Content

First Day of School

'Ever! Get up!'
My little sister Claire was jumping on my bed.
'Get up! You're going to be late!'
My little sister, Claire, is 7 and has a VERY positive attitude about school. She's the absolute opposite of me.

Annoyed, I got up. My alarm clock went off, playing a familiar song from my iPod collection. My favorite Nightcore track - Wriemia Agniej

(who cares if I can't pronounce the title?).

Mum was boiling two eggs, while my younger brother Timothy (who's only 2) was bashing a plastic spoon on his high chair, obviously wanting to be fed.
'Kate, do you need any help?' Dad came in.
'Yeah, that'll be great, thanks!' Mum replied.
Dad got the egg cups out as I prepared some toast for myself.

'See you later, Ever!' Mum called as I left for school. Tanya, Olivia and Sarah was waiting for me outside. We walked together, talking about our dream.
'If we're going to be a girl band - what are we going to be called?' Olivia asked.
We all thought for a moment.
'Epic Bass?' Tanya suggested. We shook our heads.
'Doom?' I suggested. The others shook their heads.
'I know!' Sarah cried. 'The Energy!'
'YEAH!' We cried.

During form, I drew logo ideas and finally settled on one.

There was no assembly today, so I went over to show the design to the girls. They loved it.

First lesson was Religious Education. We had annoying Miss Denhall AGAIN. I was too busy thinking about the band than about RE. I quietly flicked through a book of song lyrics.

Second lesson was Drama - SO FUN. Mrs Daniels split us into groups and said for us to do some type of talent. Luckily, I carry my iPod around in my folder (only secretly), and Mrs Daniels said we could use it. I had a docking station, too. I found the song.
When our time was up, we performed to the class.
We acted our first concert and did the chorus of the Nightcored version of Thanks For The Memories

'One night and one more time,
Thanks for the memories,
Even though they weren't so great,
He tastes like you only sweeter,
One night yeah, and one more time,
Thanks for the memories,
Thanks for the memories,
See he tastes like you only sweeter...'

(CREDIT TO FALL OUT BOY! - B.Rees)

The class stared, gobsmacked.

At last, it was break.
That's when we saw him.
Skater Boy.

Skater Boy

I know you may be asking, 'Who IS Skater Boy?' He's my boyfriend, Alex. He's incredibly hot, and always rides a skateboard.

Alex skated up to me.
'Hey, Ever.' He said.
'Hi,' I replied. 'How are you?'
'Good, thanks.' He replied, smiling. He waved and skated off.

This sudden meeting reminded me of a song. Tanya, Olivia, Sarah and I (aka. The Energy) started to sing, choreographing a dance.

'He was a skater boy, she said "See ya later boy"
He wasn't good enough for her, now he's a superstar,
Slamming on his guitar,
Does your pretty face see what he's worth?
Sorry girl, but you missed out,
Well, tough luck, that boy's mine now,
We are more than just good friends,
This is how the story ends,
Too bad that you couldn't see,
See the man that boy could be,
There is more that meets the eye,
I see the soul that is inside,
He's just a boy and I'm just a girl,
Can I make it any more obvious?
We are in love, haven't you heard,
How we rock each others world?
I'm with the skater boy, I said "See ya later boy"
I'll be backstage after the show, I'll be at a studio,
Singing the song we wrote,
About a girl you used to know...'

(CREDIT TO AVRIL LAVIGNE! - B.Rees)

We had a small crowd. A teacher even came over.

We're doing good for the four of us - as a beginning girl band.
'Tanya!' Tanya cried, putting her hand in the middle of our circle.
'Sarah!' Sarah did the same.
'Olivia!'
'Ever!' Now there was all four hands in the middle.
'THE ENERGY!' We yelled, lifting our hands up.

