Phone Hostage
by Sami
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Chapter 1
Chapter Rating: K+
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AN: So, I got this idea the other day while I was watching Project Runway… not that that's relevant or anything, but yeah. It wasn't until my friend brought it up, though, that I realized the plot similarity to 'Stuck in the Suburbs.' I promise I'm not cloning that movie. This story will be a lot different. Also, to keep it original, I'll be making up my own lines for the characters to say in the scenes that are actually in the movie. I want too avoid making it like you're reading the movie's script, and I'm also too lazy to go and get the actual quotes. Enjoii :D
I hopped out of my mom's catering van and immediately smiled brightly. I was finally at Camp Rock. This was what I had dreamed of since the day I decided upon my destiny to become a famous musician. This was where I had decided I would make it all happen. This was where I'd make my life change. I could feel it.
I ran to the back of the van and grabbed my bag and guitar case, throwing one over each of my shoulders.
"Which way to the cabin?" I asked my mom. She laughed at how eager I must have seemed.
"Hold on, Mitch. Let me get my stuff." I stepped aside so she could get her baggage together, then she led me to the cabin we'd be sharing, following the map enclosed in the Camp Rock brochure. When we got to the little house that annexed the mess hall, I ran ahead of my mom and threw open the front door. As I stepped over the cabin threshold, my eagerness slightly dimmed. My mother walked in behind me and sighed, obviously reading my mind. "Honey, I know it's not the greatest, but we're not paying as much for you to be here. Our cabin's bound to be… less tasteful."
I groaned and tried to accept my surroundings for what they were. There were a few lamps scattered throughout the room, two beds, and a single dresser. All else was vacant-looking, and the smell was musty. A single rug in the middle of the room looked more like flea-infestation grounds than a place to put your feet on.
"They're paying you to be here, though. You'd think that'd make them up the cabin quality a bit," I complained.
"Oh, Mitchie, there's no need to get all dramatic over this. Let's get settled in, then you can go roam around if you'd like." I nodded and used all the enthusiasm I had left to grab my suitcase and dump it into one of the dresser drawers.
"I'm settled," I said, turning to leave the cabin.
"Be back by five!" my mom called after me. I waved as I walked down the pathway that led from the cabin entrance to the main trail through the camp.
After walking uphill for about five minutes, the trail opened to a big, open area where literally tons of kids were milling around. Some were dancing, some were talking amongst themselves, and some were randomly playing air guitar. I crossed my arms around myself protectively and walked through the crowd to where a makeshift stage had been set up, sitting down on the edge next to a girl with curly, reddish-brown hair and a laptop. She looked up at me and smiled genuinely.
"Hey, I'm Caitlyn," she immediately said, offering her hand. I smiled slightly, and felt my camp spirit turn up a notch. If this was how easy it would be to meet people, I might get my mind off the living situation faster than I thought.
"Mitchie," I replied, shaking the hand she'd reached out.
"You a singer?" she asked me. I wrinkled my eyebrows and gave her an intense look.
"How'd you know?" I asked incredulously.
She grinned. "Just about everyone is a singer here. I mean, some play other stuff too, but everyone can sing. Except me, evidently."
"What do you do?"
"I've got my own thing going on. I'm a mixer," she explained, pressing some keys on her computer, causing a beat to sound. "Future record producer."
"Awesome," I said. She shrugged and closed out of the computer program she'd been using. "Oh! You're a Connect 3 fan?!" I exclaimed, referring to her laptop's wallpaper.
She giggled. "Yeah. But who isn't, really?"
I laughed in agreement. "I know, right?" I said. She closed the computer, and realizing someone was standing on the stage behind us, we jumped off so they could make their announcement.
The red-headed woman onstage began by welcoming all of us to Camp Rock, and she introduced herself as Dee. We all listened and threw in some semi-enthusiastic claps and cheers when necessary, but one statement made the crowd of campers go particularly wild.
"And this summer, for the first time, we have our very own celebrity instructor!" Dee raved as if it was the coolest thing in the world. Not that it wasn't cool. I had been looking forward to coming here for pretty much forever, and the ability to go back home having had training from a professional musician made it ten times better. "Mr. Shane Gray of Connect 3!"
My heart stopped beating. For a single moment, time froze, and my thoughts played in slow motion. Shane Gray. She said Shane Gray! Fricken Shane Gray! Shane Gray, as in the hottest, coolest, awesomest member of Connect 3! I felt my jaw drop, and I slowly turned to face Caitlyn, who was jumping up and down with everyone else. If only Sierra could be here right now. I swear she would have wet herself after news like that.
"Shane Gray, Caitlyn!" I squealed. She turned and nodded, pumping her fist in the air as she jumped. I was going to be instructed by Shane Gray. My life was complete.
Dee continued with her long speech about music and having fun here and yada-yada, but by then, I'd lost all ability to listen. The fact that at some point this summer, I'd be in the same building, even the same room as Shane Gray, was so overpowering in comparison to everything else. He was probably here right now. Thinking this, I stood on my toes and peered over the heads of all the excited teenagers around me, but I didn't see him with the staff. I sunk back to my feet, the thoughts not leaving my mind.
After a moment, I had come to a decision. I was at the same camp as Shane Gray, my one and only idol. Right now, I was within a mile of him, and instead of taking advantage of the opportunity that had just been handed to me, I was standing there in a crowd of strangers, screaming like the obsessed fan girl I was.
