Solo Star (2 page)

“Congratulations!” squealed Pop, joining in the hug.

“What?” asked Chloe, struggling to breathe.

“It's
you
!” cried Lolly, finding her voice at last. “You did it, Chloe. You won a place in the Rising Stars Concert!”

“That's so amazing!” said Lolly. “You're such a star. I knew you had a chance.”

Chloe could feel her heart pounding under her T-SHIRT. Was it true? Had she
really
gotten enough Rising Stars points?

“Well,” said Danny, still grinning widely. “How cool is that? Both of us Rising Stars at the end of our first year at Rockley Park! No wonder we both got scholarships.”

Chloe tried to look shocked. “Danny!” she said. But he wasn't being bigheaded. Danny was being honest, as he always was. Everyone knew that scholarships weren't handed out to simply anyone. Danny and Chloe's talents had been recognized before they came to the school and now, with all their hard work, they were fulfilling the teachers' faith in them.

Even so, Chloe did feel incredibly lucky to have become a Rising Star in her first year. It would be exciting enough if it were just a matter of recording a television program, but more exciting than that was the invited studio audience. Alongside other people from the music industry, there would be A&R people—special recording-company scouts. A&R stood for Artists and Repertoire. It was their job to spot any likely talent, and as a result, some Rising Stars in the past had been offered recording contracts on the spot.

“Sssh! Sssh.”

Mrs. Sharkey was speaking again, and slowly everyone calmed down and fell silent. “To round off our assembly, there will now be a short performance from two of our dancers,” she said. “And right afterward there will be a meeting for this year's Rising Stars. Everyone whose name I've called out should stay behind so that Mr. Player and Judge Jim Henson can discuss the details of the concert. That's all. Everyone else can make their way quietly to their first class as soon as the performance is over.”

Chloe couldn't concentrate on the dance. All she could think about was the fact that she was going to be in the Rising Stars Concert. She could hardly believe it. A year ago, she had been at an ordinary school with little chance of making it as a singer. Now she was at Rockley Park, the best school in the world, and she was living her dream of becoming a star.

The rest of the assembly passed in a daze for Chloe, but eventually it was over and the majority of the students started to file out.

“Good luck!” said Lolly, pausing to hug Chloe again before disappearing off to class with Pop.

Chloe and Danny exchanged excited grins. Almost everyone had gone now. Chloe counted up how many students had been chosen as Rising Stars. There were sixteen, all of them older than her and Danny. Several were in their last year at school. They were practically grown up.

“Come and gather around,” called Mr. Player. The singing teacher was standing down by the front row of seats along with Judge Jim, the Head of the Rock Department. All the Rising Stars made their way quickly to the front.

“This is just a brief meetin' to get you all together,” said Judge Jim, smiling at them all. “First thing is, congratulations! Every one of you has earned your place here with lots of hard work, and I know you'll be prepared to work even harder at makin' this showcase of Rockley Park's talent the best it can be.”

Chloe listened carefully to everything Judge Jim said. She was very conscious of being one of the youngest there and didn't want to be the one act to let the whole concert down.

“Now, as you probably know,” said Judge Jim, “the TV program is only thirty minutes long, and they like to intersperse some general shots of the performers between each act, which cuts down the performance time even more. So we have to work out how to give all sixteen of you the best chance to show your individual performance skills in such a short time.”

“There will be time for just six acts, so the only way we can include you all is to have you share your performances,” said Mr. Player.

Several of the older students nodded understandingly, but Chloe found that her mouth was suddenly dry with apprehension.

“Judge Jim and I already have some thoughts, so let's get you into groups and discuss how best to assemble you into acts,” said Mr. Player. “Singers, come over here. Musicians, could you wait over there?”

Danny seemed quite happy to be with musicians much older than him. Nothing much bothered him as long as he could play his beloved drums. He was used to performing with other people, but Chloe didn't feel anywhere near as confident. She was very anxious as she joined the rest of the singers.

