“Me too,” Maria and Pedro chimed.
Elizabeth noticed Gary working on the soundboard nearby. He winked at her.
“Why don’t you give us another concert,” Gary said. “Pedro, why don’t you play the drums? Then, after the concert, I’d like to spend some time with you guys.”
Elizabeth smiled, and her heart seemed to dance as she and her new friends began playing. She looked at Kate, who gave her a thumbs-up. She knew exactly what her friend was thinking: God is good.
Camp Club Girls: Elizabeth and the Music City Mayhem
Angels in the Snow
Dear God, please don’t let me die today. I’m too young to die!
Elizabeth’s knuckles were white where she clutched the armrests. The plane hit another bump, and Elizabeth held her breath.
Please God, please God, please God…please get me to the ground safely.… Lightning flashed and rain pelted against her window, and she felt certain that today, she would meet her Maker.
The man in the seat next to her turned the page of his wrinkled newspaper as if nothing at all were happening. As if today were any other day. As if the plane wasn’t threatening to plummet them to a certain death at any moment.
The flight attendant smiled as she faced the crowd and pressed the button on her little microphone. “Ladies and gentlemen, we apologize for the mild turbulence we’ve encountered. We think we’ve seen the worst of it, and we should be landing at Nashville International Airport in approximately fifteen minutes.”
Gradually, the plane ride smoothed out, and Elizabeth allowed herself to breathe. Her neighbor turned another page of his newspaper, seeming unaware of anything other than the stock reports listed on the page. Elizabeth leaned her head on the windowpane and looked through the clouds at the city below.
“Is this your first time to fly?” the man asked, folding his newspaper and placing it in the pocket of the seat in front of him.
Elizabeth looked at him, surprised. “No, sir. But I’ve never flown through anything like that before.”
“I fly several times a month with my job. I’ve learned to trust the pilots. They know what they’re doing, and they won’t fly the plane if it’s too dangerous.”
Elizabeth nodded.
“Praying helps too.” The man smiled at her and shifted in his seat.
Elizabeth didn’t know how to respond. Had she been praying out loud? She hadn’t meant to…
“So what brings you to Music City?” he asked.
“Um…a music conference. I’m attending the Young Musician’s Conference just outside Nashville. This is my first time to attend.”
The man looked interested. “Really? Do you play an instrument? Sing? Write music?”
Elizabeth smiled. She loved talking about music. “All of the above.”
“So, you want to be famous…” the man said.
“Oh, not really,” Elizabeth told him. “I just love music, and I want to be the best I can be. I’d love to be able to really help people with my music, but I’m not sure exactly how I can do that. So for now, I’m just trying to become a better musician. This conference has some of the greatest talent from Nashville and around the country teaching classes. There are classes on songwriting, performing, and even classes about the business end of the music industry. There’s a talent competition as well, but I’m not sure I’ll be in it. I just love music. I’m a Christian, and I want to use my music in whatever way God wants me to,” Elizabeth spoke with passion, then smiled weakly. She thought she probably sounded corny to him.
“Interesting,” said the man. He seemed impressed by her answer.
“My friend Bailey, on the other hand, wants to be famous. She’s meeting me at the airport.”
The man chuckled. “Well, I hope you have fun. And I hope all your dreams come true.” He pulled a small planner out of his pocket and began flipping through calendar pages. Elizabeth realized she hadn’t asked him anything about why he was coming to Nashville, but didn’t want to interrupt him now.
Soon the captain’s voice came over the loudspeaker. “Ladies and gentlemen, we are now approaching Nashville International Airport. Please remain seated until we come to a complete stop on the ground. We hope you enjoy your stay in Music City, and thank you for flying with us today.”
Elizabeth gripped the armrests once again. Flying usually didn’t make her nervous. But the rain, the lightning, and the midflight bumps had caused her to be a little jittery. She closed her eyes and tried to remember to breathe.
