Chapter 9

Miley's Changes

Beep…beep…beep… Miley reached over and turn off the alarm clock. Stretching and yawning, she had a great night sleep. No dreams. She got up and got ready for the big day. Her only worry if you could call it that was how long it would take the record company to give in. Her dad told her he had everything he needed to make the changes. But she was still worried. I have to put that out of my mind and get moving or I'll be recording in my pj's. Miley laughed at her joke.

She came down stairs to find that breakfast was up to her. Her dad was already on the phone to the record company. What to do? Well, the fruit looked good. Miley grabbed an orange and started to peel it. Was that singing? Where's Jackson? Sounds like it's coming from outside. Putting the orange down, Miley looked out the window. There was Jackson washing his car and trying to sing. Smiling and shaking her head, she went back to the table and sat back down and peeled some more of the orange. She but the orange down and walked back to her dad's office. Leaning her ear to the door, she could hear that he was still talking on the phone. She want back to the orange. Some more peeling and the orange was set back down. Who was she kidding.

"I'm going stir crazy. Like a long tail cat in a room full of rocking chairs."

She needed help. Miley rested her head on her hands and her necklace hung down, away from her body. Of course! She hit herself on her head with her hand. The Hannah phone was the closes and she grabbed it.

"Lilly, I needed you over here. Right now."

"Be right there."

Oliver was next. Now all she had to do is wait.

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By the time Lilly and Oliver got here, the orange was peeled. But remained untouched.

"We got here as fast as we could Miley."

"What's up?" Oliver finished.

"Daddy's on the phone with the record company. It's been awhile and I'm getting nervous."

"We'll sit with you until he's done." Oliver answered as he started to move the group to the couch. Oliver and Lilly tried to find something to talk about that would help keep Miley's mind of the phone call. They weren't having much luck when Jackson came in.

"Miles, you haven't left yet?"

"Daddy is still on the phone to the record company. What are you doing?"

"I have to get ready for my appointment." Jackson headed upstairs.

"What's he got an appointment for?" Oliver asked.

"Oh, you guys haven't heard. Jackson and Cooper are entering a beach volleyball league."

"That is way cool Miley." Lilly responded get excited by the thought of Jackson playing beach volleyball. "Just think of all the cute boys that well be playing."

"And all the cute girls that'll be there to watch." Oliver added.

"Do you know when it starts?" Lilly asked.

"It starts as soon as we get studio." Robbie answer and making them all jump.

"Well daddy?"

"Well what darling?"

"Did they say yes?"

"How could they say no." Robbie answered with a smile. "You are Hannah Montana after all. Besides, they need your record darling."

"YES! He shoots. He scores!" Miley jumped up and down to be joined by Lilly.

"Hey, you two want to come and watch Hannah record?"

"You mean, Oliver and I in a recording studio watching Hannah Montana make a record. How cool is that! It's like we're the people that will be buying the record and we'll be there to say if it was good or not and people will be buying the record we…"

"Hold up there little lady, that's my job." Robbie chuckled.

"Oh sorry. I was doing it again wasn't I?"

"YES!" everyone responded.

"Miley, go change. Oliver, Lilly, call you parents and get permission."

Hannah came down stairs. Lilly, Oliver and Robbie were waiting in the living room. Everyone left the house and went to Robbie's car.

"Is it okay for us to be seen with Hannah?" Lilly asked.

"Don't worry, there's no photographers there." Was Robbie's answer.

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On the drive to the recording studio, our trio, been teenagers, kept turning the radio station to find songs they liked. Every once in awhile, people in cars would recognize Hannah and wave, and Hannah would wave back. The highlight of the trip was when Oliver found a station just starting a Hannah Montana song. But of course, they had to sing along.

At the recording studio, the scene was just as Robbie said it would be. There was no one in the parking lot as the went into the studio.

"Wow," Lilly stated, "you have to go in there to sing? That room is so small. Where's the band at? And what are those funny things on the walls?"

"Held up there Lilly." Hannah stopped her before she got a full head of steam. "First of all, the band has already recorded their music. The music is stored on the Master Music tape. Which is really computer storage now. I'll be wearing a set of head phones that the music will be played on. They well record my voice on another computer file. After all the recording is done, the engineers will mix the music and my voice together into one Master Tape. Which will really be a computer hard drive. And from there, they will use that to make the CDs with."

"Oooohhh…Then why do they call it tape then if they don't use tape. How weird is that. I mean mmmm…mmmm.mmmm.."

