---

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.

*  *  *

Sarah Carerra Book 2: Summer Medley

Chapter 2.47 - The Indiana State Fair

On Tuesday, Dad awakened me much earlier than I wanted to start the day. I whined while climbing out of the bed in my room of our suite, and headed for the bathroom to start getting ready. I envied Mom and Austin, who were still sound asleep, and might only start stirring by the time we finished the radio and TV interviews that were planned for this morning.

Soon I was ready, and it wasn't much longer before Dad, Amy, Mason, and I were all travelling in a nice limo we had rented for the day toward one of the local television stations. I didn't get to talk with my entourage much, however, since I spent most of the drive on the phone talking to radio stations.

Once we arrived at the TV station I was escorted quickly to the set of a morning show, where I spent twenty minutes being interviewed again. Nearly every interview was the same, and they started to blur together like they usually did when we crammed so many into a short period of time. I knew that it was something that I had to do, and I was always happy to give the fans the opportunity to learn more about me. However, I always wished that they could occur later in the day. I never felt like I received enough sleep before the concerts.

When we arrived back at the hotel, Austin was just getting into the shower. Mom was ready. I knew that I'd have a few minutes, and sat down in a chair and closed my eyes.

Dad awoke me again about half an hour later. The short nap gave me the extra boost of energy that I would need to get through the day, and I was happy that he had let me sleep. Everyone was ready by then, so we headed for the fairgrounds.

The crew had been up all night putting together the stage, and they wanted to take a nap before this evening’s performance. That meant that we had a very early sound check, which left me sitting in my dressing room with the majority of the day to do nothing.

I got bored fast. So did Austin.

"I want to go on some of the rides," Austin said. I did too. He and my parents had enjoyed the California Mid-State Fair while I was forced to wait on the bus. I wanted to experience at least one of the fairs that I was going to be performing at. This seemed like a good one.

"I'll go with you," I said, which threw everyone into chaos. Cole was in the room with us, and I saw the security concerns flash across his face immediately. He was not pleased with my idea. Mom and Dad looked very reluctant too. It was Amy who came to my defense.

"That sounds like a great idea!" she replied. And she was smiling! That last point was important, because it caused everyone to scowl at her. Well, everyone except Austin and me.

"Amy," Dad said patronizingly. It was the voice he used when he was trying to talk us out of doing something, and my hopes dropped.

But Amy stood her ground. "No, Don," she said before my dad could continue. "It would be great press. Sarah spending time at the fair before her show would be a good thing."

I hadn't planned on going out there with the wig on, and her explanation almost caused me to rebel. I wanted to have fun, not sign autographs all afternoon. Some of my excitement of the fair left at the realization that Amy wanted Sarah, not Megan, to ride the rides.

I opened my mouth to say something, but she saw my look and stopped me by repeating, "Good press." Then she continued to explain why. "You can just sign autographs while you’re waiting in line. People will respect that you are there having fun and not press too hard. I promise. Cole will make sure of that."

While her words seemed to ring true, I knew she didn't have much experience in the matter. She may have been hoping that was the case more than it actually would be. Unfortunately, her words managed to convince my father. I saw it in his eyes long before he started to nod.

"Okay," he said. "You've convinced me. Cole, get to work on the security. You can take Sarah and Austin, while Linda and I run a few errands.”

I almost gagged at the look he gave my mom. I knew what 'errands' meant, even if it had escaped Austin. Between the bus ride and the shared suite at the hotel, they hadn't had much time to themselves. Whatever he had planned, I didn't want to be around to see it.

"Maybe we can go see the horses," my mom replied, returning his look. That threw me for a loop for a moment, because I couldn't tell if she was trying to cover up what they were really going to do, or if she really did want to go see the horses. Either way, if it got Austin and me out on the Midway, then I would be a happy camper. I had a lot of time to kill before the concert and I really wanted to have some fun.

It was another 15 minutes before we left the dressing room. Cole was frantically trying to do everything that he could to limit the safety concerns and Mason almost freaked out when he found out what we were planning. I couldn't understand why. Celebrities go out all the time - why was it so different for me to be seen doing something fun in public?

Cole quickly explained. Some of the 15,500 people who had tickets to tonight’s concert were likely to be at the fair. Also, there would be many people who didn't, or couldn't, get a ticket, along with other people who were just at the fair for the day. There was a great chance for a mob to form. I thought he was being overly dramatic, but he instilled enough concern into me that I was willing to acquiesce to his demands.

