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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 3.33 - Family Turkeys

School was unbearably long on Tuesday. The day before the Thanksgiving break always was. I was just happy that they weren't going to make us attend on Wednesday.

When Wednesday finally came, however, I found myself somewhat bored! Without school, and with no Sarah commitments the entire weekend, I didn't have much to keep me occupied. Also, Emily and Ethan had both left town for the weekend to spend time with family, leaving me with a void that was hard to fill.

Scott had started to pressure me into writing some more music. We were currently trying to lock in the dates for a concert tour and Scott wanted me to release a second album before the tour started. With the inclusion of the song I had written for the movie I now had nine songs for the new CD, all of which had only been heard by fans at one of my concerts. But Scott wanted to make sure that we had new content and wanted me to write some more songs to round out the album.

I spent much of Wednesday morning trying to honor his request, but nothing came to me. After writing the two original pieces for the Christmas Concert, the song for the movie, and even 'Your Time Will Come' I just didn't have anything in my head and had to give up just before lunch. Afterward I did my best to avoid Austin and his leering friends by spending time in Sarah's room watching TV.

I wanted to relax because this weekend would be my last break until the week of Christmas, but I wasn't sure how to do so anymore. I was so used to having some part of Sarah's life vying for my attention, and I was sad when Amy had told me we were closing the office for the whole weekend. I almost craved some of the headache that managing my career could cause. I felt almost lost without Sarah.

I fell asleep Wednesday night relieved that the day was over. Tomorrow we would be spending time up at Gran’s and Grandaddy's house for Thanksgiving, and that would be far from dull. Then Ethan would be back on Friday to help me cope with the downtime.

Thursday morning was a bit hectic. Mom asked me to help her in the kitchen all morning, and I was happy to oblige. I was proud at how much I was starting to learn about cooking, and I had my mom to thank for that. Besides, spending time with her was always wonderful.

We even got to talk to Grampa and Gramma Campbell for a while in the morning. My dad's parents had retired to Florida a few years earlier, and since then I had only seen them twice. They were planning to come out to visit in the spring around my birthday, and I knew that Dad wanted us to book a concert appearance in Florida as an excuse to visit them. Talking to the two of them on the phone was nowhere near as nice as seeing them in person.

Eventually we loaded Dad's car with all the food we had been preparing and left for the short trip up to Malibu. It had been nearly two months since Katy's birthday party and I hadn't seen any of my extended family since then. But the fact that mom had made me bring my guitar meant that they hadn't forgotten what had happened the last time we had gotten together at my grandparents' house. Grandaddy had obtained a karaoke machine for our annual Fourth of July party, and the two songs I had performed had been the highlight of the night, according to my Aunt Judy.

Apparently Aunt Judy wanted us to have a talent show today, and I couldn't help but wonder if it wasn't some excuse for her to hear Sarah sing again. Of all my extended family only she and Katy knew the truth behind Sarah's identity. I had my suspicions that my mom had also told Gran, but Gran had never said anything about it to me.

It looked like everyone had already arrived by the time Dad pulled into my grandparents’ driveway. I felt nervous as I exited the car once more and smoothed out the skirt of my dress. This was only the third time that many of my family would see me since my whole identity had been upended. I thought the dress would help remind them of who I really was, though Mom had assured me it was no longer necessary.

Reluctantly, though with some excitement, I grabbed my guitar case containing my backup guitar and a pan of brownies before heading for the front door. I followed my mom inside to a cacophony of noise as the men cheered on a football game on the TV and the younger kids played all around us. Katy came up to me immediately and relieved me of the pan of brownies and Gran wasn't too far behind her. She enveloped me in a hug that I eagerly returned.

"How are you doing, Megan?" Gran asked me as her eyes sparkled. I knew immediately that my suspicions about her had been true. Mom had told her everything.

