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

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Sarah Carerra Book 3: Concerto in A-

Chapter 3.06 - The New Recruits

Returning to school Monday morning was a huge letdown. I always had such a good time at the concerts that it was depressing to sit in school for most of the day, instead of singing or doing something to further my career.

Fortunately, I didn't have any problems with the other students as the morning progressed, which would have increased my desire to drop out of school to concentrate on Sarah full time. I knew that Mom and Dad would never let me drop out, so once again I was glad to have friends in every one of my classes.

The girls in P.E. pretty much ignored me when I showed up Monday morning, and that was fine with me. It was obvious that some of them still weren't happy having me in the class, but they couldn't deny what they had seen Friday morning. Nobody had transferred out of the class, but I had a feeling that it had more to do with the unavailability of replacement classes than it did with their desire to remain in class with me. Either way I promised myself that if they left me alone, I would return the favor. However, I really doubted that I had seen the last of my problems in that class.

Most of the rest of the school day wasn’t too bad either. Nobody had tried to punch me, trip me, push me into lockers, or generally try to make me look like a fool. I considered that a good day in my book. Then again, I hadn't really seen any of the people who normally tried to do those things either.

I was dreading Chorus as I walked down the hall toward my last class of the day, however. Today would be the first day that the "groupies", as Ethan had started calling them, would be in the class. Mr. Benson had already told us that there were too many applicants to fill the class, and he had actually held auditions Friday afternoon to find the most talented students to fill the maximum number of seats allowed by the school board. That at least gave me some hope that the influx of new recruits would have some talent and wouldn't be there just for the opportunity to sing with Sarah.

The noise that I heard coming from the room as I approached didn't excite me, however. It sounded like someone was having a party. When I stepped inside, that was almost what I found. Mr. Benson was not in the room. However, a band had set up their instruments in one corner of the room. They were playing for the assembled class, and many people were singing along with them. To my chagrin, they were singing and playing my songs!

"Megan!" someone greeted me excitedly. I looked over and found Jane waving me over to where she was sitting next to Ethan! I smiled immediately. Just last week I had told her that if she wanted to sing she needed to find an outlet. I hadn't considered that she should join Chorus, but it certainly would give her the chance to perform. I was very happy that she had listened to me!

"Hi Jane!" I replied as I sat down. It was a little difficult to talk over the strains of 'You Can't Hurt Me' that was now being played by the band and sung by some girl I didn't know. She wasn't bad, but she definitely didn't know some of the intricacies of the song. "I'm so glad you joined Chorus!"

"Well, you did tell me to find somewhere to sing," she explained. "This seemed like a good place, since Ethan and you are here. Besides, I wouldn't mind the chance to meet Sarah."

I smiled. I knew that she wasn't here just to sing. But I was also happy to find out that she was here for more than just Sarah.

Before I could say anything else, I was hit in the side of the head by a wadded up piece of paper. Scowling, I turned to find Mark Corbin smirking. It was obvious that he had been the one who threw the paper at me.

I glared at him for a moment before I started to turn away. That's when he spoke.

"You know, Megan," he said. "You’d better actually be able to sing or else you are just wasting a seat in this class. I know at least two girls who wanted to join this class who are likely better than you. Prove that you deserve to be here."

"I don't have to prove anything to you, Mark," I replied calmly, though my emotions were starting to boil again. I was sick of him picking on me! For the first time since this class started I actually wanted to get up and prove to him how good I was. But I knew that doing that would risk exposing my secret.

"I'm just saying," he replied with an evil grin. "There are many worthy people who auditioned to get into this class. If you are only here because you know Sarah, then you should consider giving up your seat."

"Shut up, Corbin!" Ethan shot back at him. "She's a better singer then you will ever be."

"Oh yeah," Mark said. "I've proved that I can sing. What has she done? Nothing. You're pathetic. Both of you."

"Whatever," I scowled at him before turning away.

"That's right," he continued. "Turn away. Hide from those of us who are your betters. Sooner or later the truth will come out."

I ignored him, and instead turned my attention to Mr. Benson, who had just entered the class. He was smiling as he watched the performance that the band and girl were giving us, and let them continue the song before starting the class.

