Sold Out

by Melody Carlson

  “As a matter of fact, we’ve been talking about the possibility of a joint tour. You girls could possibly open for them.”

  “We’re going to open for Iron Cross?” I hoped I wasn’t acting too starstruck, although I couldn’t really help myself. Just the same, I did remind myself of Allie.

  He nodded. “If everything goes as planned, I’d say it’s a distinct possibility that Iron Gross and Redemption will be appearing together.”

  “Cool.” Allie was still staring at the photo.

  Laura just shook her head in amazement. And I could tell that despite her mother’s less-than-enthusiastic response, Laura wanted this as badly as Allie and I did. And then we left. But instead of cramming into a taxi like we’d done to get there, we found a big stretch limo waiting to take us back to the hotel. Talk about cool! It had leather everywhere, two TVs, and a minibar (complete with sodas, juice, and water), and we honestly felt as though we’d really made the big time.

  And I guess, all things considered, we didn’t make complete fools of ourselves the other day. I’m still a little concerned about Laura’s mom’s reaction. I’d hate to think that she’s going to be the spoiler here. I’m sure Omega would NOT be interested in signing me and Allie and Willy. And even though Willy plays a pretty mean bass, somehow it just doesn’t look quite right to have two teenage girls and this old dude.

  YOUR WILL

  what do You want, God?

  i know what i want

  i want to make music for You

  but what about You?

  what’s Your will?

  if this is Your will

  i believe You’ll work out

  all the details i’m trusting You for that

  that’s all i can do

  is trust You

  and wait

  for Your will

  amen

  Eighteen

  Monday, June 23

  What a whirlwind ride these past few days have been. When we arrived at the airport (late Friday night), we were met by reporters as well as family and friends. It seemed that Mike had told everyone at the Paradiso about our pending contract. But I must admit that it was pretty cool being greeted by reporters and photographers (even if they were only from the local paper), and it was fun seeing balloons and signs of congratulations. And Cesar even brought me flowers (as did Ryan and Taylor for Laura and Allie). I was a little disappointed to see Taylor there (so much for Cesar’s attention span theory). But I tried not to let that get to me, and I must admit Allie looked totally thrilled to see him.

  Sunday, at church, was a little more of the same. The youth group had a big sign and Krispy Kreme donuts to celebrate. And after that I went home and had a late lunch with my parents and Josh, and then pretty much crashed, catching up on lost sleep since it seems I hardly slept at all in Nashville.

  I woke up to Allie knocking on my door. “What are you doing sleeping?” she demanded when she walked in.

  I sat up and yawned. “Why not?”

  “How can you possibly sleep when life is so totally exciting?”

  I shrugged. “You gotta sleep sometime. What’s up?”

  “I just got done at the Paradiso, and Mike reminded me that we promised we’d perform this week, so I kind of agreed that we’d do it Tuesday night. Does that work for you?”

  “Yeah, I don’t think I’m booked that night.”

  “Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m thinking we could use a little practice session.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “So I called Laura and she’s working all day tomorrow, so I told her why not this evening.”

  So we practiced all evening. Well, we mostly practiced. It seemed we spent more time than usual just gabbing about everything that’s been happening and what’s going to happen next.

  It’s been decided (by Willy) that we’ll have a “business meeting” on Thursday evening. All parents will attend, and it’ll be a time to ask questions and voice concerns. Willy will take notes, and my mom will tell everyone about the lawyer’s initial reaction. And I guess we’ll just take it from there.

  “It doesn’t seem fair,” said Allie.

  “What?” I asked as I tuned my guitar. “That the grown-ups have all the power.”

  “All the power?” I peered over at her.

  “Yeah, to make the decisions and sign the contract. But then we have to do all the work.”

  “Yeah,” Laura agreed. “We should have an equal say.”

  “I thought we did.”

  “Not according to my mom,” said Laura.

  I considered this. Maybe they were right. “Well, I guess Thursday night is a good time for us to let them know what we think.”

