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Editor Note: The images used for this story were purchased and used under royalty-free license* from Istockphoto.com . ~Sephrena
Author Note: Please email me at AngelJediGirl (at) gmail (dot) com before posting this story to any other site. Posting to a pay site is prohibited.

Comments and suggestions are also welcome at the above email address.

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Sarah Carerra Book 2: Summer Medley

Chapter 2.02 - Tonight with Sarah Carerra

The next few days passed slowly, but I was glad for the calm that had settled after the concert was over. It was a good break from the full-throttle schedule that I had been living for the last week and a half.

I spent much of the time hanging out with Emily and Anna, her younger sister. We tried to include Ethan, but it was apparent that he felt odd hanging out with us after I had kissed him on the cheek at the concert on Saturday. He had been in love with Sarah Carerra before he found out that she was really me. Now, I think he had conflicting emotions about loving his best friend. Either way, he had been avoiding us, or at least me, instead of confronting the problem head on.

But without him, we had a chance to do girly things. We did a lot of shopping, we went to the salon, we did all of the things that we could not do with Ethan around. It wasn't our fault that he was avoiding us, so we were taking advantage of it.

Anna was initially upset because she had not been invited to attend the concert. She didn't know that I was Sarah Carerra, and we were trying to keep it that way for now, but she had been unhappy to be left out. Spending this much time with us had finally made her feel somewhat better, although she was still mad that she didn't get to see Sarah Carerra perform in person.

Friday morning was a bright, sunny day. It seemed like the perfect day to perform on 'The Tonight Show' and have Uncle Kevin’s family come to visit. I'd already moved much of my clothing into Sarah's closet to keep from interrupting Madison when I got ready each morning. I had also taken the few things that I didn't want to live without and they made Sarah's room feel more like my own. It felt odd to consider it my room for the week, or at least for the four days I had until my operation. I'd be in the hospital for most of the week afterward.

After taking a shower, I stepped into Sarah's room to get dressed. Julia, my image consultant, had decided that I should dress similarly to how I was dressed during the concert, but with a more expensive edge. We had decided on a pair of jeans and a very stylish off-white, almost cream top that wasn't quite a tank, but still left my shoulders bare. It was also made of a silky material, was fitted, and had an intricate golden weave about an inch toward the bottom that really set it apart from the dark-washed jeans. We topped it off with a pair of matching heeled boots that were mostly hidden under the cut of the jeans. Two simple bracelets and a small pendant necklace made up the accessories.

In short, my outfit looked very expensive. Unfortunately for my own pocketbook, it HAD been expensive. I knew that I was wearing over $1,000 worth of clothing. But it was exactly the type of image that we wanted to portray on ‘The Tonight Show’. Sarah Carerra got all the glamour that a girl could want, but she was still a down to earth girl.

After getting dressed, I pinned up my long brown hair before I opened the locked armoire located in Sarah's room. Inside were the many wigs that helped disguise my true identity when I performed as Sarah. I pulled out the same blonde wig that I had worn during the concert. I had been wearing the same style for the last couple of weeks. It was the style that everyone was starting to recognize as Sarah's. I quickly did my makeup with a dramatic flair. Stephanie, my personal makeup artist, would be at the studio to get me looking my best when I went out on stage, but I could do a passable job by myself until she got her hands on me. Once I was ready, I stepped out of my room and headed for the kitchen, where I could hear my family eating.

They smiled at me when I stepped into the kitchen, and I had to smile back. Not only was my family here, but so were Chloe and Xander. Chloe Carpenter was Emily's second identity, the one that allowed her to accompany Sarah without the risk of someone recognizing her. Her long blonde hair had been hidden under a long red wig and she looked like a model wearing her high fashion outfit.

Xander Dailey was Ethan's second identity. His short brown hair had been replaced with blonde locks that fell over his eyes and to the top of his neck. He still looked uncomfortable in the preppy polo shirt he was wearing, but he seemed to be acclimating to them.

But the best part was that Ethan was here. This was the first time that I had seen him since we dropped him off after leaving the airport Sunday morning. He'd been avoiding Megan, but apparently he wasn't avoiding Sarah.

"Hi guys," I said with a smile. "It's nice to see you again, Ethan."

