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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 2.50 - Scenic Interview
We returned to the hotel at about one in the afternoon. I promptly crawled into my bed and fell asleep. It had been a taxing morning, and I slept until evening, replenishing the energy I had used up performing. I awoke just long enough to eat and watch a movie with my family in my hotel suite.

When they left, I marveled once again at how odd it was to be alone. My hotel suite was connected to my parents’ suite by a door in the main room, but with the door closed as they got ready for bed, it was quieter than it had ever been. I knew that we had two suites to keep up the appearance that I wasn't related to them, but it felt so liberating to have my own hotel suite that I just wanted to shout out how cool it was!

I had slept so long that sleep wasn’t coming anytime soon, so I sat and stared out my window for a while. I thought about where my life had gone, and I marveled at how much I had changed over the summer. At no time during the last few months had anyone even considered that I wasn't the young woman that I knew I was. I was worried about what would happen when I went back to school, because I had to interact with everyone who had known me before. It wasn't going to be easy to convince some of them that I had always been a girl, and some of them could refuse to accept it. But I would do my best. As long as I could keep myself from getting beaten up, then I'd be happy with the results.

Besides, I had another life to occupy my time outside of school. No matter how much I might get hassled or pushed around in the hallways, I'd have people fawning over and clamoring to get near me when I put on the wig.

I didn't know how long we'd be able to keep Sarah's true identity a secret from the world. I would do my best to keep it going as long as I could. I didn't want the fame and fortune that I received while out as Sarah to happen to me as Megan. I wanted the nice quiet life that the secret gave me. But that just didn't seem like something that we could feasibly do in the long run. Every day that I stepped out as Sarah brought the risk that the secret would be revealed. The more I interacted with people who knew me, the greater the chance that they would see through my disguise. And there were the missing parts of Sarah's life that people would start to question.

That was the subject that was apparently on everyone’s' minds when I arrived on the set of 'The Scene' the next day. I had barely been seated on the soft, short couch in the middle of the semicircle that formed the main "stage" of the show when the four beautiful hosts in their early 20's started to grill me. Two of the hosts, Jamie and Carly, sat on the identical couch angled to my left while the other two, Tara and Jackie, sat on the one to my right. I knew the spot next to me would be filled by their second guest later in the show.

"So, Sarah," Jamie started the discussion. "You're a bit of an enigma, you know."

"An enigma?" I questioned, wondering where she was going with her thought.

"Yes," she replied. "You're the hottest new star hitting the music circuit this summer, yet we hardly know anything about you. You disappear when you aren't performing. We haven't met your family. You never show up at any Hollywood parties. There's even one rumor that you were born a boy and you’re just pretending to be a girl with a wig and some padding."

My jaw dropped for a moment before I choked out my shocked laughter at her last comment. It was way too close to the truth that not even those who knew that I was really Megan were aware of. I hadn't heard the rumor, but I wasn't happy to find out that it existed. The crowd was quick to join in with an uncomfortable laughter that at least let me know they didn't believe that last one, thank goodness.

All four hosts were looking at me expectantly now, waiting to see how I responded to the barrage that had been thrown at me.

"Well, I can guarantee that I was never a boy," I started before I had to stop and chuckle again. The crowd joined me. I hadn't ever considered these ramifications before, but if the secret ever got out then I'd have to deal with all the problems of uncertainty in my gender that I'd have at school with the world. That would be a public relations nightmare, and it gave me an extra incentive to keep the secret a secret. I had irrefutable proof showing that I was female, but I knew that not everyone would believe it. I couldn't imagine dealing with that in the spotlight that Sarah was always standing in.

"I don't know," Tara said before pointing at the bottom of the skirt I was wearing. "Those legs look too perfect to be naturally female. I always heard that guys had the better legs."

There was more laughter around the studio, but it was all in jest. Nobody seemed to take the accusations seriously. I had been blessed with Mom's good looks. Even if I had grown up believing myself to be a boy, I didn't have the DNA of one.

"Seriously though," Carly cut in. "Why don't we see you in the news very often?"

"She's always in the news," Jackie argued.

"Yes," Carly agreed. "But, she rarely makes the tabloids or anything."

Jackie conceded to Carly's point, and they both turned to hear my answer.

I shrugged. "I don't go out much," I told them. "I don't drink. I don't do drugs. The party scene isn't something that has ever interested me. I'd much rather hang out with my friends and do something fun."