"Great," I replied truthfully. "It's a lot to get used to, but I'm enjoying every minute of it." My answer was vague, and honestly it answered both of her questions - the one about my new life and the one about my new career.

"That is good to hear," she replied with another smile. I knew that she was very proud of me.

"Do you have somewhere that I can put this?" I asked while holding up my guitar case. Then in a much louder voice I said, "I wouldn't want anyone to break it!"

I stared right at Derek, Katy's brother, who was sitting nearby. He obviously heard me and turned around to see what I was talking about. When he saw the guitar case he grimaced before he quickly turned back to the TV. I grinned , but left it at that. Derek had been the one who accidentally smashed my old guitar to pieces when the family had come over for Mom's birthday. I had loved that guitar, and he had just been impressed to find something of Sarah's in our house.

"You can leave it in my room," Gran said and I nodded before following her down the hall. Gran’s and Grandaddy's room was usually off limits during these get-togethers so I knew it would be safe.

Once we were inside her room she closed the door and pointed to the bed, where I placed my guitar case. When I turned back around she was smiling at me again.

"I'm so proud of you, Megan," Gran told me. "Your mom told me about your alter ego, and I must say that I was really surprised. I never would have guessed the truth."

"Thank you, Gran," I replied, smiling back. A compliment from Gran was one of the best things I could ever receive!

"Your dad said that you were very successful," Gran said, which indicated that she didn't really understand the breadth of Sarah Carerra's influence. "He said they even like your music in Europe and Asia."

I couldn't help but chuckle at how proud Gran was of her statement. Even though I did not have quite as large a following outside of the United States as I did within, I was still very popular. One of the things we had been discussing about the upcoming concert tour was a possible trip outside the United States.

"Are you going to play us one of your songs today?" Gran asked, excitedly.

"No," I told her. "If I did that then the rest of the family might guess my secret, and I'm not ready for that yet. I do plan to sing something for you guys though, but I'm not sure what."

"Well, I look forward to it immensely," she said.

"Thanks, Gran," I replied again before giving her another hug.

* * *

Thanksgiving dinner was served shortly after 3:00. We always ate early. With so many great cooks in my mom's family there was always way too much food, and the earlier time encouraged people to keep “grazing” all afternoon and evening. The more everyone ate the less we'd all have to cart back home afterward. If history repeated itself my family would still be taking home enough leftovers to last us a week.

After dinner, people started to return to the other entertainments that were available to us. Most of the men went back to the TV to watch football. Most of the older women gathered together to talk. The kids ran off to play some more. And Katy grabbed onto me for the evening.

"You brought your guitar, right?" she asked. The excitement in her voice told me that she hoped I would play some songs for her.

"Yes," I replied. "I was going to sing something for the talent show."

"What talent show?" she asked me, confused.

"The talent...never mind," I replied, slightly perturbed at my mother. I realized now that there was no "official" talent show on the docket for the evening. She had only used it as an excuse to get me to bring my guitar. "My mom tricked me into bringing my guitar."

"Well," Katy responded. "I'm glad she did. Come on, sing me a song."

I sighed. I knew that my family, even those who didn't know that I was Sarah Carerra, liked hearing me perform. But I didn't want to be a main attraction for the evening.

"You’re going to sing?" a voice asked from nearby. Kendra, my cousin, was staring at me with the same excitement that had been on Katy's face.

"I guess I am," I said in a resigned voice, because I wasn't sure I really wanted to. I loved to perform, but I was still worried that my family would recognize Sarah's voice coming from me.

"Megan's going to sing for us!" Kendra screamed to everyone as loud as she could. Then she ran off to gather a bigger audience. I just sighed and walked down to Gran's bedroom and retrieved my guitar case.

When I returned I found a large gathering of family members waiting for me. Most of them were the younger kids, but my mom was there with most of my aunts. Tracy and Heather were excitedly waiting too, and even Gran was smiling.

"Oh," I said, surprised at all of the people who were waiting for me.

