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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 3: Concerto in A-

Chapter 3.01 - Back to School

"Hurry, Megan, we're going to be late!" Austin yelled from outside the door to my room. It had been a while since I'd heard him that worried.

"I'm coming!" I yelled through my closed door, as I turned away from my vanity and grabbed my bag off my bed. Then the doorbell rang, and I knew that I really was running late. I opened the door to my room and stepped into the hall to find Austin had already gone to the front room. I quickly followed.

It was odd to be going to the same school as Austin again. He was only two years younger than me, but my brother seemed too young to be starting his freshman year of high school. I vowed to do everything I could to keep him out of trouble. It wouldn't be easy. Just being the brother of Megan was going to bring him some pain this year. Dealing with all of the changes my life had taken over the last few months, both as Sarah and as Megan, was only going to be compounded by the start of my own junior year as Megan.

When I reached the front room, I saw Emily and Ethan, my two best friends, walking into the house. As I was the only one with a car, I had been designated to be the driver to and from school each day. I didn't mind. The Audi S4 that I had purchased over the summer was fun to drive, even if it was only a few blocks to the school. It would certainly beat walking like Emily, Ethan, and I had done the last two years.

"Morning guys," I greeted my friends. I was happy to see their smiling faces. We had been apart more often than not over the summer because of Emily’s job, Ethan’s floundering around, and all of my commitments to my new career. It had been a trying summer on our friendship, but we had come through it just fine. The routine feeling of attending school with them once more reinforced how much I wanted to keep them in my life.

After exchanging greetings we all trekked through the kitchen to the garage, where my baby was parked waiting for us. We were soon inside and on our way toward the school. Unfortunately, my trepidation began and started to increase the closer we got to school, and the butterflies started bouncing around inside my stomach.

There were people at this school who had expressed a desire to hurt me. Some of them even had done just that during the end of my sophomore year. Perhaps some of that was to be expected when one’s life has taken as drastic a turn as mine had. The fact that the doctors had proven that I was genetically female wouldn't mean anything to some of the people who had known me for years as the androgynous boy I appeared to be.

I pulled into the school’s parking lot and found a parking spot that would hopefully prevent any damage to my car. We lived in a fairly posh area of Los Angeles, so my expensive sports sedan wasn't totally out of place in the lot. Glancing around I saw at least four other cars that I knew had cost more than what I had paid for my own. Nevertheless, some students gave us looks as we walked toward the doors. I hoped that those looks were because of the car and not because of what I was wearing, but I knew that wasn't always the case.

I wanted to immediately establish my identity with my peers this year; that was why I was wearing a casual yellow sundress while my companions were all in jeans. I needed the school to know that I really was the sixteen-year-old girl that I appeared to be.

Of course, if I had put on one of the blonde wigs that were safely stored at home and showed up at the school, I wouldn't be having these problems. People would be screaming and going crazy with excitement if my alter-ego appeared at the school. But without the wig to hide behind, I would have to face the other students as my true self, which not all of them would believe to be who I really was.

Stepping into the halls for the first time did not have the effect I was hoping for. A hush seemed to follow us as we continued to walk toward our first classes. Whispering started up behind us. Thankfully, Austin left us early when he saw some of his friends, and I was glad that he wouldn't be seen with me by too many people. He didn't need my problems following him around all year.

Nobody said anything to us as my friends and I made our way to the homeroom we shared together this year. The looks I was receiving seemed to mirror what I got at the end of last year. Most people were curious, but not bothered by what I was wearing. Some looked at me disdainfully, but didn't seem overly worked up by my dress. A few, thankfully very few, sneered at me as I passed but I ignored them. Jared Lumbart, one of the football players, had become one of my biggest enemies at school after he attacked me at the end of the last school year and had almost done the same thing when we had seen each other at a restaurant over the summer. He had a number of friends at the school whom he had certainly influenced to dislike me, and I picked out every one of them by the looks they gave me as I continued to walk down the hall.

