The Christmas Concert
Monday
"That's right, Lockerman is here."
"Hey Lockerman!"
"You got it." Oliver moved quickly to the troubled locker and worked his magic. Bang! The locker door swung open.
"Hey Oliver!" Becca motioned for Oliver to come over. However her locker wasn't stuck.
"Be right there." Bang! As Oliver walked away, Becca held her hand, like it was a phone, to her face and mouthed 'call me' to Oliver. Done with his 'rounds', Oliver went to his locker to get ready for the day. As he started to pull out his books, Lilly attacked him from behind.
"Oliver, have you seen Miley yet? Never mind. Come on." Grabbing Oliver by the arm, Lilly started to pull him off to Miley's locker.
"Lilly, what's going on? Lilly…..Lilly….." It was soon obvious to Oliver that Lilly had her mind set on finding Miley with him in tow. That only left him with one choice. So he just relaxed and let Lilly drag him along. They got to Miley's locker just as she was closing up shop and turning to leave.
"Miley…..Miley….Miley…" Lilly called.
"Oh hi guys. What's up?"
"That's what I want to know."
"Did you see the announcement board, Miley?"
"No, why?"
"Who cares anyways, Lilly?"
"We do, donut head."
"We do? Why?"
"I'll explain why, and I'll go slow for you, Oliver. Here it is. They posted the solo tryouts for the Christmas concert today."
"So what. What's the bad deal about that?" Oliver asked.
"Because, and I'm going slowly now, Miley can sign up to try out."
"Why would I want to do that, Lilly?"
"Amber and Ashley"
"Oh," commented Oliver.
"So what has that got to do with me?"
"Okay, history time. Since starting middle school, there has always been a Christmas concert. Amber or Ashley has always gotten the main solo. Then they walk around like a couple of divas, being mean to everyone."
"Yeah, last year, I had to go to the store and get their 'special' bottled water. "It took me five trips before I guessed the right one," said Oliver.
"And he had to go home to change clothes too."
"They poured the wrong ones all over my head."
"Once again, what does this have to do with me?"
"Because as (whispers) Hannah Montana you'll be a shoe in. But of course you'd be yourself, not you know. That will really stick it to Amber and Ashley."
Amber and Ashley, who were in a deep conversation about fashion, make-up and nails, stopped short of the corner when they heard their names. They slowly inched forward so they could eavesdrop better.
"I'm sorry Lilly, I'm not going to tryout."
"WHAT! Why not?"
"Because it won't be fair. Even for Amber and Ashley."
"But Miley….Oliver, say something!"
"Okay. Ah...what should I say?"
"I'm not doing it Lilly. It won't be fair to everyone else and that's final!"
The warning bell for first period went off. Oliver ran back to his locker to get his books and Lilly and Miley went off to their classes.
Amber turns to Ashley "Won't be fair for everyone else."
"Even for Amber and Ashley!" said Ashley imitating Miley.
"Who does she think she is?"
"Hannah Montana?" they both say.
"Ooooo tsssss"
"I know Amber, we can fix her little red wagon…"
"and sign her up for tryouts and…"
"REALLY make fun of her when she fails!" they both say.
"Ooooo tssss"
At lunchtime Amber and Ashley signed up for tryouts and added Miley's name to the list as well. Back in the lunchroom, Lilly was still trying to get Miley to sign up for tryouts.
"Come on Miley, you just have to do it. It would be the perfect chance to get back at them for sticking gum in your hair."
"What do you think the jar of honey and the jar of ants I have in my locker is for?"
"Oh, I thought that ant farm was for a science project." Oliver said.
"What about the little people Miley? The ones with no talent who have to put up with the pop superstar wannabe's?"
"Oooh okay……no!"
"But Miley……"
"Lilly, have you thought about asking why she won't do it?"
"Just when you have Oliver all figured out…..okay Miley, why won't it be fair?"
"Because as, you know, I'm always on stage in front of people. For some people, this is the only chance they have to be on stage performing. It's something special for them. I can't take that away from them."
"Good job Oliver! Now I can't bug Miley about it anymore. You win Miley."
"Well, now that we've got that settled, tell me about the Christmas concert."
"Okay class, everyone take your seats and settle down." Miss Mayer said. "Miley, Lilly could you come up here and pass out the Christmas music that we will be using for this year's concert please. Also, anyone that is going to tryout for solos will need to get the music from me so they can start practicing. Tryouts will be this Friday in class. Be sure to check the board outside the choir room, the band room and the drama room for more information about the concert as we get closer to the date."
"Miss Mayer?"
"Yes Ashley?"
"What will the main solo be for this year?"
"I'm thinking about O Holy Night."
"Ooooo Tssss"
"jerks" said Lilly.
"geek, geek, geek"
"Ooooo Tssss"
"Okay, okay….lets start with The Twelve Days of Christmas"
Miley, Lilly and Oliver set out for Miley's house after school so they could do their homework. Robbie was working on another song at the couch when the friends came in the door with Lilly already talking.
