by Tracey West
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
CHAPTER ONE: - NEXT STOP, SEATTLE
CHAPTER TWO: - WINNERS AND LOSERS
CHAPTER THREE: - A MISSING NOTEBOOK
CHAPTER FOUR: - SIGHTSEEING IN SEATTLE
CHAPTER FIVE: - A SURPRISING SECRET
CHAPTER SIX: - SLEUTHING IN SEATTLE
CHAPTER SEVEN: - A STRANGE PRINT
CHAPTER EIGHT: - A CHARMING LIAR?
CHAPTER NINE: - ROUND TWO
CHAPTER TEN: - LOST AND FOUND
CHAPTER ELEVEN: - BREAKING NEWS
CHAPTER TWELVE: - SOMETHING’S FISHY
CHAPTER THIRTEEN: - BACKSTAGE SABOTAGE
CHAPTER FOURTEEN: - THE FINAL CLUE
CHAPTER FIFTEEN: - CONFESSION
CHAPTER SIXTEEN: - SHOWTIME
GROSSET & DUNLAP
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Copyright © 2008 by FREAKY TWIN POWER.
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CHAPTER ONE:
NEXT STOP, SEATTLE
“Thank you.” AJ smiled as the flight attendant handed her a bottle of water.
“Would your sister like something to drink?” asked the flight attendant, whose name tag said KAREN.
AJ glanced at Aly. She was curled up in her window seat, her eyes closed and the hood of her sweatshirt pulled up over her head, with a few stray blond curls poking out.
“Aly?” AJ reached over and tapped her sister. Aly muttered and turned in her seat.
Her eyes popped open and she looked at AJ.
“What?” Aly practically shouted.
AJ reached over and yanked Aly’s hood off her head. Her iPod was in her ear.
Aly grinned. “Oops, sorry,” she said. She took the earpiece out and sat up straight. She gave a big yawn and stretched her arms.
“Would you like something to drink, miss?” Karen asked.
“Yes, please,” Aly answered. “Water would be great. My throat is so dry.”
Karen handed her a bottle of water and a plastic cup. She smiled. “We can’t have that! It’s not every day I have two famous singers on my flight. You need to keep your voice in good shape. Aren’t you going to be performing at a concert in Seattle?”
AJ nodded. “We are, but we’ve got other business in Seattle, too.”
“We’re going to be judges in a contest for young songwriters,” Aly added. “So we had to get to town early. That means we got to fly out and take a break from the tour bus.”
Karen smiled. “Well, if you need anything at all, let me know,” she said. Then she moved down the plane’s narrow aisle with her drink cart.
AJ leaned back against her seat. “I kind of miss the bus,” she said. “And all of our Hello Kitty stuff.”
“I know what you mean,” Aly said. “The bus does feel like home. But you know how I start to get bus crazy!”
AJ laughed. “You’re like a bird trapped in a cage. I’m sure the guys in the band are happy to have the bus to themselves for this trip.”
“And I’m so totally stoked about judging this contest. We’ll get to hear all the young, hot talent that’s out there,” Aly said. “The winner even gets a college scholarship! It’s awesome that we get to give out a huge prize like that.”
“We’d better pick someone really good. We’re going to be performing one of the winner’s songs at our concert at KeyArena,” AJ reminded her.
“We’ll need extra rehearsal time with the band to learn the new song,” Aly said. “We’d better remind Jim to work the extra time into our schedule.”
AJ laughed. “This is Jim we’re talking about, remember?” she said. Jim, their tour manager, was right out of college. Even though he was young, he was more organized than anyone they’d ever met.
AJ suddenly got a nervous look on her face. “I am worried about one thing,” she said. “If we’re judges, we’ll have to tell people if we don’t like their songs. You know what it’s like when we write songs for our albums. They’re like little pieces of our souls, practically. I don’t want to break anyone’s heart.”
“We just have to be careful what we say,” Aly suggested. “Sometimes we get constructive criticism from our producer, or even each other. We’ll just focus on what works and try to give them some pointers for the rest.”
AJ relaxed. “You’re right. It’s not like we have to be mean or anything!”
“And the songwriters have already been narrowed down to twelve finalists. They must be pretty talented to have made it that far,” Aly added. “I heard that thousands of people entered.”
AJ pulled her notebook out from where she had stashed it in the little pocket in the seat in front of her. She unclipped a pen from the binder.
Aly giggled. “AJ, you would be lost without your notebook!”
AJ grinned sheepishly. “It makes me feel better to write things down. It helps me to stay organized. Now,” she said as she began to write, “we’ll listen to the twelve finalists in the first round. Then we’ll have to cut six right away!” She looked up from her notebook. “That’s a lot.”
“There can only be one winner,” Aly said. “At some point, they’ll all be eliminated except for one.”
