hair was a little mangled. You could tell they didnât have much, but they had great spirits, and they were fired up to sing. As I was playing with them, they blossomed even more, appreciating the time. Then, at the end, Taylorâs mom told them that the sessions were going to be ending soon. This was a paid after-school music program, and the funds were going to be cut.
The little kids squealed in a chorus, âNo!â
My heart broke. When I saw Taylor crying, I knew she had a heart, too. I got it. Many of these kids didnât have any other place to go. This program provided so much. They got a snack in the afternoon. Without this program, a lot of them wouldnât be fed until they got back to school the next day. This program couldnât go away, but when I realized I had no way to help, I became depressed, and I started singing âMy Favorite Thingsâ from The Sound of Music . Doing so, at least I put a smile back on the kidsâ faces as well as on mine, even if it was only for the here and now.
âSo you and the queen are going to be a group?â Shelby asked when Charlotte came over to our house to practice.
I hit my sister in the side. She was playing, but she was serious. Shelby had doubts about how Charlotte and I would sound.
âJust hold on,â I told my doubting sister.
When the two of us started singing, all four of my sistersâ mouths hung open.
âOh, you guys need to be doing this,â Sloan uttered as she clapped.
âYeah, you two sound really good,â Yuri said.
âIâm ready to take some pictures,â Ansli commented.
âMy bad,â Shelby looked at me and said. âI stand corrected. You all sound great. Weâve got to get you guys the entire package: a name, a look, and a demo.â
âI know a guy who can help us with that,â I said to Charlotte.
âYou let me know. Iâm ready. Send me over the track you were talking about, and I will practice it,â Charlotte said.
She was so easy to work with. She wasnât trying to out-sing me. She just wanted to be a part of it.
When my sisters left, Charlotte and I had to talk business. I asked, âHow are we going to do this?â
âI just want to be an artist. I donât want to be a part of the business side.â
âWell, Iâll ask my dad for some money to cut the record, but thatâll mean Iâll own more of it. Is that cool?â I questioned, knowing these tough negotiations needed to be addressed.
âAbsolutely. You got all this help with all your sisters to do a record label.â
âOh, youâre taking it a little too far,â I told her, knowing I just wanted to cut a demo.
âNo. If weâre going to do this, we need to step it up, for real,â Charlotte encouraged. âCreate a label.â
âAlright, well, Iâve got to talk to my dad, and Iâll get back to you, but I like the direction weâre going. We should come up with a name, though.â
âYouâll come up with one,â she said.
âYouâre really letting me do all the creative work?â
âYeah, and Iâm a performer. I merely sing what Iâm told and show up when Iâm supposed to perform. You on the other hand are a double threat. You can sing, and you can be behind the scenes, so donât limit yourself. Plus, I have all this Miss Teen Charlotte stuff with me, and Iâm not trying to rub it in or anything â¦â
âNo, no, no, youâre right. You do that, and I can come up with the business side of our group, and we can sing together. I love it!â
âWell, at least just promise me this ⦠no matter what happens, weâll stay friends. I know we donât really, really know each other,â Charlotte said. âBut you have to come hang out at my house too. My folks have to get to know you.â
We shook on it. Being with Charlotte was going to be