Mackenzie Blue (17 page)

Thanks to Mr. P's inspiration, Zee had had no trouble writing a new song for
Teen Sing
. For a week, she had spent every moment that she wasn't studying or going to school—or hanging out with Chloe and Jasper—working on the lyrics. Mr. P was a big help. Now, she was in her room, smoothing out the words and getting the sound right.

“Ohmylanta!” Zee stopped and slumped her body over the guitar across her lap. The melody just wasn't working. “I give up.” She tossed the sheet music up in the air. It was too hard. She had made a mess of the first weeks of school, and she'd probably make a mess of this, too.

Knock. Knock.
Zee looked at her door. She hadn't heard anyone come upstairs.

“Come in!” she shouted and started to put her guitar in its case.

Adam opened the door a bit. “Why'd you stop singing?”

“Because it's a stupid song,” Zee said, waving a sheet of lyrics. “Who am I trying to kid? Kathi's the superstar—not me.”

With giant steps, Adam strode across the room, took
the paper from Zee's hand, and picked up her guitar. “Move over,” he commanded, then sat down on the bed.

Jerking his head to emphasize the beat, Adam played.
“‘Did you find what you were looking for?'”
he sang.
“‘Just ask me. I'm an open book.'”
The words sounded like an angry accusation—which was how Zee had felt when she'd written them. Only she hadn't ever actually sung them that way. Adam was rocking the song—and it sounded ten times better.

When Adam came to the end of the page, he stopped. Zee looked around the room for the next sheet. Her parents were standing in the doorway. How long had they been there?

“Who wrote that?” Mr. Carmichael asked Adam.

“Zee did,” Adam said and handed her back the guitar.

“I thought your new song was about lipstick,” Zee's father said.

Zee laughed. “Fingernail polish,” she corrected. “Actually Mr. P helped me find a better subject.”

Mrs. Carmichael's mouth dropped open. “Your music teacher helped you with
that
?” Zee nodded. “You're lucky to have someone who encourages you to express yourself so well.”

“He sounds like a great teacher,” Mr. Carmichael agreed.

“He is,” Zee said. “But he might get fired. Some parents don't like the fact that he doesn't focus on classical music.”

Zee's parents exchanged a concerned look. “Well, we'll leave you two to work on the song,” Mr. Carmichael finally said. He clasped his wife's arm and guided her out of the room.

 

 

Nobody at Brookdale Upper School got any work done the day of the audition—unless you call practicing their songs work, which Zee did. As she passed through the hall between classes, she sang her song. At lunch, she sang her song. And in gym, she made sure to get out quickly in dodgeball—no problem—so she could sing her song.

None of the teachers even bothered to lead a lesson—except Mr. P, who let Zee and Kathi perform for the class.

“You sounded great!” Chloe said, giving her a huge hug.

“It'll sound way better with Adam backing me up,” Zee told her. Of course, the sound of Adam's name made Chloe blush.

Jasper remained as cool as ever through the entire day. Whenever Zee started to freak out, Jasper put down his book and reassured her. “You've got nothing to worry about. You'll be brilliant!”

After school in the locker room, Zee changed into the dress she had gotten from her dad's office and a pair of mid-calf boots in soft tan leather. She'd made a choker with a cloth strap and a delicate purple bead. Zee carefully positioned a cool knitted cap on her head. She'd found it at a flea market for a dollar. She looked in the mirror, pulling the sides of the hat down
just enough
, then at Chloe. “There! What do you think?”

“I think you look awesome!” Chloe stared at Zee.

“Then let's get to the auditorium before I chicken out!” She grabbed Chloe's arm and dragged her out of the locker room.

The girls didn't get far. A crush of people clogged the halls. “How am I going to find Adam in this mess?” Zee asked.

Chloe kicked into superhero mode. Practically dragging Zee behind her, she cleared a path in front of her so they could pass. “Coming through, y'all! Coming through!” she shouted. “This girl needs to get to the auditorium.”

Through the windows, Zee could see men in bright orange vests directing traffic through the parking lot. “Ohmylanta! There's a TV crew outside!” she said to Chloe.

“Maybe they'll interview
you
!” Chloe said.

“Whenever I go to a movie premiere with my dad, I always wonder what it would be like to be one of the stars on the red carpet,” Zee said dreamily. “Maybe this is my chance to find out!”

“That would be awesome!” Chloe said.

The auditorium was buzzing even more than the halls and parking lot. Zee searched the crowd—until a pair of waving arms caught her attention. Zee's mom was motioning to her from across the room. Next to her were her dad and Chloe's mom. And Adam. She had never been so happy to see her brother.

Everybody hugged Zee and wished her luck. Chloe gave
her the biggest hug of all. “Don't forget me when you're a famous singer, okay?” she said.

“I won't—if you promise not to forget me when you're a famous cellist,” Zee answered.

“Hey, your
band
is ready,” Adam said.

“Let's do it!” Zee exclaimed.

“I told you I'd let you wear a little makeup, Zee,” Mrs. Carmichael said, opening her purse. “Do you want me to put it on you?”

“No, thanks,” Zee said. “I'm going to be me tonight.”

As Zee and Adam went to the contestants' waiting area, she scanned the crowd. Jasper was sitting in the middle of all the chaos, reading his book. Landon was right next to him. He had decided not to compete after all and had barely made eye contact with Zee since the day of the whiteboard message. But when he saw Zee, he elbowed Jasper, who looked up and smiled wide. Then Landon gave her a big thumbs-up!