Before long, she felt the wheels touch ground, and the plane coasted to a stop. Letting out a deep breath, she opened her eyes. The man was smiling at her.
“Here we are, all safe and sound,” he reassured her.
She smiled back, but didn’t say anything.
The man stood and took his bags from the overhead compartment. “Let me guess. I’ll bet this is yours.” He handed her the pink-and-green polka-dotted duffel bag with ELIZABETH embroidered on the side. Around her name were tiny music notes. Her mother had ordered it especially for this trip.
“Yes, thank you,” she told the man. She remained seated while the passengers in front of them filed out. Finally, the man stepped back and let her into the aisle in front of him. As soon as they entered the long tunnel leading from the plane to the airport, the man disappeared into the crowd.
Suddenly, Elizabeth heard a familiar voice and smiled.
“Elizabeth!” Bailey called out. Elizabeth looked in the direction of Bailey’s voice and saw a big sign with WELCOME BETTYBOO printed on it. She started to walk toward the sign and voice. As the crowd cleared, she saw the tiny, dark-haired girl jumping up and down, attracting all sorts of attention. But Bailey didn’t even notice Elizabeth approaching from the side.
“Elizabeth!” She called out again.
Elizabeth leaned forward and whispered in Bailey’s ear, “I’m right here.”
Startled, nine-year-old Bailey jumped and nearly dropped her poster. “Oh! You scared me. You shouldn’t sneak up on people like that!”
Laughing, Elizabeth apologized to her friend. “How long have you been here?” she asked.
“About an hour. I had some time to kill, so I bought this poster and some markers in the gift shop. Do you like it?”
Elizabeth smiled at the poster with her name decorated with hearts and smiley faces.
“I love it,” she said. “Now, where do we need to go from here?”
“I have to check in with Kimberly, that flight attendant over there. She’s been assigned to me, sort of like a babysitter,” Bailey giggled. “She’s really nice. She told me the shuttle that will take us to the conference center will be here in half an hour. We need to get the rest of your luggage and head to the waiting area,” Bailey told her.
Kimberly, a twentysomething flight attendant with dark hair and a bright smile, gave Bailey a friendly hug. “I see you found your friend,” she said, and Bailey introduced the two. Kimberly directed them to the luggage area, then pointed the way to the shuttle. Elizabeth looked around the huge airport and was glad to have some help with directions.
Together, Bailey and Elizabeth approached the round luggage carousel that dumped suitcases from the plane. Weary travelers watched, bleary-eyed, while the endless line of red, black, and brown suitcases traveled the circle.
“You’ll never guess who I saw while I was waiting for you,” Bailey told Elizabeth. “Dolly Parton!”
Elizabeth was impressed. She knew that Dolly Parton was one of the most famous women in country music. Dolly Parton had been important in country music since Elizabeth’s mom was a little girl.
“Wow! Did you get her autograph?”
“No. I don’t think it was really her. I think it was just someone dressed up like her.”
“Why do you think that?” Elizabeth asked.
“Because she was carrying a monkey in a cage.”
Elizabeth asked. “Yeah, you’re probably right. Something tells me the real Dolly
Parton would have someone to carry her monkey for her.”
Soon, Elizabeth spotted her pink-and-green hang-up bag, and the girls followed the signs to the shuttle waiting area.
“I can’t believe we’re actually in Nashville. I just want to sing something. Hey, do you think anyone has ever been discovered in an airport?” Bailey asked.
Elizabeth chuckled. Same old Bailey.
“I suppose it’s possible,” she told her friend.
“That girl over there looks just like Carrie Underwood,” Bailey pointed. But then the woman turned, and it clearly wasn’t the country star.
“I’ll bet there are a lot of people here impersonating famous country stars,” Elizabeth told her as she pulled out her cell phone to check for messages.
“Yeah, like that man over there. He’s trying so hard to look like Willie Nelson. It’s so obvious it’s not really him,” Bailey said.
