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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 3.26 - Christmas Pumpkins

I was floating on air as I attended school on Friday. Yesterday’s concert had created a buzz in the air and I loved hearing the different conversations about it as I passed through the halls. Everyone seemed to have enjoyed the concert, and I constantly smiled at the praises they were singing to me. I loved being able to listen in without anyone realizing who I really was.

Even Austin seemed to be in a better mood. The song had helped him immensely to realize that he had a lot to look forward to in his life. So I was happy when I found him in the hallway talking to a number of very cute freshman girls right before lunch. His life already seemed to be turning around. I knew I wasn't the only cause of his transformation, but I still secretly thought I had played a part.

After school ended I was privileged to join my band, my dancers, and everyone else who had helped put on the concert tour in a party thanking them for all of their hard work. Amy had used the money I put up for the event well, and everyone was smiling when they left.

I was saddened that the concert tour had ended. I was sad that I didn't have any other performances planned before the Christmas Concert, which was still two months away. But Amy informed me that I would still be just as busy. Not only did I have a meeting to discuss the Christmas Concert for the first time later this week, but I also had a number of people who wanted me to collaborate with them. I was apparently in high demand; there were two bands reaching out for a chance to work with me, and a film studio was hoping that I would write a song for one of their movies. Plus, I still had all of the work and practices that would be required to put on the Christmas Concert.

The weekend’s countdown left me with mixed emotions. On the bright side, 'You Can't Hurt Me' was still in the Top 10, albeit holding on at #9. 'Ever After', however, had not managed to clinch the top spot on the countdown and had once again come in at #2. I still had hope that it would reach the top of the countdown, but the result made me worry that it wouldn't.

I met with Amy on Monday night to prepare for Wednesday's Christmas meeting. We narrowed down a number of the details about the concert and what both we and the TV network wanted. By the time we were finished I had become excited.

When Wednesday arrived I was feeling overwhelmed with everything that was on my plate as I changed after school in order to attend the Christmas Concert meeting. But I knew that I had to keep going. I now had a lot of people looking to me to put on a successful Christmas Concert.

Principal Hall and Mr. Benson were in the waiting area near Lucy's desk when I entered Dad's office building. They appeared to be marveling at the expense that a building like this would cost both my Dad and me.

"Hello, Sarah," Lucy called out to me as I entered, causing the two men to look at me.

"Hi, Lucy," I replied to the receptionist before turning toward my principal and teacher. "Principal Hall, Mr. Benson, it's nice to see you again."

"Please, call me George," Mr. Benson stated while sticking out his hand. "Mr. Benson seems so formal coming from you."

"Okay, George," I replied while looking at him questioningly. He never would have allowed me to call him George in class, but now that I had the wig on he seemed to prefer it. It made me feel weird to use his real name. Nevertheless I took his hand and shook it before doing the same to Principal Hall.

"Alexander," my principal stated, and I almost sighed at how uncomfortable this meeting was going to be. I had never been on a first-name basis with any of my teachers or principals. Yet I knew that if I saw them at school tomorrow they would never allow me, as Megan, to call them by their first names.

But perhaps they had inadvertently given Sarah more power over them. If nothing else they were treating me as an equal, which was not only an improvement but was also accurate. We WERE equals.

"Come on in," I said while indicating the door into my offices. "I'll show you to the conference room."

I opened the door, and I heard their intake of breath when they saw how big my office space was. I knew they still mostly thought of me as one of their students, but I had just proven to them that I was also a successful businesswoman. It was obvious that they hadn't expected an operation this large when they were discussing it in the waiting area.

I smiled, and greeted the many people who were working at their desks as we passed through the large open room and down the hallway at the back. Mr. Benson and Principal Hall were gazing around every way and into each of the rooms as we walked toward the conference room. There were a number of voices coming from the room and I entered to find Amy, Scott, and my dad waiting for us.

"Hi guys," I greeted them before taking my usual seat at one end of the table. Mr. Benson and Principal Hall took their own seats while Dad closed the door to the conference room. "Amy, Scott, this is Alexander Hall, principal of my school, and George Benson, the instructor of the Chorus class. Alexander and George, this is Amy Martin, my personal assistant, and Scott Crawford, my producer and representative from Olympic Records. You both know my dad, who is also my agent."

There were a number of greetings around the room before Amy took over the meeting.

"Let's get right to it," she said while passing a stack of papers out to each of us. "Contained in this packet is the information we have about the Christmas Concert. The concert will be held on December 17 at a yet to be determined location. We're looking at the Nokia Theatre right now, but there are a couple of other possibilities. The concert will also be aired live that evening."

"So this is a concert then?" Mr. Benson asked. "Not a Christmas special at all?"