Zee passed by the stage where Marcus was arranging some cables. He held his hand up for a high-five. Then he pointed at Zee and said, “I'll make sure you sound best.” He paused, then added, “Oh, wait! You already do.”

The only person missing was Ally. More than anyone else, Ally knew how important winning
Teen Sing
was to Zee. She knew how important
everything
was to Zee.

Zee was unpacking her guitar when she heard John Rock, a DJ from LA's most popular radio station, announce, “Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to Brookdale Academy, home of the Los Angeles Region
Teen Sing
competition.” The crowd erupted with screams and cheers. “In this room tonight are
the most talented
young voices in the area—and one of them will move on to the na-tion-al
Teen Sing
competition.” Chills ran up and down Zee as the noise got louder. “Let's welcome our first
Teen Sing
contestant, Brookdale's very own Sam Bartholomew!”

Zee couldn't believe it.
Teen Sing
was really here. In Brookdale. At her school. And she was actually a contestant. By the end of the night, she could even be its winner!

Soon Zee's excitement switch turned off as John Rock announced, “Our next performer wrote this song by herself—and she's only a seventh grader. Kathi Barney.”

Kathi's gorgeous voice floated through the auditorium.
“Jump into the water—it's cooler, baby.”
Zee's words—and Kathi's lie. But she sounded fantastic. Zee's heart sank. Would she be able to outshine Kathi with her song from the heart?

Zee didn't have long to think about it. “Number twenty-four,” a woman with a clipboard shouted.

“That's me!” Zee called out, waving her arms.

Clipboard Lady pointed at her. “You're in the hole.”

“I don't know what that means,” Zee said to Adam, worried.

“It's from baseball. It means there are two people ahead of you,” he told her, laughing. “You know, it wouldn't hurt you to know
something
about sports.”

“I'd rather speak English.”

Adam put his hand on top of Zee's head and spun her so that she faced the door. “Let's go wait by the stage,” he suggested.

When they reached the stage stairs, Adam pulled something out of the back pocket of his blue jeans. “I was going to wait to give this to you, but I'd rather do it now.” He handed her a small book.

“A diary!” Zee flipped it over and ran her hands across the bumpy orange cloth cover.

“I didn't want you to have to keep using that homemade
math
binder.”

“How'd you know that was my diary?” she asked.

“You never actually used it for math.”

Zee hugged her brother while the next singer went onstage.

“You're after him, Twenty-four,” Clipboard Lady said, pointing the eraser of her pencil at the top of the stairs. “You can go wait backstage.”

Zee gulped and slowly ascended the steps with Adam close behind. Her legs felt like Jell-O.

As she waited at the top, Zee heard Clipboard Lady's nasal tone. “Contestants only, sir.”

“But I need to give something to one of the performers,” a frazzled voice responded. Mr. P!

“Sorry. You're too late.”

Was Zee's teacher looking for her? She turned around and started to walk back down the stairs. “Hi, Mr. P.”

“Let's give a
Teen Sing
welcome to Brookdale Academy seventh grader Mackenzie Blue Carmichael!” John Rock announced.

“We're up!” Adam called. Zee faced her brother.

“Wait!” Mr. P sounded frantic. Gripping the rail for support, he leaned and reached his arm up the stairs as far as he could. Zee reached down. Their fingertips met in the middle, and he handed off a small red triangle of plastic. A guitar pick? “Bob Dylan gave that to me in Berlin,” Mr. P explained.

“Wow!”

“Come on,” Adam urged.

“Thanks, Mr. P!” Zee said.

“Hmmm. Maybe Mackenzie Blue got cold feet,” John Rock joked a few feet away. The audience laughed in confusion.

“Better hurry!” Clipboard Lady barked.

Zee turned to go onstage.

“Mackenzie!” Mr. P shouted. She stopped and turned. “Rock on!” he said with a smile.

“I guess we'll have to move on to the next contestant,” the emcee said.

Zee smiled back at Mr. P. “I will!” she told him, then raced to the microphone. The bright lights shone down on her so that the audience was just a blur. Where were her parents? And Chloe? And Jasper? Her palms began to sweat. She wasn't sure she could play.

Then Zee remembered the pick in her hand. Bob Dylan was a legend—one of the best singer-songwriters. Ever. She wanted people to say that about her someday. She closed her eyes. The crowd dissolved. Ally's words came to Zee—“Just b tru 2 urslf”—and her fears vanished.

Zee lifted her right hand high over her head and played the first chord.

Zee looked over at her brother. He gave her a nod that told her he was thinking exactly what she was thinking—they sounded better than they ever had.

With each verse, Zee grew more confident. She took some chances—changing her phrasing in some places, her style in others. Adam was right with her. He practically read her mind.

Zee was so into the song, she nearly forgot about all the eyes watching her. Then she did something she'd never done in rehearsal. After the song ended and the guitar strings stopped vibrating, after total silence filled the auditorium, she whispered, “I'm an open book,” and hung her head.

Zee had no idea where the words came from. It was a complete improvisation. The crowd remained silent. Had she completely embarrassed herself? Did she sound like a freak? She looked up at the stunned audience, but she still couldn't see their faces.

Suddenly, the crowd in the seats went nuts—cheering, screaming, clapping, and whistling. Zee held her guitar high over her head, then took a big bow. And another. As she stumbled off the stage in a daze, kids crowded around her.