Elizabeth looked around. She didn’t know much about Willie Nelson, but knew that he was a long-time country music legend—over decades, like Dolly Parton was. Elizabeth spied the man Bailey was talking about. She looked at him, and then did a double take.
Bailey continued. “I mean, really. He’s my grandpa’s age. Look at that long hair, and that bandanna. Who wears a bandanna like that?”
“Uh, Bailey…” Elizabeth said.
“And look at him, carrying that beat-up guitar case. Why would a famous man like Willie Nelson have an old guitar case like that?”
The man was standing only a few feet from them, and Elizabeth tried to quiet her friend. “Uh, Bales, I think that really is Willie Nelson,” she whispered.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Bailey said, making no effort to lower her voice. “That couldn’t possibly be Willie Nelson.”
The man turned, then smiled at the girls. Was he coming over to talk to them?
He was!
“Pardon me, miss, but I couldn’t help but overhear. Did you say there is someone around here impersonating me? Where is he?”
Bailey stared, her mouth open, but didn’t say a word.
Elizabeth stood and held her hand out to the man. “Mr. Nelson, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Elizabeth, and this is my friend, Bailey, and we’re here for the Young Musician’s Conference.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you ladies. I hope you enjoy your conference. And Bailey,” he said. “If you see that impersonator again, please tell him to stop pretending to be me.”
Bailey could only nod. The man laughed, and with a friendly wave, he was gone.
“I—can’t—believe—” For perhaps the first time since Elizabeth had known her, Bailey was speechless.
Elizabeth good-naturedly patted her young friend on the back. “Well, believe it. You actually met Willie Nelson!”
Bailey snapped to attention and said, “Oh no! I didn’t even get his autograph! Or a picture!”
Elizabeth grinned and held her phone out to her friend. “Look at this.”
Bailey’s eyes grew wide, and she grabbed the phone. “You took a picture of him talking to me! How did you do that without me knowing?”
“I know a good photo opportunity when I see one,” said Elizabeth smugly.
Soon, the shuttle pulled up outside the glass doors, and the girls gathered their luggage. Several other young people, some carrying guitars, joined them in the small van. The driver introduced himself, and served as a tour guide on the short drive to the conference center, pointing out various points of interest along the way. Elizabeth heard little of what he said, though. She was distracted by the white, fluffy snow all around her.
“Wow,” she told Bailey. “We hardly ever get snow in Amarillo! That, all by itself, will make this trip wonderful!”
“When we get there, we’ll have to find a place to make snow angels,” Bailey told her.
The van pulled up in front of a large glass building. “You can register just inside those doors. You’ll receive your room assignments, and then you’re free to do whatever you wish for a few hours. The first session will be held in this building, and will begin at 7 p.m.,” the driver told them.
Elizabeth and Bailey gathered their things and followed the others into the building.
“I can’t believe I’m actually here,” Bailey said. “I’m so glad you could come, Elizabeth. When I read about this Young Musician’s Conference, and all the people who have been discovered here, I knew I had to come! But my parents didn’t want to send me here alone. When you decided to go, they felt better about it.”
“I’m just glad you emailed me the information. I’ve wanted to go to something like this for a while, but until now, I haven’t been able to,” Elizabeth replied, taking in the upscale facilities. “This place really is beautiful.”
The girls registered, got their room key, and followed the map to their room. The hotel-like building housed boys on the first floor, girls on the second. They found room 208 and tossed their things on each of the two twin beds. Elizabeth started to look in the closets and in the bathroom, but Bailey was eager to explore the grounds.
“Come on! We have all week to look at this room. Let’s go survey the lay of the land. I saw some beautiful gardens with mounds of fresh snow!” Bailey told her, one foot already in the hallway.
Elizabeth grabbed her room key and followed her friend back outside. She pulled her furry parka up over her head—she seldom got to wear the coat in warm Amarillo. She breathed in the cool, crisp air. This was going to be one winter break she would never forget.
“This way,” called Bailey.
