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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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Sarah Carerra Book 2: Summer Medley

Chapter 2.45 - Bad News

"I'm sorry," I whispered to Paul's parents. Tears streaked down my cheeks at his reaction. I knew that he felt betrayed. I would too if I was in the same situation. But there was no way I could have told him earlier. I didn't even want him to know now!

"What did you do?" his mom asked. The accusing tone in her voice didn't help my feelings, and I sniffed back a few more tears.

"Please make sure he's okay," I told her, unable to make eye contact. "I didn't want him to find out this way."

"What do you mean?!" she hissed. I could tell that she was mad at me. I was the first girl who Paul had approached like this, and I had hurt him.

I didn't know what to tell her. I had already said too much. There were too many people looking on now to say anything more.

Fortunately, Dad was there once again to alleviate the issue. He managed to calm down Paul's mother, and then he led both of his parents out of the room to where they could talk in private. I knew he was going to tell them the secret, and that only hurt more. Too many people were finding out.

Things got worse when I turned back toward the room. It was obvious that many people had taken pictures with their phones. There were also a few members of the press in the room who would likely play this up for all it was worth. I did my best to smile and interact with my fans, but I knew they all could see how upset I was.

I climbed into bed that night not only physically exhausted, but also emotionally drained. Dad hadn't been happy about what had happened. If it hadn't been for the fact that he knew I didn't do it on purpose, and that I didn't even want Paul to know, he probably would have yelled at me. Instead, he left me alone, which didn't help me feel any better either.

*  *  *

Friday morning proved to be as horrible as I was afraid it would be. My name and face were plastered all over the entertainment sections of most of the newspapers that Dad had delivered to our house. He usually used them to check up on his own clients. The grim look he had on his face when I sat down at the breakfast table with him showed me how disappointed he was.

The articles posited that I had broken up with Paul, or had somehow hurt his feelings in a way that made me look like the one at fault. Some of the more reputable papers included a photo or two of how distraught I had been too, but most of the others only had a brief statement that I appeared to be upset at the ordeal.

Overall Dad said it wasn't too bad. The press respected me, and they were giving me the benefit of the doubt. They didn't come out and say that I had wronged Paul, but many of them had left their stories open to interpretation in a way that didn't necessarily paint me in the best light.

"How are you doing?" Dad asked me as I poured some cereal. His tone was kinder than I expected, which gave me hope.

"I didn't want him to know, Daddy," I told him and felt tears bead at the corners of my eyes again. I sniffed and quickly wiped the tears away before they could turn into anything more.

"I know, Princess," he replied. Then he pointed at the papers. "This will blow over. You're one of America's sweethearts right now, so any gossip is news. We'll need to release a statement, so I want you to think about what you want to say."

"What do I tell them?" I asked, terrified! "I mean, I can't tell them the truth!"

"Why not?" Dad said which boggled my mind. "I don't mean that we break the secret," he quietly stated when he saw my look. "You should tell them that Paul and you are friends, and that you had a misunderstanding."

I sighed. This was NOT something that I wanted to deal with right now.

We ate breakfast in silence. I tried to think about what I should tell the press, and I couldn't find the right words. I knew there was something that I needed to do first, if I was going to come up with a statement.

After washing my bowl and putting it in the dishwasher, I headed for Sarah's room and pulled out my cell phone. After entering Paul's number I hesitated to make the call. I knew I had to do this, however, and eventually depressed my thumb to cause the phone to start dialing.

It rang three times before it was picked up. Paul's mom was the one who answered.

"Johnson residence," she said. I knew from her tone that she had seen the caller ID, though.

"Hi, Mrs. Johnson," I said softly. "Is it okay if I speak with Paul?"

She was quiet for a moment. Dad had informed me that he'd told them the truth, and they had agreed to sign a non-disclosure agreement, but that didn't mean that she wasn't still upset.

"He's not here right now, Megan," she finally said. "But I'm not sure that would be a good idea anyway. He had a crush on you, you know. But last night you crushed him."

"I know," I replied. "That's why I didn't want him to find out. He needed someone like Sarah in his life. He needed someone who could give him the courage to talk to people. I never even imagined he would recognize me. I mean, not even my cousins recognized me!"

"Megan, that's not..." she started for a moment before trailing off. Then I heard an audible sigh before she continued. "I don't blame you, Megan. Ever since you two became lab partners you've done nothing but try to help him. I know that is what you were trying to do last night. You've managed to get him out of a shell I thought he was going to spend his entire life in. He's upset right now, and rightly so. But it isn't your fault. Please give him some time. He'll come around."

It was my turn to be quiet for a moment while I tried to figure out how to reply.

"Alright," I finally agreed. "I have to make a statement to the press, and I had hoped to talk to him first and apologize. Will you at least tell him that I'm sorry?"

"The press?" she asked, worry filling her voice. "Why?"

"They were there last night," I said. "I'm afraid Sarah and Paul made most of the entertainment news this morning."

"Oh," she replied, surprised. "Um..."