Next lesson was Art. Sarah's keen at this subject. I'm not so keen on it - mainly because of Mr Dubfree. He's REALLY harsh on us. The only merits he ever gives in class is to Sarah - mainly as she's good.
We were all asked to draw a character from anything - films, animes, books... you know.
I drew Holo, from Spice and Wolf

. It's my favorite anime - Tokyo Mew Mew comes a close second.

(Yes - I drew that. I love Spice and Wolf

! - B.Rees)
Not the best thing ever, I know - but it's okay. Sarah drew a very graphic image of Edward Cullen. It was really good, and it almost looked real! Tanya is our major Twihard - she went crazy over Sarah's picture.
'OMG! I just want to KISS him! HE'S SO HOT!!' Dear Lord... -_-

Lunch soon came. A bunch of boys behind our table were singing 'We Will Rock You,' so we joined in.

'Buddy you're a young man, hard man,
shouting in the street,
gonna take the whole world someday,
you got mud on your face,
you big disgrace,
kicking your can all over the place.
We will, we will rock you!
We will, we will rock you!'

(CREDIT TO QUEEN! - B.Rees)

The lunch ladies were laughing their heads off when the tallest blonde boy, Jake, started doing air guitar - making all the guitar noises too! It was SO

funny. Someone was filming the ENTIRE thing.
'You should put that on YouTube!' I cried, as I saw the guy after lunch - showing the clip to his friend.

I was so excited. The next lesson was... MUSIC

!
Mrs Daniels is LOVELY. She always encourages people to form groups.
She will LOVE The Energy.
(Hopefully)

The News

'Come in!' Mrs Daniels cried. We all dashed in.
Our form LOVES Music. Mrs Daniels is a real Nightcore fan (like me).

'Has anyone formed a band lately or received a musical award?' Mrs Daniels asked.
Tanya, Sarah, Olivia and I put our hands up.
'Great! Ever?' She asked.
'I've started a band with Olivia, Tanya and Sarah.' I said.
Mrs Daniels smiled. 'Wow! Do you have a name?'
'Yeah.' I say. I whispered to the girls.
'THE ENERGY!' We cried.
'Awesome! I look forward to hear your music girls- I mean, The Energy!' She said, writing something down. 'But, I have news for all of you. Not just these ladies of The Energy.
We have had the opportunity to sign up to a music competition. You'll be competing on live TV with other acts in schools across our country. Groups, musicians and artists are allowed.'
'Which competition, Miss?' Jake asked.
'Well... we have signed up for MUSIC STAR!'
Everyone cheered. I stared at the girls. They were screaming and hugging with excitement.

We were practicing our piece when Mrs Daniels came in.
'Are you entering Music Star?' She asked.
'Heck, yeah!' We all said at the same time.
'I've heard you're a real Nightcore lover, Miss! Which song is your favorite?'
'Oh - their remix of Bad Boy

by Cascada. I'm LOVING that tune. I'll sing it later, if you want. Anyway, I hope to see your group on the line up list. Here's your sign-up sheet.' She handed us some paperwork. 'See you around.'
'Bye, Miss!' We cried. I looked at the paperwork. Miss had filled in some of the paperwork for us: Our band name, our names and ages and our school information.

Miss kept her promise.
'Guys - you know I love Nightcore, right?' The class nodded.
'Four ladies asked me my favorite - now I just HAVE to sing it. I've not sung a Nightcore song to you before, haven't I? This is a remix of a song by Cascada - it's Bad Boy

!'
The class buzzed with excitement as Mrs Daniels found the backing track.

'Remember the feelings, remember the day,
My stone heart was breaking, my love ran away,
This moment, I knew I would be someone else,
My love turned around and I felt...

Be my bad boy, be my man,
Be my weekend lover, but don't be my friend,
You can be my bad boy, but understand,
That I don't need you in my life again,

Would you be my bad boy, be my man,
Be my weekend lover, but don't be my friend,
You can be my bad boy, but understand,
That I don't need you again,
No, I don't need you again...

