"Go granny, go granny, go granny go!"
Justin silently watched the three brothers rehearse. Jason was leaning up against the outside wall of their cabin, finishing a barbeque rib from lunch.
"Jason, are you going to rehearse or not?" Shane asked, rolling his eyes.
"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Jason said through a mouthful of food. He ripped of the last bite and tossed the bone into the trash can behind him.
"Ouch!" Justin grunted.
Jason's eyes widened as he turned around. "IT'S OSCAR THE GROUCH!"
Panicking, Justin reached for his back pocket where his wand should have been. It wasn't there. Oh no…. oh no, oh no, oh no!
Nate walked over to the trash can and lifted up the lid. Justin looked up sheepishly, half covered in corn and fruit punch from lunch. Nate stared silently.
"Dude, who are you and what are you doing in our trash can?" Shane questioned.
Justin laughed nervously. "Funny story…"
Nate rolled his eyes and placed the lid on the ground before returning to his drum set. Justin climbed out of the trash can, feeling his back pocket again. He turned back to the trash can, wondering if his wand had fallen out while he was hiding. He began digging through the trash, searching franticly for his wand.
"It's the little old lady from Pasadena!"
"What are you doing? We're trying to practice here!" Nate called to Justin.
"Sorry, I just… I dropped my phone…" Justin stammered.
"Here," Jason said, tossing a phone to Justin. "Have one of mine. I have five."
"Um… thanks," Justin said, catching the phone and reluctantly walking away.
"So who are you bunking with?" Caitlin asked Mitchie.
"These three," Mitchie smiled, motioning to Tess, Peggy, and Ella, who were also sitting at their table. "How about you?"
"These two new girls, Alex and Jensen," Caitlin said.
"Cool, are they nice?" Peggy asked.
Caitlin made a face. "Well… Jensen is," she replied.
"What's Alex like?" Tess asked.
"She's… um…" Caitlin looked around, trying to think of the right word to describe her. Her eyes landed on the door to the mess hall. Alex was walking in. "Right there."
Alex turned around to get her tray of food.
"Oh, I've met her." Mitchie turned to Caitlin. "Good luck."
After filling her tray with food, Alex turned to find a table. Caitlin motioned for her to sit with them, but Alex looked away and sat at an empty table on the other side of the room. She poked at her food with her fork, ignoring Jensen as she slid into an empty seat next to her.
"Hey," Jensen smiled.
Alex didn't respond.
"So, how do you like camp so far?" Jensen asked, attempting to start a conversation.
Again, no response.
"Um… do you sing?" Jensen asked awkwardly.
Alex's head snapped up. "No, I don't. I don't sing, I don't dance, I don't play an instrument, I don't even want to be here!"
Jensen looked shocked. "I'm sorry… ice cream?" She slid her bowl of ice cream toward Alex.
Alex half-smiled. "Thanks."
On the other side of the room, Caitlin watched the scene. Maybe she won't be as bad as I thought.
Five minutes before Opening Night Jam, Max was sitting with Mitchie, Tess, Peggy, Ella, and Caitlin. For most of the afternoon, they had worked on perfecting one of Mitchie's new songs, "Superstar".
"Are you nervous?" Ella asked Max.
"Not really… well kind of," Max replied.
"That's alright. My first jam I was nervous too, but it wasn't that bad… I was fine after I fainted!" Ella nodded.
Tess patted Ella on the back and then turned to Max. "You'll be fine," she reassured him.
"Hello, Camp Rockers!" Brown's voice boomed through the speakers. "Are you all ready for Opening Night Jam?"
The campers cheered. "Alright, great! First up, we have… The Hay Guild. Ok… let's give them a warm Camp Rock welcome!"
The campers cheered again as Mitchie, Caitlin, Tess, Peggy, Ella, and Max made their way to the stage. Brown raised his eyebrow.
"Max's idea," Mitchie mouthed to him.
Mitchie nodded at Max while he counted off the beats out loud. Caitlin played the intro of the song on her keyboard and Peggy played the same thing on her guitar.
"Put on your game face
'Cause believe me, it's on now
Get ready for battle
'Cause I'm going all out, yeah," Mitchie sang.
The others joined in as they continued their song.
"You can try to hold me back
But I'm staying strong as stone
You can't change the way I am
I can make it on my own."
Max started hitting the triangle in his hand while rocking out, causing a bunch of the campers to laugh. The band could hear the audience clapping along to the beat, which encouraged them to have more fun with it.