"I'm going to tell them that we are friends, but that we had a misunderstanding," I said, using Dad's words. I knew she was worried about what this would do to Paul. His face was now in the newspapers, and this would certainly increase his anxiety. It would probably even make him more self-conscious around other people. "I'm sorry to get him involved in this part of my life. This isn't going to be easy for him, but I'll do anything I can to help him through it."

The phone was silent for a moment before Paul's mom spoke again. "Thank you, Megan," she said. "I'll tell him you called."

"Ok," I replied. It wasn't what I was hoping to achieve from the call, but it was better than nothing. "Bye."

I heard a click from her end, and my tears began once more.

*  *  *

It took another hour to draft the statement with Dad's help; more accurately he wanted my help in drafting the statement. He wanted it to come from Sarah, and not from her press people. Then, he sent it off to be distributed. I was glad that I didn't have to actually say the statement myself, but this also felt slightly cold. I just hoped that it helped.

After that mess had been dealt with, I had to turn my attention to the next mess that I knew we were going to create. Despite the events of last night, Dad was still adamant about letting my principal in on the secret, and I had plenty of things to worry about on the drive over to the school.

Stepping out of the car and walking toward the doors of the school evoked another set of emotions in me. I had spent enough time over the summer worrying about how I would be treated when I returned. I'd had an uneasy truce with many of the students at the end of the last year, sparked partially by the threat of missing finals that Principal Hall had put in place if anyone did anything to me. I wasn't sure if things would be different without that threat looming over them.

Fortunately, the school was pretty much empty as we made our way to the office and checked in with the secretary that was there.

I sat next to Dad for 20 whole minutes worrying about what would happen once we were shown into the principal's office. Eventually, the principal exited his office escorting another girl and her father. She looked like she was Austin's age, which meant she was likely an incoming freshman like him. The thought of having Austin in the same school as me this year also gave me pause, as I worried what I had gone through would mean for his standing with the other students. I sincerely hoped that my problems didn't lead to problems for him.

Once the girl and her father had exited the office, Mr. Hall turned toward me.

"Megan!" he greeted me happily. "It's so nice to see you again. I'm glad that you have decided to return to our school."

My greeting caught in my throat for a moment as I processed that statement. I hadn't even considered going to a different school. Would that have been a better option? I quickly discounted that thought when I realized it would probably mean leaving Emily and Ethan behind. I couldn't go anywhere if they were staying here.

"Hi," I finally managed. Principal Hall continued smiling as he turned toward my dad.

"Don, it's nice to see you again," he said before motioning toward his office. "Why don't you two come inside."

We followed the principal's lead into his office and took seats in the chairs in front of his desk. Mr. Hall walked around his desk and took a seat before smiling at us once again. Then he turned his attention to a folder that was lying nearby. He moved it in front of him and opened it.

"The Board's lawyers have agreed to allow me to sign the non-disclosure," he said, directing his comments toward my dad. "They weren't exactly happy about it, but I do have it signed."

He pulled out the papers that I had become all too familiar with when people found out my secret and handed them to Dad, who started to review them. Then Dad returned a set to Mr. Hall and placed his copy on top of his day planner.

"Thank you," Dad said. "That will make this meeting a lot more productive."

"Can I ask what this is about?" the principal asked before motioning toward me. "Is it in regards to her change?"

"No," Dad replied casually. "I've already given you the papers that show she is legally female. We don't need to go over that any more, do we?"

Principal Hall shook his head before replying. "No," he said. "As far as the school is concerned, Megan is female. She will be treated like any other female in this school and will be held to the same standards that the other girls are held too. Congratulations, Megan."

I smiled broadly before I could even attempt to talk. "Thank you," I told him.

"So if this isn't about her gender..." the principal said, trailing off at the end to invite us to inform him what it was truly about.

I looked to Dad, wondering if he wanted me to say it. But he started speaking instead. "There is a good chance that Megan will be missing quite a bit of school this year, and we were hoping that you could help us make sure that she still meets all of the requirements to advance."

"Oh," the principal said, obviously surprised. "If I might ask, why would she be missing school?"

Now Dad looked over at me, which caused Principal Hall to do the same.

"I'm, um..." I still didn't think that this was a good idea, and I didn’t want to tell him. But I knew that Dad's reasoning for telling him was sound. "I'm Sarah Carerra," I finally blurted out. The relief that I felt was immediate, and almost as pronounced as the shock that registered on my principal's face.

"I..." he started, but he seemed to be debating with himself if what we had told him was the truth. I saw the doubt cross his face more than once before he finally seemed to accept what we were saying. He still looked reluctant to believe it when he spoke again, though. "Okay," he said cautiously. "Assuming that's true, what do you want me to do?"

"Megan will be missing some school due to the concert tour she is currently committed to," Dad told him. "We were hoping that you could help us excuse her absences and help us to make sure we have all of her assignments so that she can complete them while she is gone."

Principal Hall pondered that request for a moment. "I think that I can do that. However there are a minimum number of days that she is required to attend to be eligible for advancement. If she misses too much, then I won't have any choice but to hold her back."