"…same people sign up again?"
"Still no."
"Hey bud, Hannah's been asked to do a Christmas special."
"ALRIGHT! Hannah rocks the Yule time!"
Miley came up short as she turned to face Lilly and got a 'Oh thanks a lot' face.
"Merry Christmas?" Miley says sheepishly.
"Can you two put it aside for now so we can get our schoolwork done…Did I say that?"
"Lets go up to my room."
Tuesday
"Bye, Daddy" said Miley.
"Bye Mr. Stewart" said Lilly.
They left the house and started talking as they walked down the street to school when Oliver met them at the corner. "Did your dad tell you anything more about the Christmas special Miley?" Oliver asked.
"No, not yet Oliver."
"Anyways Miley, I have to apologize to you for yesterday."
"Why the change of heart, Lilly?"
"Well, I was still kind of upset about you not wanting to tryout for the Christmas concert. Plus it didn't help with you being all excited about the Christmas special. Anyways, mom kind of noticed something was bothering me and well, everything kind of came out at once."
"Oh? What did she say?" asked Miley.
"That I wrong trying to get you to tryout for the concert. Especially after you provided a very good, and she also used the word mature, reason for not doing it. She also said that after seeing your reaction to getting the Christmas special, I had all the proof I needed that you were right. And after thinking about it, I'm sorry Miley. Still friends?"
"The best."
"Miley, will you take this to the office for me please?" asked Mr. Plummer. Miley got up and took the note from Mr. Plummer and left the classroom for the office. In the hallway, Miley started to think about her special again and what songs she might sing. As she thought about some of her favorite songs, she started singing to herself. There was Miley Stewart as Hannah Montana singing 'O Holy Night' at the emotional close of the special and…turn the corner right into Miss Mayer.
"Oh, I'm sorry Miley. You okay?"
"Yeah, guess I wasn't watching were I was going. Sorry."
"By the way Miley, that was you singing, wasn't it?"
"Ah….yeah….why?" Miley answered looking a little nervous.
"Well, it's just I have always thought you had a beautiful voice. Strong, clear, great range, and you have such great control for someone your age. I hope you sign up for the tryouts. Well, anyways, see you in class."
"Ah….yeah, bye." Hmmmm….that was weird. I never thought she noticed my singing before.
"I tell you Lilly, it was the weirdest thing. I mean I never thought she really paid any attention to any of us in class. You know what I mean?"
"Are you going to eat that Miley?"
Lilly and Miley looked at each other and then they looked over at Oliver.
"Oliver, haven't you been listening to anything Miley has been saying?"
"Ah…what?"
"Here Oliver, just eat the cookie." Miley said.
"Wow, she really listens to us. That is weird. And I can't sing either. My grade is ruined. What am I going to do? Maybe I can stand closer to you and you can sing louder and I can sing softer!"
"Stop being such a drama queen. You sing just fine. It's Oliver that needs some help."
"What…no I can eat this cookie by myself Miley."
Miley and Lilly rolled their eyes at Oliver and saw Amber and Ashley moving through the lunchroom with a little crowd of 'fans' following them. They stopped by Miley and Lilly and innocently Amber commented to Ashley, "I'd like to come over tonight but I have voice lessons. My mom thinks I could be the next Hannah Montana."
"Unlike other very untalented people." Ashley said while looking over her shoulder at Miley and Lilly.
"Ooooo Tssss"
"Why I'm going to…"
"Ignore them, Lilly." Miley said. "Remember what's in my locker."
"Oh yeah…" Lilly smiled. "But we'll need Lockerman."
Miley pulled Lilly and Oliver into a huddle as 'Operation: Sweet Ant' got planned.
"Boy Miley, remind me never to get on your bad side!" said Oliver laughing.
"Okay, we'll meet at my house and go to school early."
"Breakfast too, Miley?" asked Lilly.
"Okay"
"It's a plan." Oliver said.
"Settle down class." Said Miss Mayer. "For The Twelve Days of Christmas, I'm going to select twelve of you to sing each day solo and then the rest of you will sing the chorus. So Miley, I want you to sing the first day of Christmas, Amber, the second day…"
And so the class spent the hour rehearsing the song. At the end of the song, Miss Mayer changed the ending. Miley was to sing her part in a stylized ending that Miss Mayer had come up with just for her. This put Amber and Ashley out. They left the classroom making comments on how they should be doing the ending of the song and how Miley was going to mess it up and how she couldn't sing.
"Just wait until tomorrow morning when they find out that their ants came to visit." Miley said under her breath to Lilly and Oliver.
On the way home, Miley's phone rang. "Hi, Daddy. What's up? Yeah…yeah…yeah…
Okay. Let me ask her. Lilly, Daddy's got a late meeting tonight about the special. Would it be okay to eat at your house tonight?"
