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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 2.51 - Jive the Day Away

When we awoke the next morning, Austin was more excited than he had been the entire trip. I had made a promise to Austin earlier this summer. I promised him that he could pick something that he wanted to do while we were in New York, and we would do it. I had been afraid of what he would decide to do, but when he had told us that he wanted to go to a New York Yankees baseball game, I smiled broadly. Austin was so predictable.

I had the entire day off for the first time since we had arrived in New York. No meetings, no concerts, no appearances - nothing. I couldn't ask for a better day to spend with my family, and we decided to really enjoy our time together.

The Yankees were playing the Detroit Tigers in an afternoon game, so we had plenty of time to walk around the Bronx Zoo in the morning. I was amazed at how many different animals and other things there were to see and do. We could have spent all day there, but unfortunately, we had to leave to make it to the baseball game long before we were ready to go.

The game was a lot of fun too. It had been a while since we had gone to a baseball game together. Dad and Austin often went to games, but Mom and I usually didn't join them. However, having us girls with them didn't seem to dampen their enthusiasm at all. The Yankees even managed to pull off a win, which made the two boys even happier.

After the game, we headed back to the Theatre District, where our hotel was located. I really wanted to see a Broadway show, but my schedule for the week didn't allow us to fit one in. I promised myself that I would go to a show the next time I was in New York. Instead, we decided to spend some time walking around before eating at one of the many restaurants nearby.

Austin's enthusiasm for the day dropped slightly when Mom and I started wandering into clothing stores as we walked around, but the food we eventually got around to eating certainly made up for it.

As I climbed in between my covers, I knew that today had been the best day I had spent in New York all week. The only thing that topped it was performing my concert, and in two days I would get to perform another.

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Friday morning came all too soon, and with it came the need to get back to work. The Jive debut was occurring at a technology conference here in New York just before lunch. But the company wanted me there early to review what would be expected, and a car showed up at the hotel just after eight. Dad joined me in the back and Mason climbed in next to the driver, and soon we were heading to the conference center.

When we arrived, we exited the car and headed for the main doors with many other people. We were intercepted quickly by Michael Stott, however. He was the man whom I had met with when the Jive people first contacted me to endorse their product.

"Hi, Sarah," he said smiling widely. He looked positively excited for the debut of his product, and it infected my mood immediately.

"Hi, Michael," I replied while smiling back. He handed me something, and I took it before getting a good look at it. It turned out to be a pass into the conference that had my name and picture on it, and stated that I was a presenter for the company that made the Jive. Having the red pass of a presenter quickly made me stand out to everyone else. Most people, including Dad and Mason, were wearing yellow passes around their necks. I knew that standing out came with a cost though, since I'd be on stage later in the day, but it totally made me feel more important.

We made our way through the floor of the conference toward the section that had been set aside for the Jive, only stopping a few times to sign autographs or take pictures. Most of the Jive area was covered in black to prevent people from seeing the images of the Jive that I was sure were hidden underneath. Only one section that showed the Jive logo was visible, but the number of people crowded around the area and the buzz in the air showed just how much anticipation the device was getting. The Jive they had given to me to use had certainly impressed the people who had seen me using it, and the media storm around today's unveiling had certainly been big.

Michael led me through the crowd and into a hidden presentation room at the back that had couches and chairs facing a video screen. A number of people were inside, but their talking stopped as soon as they caught sight of me.

Michael started the introductions. Most of the people in the small room were executives for the company. The others were involved in the debut presentation or the floor display. There were a lot of names to remember, but it quickly became apparent which ones I could forget and which ones I needed to remember. The important ones were those individuals whom I would be working with today. Fortunately, everyone wore a name badge that made remembering their names easier.

After the introductions were completed, we launched straight into a meeting to make sure that everyone was on the same page for the day. It was exciting to be involved in something of this magnitude! If I wasn't mistaken, this presentation was supposed to be the biggest announcement of the entire conference! And while I only had a small part to play in the presentation, I was overwhelmed at being included in such a momentous occasion.

The meeting took most of the morning, and before I knew it, we were walking through the conference floor once again toward the theater that was attached to the conference center, where the presentation was going to take place. Most of the people attending were already inside, and Dad, Mason, and I were led down toward the front row where three seats had been saved for us. After sitting down, I felt the anticipation in the room grow. We had passed by the majority of the people in the theater, and the hushed whispers that followed all seemed to question what part I would play in the proceedings. I smiled at the anticipation I brought to the table.

