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Editor Note: The images used for this story were purchased and used under royalty-free license* from Istockphoto.com . ~Sephrena
Author Note: Please email me at AngelJediGirl (at) gmail (dot) com before posting this story to any other site. Posting to a pay site is prohibited.

Comments and suggestions are also welcome at the above email address.

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Sarah Carerra Book 2: Summer Medley

Chapter 2.19 - The Jive

The next morning, I found myself standing in Sarah's closet once again. I'd been spending so much time as Sarah lately, that I had almost forgotten what my own closet looked like. I knew that we were packing a lot of Sarah time into this summer to help promote my career, but there were times I wished I could take a break and just learn how to be myself. I've been doing the Sarah thing nearly as long as I've been doing the Megan thing. I really, really wanted some time to get to know myself without the need to worry about how to be Sarah too. I almost wished that school would start so that I'd have more Megan time.

I berated myself instantly. Nobody wanted school to start! This summer was going by fast enough without jinxing myself like that! Before I knew it, I'd be sitting at my desk in Mrs. Carson's class wishing that I was on stage.

At least I had the weekend to look forward to - two glorious days of nothing but Megan. Sure, I'd have to contend with Mom's family, but they had taken the news pretty well at Aunt Judy's party. And I had Tracy and Katy on my side. Everything would turn out all right and we'd have lots of fun. We always did when we got together with the rest of the family.

But I still had one more appointment I had to keep as Sarah before I could take off the wig and enjoy myself. The Jive marketing people were supposed to be giving me a demonstration at Dad's office just before lunch. I'd also be receiving my own Jive to use if we accepted the deal. Sarah Carerra wouldn't be using her iPod anymore if she was endorsing the Jive. The thought of using something other than my iPod was just plain weird. I'd had an iPod of some sort since I was 11.

I quickly chose an outfit and started getting ready for the day. Dad had already left for his office, where he would meet me later after I drove down. Dad's offices were near our beach instead of being located in downtown Los Angeles. Most of his clients lived in the area, and it made for a shorter commute if they ever had to go to his office. Perhaps that was why he felt okay about letting me drive myself, because it was close to home.

I decided that I wasn't going to go alone when I started putting on my makeup. I'd spent the whole week living Sarah's life alone when I had a perfectly good friend sitting at home bored out of his mind. Emily had to work, but I vowed that I was going to get Ethan off his parents' couch and into my car if it was the last thing I did. I missed him, and that ended today.

When I stepped out of Sarah's room, I knew exactly what I needed to do. Calling him wasn't going to get me anywhere; he probably wouldn't answer anyway. But he couldn’t really ignore it when a #1 recording artist was ringing his doorbell. I knew for a fact that his little sister and his mother were at swimming lessons and his dad would be at work, so there shouldn't be anybody else there. It was a good plan.

"Hi, Austin," I said when I reached the end of the hall.

He was watching TV in the front room and didn't even look up. All I got from him was an uninterested "morning."

"Want to go down to Dad's office with me?" I asked him. "We're going to look at the Jive."

"No," he said. He seemed content to sit there and rot his brain for a while longer.

"Where's Mom?" I asked when it became apparent that he had no desire to join me.

"Aunt Judy picked her up a while ago," he replied. "I think they were going shopping."

"Oh, okay," I said. That sounded like fun. I hadn't had a chance to do much shopping with Mom since the first time she had taken me to the mall the day I had made the decision to live my life as Megan. I would have loved to have the chance to shop with her. But that wasn't in the cards today. Perhaps I could convince Ethan to swing by the mall for a while. "I'll be back after lunch if you want to go down to the beach or something," I told him. All I got was a shrug in return.

I headed for the garage and soon I had pulled out and was on my way down to Ethan's house. I pulled into his driveway, and looked around to see if anyone was nearby. I didn't see anyone, so I quickly got out and headed for the door. I rang the doorbell and stepped back to wait, nervously looking around. Many of the people on the block had seen me dressed as Sarah as Dad and I had come and gone. It was common knowledge on the street that Sarah was often at our house. But that didn't mean that I wanted to increase the chances of one of my neighbors coming up to talk to me. They might start to get suspicious if we started a conversation.

Thankfully, the door swung open quickly. The look on Ethan's face had me laughing instantly. He looked about as surprised to see me as I had been when I had kissed him.

"Hi," I said, trying to break the ice. He just stood there for a moment before he pulled the door open and stepped aside to let me in.

"What are you doing here?" he finally asked. "My mom and Cary could be home any minute."

I chuckled. He seemed to be worried, but I knew we were safe. "You know as well as I do that they won't be home for another hour. By that time we'll be long gone."

"Gone where?" he asked. He seemed hesitant as he considered the possibility of entering Sarah's world again. But that wasn't an option today.

"I've got a demonstration of a new MP3 player down at my dad's office," I told him. "And you're coming with me."

"No, I don't think so," he said immediately. Little did he know that an answer like that wasn't going to sway my mind!

