more....

Chapter Nine

It was the day of the concert, and Ella was going crazy with excitement. "What should I wear?" she asked her Mother, while combing her freshly showered hair.

"It doesn't really matter, honey." said her Mother holding back a laugh "Just pick something clean and decent."

Ella laughed. "But I'll be right up next to the stage!" stars came into her eyes "I hope I get his autograph!"

Her Mother rolled her eyes. "You're crazy, Ella."

"Oh yeah. I know!"

They left at 5:00, so they would have no chance of being late.

"Bye! Have fun!" called her parents, as Ella started up the car, and Maria got in. "Don't worry, we will!" answered both girls.

How could they have anything but an awesome time?

*~*~*

Justin had been at the stadium since 3:00, there was so much to do before a show, especially one like this. Every person from his hometown, and all around it, was there, and they all wanted to say hi and wish him well, before taking their seats.

"Sure beats bagging groceries huh?" asked one of his old friends, slapping him on the back.

"Yeah, a bit more cash and a bit more fun." said Justin with a grin.

His friend nodded. "You know, this is going to sound silly, but, can I have your autograph?"

Justin laughed. "Yeah, man! Of course. Where do you want me to sign?"

The boy handed him a battered baseball cap, and Justin signed the brim with a flourish. Over the months he had gotten very good at writing his name.

*~*~*

Ella and Maria found their seats, if they stretched out their hands, they could touch the stage.

"I can't believe we're actually here!" said Ella

"I know!" cried Maria "It's like a dream come true for you, huh?"

"Haha yeah. It really is though. And aren't these the greatest seats ever?"

Maria giggled. "Yeah. Everyone who sees us will think we spent two thousand dollars on them! They'll think we're really rich."

"I hadn't thought of that, but you're right! Isn't that insane that some people could really spend that much money on tickets?"

"Yeah. Totally."

*~*~*

Justin's hairdresser, Kate, combed and gelled Justin's hair for the last time that year.

"Oh sweetie! You look cute!" she cooed "Awww!"

Justin rolled his eyes. That was Kate for you.

"I'm going to miss you so much, honey!" she said, sighing "You'll be sure to contact me when you're touring again, won't you?"

"Of course. I wouldn't trust anybody else."

Kate smiled. "There, all done! You look perfect!" Justin shrugged on his leather jacket, and uncased his guitar. "Bring down the house as usual, and have lots of fun! I'll be watching from backstage."

"Thanks a million, Kate! I couldn't have done any of this without your help."

Justin went to a small room backstage, and mentally ran through the show in his head. He got to choose when and how it all ran, and he was very choosy about the order of things. Mike came into the room, he glanced at his watch.

"Whew! Look at the time! You ready to rock and roll one last time, kid?" he asked.

"One hundred and ten percent ready." said Justin "How does the crowd look?"

"Full house, as usual, and all of them dying to see you. They love you here." said Mike "And listen..."

The fans could be heard chanting Justin's name over and over. "Jus-tin! Jus-tin! Jus-tin!"

Mike nodded. "It's going to be fun, trust me." he paused "Do your ultimate tonight, kid, make this your best yet, have fun, take some risks, they'll love you no matter what they do."

"I got it all taken care of." said Justin "What do you think of me pulling one of the fans up on stage and letting them pick a song for me?"

"Sounds cool. I know you know how to put on a show. Now you should get going before the fans start a stampede in here to get you!"

Justin slung his guitar over his head and went behind the stage, waiting for his cue to take the floor.

*~*~*

The Mayor Wentley came out onto the stage and held up his hands for silence. He was laughing, and looking very pleased.

"I remember announcing to a much smaller crowd, not too long ago, that Justin was going to sing, a few of you were there. Now I knew this kid had some talent, but never did I think he had this much talent and that he'd go this far! Now every American knows his name, nobody does not love his songs, he's the hottest artist in the world, and, ladies and gentlemen, he's performing here tonight! Give it up for Justin Fairway!"

Justin came running out onto the stage, and the lights flashed wildly overhead. The crowd screamed, and Ella joined in.

The mayor shook hands with Justin, and then gave him the microphone.

Justin waved to the yelling throngs of people, then once they settled down, began to talk.

