Carly Shay

Lately I'd been feeling like singing. There was no way for me to describe this unshakable urge to sing, so I walked down to the nearest café that hosted karaoke. Sure, it wasn't much, but lately the joint was frequented by Hollywood-name celebrities. I'd never seen them, to be honest, but to me, life wasn't about celebrity. It was about doing what you could when you could.

That particular day, I decided to bring Sam along, since she was willing to hear my voice. Not only that, she and Aura wanted to hang out with me. Aura agreed to go, and I was glad for the two of them, even though I'd originally thought Sam might disagree. After all, that's how she'd lost her legs in the first place. I didn't have the heart to mention it, and I knew that look in her eyes. She'd lost something that was so important to her that she thought she'd never be remotely normal again.

When we first entered the café, we didn't see anyone worth mentioning. The place was packed, and I couldn't have seen the face of the person in front of me even if I'd wanted to.

Getting to the stage and looking out at the audience after I'd selected a song, I noticed a familiar face. At first, I couldn't decide who the person looked like, but when I craned my neck, I realized it was Ashley Tisdale. My heart thudded to a halt in my chest for the briefest moment. Oh my god, it's Ashley Tisdale! I couldn't breathe. Then, when the music started, I felt my breathing resume, and I started.

"You've got the hottest shoes, you've got it! You've got those Jimmy Chus, you've got it! You never get the blues! It's always about you!" I poured my heart into that song, and even though I'd been nervous about Ashley Tisdale being in the same room at first, I forgot there was anyone there. Not even halfway through the chorus, I was sweating so bad I knew that when I got home I'd have to reapply deodorant. Despite this fact, I was entirely concentrated on the song. My main focus was on pouring my heart and soul into the words I was forming on my mouth.

Finally I finished, opening my eyes and hearing the audience wanting more, screaming and waving their arms. I smiled, muttered an excited, breathless thank you, and stepped off the stage, setting the microphone down. I went up, ordered a drink, and was about to take out my purse when I heard a voice behind me. "I'll pay." I turned around and choked on my own breath, seeing Ashley Tisdale herself. "You've got a great voice. What's your name?"

"C - Carly Shay."

"I just got back from vacation and I was planning on getting some rest in a local five-star but decided to stop here first. Probably lucky I did. I want to make an offer."

"Really!" I said, almost spilling the drink I'd ordered as it was being handed to me.

"Yeah," she said, smiling and downing her espresso shot. "In three days, I've got a show opening in downtown L.A. I don't have an opening act booked, and I was thinking about Clique Girlz, but I realized that you'd make a good impression on opening."

"R - really?" Motor function seemed impossible. "Really? You can't be…you're serious?"

"Yep."

Entirely meant for myself, I said, "Tell me this is a dream."

"This is not a dream," said Ashley, holding out her hand and shaking it. "I can have you and your family on a plane within the next few hours." She smiled. "I'm serious. The crowd's going to love you."

"Thanks!" I said, picking up my phone. "I've just got to call my brother, Spencer. See what he says." Within seconds of hearing the phone ring, Spencer picked up. "Ohmygod! Spencer, I'm going to Hollywood to open for an Ashley Tisdale concert!"

"This isn't Spencer," said a voice on the other end I knew to be Olivette's. "He's right here, if you want to talk to him." I heard Spencer on the other end. It sounded like he was kissing Olivette. "Here he is."

"Hey, Carls!" he said, grunting a little. "What's going on?"

"Spencer…what're you doing?"

"Mm…oh, nothing, Carls. Just…uh…"

"Well, regardless of what you're doing, and we're going to have a discussion later about turning off your phone in case it happens again…" I could barely hold it in. "I'm going to open for Ashley Tisdale!"

"What!" Spencer screamed at the top of his lungs. "You're opening for a concert for who!"

"Ashley Tisdale!"

"Oh my God!" Spencer was still screaming at the top of his lungs. "How…I know you've been going to that coffee shop lately, but…are you sure…?"

"Three days from now in downtown L.A.!"

"Carly…Carly, this is…Oh my God!" I heard jingling over the phone, and my heart sank as it really dawned on me what he'd been doing when I'd called him. "When do we leave?"

"Just a sec!" To Ashley, I excitedly asked, "When do we leave?"

"As soon as you can get enough stuff packed for three days or so. I'll cover everything."

"Soon," I said to Spencer. "As soon as we can. Don't forget to pack…never mind. I'll be over there in a few minutes to get my stuff."

"See you back here, Carly!"


Sam Puckett

When I wheeled myself over to where Carly was standing next to Ashley Tisdale, jumping up and down and hugging her, just like the maniac she could be sometimes, I knew something was exciting her. She saw me and rushed over, hugging me and nearly dumping me out of my chair. "I'm opening for Ashley Tisdale!" she screamed in my ear.