"Hold on." Lilly got out her phone and called her mom. "Hi mom. Mr. Stewart has a late meeting tonight about Miley's Christmas special. He was wondering if Miley could eat at our house tonight? Thanks mom. Bye. She said yes and she also said you could come too, Oliver."
"I'll ask when I get home."
"Mrs. Truscott said yes, Daddy. Okay, bye. Let's stop by Oliver's house first and find out if you can come. Then we'll go to my house and get some stuff and then go to your house, Lilly.
They all headed to Oliver's house where his mom said it was okay. Oliver dumped all of his non-homework books in his room and took the rest with him. Then they went to Miley's house where she did the same thing and then they all headed over to Lilly's house. Mrs. Truscott had already set out snacks for the trio. So with snacks in tow, they went up to Lilly's room to do their schoolwork. About two hours later a fine smell of lasagna started to fill the room.
"Oh boy! You're mom's making lasagna!" Oliver exclaimed.
"Your mom makes the best, Lilly!" Miley agreed.
"Yeah……it's a secret family recipe." Lilly whispered and then laughed.
Just as they were finishing up their homework, Mrs. Truscott called them down for supper. "This smells sooooo good" Oliver purred when they got down stairs.
Everyone sat down and started eating as Mrs. Truscott start asking about school.
"Anything new at school happen today?"
"Not really, but something weird did." Lilly told her mom.
"Well, how weird was it?"
"You know our choir teacher, Miss Mayer, right? Anyways, I found out today that she really listens to us sing. I mean, how weird is that. Everyone in there singing our heads off not wanting to be heard, well maybe not Miley, and she actually hears everyone singing. I mean come on what does she have, a bionic ear or something?"
"I see. And just how did you find this out?"
"Oh, Miley told me."
On hearing this, Miley blushed a little and looked down at her plate. Oliver, however, only paid attention to his plate.
"Well, it's not really that much of a big deal. I was just taking a note to the office when we ran into each other turning the corner in the hallway. It was kind of embarrassing." Miley finished. Oliver, catching the last part of what Miley had said, asked "Why was it embarrassing?"
"It just was." Miley answered firmly and turning more red
"Come on Miley, it couldn't have been that bad. All you did was walk in a teacher and half of that was the teacher's fault," said Lilly.
"Oh alright, if you must know what happened…I walked into Miss Mayer because I was singing softly to myself and daydreaming about the Christmas special." Lilly and Oliver laughed softly at Miley and then Oliver stopped long enough to tell Miley, "That's funny. Miley Stewart pretending to be Hannah Montana." At hearing this Miley laughed a little too. "Okay, you two. Give Miley a break." Said Mrs. Truscott. "Although, I must say, I've never seen a pop-star pretend to be herself." Teased Mrs. Truscott with a gentle squeeze on Miley's arm.
"It's my first ever special of any type and it also happens to be a Christmas special at that! So yeah…I'm really excited about it. I just wish Daddy would get done with his meeting so I can find out what's going on."
Conversation soon settled down to more ordinary things and supper was quickly over.
Everyone was just sitting around the table when there was a knock at the door. Mr. Truscott got up to get it and returned with Robbie right behind him.
"DADDY! Tell me about the special! Is it an hour show, am I the host, or a guest, how many songs do I sing, when is it, where do….."
"Hold on there, darling. One question at a time."
"Have you eaten yet, Robbie?" asked Mrs. Truscott.
"No, not yet."
"Sit down and I'll get you a plate while these three give you the third degree."
"Okay Miley, first of all the special is called Christmas with the Stars. You will be sing one song solo and the other will be a duet."
"With who, Daddy/Mr. Stewart?" Miley and Lilly squealed at the same time.
Mrs. Truscott came back out with a plate of lasagna and some bread for Robbie.
Robbie looked at his daughter and Lilly and defiantly tasted the lasagna.
"Oooowww… this is some of the best lasagna you've made yet, Emily. Have you changed the recipe any?"
"Why no. Not really. I did try that new vegetable market place you told me about."
"I really like the…."
"D A D D Y!"
"Okay Miley. The three of you better sit down. You are going to sing Silver Bells with.."
"Oh, you mean just like Bob Hope used to do in his Christmas specials?" Mr. Truscott asked.
"I just loved those Bob Hope specials. The family would pop a bowl of pop corn…"
"MOM! Can we get back to the important issue here?"
"Yeah! Who am I going to sing with?"
"He's not really that big of a star bud. I hope you won't be too disappointed."
"His NAME, Daddy!"
"His name is…his name is…Jesse McCartney."
Miley and Lilly jumped up grabbed each other and started screaming and jumping in circles. Oliver looked over at Robbie and asked, "So what's the big deal about that?"
"Okay you two…get a hold of yourselves." Mrs. Truscott stated firmly.
Miley and Lilly let go of each other and Lilly turned on her parents.
"Can I go with Miley Mom, Dad? Pleassseeee…can I can I can I pppllleeeaaassseee?"
