“How many people?” Ella asked. Today, she had matched her lip gloss to her neon pink tank top.
“More than this camp has seen in a long time,” Shane replied.
“Then all the more reason to make sure we get this building painted,” Dee said, walking up behind them. “I want this camp to look its best.”
Mitchie let out a big sigh. More than the camp had seen in a long time? It made her stomach flip-flop. Unlike everyone else at camp, this platinum party was beginning to make her feel more dull than shiny.
CHAPTER
THREE
Later that evening, Caitlyn found Mitchie sitting on the porch of their cabin, journal in hand. Caitlyn shook her head. She should have known that Mitchie would have her nose in that book. “Hey, how’s it going?” she asked as she approached. “You disappeared after dinner. Shane was asking where you went, and I’ve been looking all over for you!”
“I wanted to try to write something,” Mitchie admitted. “But I can’t seem to find the right words—or even a tune.”
“I bet a late-night snack would help you out,” Caitlyn said. She put out her hand and pulled her friend up. “I happen to know where there might be some cookies to give you the inspiration you need.”
Clutching her journal in one hand, Mitchie followed Caitlyn to the mess hall. When they walked inside, they found Connie sitting at one of the islands. She was hunched over a notepad, crumpled papers surrounding her.
“Don’t tell me you’re trying to write a song, too!” Caitlyn exclaimed.
Connie looked up, her expression exhausted. “Hardly!” she said. “I’m trying to figure out a menu suitable for a platinum celebration. Do you realize how few platinum-colored foods there are?”
Mitchie and Caitlyn shrugged. “Hmm, I never really thought about it before,” Mitchie observed as she slid into a chair next to her mother.
“Looks like you need a bit of chocolate-chip inspiration,” Caitlyn sang out. She marched over to the pantry and grabbed a container of freshly made cookies. “A little chocolate goes a long way.” She extended the box to Connie and then to Mitchie.
“Maybe you’re right,” Connie said, taking a big bite of the cookie. She got up and began to pace. “I’ll take inspiration anywhere I can get it right now. I have to present the final menu to Brown first thing tomorrow morning to get my food order in on time.” Looking over, she noticed Mitchie’s glum expression. “How’s the writing coming, sweetie?” she asked.
“I’ve got nothing,” Mitchie said with a sigh as she took a handful of cookies.
Swinging herself up on the counter, Caitlyn looked over at Connie’s pad. “Neither does your mom. You don’t have any ideas you like?” she asked, noting the lines of crossed out words.
“Could be too limiting to do only platinum foods,” Mitchie commented. “Maybe you should branch out.”
“What about using a million copies sold as a theme?” Caitlyn suggested. “That’s what going platinum means.”
Connie’s eyes widened. “That’s a great idea!” She raced back over to her pad, pencil in hand. Then she stopped. “A million what, though?”
They all laughed and passed the cookies around one more time.
“I have to wonder, even if it is a great hook, why would any of these A-list record people want to come to a camp in the middle of the woods?” Connie mumbled. “They have elaborate, expensive parties all the time. They’re used to red carpets, not dirt paths.”
“Hey, what’s wrong with camp?” Caitlyn said defensively. “You are talking about MY camp here. The lake, the spirit, the music, the cookouts!”
Mitchie jumped up. “That’s it!” she cried. “That’s the perfect theme!”
Connie and Caitlyn stared at Mitchie in confusion. They had no clue what she was talking about.
“Don’t you see?” Mitchie asked. “Camp is the theme! All the great foods at camp— s’mores, hot dogs, hamburgers, bug juice . . .”
“Chocolate-chip cookies,” Caitlyn added. “I get it. Go rustic. Go camp. Go real.”
The girls waited to see Connie’s reaction. She looked up at the ceiling as she considered the idea. Then a smile spread across her face. “That’s brilliant,” she said, walking over to embrace her daughter. She reached out and pulled Caitlyn into the hug, too. “Oh, you girls are the best.”
“What’s the best?” Brown said as he opened the door, clipboard in hand. He had been craving a treat and saw the light on.
“The theme for the party Friday night,” Caitlyn said, grinning.
