliday standing on my porch! "What are you doing here?"

"Sarah?" he asked, obviously confused. I realized then that I was not wearing my wig or anything else that would identify me as Sarah Carerra. I would need to be careful if I wanted to keep my secret.

"No, no," I said quickly while shaking my head. "My name is Megan. I'm Don's daughter."

I just hoped the deflection worked! If he made the connection between Sarah and me, he would probably give it away to Emily and Ethan, and anyone else he might tell!

"Oh," Josh said, and the confusion seemed to leave his face. "Is Sarah here?"

"No, why?" I asked as if Sarah being here was an uncommon event.

"Oh," he said again, and his face fell slightly. "You wouldn't happen to know when she'll be back, do you?"

Josh thought that Sarah lived here! I'd forgotten about that! He'd asked me last Saturday why I was staying with Don, and I hadn't given him any reason to believe Sarah wasn't staying here.

"I don't know," I told him truthfully. "She usually only stays here when she's in town."

"Oh," Josh said again, sounding like a broken record. "I thought she was living here."

"Is there anything I can do for you?" I asked him. I felt really bad about how depressed my answers had made him.

"Probably not," he said. He looked frustrated now. "Where does she live, anyway?"

"You'll have to ask my dad," I told him, watching the sullen look increase slightly. "He doesn't really share that kind of information with me."

"Is he here?"

I looked over at the large clock that Mom had hung from our wall. The two hands told me that it was nearly 5:30. Dad usually got home from the office around this time assuming he didn't have to go somewhere with a client.

"Not yet," I said while turning back to where Josh was still standing on the porch. "He should be home any minute if you want to come in and wait."

"Okay, I guess," he said nervously. I got the impression that he didn't really feel like hanging out with a teenager who wasn't famous, even if I was his own age and had managed to keep myself from mooning all over him.

I stepped back and opened the door further to allow him to enter. I noticed at about the same time that both Ethan and Emily were staring at him like they couldn't believe he was standing there.

Dad rarely had any of his clients over to the house. Neither of my friends had been here at those times either. I tried to signal them to act normal, but I was pretty sure they didn't see me.

Josh, on the other hand, noticed them immediately. He seemed to be even more nervous about staying here when he noticed I had friends over.

"Maybe waiting isn't such a good idea," he vocalized. "I can come back."

"If you want to wait in the green room, we'll stay out of your way," I told him, trying to put him at ease. He nodded at the idea.

I started walking down the hall, and a quick glance back showed that he was following me. Ethan and Emily started to get up, but a quick shake of my head had them sitting back down on the couch.

I opened the door to Sarah's room and led him in. He looked around, and I got the feeling he was uncomfortable with the feminine decorations.

"This is Sarah's room," I told him after the door was closed behind him. He'd seen the room on Saturday, but I don't think he'd really seen the room, if his wandering eyes were any indication. "You're welcome to watch TV or something while you wait. There are drinks in the small fridge over there."

He nodded, but continued to stand in front of the door, looking uncomfortable.

"Are you sure this is okay?" he eventually asked. "I mean, I wouldn't want her to get mad at me for being in her room or anything."

I chuckled silently at his discomfort. Even if this was technically 'my' room, it wasn't really 'my' room. My bed and all of my real personal belongings were in the next room.

"It'll be okay," I told him with a smile that seemed to confuse him slightly. I had a sudden concern that my smile looked too much like Sarah's.

"She only uses it when she's in town, and mostly for her clothes. She won't mind. Just don't go snooping through the closet," I said and then winked at him. I really didn't expect him to turn red, but he did. Quite red, in fact. It was cute.

"Anyway," I said, choosing to ignore his embarrassment. "Would you like me to call my dad and see how long he'll be?"

"Yeah," Josh said, his skin lightening to a more normal color. "That would be great."

"Okay," I told him. "I'll be right back."

I left him still standing near the door in Sarah's room and headed back into the front room to get my cell phone.

"What is Josh Holliday doing in your house?" Emily whispered excitedly when I re-entered the room.

"He wants to talk to Sarah or my dad," I told her.

"Why didn't he just call?" Ethan asked. I must admit, I was thinking the same thing. It was obvious that he was really hoping to see Sarah again.

"I think he was hoping Sarah was here," I replied while picking up my purse. I could tell that they wanted more information, such as why she would be at my house, but I wasn't ready to provide it.

I opened my purse and found my phone inside. But before I could call my dad, I heard the garage door opening, and someone entering the house.

"Dad?" I called out, hoping it was him.

"Yes?" he replied and stepped out of the kitchen and into the front room, still holding his briefcase.

"Good, you're home." I told him and got up and gave him a hug. "I was just about to call you."

"Why?" Dad asked, somewhat concerned. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah," I replied, giving him a reassuring smile. "But Josh Holliday is in the green room."

"Josh Holliday is here?" he asked. I nodded and pointed at Sarah's room to show him what room I was referring to as the 'green' room. His look of understanding and the quick glance over at Ethan and Emily showed that he knew why I was referring to it that way.