I had to change my shoes, since I didn't want to walk around the fair in the heeled sandals I had been wearing, but I had a pair of flat strappy sandals to replace them. They still looked good with the shorts and top that I had put on earlier, and that would keep me cool on the warm sunny day. I made sure to apply plenty of sunscreen too. The last thing I wanted was to be sunburned for my concert.

But eventually we made it out the door and started the long walk between the grandstand and the Midway. Almost immediately I had people pointing at me and waving. But for the most part, Amy was right. They could tell that I was out to have fun, and they left us alone. A few people mustered enough courage to ask me for a picture or an autograph, but we still made pretty good time.

I noticed that Austin was sick of the attention by the time we finally reached the Midway. But he stuck by my side and waited each time we had to stop. Cole and Mason were always nearby too. They weren't wearing suits, thank heavens, but they still stood out a bit in their sharp polo shirts and slacks. They weren't exactly dressed for a day at the fair. However, I think their presence did keep some of the people away, so it was worthwhile.

I let Austin lead us around to what he wanted to do. He was giving up a lot for me to be on this concert tour. Anything I could do to give something back seemed like a small price to pay. Besides, he kept pulling us towards the things I wanted to do anyway. We rode a number of the rides, played a number of the carnival games, and almost killed each other on the bumper cars. In short, we had a lot of fun.

The only downside was that I was wearing the wig. It felt so much like the times I had spent together with him while growing up, but I couldn't treat him like my brother. He was just the son of my agent, accompanying me on all of the rides. I knew that irked him somewhat, but the smile that was on his face all afternoon proved that it wasn't enough to upset him.

"We'll have to head back in about half an hour," Cole finally told me. We had been on the Midway for hours, and I knew that any more would only start to tire me out. I would still need a lot of energy for the show, so I didn't complain, even though it was still only early afternoon.

"Awww," Austin moaned though. "Already?"

"I'm afraid so," I said. I knew that he'd likely be okay alone if he wanted to stay longer, but I also knew that Mom and Dad would kill me if I didn't bring him back with me.

"Fine," he said a little petulantly. "Can we go on the roller coaster one more time before we go?"

"Sure," I replied, and then I let him lead us toward it once again. We got in line, while Mason and Cole waited where they could see me once again. They hadn't ridden a single ride with us, and that seemed wrong. I tried to get them to join in the fun, but they took their job seriously, apparently.

"Oh my gosh!" a feminine voice gushed behind me while we were in line. I turned around to find a girl my own age staring at me in shock, right before she wrapped her arms around me in excitement. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Mason jump to his feet from the bench he and Cole were sitting on, which caused me to laugh.

The girl started laughing with me, presuming that I was laughing at her antics. That only caused me to actually laugh at her antics.

"You're Sarah Carerra!" she screamed once she had stopped laughing.

"I am?" I questioned which made her laugh even more. I saw Austin roll his eyes in my peripheral vision. I think he was starting to get sick of the attention I was receiving. We certainly had every eye within a short distance looking at us.

"What are you doing here?" the girl asked. "Shouldn't you be getting ready for your concert?"

"I had some free time," I explained. "And Austin wanted to come to the Midway. I thought I'd come too."

The girl looked around me at Austin for a moment. Then she got a confused look on her face. "Is he your boyfriend?" she asked.

I started laughing, not at her question, but at the choking and gagging that erupted from Austin. That probably wasn't the reaction that most boys his age would have, and it left the girl looking even more confused.

"No," I told her. "Austin is the son of my agent. He's more like a little brother to me."

"Oh," she said, and understanding seemed to cross her face. It left me wondering why she would think Austin would be a bad boyfriend. Austin was an amazing kid. Any girl would be lucky to have him. I knew he really adored Susan and treated her well. I resented the implication that the girl had inadvertently made that he wasn't boyfriend material.

I had to continue talking to the girl the entire time we were in the line. Stepping into the coaster car next to Austin was the best thing that I had done all day. That girl had some quirky views about how she thought I should live my life, and I didn't really feel the same way.

"That girl was nuts," Austin spoke for the first time since we had met her. I laughed again and reached over and gave him a hug. I was glad someone could say it.

Austin was disappointed that we had to leave the Midway after the coaster ride was finished. I felt sorry that I had to pull him away, but he understood why. He knew that Mom and Dad were protective of him, and I admired his maturity to try and appease them. I didn't know if I would have been able to do the same thing if I was in his position.