  Laura nodded. “But we’ll have to be tactful. If we start acting rude and uppity my mom will turn against us like that.” She snapped her fingers. “If you haven’t noticed, my mom is from the ‘old school’ where kids are supposed to be polite and respectful at all times.”

  “Yeah, I kind of noticed,” I admitted.

  So we decided to present our case, but not in a way that would get any of the grown-ups mad. We decided our best defense would be to act very mature, like we’re old enough to handle these kinds of decisions and responsibilities. And I think we are.

  Wednesday, June 25

  We had a blast playing at the Paradiso last night. And it was packed out. But there was this one weird moment, just as we finished a song, when I suddenly remembered how totally freaked I’d been last fall—the first time I’d ever played in public—and how I’m so completely comfortable with everything now. Somehow it just struck me as slightly amazing.

  We only played for an hour, then pretty much enjoyed ourselves with everyone who was there. And it seemed everyone was there. And everyone came up and congratulated us and acted as if they’d always been our very best friends. Including Tiffany Knight. And it was a little irritating too because it’s like she wouldn’t back off. She just kept hanging on as though we were best buddies. And I just don’t get that. Has she no pride at all? There’s no way I could act like that to someone I’d treated so poorly. I kept reminding myself of how people treated Jesus, and how He still loved and forgave them—and how we’re supposed to do the same. So maybe Tiffany Knight is my “cross to bear.” It figures.

  Caitlin and some of her college friends were there too. Naturally Josh was sitting with them. I went over to join them for a while, and even told Beanie about what we’d said about having her as our wardrobe consultant.

  “Seriously?” she said.

  “Yeah, if you’d like to. I guess we’ll have to make sure it’s okay as far as our contract goes, but I don’t remember them saying anything about our clothes, and even if they did, we could tell them we want you involved.” “That’d be so cool.”

  Josh grinned. “I still can’t believe my baby sister is almost famous.”

  Caitlin playfully punched him in the arm. “She IS famous, Josh. Didn’t you see the Sunday paper? Sheesh, they were all over the front page.”

  I laughed. “Yeah, the distribution of that paper must be at least five thousand.”

  “Hey, it’s a start,” said Jenny. “We told Danny, you know, that drummer friend of mine from college, about what’s going on with your band, and he was having a hard time not getting seriously jealous. I told him he should come hear you girls before he starts feeling too slighted.” She laughed. “The truth is, Redemption is way better than his band. But I won’t tell him that.”

  I was standing as I talked to them, and then Cesar came up from behind and put his arm around me. I’d already told him I’d hang with him tonight after we got done playing. But somehow, maybe it was the look on Caitlin’s face, but suddenly I felt a little self-conscious.

  “Uh, this is Cesar,” I told everyone. Then I told him their names, and he politely reached out and shook hands.

  “I remember you,” he said to Caitlin. “You went to visit Jewel in the hospital last year. She was my cousin.”
<
br />   Caitlin’s eyes grew thoughtful. “That was a hard time.”

  He nodded then turned to Josh. “And I’ve heard a lot about you.”

  Josh grinned. “That’s scary.”

  We all visited a little longer, and I began to relax more. But still I wanted to know what Caitlin was thinking. Or maybe I didn’t.

  Finally, Cesar and I excused ourselves and went over to join Laura and Ryan.

  “Where’s Al?” I asked, looking around the crowded room.

  “She left with Taylor.” Laura peeked at her watch. “Actually, I should probably get going too. I have to work in the morning.”

  Cesar laughed. “I’d think you’d be quitting that job, what with your newfound fame and fortune.”

  Laura shook her head. “Well, as far as fortune goes, we haven’t seen an actual penny yet.”

  “Yeah.” I sighed. “And if we don’t get those contracts signed, we never will either.”

  “In the meantime I promised my parents I’d stick to my job.” Laura glanced at Ryan. “And keep my curfews.”