The safety of Ms. Carson's class caused me to sigh in relief as my friends and I found desks together and took our seats. Ms. Carson had proven to be a friend to Megan, and a fan of Sarah's, and her smile told me that nothing had changed. Principal Hall had informed me that she requested to have me in her homeroom, and he had been more than happy to oblige her request in order to create a positive environment for both me and the school.

I knew that most people didn't care about the change I had gone through. Many of my fellow students, and even some teachers, had even thought that I was a girl before the truth had come out. Many of them hadn't been surprised when I showed up at school wearing makeup. But I also knew that it only took a few to make my life miserable. I could only hope that I had enough friends to make the good times overcome the bad ones this year.

The bell rang, and a few students rushed in quickly as Ms. Carson reached for her roll. Whether I liked what would come in the future or not, school was back in session.

* * *

"Those tryouts will be on Friday," Principal Hall told us from the stage of the auditorium. After homeroom, all of the students had made their way to the auditorium for a 'Welcome Back' assembly. Like every other assembly that I'd been to on the first day, it was boring. But it did delay the start of classes for a while longer.

Mr. Hall consulted the papers he was holding for a moment before continuing. "Also, I would like to remind everyone that a zero-tolerance policy is in place at this school when it comes to discrimination," he said. "Anyone involved in a discrimination-based incident will be punished. Depending on the severity, that punishment may range from detention to suspension. Keep that in mind."

He consulted his papers once more before smiling. I felt uneasy immediately. I had a feeling that...

"Megan Campbell," the principal said. "Can you come up here please?" He started looking around the seats that he could see from the stage. However, I doubted that he could see me where we were sitting, especially because I had slumped down into my seat. "Megan?" he asked again. "I saw you this morning, so I know you are out there. Please come up onto the stage."

I sighed and stood up. I was afraid this was going to happen. Dad had warned me about it after his latest call with my principal. I had desperately hoped that I would get through this day without drawing too much attention, but that didn't appear to be a possibility any more.

"There she is," Mr. Hall said smiling when he saw me approaching the stage. Eventually I climbed up the steps and joined him in the center.

"This young woman is Megan Campbell," Principal Hall stated unnecessarily. "I know each of you will show her the respect that she deserves. Megan has gone through a lot in the past six months, and she has proven herself not only to me but to some of her father's famous clients as an outstanding young woman. Megan, would you tell them what your father does, please."

I shook my head, but his insistent look told me that I wasn't going to get out of this one. I wanted to keep Megan and Sarah as far apart as possible, and now the principal was pushing the two of them closer together! He'd already embarrassed me enough by calling me up on stage and exposing what I had gone through to anyone who didn't know. Now he wanted to bring even more attention to me, and to Sarah!

I sighed and took the microphone that the principal was holding out to me and turned to face the entire student body. There were a lot of faces staring back at me, wondering what was going on. This was nothing new to me. I had stood before much bigger crowds than this at my concerts, but I'd always had the wig to hide behind. I felt exposed standing there as myself with my peers staring at me, waiting for me to say something.

"As some of you know," I started. "My dad is Sarah Carerra's agent." There was some mumbling coming from the crowd now as those who didn't know started to speculate what this was all about.

Principal Hall took back the microphone. "So what does this mean for the school?" he asked the audience. Whispering and speculation were running rampant throughout the auditorium. He waited for a moment until everyone realized that he wasn't going to continue until the noise quieted down. I really, really wanted to get off the stage while he waited, but to no avail. Finally, he spoke again. "Megan's father has offered the school's chorus the opportunity to perform with Sarah in a Christmas concert later this year. If you haven't signed up for chorus yet and would like the chance to sing, please talk with Mr. Benson sometime this week."

Before the audience could erupt with the excitement that had started to filter throughout the auditorium, the principal continued. "But there's more," he said. "If you'll direct your attention to the screen behind me, I think you will be pleasantly surprised."