"I can buy that," Jamie said. "I mean, you usually don't get a reputation as a good girl in this industry if it isn't true."

There was some shared laughter between the hosts about that statement. Apparently it wasn't a completely true statement, but it was nice to know they considered me a "good" girl.

"Family then," Tara interjected. "Where's your family?"

I sighed, which had the effect of making the hosts perk up in excitement. I'd spent all summer trying to avoid this topic. This was one of the easiest ways for the secret to be revealed, so I needed to be careful.

"I love my family," I told them to start. Tara and Jackie nodded their heads. "But they have opted to try to stay out of the spotlight. As much as I wish I could have them with me at some of the things I get to do now, I'm going to respect their wishes. It's the best thing for my family right now, and I hope that people will respect that."

Carly frowned at my answer. I knew it wasn't what they wanted to hear. "So your manager isn't your father?" she asked point blank.

I laughed again. At least my nervousness at how close to the truth they were had the benefit of coming off as showing how ridiculous these questions were. At least, I hoped that was how it appeared, instead of the nervous laughter it really was.

"No," I finally replied. "Don is not my father. I've known him and his family my entire life. His daughter Megan is a close friend and is one of my personal assistants. His wife is like a second mother to me. But no, they aren't my family. I've been living with them for much of the summer, and we're pretty close, but they are still just friends."

"How do you explain this then?" Jackie said in a slightly accusing tone and pointed to one of the many monitors on the walls of the studio. I turned to look. What I saw were pictures of Mom and me. The first was at the hospital after my surgery where she was helping me out to the limo with Dad on my other side. Another showed where she had her arms wrapped around me after the ill-fated press conference. A third appeared to be at one of the concerts, where she was giving me a hug before I went on stage. "She looks like she could be your mother."

I was shocked, to say the least. I had wanted my mom to be involved in my career, but now it looked like it could be the lynchpin that blew the whole thing wide open! I had to fight back the tears that I could feel building while trying to think about an answer. I didn't think that Dad and Amy would have booked this interview if they knew it was going to be like this, and I was certain that they were fuming back stage. But I had to press on now if I was going to get out of this with the secret intact.

"Look," I said, and I made certain that the look on my face was enough to let them know they had crossed a line. Tara, Jamie, and Carly all looked admonished, though Jackie still looked like she wanted to press the issue. "She's not my mom. But she is the closest thing to my real mom I could ask for. My dad travels a lot for his work. My mom usually goes with him. I spent a lot of my childhood over at my manager's house. They’ve treated me like their daughter, and I'm glad to have them in my life."

I paused to wipe away one of the tears that had managed to escape. "My parents have been in Europe all summer," the lies continued to flow. "I don't blame them for being away. My dad's job is important. But I missed not having someone there for me as I got signed and started singing for a living. Don and Linda cannot replace my real parents, but they are the two best people who can fill those shoes until my own parents are around again."

I sniffed, and Carly reached out and placed her hand comfortingly on my shoulder while Tara handed me a tissue. I dabbed at my eyes to clean up the tears the best I could without smearing my makeup.

"I'm sorry I can't tell you some things," I continued. "It's not because I don't want to. It's because I can't."

This was the first time that I had outright lied about the secret. Before it was always partial truths and misdirections. Everything I said had come straight from the back story we had created early in the summer for these situations, but these words today had felt hollow and meaningless as I spoke them. I didn't like lying to my fans, but that was exactly what I had just done.

"I'm sorry," Jackie offered. But it was too late. I'd already decided that I hated her. She had pushed a point much further than she needed to, and that was uncalled for. I was positive that Dad and Amy were already backstage threatening all kinds of legal things at the show's producers.

"Moving on," Carly said quickly. "How is the concert tour going?"

I was more guarded as I replied. But only Jackie had forced the issue so far, and Carly had actually been quite nice.

"The tour is going great," I replied, trying to be nice even after what had happened. "We're about half way through the shows already, and it has been a lot of fun. And a lot of work."

There was some chuckling at my last statement. "Most reviews seem to indicate that you put on quite a performance at your concerts. I know I'm looking forward to seeing you on Saturday. But seating is limited. Have you thought about playing some larger venues on the tour to allow more of your fans to see a show?"

"Thank you," I said to the compliment she had given me. "I know both my manager and my studio rep. wish that we were playing bigger venues. The tour was finalized before my album even went on sale, and none of us were ready for how popular I seem to have become. We wanted to have a small tour that could help get my name out there, but that doesn't seem to be a problem anymore."