"It will likely be a bit of both," I replied before Amy could. "Our emphasis is going to be on producing a show for TV, but in a concert environment. All proceeds for the concert are going to be donated to charity."

"Any other questions?" Amy asked.

"What are we going to be singing?" Mr. Benson asked.

"If you'll turn the page we have a tentative set list for the concert," Amy continued as we each found the proper page in the packet. "Most of the songs are traditional Christmas carols, though Sarah has agreed to write two original songs for the concert."

I wasn't looking forward to that, but it had been a request by Scott that I couldn't ignore.

"The Chorus will participate in each of the songs to some extent," I added when I noticed Mr. Benson studying the song list in detail. "As you can see I'm going to be making use of the girls in the class a bit more than the guys, but everyone should get a chance to sing quite a bit that night."

"I see you have some names listed here," he queried while looking up at me. He looked a bit perturbed that I had assigned students of his class to particular songs.

"They are suggestions," I offered. "We can discuss how we want to use the members of Chorus, but those are the students I would like to have singing with me on each of the songs."

"Jane is frequently mentioned on this page," Mr. Benson continued. "But I see you haven't listed Mark at all. Do you feel that is wise?"

I felt my smile tighten slightly at what he was inferring. He wanted me to allow Mark to sing, but that was the last thing that I wanted to do.

"I don't think that giving Mark a solo piece is a good idea," I told him and saw his smile tighten.

"He is an excellent singer!" he retorted. "I think he would be an excellent choice for some of these songs. I suggest we put him on song 2 and 3 at least."

He scratched out the names I had listed for those songs on his own sheet and started writing in Mark's name. Nobody else moved or said anything. When he looked up and noticed that nobody else was making the change he looked at me, upset.

"Your suggestion is noted," I told him. "But I think these other singers will do just as well."

"Sarah--," he started, and I knew he was ready to start lecturing me.

"George," I cut him off immediately. "I would like to remind you that this is MY concert we are planning. I am more than willing to work with you in creating a show that we are both happy with. But ultimately I am going to do what is best for me, and singing a duet with Mark is not going to benefit the show. Understood?"

He was turning a bit red, and I thought that he was going to start yelling at me, but he nodded instead. I knew that he was very upset, and he wasn't going to forget that. But at that moment, I didn’t care.

Thankfully it was Amy who broke the tension that had settled in the room.

"Remember," she said. "This meeting is just a preliminary discussion about what we are planning. The details will likely change as we move forward. Okay?"

Everyone nodded, and we returned to the business at hand. I knew that Mr. Benson was upset about his lack of authority in planning this concert, but I had to do what was best for my career. If he didn't understand that then this was going to be a very bad experience.

"Okay," I said, trying to continue. "What about the songs? Is everyone okay with the list of songs?"

There was quiet for a few moments as everyone read through the list of songs again.

"Do you have anything for the two original pieces yet?" Scott asked me.

"No," I told him. "We only put this list together on Monday night. I have a few ideas, but I haven't written anything yet."

He nodded, but I sensed that the unknown was bugging him. We would be releasing an album containing the songs on this paper, and as my producer he wanted to know what he would be producing.

"I like the song selection," Mr. Benson said, more calmly than he had been. "I do wish that you were planning to use the men in the chorus for more, but I understand why most of these songs are geared toward a feminine sound. I think it will work."

He paused for a moment, and I knew he was going to bring up Mark again. I readied myself for another battle.

"I'm sorry, Sarah," he said. "I know that you are trying to do what is best for your image and your career. I'm not going to force you to sing with Mark, but I do believe you should reconsider it. Don't ignore his talent. I know the two of you do not get along, but he IS the best male singer in that class and I think you would be remiss to not make use of that talent."

I stared at him for a few seconds. I knew he was right. As much as I did not want to sing with Mark Corbin I knew that he had a good voice.

"He is talented, but he is also arrogant and immature," I finally told him. "But we do have space for one more song. If we can find one that I feel comfortable with him singing, and if he behaves himself, then we can include it in the program."

"Thank you," he replied. And just like that he was happy again.

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I was patiently waiting in Scott's studio Thursday afternoon when a ball of energy arrived. Jane was more excited than I had ever seen her before. She was excited to see Sarah again and I was a bit sad that she didn't know the secret, but I wanted this day to be about her, not about me.

I sat in the control room and smiled the entire time she worked with Scott to produce a demo for Olympic Records. She sounded amazing, and I knew it was only a matter of time until she had her own recording contract. I just hoped that it didn't interfere with my Christmas Concert, because that would complicate things.

Friday afternoon was surreal. The Chorus was performing a Halloween concert for the school. As I sat in the audience watching, I was sad that I wasn't up there with them. But there was no way I would return to Chorus as Megan. I was scheduled to make my first appearance as Sarah next Thursday to discuss the Christmas Concert, and that was going to be bad enough.