Suddenly, being a Rising Star didn't feel quite as wonderful as she'd thought it would. It hadn't occurred to Chloe that she might have to sing with other people. She had assumed that being chosen would mean performing in the way you did best, which for Chloe was singing solo with a backing track.

How can I possibly perform with these students?
thought Chloe.
They're all so grown up.

She was sure her talent would never stand out next to them.
It's not fair!
she thought to herself miserably.
The A&R people won't notice me at all. I didn't realize being a Rising Star was going to be like this!

Mr. Player glanced toward Chloe and then away again. That made her even more nervous. Was he going to tell her that they'd made a mistake and that she wasn't going to be a Rising Star after all? She began to think it would almost be a relief if he did. But she soon changed her mind. Everyone wanted the chance of being a Rising Star, and now that she had gotten it, Chloe was determined to hang on and hope that it turned out well.

“Right,” said Judge Jim. “We don't want to keep you too long. We can fine-tune this later, but we wanted to try to give you some idea of how we propose to squeeze sixteen of you into six acts.”

He grinned at the musicians. “I realize that each of you has your own particular style,” he said. “And we'll do our best to let you show off your individuality at the concert, but everyone is goin' to have to compromise a little. Luckily, we have two drummers and I think we can make two quite different bands out of you. I know what I think would work well, but why don't you discuss it among yourselves and see if you can come up with a solution you're all happy with?”

“Yes, please,” agreed one of the senior boys, who Chloe knew played guitar. He looked at his fellow musicians and they all nodded.

“Okay. Good.”

Next, Judge Jim turned to the singers. “You're more of a problem,” he said, “because Mr. Player tells me you are all soloists.”

“I'm happy to sing with Rob,” one of the girls volunteered right away.

“Sounds good to me,” Rob agreed.

Mr. Player looked pleased.

“Thank you,” said Judge Jim.

“If one of the bands needs a vocalist, I'd love to do that,” said the other boy.

“Yeah! Come over here!” yelled one of the guitarists, and everyone laughed.

“Excellent!” Judge Jim joined in the laughter. “You two are in your final year, aren't you?” he said to a couple of the other singers. “Both Mr. Player and I feel you ought to have a solo slot each, using the backin' tracks you're used to.”

That left just two older girls and Chloe, who was getting more and more worried about her own act.

“Right,” said Mr. Player. “It's all coming together well. Now, you three . . .” He looked thoughtful. “I don't think you'd make a good trio,” he said to the older girls. “Chloe's voice is too different. It just wouldn't be a good fit.” He was beginning to look a bit concerned. “How many acts have we decided on so far?” he asked the other teacher.

Judge Jim counted them out. “Two bands,” he said, “two solos, plus Rob and Ayesha's duet. That's five out of the six we need.”

“Hmm,” said Mr. Player while Chloe held her breath. If only they would let
her
sing solo. But then what would the other two girls do? And Mr. Player had just said that they wouldn't make a good trio. Trying to fit everyone into so few acts was turning into a nightmare.

“I know,” said Judge Jim at last. Chloe and the others looked at him hopefully. “We have a vocalist for one of the bands, but not the other. How about lettin' Chloe sing with the second band?” he suggested. “Her voice is plenty strong enough. Then you two can sing a duet. Would that work for you?”

The two older girls looked relieved and so did Mr. Player.

“Good idea,” he agreed.

Chloe was silent, but inside she was shouting,
What about me? What about what's right for me?
Chloe had never been a vocalist in a band before. Surely now wasn't the time to try something so different? She glanced over at the musicians and felt even more worried. She knew that most of them were into rock music, while she was a pop singer who was used to singing along to bright and breezy backing tracks. How would she cope with heavy guitar solos and earsplitting drums and cymbals?

This was supposed to be her big moment, but she was going to have to perform in a way she never had before. This wasn't how it was supposed to be.