“Okay,” AJ said as she started to write again. “Then we’ll have to narrow down the six contestants to three. And out of that final three we’ll pick the winner.”
“It’s a big responsibility,” Aly said. “But I’m sure we’ll pick someone awesome.”
She gave a little dry cough. AJ shook her head. “Karen was right. You’ve got to drink your water and take care of your voice,” she said. “By the end of the week, we’ll be singing in Seattle!”
CHAPTER TWO:
WINNERS AND LOSERS
After the plane landed, the girls had to race to their next destination. They were used to it by now. Being on the road meant they were always rushing off somewhere.
They waited for their lugg
age, then for a car to take them to their hotel to drop off their bags. They quickly changed, then stopped by the hotel’s coffee bar to pick up a couple of lattes. The driver whisked them off to a theater in downtown Seattle.
“Ahhh,” AJ took a deep breath of the steamy coffee concoction. “This hits the spot.”
They were sitting in red velvet theater seats. The stage was empty, but they could hear noises coming from backstage. The twelve finalists were getting ready to perform their best songs in front of Aly and AJ.
A petite young woman with long reddish-blond hair walked over to them. She carried a clipboard and a stack of papers. “Aly, AJ,” she said as she held out her hand to them. “My name is Lily. I work for Entertainment Unlimited, one of the companies sponsoring the competition. I’m the contest coordinator.”
Aly and AJ shook hands with her.
“We’re really excited to be here,” Aly said.
“If you think you’re excited, you should see the contestants,” Lily said. “They can’t wait to perform. The first person will take the stage in just a few minutes. Can I get you anything?”
Aly gestured to her coffee. “We’re good.”
“Let me leave you with these.” Lily handed them each a bundle of papers. “It has the contestants’ names, ages, and what they’ll be singing. Most of the performers have taped music that we’ll be playing to accompany them, but a few will be playing guitars.”
“Thanks, Lily,” AJ said.
Lily disappeared backstage. AJ took her notebook out from her purse.
“I’m ready!” she joked.
“I won’t laugh,” Aly said. “Look what I’ve got!” She pulled a notebook out from her own bag. “I figured we’d both need to take notes while we were judging.”
“See—you are finally beginning to understand the beauty of the notebook.” AJ laughed.
Aly reached into her bag again.
“Uh, AJ,” she said. “I got the notebook but forgot to bring a pen!”
“Don’t worry,” AJ grabbed an extra from her purse. “I’m always prepared.”
They settled back as the first contestant walked onstage. It was a teenage girl dressed all in black, with black lipstick and makeup. She had dark hair that she wore up in a spiky ponytail. She stepped up to the microphone.
“My name is Amber,” she said. “I’ll be singing my song, ‘Rain of Tears.’ ”
The song was a little depressing, but Aly and AJ were impressed with the melody and the thoughtful lyrics.
Next, a boy named Henry came out. He was tall and thin with big, dark eyes. He sang a love song while he strummed an acoustic guitar. Henry was followed by a boy named Kurt who sang a country song, and a long-haired girl named Rainbow who sang a folk song. Each contestant was different in his or her own way. Aly and AJ carefully wrote down their impressions of everybody who performed.
A girl walked shyly out onto the stage. She wore her long red hair braided down her back, and she carried an acoustic guitar. She shuffled to the microphone, staring at her feet.
“I’m Claire,” she said softly into the microphone. “And I’ll be singing ‘Lost.’”
Claire’s low voice could barely be heard, and Aly and AJ had to strain to be able to hear the lyrics. She sang about feeling alone and confused, but finding strength inside herself. The girls liked the lyrics they heard, and they were touched by the haunting and beautiful melody.
“Wow!” AJ said. “She was great, but she’s so shy!”
Aly nodded. “I wish she would have sung louder.”
The next contestant was Claire’s exact opposite. He carried an acoustic guitar, too. But while Claire was timid, Austin walked out like he owned the theater. He flashed a huge smile at Aly and AJ.
“Hey, great to meet you,” he said. “It’s not every day I get to sing for two gorgeous babes.”
Aly chuckled and nudged AJ in the ribs with her elbow. Austin, with his dark blue eyes and brown hair, was cute, but he was laying it on thick.
He confidently began to strum his guitar. Aly and AJ were expecting a corny song, but Austin surprised them by singing about a girl who only pretended to be in love with him. His lyrics were intelligent and the song had a great hook. The whole time he was singing, he stared at AJ. Once, he even winked at her.
He took a bow when he was done.
“I wrote that song from a real experience,” he said. “But AJ, I was thinking you might be the perfect girl to help mend my broken heart.”
“Thanks, Austin,” AJ smiled. “But I’m here to judge the contest, not date the contestants.”
“If you change your mind, I’ll come running,” Austin vowed.