While we listened, I saw one more person skulk into the classroom, embarrassment written all over his face. My own mouth dropped in shock as I saw him nervously walk toward where we were sitting and sink down into his seat.

"Paul!" I greeted him excitedly. "I didn't even know you could sing!" I then wrapped my arms around him and hugged him tightly for a moment. My reaction was probably out of place in a classroom, and I felt the shock that emanated from him and the others around us. But I was so proud of him once again! I had first met Paul when we had been paired together as lab partners for Biology. When I finally emerged as Megan, I had almost lost him, since he had been so afraid to talk to girls. But he had grown so much over the summer, especially when he had faced the media after my show at the OC Fair, and now he was taking another big step! This class would give him the type of attention that he always shied away from. I was still surprised that he was willing to put himself out there like that. It was so unlike him, and I was thrilled!

"It's nice to see you too, Megan," he replied, laughing as I let go of him.

There was so much I wanted to ask him, but I never got the chance as Mr. Benson called the class to order.

"Welcome, everyone," he said excitedly while rubbing his hands together. "This is going to be an amazing year, and I'm happy to have all of you in this class. For those of you who are new, I'm glad to see you are fitting in. The rest of you I hope will make them feel appreciated for their desire to join us."

Ethan started chuckling, and I knew he was thinking that most of these people were only here for the chance to meet Sarah.

"I'm also happy to have Lazy Acres here with us," Mr. Benson continued while motioning toward the band. "They have agreed to provide us with the music, and having a live band should allow us to do some fun things this year. Give it up for them."

We all gave the band a round of applause. I knew each of them, and I had been impressed with their ability. They had won a ‘Battle of the Bands’ contest that the school had held last year, so I knew they were talented.

"We start each class with a few solos," Mr. Benson continued. "Everyone is required to sing at least one solo for the class so that I can gauge your ability and range. Do I have any volunteers?"

"Megan told me she was ready," Mark spoke up immediately. I glared at him once again. I was NOT ready, and I had definitely not told him that I was.

"Oh!" Mr. Benson said in surprise. "Okay then, Megan."

"I am NOT ready," I told him, which caused him to sigh. It was apparent that he was sick of the bickering between Mark and me.

"Of course not," Mark shot back at me. "Heaven forbid the princess of pop indulges us with her talent."

My breath stuck in my throat at his comment! I was quite certain that Mark didn't know that I was Sarah Carerra, but that statement was very close to the mark. I even had a song called 'Pop Princess'. That fact was not lost on Ethan, if his expression was any indication.

"Megan will sing for us when she is ready," Mr. Benson told Mark, and I heard the warning tone in his voice. "Now, are there any volunteers?" he called again.

"I will," Jane said while raising her hand. When Mr. Benson nodded she stood up and moved to the front of the room.

"Can you play 'Ever After'?" she asked the band. At the nod of the guitarist, she turned back to us as they began playing. I had a feeling that I was going to be hearing a lot of my own music in this class in the near future.

Jane surprised me. After hearing how much she was willing to give up to be able to have a life like Sarah's, I wasn't sure how good she would be. I knew she had to have some talent to make it past the auditions, but I hadn't expected her to be as good as she was. As she sang she reminded me a lot of Holly. I could easily picture Jane up on stage with us.

It was still weird to hear someone else singing my songs. I had written and performed them myself, so it was funny to hear the different nuances that someone else applied to the music. But she did a good job of not only singing the song, but making it her own. I was one among many who applauded her when she finished.

When Mr. Benson called for another volunteer, I was shocked once again when Paul volunteered! Before today, I had never even guessed that Paul had musical talent. But he too surprised me. He wasn't the best male singer in the classroom, but he definitely wasn't bad. I clapped more enthusiastically than I ever had when he sat back down!

"Anyone else?" Mr. Benson asked again.

"All of your friends have sung for us," Mark told me. "Why won't you?"

I huffed. I was so sick of Mark’s attitude toward me! I knew that he was under the impression that I couldn't sing. I knew that he thought that getting me to sing my solo would embarrass me in front of the class. But I also knew that he was dead wrong.

"Fine," I told him. "You want to hear me sing? I will."