"Lilly, it's getting late and there is plenty of time to make a decision about that." Mr. Truscott said.
"Oliver, do you want a ride home?" asked Robbie.
"Sure, Mr. Stewart."
Oliver, Miley and Lilly went to Lilly's room so that Oliver and Miley could get their school stuff. "Don't forget about Operation: Sweet Ant tomorrow," Miley reminded them in Lilly's room. Everyone said their good-byes at the door and Robbie and Miley dropped Oliver off at his house before going home themselves.
Wednesday
"Okay, Lilly, you watch that way and I'll watch this way and you open the locker."
Bang. Lockerman did his thing and traded places with Miley. First, Miley put some honey in Amber's locker to help keep the ants there and then she put the other half of the ants in. Just like she did with Ashley's locker. Then she closed the door and the three of them left the locker for a safer viewing point.
"This is going to be great!" Lilly laughed with excitement.
"Shhh… here they come." Oliver observed them coming down the hallway.
Amber and Ashley were so involved with their conversation that neither one noticed the ants crawling on their books as they got their stuff for class.
The bell for English class rang and Mr. Cook started class. "Okay, everyone turn in your essay papers. Please pass them to the front of the rows."
As Ashley went to get her paper, some ants crawled onto her hand.
"AAAAhhhhhhh……. There are bugs in my bag!" she screamed as she was waving her hand to get the ants off. Ashley turned to Amber to get help only to notice that Amber had ants on her too. "Amber! You have bugs on you too!" Ashley screamed. Amber jumped up and started to scream. Amber and Ashley start to swat at each other to get the ants off and fell over in their efforts. The whole class started to laugh at the sight of Amber and Ashley rolling on the floor. After ten minutes of work, Mr. Cook got the class under control again. Amber and Ashley went to the nurse to make sure they were bite free and okay. Their book bags went outside to be emptied of ants.
But for Amber and Ashley the damage had already been done. The news of the 'attack' had spread throughout the school.
At lunchtime, Amber and Ashley tried to keep a low profile, but laughter and comments where heard throughout the lunchroom.
"Wow Miley, that was the best," Lilly said gleefully.
"Yeah Miley, that was the greatest."
"That's right, don't mess with anyone from Tennessee."
"Hey Amber….there is an ant free zone over here." Someone shouted. The sound of laughter followed.
Lilly and Oliver gathered up Miley at her locker at the end of the day and set off for home. Once they were clear of other students, "Has your dad told you anything else about the special or Jesse yet?"
"No he hasn't. But we should be getting a shooting schedule in the mail soon."
"So you don't know if there are going to be any girls there?" asked Oliver.
"And what do you thing I am, Captain Hormone?"
"Well a girl, but are there any others?"
Miley and Lilly rolled their eyes.
"Is that all you think about Oliver?" Lilly asked?
"You two should talk!" Oliver starts doing an imitation of Miley and Lilly from last night. Then stops and looks at them. "I rest my case."
"I'll right. Maybe we got a little excited…"
Oliver cuts Lilly off. "A little excited!"
"Okay, a lot excited, but it was Jesse McCartney!"
"And again I say 'So?'"
"Well you're not a girl…"
"My point exactly."
"Okay, okay….spill Miley, are their any other 'girls' there?"
"Well, it is called Christmas with the Stars, so my guess is yes. But who, I don't know."
"Will you tell me when you find out?"
"For you Oliver, anything."
"Thanks Miley" Oliver smiled. "I'll see you guys later." Oliver turned down his street and headed home. As they got closer to Lilly's house, she turned to go too. "Call me, Miley."
"Hi Daddy, have you heard anything else about the Christmas special? Like who else is in it?" Miley asked as she came in the house from school.
"Well, let's see, there's Kelly Clarkson, Aly and AJ, and the Jonas Brothers. Hosting all you youngsters will be Reba. You'll well be singing your Christmas songs and talking about your favorite Christmas memories."
"Reba's going to be there? No way. Please tell me your not kidding!"
"Yep, she is going to be the host. And at the end, everyone is going to sing together."
"I've got to go and tell Lilly! She won't believe it!"
"Hey Lilly! I've got to call Oliver!" Miley quickly calls Oliver. "Hey Oliver, three-way call."
"Hi Oliver"
"Hi Lilly"
"Okay Miley, spill! Who is in your special?"
"Okay, sit down Lilly. Are you ready?"
"Yes Miley!"
"The Jonas Brothers!"
"AAAAAAAAAA……."
"LILLY! Calm down!" Oliver yelled.
"Sorry Oliver, I should have warned you to move the phone away from your ear first. But wait until you hear who else is coming. Lilly…Lilly…LILLY!"
"Okay, I'm back….for now."
"Ready Oliver? How does Kelly Clarkson and Aly and AJ sound?"
"YES…YES…YES! There is a god! Do I get to go too?"
"But wait…I saved the best for last."
"Come on Miley…" Lilly and Oliver begged.
"Okay, you ready?"