As Connie described the menu, Brown grabbed a cookie and nibbled on the treat. “That all sounds delicious. I love it!” He slid his clipboard onto the counter and applauded. “A standing ovation! Is that why you called this meeting?”
Connie bowed and then blushed. “Sort of,” she said. “These girls have been a great help.”
“So what are you looking at?” Caitlyn asked, moving a little closer to Brown. He had placed his clipboard on the counter. “The RSVPs for the party!” she exclaimed when she saw what was attached to the board. She had to find out who was coming!
“We should have quite a crowd here,” Brown said, nodding. “Camp Rock has always had starry nights, but this party is going to bring out a new kind of stargazing! It is going to be amazing.”
“Well, before everyone gets here,” Connie said, “I’d like you to take a look at that ice-maker in the back room. It hasn’t been working so well, and if it’s warm Friday night everyone is going to want cold drinks.”
Brown walked over to the back room. “No worries. I’ll take a look now,” he said. “Show me the problem.”
As soon as Brown and Connie were out of the kitchen, Caitlyn whipped around to face Mitchie. “Okay, quick,” she said. “You watch the door while I check out the list.” She lunged forward to grab Brown’s clipboard.
“Caitlyn! What are you doing?” Mitchie squeaked. “If Brown catches you . . .”
“Which is why you need to watch the door in case he comes back in here,” Caitlyn said. She looked beseechingly at Mitchie. “C’mon, don’t you want to know who’s coming?” How could Mitchie not care? Caitlyn was dying to know!
Mitchie shrugged. For her, B’s Jam was the main event on Friday. It was her chance to finally prove that she had what it took to win a jam.
Of course, she wanted to be at the party for Shane and support him. But impressing the A-listers was not her thing. People like Tess were into that—as was the old Shane. But not the new Shane, and definitely not Mitchie. She had learned her lesson about pretending to be someone she wasn’t during the first session!
Caitlyn’s eyes scanned the list. “Oh, my,” she said. “This is incredible.” She flipped through more pages and then her finger paused on a name. “Faye Hart?” Caitlyn’s eyes widened. She looked over at Mitchie. “Faye Hart is coming here?”
Mitchie stared at Caitlyn. “Faye Hart who has that annoying single, ‘Bubbling Sunshine’?”
“The one and only,” Caitlyn said, sliding the clipboard back to where Brown had left it. “Also known as Shane’s old girlfriend.”
“Shane dated Faye Hart?” Mitchie asked. Suddenly, she did care about the RSVP list— very much.
Caitlyn walked over to her. Was it possible that Mitchie didn’t know that Shane and Faye had been an “it” couple? And, that last she had heard, they were still friends? “You really don’t read magazines, do you?” Caitlyn put her hand on Mitchie’s arm. “They were only about the hottest couple for most of last year. The magazines were always showing them together. And their breakup was well documented in the tabloids.”
Mitchie exhaled. “Well, they broke up. So it’s totally not a big deal.”
“Not according to the Music Beat magazine that Ella had last week,” Caitlyn reported. “They had an interview with Faye saying how she missed Shane terribly and that she would be coming up to visit him at camp. I can’t believe that story was true! I bet Ella my once-a-week gummi-wo
rm fix from the canteen that the story was false. Man!” Caitlyn groaned in disappointment. She loved going to B-Note and stocking up on the chewy snacks.
Mitchie’s heart started to race. But then she calmed herself. She and Shane had something special, and she wasn’t going to ruin it by freaking out over nothing. “Shane hasn’t said a word about this. Which means that even if she is coming, he doesn’t care.”
“Maybe,” Caitlyn said. But her tone implied that she didn’t believe that at all.
“Or maybe Shane doesn’t even know!” Mitchie exclaimed. “It’s not like he’s paying close attention to any of the details of the party. I bet he doesn’t even know that she RSVP’d.”
Caitlyn nodded. “That’s definitely possible.” She tried to sound upbeat for her friend’s sake, but she wasn’t sold on that theory for one second.