"Just breath Lilly…breath…" Oliver told Lilly as he took his hand off of her mouth. "What are those weird triangle things on the walls Hannah?"

"Those are sound cones. They absorb sound. That way, the only thing the mike picks up is my voice. No echoes."

"Wow, that's cool."

An idea popped into Hannah's head and she turn to her dad.

"Daddy, will you play the guitar for my other song?"

"I'd be honored to Hannah. Why don't you go and warm up. I'll get this two settled in here, then I'll go and record the song for you."

Hannah hugged her dad and went into the recording studio. Robbie got Lilly and Oliver settled in and instructed them not to touch anything and not to disturb Neil when he and Hannah got started. And he introduce Neil to them.

"Oh, Lilly could you take this copy of the lyrics to Hannah please." Robbie asked.

"Sure thing Mr. Stewart." Lilly took the lyrics and went into the recording studio.

"Here's the music Hannah." She handed the lyrics to Hannah. "Hey, wait a minute. I thought you know the words to you songs."

"I do Lilly. It just that the music you give me comes from the master music tape. Then the lyrics are matched to the music so I know how to sing the song."

"Boy! I thought being a pop-star was easy. I didn't know it took this much work."

"Wait until I start singing."

"I can't. I think." Lilly left the studio and went to seat down in her chair.

"Okay Neil, I'm ready to listen to the first play back."

"Okay Hannah. Here it comes."

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"Boy Oliver, this is almost as bad as detention."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, Hannah has been working on that one song now for over an hour and she still hasn't got it yet."

"I know. The last four times sounded the same to me. I can't tell what Hannah or Neil are listening for."

"There listening for the pick-ups and the cut-offs." Robbie answered. Lilly and Oliver, who were leaning in to each other to whisper, hit their heads.

"Owww…" They both said.

"Sorry about that. Didn't mean to scare you two."

"What do you mean by pick-ups…" Lilly asked.

"…and cut-offs?" Oliver finished.

"A pick-up is starting the word you are singing when the note starts. A cut- off is ending the word when the note or measure ends.

"I knew I should have paid more attention in choir." Oliver commented.

"When did you get back Mr. Stewart?"

"Right around detention."

"Oh."

"How she doing Neil?"

"Not to well. She been just off the whole time."

Robbie stepped up to the mike.

"Hannah, do you want to take a break."

"Oh, hi daddy. Have you finished?"

"Yes I have. Do you want to try to record it now?"

"No, I want to do that one last."

"What about that break?"

Hannah sat down on her stool and thought for a second.

"Can you turn the mike off for a second?"

"Okay, mike off." Robbie reached down and turned Hannah's mike off.

Everyone seat there and watched Hannah there the window. Soon Hannah started to talk to herself.

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"Mom……I……we made it……the fifth album……I wish you were here……I don't know……maybe you are……I couldn't have gotten here without you……I just wish I didn't have to get here……" She wipe at the tears that started to come. "……without you……So this is what I'm going to do……this album is for you mom……You gave me the love of music……now……I give that love to others……So others can share it too……for you mom."

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They watched as Hannah composed herself and drank some water. It was all Robbie could do to let his little girl have this time she needed. Especially when she started crying. He heard Lilly sniffle. He didn't trust himself to hand her the tissues. Luckily, Neil did it for him. Robbie ran his fingers through his hair to cover the fact that he was going after a few tears. Hannah started tipping the mike. Robbie reached down and turn it back on.

"Are you ready bud?"

"Run the song through again and then I'll sing it."

There was a certain command in her voice that he hadn't heard before. So he did as she asked.

It had been a long day. But more importantly, they got a third of the album done. After Miley had given herself her pep talk, it seem that nothing could go wrong for her. Robbie looked in the rear view mirror at the trio. Lilly and Oliver look tied. Not because they did anything, but because they didn't do anything. Well, okay, they were very good at giving Hannah the support she needed during the breaks. And now Lilly was giving Hannah another kind of support, her shoulder. She was sound asleep with hear head pillowed on Lilly's shoulder. Lilly look back into the car and saw Mr. Stewart looking back at Hannah.

"Mr. Stewart, is this what it like when Hannah makes an album?"

"Yep. Right done to falling asleep on the way home."

"I didn't know that making an album was this much work." Oliver added.

"Oh yeah, it's not as easy as it look. You have to have a strong voice to sing that good for that long."

Everyone fall silent again. Robbie dropped Oliver off first and then took Lilly home. Hannah moved to the front of the car and fall asleep on the short trip home.