"What!" I said, surprised. "Carls, that's great!"

"You and Freddie are coming, too!" Carly turned to Aura. "You too, if you want."

Aura smiled, but shook her head. "No offense, Ashley, but your music isn't exactly my thing." She smiled. Looking down at me, she said, "You could go, though, if you want. Every couple has to have their alone time."

Ashley smiled sympathetically. "That's sweet. I respect that you don't like my music as much as other people's. Everyone has their own tastes, right?"

"No, Aura. You can come along, really. We won't be spending every second together. Besides, you don't even have to come for the music. Just holding my hand would be enough." I could tell Aura was torn. I knew she was thinking, Do I risk not only Sam's and my relationship, but her friendship with Carly, too, or do I let them have their friend time with each other?

Aura hesitated before answering. "No, Sam. Really. You go. I want you and Carly to have a good time."

I was a bit disappointed, but I knew Aura was right. "Thanks, Aura. You mean so much."

"You do, too." Aura bent down and kissed me, that singular scarlet streak in her hair brushing my face as her lips touched mine. "I'll see you off, okay Sam?"

"You got it, Babe."

Carly, Aura, Ashley and I climbed into the waiting limo, which took us to the Bushwell building. Aura wheeled me in, and Carly was walking next to me, with Ashley on my other side. The elevator opened and the four of us climbed on, taking it up until we reached Carly's floor.

Pretty soon, we could hear Spencer running around behind the door, obviously getting prepared to leave for L.A. Carly opened the door to the apartment and caught Spencer in the middle of packing half a turkey sandwich, his fly down and belt undone. He tried choking down a bite of the sandwich but failed. "Hurro!" He held out the sandwich. "Turkey?"

"I'll pass," said Ashley, holding her position at the door.

"Guys! I heard a lot of noise in here and I thought the place was being robbed holy shit!" Freddie came in, slumping down the door frame at the sight of Ashley. "Ashley…Ashley…Tisdale!"

"In the flesh."

Freddie looked around. "Why…?"

"Carly's opening for Ashley in three days, and she wants us all to be there," said Aura, hugging Carly.

"No…!"

"Yep," said Carly. "I still can't believe it, myself."


Spencer Shay

I was surprised no one had said anything about my fly or belt buckle. It wasn't as surprising…or as embarrassing…as meeting Ashley Tisdale. Not to mention the fact that Carly was opening at one of her concerts.

We were on the plane before long, and the entire time I was flabbergasted that I'd actually met Ashley Tisdale. To be truthful, I was conked out most of the flight, because I'd received a bit of a shock.

When I woke up, we'd just landed on the tarmac at LAX, and the jolt had me thinking the Germans had started firing flak at us. "Take us up to five thousand feet! Flak's got us!" I looked around, realizing I was no longer piloting a B-25. "Sorry! Little dizzy here from the sleep!"

It wasn't long after three in the morning, Pacific Time. "Aww! I missed out on the champagne!"

"Plenty of that where we're headed," said Ashley, knowingly. She smiled. "Jerry wake you up?"

"No, I was talking to my copilot when the flak started."

"Who's your copilot?"

"Olly the Ostrich." I was disappointed.


Carly Shay

Finally, it was the day of the show. Three days had passed to quickly, and I was disappointed this one wasn't going to last forever. Truth was, though, it was the longest of those three days. Sure, I was well-known on the internet, and even had some connections on TV and in the world of sports, as well, but I wasn't used to all the high pressure of the music biz. Everywhere I went, I had a small entourage of fans that repeatedly asked me for my autograph. One guy even pulled down his pants and asked me to use his tattoo gun, which he'd enthusiastically provided, to tattoo his ass.

I respectfully declined, and even though he seemed to understand, I could tell he was a little disappointed.

"Hey, Carls!" said Sam on that third day. "You ready?"

"I dunno," I said, deciding which outfit to wear and giving up, instead sitting down to the breakfast that had been provided by room service. I picked up a piece of toast, took a bite, and swallowed, then set it down. I couldn't eat. All this publicity was making me nauseous. "Sam, I don't know if I can go through with this."

"There's nothin' to it," replied Sam, wheeling me over and slapping me on the back. "Show up, sing a few lines, and take a fucking bow! That's all you need to do!"


Sam Puckett

When Carly left to go talk to Spencer, I was kinda bummed. Not bummed, really. I was still getting used to not having legs. There just wasn't anything I could do about what I'd lost. The past couple of days, I'd been blogging about my feelings. Sure, I'd remained anonymous, but I didn't know what I should do. I didn't know if I should hang in the towel or what.

Strangely, there'd only been answers that sounded so dang Emo from my readers. More than that, though, my heart sank a little more with every day. Sure, I was physically stronger, but I didn't know why. I just thought it was something I'd never get over.