Mr. Benson had done a good job preparing the Chorus for their concert and I was very impressed with their music. Their rendition of 'You Can't Hurt Me' was great, and I knew that leaving Chorus was not only a great idea but it was the right decision.

Saturday was nice and relaxing. After my appointment with Mary, Emily and I spent most of the day shopping before going to see a movie with Ethan. We even let Anna, Emily's younger sister, join us. Anna adored Emily and me, and I hadn't had much time to spend with her lately.

Halloween rolled around on Sunday and it was a mix of highs and lows. 'Ever After' and 'You Can't Hurt Me' were still both in the Top 10, but 'You Can't Hurt Me' was barely inside at #10 and 'Ever After' had fallen to #3 instead of climbing to #1 like I had hoped it would. It appeared that 'Ever After' might end up being my first single not to make it to #1.

Later in the day, I was in charge of passing out candy because my entire family was gone. Mom and Dad were attending a party for one of his clients and Austin was out trick-or-treating with his friends. Ethan had come over and the two of us had the TV on watching some of the scary Halloween movies that were playing. Emily had gone out with Anna, but she was going to join us later.

I definitely wasn't expecting a whole bunch of little Sarah Carerras to come to my door throughout the night, but that is what happened. Apparently I was one of the most popular Halloween costumes this year! It was fun to see all the young girls, and even one young boy, wearing a blonde wig when I opened the door for them. It made me wish that I was passing out Carerra Bears instead of the cheap candy my mom had bought for the occasion.

So I was stunned when I opened the door for one young Sarah and found her carrying a small pink bear! I almost burst into tears. She looked so happy and it took me a moment to realize that the bear was real. She had a Carerra Bear!

I was speechless as I looked up into her eyes.

"Trick or treat", she said with a bright smile, and I felt a tear streak down my face as I recognized her for the first time.

She started to reach into the bowl of candy I had in my hands, and I slowly pulled it away. She looked up at me, confused.

"I have a real treat for you, Anna," I said while placing the bowl down on the table next to the door and stepping back to let her in to the house. Emily was looking at me frantically from behind her sister and was violently shaking her head, but I had made my decision. It might have been a bad idea, but it was something I had to do.

"What is it?" Anna asked, excited. She stepped into the house and I indicated that she should follow me.

I led her down the hall to Sarah's room and I opened the door. She gasped when she saw what was inside, and she started wandering around, looking at the memorabilia that was around the room.

"What is this?" she finally asked while looking at some of the awards on one of the walls.

"It's a secret that you cannot tell anybody, okay?" I told her. She looked over at me and nodded her head vigorously. Anna wasn't the best at keeping secrets, but I saw in her eyes that she would guard this one with her life, and she hadn't even heard it yet.

"Is this Sarah's room?" she asked, awestruck.

"Yes," I told her while stepping over to the armoire. "But there's more. I have a Sarah Carerra costume too. Should I put it on?"

"Uh huh," Anna said while nodding. She was clearly surprised, but I could tell she was excited.

I entered the code into the armoire, heard it unlock, and opened one of the doors to reveal a number of blonde wigs. I gathered my own hair and pinned it before pulling out a very familiar wig and placing it on my head. Anna stared the entire time, not saying a word. When I was finished I turned back to her.

"What do you think?" I asked.

"You look a lot like her," she said, still not making the connection. I couldn't blame her.

I opened the other door to the armoire and pulled out a guitar case before carefully placing it on the ground.

"I don't have a small Carerra Bear to finish my costume," I told her. "But I do have something else." I opened the guitar case and pulled out Sparkle. Anna's eyes went wide and it was obvious that she was impressed. I pulled the strap for the guitar over my head and rested it against me before turning back to her. "What about now?"

"Now you really look like her!" Anna exclaimed, but she still hadn't comprehended my secret.

I laughed, along with both Emily and Ethan.

"Oh, Anna," I chuckled. Then I started playing 'Ever After' on the guitar. It was a song that she had heard me play and sing many times before, but this time I watched it click in her mind, and she started to scream and jump around as I started to sing the first chorus. I continued to play the song for her, giving her a private concert. All thought of tricks and treats had been forgotten on her angelic face as she stared at me in wonder! Eventually she grabbed Emily's hand for reassurance to make sure this was real.

When I finished singing she rushed toward me and I only had enough time to pull Sparkle out of the way before she was squeezing me tightly. I had wanted to do this for months, but the fear of her telling somebody else had kept me from following through with that desire.

But as she squeezed me tightly while looking up into my eyes I knew it had been the right thing to do.

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