The lights on the stage dimmed, and I stepped to the side of the stage with Mr. Hall, and he thanked me before allowing me to return to my seat. As I quickly rushed down the aisle the projector at the back of the auditorium lit up and I heard myself start singing over the speakers as some of the concert footage we had taken started playing for my peers. It continued to play as I made my way back to my chair next to Emily and Ethan.

Just after I had taken a seat, the sound of the music softened and I watched the video fade from my concert footage to be replaced by a picture of me as Sarah. I had been furious yesterday when Dad asked me to film this footage. I'd wanted one last day of summer to spend with Emily and Ethan, but instead I got roped into spending more time as Sarah. It hadn't taken long before my audio/video team had what they needed and had rushed to put this video together, but I had been robbed of my last day of summer.

"Good morning, Wildcats!" my voice boomed around the auditorium. A roar echoed throughout the room, and the girl on the screen waited a few seconds for it to die down before she continued. It felt really weird to be sitting in an audience cheering for Sarah Carerra. I had never experienced anything like this before!

"As many of you are no doubt aware, my agent's daughter is a Wildcat," Sarah continued. "At both her's and her father's request, I am honored to have the opportunity to perform a concert for all of you. Enjoy the new school year and I'll see you in October!"

If I thought the roaring and screaming had been loud earlier, I was shocked, and nearly deafened, at the level at which it had raised to at the announcement that they were all invited to a free concert! I beamed at the reaction of all those people whom I had spent much of my life attending school with! I got caught up in the excitement with everyone else, and it took the amassed student body fifteen minutes to realize that the assembly was over and that we were supposed to be heading for our classes.

This was likely the only time in the history of attending this school that nobody received a tardy slip for being late.

* * *

The doldrums of the first day of school had been replaced with a fervor that I could only marvel at. Dad had told me when we decided to perform the concert that I would enjoy having the other students screaming for me, and I had to admit that I was riding a wave of excitement all day. Nearly every conversation I heard as I walked down the halls had something to do with Sarah's impending concert and talk about which of her songs she needed to perform. People were so caught up in the excitement that they forgot to hate me!

As I made my way toward my last class for the day it was with a mixture of excitement and concern. Principal Hall had asked me to join the school's Chorus when we had met with him during the summer, and despite my misgivings, and after my dad's prodding, I had relented. It was going to be a cacophony of excitement in the class today because of the earlier announcement, and it reaffirmed I had no choice but to participate.

I had been on an adrenaline high since the assembly, but it came crashing down just outside Mr. Benson's classroom. Seemingly out of nowhere something smashed into my left shoulder; I crashed into a set of lockers to my right and then fell to the ground. Stars swam around in my eyes for a few moments before I realized that it was someone, not something, who had attacked me. I slowly stood and turned toward my attacker. A wide circle had been cleared around us. The other students nearby staring on in horror at what Mark Corbin had just done.

"Ow!" I sarcastically screamed at him. The push hadn't hurt as much as it had caught me off guard. But the sneer on Mark's face hurt even more. Mark was a football player and one of Jared's friends, and he was clearly unhappy to see me.

"I don't care who you know," Mark sneered at me. "You better watch yourself or you're going to wind up dead, you freak!" Then he stormed past me and into Mr. Benson's room. Now I was looking forward to Chorus even less, especially if he was in the class.

When I gathered my wits and stepped into the classroom, Mark had already taken a seat, but he quickly shot to his feet. "NO!" he screamed. "You are NOT in this class!"

"Mr. Corbin!" Mr. Benson, the small, frail-looking chorus director said loudly and sternly. "Sit down and shut up!"

I had never been in one of Mr. Benson's classes before, but the anger he displayed seemed uncharacteristic of what I had heard about him.

"I will not tolerate that type of behavior in this classroom!" he continued. Mark actually looked mollified as he collapsed back into the chair he had been sitting in. "Continue and you will no longer be welcome here. And I think you and I both know how much you need to be here if you want to graduate. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Mark replied quietly, his head down. I had never seen him that chastised before.

