"Where is everybody?" Mitchie wondered as she walked outside. She had woken up to find the girls beds empty, and then the boys too.
"All right, now let's look at the alto harmony on measure 15." Peggy told her group of singers. "There's a four-bar rest. Good morning."
"Morning." She replied, surprised. They were all outside, actually working.
"Oh, hold on." Caitlyn told her dancers; she jumped off the stage and joined her best friend.
"What's going on?" Mitchie demanded, wanting to get straight to the point. The others laughed.
"You were right." Ella told her, looking up from her sketch book. "It shouldn't be all up to you. And we do need to step it up."
"Shane got everybody up before dawn. He can be pretty persuasive when he wants to be."
"He threatened to use cold water. Didn't he?"
Caitlyn nodded grimly. "How do you think he got Jason up?"
"Morning." Shane sat down on the edge of the stage, handing her a sheet of music. "Sleep well? I don't think you got the new arrangement yet. Needed a lot of work." He teased.
She raised an eye brow. "You did this?"
"We all did."
"I already know I'm gonna love it." Mitchie muttered, locking eyes with him. She meant it. "Thank you."
"You're welcome." He grinned; he pulled her closer so he could kiss her forehead before standing up again and turning to the rest of the campers. "All right, let's get started. We gotta rock this stage like we own it, right?" They began to cheer. "Now, I can hear you, but I gotta see you play. Nate, show them how it's done."
"Like this." Nate told the drummers in his class. They mimicked the beat he had played.
"Excellent. Jason, show them how to rock." "Okay, guys, not like this,"
Jason played a regular melody on his guitar. "But like this. Good job!"
Caitlyn jumped back on the stage, a smile on her face as she faced the dark haired rock star. "Well, it's easy for you guys, but we're not all rock stars."
Shane offered her a wink. "But you can be."
Oh, yeah, alright, hmm
Gather 'round guys
It's time to start listening
Practice makes perfect
But perfect's not workin'
There's a lot more to music than knowing where your cue's gonna be
You can play all the right notes
But that don't mean you're movin' me
But if you can jump like David Lee Roth
Or pump your fist like your Bruce "The Boss"
If you got a heart and soul
You can rock and roll
Rock and roll Strummin
Drummin Slide across from runnin'
The stage is your home if you learn how to own it
Like the great Stid
There's no way that you can fake it
You've got to feel the beat before you can move
Even though you're not wearing blue suede shoes
Makin' mistakes
But that won't matter
If you can swagg like 'ol Mick Jagger
If you got a heart and soul
You can rock and roll
You can rock and roll
If you live and you die
For the music inside
If the one for five never gets sold
Then you can rock and roll
Rock and roll
Alright now take it low
Now I need the spotlight to hit right here
As the crowd starts to cheer
I need the fan to blow right through my rock star hair
Right here If you can scream like Axl Rose
Or sing like Xtina show after show
If you've got a heart and soul
You can rock and roll
If you've got a heart and soul
You can rock and roll
You can rock and roll
Oh, yeah Oh, oh, yeah
You can rock and roll
Nate walked down the path, dropping down onto a nearby bench. His classes were done for the day, and he was exhausted.
"Hi, Nate." Dana greeted, not predicting that her hello would send him and the bench flying backwards. "Oh, I...I'm so sorry!" She stammered as they got the bench back to its former position. "Are you okay?!"
"Hi, Dana." Nate laughed, brushing himself off. He was surprised to see her. "What are you doing here?"
"What do you think?" He grinned.
"You came to see me?"
That earned him an eye roll. "Good guess."
"Well, here I am."
"That's it?" Dana eyed him carefully. "I came all the way over here in a canoe risking my father's wrath, and that's all you have to say to me?"
He panicked. What had he done wrong?! "I don't know what else I'm supposed to say."
"There's nothing you're supposed to say. Every day I see you looking and waving and I'm all, "That's so sweet, I so like him.""
"You do?" Nate asked hopefully. "Really, that's...That's what you say?"
"But then..."
"But then? That's never good."
"How do I really know if I don't know anything about you?" She demanded; he thought she was overreacting slightly. This conversation didn't make any sense. "I guess I just thought you were different."
"I am different." He was different; unlike Shane, the fame had never gone to his head and made him bitter.
"No, you're not. You're exactly like every other teenage boy in the world." Dana sighed, getting to her feet. "Have you ever told me anything about yourself? You know, other than you like canoeing."
"Well, I don't really like canoeing. That's always been Mitchie and Shane's thing. "I just took the canoe out to come and see you,"
"Oh. Oh, good. So I really know nothing about you."
Nate sighed. "I still don't know what I'm supposed to say."
Dana shook her head, spinning on her heel and walking away. "I think you just did."
"Idiot."
Connie handed Shane a note at lunch the next day. "Special order," She whispered, adding a wink. He read it, a grin spreading across his face before he ran out to the dock.
She was waiting there for him, a canoe all ready to go. They went around in circles, their favorite thing, and finally had their picnic.
He hated to leave her, especially when they held hands on the beach, her head on his shoulder. As he walked away, he glanced over his shoulder. She offered him a wave, her smile bright and beautiful.
"I take back what I said about girlfriends." Shane said to him later. They were in the cabin, looking out the window.
Nate shrugged. "It's all good, because at this rate, I'll never have one."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, there's this girl."
"I kind of figured."
"I really like her, but I'm having a hard time telling her how I really feel." Nate continued. It had been so easy to tell Caitlyn that he liked her...Why not with Dana?
"You're a rock star, dude." Jason reminded him, joining them. "Use it."
"I don't think she cares. She just wants to know all this stupid, random stuff about me."
Shane shook his head, reaching out to give him a light punch. "It's not random stuff. She just wants to know you care enough to let her know who you are."
"Well, I care. But I just don't know how to say it."
"Well, if you can't say it, you can sing it." Jason advised him before the two boys left him alone in his thoughts.
