"So how was your date with Marcus?" I asked Max in the locker room.
"It was pretty good. We actually talked a little about trying to get his career back on track. I'm gonna be his manager." She explained. That was not something that I expected. I didn't think Marcus wanted to get back into music.
"So are you gonna get paid for it?" I inquired.
"Well I don't really need the money." She answered. Well having some independent income would be good in case anything went wrong with her inheritance. "I'd much rather see him succeed than get paid."
"So does this mean that you'll be going on the road with him?" I asked as she changed into her uniform. The basketball team was playing in the finals of the state tournament.
"I don't know, maybe." Max replied as she put on her own uniform. "We haven't even considered touring yet because I have to get some songs for him."
"Well I have a notebook of songs I've apparently written." I replied. I had only read a few of them and I wasn't sure how well they would suit Marcus. "Maybe you could take a look at some of those."
"Are you sure that you wouldn't want to use those for yourself?" She replied.
"Well I would get paid either way. That's what my dad told me about songwriting." I explained. "Maybe we can talk about more at halftime. We should get out there and show our chipmunk pride. It's kind of funny that the team is better without us on it. I wonder why that is."
"I don't think we should really dwell on it." Max suggested as she grabbed her pom-poms and we headed out into the gym.
The game didn't quite turn out as anticipated. We ended up losing at the buzzer and our championship dreams were crushed by the Bears. But we beat Eagles, Lions, Bisons and Cows to get there. They had to feel the wrath of the mighty Chipmunks. I was disappointed, but proud of the team. We probably would have won if I had taken the shot though.
After the game, even though we lost, we still all went to Pizza Hut since we had already it reserved and all and it was still worth using. Max and I sat down with the other cheerleaders. Dana had something to say.
"So as all of you know, I'm graduating this year." She remarked. Yes, we did know it. I wasn't sure why she needed to remind us. "Which means the squad needs a new head cheerleader. I decided to do this democratically and took a vote. I may not be completely for this decision but the squad has spoken and our new head cheerleader is Zoey Martin."
I was pretty sure that she was pissed that I had beaten her for prom queen. It wasn't my fault that the students wrote me in for votes.
"Wow I can't believe this." I admitted. I also did not know how I was going to be the head cheerleader.
"Neither can I." Dana muttered before speaking up. "But you are one of the best we have. You will need to be at tryouts and will be in charge of deciding the girls and guys if we have any that make the squad."
I felt like that was something that a coach should do. Why didn't we have a coach?
"Do I have to do it all by myself?" I questioned. It sounded like a hard job.
"Of course not." Dana replied. "If there's anyone that you're unsure about you can always ask your fellow cheerleaders for help, we are a team after all."
"I think I can do it." I replied. I wanted to prove that I could do it.
"And you should probably go through all of the basic routines. We can't anyone who can't do the simplest things." She added. It seemed like she didn't want to relinquish this position to me.
"I've got it." I remarked in slight annoyance.
So on Friday after school, me, Max and the other returning cheerleaders were in the gym to judge the hopefuls. After tryouts, I was going to be meeting James for our third date. The girls seemed to be surprised because I apparently never went on third dates. The first girls that we were trying out were Jessica and Janice. Their routine was very…British.
"Girls, stop!" I ordered. "We all know from England but what I'm looking is talent and spirit. I want you to try again. This time show me what you got."
The twins then went through a series of flips and cartwheels. I had to admit that I was impressed.
"Much better." I told them.
After tryouts were done, Max and I conversed about who to let in.
"Well Jessica is definitely in but I'm not sure about Janice." I stated. Though, I wasn't sure if I could just let one of them in.
"I'm pretty sure that we would have to take both or neither." Max pointed out.
"You're probably right." I agreed. To be honest, I may have gotten the two completely mixed up. I still couldn't really tell them apart. "Okay, I guess we can take both but Janice does need to step it up."
We then turned back to the newbies to announce the decision.
"Okay our new cheerleaders are Jessica, Janice, Vanessa, Abby, and since no other guys tried out Bob." I declared.
"Yes!" Bob said. "Does this mean that we're friends again?"
I just glared at him. I would let him on the squad, but I wasn't going to forgive him for what he did to Cody.
"Thank you to everyone who tried out." I stated. "You're free to go."
"Okay I'll leave." Bob said and everyone followed. I was pretty sure that he got the hint that I was still mad at him.
After changing into more date-friendly clothes, I went out to meet James. We were going to see a touring production of Camp Rock.
"So do you think this will be any good?" I asked as the two of us headed to the theater.
"I'm not sure. But my friend Lola that I went to PCA with is the lead." James explained. I would try to give it an open mind since she was a friend of his.
"That does explain how you got such good tickets." I commented. I just hoped that my dress was appropriate for the theater. He didn't really give me instructions on how to dress.
"It never hurts to know people." He added with a smile. "I also got us backstage passes."
"That will be interesting. I've never gotten to meet professional actors before. I've always wondered what they were like." I remarked. Well I had met actors, but I didn't know anyone who was friends with actors.
