LA Tommo

Prologue

*Emma's POV*

"Mum!" I yell running into the house with the mail that she made me get.

"What is it?" she asks, "Did someone die?"

"No, no one died, as far as I'm concerned. But look what came!" I show her the envelope from the Los Angeles Academy of Arts. Or as everyone calls it, LAAA.

"It came?!"

"Yeah!"

"Open it!"

I quickly open it up.

Dear Ms. Tomlinson,

We absolutely loved your application for Los Angeles Academy of Arts. All of us on the board of admissions can tell that you've got real talent. What my be the most impressive was the video of you singing. You may only be going into your freshman year of high school, but you are most definitely the kind of student that we look for when reviewing applications. Your transcript from the previous school year is very impressive. You're a very bright young girl, which just makes you even more perfect for this school. All this is why we are very pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to LAAA as a freshman this year. School starts Tuesday September 4th and moving into our on campus housing for new students like you is Wednesday August 29th, where we will spend the next week getting you used to the school and campus. We can't wait to see you then.

Sincerely,

Anna Hoffman

Head of Admissions

"Yes!" I yell.

"You made it in?!" mum asks.

"I did!"

But here's the problem, dad doesn't know I applied, or Jordan or Mariah. Only mum and I know. In fact, I only applied because the theater director at school told me that I was capable of bigger and better things than just school musical. Which is how I discovered LAAA. I told mum about it and she told me to apply. Looks like it really did pay off.

----

"Why are we going out for a semi-fancy dinner exactly?" Jordan asks mum.

"It's a surprise!" she tells him.

He groans.

I know this isn't how he wanted to spend an evening of his summer after spending a year at uni. Jordan Andrew, you're 19 years old, suck it up!"

"You're not pregnant, are you, mum?" Mariah asks.

"I am not pregnant." she says.

"Thank God." the older two sigh.

"You didn't sigh in relief." Jordan says, "You know something, don't you?!"

"Yep!" I say, smirking at him.

"So Emma knows why,but I don't?" dad asks mum.

"Yep!" we both say.

"Why do you keep secrets?" Jordan asks.

"For the exact same reason that we keep secrets from you, Jordan, our dear big brother." Mariah tells him, sounding sickeningly sweet.

"Ugh! Being the only boy sucks!"

"Jordan, at least it's only two younger sisters, not four." dad tells him.

He groans in his annoyance again.

In the restaurant, the other three won't stop bugging mum and I.

"Well, we all know that the theater director told Emma that she s capable of bigger and better things than school musicals." mum says.