Confessions on Hotel Paper: Chapter 4

"How was work?" My mum asked as I walked through the door that night.

"My first shift after being at camp all summer," I said plainly, "Yeah, I wish I was back at Camp Rock."

"It's a job though."

"I know," I sighed lightly, "I just wish there was an easier way to earn money."

My mum laughed at this, "Don't we all? You go back to dancing tomorrow don't forget."

"I haven't."

I had been dancing since I was seven years old, I did ballet and tap. My mum always said I expressed myself creatively.

"What's for dinner?" My dad asked, coming through the front door at this moment.

"Lasagna." My mum replied, going over to kiss him on the cheek. I was just thankful that we weren't having burgers.

I began to head upstairs and my mum told me dinner would be ready in twenty minutes. I quickly set my bag down once I got to my room, kicking my shoes off in the process as I pulled out my cell phone to text Shane, saying I would call him later that night.

I grabbed my laptop and quickly opened it up, logging in and clicking on the Internet browser. My homepage was the Hot Tunes website where a picture of Shane, arriving at a recording studio with a big smile on his face, greeted me.

Smiling at the image of him, I couldn't help dial his number on my phone, not being able to wait until later that night.

The following night, my mum dropped me off at my dance studio a little earlier than usual as she had gotten a catering job for a couple's fortieth anniversary.

I walked into the opening foyer to see it empty, other than the usual receptionist who we paid each week.

"Hi, Natalie." I greeted her.

She looked up at me with a smile, she was in her early thirties, had short brown hair and a rounded face.

"Mitchie, how was your summer?"

"It was great," I answered her, setting my dancing bag on the ground and grabbing my wallet out of it, "How was yours?"

"It was good." She said sweetly, as I handed her over my money to pay, "You should be able to go into the studio to wait for class, they only have around fifteen minutes or so left.

I smiled gratefully at her and picked up my bag, making my way into the bigger studio that I usually danced in.

A hip-hop class of approximately twenty girls was currently dancing to a new song; the teacher was my normal teacher who was in her late-twenties, slim with long curly brown hair. Her name was Emily and she had taught me for the past five years or so.

I sat down on a seat along where a couple of others were watching the class and I grabbed my cell phone out my bag to see that I didn't have ballet for another fifteen minutes as Natalie had said.

"That was great girls; let's do it one more time before we do some stretches to cool down." Emily announced.

I looked up from my phone as the chorus of the song came around and I heard Emily count them in.

Perfectly in unison, all twenty or so girls began doing a routine that was clearly just taught to them. I watched captivated at the moves, hip-hop was something that I wasn't even that interested in until I went to Camp Rock (mainly due to Shane teaching), and now I really was into it.

Ballet I liked to an extent. It wasn't my favourite form of dancing but everyone told me I was good at it and it helped me stay healthy so I continued to do it. Tap was my favourite though; I was pretty average at it but enjoyed it nevertheless.

As they finished the routine, Emily applauded them all and told them to get a drink quickly.

I stood up and this and made my way back out to the reception where a few girls from my ballet class had arrived. I made my way over to Natalie.

"Can I help you with something, Mitchie?"

"Yeah, can you put me down for the hip-hop class next week?" I asked, a smile forming on my face.

"Mitchie, up! First day of school!" My mum's voice yelled from downstairs.

I opened my eyes and hit some buttons on my laptop as usual; 'Who Will I Be' came on through the speakers. I got up out of bed, grabbing my cell phone instantly to see my morning message from Shane.

'Morning Mitchie, have a good first day back at school. :)"

I wrote back telling him good morning, knowing he would have already been up for an hour or so. He had told me he hadn't had a proper sleep in since Camp Rock.

I opened up my curtains of my window; the sun streaming in my room and I quickly ran a brush through my hair. Having naturally straight hair certainly had its advantages sometimes.

After applying a little makeup I got changed to a pair of blue jeans and a short-sleeved pink baby doll top and a pair of ballet flats.

I made my way downstairs just in time for my mum to place a plateful of scrambled eggs down at my seat.

It wasn't too long later that I was racing out the door, in order to get to school on time. It was around a twenty minute walk away and only about a five minute drive. The exercise would do me good but I still couldn't wait to have my own car, it would make things more convenient.

I was listening to my iPod as I got to school, getting to the main school hallway and finding my normal locker. It was in a good spot so I was glad I got to keep the same one as the year before.

Students were already everywhere, loading up their lockers full of books, taping up pictures of their friends and boyfriends or girlfriends on the inside.

I frowned at the thought that I couldn't put up a picture of Shane in my locker, then I frowned even more realising that I didn't even have a photo of him and I together. I realised though that I could always put up a poster of him and no one would be none the wiser, I was sure lots of girls already had posters of him up in their locker.

"Hey Mitchie." Sierra greeted me, her books in her hands; she must have already gotten her timetable.

"Hey, you are already ready. Who have you got for homeroom?"

