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Soprano Trouble (Choir Girls, Book 1)

By Victoria Kimble

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Chapter 1


“Hey, Summer, quit daydreaming! This is our stop.”
Twelve-year-old Summer McKidd turned with a start from the bus window at the sound of Cammie Dunn’s voice. She felt her face get hot as she gathered her black sparkle tote and red zip-up hoodie and hurried off the bus to join her friends. Cammie, Brittany Welsh, and Maddie Ryland stood on the sidewalk in the warm afternoon sun, watching Summer rush down the steps.
“You know, the view out the window isn’t that interesting, Summer,” Cammie said, her hands on her hips. “So what were you thinking about?”
“Maybe she was thinking about Mrs. Dean’s math class,” Brittany piped in, pushing her square glasses up on her button nose. “Or maybe she was thinking of who she sits by in Mrs. Dean’s math class.” The two girls started giggling.
“No, no, the leaves are starting to change and I thought—“ Summer choked. Her blush deepened as she tucked her shoulder-length curly brown hair behind her ears.
“Oh, stop,” Maddie jumped in. “Let’s not stand here all day.” Maddie looped her arm through Summer’s and tugged her up the street. “If you insist on talking about school, let’s talk about choir.” All four girls were in the 7th grade Concert Choir at Aspen Junior High. Their fall concert was in just two weeks, and one girl and one guy would get to sing a solo. It was a well-known fact that whoever got to sing the solo at the fall concert would also be featured in the Christmas concert.
“Oh my gosh, your audition was a-maz-ing Cammie,” Brittany gushed, her short, round frame bouncing in excitement. “I know Mr. Camp will pick you for the solo.” Cammie smirked and tousled her short, spiky hair, her red highlights glittering in the sun.
“It was good, wasn’t it?” Cammie replied. “I think it’s smart to make us audition in front of the whole choir. It really lets Mr. Camp know who can handle that kind of pressure.”
“Well, clearly I can’t,” Maddie stated, staring straight ahead. “My voice doesn’t crack like that when I sing with the group. At least, it seemed like it was fine when we were learning the solo as a group.”
“Maddie, you did just fine,” Summer replied, patting Maddie on the arm. Summer hated to see her friend embarrassed.
“Don’t worry about it,” Maddie said, smiling at Summer. “I’m not scarred. I am actually perfectly content to get lost in the masses. I like to sing, and in the group the focus isn’t directly on me. It’s really the best of both worlds.”
“Your only real competition is Pilar Sanchez,” Brittany said, wrinkling her nose as she stressed the pronunciation of PEE-lar. “But I know you did better than her.”
“Ugh, she is such a teacher’s pet,” Cammie grumbled. “Unfortunately, she’s an excellent soprano. Maybe I should hang out in Mr. Camp’s room all day too. Give her a run for her money.”
“I think she’s just shy,” Summer said, trying to keep the conversation positive. “She probably feels more comfortable in there, since she doesn’t seem to have many friends.”
“Whatever,” Cammie blurted, kicking at a pile of dead leaves. “She should know by now that no one will be friends with a teacher’s pet. Hanging on Mr. Camp’s every word is not going to get her anywhere.”
“Yeah,” Brittany echoed. “She can’t be that serious about making friends.”
“I really like the songs Mr. Camp picked out for the concert,” Summer said, trying to change the subject.
“Me too. I wonder how many will showcase dear PEE-lar,” Cammie replied. Brittany burst out laughing.
“This is our turn off,” Maddie interrupted. “See you girls tomorrow.” Maddie and Summer rounded the corner toward their houses as Cammie and Brittany laughed and turned in the other direction.
Summer had been friends with Cammie and Brittany since the third grade. The three of them had had countless sleepovers, dance parties, and giggle fests in their years as friends. Both Cammie and Brittany could be sarcastic and relentless in their teasing sometimes, but they were fun to be around and enjoyed singing as much as Summer did. She was happy to have them as friends, especially in seventh grade when everyone knows it’s hard enough to make friends.
They had met Maddie this year in choir. She had moved to their town of Pinewood, Colorado just before school started. Maddie was also in math and language arts with the other three, and her locker was right next to Summer’s. She seemed to be a perfect fit for their group.
“Are you really okay about your audition?” Summer asked Maddie, giving her a sideways glance as they walked. “I know Cammie is pretty proud of her voice, but your voice is really nice, too.”
“Of course!” Maddie replied, gathering her long, dark blonde hair into a messy ponytail. “I do like to sing, but not as much as I like volleyball. I’d be devastated if I got second string in volleyball. Not getting the solo is no skin off my nose.”
