The next day at school went by fast. Rumors were spreading like lightening about Hannah Montana quiting the music business, and people were either crying their eyes out or grinning ear to ear. Miley wanted to knock those ones out.
"Miley, don't worry. You're not even ending your career anyway," Lily had told her. "Just think: the next time you're up there on that stage, singing Best of Both Worlds, those idiots on t.v. will be standing there open mouthed and you'll never hear a word out of them again."
"I know, but it's like they want me to stop singing or something. Oh no Lily, please tell me I'm not a horrible singer!"
"Calm down you're a great singer!" Lily paused to take a long breath. "Don
't you have an agent or something? One that tells you how to deal with rumors like these?"
"The only thing closest to an agent I have is my dad." Miley said. They were eating lunch. Miley opened her chocolate milk, sniffed it, then threw it out, not wanting to drink anything expired.
"Well does he know about this yet?" Lily asked.
"I don't know. He's probably already found out, but I don't know. He'll probably just tell me the same thing you did."
Lily's face filled with disbelief. "Well..if you're going to be a star then you have to know how to deal with the nasty rumors that come with the business!" Lily's voice was growing louder.
"Oh, so what are you now, my agent? You suddenly know everything about my career?" Miley snapped. Their voices were loud enough now that everyone could hear their conversation. Miley gestured for Lily to lower her voice.
Lily whispered, "No, but I do know how to handle an easy thing such as a simple rumor. They're rumors, Miley. They aren't true. People just make them up because they have no lives!"
"Whatever."
A long silence filled the air between them. Neither of them spoke until Oliver showed up balancing a lunch tray in his left hand and a soda in his right.
"Hey guys," He said, dropping everything on the table and then sitting down across from them. "Sorry I was late. Amber and Ashley had a 'temper tantrum' about who should get the last pizza. Finally the lunch lady just ate it herself."
The girls didn't respond. Miley sighed, balanced her head with her hand, and picked up her fork to play with her salad. Lily did the same.
"Oh..okay..," Oliver looked around embarrassed even though no one even cared. "I'll just eat in silence."
A few minutes passed before Oliver spoke again. Miley and Lily rolled their eyes the moment he opened his mouth.
"Hey..who's that guy? I've never seen him before."
That got Miley's attention, and when she looked she could hardly believe her eyes. It was Brandon! He was balancing a tray full of food from the Snack Shack and he was headed to their table. When he sat down, Miley opened her mouth as if to talk without realizing it. No words came out. What would she say, that she was Hannah Montana and that they had met before? No way.
"What's wrong?" Lily asked.
Miley whirled around, leaned close and shook her friend's shoulders in excitement. "That's Brandon!" She whispered.
Lily's eyes widened as she looked at him again.
"Oooh, now I gotcha," Lily said. She smiled and looked at Miley. "He's so hot!"
"I know!" Miley said, and they both squealed and laughed, not realizing that everyone was watching them.
"Uh, guys?" Oliver said.
"Huh?" MIley said, then realized what he meant. "But he's mine," Miley said to Lily one more time then silently ate her lunch. At some moments, they made eye contact and held in laughter.
Focusing now on the present, Miley rolled over on her bed and sighed, looking at the algebra papers spread out before her. Fortunately she had finished a long time ago. Now she was just daydreaming. About Brandon.
"Miles, your friend is on the phone for you!" Jackson called from the kitchen.
Flustered by all that was going on in her mind and in real life, she picked up her phone.
"Hello?"
"Hi." It was Oliver. "Why were you and Lily laughing today at lunch? I asked her but she told me to ask you."
Miley explained how Brandon and her had met before when she was Hannah Montana, and how he was new at their school.
"Ooh. And let me guess, you guys think he's 'hot'?"
Miley rolled her eyes and shoved the sentence, that wasn't really a question, to the back of her mind.
"So is that all you called to ask for?" Miley asked.
"Yeah. Oh, and Lily wanted to talk to you. You should call her."
After they hung up, Miley called Lily.
"Miley! What are you going to do? Brandon likes you as Hannah Montana but he doesn't know you're Hannah Montana. Maybe you should talk to him."
Miley shook her head and rolled her eyes. No way was she going to do that.
"Maybe he'll recognize your voice but not enough to know you're her."
"Lily..," she was about to say how stupid that idea was when she realized her friend was right. No one had noticed how her voice sounds like Hannah's, but since he liked her, he might notice a little similarity and like her as Miley. "That's a good idea! Tomorrow at school, I'll talk to him. And I'll make it real clear that he hears my voice."
"Good," Lily said. "And if you neep help, I'll be right there to support you."
Miley smiled. "Thanks, Lily. You're a good friend."