"I'm back home, and boy does it feel good!" The crowd screamed again, but soon settled down, waiting for what he was going to say.

"Now, before I get this thing going I want to thank all of you for coming out tonight, I especially want to thank the Mayor, this school, and my agent, Mike, because they're the ones that set up this whole show. I would have ended my tour awhile ago in California if it weren't for them. I also want to thank the band, you know, many people don't know just how important they are!" He smiled, Ella lost her breath. "And, of course, a very special thank you goes out to my family and friends, especially my big brother, Matt, because without them I wouldn't be singing. Not here, not anywhere."

Ella couldn't have been more excited.

"You know, I could go on forever listing people I have to thank. Sadly I don't have time to do that, but I want everyone to know that I am very grateful, and if I didn't directly mention you, that doesn't mean I'm not thankful and I don't know you exist!" Justin put the microphone back on the stand, and fingered his guitar. "Alright! Lets get this party started!" he yelled, then he remembered something, "Oh yeah, one quick note about the show tonight, I'm just going to run through all my favorite songs, then I'm going to pick one person, and bring them up stage with me and let them pick a song for me to sing while they watch from the stage! Got it?"

The crowd roared about this, and Ella's heart only beat faster. What a wonderful thrill.

*~*~*

Justin strummed his guitar's string for a few moments, picking up the beat, before jumping headlong into the song. You was going to start out with "You Are". It was one of the first he had ever done, and had a wild and energetic beat, not the fans were needed more energy.

Some things you just can't put to words, and one of them is you,
I can't even think, when you look the way you do, because when I look in your eyes, you give me that hope,
that the sun will rise tomorrow, and love we'll always know.

The crowd was enthralled, and Ella was in heaven.

Yeah, you're my hero,
You're my darling,
You're my baby-girl,
You're the only one I notice in this crazy world...

*~*~*

more

Chapter Eight

"What am I supposed to do with em'?" asked Justin "Were sure don't need them."

"Give them away." said Matt, motioning with his spoon, "Pick a person, any person, and lets get out of here before a mob starts."

"Ok, ok, hey, see that girl around here anywhere? They would have been hers if she went before us."

"Oh, yeah, good idea! She's over there..." Matt paused "It looks like she's crying."

"Well maybe this will brighten her up." said Justin "I'll be right back." Justin sprinted over to the table. "Hey! Hey you!"

The girl looked up, her dark hair falling over her shoulders and her eyes wet with tears. She hastened to dry to her eyes, and looking questioningly at him. "Yeah?"

Justin tried to find the right words. "Well, I, uh, I won these tickets, and I don't want them. I was wondering if maybe you would?"

The girl froze. "You're joking, right?"

"No! Here! See?" he tossed her the ice cream cup.

The girl looked up at him in shock. "Are you sure? Theses are tickets to go see Justin Fairway! Don't you know who Justin is?"

Justin laughed. "Trust me, I know who he is. I'm just not a huge fan of the guy, some of his songs are cheesy." He grinned an impish smile, "So, do you want them or not?"

"Yes! Yes! Ahhh!" she girl jumped up and down "I don't know what to even say!"

"I take it you're a big fan of Fairway?"

"Yes! His biggest fan ever!" The girl ran up and hugged him so hard he could barely breath. "Thank you! Thank you so much...what's your name?"

"Dylan." said Justin without hesitation "Dylan Trust. And you are?"

"I'm Ella." she laughed "And you know what, Dylan? You just made my day! You're the nicest person I've ever met! I can't thank you enough. I hope we meet up again sometime."

Justin shrugged. "Well, uh, I'm going to be driving a few of my friends home from the concert. Maybe we can see each other there." he smiled, "Well, I gotta go. Enjoy the concert, kid!"

*~*~*

Ella looked down at the writing under the peeled away sticker. "You Have Just Won 2 Tickets to See Justin Fairway's Homecoming Concert, Aug 20th."

She still couldn't believe it. Dylan was certainly the nicest guy she had ever met in her whole life.

Ella turned in the cup, and the owner of the ice cream shop gave her the two tickets. They were blue with shiny yellow writing and a red guitar across the front. They were beautiful. Ella couldn't believe her luck. And she had two. Who else should she take? Julianna was gone, her parents would refuse to saying somebody else would enjoy it more, Maria maybe? Yes, she'd take Maria.