“Good,” Summer said, satisfied that her friend was telling the truth and not hiding some inner pain. “I wonder if Cammie will get it. Pilar really was as good as her.”
“I know. I have a feeling we’ll never hear the end of it either way,” Maddie said wryly. “Well, we’ll find out tomorrow. See you then!” Maddie trotted up the walk to her house. She turned and waved at Summer before letting herself inside.
Three houses later, Summer was home. She walked past the potted chrysanthemums and in the front door, calling hello to her mom. Her 10-year-old sister, Faye, sat on the couch watching Girl Meets World.
“Hi Summer!” she called, jumping up from her seat. “Do you want to watch Girl Meets World with me? Riley is wearing this really cute top I think you’ll like.”
“No Faye,” Summer replied with a scowl. “In seventh grade, we have actual homework.” Faye quickly lost her smile, slumped down on the couch, and turned up the volume.
“Hi, Summer,” Summer’s mom said as she walked into the kitchen. “Need a snack?”
“No thanks. Just some lemonade,” Summer replied, pulling open the refrigerator.
“Why don’t you see if Faye wants some?” She pulled out a cutting board and knife.
“Oh, she seems pretty busy watching TV,” Summer said. “Besides, she knows where it is if she gets thirsty.” She poured herself a glass, returned the pitcher of lemonade to the fridge, and then gathered her up her bag.
“I suppose so,” Mom replied, looking disappointed. “Well, dinner will be ready at about 5:00. Could you please set the table before then? We have to eat early tonight so I can get Faye to dance class.”
“Sure, Mom,” Summer said on her way out the door. She took the steps up to her room carefully so she wouldn’t spill her lemonade, and then stopped at her sister Lisa’s room. Sixteen-year-old Lisa laid on her stomach on her perfectly made bed, listening to her iPhone and writing something down in a notebook.
“Hey Lisa, guess what? Tomorrow Mr. Camp is going to let us know who is singing the solo for our concert in a couple of weeks.”
“Really,” Lisa replied, not looking up from her notebook.
“I didn’t try out. I mean, I know Cammie is a much better singer than I am, and then Pilar raised her hand to try out, so I knew I wouldn’t have a chance…” Lisa’s cell phoned buzzed and she snapped it up, waving at Summer to stop talking.
“Hello? Hey Kayla . . .” Lisa said, turning her back to Summer. Summer sighed and went to the room she shared with Faye to start her homework. She closed the door and tossed her tote on her bed. She scowled at Faye’s side of the room, which was covered in horses and Tangled posters. She hated sharing a room with her baby sister. She would be lucky if she could get any homework done before Faye came in to bother her.
Summer kicked aside Faye’s purple sneakers and sat down next to her tote. She blushed as she pulled out her math book, her thoughts returning to what she had been thinking about during the bus ride home.
Wes Jacobs had given Summer his phone number in math class that day. He said it was in case she needed help with their pre-algebra, which Summer thought was a little strange since she always aced the quizzes. Wes would know that, since they always swapped papers to grade in class. Maybe he wanted her to call him anyway… . . .
Summer shook her head and opened the book to that day’s lesson. It didn’t matter that Wes was a popular soccer player at school. There was no way she was going to call him. If he wanted to talk to her on the phone, he’d have to have the courage to ask her for her number. Of course, then she’d be embarrassed when she had to look up in his clear blue eyes and tell him that she wasn’t allowed to have a cell phone until she was in high school, so he’d have to call her home phone.
She tapped her pencil on her chin as she tried to think of what Maddie would say to smooth over that embarrassing situation. She then realized that she hadn’t told Maddie about Wes’ phone number. Summer hadn’t wanted to tell her after she got off the bus because Cammie and Brittany would have gloated about being right, and then announced to the whole bus stop that Wes and Summer liked each other. She meant to tell Maddie after they had turned off on their street, but she’d been too distracted about the choir auditions and making sure Maddie was okay. She was about to go to the kitchen to call her when she remembered yet another rule: no phone calls until homework was done.
Summer kicked off her shoes, flopped on her back on her bed, and put her feet on the wall. She loved her parents, but sometimes she thought that they had way too many
outdated rules. She got up, turned on her iPod, and got to her homework. The sooner she was done, the sooner she could call Maddie.

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