(CREDIT TO CASCADA/NIGHTCORE! - B.Rees)

Miss went through the rest of the song. We were all astonished. She was a good singer. She handed out paperwork a select few of those who wanted to be in Music Star.

Last lesson was Geography, but people were too excited about Music Star to pay attention. Mrs Game was NOT happy.
'What lesson have you just had?' She asked.
'Music!' We cried.
'What's made you all so excited, Ever Wilson?' She asked and looked at me sternly.
'We've been entered into Music Star!' I cried happily.
'Well, if you all don't listen, I'll have to ask Mrs Daniels to withdraw you from the competition.'
'NO!' We screamed. We were angry. Many girls cried - and some boys even shed a tear. Mrs Game was still angry, but looked sympathetic.
As soon as she said about withdrawing us, Mrs Daniels walked in. Oh dear.
'Mrs Game, how could you say such a thing? The kids are excited. They're talented. If you withdraw them, it'll crash their dreams and lower our school rating - as well as break my heart. Just give in! Any more of this and I'll report you to the headmistress!
'Sorry about this, kids. You're still in. You're so talented. See you later, kids!'

I LOVE Mrs Daniels. She's the nicest teacher we've ever had.

Halloween Party

Halloween came not long after I'd handed in our Music Star application paperwork. We had a Halloween Party at school on Halloween night, hosted by Mrs Daniels.
We were excited by that, too.

The girls came round mine to get ready.
'How about we all dress up as rock star cats? We could base the cat costume on the one on Club Penguin!' I knew about the costume because Claire goes on Club Penguin. I suggested that. The girls agreed.

We dressed up and prepared for the disco.

Disco time came. Alex said I looked hot. Mrs Daniels admired our outfits. She loved the ears.
Mrs Daniels was dressed up as... guess... Holo from Spice and Wolf

!

'YOU like Spice and Wolf

too?'
'Yeah. I've not watched it in a while. I admired Holo.'

A while later, Mrs Daniels came to the stage.
'I'm going to call out two random acts that have signed up to Music Star - one boy act and one girl act.
'The boy act is...' Mrs Daniels rumaged in a bowl. 'Skater Boy from The Energy!'
Yes, we'd let Alex into The Energy. We needed a male voice. He was by far the best out of our audition.
After rummaging through another bowl, Miss pulled out another name.
'The female act - I mean people - are the four girls from The Energy; Ever, Tanya, Sarah and Olivia!'
We were asked to come to the front and sing an edited version of Ghosts Just Wanna Dance

from Club Penguin. Miss edited a few words to make it sound more normal.

'Night falls on a spooky scene,
Deck the icy halls of black and green,
As the shadows rise here on Midnight Isle,
From the darkness there's a distant scream,
Whoa, that sounds like it's getting closer!
Drums are getting louder,
Bass is getting lower,
When the shadows spin,
You'll be joinin' in,
But first you gotta find the key
Who knows what is behind that door?
Creeping up on the floor
We're not here to freak you out,
We just came to shake it down,
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, flip up your hands,
The ghosts just wanna dance
Only want to haunt your igloo,
Give you chills and party with you,
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, flip up your hands,
The ghosts just wanna dance,
The ghosts just wanna dance,
The ghosts just wanna dance...

(CREDIT TO DISNEY - B.Rees

)

Everyone cheered. Mrs Daniels was smiling.
She knew she'd picked the right ones.

Cool in the Cold

A while later, Christmas was coming. We'd now broke up for Christmas holidays. I'd invited the band over for a sleepover (Alex didn't mind).

One day, we'd woke up, looked out of the window... and it had snowed! Snow was everywhere. The pond in Central Park had frozen over. Someone had put string lights on the posts around the pond. The someone was skating on the pond. Spotting us, she waved.
It was Mrs Daniels!
'Hey, guys - do you want to go ice skating on the pond in Central Park?' I asked the others.
'YEAH!' We cried.
'BE QUIET! SOMEONE'S TRYING TO SLEEP HERE!' Claire yelled from the room next door.
'SHUT UP, CLAIRE!' I yelled back.