Ella still couldn't believe it had all really happened.

*~*~*

"Well, you sure made that girl's day." remarked Matt on their way home.

"Hahaha, yeah, I know! She said she's my biggest fan. I'm glad she got them, she was really sweet."

"I still can't get over the fact that you won tickets to your own concert! Out of all those people, you, got them. It's really very funny."

Justin nodded. "Yeah. I know. And, Matt, do me a favor will you? Remind me to bring my hat and sunglasses to my concert, I think she'll be looking for me."

*~*~*

"And he just gave them to you?" asked her Father, looking very surprised.

"Yup! Crazy huh? The concert is tomorrow, at 8:00. I'll take Maria with me, if she wants to go."

"Sounds great!" said her Mother, smiling "I'm so glad you got tickets, sweetie. Oh, do you know where you'll be sitting?"

"No! But I should look that up, shouldn't I?" Ella got onto the Internet, and soon was on the website. "Oh my goodness." she gasped "They're the best seats! The one's right up by the stage! They're worth...almost a thousand dollars!" She clutched the tickets to her heart. "Oh, Dylan is so nice! He could have sold them and made a fortune, but instead he gave them away to me." she giggled. "I will never have a bad day again!"

*~*~*

"How long will you stay in town after your show" asked Justin's Mother that evening.

"Well a month or two at least. I'm off tour after this, and I have no intention of going off to anywhere else for awhile."

"Good!" said his Mother "You could use a break, after going from state to state and singing non-stop for so long. And we could use seeing you for awhile." she smiled "We've missed you so much, Justin."

"Well, you don't know how much I've missed you guys." he grinned "But I'm off tour now, well, officially tomorrow, then I'll stay home for as long as possible. I want to start making another album this year, and there's no reason why I can't make it here at home."

*~*~*

here

this is for you emily!!!!!!!! no more after this!!!!!!!

Chapter Seven

Life got back to normal right away for Justin, and he loved it. It was like he had never left, well, almost, if he went outside the small town he would be mobbed by fans. Justin though, had a trick up his sleeve for that.

He and Matt wanted to spend a day out on the city, so, the night before he had come up with a plan.

He bought new shiny, dark, sunglasses, found his grungy baseball cap, put on some old jeans and a t-shirt that advertised "The Canter County Baseball Tourney".

"Meet Dylan Trust." said Justin, grinning at Matt "Is it good enough?"

Matt nodded. "Yeah. I think. Keep the glasses on, and the hat too, your hair is a dead giveaway. Now lets get going. I don't want to get stuck in traffic."

*~*~*

"I'm going out, Mom!" called Ella "You don't mind, do you?"

"No, honey. Go ahead."

Ella jumped into the car, not even sure where she wanted to go. She just wanted to get out and get away from everyone and everything. She knew that sounded harsh, but, these days she was starting to loose it.

Ella had no money. Though there was fifty cents under the passenger seat in the car. Fifty cents. What the heck could that buy? Well, it wouldn't get her Justin Fairway tickets, that was for sure.

Ella turned off the highway into the heart of the city. It was wicked hot and Ella was feeling so awful she felt she would die if something nice didn't happen.

She drove angerly down the packed roads, wondering what she was going to do, when a huge crowd caught her eye. Hundreds of people were lined up outside a small ice cream shop. Curious, and having nothing better to do, Ella pulled over on the side of the road and called out to a lady waiting on the curb.

"Ma'am, what's going on?"

"You don't know?" said the lady, sounding surprised "Well, this ice cream shop is giving away a pair of Justin Fairway tickets, you know, to his big home-coming concert!"

Ella's heart skipped a beat. "What? No! How?"

"Well, apparently on every cup of ice cream there's a little sticker, you just got to peel that off, and it will tell you if you're a winner or not underneath. Better hurry, honey, if you want a chance at winning them. Nobody's won yet, but the marked cups are going fast."

"How much are they?" asked Ella, desperately

"Fifty cents. Not bad huh?"

Ella grabbed the two quarters and flew out of the car.

*~*~*

"Man is it ever hot!" said Matt as they waited at a red light "And of course Dad hasn't fixed the AC on this junky truck yet."

