I Remember

Always Someone Better

The next day, Lucia was driving Sunny to school.

"Momma, I'm a little weirded out by Beebe's family," Sunny declared. "All of a sudden, Lorelei goes from harassing me to acting like she loves me. It just feels weird."

"I know how you feel, mija," Lucia declared. "I can't say I trust Valerie, Lorelei, and Beebe very much—you'd better watch your back."

"Okay," Sunny said. "Have a good day."

"You, too, Sunny," Lucia grinned.

Sunny got out of the car and walked to her band class. When she got there, Beebe, her friends, and Zoe were staring at her.

"Hi, Sunny," Beebe smirked. "How's everything?"

"Just fine, Beebe, thank you," Sunny declared.

"We heard that your grandfather was engaged to Beebe's grandmother," Zoe blurted out.

Sunny was shocked. "Beebe told you?" she asked.

"She did," Miguel declared.

"It's true—my abuelo was engaged to Beebe's grandmother," Sunny confirmed. "That was the only time he tried to get my mom a stepmother, but he called off the engagement, he never tried to do that again."

"And if he never called off the engagement, not only would Bernardo and Gigi be married, but you and I would've been cousins," Beebe pointed out.

The whole class gasped in shock.

"I guess you're right," Sunny confirmed. She wasn't sure if she'd like the idea of having a brat like Beebe for a cousin.

The bell rang, and that meant it was time for class to start. Dr. Gutierrez came in and said, "Okay, boys and girls, I have good news to share. I've just heard that this Saturday, the Albuquerque Junior Orchestra is holding auditions in the auditorium. They'll allow up to five students in this class in the orchestra, but only one will play first chair."

All the students were delighted to hear this.

"Wow, this is amazing," Sunny beamed.

"Indeed, Sunny," Dr. Gutierrez agreed. "Okay, let's start with Beethoven's Ode to Joy."

The students sat down, and Dr. Gutierrez conducted as they played Ode to Joy. But Beebe could barely concentrate—she was too busy eyeballing Sunny. She'd seen how good Sunny was on the violin last week, and she was green with envy, feeling like she herself won't be first chair of the AJO if Sunny tried out.

During lunch, Beebe got together with Cusco.

"How was band class, Beebe?" Cusco asked.

"Just fine, Cusco, and wait until you hear what Dr. Gutierrez said," Beebe declared. "She says that the Albuquerque Junior Orchestra will be holding tryouts on Saturday, and while five in the class will get in, only one will be first chair. Sunny is crazily awesome on the violin—how can I compete with that?"

Miguel was right by Beebe's side, and he'd heard what Beebe was saying. "It's not a competition, Beebe," he chuckled.

"It is a competition, Miguel," Beebe insisted. "If Sunny tries out, she'll make first chair. How can I prove that I'm a great musician?"

"There's no point," Miguel told her. "You've got nothing to prove—no matter how hard you try, there's always going to be someone better than you."

"Harsh," Cusco said under his breath.

Beebe agreed with her brother—that was harsh. She couldn't deal with the fact that Sunny was a better musician than her. She wondered if her mother felt this way about Lucia.

After school, Sunny met up with her parents and grandfather at Music to My Ears.

"How was school, dear?" Derek asked.

"Great, and I have good news," Sunny declared. "The Albuquerque Junior Orchestra is holding auditions at Mesa Grande on Saturday. Five students in my class will get in, but only one will make first chair."

"That's wonderful," Derek smiled.

"I'm really looking forward to it," Sunny beamed.

"I may barely remember your grandmother, but you remind me so much of her," Lucia chuckled. "I bet she would've wanted you to jump at any chance you got."

"You took the words out of my mouth, Lucia," Bernardo chuckled. "Do you know what song you'll be playing during the audition?"

While Sunny and her family were talking, they were unaware that Valerie, Lorelei, Beebe, and Cusco were outside the store, spying on them.

"That Sunny Bishop really takes after her mother," Valerie remarked.

"Well, I'm not going to play second fiddle to her," Beebe declared.

"I don't want that either, Beebe," Lorelei said.

The Bishop family went back to work.

"The coast is clear—I'm going in to see what Sunny is up to," Beebe declared.

Beebe followed Sunny into her practice room. Sunny was skimming through her music book, trying to decide what song to play at auditions. She placed the book on a music stand, and then she took out her violin and started to play "Blue Danube". But as she was playing, she sniffed out some perfume, and she knew where this smell came from.

"What's that smell?" Sunny asked herself.

Beebe didn't want Sunny to know that she was trespassing through the staff area, much less spying on her, so she went and fled. Sunny turned to the door, and she checked to see who was there. Seeing nothing, Sunny went back to rehearsing.

Later, at Chowdhry's residence, Beebe was with her family, talking about Sunny.

"If she auditions, she'll land the first chair position," Beebe fretted. "How can I compete with her?"

"Beebe, I know you want to play first chair badly, but life is short—fretting about Sunny Bishop isn't worth your time," Mr. Chowdhry told her.

"Dear, you know I love you, but we can't let Beebe play second fiddle to Lucia's snotty daughter," Lorelei frowned. "That Bernardo really spoils Lucia, and she spoils Sunny."

Beebe then spoke up, "Maybe if Sunny knew about me having been first chair in the AJO and the Albuquerque Beginner Orchestra in the past, she'll be feeling so inferior that she'll decide not to audition for the AJO at all—she might even quit the band at school!"

"Sounds good, Beebe," Valerie smirked.

"Gigi is right," Cusco agreed. "Just because Sunny is a hottie-hot-hottie, it doesn't mean she's any better than you."