I decided to wheel myself around town, seeing what I could see. I knew there wasn't exactly a lot of stuff that my arms could carry me to without going some distance, but I wanted to try and delight my heart. And after rolling out the door, it was apparent that I'd have a lot to do. Sure, it was a sunny day, but there weren't as many people around as I thought there'd be. Once I passed the park at the end of the street, though, things were a lot different.

There were couples kissing left and right. Straight, gay, bikini, spandex, skater, a mix of a lot of them. I tried to avoid the park, but they were everywhere. The world just wouldn't give up. I passed another couple that was walking in the opposite direction. There was a girl playing her guitar and singing about the girl she'd lost. She was a bit bigger-boned, but she wasn't fat. She was tall, cute, and she had shoulder-length wavy hair that was black as her eyes. She looked up at me and smiled. A passing stranger tossed a dollar into her open guitar case and moved on.

She was friendly, but I couldn't stand to be in the same city as her, let alone the same block. Still, I couldn't help but grudgingly toss in my last quarter. "Thank you," she said, cheerfully.

I wheeled around…literally…to face her. "For what?"

"Well, forgive me," she said, smiling as she propped her guitar up next to her. "I couldn't help but notice you help strangers, even when you look so pissed."

I shrugged, deciding to BS my way through it. "I'm not pissed. Don't have a reason to be."

"Sorry. I just…" she stopped, her beautiful, natural alto voice ripping my heart out but refusing the organ to leave its anchors to my body behind. "We all have something to be pissed about. It's something that makes us all human."

I was really starting to get mad. "Yeah? Just whose business do you think it is to tell what's human?" I felt myself snarling.

"It's no ones. But I can't even stand the sight of a heartbroken stranger. Whatever it is that makes you look that way must be something worth talking about."

I shook my head, really ready to pounce. Oh, if only I'd had my legs…at this thought, I lowered my head. "You really just don't get it, do you?" I said to the world, but addressing her. "Just because I look pissed does not mean I'm pissed. Maybe that's just my way of thinking, right? Maybe I just have this look that makes me seem like I'm ready to kick your smug little ass! Maybe losing my legs didn't exactly help, but maybe it didn't do much, either way! You ever think of that? Did that ever cross your serious lack of gray matter?"

The girl just sat there, smiling sadly and knowingly.

"What the fuck are you looking at, bitch-ass freak?"

"A girl who's giving up too early."

I was ready to leap at her, but restrained myself by my lack of legs. "Who the hell says I'm giving up? I never said I was giving up! It's just you and your stupid fucking psychological tricks that says that! You don't know anything about Sam Puckett!" I wheeled away, cussing my head off. "Jesus fucking Christ! I can't fucking believe…bitch thinks I'm giving up! Look in the mirror, though, bitch! Sitting on the fucking street, waiting a goddamn hour for someone to toss in a penny…man, if I could fucking take that quarter back…smug little cunt! Doesn't know what the hell she's talking about…"


Carly Shay

It was only an hour before the show, and I was in the studio near the stage in the middle of the street getting my makeup on. Sam wheeled in just then. "Got your text, Carls," she said, sounding like she'd been crying.

"Where'd you go?" I said, looking in the mirror. "You left without saying a word!"

Sam shook her head. "Just decided to…you know. Thought I'd…" She didn't break down, but it didn't sound like she'd cried her last tear. A guy with a headset on came in at that moment and said, "Shay, mike check, five minutes."

"Be right there." I walked over to Sam, who sat, despondent, her head hanging. "Sam…Sam, what's going on?"

"Carls…when…when I lost my legs, I didn't know what to think of it. And…the more I thought about it…well, these past few weeks, I've…" Sam lifted her sleeves to reveal thin red marks. "The first one was a suicide attempt. It didn't go deep enough, but it relieved some of the stress…"

My heart was torn. My best friend, attempt suicide? "After that, I just…every time I was alone…"

"Sam…Sam, I love you so much!" I said, bending down and hugging her. "Why…how could you do that?"

"I dunno, Carls," she said. The guy with the headset came in and motioned to me. "One moment."

"Listen, Sam…we'll talk about this after the concert, and…"

I don't know how Sam managed it, but suddenly I had to support her entire weight as she wrapped her arms around me, her useless legs dangling, and she was kissing me passionately on the mouth. It was wet, and we were both crying, but for some reason, it was the best kiss I'd ever received. Sure, I'd kissed her once or twice in a dream, but…. This was pure heaven...this was real.

As she settled back into her chair, she looked up to me, tears staining her eyes and a smile on her face. "Go kick some ass, Shay!"

I walked away, blushing and smiling. I REALLY feel like singing!