"Well, I do," I said firmly. "Look, I know I goofed up at the concert. But that doesn't mean you have to avoid me. I'm not going to start making out with you, Ethan. We're just friends, and that means that we can still do things together. I know you've been sitting here bored all week. Emily told me she was sick of getting text messages from you while she was working. You need to get out of the house. Now go and get ready. We have to be there in half an hour."

He hovered on his feet, still holding onto the door handle. He was probably holding it because he had hoped that I would be leaving soon. I emphasized my point by walking to the small couch that was near the door and took a seat. I wasn't leaving until he was walking out the door with me.

Finally, he sighed and started walking toward the hall that would lead to his room. He didn't say anything. I knew he wasn't exactly happy about what I was doing, but I knew that it was something that I needed to do if we were going to get our friendship back on track.

Eventually, Ethan reappeared, dressed as Xander. I smiled at him and I was happy to see him smile back. That was the first sign that my plan might be working. We didn't say anything to each other as I led him back out to my car. But I saw his smile widen when he realized he'd finally get to ride in my car. I was just happy that I had gotten him out of the house. Anything else was just a bonus.

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I pulled into the parking lot of Dad's office about 15 minutes later. It wasn't a long drive, but it seemed longer with the silence that had enveloped the two of us. I tried to start up a couple of conversations while we drove, but all I could pull out of Ethan were one syllable answers. I had really messed up this friendship.

It was with a small measure of relief that I stopped the car in one of the four parking stalls that my dad's company had reserved out front for clients. It felt nice to get some preferred treatment while visiting him here. Dad owned the company, and his employees were always nice to me when I was here with him, but there was always a feeling of intrusion when they talked to me.

Now that I was somewhat of a celebrity myself, I began to understand why. Dad had good employees. He, and in turn his company, had always prided themselves on providing their clients with privacy. I didn't know how many of his employees Dad had told about me. Knowing my dad, I hoped that none of his employees knew. Dad was in charge of all of my affairs, which meant that there probably weren't many who knew the truth about me. I just hoped that it stayed that way.

I walked to the front door with Ethan, or Xander, two steps behind me. I tried to wait for him to catch up to me, but he never did. I was starting to wonder what I needed to do to get my friend back. Everything I had tried so far hadn't seemed to make a difference.

Once we were inside the building things started to get weird for me. I knew most of Dad's employees. I'd spent enough time at his office over the years that I could remember each of their names. But some of them I knew pretty well.

Like Lucy. Lucy was the receptionist. She was one of the nicest ladies I'd ever met, and I'd spent many days with her in the reception area when I was younger, while I was waiting for Dad to finish a meeting before we could go down to the beach or whatever else was planned for the day. She was old, like in her fifties or something. But she was as kind to Austin and me as my mom was.

I had to catch myself when she looked up as we entered. I had almost greeted her by name, but Sarah had never met her. As a matter of fact, Megan hadn't met her either — only Brett had met Lucy. That last thought really depressed me. I hadn't been to Dad's office since my life had changed so drastically. I didn't doubt that she knew about Megan. Dad was only too happy to share that knowledge. However, I didn't know how much she knew about Sarah Carerra’s secret. She had been with Dad since the beginning, but that didn't mean he was going to tell her my secret.

The smile that spread across her face as I approached her desk told me that I didn't have anything to worry about, though. She did know who I was! The glint in her eye and the wink that she gave me only helped to reinforce that realization. I found myself smiling while quickly looking around the reception area. We were alone.

"Hi, Lucy," I said first. Her smile widened when I called her by name.

"Hi, Megan," she replied after her own glance around. "It's so nice to finally meet you. You are so beautiful!"

I felt myself blushing at her comment. I ached inside a bit every time someone new found out. But Lucy was someone I would never worry about leaking my secret. And to meet her like this for the first time, I was glad we didn't have that secret standing between us.

"Thank you," I replied. I wasn't sure what else to say, and she seemed to be staring at me like she couldn't believe her eyes. It was an awkward moment before I turned to see what had happened to Ethan. He was still standing by the door. I waved him forward. I wanted my friend back, but with the way he grudgingly stepped toward me, I wondered if it was worth all of this effort. He sure wasn't making it easy. Eventually, he made it next to me at the reception desk. "Lucy, this is one of my best friends, Xander."

She smiled at him. Neither Emily nor Ethan had ever come down to Dad's office with me, so there wasn't any way that she could make a connection with his real identity.

"Hello," Ethan said.

"It's nice to meet you," Lucy replied. Then she looked back at me. "Let me call your dad and let him know you are here."

"Okay," I replied. She picked up the phone, but before she got the chance to say anything, Dad appeared from the hallway that led to the offices.

"Oh good, you're here," he said and gave me a smile. Then he turned toward Ethan. "It's nice to see you again, Xander."

"Mr. Campbell," Ethan replied. He was a man of many words this morning. Not.

"Sarah, if you'll come on back, I'll introduce you to my team," Dad said to me. "The Jive guy should be here any minute."

I nodded, but I asked the question that I needed to have answered before I followed him. "How many people know?"

