Free Sound Off! by James Ponti

had filled her plate with scrambled eggs. As she was nabbing a slice of toast, she looked around the canteen for a seat.
    Her best friend, Caitlyn Gellar, was nowhere to be seen. Mitchie grinned to herself. Bunking in the same cabin, Mitchie had discovered that Caitlyn was a real night owl who loved to stay up late talking or practicing the guitar or learning a new song. Last night, she’d been reading a new novel that she said she just couldn’t put down. Even as Mitchie had drifted off to sleep, Caitlyn’s mini reading light was still glowing. Mitchie had a feeling that her friend was probably willing to miss breakfast—despite its obvious importance!—in order to get a little extra sleep.
    As Mitchie’s eyes continued to scan the room, a hint of disappointment clouded her good mood. When she stopped to figure out what had caused the dip in her spirits, she realized that she’d been hoping not to see just Caitlyn. She had also been hoping to see Shane Gray.
    Not that she didn’t see quite a lot of him. In fact, she still couldn’t believe that she was friends with the lead singer of the famous band Connect Three. He also happened to be Brown’s nephew. But then again Camp Rock had been nothing if not surprising. Their friendship was another amazing thing that had happened to her here.
    Even though Shane wasn’t in the canteen, she was certain to see him later. Right now, she had to hurry up and eat so that she could go help her mom. Mitchie took a seat in a secluded corner, where she was half hidden behind a rolling equipment trunk that had been wheeled into the canteen for that afternoon’s acoustic set. She realized that she was actually pleased to have a little time to herself so she could think about something that had been troubling her.
    She had been working on a song all week. It had started off well, but then she got stuck after finishing one verse. Every line she had written seemed forced. Every note she tried sounded false.
    Part of her knew that she should put the song aside and work on something else. Often, when she did that, she came back to the problem song and found that the solution was obvious, as if her mind had been working on it while she was busily thinking other thoughts.
    But she felt so close to figuring out how to write this song! She didn’t want to give up. She couldn’t. Mitchie felt as if the song already existed somewhere just beyond her grasp, shimmering in the future. If only she could reach out and grab it . . .