Aly and AJ looked at each other and began to crack up as Austin left the stage.
A girl named Bree who belted out a bluesy tune wowed them. The next contestant, Heather, wasn’t as good. Her song was decent, but bland.
Then Josh took the stage. He looked sharp in jeans, a fitted T-shirt, and a blazer. As soon as the music started, Aly and AJ were impressed. The melody was fresh and original, but at the same time very catchy. Then Josh began to sing.
“You loved me, but then you had to flee,” Josh sang. Aly and AJ grimaced. His lyrics were very corny.
The last three contestants came out and performed. Now Aly and AJ had to make a tough decision.
“Only six can go to the next round,” Aly said.
“Hmmm,” AJ said as she looked over her notes. “I like Amber’s song a lot.”
“It was kind of dark,” Aly said. “But good. I say she goes through. Now what about your new boyfriend, Austin?”
AJ laughed. “Could you believe him? What a flirt!”
“And he was good. He’s got real talent. He doesn’t need to butter up the judges,” Aly said with a laugh.
“Claire’s song was the best, lyrically, I’d say,” AJ said. “But she was so timid onstage. I could barely hear her.”
“But this is a songwriting contest, not a singing contest,” Aly pointed out.
“You’re right,” AJ agreed. “Then she should definitely go through.”
Aly looked down at her notes. “I’m not so sure about Josh,” Aly said. “His melody was fantastic, but those lyrics . . .”
“Need work!” AJ finished. “But his melody was off the hook. I could totally imagine us performing that onstage.”
They continued to debate about who the final six should be. After a few minutes, the girls looked at their list.
“It’s a good thing we think alike,” Aly remarked. “I’m glad we didn’t have to argue about anybody.”
“It’s early in the contest, though,” AJ teased. “What if we each want a different person to win?”
Aly’s eyes widened. “Oh, no. I didn’t think of that!” she said.
“Don’t worry,” AJ said. “We can always arm wrestle to decide the winner. But I should warn you, I’ve been working out.” She flexed her arm to show off her muscle, laughing.
Lily walked up. “Ready?” she asked. “I’ll call the contestants to the stage.”
Aly and AJ nodded. They were excited, but they felt bad at the same time. Even though they were about to make six people very happy, they were also going to disappoint six more.
The boys and girls filed out onto the stage. Lily brought the microphone over to Aly and AJ.
“First of all, we want to thank you all so much for performing for us,” Aly began. “We enjoyed every single song. You are a group of extremely talented young artists and our decision was very difficult.” She handed the microphone to AJ.
“I’m going to read the names of the people who will continue in the competition,” AJ said. She held a piece of paper in front of her. “Austin,” she said. He let out a cheer and began dancing around the stage. AJ had to wait for him to quiet down before she could continue. “Bree, Henry, Amber, Claire, and Josh. We’d like for all of you to compete in the next round. To everybody who didn’t make it, thanks again. You were all really great. Kee
p writing songs! You’ve all got talent.”
Some of the contestants exchanged hugs. A few were crying. Then one of the contestants, Heather, stomped up to the front of the stage.
“This is a total rip-off!” she screamed at the contestants around her. They slowly backed away. “I was robbed! You guys call yourselves songwriters? My dog could write better songs than you!”
“Sounds like someone is a sore loser,” Austin smirked.
“Whatever! My song was the best and I know it.” She turned and glared at Aly and AJ. “You made a big mistake, I hope you realize that. This contest is a joke without me in it.” Then she stomped off of the stage.
Aly and AJ were shocked.
“Wow,” Aly said finally.
“Too bad she didn’t put that kind of energy into her song,” AJ said, shaking her head. “She might have made it to the finals.”
CHAPTER THREE:
A MISSING NOTEBOOK
The contestants all headed backstage.
“Maybe we should go talk to them,” Aly suggested. “I want to make sure that the other kids aren’t as upset as Heather.”
“Good idea,” AJ agreed.
The cramped backstage area was a mess of folding tables and benches. The contestants’ guitar cases and other belongings were strewn all over. They spotted Austin talking excitedly to goth-looking Amber. They looked happy. In another corner, the country singer Kurt and the folksinger Rainbow were hugging each other.
“Let’s go talk to them,” Aly said.
They approached the two songwriters. “Hey, Kurt. Hey, Rainbow,” AJ began. “We just wanted to say that both of you have a lot of talent.”
“You should definitely keep writing songs,” Aly told them.
Rainbow nodded. “Thanks,” she said. “It would have been really cool to win. But somebody has to lose, right?”
“I just wish it wasn’t us,” Kurt said with a sad smile.
“And don’t let Heather bother you,” Rainbow added. “She’s, like, super-dramatic.”
The sisters thanked them and headed over to Claire. She was standing over her open guitar case, with her back to Aly and AJ.