"YES" they both said.
"Okay, its Reba McEntire! AAAAA…oooooo…..yes…yes…yes!"
"Ah…Miley…Who's Reba McEntire?"
"Yeah who is she?"
"Come on, you mean to tell me you never heard of Reba?"
"Sorry…no." Lilly said quietly. Oliver decided to stay quiet as not to hurt Miley's feelings anymore than they had.
"She only the biggest name in country music and in Nashville, that's all!"
"Sorry Miley, we're not that into country music." Lilly tried to soften the blow.
"Yeah, plus we've never been to Nashville."
"Well…okay I guess, but you have to come over and listen to some of my Reba CDs then. When I was younger, I wanted to be just like her. You now, she was kind of my idol I guess."
"MILEY! Is your homework done?"
"Sorry guys…dad says I have to get on my homework. See y'all tomorrow."
Thursday
"Miley, after everyone sings 'two calling birds' I went you to pause just a bit longer and then really draw the retard out. Do you understand that?" asked Miss Mayer.
"Yeah, I think so."
"Okay lets start from 'twelve lords a leaping.' One, two, thre…"
"Miss Mayer?" Half the class jumped when the speaker came to life.
"Yes, Mr. Aaron?"
"Will you sens Miley Stewart to the office right away please?"
"She's on the way, Mr. Aaron."
Miley started to gather up her stuff when she heard Amber and Ashley talking under their breath about what she might be in trouble for. Miley wasn't to worried about being 'in trouble' for doing anything wrong, like Operation: Sweet Ant. No Miley got called to the office 95 percent of the time for one reason: Hannah Montana. She still laughed to herself every time she remembered when she and her dad told Mr. Aaron that a famous pop-star was going to attend school here. The look of terror on his face as he thought of all the trouble that would entail. Then there was the look of relief as he found out that Hannah Montana was Miley's stage name and that she didn't want anyone to know it was her. Of course, Mr. Aaron was all too happy to help out with the well kept secret. But he also took a special interest in Miley's grades too. Any signs of behavior problems or that her grades were slipping and Mr. Aaron was on the phone to her dad. Unfortunately for Miley, this happened twice. After that she worked very hard not to let that happen again. The second grounding was so bad that she almost lost a month of her social life.
Miley open the door to the office and went to Mrs. Darcy's desk.
"Hi Mrs. Darcy, Mr. Aaron wanted to see me?"
"Yes, Miley, you can go right in."
Miley walked around the desk and into Mr. Aaron's office.
"Hi Mr. Aaron."
"Hi Miley. Would you close the door please?"
Miley closed the door and went to sit down. As she was sitting down, she noticed her Hannah bag on the floor by Mr. Aaron's desk.
"Your dad stopped by" Mr. Aaron started, "and dropped off your bag. It seems someone is going to be in town briefly and wants to talk to you before leaving." Mr. Aaron was smiling at Miley now.
"Did Daddy say who it is?"
"No, he just said it had something to do with your Christmas special and someone that you were going to singing with." Mr. Aaron teased Miley.
"Jesse McCartney? Wants to meet with me!" Miley jumped up barely controlling your voice.
"Settle down Miley. You don't want the whole school to hear you." Mr. Aaron laughed. In the time that he had come to know Miley, she had become like another daughter to him. He was secretly proud of the way Miley had stayed a 'normal' teenager. Whatever normal meant to a teenager, that is.
"When is Daddy going to pick me up?" Miley asked bringing him back to the present.
"The usual 'pick Hannah up from school' time. Here's your pass to get out of class early. By the way, Miss Mayer is very impressed with your singing."
"Yeah, I got that impression."
"She really wants you to try out for the Christmas concert solo."
"I know but I can't. It wouldn't be fair to the others."
"To the others, or Hannah Montana, or more importantly to yourself?"
"I just can't, Mr. Aaron."
"Okay Miley. But just think about it for me."
"Okay, I'll see you later."
Miley walked to her locker turning over what Mr. Aaron said. Mr. Aaron had never steered her wrong and was always there when she needed to vent about the craziness of her life. He never asked for tickets or anything else for that matter. But he and his family had been to quite a few concerts. Miley smiled at one memory of how Mr. Aaron waited in line with his daughters, who were ten and eight, for an autograph. The fierce look of pride on his face melted her heart that night, but she just couldn't try out. Miley opened her locker door, and started to get ready for last period as Lilly pounced from behind.
"What did Mr. Aaron want Miley?" Miley felt like she had jumped three feet off the ground when she landed, and turned on Lilly.
"Don't do that! You scared me half to death!"
"Sorry. Well?"
"You-know-who wants to met with me after school."
"You mean Jes… OUCH!" Lilly jumped on one foot because Miley had stomped on the other one.
"That hurt, Miley!"
"You lost control and were about to say you-know-who's name very loudly."
"Sorry, Miley. Does this mean you have a you know who pick up time?" Oliver walked up to Lilly and Miley and Lilly started to fill him in.