Ethan blushed! I couldn't believe it! I was only trying to tell him how happy I was that he was here this morning, and he was reading into it again. I didn't know what my feelings toward him were, but I didn't like the uncomfortable feeling I got when interacting with him now. If only I could take back what I had done at the concert.

"Hi, Megan," he said. I was glad that he had used my real name, instead of calling me Sarah. It gave me hope that we could work our way through this.

"Eat quickly," Dad said. "We're already a bit late. We need to be at the studio in an hour."

"Okay," I said before grabbing a plate and settling in to eat between my friends. It was good to have them back.

*  *  *

"Stephanie!" I greeted my makeup artist excitedly when I was shown to the green room at the studio. Dad, Emily, and Ethan were right behind me.

"Hi, Sarah," she replied. "You certainly look expensive today. Not much tomboy left in you, is there?"

I laughed at her quip. Stephanie knew that I was really Megan, but she didn't know more than that. Both she and Julia thought that I was a tomboy before becoming a pop star. "Yeah, you can blame Julia for that," I replied.

"Sound check in fifteen," said the worker who had shown us to the room, before he turned and left.

"Sit," Stephanie said immediately. I sat and she wrapped a protective cover around me to protect my expensive investment. I didn't realize we were so late. As she worked on removing what I had applied earlier, she started talking about her plan for the day.

"We're going more dramatic today," she said. "The expensive clothes will look better with a more polished look. Dark eyes, solid lip. We want to make you look flawless."

I sat there while she continued to remove my makeup, and started reapplying it. Out of the corner of my eye I could see my dad, Ethan, and Emily sink down on the couches in the room. I figured that this was going to be pretty boring for them. Fortunately, they had tickets to see the show and didn't have to wait backstage for me, but the show didn't start for another hour. I had wanted Mom and Austin to come too, but Mom said she needed to be home in case Uncle Kevin showed up, and Austin was going out with friends. He had seen the concert, and knew he could watch the show later that night.

"Take a look," Stephanie said, and stepped back to give me the ability to look into the mirror.

"Ooh," I replied. I looked really good. The flawless makeup made me look slightly older. I took off the cover and stood up to get the full effect. Once again Stephanie had done a masterful job. She was worth every penny that she charged. "It's perfect, again," I told her.

"Thank you," she said with a grin. "I have a couple of other clients who have appointments this afternoon. Do you want me to stick around in case it gets messed up or can I run and see them?"

"You can go, Stephanie," I smiled. Dad had retained Stephanie to be there when I needed her, but I was certain she had other clients whom she needed to keep happy too. "I'll be fine. Makeup is meant to last all day, anyway."

She chuckled at my words, but I could see the gratitude in her eyes. I was paying her a lot to be here, but she needed other clients to help pay the bills. I wasn't going to stop her from doing that.

"Would it be easier for you to come to my house instead of meeting me at studios and such?" I asked her. Stephanie was one of the few people who knew Sarah Carerra's true identity. Having her come to the house wouldn't be a problem.

"Maybe," she replied. "Sometimes your house is closer, like today. Other times it's easier to meet you where you are appearing."

"Let me know where you would like to meet in the future, then," I told her with a smile. "We can work something out that works for both of us."

She smiled back at me. I could tell that she hadn't expected me to say anything like that. "Thank you," she said again.

"You're welcome," I replied. It couldn't hurt to keep those people I worked with happy.

"I'll see you on Monday, then," she told me.

"Okay," I said. "See you then."

"Five minutes," we were interrupted by an intern. This one looked anxious because I was still in my dressing room instead of nearing the stage. But nobody had come to get me.

"Coming," I told her, and I could see her anxiety wane as I stepped out the door behind her. My small entourage was right behind me. They had nothing better to do.

I followed the intern down a few halls before entering a backstage area. She walked me around a curtain to where my band was waiting for me.

"Hi, guys!" I greeted them warmly. I hadn't seen them since the concert.

"Hi, Sarah," Jason greeted me back. The others soon followed. Jason Olson was the lead guitarist of the band 'Pop Fly'. He, along with bass player Connor Christiansen and drummer Stacy Miller, made up the core of the group that accompanied me on stage. Sophie Lund and Holly Anderson were the two others. They provided harmony and backup vocals.