I glared at Mark as I stood up. I was upset, but I knew exactly what song to sing for the class. He looked shocked at my decision, as did some of the other students around him. Even though my feelings were tainted with hatred I took that frustration and hatred for him, and funneled it into what I was going to do next.

I turned toward the Lazy Acres guitarist. "Felix, can I borrow that?" I asked him while pointing at the acoustic guitar that was lying against the wall nearby. He still had his electric guitar around his neck.

"Um," Felix looked nervous immediately. I knew how protective I was with my own guitars, so I could understand his concern. Especially since I seemed to be upset.

"I promise that I will take good care of it," I smiled as I replied. He still didn't look happy about my request, but after a few seconds he nodded his head and bent down to pick up the guitar before holding it out to me carefully.

I carefully took the guitar from Felix and thanked him, proving that I would be careful with it in the process. He handed me a pick, which I took with another "thank you," before placing the strap around my neck and turning back toward the class.

There was eagerness on the faces of nearly everyone in the room. Some, like Ethan, Jane, and Paul, were eager to hear their friend sing. Others, like Mark and his cronies, were eager to hear me fail. Most of the rest of the people in the class seemed eager to see why there was so much drama around this decision. Even Mr. Benson looked intrigued to find out what I could do.

I strummed the guitar lightly to check its tune. Satisfied, I launched straight into the song.

There was some light-hearted laughter as I started singing Taylor Swift's 'Mean' for the class. But the noise died quickly as people started to listen to me sing. This song was normally played on a banjo, so it didn't sound quite as good as I had hoped on the guitar. But nevertheless I watched as Mark's expression turned from one of excitement at seeing me fail to one of shock that I could actually sing. Then he began to look upset as he listened to the words that I was singing to him.

Taylor's song was all about being put down, picked on, and criticized more than someone deserved. There is a point where it turns mean, and that was what she sang about. This song seemed almost tailor-made for my current situation. As I sang I saw that Mark knew I was singing this song for him and to him. I knew that he could tell how I was turning the situation back around on him. I was calling him out on how mean he was being to me, and now he would have to answer for it.

The band was quick to join me when they recognized the song, making it that much more impressive to the class. I also knew from experience that I had the audience spellbound. I knew that they were listening to my every word. I knew what kind of power that gave me.

My favorite part of the song occurred when I called Mark "pathetic" and a "liar". The rest of the class roared in laughter as I sang through that part of the song. I felt empowered to be able to take my talent and use it to strike back at a person who had been bullying me since the start of school. I loved being able to use Sarah to show Mark he was not the king of this class. He had a good voice, but the plaque on my wall I had received for releasing a platinum-selling album told me that I had an overwhelming advantage in that department. He was not even remotely in my league.

And like many of my own songs implied, I wasn't going to let him dictate how I was going to live my life. I wasn't going to let him continue bullying me like he was. Furthermore, I wasn't going to take it anymore.

As the song came to an end, I looked over at Mark with a smug smile. He was actually red with rage at the embarrassment I was giving him. But I also knew that there was nothing he could do about it. Everyone in the class had heard the song and knew that I didn't care if he bullied me. I had risen above his taunts and jibes. I had taken the higher road, and I wasn't going to look back. I had won.

I took the guitar from around my neck and carefully handed it back to Felix while applause filled the room. Then I quietly returned to my seat. I didn't need to say anything else. The song had said it for me.

"Okay," Mr. Benson said, trying to find the words to follow my performance. "Anyone else?"

Nobody raised their hand.

* * *

"Oh! My! Gosh! I totally can't believe you just did that!" Jane exclaimed excitedly once the bell had rung and we were outside of the classroom. "Did you see how mad he was?!"

"That was pretty cool," Ethan agreed with a bit of laughter at the excitement that was pouring from Jane.

"I mean, if you aren't good enough for a recording contract, I don't have any hope!" Jane continued.

I laughed. At the end of the last school year I had told Jane and the other girls that I had been turned down by a record company. It was all part of hiding Sarah and to mask the reason why I had become Megan. Yet this was the first time she had actually heard me sing.

"Don’t sell yourself short," I told her. "You were really good too."

"Yeah, and Sarah Carerra is my best friend," Jane retorted, causing both Ethan and me to bust out in laughter. She assumed that we were laughing with her, but in reality she had no idea how close to the truth she was.