*  *  *

I basked in the rush after finishing 'Fearless' once again for a moment before the lights dropped and the big screen at the back of the stage lit up to play a small video about the band and me talking about our experiences this summer. I rushed off the stage. Costume changes were becoming easier as I went through more and more of them, but it was still a coordinated mess.

I felt one of the crewmembers pulling the simple country dress off over my head at the same time that I kicked off the strappy sandals that I had been wearing. Then another woman pulled tight jeans up my legs at the same time that a pretty light pink top was pulled over my still upstretched arms. Once everything was in place I stepped into the shoes that were presented to me, and I turned to let Stephanie touch up my makeup and hair while someone tied the laces.

The first time I had done this had been a very awkward and uncomfortable experience, but the women who were dressing me were always respectful and kind, and I had begun to accept it as a necessity in putting on the concert. Costume changes had become the norm for pop singers in this day and age, and I wasn't exempt by any means.

The whole affair took only 45 seconds, and I was quickly running back out onto the dark stage to get into place before the video finished. The clapping that accompanied the end of the video came all too soon, and I took a few deep breaths to get more oxygen into my system. The costume changes took more energy than half the songs because I was always nervous something would go wrong and cause the concert to be delayed.

A spotlight lit the stage, centered on me. Without any words, the soft, peaceful melody of 'Love?' started, and I wrapped my hands around my microphone. Then I started singing the soft peaceful words that brought the question to reality. I sung about how confused I was in trying to find out if I really was in love. When Stacy added a beat to the soft sounds that Connor and Jason had been playing, the stage lit up to show the dancers, half obscured in shadow, moving in tune to the slow love song I had originally written about Josh Holliday.

I was able to fully answer the question now. I wasn't in love with him. But that realization didn't change the longing and doubt that I poured into my words.

The song continued to build upon itself with each verse, each line that I sang, culminating with a high crescendo as the frustration of not knowing the answer built and built before bursting forth from inside of me. A short solo from Jason followed the outburst for a moment, as my whole world changed.

When I started singing the chorus again after his solo, the meaning was different. It was no longer a question, it was an acknowledgement. Then the song descended from the crescendo and moved back into the peacefulness where it had started, as I came to terms with being in love, and what that meant. Then I finished the song with a peaceful admonition that 'I am in love with you' before I hummed along with the melody for a bit before the song came to a peaceful conclusion.

The soft calm that had settled across the Grandstand was broken by the roar of the crowd. I hadn't had much choreography during the song as I stood at my microphone, but I was still gasping for breath. The emotions that made up 'Love?' were very intense, and it took me a moment to recover while they cheered.

"How many of you have been in love?" I asked the audience once the cheering had stopped. I raised my left arm and many members of the audience did the same. Naturally, most of the audience had their arms raised, whether they had truly been in love or not.

"Love is an interesting thing, is it not?" I asked the crowd. There was a sound of assent from them, so I continued. "It consumes every day of our lives. We yearn to be loved. By our families, by our friends, by that special someone. It is also the greatest inspiration for most of the songs that we hear. And we can use those songs to tell stories. That's what we are going to do here tonight."

I started walking over toward Connor while I continued to talk.

"We've just realized that we are in love, right?" I asked the crowd, referring to the song I had just sung for them. There was another roar of assent indicating that they were following along with me. "So how did that happen? Did we wake up one day and decide we wanted to be in love?" Dissent was the noise that was returned now. Some people laughed. That apparently wasn't the right answer.

"What happened then, Connor?" I asked before holding the microphone up so that he could speak. He feigned surprise for a moment before speaking.

"You met someone?" he said, questioningly.

"You meet someone," I repeated while stepping toward Jason. "Where?"

Jason pretended to ponder that question for a moment before he answered.

"It could be anywhere," he said. "The grocery store, school, walking down the street. All it takes is one glimpse."

"One glimpse," I repeated the answer once again while moving back to the center of the stage. "All it takes is one glimpse."

A soft beat of Stacy's drums led us into our next song. The other band members weren't far behind, and soon I was singing about a chance meeting, a quick glimpse of someone that tugged at my heart strings. Don McLean had captured the thought that Jason had so graciously provided us with in his song, 'If We Try'. As I sang it for the crowd, and talked about the feelings of catching that glimpse, and the hope that the other person would look back, I could see the understanding in the faces of those closest to the stage.

It all started with a glimpse.

As the song came to an end and the crowd started cheering once again, I had a smile on my face. This was only the beginning of the love story we would sing throughout the evening.

*  *  *

*  *  *
Want more Sarah Carerra?
Hear the songs that inspired this chapter of the concert at sarahcarerra.com