"I don't care what we do, Matt, I just need to get out of this car!"

"Hmmmm..." said Matt, looking out his window, "What about we get some ice cream?"

"Sure. Whatever. Where do you want to get it?"

"What about over there? It looks very popular."

"Sure. Why not?"

Matt parked the truck, and the two boys jumped out into the hot parking lot and headed to the mile long line.

"I'm Dylan, remember?" whispered Justin, pulling his cap down lower "The last thing I want today is a wild crowd of fans begging for autographs on their ice cream cones."

"Yeah yeah." said Matt, then he stopped short and gave a whisle. "This must be the best ice cream in the world! Just look at these people!"

"Sheesh." said Justin "You'd think they're giving away gold or something."

They jogged to the end of the line, but when they got there, they bumped into a young girl, who looked hot and tired. She was clutching two quarters in her hand, and was looking inpatient.

"Oh! Sorry!" Justin and Matt both said at once. Justin nodded, "Go ahead. Ladies first."

The girl laughed and shook her head. "No. No. You were here before me, it's only fair you get your chance first."

Matt and Justin looked at eachother. Chance? It was just ice cream!

*~*~*

Ella felt all jittery inside waiting for her turn. She tried to forget all about Justin Fairway and think of other things, but that was very hard to do. She took a glance at the two guys who had bumped into her, they weren't like the usual annoying guys she met.

"They must be very nice" she thought "To offer me their place in this mile long line. But it's only fair they go first, since I got here after them."

The line moved slowly, but it was moving. Ella began to feel sick. She tried to force every thought of the concert out of her head. But it was so hard!

Ahead of her, the two boys were complaining.

"What the heck!" cried the one with the dark sunglasses "I'm sure that that dude just cut in line!"

"Me too" agreed the other "But I'm not going to go tell him. He's jacked!"

"Why did we choose this place again? I didn't come to the city to wait in line for twenty hours."

"Yeah, I know. I haven't seen a line like this since the county fair. And I thought that line was long, it looks short compaired to this."

*~*~*

"Only four more people to go, then it's our turn at long last." said Matt

"This had better be some simply amazing ice cream." said Justin looking at his watch, "We've been in line for no less then forty-fiveminiutes. No joke."

At last it was their turn. "Strawberry, please." said Matt "And my brother, Dylan will have, uh, what do you want?"

"Oh, I've been thinking about it for a long long long time." said Justin laughing "Chunky Monkey please, with jimmies and whipped cream and a cherry and some hot fudge and..."

"Ok, ok, some Chunky Monkey for the chunky monkey." said Matt

Justin rolled his eyes and the girl behind the counter handed them their cups of ice cream. There was nowhere to sit at the tables it was so crowded, so Justin and Matt were forced to cross the parking lot and eat there. Matt at once dug into his, but Justin read the side of the bowl and laughed, then he peeled off the sticker.

He halted. "Matt! Hey! Matt!"

Matt groaned. "What?"

"Hey, Matt! I just won a pair of tickets to my own concert!"

Matt chocked. "What?"

*~*~*

Ella ran across the hot parking lot to a group of tables where several people, including the boys she had met, were. She slid into a chair, bit her lip, closed her eyes, and tore off the sticker. Her heart was beating a million miles an hour, she didn't dare look, but she knew she couldn't wait forever. She gulped, took a deep breath, and looked down.

"Sorry!" Read the printing under the sticker.

Ella felt tears in her eyes.

*~*~*

sad chap 6

Chapter Six

The days sped by for Ella, soon, her first week of work was done and she had gotten her very first paycheck. She gave it all, except the much needed ten dollars, to her parents.

"You're a Fairway fan, eh?" asked her boss, handing Ella the latest Justin Fairway cd.

"Oh yes!" said Ella, looking hungrily at the album cover "His biggest fan!"

"Yeah." agreed her boss "You really can't help but love the guy." She smiled at Ella. "Even I, a forty year old mother of three kids would do anything to go to one of his concerts! And just the other day an eighty year old lady came in asking for this very cd. She said, 'He's a good kid, and his songs have a nice beat.' Funny huh? But all very true!"