If Emily heard that Sarah Carerra had a room in our house, she wouldn't stop bugging me until she got to see it. That was something my dad didn't want, even if I did, and therefore the room had to be kept a secret.

"What does he want?" Dad asked me, and I smiled nervously.

"He was hoping Sarah was here," I explained. "When I told him she wasn't here, he wanted to talk to you and agreed to wait for you to get home."

Dad nodded again, but seemed to be as perplexed as I was at Josh's presence.

"Alright," he said. "I'll see what he wants."

Dad then walked down the hall and entered Sarah's room, leaving me to wonder exactly why Josh Holliday was at my house.

I returned to the couch, but there was no way I would be able to concentrate on my Math homework now. I knew I would have to deal with the stares that Emily and Ethan were giving me.

"What?" I finally asked them.

"Josh Holliday is in your house!" Emily exclaimed.

"Yeah," I agreed. "So..?"

She looked at me like I had grown a second head.

"A celebrity is in your house, and you don't even care?" she asked incredulously.

"It's not the first time," I admitted truthfully. It wasn't even the first time that Josh had been here, but she didn't need to know about that. I shrugged and turned back to the TV.

A minute or two later I heard a door open down the hall.

"Come on down into my office," I heard my dad say as his voice got louder. "We can give Sarah a call and you can tell her the good news yourself."

Uh oh, I was pretty sure that was a warning from my dad! I was going to have to find somewhere to take a call privately away from Emily and Ethan.

I turned around to look down the hall, where Emily and Ethan were still staring. Dad caught my eye and gestured back to Sarah's room, offering me a safe place. I nodded slightly to let him know I got the message. He and Josh then disappeared into my dad's office.

"I'll be right back," I told my friends before I stood up again and grabbed my phone. I slipped it into my pocket so that they wouldn't see me taking it with me.

"Where are you going?" Emily asked, more interested than I would have liked her to be.

"I have to go make sure the green room is cleaned up and stuff," I told her. "Be back in a second."

Before they could say anything else I quickly walked down the hall and locked myself into Sarah's room.

I sat down on the couch and waited for the phone call. After about a minute, my phone started to ring. I checked to make sure it was Dad's number before answering the call.

"Hello?" I said into the receiver.

"Sarah?" Dad said. "Hi, it's Don Campbell."

"Hi, Don," I replied like I wasn't expecting the call. "How are you doing?"

"I'm doing well," he replied. I doubt Josh would be able to, but I could hear the humor in his voice at our faked conversation.

"Listen," my dad said. "I'm here with Josh Holliday. He has something exciting he wants to tell you."

"Hi, Sarah," Josh said, confirming my suspicions that Dad was using the speaker phone.

"Hi, Josh," I replied. I wasn't quite sure what to say to him. We'd left on good terms Friday night, and I thought we could at least be friends. There was also that romantic piece to the evening that I was still slightly unsure of.

But before I had a chance to say anything else, Josh started speaking again, apparently excited about whatever he wanted to tell me.

"I've got great news, Sarah!" he said excitedly. "I want you to open for me a week from Saturday in Salt Lake City!"

I sat there stunned! Josh Holliday was offering me a chance to perform my first concert! This doesn't happen, right? My first song only came out two days earlier! You just don't do a concert two weeks after your first song debuts!

Heck, I only had the one song to sing!

"Wow," I was eventually able to say, but was still pretty much speechless.

"Yeah," Josh continued. "The drummer in the band that was supposed to be opening decided he wanted to quit the band, and they won't be able to get a replacement in time. When the organizer asked me if I knew anyone who could replace them on short notice, I thought of you."

"I think this is an excellent opportunity," my dad interrupted. His comment told me that it was something I should accept.

"That sounds great, Josh," I said. "I would love to open for you, but I've only got one song, I don't know how I'd be able to..."

"I think we can do it, Sarah," Dad said. "I was talking with Scott this morning. He said that the record company was intrigued at how well your song is already doing and they have started to compile some songs for an album. They may be able to provide enough for the concert."

"How many do I need?" I asked. Once again Sarah's career seemed to be moving too fast!

"It's a six song set," Josh answered. "The organizers may not want to shorten it too much, though. I'd think you would need at least five songs."

"I think that's doable, Josh," my dad answered for me. "Can we check with the record company and give you an answer tomorrow?"

"Yes," Josh said, and I could hear the excitement in his voice again. "I told the organizers of the concert I would give them an answer by Friday."

"Is that okay with you, Sarah?" Dad asked me. I was still shocked at the offer, but I was definitely willing to do it. I had already started feeling nervous about standing in front of a crowd and singing, but I knew I would have to do it at some point.

"I'd be honored, Josh," I said, answering him instead of my father.

"Awesome!" Josh nearly yelled into the receiver. "This is going to be great!"

I chuckled at his response. He'd been smitten with Sarah all night last Saturday, and it didn't look like anything had changed.

