Best of Both Worlds
By: lol925
Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or Virgin Records.
Dedicated: To my readers, reviewers, friends, family, and Rachael for her continued support for my writing.
A/n: I am so sorry! I have had a lot of homework and no time to time this chapter even though it has been written for ages. I already have the next chapter as well. I realized I hadn't been updated and I felt so bad, so I jumped on the computer. I will try to update sometime within a week, but I can't promise, because I have two long-term projects. Just to let you know Eirno is pronounced Air-no. Callow is pronounced like shallow, but with a c. Sorry if, a lot of the music business information is incorrect. Well I've rambled enough. Here is chapter 2!
September 25th, 5:00, Robyn's House
I rang Robyn's doorbell with gift in hand. I was excited it was Robyn's birthday and Melissa, Laura, her, and I were going out bowling. I just moved here from Minnesota and I made friends with them quickly. I have moved around a bit and I make new friends all the time. I lived in Colorado until I was 6, Florida for 2 ½ years, South Carolina for 1 ½ years, New Hampshire for 3 years, and Minnesota for 1 year.
"Hey Gabi, come on in. You're the last one, so we're ready to go," Robyn greeted. I handed her my present and the four of us got into the car along with Mrs. Swan, Robyn's mom.
"Laura are you a good bowler?" I asked.
"I am a professional when it comes to bowling. Melissa and Robyn stopped using bumper lanes when they were 13," laughed Laura. Melissa and Robyn gave her looks of disgust. A few minutes later, we pulled up at the bowling alley and Mrs. Swan left.
We ended up playing 2 games and Mrs. Swans picked us up. All four of us had a blast. It turned out Laura was an atrocious bowler and she lost both games. We drove back to Robyn's house. We ate cake and opened up presents.
"You have to open up my present first," commanded Melissa. Robyn obeyed and opened her present. A picture in a heart frame saying "my boyfriend" was revealed. The picture was of Franklin Eirno. The whole school knew Franklin liked Robyn, but she didn't like him and thought he was a geek. All four of us are in the Scholastic Decathlon, but we are much cooler than Eirno, president of the chess club.
Robyn grabbed a sharpie and drew a moustache, goatee, and a unibrow on his face. Then she chased Melissa around the house until she got her real present. The whole time Laura and I were cracking up and even Mrs. Swan couldn't help a chuckle. My friends are so wacky, but I love that about them. Half an hour later my mom picked me up and we headed straight to my meeting with Mr. Forden about signing the contract.
We got to the building where we met my mom's lawyer. If I got the contract I wanted someone who knew about legal terms to say whether I should sign or not. Moments later, my mom, her lawyer, Mr. Jones, and I were at Mr. Forden's door.
"Gabriella, how are you? Come on in!" Mr. Forden greeted.
"I'm doing fine thank you. I have come to a decision and I hope you will accept it," I replied.
"Well, I hope it's a yes since you brought your lawyer he responded.
"I really would love to sign the contract, but I don't want to sign my life away. Could I sign the contract under another identity? I could be kind of like Hannah Montana. The only difference is that it is common knowledge that she is Miley Cyrus. I don't want the public to know.
"Personally, I think it will be tougher than it appears on TV and keeping it from the tabloids would be hard, but I think we can do it. I like a challenge. If at any point, you would rather go with your identity that'd be fine. My offer is still open. You can review the contract with your lawyer and I will be right back," he said after a pause.
Mr. Jones picked up the contract and I sucked in my breath. It finally felt real and it was scary. Mr. Jones checked it out carefully.
"There are the regular rights, ownership, copyrights, and such. If you do sign it, you are binded for a minimum of 6 months. Besides that it is safe for you to sign," he said. I grabbed a pen off Mr. Forden's desk, signed nervously, and then my mother signed. Mr. Forden came in.
"You signed it? Fantastic Ms. Montez! Welcome aboard. I'd like you to meet two people," he said enthusiastically. We bid goodbye to Mr. Jones and followed Mr. Forden. We met a woman down the hall.