Ella grinned. "Just about everyone in America is a Fairway fan." she took her purse off the counter, "Well thanks for the album and see you on Monday!"

"You're very welcome. Enjoy your weekend! And, of course enjoy your cd, but I'm sure you will."

Ella played during the car ride home. It was probably his best yet. It was as if he was singing just for her, and not every other person in the whole United States. And the songs were the kind that you would sing to yourself over and over again, the kind of songs that can turn a very bad day, into a very good one.

Life ain't easy, no one said it was,
Cause's life has many burdens,
Yet, it has a lot of loves...

Ella couldn't help but smile. He worked magic with words.

*~*~*

The days raced by quickly for both Justin and Ella. While Ella spent her days working and struggling to help her family, Justin kept on performing. One week Alabama, next Kansas, then Washington, then North Carolina, then California. Everywhere he went he played for a full house, and, was adored by fans of all ages. It seemed that as the summer wore on, he only get better and better.

Ella was still the only source of income for her family, and she tried to fit in as many hours as possible. Julianna had long ago left for rural Ohio, and Ella wouldn't hear from her for weeks, since Julianna wasn't going to be able to email. (Her cousins and grandparents didn't use computers). From every paycheck Ella got she saved out just a few dollars, and put them in a old tin under her bed. She was saving up to, hopefully, get a ticket to Justin Fairway's coming home concert. Maybe. Just maybe. She would be able to get one.

As Ella's family hung on during the hot summer days, Justin became even more popular then ever before.

*~*~*

Justin woke up just before noon. The concert the night before had been wild, going on into the wee hours of the night with thousands of screaming fans from all over California. He got up, and turned on his laptop. It was then that it struck him that was leaving for New Hampshire tomorrow. He breathed a sigh of relief. New Hampshire. To once again to be among places and faces he knew. There was so much that he missed.

It was going to be a long flight from San Diego to Manchester, but it was going to be totally worth it.

*~*~*

Ella closed her eyes and fingered the stack of bills. One hundred dollars. That was just enough money for a ticket, not the best seats, in fact, they were the worst you could get, but, just the same she was going to really go to a Justin Fairway concert.

Ella couldn't believe it. "I'm going." she whispered to herself "I'm really going! I'm going to go see Justin live. I really am!" It was a dream come true. She stared at the handful of bills, and just giggled, before racing down the hall way, she stacked up the bills and shoved them in her pocket, she wanted to show her Mother. She left her room and darted into her parents' bedroom, but it was empty.

Ella trotted down the stairs and was about to race into the living room, when she heard her Mother's strained voice. "I'm sorry, sir." she said "But we just don't have the money."

"Well, ma'am" came a gruff man's voice, "I'll just have to turn off your phone service then."

Ella chocked. It was the phone company, they must be wanting their payments which her parents had no money for. Ella gulped and slid her hand into her jeans and fingered the bills. She bit her lip and closed her eyes. Justin Fairway....

"Wait, Sir!" Ella yelled, running into the doorway, "Sir, how much do you need?"

"A hundred bucks."

*~*~*

Matt slapped Justin on the back and took a few of his little brother's bags. "Hey there! Mr. Big Shot now, huh?"

Justin laughed. "Man, it's good to be back! It feels like a million years since I was last here!"

"Think you can handle small town living again?" asked Matt

"Do I think? Gee, that's one of the reasons I came back! I need to spend a few weeks back on the farm with you and Mom and Dad. I need to just...be free again. To not live from a hotel for awhile, trust me, you don't know how hard that is."

"Well then, lets hurry, little dude. The cows are waiting for us back home, and you know how Dad is about us being late."

*~*~*

Ella scowled as she marched up and down the floor of her room. It was raining, and it fit her mood. Ella didn't know what to call what she was feeling, but whatever it was, it wasn't a good feeling. It was like a wild mix of anger and envy and sadness. But what else could she have done? There was no time for her to save up for another ticket, the concert was in just three days, and a hundred dollars wouldn't just appear in that time.

That night, Ella cried herself to sleep. When she closed her eyes she could imagine Justin's show. His special home-coming concert.