We got up, had breakfast, brushed our teeth and wrapped up warm. I got my ice skates from my wardrobe and the others got theirs from their bags.

We ran to the pond, took off our wellies and laced up our ice skates. Mrs Daniels had her iPod on her amplifier, looked after by her husband. More people from school joined us. A few people fell over, but we were all pretty good!
'Hey, Gary!' Mrs Daniels called. 'Put on that song... you know - Cool in the Cold

! Yeah, that one!'

We all sang another edited version of a Club Penguin song.

'Have you noticed that everybody's being super nice?
The city's glowing with a special glimmer on the ice (yeahhh)
The party is heating up
Coming on and join the club
There's always room for just one more
Look around and it's obvious

Cool cool cool, out in the cold
And it's fun fun fun, covered in snow
Everyone's here it's that time of the year
Oh, ohh, ohh it's cool in the cold (ohh, ohh, ohh)
It's cool in the cold (ohh, ohh, ohh)

(CREDIT TO DISNEY! - B.Rees

)

A journalist came over to Mr Daniels.
'Are you running this?' The journalist asked.
'No,' Mr Daniels replied. 'But, my wife Stacey is!' He pointed to Mrs Daniels.
The journalist interviewed Mrs Daniels.
'Are these your pupils then? They're really talented!'
'Well, some of them are participating in Music Star. I just hope they'll do well! I have faith in them.'

Christmas

'WAKE UP! WAKE UP, EVER! IT'S CHRISTMAS!'
'Get off, Claire...'
I woke up. It WAS Christmas!

I went downstairs humming my favorite Christmas song.

'It doesn't often snow at Christmas,
the way it's meant to do...
But I'll still have a glow at Christmas,
because I'll be with you...

(CREDIT TO PET SHOP BOYS - My favorite too! B.Rees

)

'Morning, Ever!' Mum said as she came out of her room.
'Morning, Mum! Morning, Dad! Merry Christmas!' I cried back.

We went into the living room, when there was a knock on the door. Six knocks, to be precise.
I opened the door.

'MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVER!'
The brunette haired teen is Sarah, the blondie is Olivia and the ginger one is Tanya. It's obvious who the other two were - Mrs Daniels and Alex.

We all had and gave gifts.
I got from my family:
Breaking Dawn Part 1 on DVD
£50 iTunes voucher
Sony Vegas Pro for my MacBook
A Samsung camera
Sweets
CDs
Money
...and a photo album.
'To record your Music Star memories!' Mum cried. Mrs Daniels thought it was a good idea.

From my friends:
Spice and Wolf

Series 1 DVD from Mrs Daniels
Beautiful Creatures book from Sarah
Life of Pi book from Tanya
Dance Dance Revolution for Wii from Olivia
and a star pendant from Alex.
'For our big performance!' He cried.

We did another performance of Cool in the Cold to Mum, Dad, Claire (who also sung along as a Club Penguin player), Timothy (who was too busy playing with a toy train set) and Mrs Daniels. They cheered afterwards. We took a bow.

What would the audience do after our performance at Music Star?

Back to School

We came back with many memories from the Christmas holidays and a sudden need to practice.
Music Star was only a few weeks away.
Mrs Daniels made an announcement in assembly.

'Right, Music Star participants. From today, it's HARDCORE Music Star practice! You will be dragged out of your lessons. Other music lessons will be taken by a friend of mine who taught music a while ago, but left for maternity leave. Year 8... prepare yourselves. For those who will want to watch the show, it's on Friday 1st February at 8pm. Watch out for RAVENWOOD HIGH students!'

We practiced all day. The song we're doing is a mix of several Nightcore songs. We love the mix that Mrs Daniels produced for us.

I had to balance everything with clubs and family life. It was hard.
The other participants are working as hard as us.