"Hi Oliver, guess what? You-know-who wants to met with you-know after you-know-what." Lilly said in a quiet spy like way.
"That makes it perfectly clear. You-know-who, you-know-what….we really have to work out a code for this." Oliver complained. The trio started off for history class lost in small talk about different codes.
When class was half over, Miley got up to head to the principle's office to change. She almost forgot to stop at her locker but remembered before she went past it. Mr. Aaron would be upset if she forgot to bring her homework. When Miley got to the office, Mrs. Darcy was not there. Mr. Aaron always had her away on an errand at these times. Miley knocked on Mr. Aaron's door. "Come in." On seeing Miley come in, Mr. Aaron closed the blinds and closed the door on the way out so Miley could change.
"It never fails to surprise me how different you look as Hannah." Mr. Aaron commented as Miley came out of his office with her stuff. Hannah smiled shyly at this comment. Mr. Aaron checked his watch. "Okay, lets go Hannah." Mr. Aaron checked the hallways and led the way out of the office. Hannah followed a safe distance back. At the main entrance, the limo could be seen through the door. With a final check, Mr. Aaron waved Hannah to the door. Hannah hurried out to the limo as the door open for her and she jumped in. "Have fun at your meeting, Miley." Mr. Aaron said to himself and headed back to the office.
"Do you believe it, Lilly? Jesse's a fan of mine! He really likes my music!" Miley relayed to Lilly. Miley had been on cloud nine after meeting with Jesse, and Lilly was going stir crazy waiting for Miley to call with the details. As Miley told Lilly all about the meeting and what Jesse was like in person, Miley felt very lucky for the way her life was going. She was able to do what she liked best, singing, and most everything that came with her career. She also had the VERY, VERY best friends to share everything with. But her conversation with Mr. Aaron was bugging her a little, and she didn't want to face it right now. Besides what did he mean by 'to myself' anyways?
"What, Lilly?" Miley asked.
"Have you found out about the shooting schedule yet?"
"Oh yeah, the studio scheduled the first week of December for rehearsals and filming."
"That's not FAIR! I won't be able to go! I do expect a lot of pictures Miles. What? Okay Mom. Sorry Miley, I have to do the dishes, bye."
"Bye."
Friday
Watching the students come in to school was always one of the favorite times of the day for Mr. Aaron. But today he had a different reason to be watching. And there it was in the form of Miley, Lilly, and Oliver. He could tell by the secretive way they were talking and looking around all the time just what they might be talking about.
"Miley, do you have a moment?" Mr. Aaron asked as the trio drew closer.
"I'll catch up to you guys. Hi Mr. Aaron. What's up?"
"Just was wondering if you enjoyed your appointment yesterday?"
A huge bright smile broke out on Miley's face on hearing the question.
"That's answer enough. Go catch up with Lilly and Oliver." He really didn't expect different. He was just more curious about her reaction than anything else. But now what to do about Miley's problem. Even if she didn't know she really had one.
"Well, this is it Miley. This is your last chance to change your mind about trying out for the main solo." Lilly said hopeful to the end.
"Lilly…I just can't, okay?"
"Yeah, I guess."
Miley, Lilly and Oliver took their seats in choir and waited for class to start.
"Alright, today we will be doing the try outs for the main solo for the Christmas concert. The song that we will be singing will be 'O Holy Night'. Lets see here, Amber you're first." Amber sang and then Ashley sang. Both did very well but Miley could tell that they would not be getting much better than they were now.
"Miley, you're next."
"What?"
"Miley you're next on the list."
"But Miss Mayer, I didn't sign up." Miley gave Lilly a quick side glance. Lilly shook her head slightly. Oliver did too.
"Your name is on the list, Miley."
"But I didn't put it there, Miss Mayer."
"Let me go into my office and get the sign up sheet and you can have a look at it."
Miss Mayer stepped down from the podium and walked into her office.
As Miss Mayer was going to her office, Amber and Ashley leaned closer to Miley.
"What's wrong…you only sing hillbilly songs?"
"Afraid that sick cats can sing better than you?"
"Ooooo….Tssss"
Miss Mayer came back into the classroom before Miley could say anything.
"Well here it is Miley. Come have a look see."
"I'm sorry Miss Mayer, I guess I forgot that I signed up." Miley said as she walked down to the music stand with the music on it. Miley started singing, but was holding back. She didn't want to be too good. However, the more she sang, the more the love of singing came out. By the time Miley finished, the whole classroom was totally quiet. Miley looked over at Miss Mayer and saw that her eyes had started to tear up.
"That was just the…I mean you…I don't know what to say Miley. That was just so beautiful." Miss Mayer was having trouble expressing yourself. Miley looked up at Lilly who mouthed 'WOW' to her. Oliver had the biggest smile that she had ever seen on his face. Amber and Ashley just sat there opened mouth. The rest of the class looked awe struck. Miley blushed slightly and quickly sat down. But now Miley was mad with herself for singing like Hannah. Now the others might just figure it out. But as she looked around no one showed signs of linking her voice with Hannah's voice.
