by Jen Calonita
Amy quickly recovered and blew into her pitch pipe. The group started to sing. The melody was infectious, which irritated Julianna. She’d give anything to see the Nightingales beat the Tonal Teens.
Julianna felt an arm snake around her back. It was Viola’s. Pearl, Sydney, Whitney, Micayla, and the rest of the Nightingales put a hand on her shoulder or arm as well.
“This is the day the Tonal Teens’ domination crumbles,” Whitney declared. She could be scary when she wanted to be. “Just let them try to outsing us.”
“ ‘HandClap’ is good, but our original Ramirez number is going to blow them away,” said Micayla. She started to sing the lyrics and someone backstage shushed them.
Onstage, the Tonal Teens moved in and out of formation, mixing Kelly Clarkson songs Amy was obsessed with. She had all the solos.
“There is no way we’re going to beat them our first competition out of the gate,” Pearl said sadly.
“Hey! Glass half full, remember?” Sydney said. Some of the Kingfishers walked over.
“We’re going to give it our best shot. We’re only going to get better from here,” Whitney added.
“Or we’re going to be banished to bingo night at the retirement communities,” Gabby said. Everyone hit her.
“Maybe Salty Sam’s can add an a cappella cruise,” Donna suggested and everyone hit her too.
“It won’t come to either of those things,” Sydney said. “I predict we’re in the top five today.”
“Top two!” Whitney said.
“I’m going to make a prediction,” said Griffin. “If both Bradley groups make it to the Orange Grove Championship later this year …”
“When we make it to the Orange Grove Championship later this year,” Sydney corrected and he put his arm around her.
“When we make it to the Orange Grove Championship, the Nightingales are going to bury the Tonal Teens,” Griffin said.
“I’ll take that bet!” Sydney said. “The Nightingales are back and stronger than ever.” She put her hand out. Whitney slapped hers on top of Sydney’s and the other girls did the same. They looked at Julianna.
“Nightingales!” someone called backstage. “You’re on deck!”
“We’re ready!” Whitney yelled back. “Almost.” Whitney motioned to their circle of hands.
Six minutes and twenty-two seconds.
That’s how long Julianna would be standing under the hot stage lights in front of a live audience. Amy and the Tonal Teens still might walk away with a bigger trophy that afternoon, but they weren’t going to steal Julianna’s future. She belonged on that stage and she knew that now. Her music—whether it was meant for Beyoncé or the Nightingales—was her own and she would sing it loud for anyone who wanted to hear it. No one was going to tell her to throw away her shot.
Julianna finally put her hand in the circle. “I’m ready too.”
The girls looked at one another.
No matter what their score was that day, nothing was going to stop them from being Bradley Academy’s all-girl a cappella group. And if they kept working as a team, no curse would come close to darkening their practice room. They were going to claw their way back to the top of the a cappella heap. Amy and the Tonal Teens had better be ready.
The girls kept their eyes on each other and their hands stacked together, paying no regard to the Tonal Teens leaving the stage. Julianna knew one thing for certain:
She was a Nightingale and Nightingales soared.
The sound of feedback made Lidia sit right up in bed. This time she didn’t question where it was coming from. Especially when she heard a keyboard and a guitar come roaring in.
“Party rock is in the house tonight!” she heard Grandma Evie and Mom sing. “Everybody just have a good time!”
Grandma Evie and Mom were busting out “Party Rock Anthem”!
Lidia threw back her covers and jumped out of bed. She didn’t bother to throw on her robe or grab slippers. She was not missing this jam session.
By the time her bare feet hit the bottom step of the staircase, her family was in the middle of the second verse in the dining room. Dougie even had on light-up sunglasses. There was the briefest of pauses at the sight of Lidia in the doorway.
She knew what they were thinking.
Would the girl who gave up being a member of the Nightingales still want to sing with them?
Oh yeah!
“Toss me a mic,” Lidia shouted.
Grandma Evie gave Lidia her favorite gold one. “I was just warming it up for you.”
Her mom and grandmother put their arms around her, and Dougie and Lidia’s dad started to play again. Together they sang, “And we gonna make you lose your mind! We just wanna see ya … shake that!”
Around the dining table, the Sato women sang, creating a conga line like you’d see at a sweet sixteen party or a wedding. Some people might think it would be crazy to do this at the crack of dawn on a Saturday, but they had a reason to be up early today.
“Everyday I’m shufflin’!” they sang as the song closed out.
“Who wants eggs for breakfast?” Grandma Evie asked, still using her mic. “Lidia needs eggs! Or a protein shake.” She looked at her granddaughter. “I already packed you a bag with water bottles and three protein bars. Maybe you need more. How many kids are in your group?”
“That’s more than enough,” Lidia said with a laugh. “I’m too nervous to eat. I’m going to run up and change so I’m ready to go.”
Her mom swatted her with something. Lidia turned around. It was the Bradley Buzz newspaper. “You might want something to read while you brush your teeth,” her mom said with a smile.
Lidia looked at the front page of this week’s edition, which had just come out the day before. Lidia had already read the article—twice!—but she hadn’t tired of reading it yet. She reread the headline: THE BRADLEY ACADEMY NIGHTINGALES ARE BACK AND BETTER THAN EVER! And underneath, in smaller print, it said: KINGFISHERS TAKE HOME SECOND PLACE!