The girls turned down a well-kept, winding path. Elizabeth was in awe of the snow-covered branches and the crystal-covered ground. Bailey seemed impressed as well, for the girls walked in silence for a few moments. Then they heard humming.
“What’s that?” asked Bailey, and Elizabeth shrugged her shoulders in response. The humming continued—a beautiful sound, almost as if an angel had come down to offer musical accompaniment to this winter wonderland.
The girls followed the sound around a curve in the trail. There was a girl, a little older than Elizabeth, humming and scrawling away with a pencil on a wrinkled napkin.
“Hello,” said Bailey, but the girl just held up her left hand and kept humming and scrawling.
Fascinated, Elizabeth and Bailey watched her. The girl continued for another minute or two, and then looked at them with an apologetic smile.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be rude, but I had that melody in my head, and I had to get it down on paper before I forgot it! I’m Kristi.” She held out a gloved hand to them.
Elizabeth stepped forward and shook Kristi’s hand. “I’m Elizabeth, and this is Bailey. No apologies necessary. You have a beautiful voice! We thought an angel was hiding in the woods.”
The girl laughed and said, “Not quite an angel. I just got here. I haven’t even registered yet. My car is parked right over there.” She gestured to a parking lot on the other side of some trees, “But as I said, I had to stop and get that song on paper. I always have songs in my head, and if I don’t write them down right away, they get lost forever.”
“Come with us,” Elizabeth told her. “We’ll show you where to register, and then we’ll help you with your luggage.”
The girl gave them a warm smile. “Wow, thanks!”
Together, the three girls tromped through the snow-covered garden and to the main conference building. Kristi quickly registered and got her room key, and the three headed back to her car.
“Is this your first time to come to the Young Musician’s Conference?” Elizabeth asked the older girl.
“Yes, but I already know a lot of the people here. My dad is a musician, though he hasn’t been able to do much in the last few years. I’m here for the competition, but also to sell my dad’s guitar. That’s my ticket to college.”
“Your ticket to college?” asked Bailey.
“Yes,” Kristi answered. “I want to go to Julliard. Unfortunately, we don’t ha
ve that kind of money. But my dad used this guitar to play for some of the greatest country music legends of all time. Johnny Cash, Conway Twitty, Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton…and others. Because of the history attached to Dad’s guitar, and because it’s a handmade Gibson, it’s worth a pretty penny. Dad got in touch with some of his old cronies, and I’m supposed to show it to some of them this week. He wants me to sell it to the highest bidder.”
“Wow,” breathed Elizabeth. “You have the guitar here with you?”
“Yep. It’s all safe and sound in my trunk. Here, I’ll show it to you!” Kristi offered.
The girls approached an old, blue Honda, and Kristi used her key to unlock the trunk. She pulled out a couple of black duffel bags and set them on the ground, then reached for a battered guitar case. It was covered with stickers from all over the world. Elizabeth took a deep breath, knowing she was about to view something very valuable.
Kristi pulled the case from the trunk, and it nearly flew out of her hand. “What? What in the world?” the girl sounded alarmed.
She set the case back in the trunk, opened it, and gasped.
The case was empty.
Gone!
“What? How? My dad’s guitar!” Kristi cried out.
Elizabeth and Bailey peered into the empty case, as confused as their new friend.
“I don’t understand! How could it be missing?” Kristi’s face was white as a sheet, and she grasped the edge of the open trunk.
“Take a deep breath,” Elizabeth told her, resting her arm around Kristi’s shoulder. “We’ll find it. I’ll bet it’s back at your house, lying on your bed or something. You probably forgot to put it in the case.”
“No, I didn’t,” said Kristi. “I was so careful, and I remember putting it in myself.”
“Did anyone help you load the car?” Bailey asked.
“My mom and my little brother, but they didn’t open any of my things,” the girl said, her voice shaking. “It’s not at home. It’s been stolen!”
Camp Club Girls: Elizabeth Page 32
