“You didn’t give me much of a choice...”
“You are a legend, Tate!Here’s the plan.You’re going to show up as a guest, take pictures at the front, and then take your seat.As we come on stage for my performance, you need to sneak backstage and quickly change.Once we finish, Levi will split to a separate dressing room and won’t be back till his set where you will replace me as Sandy in that awful outfit.”
“Wait!So, Levi doesn’t know?”
“No, you know how he is, and I thought it could be a surprise.”
“I’m almost positive he hates surprises.”I groan.
“It will be fine.Better than fine, I promise.You good?”Each word rides on one breath and no space in between.
I feel everything but good, but I say, “Yeah, all good.I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“You are the best!Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
“What are friends for?”I say, wondering if I even truly know the meaning at this point.The phone clicks off and I wander in a daze back to our spot on the sand.Tim and Callie make their way up the beach, visible goose bumps littering their arms.
Callie collapses onto the towel beside me, her smile like the sparkles off the water.Mesmerizing.“What did she want?”she asks as Tim takes the space beside her.
“It was no big deal.She just wanted to know if she could borrow a kidney.”
I watch my sister roll onto her back while rolling her eyes simultaneously.Growing up, she would often lovingly refer to my sense of humor as dad jokes.I giggle, falling to the ground beside her.
“What did she really want?”
“She asked me if I would take her spot singing a duet with Levi tomorrow night.”
Callie turns her head to look at me and I mirror her.“You said no, right?”
“Well, it’s more complicated than that...”
Callie props herself up on her elbows to look down on me, a face of pure shock “Tate, you said no, right?”
“It’s Grease, Callie.Not just that, it’s ‘You’re the One That I Want.’”Her mouth drops open, speechless, before tapping Tim in.She tells him everything and at the end he looks just as perplexed.
“Tate, this isn’t good.You have a label now.I don’t think you can just pop on stage and perform without letting them know...”
Point one.
“Also, what happens if Jan intervenes?Levi could be disqualified from the competition and lose everything he’s been working for...”He cradles his forehead in his palms.
Point two.
When he reemerges, the upper half of his face is red from the pressure and warmth of his hands.“And I’m almost positive Levi really dislikes surprises...”
Point three.
“Okay, okay.Clearly, I didn’t think this through...”The two of them nod wildly, eyes open wide.“What do I do?!I can’t call Gabriella back and change my mind.Plus, she’s pretty adamant about not being Sandy.Levi will be forced to do a duet by himself.That doesn’t even make sense.He can’t be Sandy and Danny.He just can’t!”My breath is heaving out of me.
“It’s fine.Nothing that can’t be worked out.”Callie’s hands follow her words, rubbing large circles against my back.“Tim, your delivery could use some improvement.”
“Noted.”
“Tate, if you’re really going to go through with this, then there are some calls you need to make.The first to Adam to explain the situation and get the okay to go on.”I nod before Callie continues.“The second is not going to be as easy and is contingent on getting approval from the label.”She pauses, and I already know I’m not going to like what’s coming next.“You need to call Jan and then Levi and tell him what’s going on...I don’t know about Jan, but I don’t think Levi will mind.In fact, given the huge flower arrangement he sends every show, I think he’ll be thrilled.”
I chew on my bottom lip.I know she’s right, but I wish she wasn’t.
“What about Gabriella?She seemed very intent on keeping this a secret...”