"You look really good," Sophie told me. I laughed. Sophie always looked exquisite. She had one of the best wardrobes I had ever seen. I looked expensive today, but she looked expensive every day. Even when she and Holly were wearing the same clothes, like they were now for our performance, she managed to make hers look more expensive. To have her mention my clothes looked good was a real compliment.

"Thank you," I told her.

"One minute!" someone yelled from behind me. I wanted to talk to them more, but we had a sound check to perform.

"'Intuition' for the sound check?" I asked Jason. He nodded back to me and I made the preparations I needed to in my head to get ready to perform again.

Unlike Saturday night, where I had been really nervous to walk out on stage, I was actually excited to be performing again. There wasn't a nervous bone in my body. I really had become addicted to the rush I felt every time I performed.

I stepped up to the microphone, smiling to myself when I recognized the white shimmer before seeing my name stenciled along the side. Dad had presented this microphone to me at the concert, promising that it would always be there for me when I performed. It was almost like having him on stage with me.

I looked out on the empty set of 'The Tonight Show' for the first time. Nobody was in their seats. Todd Thomas, the current host, was nowhere to be seen, and only the sound technicians were nearby. But I was on 'The Tonight Show' stage!

It had been one month to the day since I had performed for Scott and he had offered me the chance to record a demo CD. In one month I went from being a nobody to having a number one hit and performing on a syndicated program like 'The Tonight Show'. It still amazed me at how popular I had become so quickly.

"Start when you're ready," one of the sound technicians yelled, and Jason started his intro immediately. I closed my eyes briefly, listening to the sound of the music. I started singing before opening my eyes again.

This was the first time that I had sung 'Intuition' since it had become a number one hit. It seemed so surreal to me that it was that popular already. I only hoped that my other songs would be as successful. I'd only started my music career, and I wasn't ready for it to end.

When the song came to a close, I stepped back from the microphone and smiled. It felt good to perform again.

*  *  *

The band, my dad, my friends, and I were all sitting in the green room half an hour later when there was a knock on the opened door. I looked up, still chuckling from the conversation we had been having, to see Todd Thomas standing there.

"Sarah!" he said in a friendly tone, like we were the best of friends. "It's so good to have you on the show!"

I stood up from where I was sitting between Emily and Sophie and stepped closer toward the door.

"I'm happy for the opportunity. I'm a big fan of the show," I told him with a smile while taking his outstretched hand. Todd was in his mid-thirties. He was an athletic looking guy with dark hair and a goatee. Ever since taking over as host of 'The Tonight Show', he'd really appealed to the younger generation, including me. I watched his show whenever I got the chance. Admittedly, that wasn't nearly as often as I would have liked.

Todd then pulled out a well used notebook before grinning at me again. "I try to get all of my guests to sign this," he said. "Would you be willing to?"

"Of course," I said, returning his grin with one of my own. I took the book from him and flipped through it to the last page. There were some big names there, and I felt privileged to be able to add my own. I quickly scribbled my name and handed the book back to him.

"Thank you," he said. "Are you nervous? This is your first time on a talk show, right?"

"Yeah, it's my first time," I replied. "But I'm not nervous. If you were interviewing me that might be different, but singing is second nature to me now."

He chuckled for a moment before speaking again. "I guess I'll have to have you back soon for an interview. We'll see if we can't get those nerves going."

I laughed with him, and I could hear the rest of the people in the room chuckling too.

"Is this your band?" Todd asked while looking around the room.

"Yeah!" I replied excitedly. I was glad that Todd was interested in meeting them too. I pointed to Jason. "This is Jason Olson. He's the band leader and lead guitarist of 'Pop Fly'."

"Pleased to meet you, Jason," Todd said with an outstretched hand.

"Likewise," Jason beamed back while shaking Todd's hand.

"Next to him is the rest of the band, Connor Christiansen on bass and Stacy Miller on drums," I continued the introductions, Todd giving each of them a handshake. "Sophie Lund and Holly Anderson sing harmony." I didn't want to call them ‘backup singers’.

"It's nice to have all of you here," Todd said before turning to the last group in the room. "And you guys are?"