But no more. Carpe diem! It was time to seize the day. I turned on my heel and began pushing my way through the rowdy campers, only to have my arm grabbed by Caitlyn before I could go anywhere.
"Where are you going?" she asked loudly.
What was I supposed to say? 'I'm gonna go stalk Shane Gray. Be right back!' Haha. Not happening. "I'll ummm… just… be in the bathroom," I said with a sheepish grin. Caitlyn gave me a doubtful look. "Yup. Gotta pee!" I ran off before she could protest, shoving bodies out of my way as I went. I'd made it back to the trail when I heard a voice behind me.
"Miss, where are you going?" I turned around to see a thin, pale-ish looking man.
"Ummm… bathroom," I said, using the same lie I'd fed to Caitlyn.
"Hurry back, then," he said in a corny-sounding British accent. I shrugged, and speed-walked down the trail until I came to the cabins. I looked around at the wood-paneled buildings that encircled me. Which to choose? There were about thirty cabins, about half of them for the girls, and the other half for boys, with a few for counselors and other staff. In the middle of it all was a drinking fountain, some picnic tables, and the dining hall. I ran to where the staff cabins were, near the one I shared with Mom. I figured if Shane was a counselor, that was where he'd be.
The whole time, I was feeling very lame. I was spending my time at camp stalking a celebrity instead of doing the usual camp activities.
I took note of the sun's slow setting in the distance, and quickly glanced at my watch. 5:03. Shoot, it was time to meet my mom. I dejectedly changed route and headed for the cafeteria entrance, where my mother was sure to be by now. I took a step closer to the large building, then another, then another, and…
Crunch!
I felt something crack beneath my shoe. I moved my foot to see what I'd stepped on, and saw something shiny glint in the fading sunlight. I bent down to pick it up and gasped. It was an extremely expensive-looking cell phone.
"Mitch? Is that you?" I heard my mother call, and the door to the cafeteria swung open. I quickly stashed the cell phone into my pocket.
"Hey, Mom," I greeted nervously, walking the rest of the way to the dining hall's door where my mother was still standing, hoping she hadn't seen anything. "Sorry I'm a bit late."
"Oh, it's fine. Do me a favor, and put that plate of burgers on the grill right away," she immediately ordered the moment I stepped into the building. I nodded obediently and walked into the back where the kitchen was. I took notice of a platter of raw hamburger patties on one of the counters, and I grabbed it before carrying it out the back door to where the gigantic barbeque grill was.
As I was slapping meat onto the hot griddle, I pondered the opportunity I had just lost. It had been my chance to get to Shane before anyone else did, and I had been running behind schedule. It wasn't that I thought that finding Shane would automatically guarantee me a life-long relationship with him or anything. I just wanted to spend a quick minute with him to get autographs and stuff before he got sick of all the attention he'd be getting over the next couple of months.
"Mitchie, how are those burgers coming?" my mom called from inside.
"Almost done!" I replied, using a spatula and tongs to carefully pick at the patties, placing the finished ones back on the platter, and leaving the half-cooked ones to grill for a few more minutes. When I'd finished, I carried them into the kitchen once again, where Mom had hundreds of burger buns that were just waiting to be filled laying out on the counter. We quickly bunned the beef patties and rushed them to the serving bar, just as the hungry campers began to file in for dinner. I sighed and grabbed a tray from the bar, placing a burger, some chips, and a few ketchup packets on it. Leaving the dinner line, I went to where the many cafeteria tables were situated and picked a random one. I began to eat my food, and a few minutes later, I was joined by Caitlyn. I waved at her, my mouth too full of burger to say much. She smiled back.
"Where'd you go after you used the bathroom? Why didn't you come back?" she queried.
I swallowed my food and proceeded to answer. "I'm on kitchen staff," I admitted. "My mom's the caterer, and the only way the camp would hook me up was if I agreed to help out, so… I was here."
She accepted my explanation with a "Cool," and went back to her food. I took another bite, and then remembered what I had found earlier.
"Ooh!" I exclaimed, regaining Caitlyn's attention. She turned towards me expectantly. "I found something on my way over here!." I pulled the fancy-schmancy phone out of my back pocket, and her eyes widened.
"Dude, you found that?" she gasped. "Like, on the ground?"
I nodded. "I don't know how to work one of these, though. I've never seen one for real before."
"Ooh! Gimme, gimme!" she reached for it eagerly, and I chuckled, handing the phone to her. She pressed a few buttons, the screen blinked on. "The screen's cracked, you know."
"Yeah. I kind of stepped on it," I blushed.
She grinned. "Ooh, they have a new text." Caitlyn pressed a button and read it out loud: "'Hey, Shane. How's camp so far? Call me or J when you get the chance.' It's from someone named Nate, it says."
The mentions of 'Shane,' 'Nate,' and 'J' got the wheels turning in my head. Shane Gray's name still fresh on my mind, it wasn't too hard to jump to conclusions. I snatched the phone from Caitlyn's excited hands and began to play around with the confusing device until I had opened a folder full of pictures. I shuffled through the list of photos until I noticed one that was interestingly labeled 'Release Party.' I selected it, and a picture immediately loaded. I gasped at the three familiar guys in the image.
I felt the color drain from my face as Caitlyn's stare bored into my skull.
"Mitchie? Mitchie, what's wrong?"
"This is Shane Gray's phone," I breathed.
Te gusta? I'm not so sure about this, so let me know if I should continue. I don't know if I like how stalkerish I made Mitchie. Let me know, and maybe I'll go back and change it if you guys agree. Review!
x sami