Ella had always tried to stay on the bright side, but, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't find the bright side of all this. Except, of course, they could still use the telephone.

chap 5

Chapter Five

"Here we come Alabama!" yelled Mike, as he and Justin rode down the highway, heading to the airport. He high-fived Justin, "I was impressed. Great show, once again, buddy!"

"Thanks. It was awesome. Hopefully Alabama will be just as fun."

"It will be, trust me. You're wicked popular wherever you go, kid." Justin just laughed. "No! Really!" said Mike "You've only been singing a little less then two years now, and you're the hottest artist in the whole USA, and you're only gaining more fans. I'm telling you, you could go out there and sing anything and they'd love it!"

While waiting in the airport, Justin took out his laptop and hurriedly wrote a quick email to Matt, who was on summer break after graduating from college.

Matt,

The concert was great last night. A lot of wacky question after it, though! Maybe you heard it all on the radio? How are Mom and Dad getting along? What about the farm? You got any plans this summer?

Hey, I was thinking, you know the football stadium at Pylins Boarding School? The one not thirty minutes from home? I'm going to go try to perform there to end my summer tour. What do you think about that idea? I'll ask Mike tonight. I think it would be good to end this tour at home, whether it works or not, I'll be back and spend the rest of summer vacation with you.
-Justin

*~*~*

Julianna called Ella the next day, and she sounded excited when Ella answered the phone.

"You just got to come over to the mall with me tomorrow!" she gasped "I hear lots of shops are hiring for the summer. They want girls like you and me!"

"Sweet! That's awesome! I'm sure Mom will let me use the car tomorrow, want me to pick you up?"

"Yeah. Sure. This is going to be just great!"

The mall was very crowded, but was to be expected. The two friends were strolled down the center of the mall, arm in arm, looking into the windows of all the stores, seeing who was hiring and what was for sale. Ella had six dollars in her purse, it was the only money she had left in her small stash. But, hopefully, if today went well, she'd have more coming her way.

"Where do you want to get a job?" asked Julianna

"Oh, anywhere." replied Ella "I'm not picky. Anything that pays well!"

"Same here. Won't it be nice to actually have money to spend?"

The two walked around endlessly, enjoying all the sights of the bustling mall. It was fun just to explore the stores, but it would have been even more fun if they had money to spend. But nothing could be done about that except to get a job.

A huge crowd outside one shop caught Ella's eye. Curious, she went to go check it out, telling Julianna she'd be back later.

The shop was a music store, selling all sorts of things, like ipods, MP3 players, cd players, radios, and, of course, cd's.

Ella pushed her way through the crowd to see what had drawn all the people in. It was a huge cd sale, all cd's selling for much cheaper then they usually were. Ella pushed her way past people to get to the collection of cd's, could there be a Justin Fairway album on sale? Yes. There was. His latest album too! She felt her heart beat quicker as she picked it up, "Please let it be six dollars or less..." she whispered.

Ella flipped over the case, looking for the price sticker. Ten dollars. Ella's heart sank as she put it back down with the othercd's. When would that wonderful disk finally be hers and rest upon the shelf with every other album Justin had ever made?

*~*~*

"A going home concert, eh?" asked Mike that evening "Good plan! You know, I really like the idea of it! When do you want me to book you for?"

"Sometime in late summer. I'll be off tour by mid-August."

"Alright. I'll do that tomorrow then."

"Awesome! Thanks a bunch!"

"No problem, kid. And, oh yeah, don't forget your photo shoot with Starz Magazine tonight."

Justin snapped his fingers. "Holy cow! I almost forgot about it! Well, there go my plans for a simple evening. Hahaha. Thanks for the reminder, Mike."

"Just doing my job, Mr. Fairway." said Mike laughing

"You do it well, Mike." Said Justin getting up from his chair. "I guess I should head over to the studio and get that photo shoot done and over with."

*~*~*

Ella took one more look at the album cover, then glanced up at the store's front window. Right by the door there was a large "Now Hiring", sign. Ella's heart skipped a beat. A music store? What could be a better place to get a job?

Ella swung open the doors and flew oer to the front desk. "You're hiring?" She asked, smiling at the middle-aged woman behind the desk. Inside the store music was piping out of speakers hidden in the ceiling and the lighting was like stage lights. Posters of popular artists and artwork from their greatest albums, covered the walls.

