The Rockstar Chronicles

Sarah

"I think they have all done well," Sarah said, "but there's always room for improvement." I could tell she was stalling. She didn't want to throw any of us under the bus.

I dug my fingernails into my palms and held my breath. As I suspected, Mr. Kane didn't let it slide.

"That's not what I asked you," he said, staring hard at Sarah. He narrowed his eyes, his lips pressed in a hard line. I glanced at Sarah and saw her expression change as she caved under the pressure. I couldn't blame her. I would have probably done the same thing.

Her usual chirpy demeanor crumbled. "The person who needs the most work is Tom," she said, her voice flat. She stared at the paper before her as if it held all the answers. I found myself wondering if it did. If my worth or Tom's or Grady's or anyone of us could be summed up by one list. If we could be ranked, our value determined by our performance abilities and nothing us.

She didn't look at us as she spoke. She couldn't meet our eyes.

"Tom?" Mr. Kane said, his voice gritty and tight. We all knew he was displeased. He wants us to know, I thought. "You haven't let me down, have you? You did give me your word."

All the boys were uncomfortable. No one wanted Tom to be picked on. He was the nicest person there, after all. I bet he's not planning an escape, I thought.

But if we were being truthful, all of us felt the deep shame of relief that it hadn't been us Sarah had named. Grady started to speak, but Mom's death stare silenced him. Next to me, Bridge shifted, leaning back in his chair and watching the proceedings as if he was only a bystander.

Tom stared at the table, unable to look up. A deep red flush spread over his cheeks and he took a deep breath, closing his eyes and then looking up with a new strength. It was a look I had never seen before, a strong resolve. But he never got to speak.

"Sir," Bridge drawled, still reclined in the same relaxed manner. "I have to say that Miss Sarah here is completely wrong."

Sarah's head jerked up and she finally looked at one of us. Her eyes wide with shock, she couldn't find the words to defend herself as Bridge continued.

"If anyone here has not done as well as they could have, it would have to be me. Now, I can play my guitar and I can sing, but I still haven't gotten the hang of dancing." He spoke with effortless charm, a small playful grin taking the edge off his words, and it seemed to calm Mr. Kane. He lost some of the blustery anger and even took a sip of water from his glass.

We all held our breath.

Finally, Mr. Kane placed the glass carefully on the table. The distant ding it made against the glass rang out in the deafening silence. Then he regarded Bridge with his usual cool manner.

"Bridge, I..." Tom leaned forward, anxious to interrupt, to put things right, but Ryder stopped him, grasping his arm with one hand.

"It's true, Mr. Kane," Bridge continued, ignoring Tom. "I've been meaning to talk to Mama and Daddy about more lessons for us. I think we could all benefit. Maybe you wouldn't mind spending a little more time training us, Sarah?"

His mother took the cue. "If she's willing to, we'd be more than happy to pay for it. You kids can come to the house for lessons. We have our own training room." Shayna said, the same smile plastered on her face. "Right, honey?"

"Of course," Nate Berkeley said, just as smooth as his wife and son had been. "The way I see it, we're lucky here, Mr. Kane. This isn't a problem a little more time and a lot more money won't fix. Not all problems in life are that simple."

It was odd, hearing him speak like that. I felt like he was quoting one of his country songs. It was hard to tell if he even really believed what he was saying.

"The thing is, Nate," Mr. Kane said, "we don't have that much time. Kandee, hand out copies of the schedule."

Kandee appeared at his elbow and began to distribute copies of upcoming performances. She paused next to me, pursing her lips. "Sorry honey, I forgot to make a copy for you. I'll get you one later," she said, edging around me to hand Tom his copy.

"This says the first performance is in August. Isn't that a little soon?" Sarah said, her brow lined with worry as she scanned her copy.

"That depends," Mr. Kane said, his voice dangerous once more. "Are you going to have them ready?" he asked, ignoring her question as he deftly regained control of the proceedings. Sarah hesitated only a second before replying.

"Of course," she said, her voice bright and chirpy once more. "Like Mr. Berkeley said. It isn't anything a little time won't fix."

Or a lot of money, I added silently. I don't think I was the only one who noticed she had conveniently forgotten that last part.

Ok guys! I've really enjoyed writing The Rockstar Chronicles for you so far. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, for all your votes & comments!

I would love to know how many of you are Team Grady, Team Bridge, Team Tom, Team Ryder, or Team Hardyn? Who's your favorite character? We might be doing a little bit more backstory on the one who gets the most votes on my website. Vote here for your favorite member of Kiss Goodbye:  http://wp.me/p4BA7W-7T