"Unfortunately, I don't think we've heard the last from him," Ethan warned once we had managed to settle ourselves down to where we could breathe normally again. I nodded sadly. I had embarrassed Mark Corbin in front of the entire class. I knew that he would try to get back at me. I would need to be prepared for whatever happened next.

* * *

The rest of the school week went by without many issues. A couple of people tried to trip me in the halls or embarrass me in one way or another. But nobody really did anything too badly. The girls in my P.E. class seemed to be getting used to me, even though I did get some bad looks every once in a while. I ignored the evil looks because, frankly, I didn’t care what they thought.

Mark Corbin hadn't retaliated either. He hadn't even talked to me since I finished singing my solo for the class. The song had worked even better than I hoped it would in getting him off my back. I knew that he'd eventually try to retaliate, because he was that kind of person. However, I felt that I could handle anything that he threw my way.

I still would have preferred doing something in the Sarah world rather than sitting in class at school. But so far this school year was turning out better than I hoped. People were accepting of me for the most part. Nobody other than Jared had actually attempted to hurt me, and he had been suspended for two weeks for his attempt. He, too, would be a problem when he came back to school, but I was building a good support network that would be able to help protect me if he tried anything.

When I arrived home Thursday afternoon, I was surprised that there were a group of people waiting for me. Mom, Dad, Amy, Mason, and even Stephanie and Julia were there. I knew that I didn't have any appointments for Sarah this evening, so I was confused by their presence.

"Hurry and get ready," Dad told me when I asked what was going on. "We need to go down to the studio for a while this evening." He was beaming as he spoke, so I knew he was keeping something important from me.

He then turned to Emily and Ethan. "If you two want to come with us, you need to hurry home and get ready as Chloe and Xander. We'll be leaving in about 15 minutes."

They were only able to give me a quick goodbye before they rushed to get themselves ready. I turned to doing the same by heading down the hall to Sarah's room. Julia and Stephanie followed me, and soon I was getting the full treatment. They were usually only involved during public appearances, which left me wondering what was going on.

I was still at a complete loss when we pulled into the parking lot of Olympic Records later that evening. I was then ushered into one of the auditoriums where there were already a number of people seated in the rows of the dimly lit theater. My friends, family, and I were led to the first row amidst the soft clapping and cheering that my presence garnered from those already seated. I didn't know most of the people in the auditorium, but many of them looked familiar. It was a large room, and there were a lot of people there. I believed most of them worked for the studio, so I was shocked when the band walked in a short while after we had taken our seats!

"What are you guys doing here?" I asked while greeting each of them with a hug. Something big must have happened to fly them cross-country to be here for this! They should have been in Pennsylvania getting ready for Saturday's concert.

"We don't know," Sophie replied as they took their seats in the front row with me. "We were told to get on a plane this morning, and here we are."

I laughed when I realized that they were just as in the dark as I was. We sat impatiently, looking for some answers. I could hear chatter of ‘awards’ and ‘sales’ coming from the assembled mass of people, but I couldn't fully comprehend what they were talking about. Had I won something that I didn't know about?

The lights dimmed a few minutes later, and the screen at the back of the small stage lit up. I was surprised to see bits and pieces of my music video played amidst facts and information. The small video presentation talked about some of the accomplishments that I had achieved in the short months since Sarah had been created. It talked about the album. It talked about the concert tour. It displayed a picture of the plaque that had been awarded to me when the album had gone platinum. It talked about how sales were starting to take off in Europe, Asia, and Australia. It even mentioned the fact that 'You Can't Hurt Me' had been at the top of the charts for six weeks straight.

I was awed at how much I had been able to accomplish in such a short amount of time! I never imagined that I would become as popular as I had. I couldn't believe that so many people liked my music. I didn't fully understand why I had been so successful.

There was some enthusiastic clapping and cheering when the video came to an end and the lights came back on. Scott stepped out onto the stage at that point.

"Sarah, can you come up here?" he said while motioning for me to join him on the stage. I handed my purse to Emily and stood up before making my way to the stairs and over to where he was standing. The crowd continued to cheer as I walked.