"Make way, here I come
Today's the day, yeah
I've got the beat in my feet
And I'm feelin' ok, yeah
Heart of gold
Soul of snow
Stayin' true
Here I go
Rockin' with the hum in my heart
As I live it up like a superstar"
Max took a jump into the audience, and let out a yell. The girls around him cheered as he continued to rock out on his triangle.
"Don't let them stop you now
Show them you know how
Go find the place you belong
Step up and sing your song
Reach for every star you see
Be all that you can be
Be a superstar"
Max jumped up onto the stage for the finale, as the band danced around while they sang.
"Make way, here I come
Today's the day, yeah
I've got the beat in my feet
And I'm feelin' ok, yeah
Heart of gold
Soul of snow
Stayin' true
Here I go
Rockin' with the hum in my heart
As I live it up like a superstar."
The campers' applause filled the hall as Mitchie, Caitlin, Ella, Peggy, Tess, and Max took their bows. Brown hopped onto the stage and put his arm around Mitchie.
"Wow!" Brown smiled. "You could really feel the energy in that one! What a way to kick of the night, yes?"
The campers cheered once more as the band members ambled offstage.
"Next up, we have a legendary group with us. Give it up for 'Connect 3'!" Brown pointed to the side of the stage where Jason, Shane, and Nate were entering. The audiences' screams echoed and Brown hurried off the stage. "Take it away!"
Shane stepped up to the mic. "This is a little old school, but we hope you all enjoy our twist on it."
"It's the little old lady from Pasadena"
Nate started a drumbeat, and was joined by Jason on the guitar soon after.
Shane took the first verse, with Jason backing him up.
"The little old lady from Pasadena
Go granny, go granny, go granny go!
Has a pretty little flower bed of white gardenias
Go granny, go granny, go granny go!
But parked in her rickety old garage
Is a brand new shiny red Super Stock Dodge
And everybody's saying that there's nobody meaner
Than the little old lady from Pasadena"
Nate interrupted with a musical screech.
"Ooooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
She drives real fast and she drives real hard
She's the terror of Colorado Boulevard"
The audience was confused, not sure whether to clap or run. They could have expected it from Jason, but it was a shock coming from the others. A few campers slowly applauded when the brothers harmonized.
"It's the little old lady from Pasadena!"
"If you see her on the street don't try to choose her
Go granny, go granny, go granny go!
You might drive a goer, but you'll never lose her
Go granny, go granny, go granny go!
Well, she's gonna get a ticket now sooner or later
'Cause she can't keep her foot off the accelerator"
Some of the campers nodded along to the beat, feeling a bit less confused and more appreciative of the band.
"And everybody's saying that there's nobody meaner
Than the little old lady from Pasadena
Ooooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
She drives real fast and she drives real hard
She's the terror of Colorado Boulevard
It's the little old lady from Pasadena!"
Nate and Jason continued through the instrumental break as the campers joined in, singing "Go granny, go granny, go granny go!"
"The guys come to race her from miles around
But she'll give 'em a length then she'll shut 'em down
It's the little old lady from Pasadena!"
The campers erupted into a cheer. Connect 3 took their bows and handed the mic back to Brown.
"That was… interesting…" Brown said. "What is with everyone this year?" he mumbled to himself. He turned back to the campers. "Anyway, up next we have a guitar solo by one of our new campers, Justin Russo!"
From the back row, Alex rolled her eyes and groaned.
"Hey everyone! I'm new to Camp Rock this year, so… uh… let's go!" Justin stammered, smiling but letting his nerves show slightly.
He began plucking the strings and was finally starting to get into it when he noticed a big, black June bug hovering near his left ear. He froze for a split second before continuing playing.
Meanwhile, a smile was stretching across Alex's face as an idea popped into her head. She glanced around her to make sure nobody was watching before she pulled her wand out of her boot. Jensen was sitting next to her, her attention on Justin.
Alex subtly waved her wand and muttered a spell, making the June bug continue to circle Justin's head.
Just as she was about to stick her wand back in her boot, a hand grabbed her arm. She looked up to see Jensen's wide eyes.
Cliffy! Gotta run and pack for vacation. Sorry it took so long to get this out… thanks to anyone who's still reading this! :)
~Di
We're really really sorry we haven't updated in forever. We'll try our best to update sooner, but it still may be a while. Please review and let us know what you think of this chapter!
~El