"Well Miley, I think you have the solo for the Christmas concert." Everyone in the classroom, except Amber and Ashley, begin to clap. Miley panicked and asked to use the restroom. With permission, Miley got up and quickly left the room. Safely in the restroom, Miley almost started crying. She quickly splashed water on her face. How could she lose control like that to Amber and Ashley. It was almost like screaming 'I'm Hannah Montana' in the lunchroom. The end of period bell broke into her thoughts as it went off. She splashed her face one more time and dried it, then turn to go get her books from the choir room.
Miley ran into Lilly and Lilly turned to follow.
"Miley, wait up, will you." Lilly caught up to Miley in the choir room. "That was awesome! Did you see how stupid Amber and Ashley looked when their trick back fired on them?"
"That's not the point Lilly!'
"Then what's the point?"
"I almost blew it today!"
"How did you do that?"
"Are you kidding me? You know how big Hannah Montana is here. I'm surprised that no one recognized my voice. As soon as they do that, everyone will know I'm Hannah!"
"Come on Miley, you know that's not true. They don't recognize you because you don't look like Hannah. As for your voice all they will say is that you sound like her."
"No they won't, Lilly! I have to turn down the solo, that's all there is to it." Miley grabbed her stuff and walked out of the classroom. Lilly followed after her.
"But Miley…"
"Mr. Aaron, can I have a word with you in private please?" asked Miss Mayer.
They walked into his office and close the door behind them.
"What's so important, Gail?" Mr. Aaron asked as they sat down.
"This is going to sound strange so I guess I'll start from the beginning. As you know, today was the solo tryouts."
"How they go?"
"Well, Amber and Ashley tried out as usual. But when it was Miley's turn.."
"Miley tried out…good for her." Maybe Miley over came her problem herself.
"Well, that's just it. At first, Miley swears that she didn't sign up. So I went into my office to get the sign up sheet so she could look at it. But when I came back out, she acted like she'd forgotten that she had signed up."
"So she did try out?"
"Yes she did and let me tell you, she has the voice of a trained professional. But after she sang, she asked to go to the restroom."
"Well, what happened?"
"She didn't get back before the bell. I was back in my office with the door open a little when Miley and Lilly came into the classroom."
"Oh?" Mr. Aaron raised an eyebrow at this.
"Miley said that she almost blew it today and let everyone find out that she's Hannah Montana. And the funny thing was, Lilly acted like she already knew that she was Hannah Montana. Anyways, Miley said she had to turn the solo down or everyone would find out she's Hannah Montana."
Mr. Aaron seat there and thought for a while before continuing.
"And what do you make of all of this, Gail?" So the problem was still there.
"Well, it is quite obvious Miley has a very well trained voice. And she is about the right age too. But, I don't know if I can make that jump or not."
In answer, Mr. Aaron turned around in his chair and simply hit the play button on his CD player and turned back around. As the song started to play and Hannah started to sing, recognition appeared on Miss Mayer's face.
"So it is true."
"Yes it is, and only Oliver, Lilly, and myself know. I expect you not to tell anyone either."
"But why does she hide it?"
"Because she wants to be a normal teenager. But in that lays a problem she has."
"What's that?"
"Well, like I said, she wants to live as normal a teenager life as possible. But her fear of being found out keeps her from living that life. Case in point, the Christmas concert."
"Oh, I see what you mean. Because she is afraid that someone will recognize her voice and say she's Hannah Montana."
"And that keeps her from doing things that other teenagers do."
"Lilly also said that people would only say she sounds like Hannah. Not accuse her of being Hannah. They certainly don't look alike."
"She and her dad worked very hard on that one. It still amazes me that they're the same person."
"Well, I was going to call and talk to her dad, but maybe a visit from a teacher just might do the trick. What I was thinking …"
"Thanks a lot Mr. Aaron. I'll see to it that Miley is here. Bye" Robbie hung up the phone and thought about what Mr. Aaron wanted to do. It just might work. It also answered a question that he had for awhile. Why didn't Miley get involved in more school activities.
"Jackson, where's Miley?"
"Where else, upstairs in her room on the phone."
Robbie went up stairs and knocked on Miley's door. "Miley?"
"Hold on Lilly, my dad's at the door. What, Daddy?"
"Can I come in. We need to have a talk."
"Have to go Lilly, Bye. Come in, Daddy."
"Hey Miles, do you have plans at three in the afternoon tomorrow?"
"We were going to go to the mall in the morning and hang out at the beach in the afternoon. Why Daddy?"
Some quick thinking and Robbie answered, "You have a meeting scheduled at that time and you will need to be here at home."
"What's the meeting about, Daddy?"
"You'll have to wait until tomorrow."
Saturday
"Maybe Jesse is coming over." Lilly guessed for what seemed like the 50th time.