Soon the lights dimmed, and a hush fell over the crowd. The excitement in the air was palpable, and it reminded me of the anticipation I always felt as I approached the stage for one of my concerts. I couldn't believe that people were so excited about a music player, even if it was ten times better than my iPod had been!

Silence filled the dark theater for a few moments, extending the excitement throughout the room. Then a number of screens lit up around the stage and on the sides of the room, each showing the same scene. A white room appeared with a small table in the middle. I recognized the room immediately, and my own excitement grew ten-fold at seeing the opening of my Jive commercial for the first time.

The camera was focused on the Jive, giving everyone a good look at the new device as it sat in a small stand on the table. There were “oohs” and “ahhs” and clapping from all over the theater at their first glimpse. Then the camera started to pull back, showing more of the stark, white room. When I stepped into the shot from the left, another cheer shot through the crowd, which brought a smile to my face immediately.

In a quiet silence, I walked straight toward the table that held the Jive. The sparkling light pink dress I wore contrasted against the white of the room. The clack of my heels against the tile floor was the only noise that echoed around the theater.

When I reached the Jive, I picked up the signature ear buds the device came with and slipped them in my ears before picking up the device.

The video changed to show a first-person view of someone operating the device. I was confused for a moment, since those were definitely not my hands on screen, but I watched as she navigated through the music until 'You Can't Hurt Me' had been selected. Then her thumb moved until it was resting over the 'Play' button. The commercial then cut back to the wide-angle shot of the room, where I had a very sensuous, playful look on my face for a moment before I pressed down on the button.

An explosion of color burst forth from the device, morphing the entire room into a stage as 'You Can't Hurt Me' started playing throughout the theater. Everything was different. The band was behind me, the crowd was roaring all around us. I was singing my heart out. But through it all, the two wires coming from my ears led straight to the Jive that I held in my right hand, in place of the microphone I normally used.

Singing into the Jive like it was a microphone seemed a little silly to me now, just like it had when we filmed the commercial over a month ago, but the image was very powerful. I had been confused about what the commercial was actually going to be about the day we shot it, but now it all made sense to me. I smiled at the same time that I started to rock to the beat of the song in my seat.

I continued to watch as my image danced and performed on the screen. The rush I normally felt on stage was building just looking at my moves, and I couldn't wait until I was on stage again tomorrow night.

Eventually, the song started to wind down, and as it came to a conclusion, the color that had exploded onto the screen quickly started to retreat into the Jive I still held in my hands, revealing the stark white room once more.

A smile of pure satisfaction graced my pretty face as it finished, and I placed the Jive back where I had found it before removing the ear buds and placing them alongside the device. Then I turned and walked off the screen to the right.

After I was off the screen, a tag line appeared in the middle: ‘Jive - Experience your music.’ Then the entire theater faded to black once more, leaving only the words gracing the screen.

The crowd erupted into the loudest cheer of the morning. Some of them started to stand, and I found myself among them. Soon, nearly everyone was standing and clapping as a spotlight lit the stage, illuminating Brad Johnston, whom I had been introduced to earlier that morning as the Executive Director of Development for the Jive earlier in the morning. He continued to get an ovation until the words on the screen were replaced with images of the device.

"Welcome!" he said loudly to help quiet the crowd down. We took our seats again, and he moved on to introducing the device and talking about all of the features it had. It was really odd to hear him talk about everything it could do and see the people around me listening with baited breath at nearly every bullet point on his list. I reached down and pulled my own Jive out of my purse and started to follow along with him. Dad was on my left, and Mason was on my right, preventing anyone from leaning in, but the people around me certainly took notice of what I was doing.

It was as he was winding down that I started to get ready. I handed my purse to Dad for safekeeping, while keeping my Jive in my hands.

"But I don't want you to take my word for it," Brad continued on stage after finishing his spiel. "I'd like you to hear the opinion of someone who has been using the device for the last two months. Sarah?"

He turned in my direction, but I was already out of my seat and walking toward the stairs that would lead onto the stage. The crowd started applauding again at my appearance, and continued to do so as I made my way over to where Brad was standing. He broke out into a huge smile when he saw that I was carrying a Jive. That hadn't been part of the plan, but it seemed like the right thing to do to me.

