Camp Rock (Harbrina)

Chapter one

"Sabrina, up!" Selena Malik commanded as she stepped through the piles of clothes and CDs on her fourteen-year-old daughter's bedroom floor. "Last day of school!" She clapped her hands cheerfully before disappearing down the hall to wake up Becca.

In the bed, Sabrina stirred and groaned. Her hand shot out from under the covers and grabbed  a CD labeled Sabrina's Tunes from the nightstand. Without looking, Sabrina popped the disc into the CD player and pushed play.

Instantly, the chords of a pop song filled the room. It featured vocals by none other than Sabrina Malik herself. As the beat intensified, Sabrina threw off her covers and jumped out of the bed. She pulled her long, blonde hair back, and opened her closet and peered in.

What to wear? The jean miniskirt? She held it up to her hips. Nope. The skirt was looking a little too mini. Shorts? Nope. Same problem. Pants, she thought. Maybe? Grabbing a pair of capris from a hanger, she tried them on. Better, inspiration flared. A skirt, leggings, a T-shirt—the perfect, not-too-dressy, last-day-of-school outfit.

In the middle of putting on a long necklace, Sabrina was hit with an idea. She hurried from her closet to her desk, where she grabbed a journal. On the front, in bold letters, was written "Sabrina's Songs." She furiously scribbled some lyrics on a blank page. Satisfied with the new verses, Sabrina smiled, put the journal away, and continued dancing out of her room, at the same time that her adoptive sister Becca did and they both walked down the hall, and into the kitchen, where their mother had set out breakfast.

Sabrina and Becca plopped down at the kitchen table, and began to scarf down an omelet. On the television, an entertainment show discussed the most recent antics of Harry Styles—musician and hottie.

"The pop-star phenomenon Harry Styles," the television reporter intoned. "may have gone too far this time when he stormed off the set of his new video after someone gave him a grande nonfat latte instead of his legendary Venti soy chai latte with extra foam. This final stunt cost his label thousands of dollars, but may cost him his record deal."

Sabrina sighed. Harry Styles had everything. Why would he want to ruin it?

"The message is clear," the reporter went on. "He needs to clean up his act. And to give him time to do it, the One Direction summer tour has been canceled."

The report was almost over when Sabrina's mother sat down in the seat next to her.

"Look what I found in the crisper," Selena said, tossing a colorful, glossy booklet onto the table. "A Camp Rock brochure. Or should I say another Camp Rock brochure?" she added.

"Hmm, look at that!" Sabrina said, faking surprise. She shoveled another forkload of omelet into her mouth. So maybe the hints she'd been dropping about going to Camp Rock this summer hadn't been as subtle as she thought. But if she got in, all her dreams could come true.

"So, you have no knowledge of how this brochure got into the refrigerator?" Her mother asked. "Or the one taped to the vacuum cleaner?"

Sabrina shrugged.

"Sweeties," Selena continued. "I know you want to go to this camp, but we just can't swing it right now with Dad expanding the store and my catering business just taking off, and . . . I'm sorry." she said gently.

Sabrina's mood deflated. Deep down she had figured Camp Rock was out of the question, but a girl could hope. . . .

"I know," she said, standing to take her empty plate to the sink. "Well, got to go. Last day of school. Don't want to be late."
——————
The halls were abuzz with last-day-of-school energy. Students were joking with each other as they joyfully dumped old notebooks, tests, and quizzes into the overflowing garbage cans.

Sabrina opened her locker to find a year's worth of clutter—crumpled papers, worn-out pencils, leaky pens, and textbooks—jammed in at odd angles.

She sighed and her and Becca began throwing various items into the trash. A Camp Rock brochure caught her eye. She sighed and tossed it into the trash, too.

She was still cleaning a few minutes later when Miley, a lanky girl with glasses, walked up and opened the locker next to Sabrina's. Miley was Sabrina's best friend—her only friend.

"Let me be the first to say xin xia ji!" Miley exclaimed, acknowledging summer's arrival. "Guess who got an A-plus in AP Mandarin? Me. Again!"

Miley screamed excitedly, but Sabrina and Becca didn't feel like joining in the celebration for her friend's achievement just now. She was too distracted by a group of popular girls floating down the hall.

"Ugh," Miley groaned. "The Queen Bees are here. If we don't move, they won't sting." She rolled her eyes, but Sabrina watched the girls enviously.

"Don't you ever wonder what it would be like to be one of them?" Sabrina asked.

Miley and Becca gave her a suspicious look. "Are you feeling feverish?" she jokingly put her hand on Sabrina's forehead. "How'd it go this morning?"

"It didn't," Sabrina said dejectedly. "Camp Rock is a no-go."

"But you have to go! Camp Rock is, like, the music camp. Everybody who wants to be somebody in music—" Miley stopped when she saw the unhappy look on Sabrina's face. "—All of which you already know. Sorry."

Sabrina swept the remaining junk from her locker into the trash and closed the door one last time. "Me, too. I was so excited to go and have a summer that's all about music."

Becca nodded in agreement.

Miley closed her own locker and put a hand consolingly on Sabrina's shoulder. "So, what are you going to this summer?"