"Again...NO. I've already met with Jesse and he is busy with his stuff right now."
"Maybe it's about a tour."
"Again…NO. How many times do I have to tell you Oliver. No tours during the school year." Miley had to admit to herself that she had no idea either. The waiting wasn't as bad as having Lilly and Oliver guessing what the meeting was about. She looked at her watch again, 2:30 p.m.
"I better go and get ready for the meeting. I'll call you guys when the meeting is over. Bye"
"Bye." They both replied.
Miley walked home and found her dad at the piano working on filling out his last song for Hannah.
"Hi, Daddy. I'm going upstairs to get ready for the meeting."
"We won't be needing Hannah for this meeting."
"We won't? How come? What is the meeting about?"
"You'll find out when the meeting starts."
Miley shrugged and headed up stairs to get ready.
As she was coming back down stairs there was a knock on the door. She went to answer the door and got a very big surprise!
"Miss. Mayer! What are you doing here?"
"I came to talk to you and your dad Miley."
"If this is about the tryouts, I'm really sorry. I won't do it again. I promise."
"Well, I am here to talk about the tryouts, but not for the reasons you think. Can I come in?"
"Oh sorry. Come in." Miley blushed slightly. "Daddy, my choir teacher Miss Mayer is here." Miley lead Miss Mayer in and over to the piano to met her dad.
Robbie finish the measure he was working on and wrote down the notes.
"Sorry about that. My name's Robbie."
"Gail Mayer. That was very nice. I didn't know you wrote music."
"Here have a seat." Robbie leads Miss Mayer and Miley to the living room and everyone sat down.
"Do you want anything to drink?"
"No thank you."
"And yes, I write all of her music."
"DADDY!" a shocked Miley exclaimed.
"Miley, do you know why I came today?"
"Yeah, you figured out that I'm Hannah Montana when I tried out for the solo part and you are here to tell me I had no right to try out and that I should be ashamed of myself for taking it away from someone that deserves it more than I do and to decide what punishment I deserve for it." Miley's statement came out all at once as she looked down at her feet.
"What makes you think you need to be punished bud?"
"Because I have no right to take way someone's only chance to be on stage and to perform for their family." Miley said softly to the floor. She was starting to feel very upset with herself and felt the tears building.
"What do you mean by that sweetie?"
"I'm Hannah Montana, Daddy!" Now she felt the tears on her cheeks. "I'm on stage all the time. That does not give me the right to take away someone else's chance to be on stage!"
"Let's back up a little, Miley." Miss Mayer said as she handed Miley the tissue box from the end table. "First of all, I didn't figure out you where Hannah Montana from your singing. It was when you came back to get your schoolbooks after class was over. I was in my office starting to make plans for the concert when you and Lilly had your conversion. Second, what makes you think that Miley Stewart doesn't have the same right to perform on stage for her family?"
"Because I'm Hannah Montana" was all Miley could say.
"But you're Miley first, sweetie."
"And as I understand it, Hannah Montana is a stage name so you can lead a normal life. But how can you live a normal life if you don't do the same things in school that other students with your talent would do. If I had your voice, I'd be trying out for everything."
"Yeah Miles, it's okay for you to do school concerts as yourself. Lord knows I could use the rest from setting up concerts."
"Oh, Daddy." Miley smiled through her tears.
"But just because you are Hannah doesn't mean you will get everything, either. If something is coming up that you are interested in, let me know and we can work something out. This way you won't feel guilty about stealing the limelight. Okay?"
"Okay." Miley was starting to feel a lot better and a lot better about herself too.
"Oh, by the way, Miley, you my want to thank Mr. Aaron too. It was his idea I come over here. You see, he noticed this problem you where having and has been working a very long time on trying to find an answer to it. What do you think? Problem solved?"
"Problem solved. It's okay for me to try out for concerts at school. No guilt attached."
"That's my Miles. Come here bud." Miley got up and walked over to her dad and got folded into his arms. Feeling a lot better now, she laid her head on his shoulder.
"Well, I guess I'll be going."
"Thanks for the help Miss Mayer." Robbie led her to the door and they said their good byes.
Robbie turned around to see Miley deep in thought.
"What you thinking about, bud?"
"Daddy, can you call Mr. Aaron and ask him if his girls would like to have dinner with Hannah Montana?"
"I'll get right on that sweetie."
"Mommy, I'm hungry. What's for supper?" Susan asked.
"I don't know dear. I haven't started yet." Mrs. Aaron answered.
The door bell rang. Mr. Aaron told his wife that he would get the door. He opened the door to find Hannah standing there looking at the ground. She looked up at him and stepped forward to give him a hug.
"Thank you."
"Anytime, Miley. Besides, I have to keep a special eye on my special students."
Hannah followed Mr. Aaron into the living room.
"This is Hannah Montana and I'm looking to taking Susan and Kelly out to supper."
Two VERY wide eyed extremely excited girls came running into the living room.