Free Singing in Seattle by Tracey West

wore a really cute plaid shift dress with a ruffled collar, black tights, and boots.
    Amber let out a yell. “Go, Claire!” she screamed.
    She stood in front of the microphone and swung her guitar strap over her shoulder.
    â€œI’ll be singing ‘Prom Queen,’” Claire said. She began strumming her guitar and sang a song about a shy girl who nobody seemed to notice and who dreamed about becoming prom queen. Once again, Aly and AJ were impressed.
    â€œI love it,” AJ whispered to Aly.
    Claire left the stage and the audience waited for the final contestant, Austin. A minute or so went by and still the stage was empty. Muffled shouting seemed to be coming from backstage. Lily quickly disappeared behind the curtains to see what was going on. Aly and AJ got up and followed her.
    The sisters poked their heads backstage. Josh and Claire were standing next to Austin, who was fuming.
    â€œWhat happened?” Lily asked him as Aly and AJ walked into the room.
    â€œMy guitar is totally out of tune!” Austin yelled. “I was getting ready to go onstage and luckily I strummed my guitar first. It sounded horrible so I went to tune it. But someone has loosened the screws on the back of the headstock.” Austin flipped his guitar over to show them.
    â€œCan’t you just tune it now?” Lily asked.
    Austin shook his head. Aly took the guitar from him and examined it. “You’re right. The screws are loose. You need a screwdriver to fix it before you can retune it,” she said.
    â€œThis was no accident.” Austin was mad. “The only way for this to happen is if someone took a screwdriver and loosened the screws.”
    â€œHe’s right,” AJ said. “Someone must have done this on purpose. He’s lucky he found out before he went onstage.”
    Claire held her guitar out to Austin. “Use mine,” she said. “I just finished playing it and I know it’s in tune.”
    â€œIs everything okay?” Jim asked as he walked into the room.
    â€œNot really,” Aly said. They grabbed Jim by the arm and led him to a quiet corner, explaining what had happened.
    â€œCan you look around and see if Heather is here anywhere?” Aly asked. “She’s been seen sneaking around here before. She might have had something to do with Austin’s guitar being sabotaged.”
    â€œI’m going to add super-spy to my resume when we’re done in Seattle,” Jim joked. “I’ll take a look around.”
    Austin seemed to be calming down and was getting the feel of Claire’s guitar, so Aly and AJ headed back to their seats. The audience had grown restless, and a lot of people were talking to one another, wondering what was going on.
    â€œIs this proof that Austin is innocent?” Aly asked AJ as they walked.
    AJ shrugged her shoulders. “This is the most confusing mystery yet. The notebook is stolen. Then someone puts it back. Heather is sneaking around and getting free pizza from Josh. Now someone has messed with Austin’s guitar. I don’t know what to think!”
    â€œMaybe Austin is some kind of evil genius,” Aly suggested. “He might have sabotaged his own guitar to make us think that he is innocent.”
    AJ sank into the red velvet theater seat and sighed. “I’m totally perplexed.”
    They filled Carrie in on what was happening backstage. She shook her head.
    â€œThat’s a shame,” she said. “These kids have real talent. They don’t need to stoop to cheating.”
    The audience quieted down as Austin finally took the stage. Looking at him, no one would guess that he’d been so upset a few minutes ago. He looked cool, calm, and confident—not to mention handsome. His long brown bangs were styled to the side and he had on an olive ribbed sweater with a half-zipper at the collar. Underneath he wore a black T-shirt and a pair of really nice faded jeans.
    He