The lady behind the desk smiled. "Yeah, we are. You want to take it?"

"If I can have it!"

"Lets just run over a quick interview, but I'm not picky. Come this way, please."

A little while later, Ella had a job. Everything seemed perfect, she would start the next Monday. Ella was so excited sh could barely think clearly. Ella ran down the tiled mall floor, looking for Julianna. She found her friend waiting outside a clothing store.

"I just interviewed at this place." said Julianna "I think they liked me!"

"Awesome! And guess what? I'm already hired!"

"No way!"

Ella explained the whole thing quickly. "Lets celebrate!" said Julianna, pointing to a ice cream shop. "We can afford it now!"

"Oh yes, we can." said Ella, still smiling.

*~*~*

Chap. 4

Chapter Four

On the night of the county talent show, the local school's gym was packed. Justin was the last performance of the night, and so he had to sit through all the other performances, before taking the stage himself. All the other people's talents, were, well, very original.

During Martha Batten's trained chicken act, Justin's Father tapped Justin on the shoulder. "Relax, son, it's going to be fine. You'll bring down the house, trust me."

"Yeah, little dude!" chimed in Matt from behind him "The worst thing that can happen is that they boo you off stage!"

"Yeah. Great. Thanks a lot." said Justin

"Awww, kidding! You'll do the great! Oh yeah, I'm taping this whole thing." said Matt, holding up a camera, "Who knows? Maybe your future girl-friend will want to see it!"

Justin would have tackled Matt right then in there, if it wasn't time for him to go on stage.

The curtain drew again, and the Mrs. Harrow the librarian and Mayor Wentley appeared. The Mayor looked at his note cards, "Justin Fairway, please rise and come to the stage." Justin got up from his seat. The mayor looked at his cards again, "Justin will be singing 'You Had a Bad Day' for us tonight."

Justin looked at his parents, they smiled and his father gave him a thumbs up. Matt slapped him on the back. "You can do this, buddy!"

Somewhere as Justin walked up the dark isle, he lost all stage fright and gained nothing but confidence.

*~*~*

The radio continued the broadcast well past midnight. Just before the concert closed for the night, Justin answered random questions from the fans.

"Do you have a pet?" asked a little girl

"Well, yeah. I got some sheep, a pair of horses, a couple of dogs, a herd of cattle...and, of course pigs, but those don't count as pets, since we butcher them." The crowd thought that was pretty funny.

"Do you sing in the shower?" asked somebody

"Hahaha. Well, uh, I used to. I don't anymore. Honest."

"Where did you get those cool sunglasses?" asked a little boy

"Oh, actually at the grocery store right across the streets from here. They're nothing too fancy."

"What's your favorite gum flavor?" asked a kid

"Something hot. Like that cinnamon stuff."

"What's your most embarrassing moment?" cried a lady

"Awwww man, tough question, there was that time on tour last year, in Texas I think, when I was so caught in the song, I didn't really look where I was going and I tripped on the wires on stage. That wasn't fun. Believe me!" The crowd roared with laughter.

"Do you have a girl-friend?" asked someone

"Hahaha. No. I'm kinda busy, I wouldn't be able to handle a relationship like that right now. Mean, the girl would never get to see me! I'm all over."

"What's your favorite sport?"

"All of them. Seriously. I love all sports."

"How long will you keep singing?"

"Until you guys are all sick of me!"

*~*~*

The night of the talent show, Justin took the stage looking like any other kid, still in his jeans and muddy boots from the day's work. The crowd of locals waited in silence, wondering what Mr. Fairway's youngest son could do.

He jumped into the song at once, without a second of hesitation. The sudden start captured the audience, and for the full three minutes, they, including Justin's own family, was amazed.

Justin didn't perform or sing like the usual kid, in fact, it was scary how well he performed. After he finished, the crowd the dead quiet for a second, then they exploded into thunderous applause and screams.

After Justin had finished the song, the librarian, Mrs. Harrow and the Mayor Wentley came back onto the stage, this time holding a golden cup filled with dollar bills. Mayor Wentley held up his hands for silence. The crowd hushed. "I think it is clear who our winner is." said the Mayor loudly "I'm at a loss of words, really."