"Gabriella I'd like you to meet Stephanie Roberts, your manager. She's one of the best in the business. I think you'll get along great," Mr. Forden introduced. My mom and I shook hands with her.
"He's right about me being you manager, but wrong about being one of the best in the business. I am the best in the business. I help you deal with your concerts, arrange autograph signing, and watch your back. You have your real mom, but I'm kind of like your music mom," she explained.
"I'll give you Stephanie's phone number and information later, but you have to meet someone else first," Mr. Forden responded. The three of us walked into an elevator, went down one floor, and walked down a hallway.
We entered a large office that looked similar to Mr. Bortega's and Mr. Forden's, but there were cosmetics on the desk.
"Gabriella, Anna this is Meredith Callow and she is one of our makeup artists. You'll need a makeup artist more than most of the stars. I've put her in charge of you and hopefully we can finish your identity before you leave today. Well, I have to go, so I'll leave you three ladies to work your magic," he introduced and explained.
"It's a pleasure meeting you two. Please follow me across the hall where I have my own makeup studio. Meredith greeted us. We walked across the hall and met any girl's dream. We all took a seat and Meredith grabbed a paper to take notes that she could give to Mr. Forden.
"I figure the most important thing I need is a name, which is the start of my image. I thought of a name, Melody," I suggested.
"That's perfect! You are going to need a last name even if you don't go by your full name thought," Meredith exclaimed.
"Would the last name Brooks work? I think Melody Brooks has a nice ring to it," my mom proposed.
"Definitely, for height and weight you could pull off 110 and 5'5. By the looks of you, I think you're 115 and 5'4, but we can deal. Now for appearance," she analyzed.
She pulled a wig off a manikin. This tone suits you and it is straight hair, which makes all the difference, since you have naturally curly hair. I put it on and I looked different. Meredith pulled several products out and laid them out. Half of them I'd never heard of.
I got all of it put on me and took longer than my make up usually took. Meredith explained how and where to apply everything to my mom and me, so I could do it at home if I needed.
"About your hair, I'll get some more wigs, because if something happens to one wig we would have a disaster on hand," she said. Then I looked at myself in the mirror.
"Wow, I look different, but it's very cool!" I declared.
"I love this look! Please excuse me for a second and I'll be right back," she responded. Meredith arrived back with a fashionable outfit with accessories.
"Meredith what is all this?" my mom asked.
"This is Gabriella's first outfit of her new wardrobe. She needs to have different clothes as Melody than what she wears to school such. See if this fits," she stated.
I went to the bathroom and put the outfit on. I could definitely pull off the pop star look. I walked back to my mom and Meredith. "You look stunning Gabriella!" My mom squealed.
"Sorry to leave like this, but I have work to do and I'm guessing you have homework," she apologized acknowledging me.
I left with my regular clothes in a bag. As I was exiting the building with my mom, trailing behind I accidentally bumped into someone.
"I am so sorry Mr. Forden!" I apologized profusely.
"How do you know my name?" he asked puzzled. Then I remembered that I looked different.
"Your badge says your name. Pleasure to meet you I'm Melody Brooks. Mr. Forden do I remind you of someone?" I asked and he shook his head no.
"Not really," he said.
"It's me, Gabriella Montez. Do you like the new look?" I laughed.
"You look totally different Gabriella. Meredith really know how to do her thing. I have to go, but I'll call you when recording starts. Have a good evening," he replied.
My mom and I left the building in our own worlds. I was daydreaming about my new life.
"Thanks for supporting me mom," I whispered. She held my hand and smiled. What a perfect way to end a perfect day.
What a sweet ending! Thank you a ton for all your reviews. Yes, Mr. Bortega was after Kenny Ortega. Someone said Mr. Forden was after Bill Borden, which is correct. Thanks for reading and please review. I'll get the next chapter out as soon as I can!