"Don Campbell," Dad said while taking Todd's hand. "I'm Sarah's manager. This is Chloe Carpenter and this is Xander Dailey, Sarah's two closest friends."

"Welcome, welcome," Todd said with a smile to them before turning back to me. "It's nice to finally meet you and your band, Sarah. I need to run, but I'm glad to have you on the show."

"Thanks, Todd," I replied.

"I'll see you all out on stage," he continued while stepping back over to the door to the room. "Break a leg."

I chuckled politely, and then he was gone.

*  *  *

"When we come back, Sarah Carerra will perform for us, stick around!" I heard Todd say from the other side of the set. An intern had retrieved us from the green room five minutes earlier, and we were waiting backstage to take our places. A red light turned off next to where we were standing, and another person started waving us forward.

"Get ready," she told us while motioning toward the stage. I knew that we weren't live or anything, but they were still pushing a pretty strict schedule on us. The band and I walked over to where our instruments and microphones were, and waited for our next cue. We were told that we would be introduced, and then we needed to start the song immediately.

Once we were in place, the curtain in front of us was raised, and I looked out on 'The Tonight Show' set once more. This time, it was completely changed.

A cheer swept the audience as the curtain was raised, causing me to smile. Singing my song earlier for the sound check had been one thing, but performing it for an audience was completely different! I couldn't wait to be singing again!

Todd was standing behind his desk, where he was shaking hands with some actress who had been in an artsy film. I recognized her, but I couldn't remember her name or the name of the movie. It wasn't long before she said goodbye and made her way off the set behind us.

The crowd quieted down, and I stood there waiting for the music to start. My heart had already started pumping, and I could feel the rush of being on stage starting without even a single note.

The red light that had gone off earlier came back on. The crowd started to clap. I watched as a short heavyset man stood up and counted down on his fingers before pointing at Todd.

"Welcome back," Todd said into one of the many cameras surrounding the set. "My next guest has quickly taken the teen music scene by storm with the release of her first single, which rose to the top of the charts after only two weeks. Her first album isn't scheduled to be released until July 8, but she's already making a statement for herself. Please welcome Sarah Carerra!"

Another small cheer rang through the crowd as Jason immediately started his intro for the second time that day.

I sang the song with as much passion and determination as I could muster. This was likely the first time that many of Todd's viewers had heard my music, and I wanted to make a good impression.

Unlike some of my songs, I knew that this song was supposed to appeal to not only the teen crowd, but also to the greater demographic that Todd's show hit. According to Dad, the more people I hooked here, the better off my career would be. I knew he meant monetarily, but I figured that the more fans I had, the more likely I would be performing for many years to come. And I had started to realize that performing was something I had been born to do.

As the song ramped up into the final chorus, I looked out at the crowd again. My eyes landed on Dad, who was sitting directly in front of me, three rows from the top. He was beaming. This was the first time I had been able to see Dad's face while I performed, and I was mesmerized at how proud he looked.

My smile widened as I continued the song. I loved my dad so much. He had done a million things for me throughout my lifetime, but now I was giving something back. It was more than the money that I was helping to make for him; this was about seeing his child succeed. He'd taught me how to be a good person, and now it was paying off.

When the song came to an end, the crowd started clapping again, and a number of people started whistling and cheering. Todd stood up and came over to where I was standing while the crowd continued.

"Sarah Carerra, everybody!" Todd yelled over the cheers before coming over and shaking my hand once again. He then turned back to the crowd. "I'd like to thank all of my guests. Stay tuned for 'Late Night'!"

The crowd cheered for a few more minutes while Todd thanked me again and then shook hands with each of the band members before he waved to the crowd and stepped off the set behind where we had performed. My entire appearance on 'The Tonight Show' hadn't been much longer than the three and a half minute song, but it certainly left a warm glow in my chest.

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Want to see Sarah Carerra perform in a city near you?
I'm looking for places to have Sarah perform on a short concert tour at the end of the summer. If you know of anywhere that you think a new up and coming artist should perform, post it here or send me an email at angeljedigirl (at) gmail.com. I'm looking for smaller venues like amphitheaters or maybe even a state fair. If you have a favorite place to go see a band or show, pass it on.

Who knows, you may even get free tickets and backstage passes. Send in your ideas now.