Putting her cookie down, Mitchie frowned. She wasn’t sold either. It was going to take much more than chocolate to solve this problem. She had to talk to Shane. He would put her mind at ease—she hoped.
CHAPTER
FOUR
The stage by the lake was filling up quickly with anxious songwriters. More people than usual were piling onto the benches in front for the start of Shane’s morning writing class.
Mitchie had stayed up late the night before working on her song. Call it inspiration or call it a competitive nature, but the idea that Faye was coming to Camp Rock had jump-started her creative juices. After her cookie binge, she had taken a walk along the path by the lake. The words and melody had come easily, and she had quickly jotted them down in her song journal. She had been thinking about the cocoon that camp had become for her and how she felt being with Shane, surrounded by trees and birds and no pressure. The result was, “This Place.” And she was really, really happy with the song.
Now she sat with her legs tucked under her, reviewing her chord choices as the rest of the campers settled in, waiting for Shane to arrive. Beside her, Caitlyn fiddled with her laptop.
In the row behind them, Tess, Lorraine, and Ella were occupying themselves while they waited. “Did you read this?” Lorraine asked Ella. The girl’s freckled nose was buried deep in the newest issue of Music Beat.
Ella looked over her shoulder to see what article Lorraine was talking about. Ella’s parents sent her a copy of the magazine every week, and she read the issue cover to cover before passing it on to her cabinmates.
“Isn’t it amazing?” Ella said, when she saw which piece it was. “I mean, I kind of feel like we’re mentioned in the article. How cool are we?” She flipped open a mirror and applied some fresh frosted lip gloss.
Tess looked up from filing her nails. “What are you talking about?”
Ella took the magazine from Lorraine’s hands. “‘Faye Hart has been missing Shane Gray around town,’” she read. “‘Rumor has it that Faye is planning a visit to Camp Rock to see one of the camp’s brightest stars at the record label’s rocking platinum celebration this week.’”
Rolling her eyes, Tess sighed. “And how does that translate to include you?”
Ella blushed. “Well, I am a star at Camp Rock.”
“A star in your own mind, maybe,” Caitlyn mumbled from her spot beside Mitchie.
“Well, of course Faye is coming to the party,” Tess replied with an air of authority. “She’s one of the hottest pop singers on the charts. She’s not going to miss the party of the summer—or the chance to get back together with Shane.” Tess slipped her nail file in her pocket and looked at her friends. “Faye is such a sweetheart. You’ll all love her.”
“You know Faye Hart?” Lorraine asked, mesmerized.
“Oh, yeah,” Tess said. “She’s really cool. I just know that she’s going to love my new song. When I win B’s Jam, she’ll get a chance to see some true talent—maybe we’ll even do a duet together.”
“And what makes you so sure you’re winning B’s Jam?” Barron asked playfully, joining the girls on the bench. “Besides, the jam will be over before Shane’s party gets under way. No one is coming to hear your music. They’re coming to celebrate Shane and Connect Three.”
“Whatever,” Tess said. Shrugging, she turned around to aim her face up at the sun. “All I know is you can bet that Faye is coming to see Shane, not for the publicity like some of these other stars,” she said matter-of-factly. “She wants to get Shane back.”
Mitchie felt numb. Why hadn’t Shane told her about Faye? Before her mind could spin out of control, she tried to remember the last time she had seen Shane alone. It had been a while, and he had been preoccupied. Maybe he just hadn’t had the chance to tell her.
“Hello there, songbirds,” Shane called out, startling Mitchie. He walked toward the stage with a water bottle in hand and sunglasses shading his dark eyes. “I see we have a few extra people here this morning.” He grinned at the campers. “I guess everyone wants to make a good impression at B’s Jam, so let’s not waste any time,” he said. He took a swig of his water and sat down in the front row. “Who wants to go first?”
Barron’s hand shot up. “We have something we’d like to share,” he said, motioning to Sander.
“Cool,” Shane replied. He adjusted his sunglasses and nodded for the two boys to begin.
As Mitchie listened to the song, she felt a wave of doubt wash over her. Barron and Sander were so confident. Even without any instruments, their song sounded amazing. She looked down at her guitar beside her. Would she sound that good?