Mrs.Harrow smiled warmly. "Justin that was amazing." she said "I didn't know a boy like you could do such a beautiful thing. It is our greatest honor to give you this."

She handed him the golden trophy filled with money. "You deserve even more then this." said the Mayor, shaking Justin's hand "Keep it up, son, and you'll go places."

"Thank you!" said Justin, waving to the audience.

But it only got better the next few days for Justin. Matt took the recording he had made and posted it on the Internet, sending it to the state's leading newspaper. The paper ran a story and posted the video on their website. It wasn't long before Justin was getting interviews and offers from all over the country, thanks to his brother Matt.

The Rest of Chapter 3

"Hello, New York!" cried Justin "How are you guys doing tonight?" Unlike many people, Justin was a natural on a huge stage. He had learned to get over stage fright on that first night at the talent show. He had never been unconformable on stage again, in fact, he loved to be in the spotlight now, putting on a show.

Not that Justin was self-centered, in fact, he was incredibly humble, but he certainly knew how to perform, and loved doing it.

Justin strummed a few wild notes on his guitar. The crowd screamed. He grinned and pulled the microphone off the stand. "Ya'll ready now?"

"Yes!" shrieked the crowd.

"Alright then. You asked for it!"

Justin took to his guitar, joining the band in the tune of one of his greatest hits, "Throw Me a Line". The beat picked up, growing stronger, then Justin jumped in singing.

Throw me a line, cause' I am falling,
Throw me a line, cause' I am drowning,
Throw me a line, cause' I am dying, in this heartless ocean...

Justin had worked so hard on the lines of this song. He wrote the lyrics to all his songs, rarely needing help. As usual, he nailed every note and the carried out the tune strongly.

The ocean waves are wet of salty tears,
The sky is full of broken dreams,
The bottom is sharp with old fears,
And the ships that sail across this sea are full of enemies...

The lights flashed over the stage, then pin pointed in, directly on Justin. Everywhere else was pitch black, and the room sounded with the sad, lonely beat, and Justin's haunting vocals.

I was walking long' that dangerous cliff, then slipped and fell alone,
sinking into the sad waters at no one's fault by my very own.
It was me who dared to dance on the line of danger and safety,
now no one's here to try to even rescue me...

The emotion Justin put into his songs was unlike anything any singer had done before. He made you feel that he was there, singing in the sad waters. He continued on, nearing the end.

Looking back on it all, those thoughtless words and actions,
I wish I'd looked ahead, to see what would happen,
to see this horrible fate, this endless agony,
and maybe then I would have held back, and spared myself from me...

He had the crowd totally captured now. Nobody could break away from the spell he had them under.

If someone were to rescue me, from these painful waters,
If someone were to save me, from this insanity,
If someone were to do that, and give me one more chance, no longer would I dare to do that dangerous dance.

He had the song almost done now, all he had left to do was sing the refrain one more time. He did so, packing it with emotion as he always did.

Throw me a line, cause' I am falling,
Throw me a line, cause' I am drowning,
Throw me a line, cause' I am dying, in this heartless ocean.

Once done, Justin returned to the center of the stage, grinning his famous grin, as the crowd erupted. He picked up the microphone, still smiling, and waiting for the crowd to calm down, when at last they did, he yelled, "There's lots more where that came from!"

The crowd screamed even louder after he announced this, and Justin began to strum another tune.

*~*~*

"Oh my goodness, Ella!" cried Julianna, jumping up "I just thought of something!"

"What?" asked Ella, who was getting sleepy.

"His concert, tonight, it might be aired on the radio! Do you have a radio anywhere?"

Ella was up at once. "Yeah! In the closet!" She pulled it out and turned it on, flipping through the channels. "Static, rap, news, static, talk-show, country..." she clicked through more stations "Come on! Rock, more rock, baseball game, arrrggg!" Click. Click. Click. "Where the heck is it? Ah hah!" From over the radio came the familiar voice, singing very familiar lyrics.

You're my darling,
You're my hero,
You're my baby girl,
You're the only one I notice in this crazy world...

"Ohhh! This is one my favorites!" shrieked Julianna "It's from his first album."

"This is too cool!" said Ella "And remember, he's going to do a question and answer session with the fans after. Does it get any better then this?"

*~*~*