"Alright then," Dad said. "I'll contact the record company and see what we can do. I'll give you a call in the morning, Sarah."

"Okay," I agreed. "And thank you, Josh, for the opportunity."

"It's my pleasure," he told me.

"Well," Dad interrupted us. I didn't think he wanted any lovey-dovey type stuff to happen while he was there. "I don't want to waste your time, Sarah. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

Even though I wanted to talk to Josh more, I could take a hint. "Alright, goodbye Don, I'll talk to you later, Josh."

"Bye, Sarah," Josh said. I could hear pain in his voice now. It was obvious that he wanted to talk to me longer.

I heard the click of the receiver indicating that the line had gone dead.

I surprised myself by realizing that I too wanted to talk to Josh longer. We'd made a connection Saturday night. What that connection meant was something I still didn't know, but I wanted to find out. If only I could have talked to Josh longer.

Then I remembered he was in the next room.

I quickly opened the door and rushed back to the living room. I needed to be ready when Josh came out of Dad's office.

Emily and Ethan were looking at me oddly when I ran in and grabbed my notebook, but I didn't care. I ripped off a sheet of paper before turning back to my phone.

Dad had set up a second line for me on my cell phone. The new line was an unlisted number for Sarah. It would allow me to receive phone calls for both of my lives without having to carry around a second phone. It also provided the ability to have separate voicemail messages for each identity, keeping those a secret too.

But I'd never used the second line until today. Dad had called me on it from his office, but nobody else knew the number, including me!

Trudging through the long list of contacts on my phone, I finally found the entry for Sarah Carerra that I created to help me remember the number. Quickly jotting down Sarah's name and the number, I folded up the paper. Now I only had to wait for my chance to give it to Josh.

"What are you doing?" I heard Emily ask. It probably wasn't the first time she had asked the question, but I hadn't heard any of her other attempts.

"Uh," was my undignified response. "Writing down Sarah's number to give to Josh. I don't think he's going to get it from my dad, but she wants him to have it."

"You have Sarah's number?" she asked me incredulously.

"Yeah," I replied. "She gave it to me after we went to dinner at the Crawford's last week."

It was a small lie, but it wasn't entirely untrue. Dad had been the one to give me the number that night.

Surprisingly, Emily started laughing. I gave her an odd look, much like Ethan was.

"You're telling me that you had Sarah's number when Johnny confronted you in the hall the next day?" she asked.

Johnny had been so adamant that I needed to get the number from my dad, not knowing that I already had it. When she put it that way, I found myself giggling with her. I probably wouldn't have made it out of that hallway alive if Johnny knew the number was stored in my phone.

"What's so funny?" Ethan had to ask. He hadn't been there at the time, and probably didn't know the story.

"Johnny Crawford was practically begging Megan to get Sarah's number for him last week," Emily explained. "But she refused, saying that there was no way she could get it without getting grounded."

Ethan just shrugged and turned back to the TV. It obviously wasn't as funny to him. I really didn't see why Emily was laughing so much.

She was still chuckling to herself when the door to Dad's office opened a minute or two later.

The sound of Josh's voice echoing from the hallway sent butterflies flying around in my stomach. I was going to give a boy my number! I wasn't even sure if I was ready for that!

I stood up and watched Josh follow my dad into the living room. Josh was still smiling, and I was glad to see that cutting the conversation short hadn't depressed him any more than I had earlier.

"Thanks for coming by, Josh," Dad was saying. "I'll give you a call tomorrow and let you know if she'll be able to do it."

"Thanks, Don," he said with a smile. I was beginning to like that smile.

A scramble on the couch next to me had me look away, where I found Emily scrambling to find a pen after she tore a piece of paper from my notebook. She obviously was hoping for an autograph.

"Josh!" she yelled, finding a pen and holding it in the air. "Can I have your autograph?"

Josh looked over at us, and I saw him chuckle. He seemed so different now than he had Saturday night. Without a lot of fans around to mob him, he actually seemed like a down to earth guy. The smile he gave Emily as he walked over to the couch was not the one he had given the other girls when he went to the bathroom in the restaurant. This one was warm and fuzzy. He genuinely seemed happy to give her his autograph.

"Sure," he said and took the pen from her. "What's your name?"

"Emily," she swooned, which brought another chuckle from Josh.

He scribbled something on the sheet of paper before handing it back to her.

"Here you go," he said, showing her that friendly smile once again. "Anyone else?"

Ethan declined, but he seemed to be in pain when he did. If he wanted an autograph, this was the perfect time to get it.

Then Josh turned to me. "How about you?" he asked.

I shook my head, but I was unable to stop the giggle that escaped my mouth. He definitely wouldn't be asking if he knew who I was.

"I'm fine," I told him. "But it was an honor to meet you."

I extended my hand for a handshake. The move had him looking at me oddly, but he reached out and took my hand anyway.

When we released the grip, the paper with Sarah's number on it was no longer in my hand.

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