The two of us watched the show which was actually pretty good. The show looked pretty realistic considering the fact it was being done on a stage. The only downside was the guys that were playing Connect 3 really didn't look a thing like the Jonas Brothers but that was probably forgivable considering the fact that they might have been better singers than them. I had actually never seen Camp Rock but I found that I really liked it. Of course since I hadn't seen the movie, I couldn't really compare the stage version to anything. After the final song was sung and the cast gave their bows, the show was over.
A few minutes after the curtain, James took me backstage and to Lola's dressing room, where the door was open. James still knocked on it. She turned around, walked over to James and hugged him.
"Hey I'm glad you made it." She greeted him before noticing me and letting go. I didn't have a problem with her hugging him because they were just friends. "So is this your girlfriend?"
"Yeah." James explained. "Her name is Zoey too actually. Zoey Martin, this is Lola Martinez."
"It's good to meet you." I told her. I figured that I should probably talk about the show. "I thought you were great out there."
"Wow James you know how to pick them." Lola commented. I blushed a little at that.
"He didn't pick me, well at least not in a traditional sense. We actually met at prom." I replied. "He was the king and I was queen. We'd never seen each other before because he's a year older than me."
"Okay that sounds really romantic." She remarked "Wait I've seen you before. You're the girl that sang at the Pearl Jam concert a few days ago and I'm pretty sure that I've seen you on YouTube too."
"How does everyone know who I am?" I asked in surprise.
"You're one of the most popular channels on YouTube." Lola reminded me. "Come to think of it, you would also make a good Tess. You look just like the actress who plays her."
"I actually haven't seen the movie." I admitted.
"Well I'll show you a picture." Lola offered as she got out her laptop and clicked on the picture. It didn't think that she looked that much like me.
"I don't really see it." I stated.
"You really kind of do." James commented. "So you've only been touring a few weeks, how were things going at PCA when you left?"
"They were going pretty well. Logan and Quinn are the biggest couple on campus. Zoey got back together with Chase but Michael did break up with Lisa, oh and Vince wasn't exactly supportive of me going on a tour causing us to break up." Lola explained. Wow he had left a lot of friends behind. It made me wonder how things were going at Seven Seas High. "So I should probably get changed which means you have to go. It was nice talking to you."
From there, we went to Burger King. I told him about the tryouts and how I had been to Jessica and Janice's debutante ball.
"So are you going to have a debutante ball when you turn 18?" James asked.
"Probably not. I'm not really comfortable being on display for any guy to choose." I answered.
"You know you could always have an escort." He suggested.
"I don't think that would be appropriate." I replied with a blush. It also sounded like it was illegal.
"No, not that kind of escort." He responded with a slight laugh and also a slight blush. "It's basically a word that high society uses as euphemism for date."
"Would you be my date?" I inquired. I didn't know why I even asked since I was certain that was what he was suggesting.
"Of course I would, but you never actually told me when your birthday is." He pointed out. It just hadn't come up.
"July 18th." I answered. That was one of the biggest changes. It had been in September. I couldn't give a reason why we had a different birthday. I didn't really want to go into reasons because it seemed like it was too complex for me to understand.
A month later, Max and I were at the airport. We were going to be heading to LAX before we went to Malibu to hang out with Miley. Part of me wanted to bring James with me, hut I decided that it would be good for it to just be the two of us. Besides, Max and I were the only ones who knew that she was Hannah Montana. I had even given Max a few songs to give to Marcus, but I still had some that I wanted to keep for myself. We were going to be taking my dad's jet. Yes, he had his own jet.
"So do you seriously want to have your own debutante ball?" Max asked as we headed out to the runway. I had recently decided on it and I wanted her to be there.
"I actually enjoyed the last one except for the whole waiting part but since I'll have a date that won't be a problem." I explained. "I'd really like you to be there."
"Well I have to go a ball that month anyway, I'll just tell my parents that I want to go to yours instead." She responded.
"Thanks, Max." I replied as I gave her a hug and she did not flinch when I did so. "So how are things going between you and Marcus?"
"We're gonna hit the studio after this trip is over. As soon as I have a demo, I should be able to make the comeback happen." She answered. That really wasn't what I meant. To be honest, I didn't care about his career was going. "Oh and our relationship is going good too"
"So what do you wanna do on the plane?" I asked. "There's a bed that we could sleep in or we could watch some movies."
"I don't think sleeping in the same bed is a good idea." She responded. Did she think that sleeping next to me was like sleeping with me?
"It wouldn't be any different from sitting next to me." I countered.
"I actually am not that tired anyway." She replied. I wasn't sure if that was the case, or she was just lying. To be honest, I couldn't be sure if she liked Marcus or was just using him as a beard. "I think I'll just watch some movies anyway."
The car parked on the runway and we boarded the plane. Once we were aboard, I headed to the bathroom.
"Well I think I probably will sleep." I announced as I closed the door and began to change. I saw Max was gawking at me after I came out. It wasn't what I had intended, but I could see that she seemed to still be attracted to me.
"I guess you really do wear it." She stated with a blush.