No!
Chloe wanted to shout out in protest.
I can't do it. I don't know how. It's not fair!
But she didn't say anything. What was the point? It had all been decided. She was the most junior singer, so of course the older ones should get first choice. Chloe tried her hardest to feel pleased for everyone, she really did. But she simply couldn't be happy for them.

She glanced over at Danny and caught his eye. He looked less happy than he had a few minutes ago. He was probably worrying about how Chloe was going to perform as part of a rock band.

“You'd better go to your classes now,” said Judge Jim. “But try to get together with your fellow artists as soon as possible to discuss what you're goin' to perform. We'll give you all the help you need, and of course you'll have priority for rehearsal rooms. Go ahead. And good luck!”

As Chloe made her way toward the door, one of the guitarists grabbed her arm. It was Zil Gibson. She knew that Danny had always wanted to work with him, but Chloe had never thought she'd have to. “Hi,” he said. “It looks as if you'll be with us. We're having a band meeting at lunchtime in the library. Is that okay with you?”

Chloe nodded numbly.

“Good,” said Zil. “Don't be late, okay? Come right after the last class before lunch. We have a lot to talk about.”

“Okay,” agreed Chloe nervously.

She couldn't avoid walking to English with Danny because they had class together, but she didn't really want to talk.

“You all right?” he asked.

Chloe looked at him miserably. “No,” she admitted. “Not really. It's okay for you,” she went on. “You're used to playing with other people. You'll fit in fine. But I won't. I thought it was going to be so great being a Rising Star, but it's nothing like I imagined. How am I going to learn to sing rock music in a band? I'm a
solo
artist. And I'm a pop singer, not a rocker.”

“It'll be all right,” Danny told her encouragingly. “Judge Jim thinks you can do it, right? It can't be
that
difficult.”

“Judge Jim isn't my singing teacher, is he?” Chloe snapped. “And you're a drummer, so what do you know? It's not as easy as you think.” She wanted to cry, but took refuge in being angry instead. “I should have known that you wouldn't understand.” She hurried away from him before tears could start trickling down her face.

When she got to class the lesson had already started, so she didn't have to explain to the others what had happened.

On the way to the next class, though, Pop and Lolly wanted to hear how the meeting had gone. Chloe was noncommittal. She was trying to feel positive, but it wasn't easy.

“You must be so thrilled,” Pop said. “It's such a cool thing to be a Rising Star.”

“Ye-es,” Chloe agreed. “But it's scary, too. There's a lot to think about.”

“I don't know how you can
think
of singing with the boys,” said Tara scathingly when she heard what had been decided. “
You're
not a rocker!” Tara played bass and was always trying to tell the others that rock was much cooler than pop. “You don't even have the right clothes,” she added with a laugh.

“Don't be so horrible!” Lolly told Tara. “Don't pay attention to her, Chloe. Tara's only jealous. You'll be fine singing rock for a change. It'll be fun. The hardest part is over now that you've won your place. All you have to do is sing!”

Chloe gave her a tight smile. She longed to have some time alone with Lolly so she could tell her best friend how she really felt, but she'd have to wait until later in the day for that.

As the morning passed, Chloe began to calm down. She felt sorry that she'd snapped at Danny. He'd only been trying to help. And Judge Jim might not be her singing teacher, but he had tons of experience in the music industry. Besides, wouldn't Mr. Player have intervened if he'd thought she wasn't capable of singing with a band? He
was
her singing teacher and had been there while it was being discussed.

Maybe Chloe had overreacted, but she still wasn't happy. She didn't
want
to sing with a band. She didn't want the responsibility that came with it. She was happier on her own. However, she decided that if this was the way it had to be, she simply had to do her best.

At the end of morning classes, Chloe made her way to the meeting thinking hard.
It'll be a challenge,
she told herself, looking on the bright side.
And I won't let it beat me. Maybe it'll even be fun!