I stepped over to a soft chair that had apparently been set up for my use; I sat while I placed my guitar case on floor next to it. I opened the case and pulled out the sleek, black guitar that I had purchased at the same time that Sparkle had come into my life. This guitar didn't see a whole lot of use. I preferred using Sparkle whenever I could, but this was still a good guitar. Nevertheless, I couldn't very well show up to a family gathering with Sparkle.

I placed the strap around my neck and rested the acoustic guitar on my knee before turning toward the small crowd.

"Did anyone have any requests?" I asked. I still wasn't sure this was a good idea, but I knew I wasn't going to get out of it.

"Sarah Carerra!" one of the young girls yelled back at me. Several others offered agreement to that suggestion, but I knew I couldn't sing one of Sarah's songs. I just couldn't.

"I don't know how to play Sarah's songs," I lied. There were some groans of disappointment from the crowd.

"Taylor Swift!" Kendra yelled. I knew that she was a big Taylor fan, like me, and I smiled and nodded. I needed something that sounded good with just a single guitar but that would also be fun for the small crowd that was listening.

"Ok," I said, deciding what I was going to sing for them.

I took a deep breath and then started playing 'Speak Now' for them. I thought that this was a really fun song to play for them. It also showed off some of my talent, which I always thought was a good thing. I knew I couldn't give it the justice that Taylor did, but I tried my best anyway. The looks on the faces of the young girls fanned around me told me that they were enjoying it. The smiles on the faces of the older kids and adults hanging around only confirmed that thought.

When the song came to an end there was some very enthusiastic clapping before they yelled out another song they wanted to hear. I continued to play for them for over half an hour. The small crowd grew with each song I sang and nearly the whole family had crowded around the large room that I was performing in by the time the last song came to an end.

"Sarah Carerra!" one of my young cousins called out again. They really wanted me to play one of her songs. Just about every other song I sang had been decided after I had deflected from singing a Sarah Carerra song that was suggested.

I sighed, but made a decision that I hoped I wouldn't regret.

"Okay," I relented. "One Sarah Carerra song."

There was a cheer from the crowd. I knew that this was a big risk, but my chosen piece was not one of Sarah's most popular songs, much to my chagrin. However, it was one of my favorites.

When the crowd settled down I started strumming my guitar once more and eventually moved into singing about a young heroine as she made her way through a forest of large steel buildings.

I looked around the room, watching the reaction from each of my family members as I sang through the peaceful, happy opening of 'Enchanted Forest' for them. Those who knew that I was Sarah Carerra had huge smiles on their faces. I even saw a tear form in Gran's eye. I had played this song for her more than once before I had become Sarah Carerra. She was one of the few individuals with whom I had been willing to share my music.

I continued to sing and perform the song for everyone with a surreal feeling permeating my being. This was a song that I had written as Megan with Emily. We had adapted the song into one of Sarah's, but this was as raw as my music got. This was who Sarah really was. She was me, Megan.

Most of the family were oblivious to this fact as I sang. I was glad to keep them that way. The rest cheered and clapped very loudly when I finished, though they weren't to be outdone by those who didn't know me.

I just smiled and took a small bow while sitting on the chair. Then I slowly removed the guitar from around my neck and placed it back in its case.

* * *

"Good night!" I called back to my extended family as I followed Mom, Dad, and Austin out to the car. Any hard feelings about my recent transformation had been forgotten, if there had been any left to begin with. I had obviously made an impression on everyone because I spent the rest of the night listening to them talking about one or more of the songs that I had sung for them. 'Enchanted Forest' had been a big hit and I had heard more than one person say that I sang it a lot like Sarah did, but nobody seemed to realize that we were one and the same.

As I climbed into the car I had a huge smile on my face. I was given the chance to share my music career with my extended family, even if most of them didn't realize it.

And in the end, it just made me thankful for everything that had happened since Megan had come into my life.

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