"Yeah I really like how it feels. Besides Bailey, you're the only other person to see it." I explained before she got under the covers. "Just try to keep the volume down. The DVDs are by the player."
I laid down to sleep and I managed to stay asleep until we landed in Omaha to refuel. Since we had to wait, I got changed and the two of us went to get something to eat.
"So you and James haven't done you know yet, have you?" She asked.
"Had sex?" I questioned as she nodded. "No, I like him but I'm still not sure about having sex. I'm a little scared. I also think that it's possible that I might be falling in love which also scares me."
After we ate, we got back on the plane and watched Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince for the rest of the flight. Well, I did. Max ended up falling asleep. I wanted to laugh but I also didn't want to wake her.
"Wake up, sleepyhead." I told her when we got there. "We're here."
"What?" She asked with a yawn.
"We're in LA It's time to get off the plane." I explained. "We'll get you some coffee when we get inside. Miley will be waiting for us to take us to Malibu."
We met Miley at Starbucks. I could tell that Max was still tired but she seemed more energized after she had a frappe.
"I'm glad you came." Miley said. "So what's been going on?"
"Well I was elected Prom Queen." I answered. To be honest, I felt like we should have talked to her more.
"That's definitely good." Miley declared. "I for one am glad that I'm done with school."
"Lucky, we still have another year ahead of us." Max replied. "Anyway I've recently starting to manage Marcus Little, better known as Lil' Little."
"I was never really able to into his music." Miley declared. Another thing I wasn't sure about was I didn't know if anyone wanted a Lil' Little comeback, but Max seemed set on making it happen and I wasn't going to tell her my thoughts on it.
"Well we've been working together on making better music. We'll be recording a demo soon." Max explained.
"And I saw you got to perform with Pearl Jam." Miley said to me. She clearly cared more about that. "So how was it performing on a stage for the first time?"
"I honestly tried not to think about mostly." I stated. "I just sang and didn't care what happened."
"That's how you're supposed to do it. So my dad is thinking about starting a record label, think you would be interested in a contract?" Miley offered. It seemed like a risk because I wasn't sure if he knew how to run a record label.
"Your dad's Robby Ray, right?" Max asked as Miley nodded.
"I'll have to think about it. I might wait a little while." I stated. It sounded better than telling her that I wasn't sure about her dad's lack of experience. "I'm not ready to leave home yet, not while I still have a boyfriend back in Boston."
"Yeah I can understand that." Miley replied before she got up. "Now that we're all coffee'd up we can head to my place."
We rode with Miley until we reached what appeared to be a ranch. I didn't know there were ranches in California.
"I thought you lived in Malibu." I stated.
"I did but I was feeling homesick and almost moved back to Tennessee but I didn't wanna leave me my best friend so my daddy moved us here." Miley explained.
"I was kind of looking forward to going to the beach." Max remarked.
"Well we're only 20 minutes from the beach." Miley said. "We can definitely go. Just tell me you didn't get a hotel, we have plenty of room for you to stay here."
"I'll cancel our reservation." Max replied as we walked into the door. I wasn't sure if she would be able to get her money back. It was a good thing she didn't need any.
"I'm home." Miley called into the house. Her father Robby Ray, who apparently didn't have a mustache came into the foyer.
"Howdy." He greeted us.
"Dad, this is Zoey Martin and Max Baker." Miley introduced.
"Pleased to meet you." We both replied. We hadn't planned that. It was a little weird how we said it at the same time.
"Is Lilly here?" Miley asked.
"Yeah she's upstairs." Her father replied.. "So Miley tells me that you two know her secret."
"We're not going to tell anyone." Max promised.
"Come upstairs." Miley suggested. "I want you to meet my best friend."
We went upstairs and saw a blonde girl on the bed. Miley told us that she also was Hannah Montana's best friend, Lola Luftnagle.
"Hey Lilly, these are the two girls I met in Boston." She introduced. "This is my best friend in whole wide world, Lilly Truscott."
"So you live here?" I questioned. She hadn't told us that either.
"Yeah my mom moved to Atlanta and my dad lives an hour away so Miley offered to let me live here. It was rough at first but we got used to it." Lilly gabbed. She could talk pretty fast. "So does anyone wanna go to the beach?"
"Absolutely." Max declared. We all put on all swimsuits and clothes that we could wear over our swimsuits and headed to the beach.
"This is what we came to California to see." I stated as I laid back on a chair.
"Yeah I used to live a few feet from here." Miley explained. "Oh and the owner of the surf shack is a perverted 14-year-old boy so be warned. So I'm gonna make sure you guys have backstage passes to my show tonight."
Before she could say anything else, her phone rang and she answered it.
"Hello this is Hannah. Really? You can't perform? Well I hope you feel better? I'll see you. Bye." Miley declared.
"What was that about?" I asked. It didn't sound good.
"My opening act is sick and can't perform." Miley explained before she seemed to get an idea. "Zoey, can you do me a big favor?"
"What?" I questioned.
"I need you open for me." She replied.
So Zoey is going to the head cheerleader now and she got meet Lola. On top of that, she went to California and Miley asked her to open for her? She will accept? Please don't forget to review.