  Ryan stood now. “Well, we better not disappoint them.”

  And once again, it was just Cesar and me.

  “Speaking of jobs,” I asked him, “how’s yours doing?”

  He smiled. “I just got a raise.”

  “Cool.”

  “And they’re putting me on full-time for the rest of the summer.” Then he frowned. “Of course, that means I won’t get to see as much of you.”

  “I’m sure we’ll be able to squeeze some time in together.”

  He seemed relieved to hear me say this. “Yeah. And mostly I’m working days, except for Thursdays and Fridays when I get the late shift.”

  “That’s not too bad. How’s Jake doing? I haven’t seen him around tonight. Or Marissa. What’s up with her?”

  “Yeah, I forgot to tell you about Jake. He got hired at Home Depot too. But since he’s new, he got stuck with all evenings.”

  “Poor Jake.”

  “It might be a good thing. Doesn’t give him any time to be tempted to go partying. Spencer is always trying to get him to go out with him, but so far, Jake’s done pretty well.”

  “Is he still staying with you?”

  He nodded. “But my parents say he’s got to find someplace else in a few weeks.”

  “And he probably doesn’t want to go home.”

  “Not at all. He and his dad aren’t even speaking. He’s pretty sure his stepmom has told his dad all kinds of lies.”

  “Poor Jake.”

  “But he left a message with his uncle, his mom’s brother, out in California. I guess he’s on vacation now, but he was really close to Jake’s mom, and he told Jake, after she died, to call if he ever needed anything.”

  “I’m going to be praying for Jake more than ever now.”

  “And I haven’t seen Marissa since last week. But Jake said she got a job at Burger King.”

  I tried to imagine Marissa in one of those colorful outfits but couldn’t. “I hope she’s okay.”

  We talked some more, but then Cesar admitted that he too had to be to work early in the morning. “Can I give you a ride home?”

  “Sure. Just let me go tell Josh that I’m going with you.” So I went back over to the “college” table and informed Josh.

  “So is this serious?” Caitlin asked me in a lowered voice. “Between you and Cesar, I mean?”

  I shrugged. “I’m not sure what you mean by serious.”

  “Are you guys going out?” she asked.

  “Sort of. We like each other, if that’s what you mean.”

  She studied me for a moment then smiled. Okay, maybe it was a forced smile, I’m not sure. Then she said, “Well, he seems like a pretty nice guy.”

  I nodded. “He really is.”

  Cesar drove an old pickup that he’s slowly restoring. I think it’s very cool. “You’re doing all this yourself?” I asked him as I admired the new paint job beneath the streetlights. It’s a pale yellow, kind of like butter.

  “Yeah. It’s still got a long ways to go, but it’s kind of fun. My dad’s really into it too—it’s something we can do together. And it helps getting my employee discount for tools and stuff.”

  “I keep telling my parents I need a car too,” I said as we pulled up to my house. “But they keep brushing me off and telling me I can use theirs when I need to. Except that almost every time I need to they’re gone, along with their cars, or at least their keys.”

  “Well, I don’t mind giving you rides.” He turned off his engine.

  “Thanks.”

  “And I’m sure it’s just a matter of time before you’ll be able to afford any kind of car you’d like.” There seemed to be a trace of sadness in his voice.

  “Does that bother you?”

  He shrugged. “Yeah, I guess so. It’s kind of humiliating to think that my girlfriend is going to be way richer than me.”

  I laughed. But part of it was pure nervousness. It was the very first time I’d heard him refer to me as his “girlfriend.” But at the same time, I did like the sound of it. “If you know me as well as you think you do, you should know that money isn’t that important to me.”

  He laughed then. “Yeah, I suppose you’d do the whole music thing whether they paid you or not.”

  “You know, I probably would.”

  Then he reached over and ran his hand through my hair. “That’s one of the many things I really love about you, Chloe.”