He didn't need any clarification about what I was asking. "Just Lucy," he said while glancing briefly at her. "I needed at least one person who could help me with confidential information, and I thought Lucy would be a good choice. Nobody else knows."

I nodded again, and he turned and started for the hallway. This time I followed after a small wave to Lucy.

Dad then walked me around his office, introducing me to the people whom I already knew. But it was completely different meeting them as a client. They were just as nice to me, but some of the concern they previously displayed when I was Brett wasn't there when I was Sarah.

Once I had been to each of the offices and Dad had introduced me, I found myself standing in front of 'The Wall'. I had spent a lot of time staring at 'The Wall' as a youngster. It was located in the small lounge that could be used by employees or clients for taking a break or waiting for an appointment. Small plaques adorned the entire area, each with a picture, a name, and a signature.

I'd stared at each and every one of them, amazed at some of the people whom my dad's company represented. And when he pointed out where my plaque had been placed, I smiled. Dad had been reserving a prominent area for a 'special' artist for as long as I could remember. He said that some day he would represent somebody whom he was so proud of that they would have the honor of having her or his picture displayed there.

That's where I found my plaque.

I felt tears start to creep into my eyes, and I sniffed quickly to hold them back. We were alone in the lounge except for Ethan, and before I knew it Dad had his arms wrapped around me. That made it even more difficult to keep the tears from spilling out.

"I'm so proud of you, Princess," he said quietly. I sobbed, but tried in vain to hold the tears back. I didn't want to have to fix my makeup.

I was lost for words for a moment. Eventually, my dad released me, and then handed me a permanent marker. I smiled at him, stepped over to the plaque, and signed my name.

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I had to use the bathroom to fix my makeup before joining my dad and Ethan in the conference room. When I finally arrived, I found Dad, Ethan, and another guy sitting around the table.

"There she is," Dad said with a big smile. All three of them stood up, making me blush slightly. "Sarah, this is Michael Stott from the company that makes the Jive."

The man to whom he was pointing wasn't much younger than my dad, perhaps in his early thirties. He had blonde hair and a grin on his face that instantly put me at ease. He was dressed in a nice pair of tan slacks and a navy blue polo shirt.

"It's nice to meet you, Michael," I said while taking the hand that he had proffered to me.

"The pleasure is mine, Ms. Carerra," he replied. He had a firm handshake.

"Sarah, please," I corrected him. I always thought that Ms. Carerra made me sound old.

"Have a seat," Dad said and pointed to a chair between Ethan and himself. I noticed that Michael had been sitting in a chair on the other side of the table. I nodded and walked around to my chair and sat down. The guys did the same.

Michael didn't waste any time before starting his presentation. "We're honored that you are considering our offer, Sarah. I have a Jive here today that we want to present to you. It is yours to keep whether you endorse us or not."

He handed me a box about the size of a book. Emblazoned clearly on the front was the word 'Jive' followed by a picture of the device I had first seen on the endorsement papers. I happily accepted it from him. I wanted to open it up and start playing with it, but he had other ideas. Instead, he took fifteen minutes to show me how the Jive worked using another demo model that he had brought with him. I truly was impressed. It would be weird not using my iPod anymore, but I really liked what I was seeing.

After showing me what the device could do, he started talking to me about what they expected of me if I accepted the contract. Obviously, I was asked to use the device instead of any other music player. That condition would be easy to meet. It was the photo shoot and the commercial that they wanted to shoot in less than two weeks from now that made me cringe. I had spent the last two weeks in front of cameras and recording equipment getting ready for the album and the new music video. I knew that I was going to be in front of the camera again on Tuesday for the makeup endorsement. And sometime in the near future I would also be doing a photo shoot for the perfume I'd be endorsing if the meeting we had on Monday went well. That was a lot of time in front of the camera, and I was starting to wish that I could pull back from Sarah's life for a while. I needed a break. I hoped that this weekend would be enough.

In the end, though, I was ready to take the endorsement deal. The Jive appeared to be a cool device, and I was truly impressed with some of its features. However, Michael wanted me to take it home and use it over the weekend before making a final decision. Even though he was making me wait to give him my answer, I knew he felt confident I was going to say yes.

After Michael had left, I said goodbye to Dad and dragged Ethan back to my car. I'd had high hopes at the beginning of the day of reconciling our friendship. But at nearly every turn, Ethan tried to push me away instead of working to become closer. I had a feeling he was still struggling with his feelings about me, and I didn't know how to help him. I had my own issues to deal with when it came to him.

I was relieved after I dropped him off at his house and then drove home. I was going to need some help to get him out of his funk. I could see the friend I had known most of my life in his eyes. I knew he still wanted to be my friend. I wished there was something I could do to help him realize that we didn't have to be boyfriend/girlfriend in this relationship. I was fine just being his friend.

As I stepped into my house, I sighed. I'd wanted to go to the mall and see Emily and perhaps do some shopping. But I had failed to talk Ethan into going with me. Instead, I had a long afternoon and evening ahead of me with no plans to keep me occupied.

At least I had my new Jive to play with.

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