"Mrs Scott, and so do you. I've gone to the liberty of getting your timetable for you." She replied, handing me over the sheet of paper that was my timetable.

"Thanks Si. I guess we better get to homeroom then, I'm guessing the bell is about to-"

I was cut off by the sound of the bell signaling homeroom and Sierra and I both broke out into laughter.

"Let's go." She grinned.

My first day back at school was okay, it was school and I was a teenager so realistically there wasn't much for me to like.

I already had homework and had already spoken to Shane on the phone afterschool. He had been given the afternoon off suddenly as their producer had a family emergency.

"Every year I make the same pact," I told Caitlyn, she had called me in the middle of my homework, "I decide that I will keep up with my homework and it never happens. I will do it tonight and leave it all until the last minute for the rest of the school year." I laughed.

"Isn't that what all teenagers so?" She laughed with me.

"You are so right."

After chatting a while, I reluctantly told Caitlyn I should go and finish my homework. After finishing it I turned on the evening edition of Hot Tunes and was happy to see Shane on the screen.

"Shane Gray was seen all smiles out in Hollywood this afternoon. He was seen at Starbucks and a group of fans spotted him as he was leaving. He courteously signed his autograph for all fifteen or so fans and took pictures with each of them as well."

Pictures of Shane leaving Starbucks, surrounded by fans, appeared on the screen and I smiled at the mere sight of him.

"He really seems to have changed over the course of the summer, he has clearly seen the error of his ways and is back to his down-to-earth self that first rose to fame at sixteen years old."

I grabbed my cell phone and quickly sent him a text.

'Saw you on Hot Tunes, well done on not being a jerk to your fans. :P'

"Mitchie, Shane is on Hot Tunes!" My mother yelled from downstairs the following morning.

I quickly bolted downstairs at lightning speed in my pajamas, making my way into the kitchen to see Hot Tunes on the television.

"We think we have discovered why Shane Gray's bad boy acts are behind him. It seems that a girl from prestigious music camp Camp Rock, where he spent the summer, has changed Shane back to the lead singer America all used to love."

I froze to the spot.

How had they find out? Did they know who I was? How would they have even found out about me?

"Margaret Dupree, who goes by Peggy, was seen with Shane just an hour ago at a recording studio and the two seemed fairly at ease with each other. Peggy was the winner of Camp Rock's Final Jam, meaning she will be recording a duet with Shane soon. Could Peggy be the reason for Shane's change in attitude? We at Hot Tunes all seem to think so."

I hadn't realised I had stopped breathing until my mum gave me a funny look as a picture of Peggy and Shane faded off the screen.

"You alright, sweetie?" She asked me concerned.

"Yeah, I am fine." I lied convincingly, "I'm just going to finish getting ready for school."

I quickly made my way back upstairs and pulled out my cell phone just as I got a new message from Shane.

'Give me five minutes; I saw the report too. I am at the label still with Peggy, Nate and Jason and my manager wants to speak to us all.'

I didn't reply, I sighed and set my cell phone down and carried on getting ready for school. It was four minutes and fifty seconds (not that I was keeping track of time) later that he called me.

"Hello." I answered.

"Hey, I'm just in an empty studio. I told everyone I'd be right back…about Hot Tunes Mitchie, you know I'm not dating Peggy right?" He sounded cautious, afraid that I would be upset.

"I know that." I said firmly, believing him.

"I didn't admittedly know that Peggy was coming into the label to talk about recording with me until last night. I though it would be a morning of songwriting and such with the guys. But Peggy got here this morning and the paparazzi saw us come in together."

"And now everyone is going to think she is the girl you met at camp." I said softly.

"That's the thing, Mitchie…my manager wants me to date her, publically that is. It is what we were just all talking about then…" He trailed off, clearly at a loss of words.

I opened my mouth but no words came out, there was just silence between us. His label wanted him to publically date Peggy, we had agreed to be a secret so they didn't know about me.

"So…you won't kiss her or anything will you?" I managed to ask a moment later.

"No, it will be strictly business. I have no romantic feelings for Peggy whatsoever, this is the label's way of getting her in the spotlight, getting everyone to know who she is. It's Hollywood…if you are against it, I will tell them to shove it." He offered light-heartedly.

"No," I breathed out instantly, I couldn't get in the way of his career like that. I didn't want to become between it at all, we had agreed to be a secret and this would make it even harder for people to find out, "It's fine, it really is. I understand."

"Are you sure?" He asked me, concern evident in his voice.

"Yes," I replied convincingly this time, "I am sure."

"I want to see you soon, it feels like it has been forever." He spoke warmly, giving me butterflies.

"When can I see you then?"

"How about this Saturday night? I'll drive down and we'll go out somewhere together?" He offered.

"Sounds perfect, Superstar." I smiled.

I hung up the phone and sighed to myself.

I trusted Shane more than anything and didn't want to even dream of coming between him and his tour.

It was for the best.