"You have captured the hearts of many people this summer," Tara said. "How have you handled all of the attention?"

"For the most part, a lot of my life hasn't changed," I told her and the studio audience. "I still do many of the same things that I did before signing a record deal. It's harder to go out now, but most people are respectful and leave me alone. I'm always willing to sign an autograph or take a picture for anyone who asks, if I can."

I paused for a moment to gather my thoughts. "The hardest part has been trying to keep my private life private," I continued. "I know that people want to know everything about me. That's unfortunately part of the price you pay for fame. This morning has been no exception."

I looked over at Jackie, and I had to smile, albeit slightly, as she cringed and her shoulders dropped.

"I'm not trying to hide from everybody," I said. "I'm just trying to live my life normally. I'm willing to interact with my fans. I'm willing to answer questions about my life and what I like. I'm willing to do a lot of things. But there are some things I am NOT willing to share, and I'd hope that people will respect that."

"Again, I'm really sorry," Jackie said. I could tell that she was, too. Jackie had always been the host that I disliked the most when I had a chance to watch this show. She was often too pushy. I'd seen enough of the show to realize that.

"I know," I told her. "I'm sure that my reluctance to share information will make some people upset, and make other people want to learn the information even more. But I'm going to live my life my way. If that means trying to keep some secrets, then I will. I've written a number of songs that tell the world that I'm going to live by my own rules, and not what other people want me to be. I didn't write them just because they sound good."

All four hosts were nodding their heads at that pronouncement.

After that, the discussion turned more toward the topics that were affecting teenagers and how we felt about them. That was more of what I expected from this show, and it was a much better conversation. I knew that this morning was going to be the cause of a bad media storm, both about me and about Jackie, but there wasn't anything I could do about it now. I could only continue to talk with them and show them that I was a real human being. Hopefully that would be enough for everyone who wanted to know more about me.

Callie Townsend, an actress who wasn't much older than me, joined us for the second half of the show, and I was mercifully grateful to have the attention shift her way for a while. She was smart and kind and not much different from me, so she was a good fit to our discussions.

Finally, the show started to wind down, and I couldn't wait to get out of the studio and back to the hotel. It was safe there. I could be myself there. I didn't have to hide my family there.

"Do you two have any plans for your stay in New York?" Carly asked as we were wrapping up. I waited for Callie to speak, and when it was my turn, I knew what I wanted to say.

"I have a few places I'd like to visit," I told them. "Plus I have a couple of appearances I have to make before the concert on Saturday. But for now I'm going to go back to my hotel, hug my manager's wife to let her know how much she means to me, and then I'm going to call my mom."

There was some chuckling as the show ended, and I said my goodbyes to the hosts. Generally, they had been pretty nice and courteous during the show, but that didn't mean that Jackie hadn't hurt me.

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The rest of the afternoon was spent being tourists again. We visited some of the places I had always wanted to see when I thought about New York. But the best part was that I got to take off the wig and enjoy the time with my family. After the drama that had encompassed the show, I was able to really appreciate just how much they meant to me. I couldn't imagine anyone else taking their place in my life.

I knew that my life was not going to be easy. Between the problems I was sure to encounter at school, to trying to figure out how to handle Sarah Carerra and her secret, I had enough stress to give me an ulcer. But I also had faith that things would turn out alright.

My family had accepted me as Megan. I hoped that the majority of people at school would too. It wasn't like I could go back and start over. I was stuck being Megan as much as I was stuck living with my parents. And they had been pretty clear that I wouldn't be moving out anytime soon (not that I wanted to). I couldn't go back to the way things were before this summer started even if I wanted to, which I most definitely did not. I was Megan, and that was exactly who I wanted to be.

But what really made my day was what we found while walking past a newsstand after dinner. Austin was the one who saw it, and he busted out laughing before he could show us. He picked up one of the tabloids well-known for stretching the truth and held it up for me.

"Sarah Carerra Confirms her Parents are Spies," the headline screamed. I laughed harder than I had in a long time. Mom, Dad, and Austin did the same.

Dad paid for the paper so that we could take it home and enjoy it before he hailed a taxi to take us back to the hotel.

"Come on, everyone," he said while opening the cab door so that we could all squeeze in. "I have a mission tomorrow, and I need a good night's sleep."

That got us laughing again, and I knew the taxi driver thought we were insane tourists as he drove us back to the hotel. I didn't care. We probably were insane.

But most importantly, we were together.

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