"Hello, everyone," I said, hoping that the mic I had been wired with earlier was working. Hearing my voice echo throughout the theater confirmed that it was.

I held up my Jive to let the crowd see that I had one. "This is my Jive," I told them. "When I was first approached with the opportunity to be involved with the Jive, I wasn't sure what to think. My manager was really excited about the opportunity, but I couldn't imagine life without my iPod. But the first day after I started using it, I was hooked. It is really intuitive to use, and getting music onto the thing is so much easier. Now, I can't imagine going back to an iPod."

"So you like it?" Brad asked.

I was nodding my head as I replied. "Definitely," I told him. The crowd started to cheer, and after shaking Brad's hand I started to return to my seat. It was only a brief presentation on my part, but I had been assured by many marketing people throughout the morning that it was going to sell a ton of Jives for them. They were paying me enough for my endorsement for me to know that selling more meant continuing our relationship, and continuing our relationship meant making a lot of money. Honestly, I was just happy to have received a Jive for free.

But I hadn't had to lie about my endorsement up on stage. I truly did love my Jive.

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Mason ordered me to wait at the front of the theater while everyone else left first. He also kept away anyone who wanted an autograph. I didn't like having to turn fans away, and some of them looked saddened too, but I had been asked not to sign any autographs or talk with fans inside the theater. The next presentation was only minutes away, and they wanted to make sure there was enough time to get everyone out before the new people came in.

Besides, I was going to be at the Jive booth all afternoon where I would be signing autographs and talking up the Jive at every opportunity. The more I smiled and attracted people to the booth, the more units the company would sell. That was the general idea, anyway. All it meant was that I had a chance to text Emily and tell her how awesome the commercial was. I knew it would make her jealous again, and I got some sick pleasure in torturing my best friends a bit. Torturing them for not being here was the one way that I could cope with missing them. Of course, they kept torturing me with pictures of the beach and of all the fun things they were doing without me, so perhaps we were even.

When we were finally able to leave the theater and make our way back toward the section where the Jive was being displayed to the showroom floor, the area had been completely changed. All of the black curtains that had been covering up the displays had been removed, and there was a large picture of the Jive that was visible from everywhere in the showroom. But it was the other picture that caught my breath. Even before we got close to the area I saw the profile of my head just as large. A distinctive ear bud was visible in the one ear that was on display, and the cord that trailed from it led straight to the large Jive I had seen earlier.

I was awestruck for a moment. The Jive was supposed to be the biggest announcement of the technology conference, and yet my picture was displayed just as prominently as the Jive was for all who attended to see.

The rest of the day wasn’t all fun and games. In fact it was rather surreal. I was used to being the center of attention when I was dressed up as Sarah, but now I was sharing the spotlight with a music player. At first it was odd when people would come up to where I was sitting or standing, give me a brief look, and then turn all of their attention to the Jives that had been set out for people to play with. But it was also humbling. It helped to remind me that despite all of the newfound fame that I had earned over the summer, I was still a normal girl. I didn't need the screaming crowds or googly-eyed fans trying to meet me to be happy. Besides, there were still plenty of fans who came by to help boost my ego.

The highlight of the day for me was the small solo performance I did at the Jive booth late in the afternoon. Like everything else I had been involved with, it was designed to bring more people to the booth to increase the exposure of the Jive, but they cheered and applauded just like every other crowd I had performed for.

When I climbed into our car to go back to the hotel, I started to realize what a real job might be like. Despite all of the hard work I had put into my career this summer, it had all felt rewarding and worthwhile to me. I was doing something that I really enjoyed. But today had been the opposite. I knew it was something I had to do, but being eye candy all day while trying to talk to people about the benefits of the Jive, or why they should buy one, was tiring in a whole different way. I believed what I was telling them, or I wouldn't be endorsing the device. But most of my words were coming from the information packet I'd had to learn and not from me. It felt less genuine, and it felt more like I was there just for the money than for the experience. I didn't like that at all. I knew that I would have to do more of this in the future, and I wasn't looking forward to it.

I had worked twelve hour days more than once over the summer, and the soft, silky sheets that greeted me in my hotel room were a welcome relief.

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