  Okay, the electricity was flowing then, and I was just sitting there and staring at him like a dummy. His face looked all shadowy and handsome in the dimly lit truck. And all I could think of was how I wanted him to kiss me. And how I wanted to kiss him back. Now was that so wrong? Really?

  But instead of pulling me to him and passionately kissing me, he continued to talk. “I really believe that God brought you into my life for a purpose. Right from the beginning I could tell there was something special about you. And everything that’s happened this year…well, it’s just so amazing.” He laughed. “In fact, my mom is dying to meet you.”

  “You’re kidding.”

  “No, Jake’s been telling her all about you, and she finally figured out that you’re the girl I’ve been interested in all this time. She thinks you’re the one who got me to ‘go back to church,’ so naturally she thinks you’re wonderful. I haven’t really tried to explain that it had more to do with me and God. But anyway, she’d love to meet you sometime. So would Abril. After that article in the paper, which Jake made certain my family saw, they all think you’re a celebrity.”

  “That’s so funny.”

  “What’s funny?”

  “Oh, you know, that celebrity stuff. It still just cracks me up.”

  His face grew serious then. “Well, you better start getting used to it. Your life is going to be changing pretty fast from now on.”

  I nodded. “It’s kind of scary. But at the same time exciting.”

  “Well, if anyone deserves it, Chloe, it’s you.”

  “Thanks.” I looked into his eyes then, and I was thinking, “Come on, Cesar, just kiss me.” But still he didn’t.

  Instead, he took my hand in his and said, “You know, I really don’t want to blow this with you. I’ve really been praying and asking God to show me the right way to handle everything. But I’m just not sure. I know I don’t want to rush anything. I’ve been involved with girls before and it’s, well, you know how it suddenly gets all crazy and out of control and then you just end up breaking up and never speaking to each other again. Well, I don’t want that to happen to us.”

  I shook my head. “Neither do I.”

  “So, is it okay to take it slow?”

  I laughed. “Of course. In fact, I really respect you for telling me this—and that you’ve prayed about, well, us. That’s pretty cool.”

  “Do you think you’d like to go out on Saturday night? You know, like a real date?”

  I grinned. “Sounds good
to me.”

  “All right. Around seven then?”

  “Cool.”

  So I’ll be having my first official date this week. My parents told me a couple years ago that I wasn’t allowed to date until I turned sixteen. At the time I thought that it was totally unreasonable. But now it actually seems kind of funny, because here I am sixteen and finally going on my first real date. Go figure.

  CRAZY HORMONES You made me

  the way You made me

  You gave me

  this ability to love

  like this

  please, show me

  what to do with

  this thing

  these feelings

  this rush

  that’s running through me

  like a rampaging river

  a force of its own

  help me

  to do things

  Your way

  amen

  Nineteen

  Friday, June 27

  We had our “business meeting” last night. At first it seemed as though it was going to be smooth sailing—easy breezy. I imagined everyone just signing off on our contract and that would be that. We had invited everyone over to our house, and I even made lemon bars and mint iced tea. To start off with everyone was just happily visiting and acting like it was so great that we’d been offered a contract. We’d already agreed (Allie and Laura and I) that Willy should sort of “chair” the whole thing. So as soon as everyone sat down, he proceeded to give them a pretty thorough explanation of all his concerns with the contract negotiations with Omega.

  “I’ve already had two conversations with Eric,” he explained. “And I’m pleased to report that—”

  “You’ve already spoken with Omega?” my mom asked suddenly.

  Willy looked slightly taken aback. “Well, that’s what we’d all agreed to in Nashville.”

  My mom glanced at my dad. “I wasn’t in Nashville.” Dad nodded toward Willy. “It seemed natural for Willy to handle the negotiations since he’s acting as their business manager—”

  “I wasn’t aware that we’d made that decision final—”

  “Mom,” I interrupted her. Okay, I was starting to feel pretty ticked with my mother just now. “Allie and Laura and I all agreed even before we went to Nashville that we want. Willy for our manager.”