The Kingfishers taking second place wasn’t even the main focus of the story!
Ha!
Lidia bounced up the stairs, rereading the article as she went. The reporter, senior Tasha Stevensen, had gone to Turn It Up to give a firsthand account of the competition. Lidia suspected she thought the Nightingales were going to crash and burn and she’d have a juicy story to write about. She couldn’t have been more wrong.
While the Kingfishers came in second place in the all-male division at the competition, it was the once-struggling Nightingales who became Turn It Up’s true Cinderella story. After failing to place in competitions for the last FIVE YEARS, they came in third in the girls’ category! Under the leadership of co-captains Sydney Marino and Whitney Corcoran, the Nightingales’ rendition of “HandClap” and their choice of an original song by member Julianna Ramirez were both a capella perfection. Their hand movements and vocal performances were completely in sync as was the choreography, which was done by Lidia Sato, the Nightingales’ former co-captain.
While the top female honor went to Miami’s Tonal Teens, Sydney Marino says Bradley students should expect big things from the Nightingales in the future. “The Nightingales aren’t going anywhere but up. See you all at the Orange Grove Championships!”
Lidia knew Sydney would settle for nothing less. The Nightingales would make it to Orange Grove this year and give both the Tonal Teens and their very own Kingfishers a run for their money. And Lidia would be there beside them, cheering them on.
Downstairs, she heard the doorbell ring.
“Lidia, it’s for you!” Dougie shouted.
Lidia pulled her hair up into a high ponytail, gave her bare face one more glance in the mirror (she’d do her stage makeup when she got to the auditorium), and grabbed her rolling dance bag that held all her costumes. The side was bedazzled with her name. Sydney had done the decorating when she’d come over the other night to have dinner. This was Lidia’s first official dance competition weekend and she alterna
tely wanted to throw up in her bathroom sink and scream spontaneously and cheer. Her emotions were all over the place. Lidia lugged the bag down the steps and tried to stay calm. Her mother and grandmother were waiting.
“We’ll be there in one hour,” her mom reminded her.
“The doors don’t open till ten,” Lidia said with a laugh. “You guys know that.”
“I want to be the first one in the door so I get the best seat,” said Grandma Evie, flashing her T-shirt at her. It said DANCE GRANDMA. Lidia’s mom’s said DANCE MOM. Dougie and her dad had refused the cheesy attire, but everyone was really trying to get on board with Lidia’s new passion.
“Okay, I’ll see you then,” Lidia said, giving them both a kiss on the cheek. Then she headed to the foyer where Dougie was standing in the doorway talking to someone.
“Hey. All ready to go?” Jack grinned when he saw her. Lidia’s mom had offered to drive them, but since Lidia’s competition was at the Naples Convention Center and they were leaving really early, she and Jack had decided to take the bus together. Jack had said it would bring her luck since it was where they’d first met. He held out a bouquet of daisies. “These are for you.”
“Thanks,” Lidia gushed, smelling the flowers, “but I haven’t even performed yet.”
“I already know you’re going to score top marks in every number.” Jack frowned slightly. “And I thought the flowers were a better gift than me wearing the T-shirt your grandma made me. It said DANCE BOYFRIEND,” he whispered. “I just couldn’t do it.”
Lidia smiled. “I don’t blame you.” She looked at the clock on the wall. “You’re early, though. Want to come in for some breakfast first? Grandma Evie made enough to feed an army.”
“Good,” Jack said, and swung the door open wider, “because you’re going to need a lot of food.”
To Lidia’s surprise, the Nightingales were all on her front lawn. At the sight of her, they started to cheer. They were wearing blue TEAM LIDIA pins and Gabby and Pearl were holding a huge bouquet of balloons.
“What are you guys doing here?” Lidia asked.
Sydney bounded up the steps, wearing a DANCE BEST FRIEND tee that had Grandma Evie written all over it. She squeezed Lidia tight. “We’re taking the bus with you and Jack so you feel the support of the whole team! Won’t that be fun?”
“Really fun, especially if you all sing,” joked Jack. “I hope there’s enough seats.”
Sydney’s eyes widened. “Jack is right.” She grabbed Lidia’s hand and dragged her out the front door. Jack took Lidia’s bag. “We’ll get breakfast at Don’t Be Crabby’s on the way and take an earlier bus so we can all sit together. We can’t be late to your first competition!”
Lidia let Sydney lead the way and smiled to herself. After all this time, she knew better than to argue with her best friend.
Jen Calonita graduated from Boston College where she majored in communications. This degree helped her land a job at a teen magazine where she got to interview several of her favorite movie and music stars. These days, Jen writes books for teens, including the Secrets of My Hollywood Life series. When she isn’t working, Jen loves going running, taking pictures, and hanging out with her husband and two boys at their home on Long Island in New York. She also enjoys going on walks with her feisty Chihuahua named Jack, where she does her best brainstorming for whatever project she’s working on next. You can find her online at www.jencalonitaonline.com.
Copyright © 2018 by Jen Calonita
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available
First edition, January 2018
Cover design by Maeve Norton
Cover photos ©: Michael Frost; microphones: IvanC7/Thinkstock and Bibigon/Thinkstock.
e-ISBN 978-1-338-16116-8
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