Going Platinum, (8 page)

“Congratulations to Connect Three,” Mitchie said. “We'd like to dedicate this song to them and this amazing summer of music!”

L
ater that night, after all the celebrities had headed back to civilization, Mitchie was back in the kitchen.

“Mom, there are hardly any leftovers!” Mitchie exclaimed as she cleaned. “I'd say you scored this one right.”

Smiling, her mom agreed. “It was a home run.” She placed a few trays on a cart. “I'm going to take these into the freezer. You've done so much already, why don't you go hang out with your friends. I'll finish up here.”

Mitchie looked at her watch. She and Shane had made a plan to meet up at the old hollowed-out tree before lights out. If she hurried, she'd be able to visit with him for a little while.

“Really?” Mitchie asked. “Are you sure?” Connie laughed. “Yes, I'm sure. Now go!” Mitchie ran out of the tent and across the field to the tree. She found Shane sitting on the bench, sipping a double chai latte.

“Hey. Where'd you get that?” she asked, gesturing to the drink.

Shane blushed. “A little gift from Faye. She had her driver bring it up here.” He shook his head. “I'm really sorry about the whole song business. Faye can be a bit high maintenance.”

“Not to mention pushy,” Mitchie added.

“She's just a pop star. We can all get a little ‘pushy'! But you held your ground,” Shane told her. “You should be proud.”

Mitchie smiled. “Thanks.” She sat down next to Shane. “And thanks for asking me to sing tonight. That was really cool.”

“You were great!” Shane said. He took a gulp of the chai. “I gotta tell you this stuff sure does beat the camp coffee!”

Mitchie laughed. “Can I have a sip?” He nodded and she reached over for the cup. “Do you think that I made the right decision about Faye and my song?”

“Absolutely,” Shane told her. “Don't worry, one day you'll have an album that goes platinum—an album that you will have full artistic control over. I have no doubt about that.”

“You think so?” Mitchie asked, feeling flattered.

“Totally,” Shane said, full of confidence. “And when you do, it will be your way—and your sound.”

Mitchie snuggled next to Shane and sighed. That prediction was music to her ears.

Keep rockin' with another all new
story from camp!

By Helen Perelman
Based on “Camp Rock,” Written by Karin Gist & Regina Hicks and Julie Brown & Paul Brown

“I
need chocolate!” Mitchie Torres sang out as she walked into Camp Rock's canteen. The B-Note was where campers and counselors could get treats and hang out. Located in the basement of the Mess Hall of Fame, the room was filled with old couches, tables, a vintage jukebox, and an old Ping-Pong table. There were usually a bunch of campers jamming in the corner stage area, and tonight was no exception. Just about everyone was there.

“Make that a frozen chocolate bar,” Mitchie's best camp friend, Caitlyn Gellar, said, waving a hand in front of her face. Camp Rock was experiencing a heat wave— the temperatures had been over ninety-five degrees the last two days. Even though it was evening, the air was still warm and sticky. Caitlyn swept her light brown hair up off her neck into a loose ponytail.

“Definitely frozen!” Mitchie said, blowing her long, straight bangs up off her forehead. “That sounds amazing right about now.”

Caitlyn smiled. Even though Mitchie was a relative Camp Rock newbie, she knew all about the perks of a frozen canteen treat. The girls had gotten incredibly close—Caitlyn was so glad that Mitchie had come to Camp Rock this summer.

As they walked over to the snack-bar window to place their orders, Caitlyn noticed Brown Cesario playing guitar. “Hey, check out Brown,” she said. “He's totally jamming over there!” She pointed to the back corner of the room where their camp director was playing guitar. Their friends, Barron James and Sander Loya, two of the most talented guys at camp, were singing along with him. It was a reggae song that had a catchy melody, and Peggy Dupree and Colby Miller were singing backup. At Camp Rock you'd even find people jamming in the canteen. Caitlyn loved being at a place where there was an opportunity for creating music every moment of the day. Everyone at camp wanted to be a rock star, and this was the perfect place to learn how.

However, there was only one
official
rock star at camp. That was Shane Gray, the lead singer of the hot band, Connect Three.

Shane had met the two other members of his band at Camp Rock. They had had a pretty quick rise to fame, and Shane had gotten a bit spoiled. When he started getting bad press for his antics on a video set, his label “suggested” that he come up to camp for the summer to unwind. Brown was his uncle, so he had an easy in. This had not been Shane's idea of a good time, but the break had served him well. Not only were Connect Three's sales soaring, he was having a pretty good summer as a counselor and hanging out with the campers, especially Mitchie.

Frozen chocolate bars in hand, Mitchie and Caitlyn headed over to an old couch in the corner of the lounge. There were a few lava lamps scattered around, giving the place a warm glow. The windows were open to let in the hot summer breeze. Mitchie sighed as she settled onto the worn couch.

Even though she felt as if she were melting, Mitchie wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else at that moment. Thanks to her mom scoring a job as the Camp Rock cook, she'd been able to spend her whole summer there. It was a dream come true. The experience had surpassed all her expectations— especially when she met Shane.

As if on cue, Shane himself appeared at the lounge entrance. Mitchie caught his eye as he walked into the B-Note.

“Hey, there,” Shane called as he crossed the room. He swung his guitar case off his shoulder and plopped down next to her on the couch, eyeing her frozen chocolate bar. “That looks pretty good,” he said. “I might need one of those, too.”

Before Mitchie could respond, another voiced perked up. “Do you want me to get you one?” Tess Tyler asked, rushing over to Shane. Tess was the resident camp diva. She was always surrounded by her entourage of Ella Pador and Lorraine Burgess and was constantly looking for a way to get close to Shane.