When I reached Scott, he was beaming at me, and he gave me a quick, friendly nod of appreciation.

"Sarah," he said to me. "Everyone in this room has had a hand in helping you release your album. Some of them work in marketing. Some of them are in charge of sales or development of the album or a myriad of other details. Each one of them has put their own touch on your career."

I looked out at the seats. There had to be at least 100 people or more sitting in the theater. I knew that there were a lot more of them in Allentown, Pennsylvania preparing for the concert I would be performing there in two days. I was mesmerized at how many people it had taken to get me to where I was today. I was breathless as I tried to figure out how to thank them.

"These people are here to celebrate with us," Scott continued. "As you know, you and the album have been nominated for five awards at the Video Music Awards coming up next month. We all expect that you'll be nominated for many more awards before the end of the year. Today your manager received a call asking you to perform at the VMAs this year. We are happy to hear you have accepted."

I was shocked! I hadn't heard about the offer, let alone accepted it! But Dad and I had talked about it earlier and agreed to accept the opportunity if we were asked.

"But we have something even more amazing to celebrate," Scott went on. He took a step over to a table and picked something up, holding it outside of my view. When he turned to show it to me, I gasped.

Earlier this week Mark Corbin had been under the impression that I couldn't sing. It hadn't taken much to prove to him that he was wrong. I had also managed to enthrall the rest of the class in the process. I knew that I could sing. I had used that ability to fight back against his bullying.

But as I gazed on the framed award that Scott was holding in his hands, I began to realize that I still didn't know how well I could sing. I had sold out eight concerts now, and ticket sales for the final five were approaching a total sell out. I had started out the summer scared to sing for anyone, and now I loved climbing up on stage and singing for thousands of fans.

And those fans had now given me a gift. As I took the award from him to get a better look I struggled slightly to hold it. The black frame was about the size of a small poster and bled into black felt that was broken only by the large, platinum record in the middle. Below the record was a copy of my CD on the left, the cover of the CD on the right, and a dedication in the middle.

I had received two of these awards from Scott previously: one when my album had gone Gold, and a second one when it had gone Platinum. But this one was different. This one wasn't from Olympic Records; this one was official! The recording industry had finally recognized my accomplishments! I was now officially a platinum-recording artist!

I stared at the award for a moment, amazed! Things had happened so fast. I wasn't supposed to be a famous singer. I had never grown up with that dream. I had never imagined myself up on stage singing. I had never even wanted it. But I would never go back. I wouldn't change a thing.

I ran my finger over the glass above the dedication as I read. The words were nearly identical to the other two dedications I'd received earlier.

"Presented to Sarah Carerra," I read quietly but aloud. "To commemorate the sale of more than..."

My breath caught in my throat. What followed was not what I expected.

"Two million?!" I yelled in astonishment, my gaze darting up for clarification from Scott. He was beaming his smile at me again. I felt the rush of adrenaline that I always felt on stage rush over me at the implications of what this meant. This meant that...

"Congratulations, Sarah!" Scott told me. "Welcome to the elite group of multi-platinum recording artists, and the VERY elite group of recording artists whose first album was multi-platinum."

Shakily, I handed the award back to Scott. My hands were starting to tremble, and I didn't want to drop it. My mind went numb. This couldn't be right! Sarah had only existed for four and a half months! How on earth could I have garnered enough of a following to sell that many records? I knew that I had a lot of fans, but this was ridiculous!

"I think she's overwhelmed," Scott said, eliciting a large laugh from the crowd. I had almost forgotten that they were there in my reverie, and I turned toward them. They were waiting for me to say something.

"Thank you," I told them sincerely. "I can't believe this is happening. I don't understand how it happened. But I know that I couldn't do it without you guys. Thank you."

It wasn't much, but it was all I was able to give them at the moment. A spontaneous standing ovation occurred immediately, followed closely by my tears. A moment later I was wrapped in a hug as Emily was excitedly there to congratulate me.

I probably could not have been able to release the album without the many people who were in the room. But there wouldn't even BE a Sarah Carerra if Emily hadn't recruited Ethan to help get me to the party that fateful day at Scott's house. As I wrapped my arms around her I couldn't thank her enough for what she had done. “Thank you so much, Emily,” I whispered.

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