"I don't expect her to miss too much," Dad told him. "Most of her concerts are on Saturdays, but we will need to fly out on Friday afternoon to make it to them. Otherwise she has one concert on a Tuesday, so she will likely be out for a day or two then. For everything else she has planned, we are trying to work around the school schedule to keep her from missing too much."

Mr. Hall nodded.

"In addition," Dad continued. "For your help we would like to offer two gifts from Sarah Carerra. First, we are planning a Christmas performance, and we would like to offer the school's Chorus group the chance to perform with her."

I was as surprised as Principal Hall! Dad hadn't mentioned any of this to me beforehand, but I saw his grin that told me how excited he thought I would be. Truthfully, the thought of performing with people from my school worried me a lot more than it excited me. I had already had one person see through my disguise at close range. What if some of the other students did the same thing?

"I'll have to see what Mr. Benson thinks about that first," the principal said. Mr. Benson was the Chorus instructor. Dad nodded to show that he understood. "What's the second item?"

"Sarah is also willing to perform a concert for the school," Dad said.

If I thought that the shock of performing with the Chorus was bad enough, this new offer electrified my nerves!

"What?" I screamed! "No! I can’t perform at school! If I’m outed here, then everything will be over!”

"It'll be okay, Megan," Dad tried to soothe me. "You've already proven that you can fool everyone. Nobody will recognize you."

"What about Paul?" I shot back. "He recognized me easily enough! How can you be so sure that nobody else will?"

Dad seemed to reflect on that point for a moment, but I saw in his eyes that I would be performing here. As my agent, he knew that it would be the right move for my career, and he didn't seem to be worried about the secret getting out.

"Paul was a special case," Dad said. I could only frown at him because I knew that was true. The only reason Paul had recognized me was because I was the only friend he'd ever truly had. Even Ethan, whom I'd known much longer than Paul, hadn't recognized me.

"Fine," I said resignedly. I wasn't exactly happy about it, but I knew I didn't have a choice anymore. There were some decisions, like where to perform, that weren't my call. The smile that was on Mr. Hall's face told me that it would be good for the school and good for what we were asking him to help us with. But it still didn't keep me from worrying.

"The school would appreciate that," Principal Hall broke in when Dad and I had lapsed into silence. "But how is this going to work? How do we explain Megan's absence to the teachers?"

"Officially Megan is one of Sarah's personal assistants," Dad explained the cover story that we had already established. "That explains why she is following Sarah around, and should suffice for most of her absences."

Principal Hall nodded before he spoke again. "Okay, that will work. I'm willing to help in any way that I can. It's an honor to have you at this school, Megan."

"Thank you," I said, but inwardly I was still pouting about what Dad had thrown at me.

"There is one more thing that I'd like you to consider doing in return," the principal continued. I felt my whole body sag at his words. Whatever it was, I was sure I wouldn't like it either.

"What is it?" I asked cautiously. I really didn't want to know the answer.

"I'd like you to consider joining Chorus," he replied.

I sighed. I knew I wouldn't like his request. Everything both Dad and Mr. Hall wanted me to do had a major potential of blowing the secret out into the open. What if someone in Chorus recognized my singing as Sarah's? What would happen then? It definitely wouldn't be anything good.

"It would count as one of your electives, and Chorus meets during last period, so it wouldn't interfere with any of your extracurricular activities," he continued, trying to persuade me. He even had a large smile on his face that made him look way too happy. I still didn't like the idea.

"I think that is a good idea," Dad piped in with his own opinion. "It will give you a chance to work on your singing and you might even learn a thing or two. Besides, if Mr. Benson agrees to have Chorus perform with Sarah, then it will be a good way for you to learn and interact with the group before they ever meet Sarah."

I sighed again. Today felt like I had no control over my life. From the stories in the papers to the inability to speak with Paul. From the new concert to being forced to join Chorus. I was half afraid I'd be playing on a sports team by the end of the meeting.

"Whatever," I finally told them, which caused both of them to smile widely. I hated them at that moment! I still wished that there was something that I could do to get out of what I had just been forced to commit to.

*  *  *

"I thought you wanted to protect the secret," I scowled at Dad when we were back in his car.

Dad looked over at me and laughed. He laughed! I scowled even harder.

"Megan, you are too worried about this," he said. "What happened with Paul was unfortunate, but it was extremely unlikely. You know as well as I do that Sarah and Megan look very different from each other. Nobody else is going to find out, and joining Chorus is not going to kill you."

"Fine," I told him. "But a concert?"

He chuckled again while shaking his head. Then he spoke once more.

"It'll be fun," he said. "Think about how great it will be to have the whole school screaming for you. All those people who give you a hard time will fall at your feet. Trust me. You are going to enjoy it."

When he put it that way, the concert did sound like a lot of fun. I'd love to see Jared Lumbart and his friends groveling at my feet for an autograph.

But that didn't mean I wanted to do it.

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