“Lorraine,” she barked to the redheaded girl behind her. “Go get Shane one of those.”

Lorraine was a relatively new member of Tess's entourage. She'd arrived for Second Session and, when she moved into Vibe Cabin, had quickly fallen in as one of Tess's adoring fans.

When Mitchie first came to Camp Rock, she wanted to be part of that group, too. Mitchie had even told a huge lie about her mother being a famous music executive so that Tess would be impressed. But Mitchie had quickly learned that lying was not the best way to make friends at camp. When everyone found out the truth, Mitchie got to see who her real friends at camp were—and Tess was not one of them!

But Caitlyn was. Now, she and Mitchie exchanged smirks at Tess's latest attempt to cozy up to Shane.

“I'll get it. Thanks anyway,” Shane told Tess, standing up. He went up to the snack-bar window. A few minutes later, he returned with his own frozen treat and sat down next to Mitchie once again.

“How was your meeting with Dee?” Mitchie asked. She had seen Shane and a few other full-time counselors sitting with Dee La Duke, Camp Rock's musical director, after dinner. It looked as if they were plotting something big.

“Long,” Shane sighed. “And we still didn't finish! I never knew how much planning goes into each Camp Rock activity. And I'm just a guest instructor!”

“Well we thank you for all your hard work!” Caitlyn said, grinning.

Shane smiled and looked over at Brown. “So listen, after my uncle finishes, I'd like to play a new tune for you guys,” he said.

“Great!' Mitchie said. She loved listening to Shane sing. And if he had a new song, she definitely wanted to hear it.

Shane's thick, dark eyebrows arched. “I think you'll like it, but you'll have to be totally honest with me.”

“You got it,” Mitchie and Caitlyn agreed, nodding.

“This new album has to be really good,” Shane went on. “There's a lot of pressure now.”

Connect Three's latest album had recently gone platinum. It was a huge deal and everyone was thrilled, but Mitchie knew Shane was concerned about the band's follow-up effort. It had to be great.

Shane leaned down to open his guitar case. “Our producer is all over us about making this CD special.”

Just then, Lola Scott walked over and sat on the floor. She looked up at Shane as he tuned his guitar. “Hey, Shane, are you going to play next?” Lola was a veteran at Camp Rock. She had been singing since she was a little girl. Her mother was a big-time Broadway star, and Lola had inherited her talent and flare.

Shane nodded. “Yeah, we're back in the studio at the end of the summer, and I have to finish some songs,” he said. “I was hoping that you guys would be my first audience.”

Trying to hide her excitement, Lola nodded her head yes. Who wouldn't want to be the first to hear a Shane Gray original?

“Is it about camp?” Caitlyn asked. She leaned forward in her seat, wanting to get the full scoop.

“Kinda,” Shane replied mysteriously. “You could say that I have been heavily influenced here.” He looked over at Mitchie and smiled.

“Ooooh!” Lola cried, seeing how Shane looked at Michie. “Is it a love song?”

Mitchie pushed Lola with her feet. “Lola!” she scolded, feeling her face turn a bright beet red.

Shane just laughed. “No! No! It's simpler than that. It's about the summer nights here at camp.”

“You mean the superhot summer nights and how we're all going to dehydrate?” Caitlyn asked. She began using her hand as a fan. “This heat is killing me!”

Lola nodded and took a sip of her ice water. “It's supposed to break tomorrow,” she said. “But first we have to make it through tonight!”

“I still can't believe there is no air-conditioning here,” Tess said, joining the conversation. Lorraine and Ella were right behind her holding matching ice-cream cones. All of them had one of their hands on their hips, their glossy lips pouting. “This is just not humane. I'm melting!”

“Didn't the Wicked Witch of the West say that?” Caitlyn asked Mitchie, smiling.

Mitchie stifled a giggle with her hand as Tess spun and turned away. “Good one,

Caitlyn,” she threw back over her shoulder.

“Aw, come on,” Lola said, laughing. “It isn't so bad. It's camp, people!”

“Lola's right,” Shane chimed in. “Plus, where else would you hear crickets like this?” He gestured toward the three open windows behind the couches. “Isn't that a cool sound?”

Mitchie smiled. The old Shane would never have noticed that! She was glad that he was feeling more relaxed now that it was Second Session. He might have missed the glamorous A-list life, but he definitely knew how to enjoy the peaceful lakeside camp.

“It's great background for a song, don't you think?” Shane said as he tapped his guitar to the cricket beat.

Just then, Brown and the others stopped playing, and the cricket chorus grew even louder.

“You should lay that down as a track on your new CD,” Mitchie joked. “Then it would have something special—a Camp Rock special tribute.”

Standing up, Shane walked over to the window. He turned and looked around the room. A smile spread across his face. “That's an amazing idea,” he said. “Mitchie, you're brilliant!”

“What's brilliant?” Peggy asked, joining the group. Now that her set with Brown and the boys was over she was ready to have a frozen treat with her friends. “The song that we just sang?” She winked at Barron and Sander and did a little curtsy. Ever since Peggy had won Final Jam and stopped being Tess's backup singer, she had been enjoying singing on her own. While she loved being a solo vocalist, jamming with Brown, Sander, and Colby was fun, too.

“You sounded great,” Lola told Peggy. “But I don't think Shane was talking about that song. He seems to have some other idea in his head.”

Shane ran back over to the couch and packed up his guitar. After he snapped the case shut, he turned to Mitchie.

“Seriously, Mitchie,” he said. “Thank you for saving me!” Turning, he dashed out the door.

“What was that all about?” Peggy asked, totally bewildered. “What did I miss?”

“I have no idea,” Mitchie confessed. What had she said to inspire Shane? And when would they hear his new song?