"Megan," Mr. Benson said in a much softer, kinder voice while turning toward me. "I know that you were reluctant to join us, but we are glad to have you. You may take a seat over there with the girls."

The classroom had a small stage with a few tiered steps mirroring the setup we would use at a performance. The students had also been separated with the girls on the left and the boys on the right. I quickly made my way to one of the empty chairs on the second tier, trying to keep the shock of Mark's hatred for me from turning into the tears that I felt beading at my eyes. I had underestimated just how much he and the rest of Jared’s friends detested me.

But all of those negative feelings were pushed away at the shock I felt when another student rushed into the room just before the tardy bell rang. I felt my breath stick in my throat at the sight of him.

"Ethan?" I asked, unsure of what I was seeing. I doubted he had heard my shocked whisper, but he quickly glanced around, smiled while connecting his eyes with me, and then rushed to take an empty seat.

Ethan could sing. I'd known that for a long time. But he had never shown any interest about joining the chorus or doing anything else to further his talents. I knew he didn't enjoy singing in front of others the way I did, so I was even more confused about why he had joined the Chorus. Even more, I couldn't understand why he hadn't said anything about joining earlier!

"Welcome to Chorus," Mr. Benson said, interrupting my thoughts and turning our attention to the class. "This is going to be an exciting year, as you already know, and I expect that the empty chairs that you see around you will be filled by this time next week. I've already talked to a number of students who have expressed interest in joining. We may just have the largest group we've ever had at this school this year."

I sighed. Everyone who was in the room now had signed up for the Chorus before they knew Sarah would be performing with them, with the possible exception of Ethan. But by next week we would have more people who were coming only to get face time with Sarah, and I did not want to be in a class where my alter ego was idolized by my peers.

Ethan was the only one in the room who knew that I was Sarah Carerra. We had opted to not tell Mr. Benson about the secret, and I hoped that it stayed that way. There wasn't any reason for him to know. But he did know that Principal Hall had asked me to join Chorus, and he was aware that it was likely related to my relationship with Sarah.

I tried to be as inconspicuous as I could, while he passed out song booklets and talked about what would be expected of us in the class. My goals were to get through this class by drawing no attention to myself, not singing unless it was with a group, and trying to keep anyone from realizing how close my voice was to Sarah's. Singing for my extended family had proved that my voice alone was not necessarily enough for someone to recognize the secret, but I wasn't going to take any chances.

Then Mr. Benson ruined the whole thing for me just before the end of the day.

"Over the next week or two every single one of you will perform a solo for us," he said, shattering my plans. "This will help me understand where you are in your vocals and help me place you into the group. Start thinking about what you want to sing." The bell rang, and everyone reached for their things. "See you all tomorrow."

How I wished I didn’t have to come back again.

* * *

"Why didn't you tell me that you were joining the Chorus?" I half asked, half accused Ethan on our way out to my car.

"You joined Chorus?!" Emily asked in surprise before he could reply.

"Yes," Ethan replied to Emily before turning toward me. "I wanted to surprise you, Megan," he told me. "I know you didn't want to join, and I thought I could make it more fun."

I didn't know how to read the smile on his face. It looked like he was serious and joking at the same time. There was also a hint of something else that I couldn't quite tell what it meant. But the fact that he had joined just so I'd have a friend in the class touched me.

I reached over and gave him a quick hug. "Thank you," I replied. He started to turn red, but he looked like he enjoyed it a lot more now than he had the first time I'd hugged him at my first concert. He wasn't going to run away to summer camp after this one!

I was so happy to have my friends back in my life. I had missed too much of them over the summer with all the travelling and other commitments I'd had as Sarah. Now, thanks to the principal's intervention, I shared every single one of my classes with either Emily or Ethan, or both of them. I knew that Principal Hall had done this to try to keep at least one of my friends with me at all times while I was at school to help limit any "incidents", but it had a decidedly better outcome since I got to hang out with one of them in every single class.

This was going to be the best school year with them ever.

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