When they were done, Shane offered some suggestions that seemed to make the boys pretty happy. They traded high fives and went off under a tree to rework the second verse.
“Mitchie,” Shane said. “What do you have hiding in your journal?”
Mitchie blushed. She looked over at Caitlyn, who gave her an encouraging smile. “It’s called ‘This Place,’” she said softly.
Taking another sip of water, Shane nodded his head. “I like the title. So let’s see if I like the sound.”
Mitchie reached beside her and picked up her guitar. When she was settled on the stage, she began strumming softly. As she got into the melody of the song, the people around her faded from her vision, and she thought only about Shane and camp.
“And it’s here where I can breathe.
Where I can be me, and I am free.
This place, it’s not mine or yours forever.
But let’s stay and live on borrowed time
for a while.”
When Mitchie sang the last note there was absolute silence. No one said a word. Shane took off his sunglasses and looked right into Mitchie’s eyes.
“That was beautiful,” he said. “Did you just write that?”
Feeling her face grow warm, Mitchie looked down. “Last night,” she said.
Caitlyn let out a loud cheer. Mitchie had rocked her song!
Mitchie sighed with relief. Writing a song was like putting together a jigsaw puzzle. When the pieces fit and the picture was complete, it was worth all the effort.
Lola went next and sang her heart out, as she always did.
“Wow,” Peggy said to Mitchie when she returned to her seat. Peggy had been quietly sitting, waiting her turn. But after Mitchie’s song—and now Lola’s—she was feeling a little nervous. “Lola’s song was amazing.”
“She’s really good,” Mitchie said, agreeing. “But, wait! You can’t be worried! You won Final Jam—you’re a total star!”
Peggy didn’t say anything. Ever since she had stood up to Tess at Final Jam last session, she’d felt a lot of pressure. Yes, she’d won the jam, but each competition was different. And she had grown used to singing backup for Tess. It was unnerving to be on her own— which is why she still sang with Tess, Ella, and Lorraine on occasion.
“Hey, Peggy,” Shane called. “You’re up. Ready?”
Shane focused on Peggy, and she took her music sheet in her hands. She had just finished writing the song that morning. But when she started to sing, her whole heart was in it. When
she finished, everyone applauded. Except for Tess. Peggy smiled, relieved. She actually took that as a compliment.
When the songwriting class came to an end, everyone went on to their next activity. Mitchie hung back to walk with Shane. They fell into step, and for a moment they were quiet, just enjoying being together.
“I really liked that song,” Shane said, breaking the silence. He raised his eyebrows inquisitively. “Your inspiration?”
“Oh, just some place I know,” she answered coyly.
Shane gave her a playful push and smiled. “Well, good work,” he said. “B’s Jam is totally up your alley. You sound great with the guitar.”
“Thanks,” Mitchie said softly. They walked on. She wanted to ask Shane a million questions about Faye, but she bit her tongue. If Shane wanted to tell her something he would, right?
Once again, it was Shane who broke the silence. “This party Friday night is going to be out of hand,” he said as they walked down the path to the lake. “I can’t believe how many people are coming.”
“Yeah, it sounds great,” Mitchie managed to say. She kicked a pebble on the ground with her toe.
“I just saw the guest list this morning,” Shane went on.
Mitchie stopped walking. Shane had only seen the list that morning! So he hadn’t known!
“Faye is coming,” he said, as if reading Mitchie’s mind. “I’d love to see her try to walk on this path with her fancy, high-heeled shoes. You can take the girl out of the city, but you can’t take the city out of the girl!” He laughed again but stopped when he realized that Mitchie wasn’t laughing along with him. “Oh, right, you don’t know Faye Hart, do you?”
“Oh, not unless you count reading about her in the pages of Music Beat,” Mitchie said. “And about how much she misses you.”
Shane turned to face Mitchie, his brown eyes serious. “Believe me,” he said, “Faye and I are long over. We haven’t spoken in months.” He looked at Mitchie’s face. “I’m sure she is just coming for the potential headlines. You aren’t upset, are you?”
Going Platinum, Page 2