Two weeks before the performance, I wasn't getting anything right. The notes were either too low, high or flat.
'Oh no!' I cried. 'We're going to fail!'
I'd seen failing performers in reality TV shows. They got BOOED. In cartoons, they threw TOMATOES and BANANA PEELS at the bad ones.

I spoke to Mrs Daniels.
'We're not even going to make it into the top 20!' I cried, sobbing over Mrs Daniels. She hugged me.
'You are going to make it. I know you as an amazing performer. You'll be fine. I felt like this on my audition for Grease a while ago. It was a one-off show, and I was Sandy. I made it. You will too. I want to show you this.' She said, finding something on YouTube. It was her, singing a version of A Thousand Years

by Christina Perri.

'I have died every day waiting for you,
Darling don't be afraid,
I have loved you for a thousand years,
I'll love you for a thousand more...

(CREDIT TO CHRISTINA PERRI - B.Rees

)

'You're amazing.' I said.
'Thanks. I did this at the Newbies Concert. Lots of people said I was amazing - and you will be, too.' She said.

Music Star

The day of the performance, I was excited and scared. We had a sound check and a tour of the stage today.

I got up, had a fry-up as I had arose half an hour early. I'd gone to bed very early the night before. I got changed into casual clothes - my Nightcore shirt and Hollister jeans.

A limo picked me up and the girls called me over to them. Tanya was sitting with Olivia and Sarah. I sat on the other side of Sarah, next to Alex. We chatted about our feelings about the show.
'Mrs Daniels is going to meet us at the MusicPlex arena. For now, we'd better calm down and look forward to just having fun on that stage. I've seen it. It's MASSIVE.' Alex said.

We picked up a few more performers and then went down to the arena.

We drew up at the front entrance. A massive screen had the Music Star logo on it with TONIGHT - 8PM ON CHANNEL 4

. God, the entire country would be watching us. Our performances would be on YouTube. If we were in the top 5, we'd be known across the globe.

Mrs Daniels met us in the front lounge of the MusicPlex.
'Welcome to the MusicPlex! The first people up for a sound check is The Energy. The rest of you, follow Cynthia, this lady next to me, to your dressing rooms. Come with me, The Energy.' She carried a clipboard and led us to the stage.
'WOAH!' We cried.
'Yeah, pretty big stage, isn't it?'
There was a round zone where we came on, and a star-shaped platform at the end. The audience space was MASSIVE. In under 12 hours, this place would be full of people...

In the sound check, my voice didn't get any better from last time. I was so worried. Mrs Daniels gave me a reassuring look.

In the dressing room, we had a TV showing us what was happening on stage. One minute before the show, the stage went dark. The screen came on, showing a countdown.
'One minute to go, guys - until the world will know our names.' Alex said.
We talked until the 20 second mark. Mrs Dover sent me a text message.
Under 20 seconds to go. You'll be the last performers Best of luck, see you on stage! M.D x

Ten... I was excited.
Nine... I looked round.
Eight... I felt moderate.
Seven... Emmm....
Six... Okay...
Five... Worried
Four... Scared
Three... No!
Two... Oh God!
One... Help me...
ZERO!
The Music Star theme played. The show had begun.
Alice Derby and Gareth Clare came on.
'Welcome to Music Star 2013!' They cried. The audience cheered.
'Tonight, we are going to find our Music Star. A superstar act! High schools from all over the country have signed up to prove that their students have the talent to be a true star. Please welcome our first act from Welchester High... Samantha Pop!'

The acts rolled on through the evening. They were all very good.
'There's no way we're going to be in the top 5!' I cried.
'There is.' Sarah said. 'For now, let's have a bit of fun. PANIC TIME!'
We ran round, going 'AGHHHH!' It's a tradition for us during stressful situations (we do it in our heads in tests).

Mrs Daniels came in.
'What the heck are you doing?' She asked, laughing. We stopped. 'Anyway, you're on next. Come on.'
We were in our costumes. I felt sick. We walked down the corridors to the wings. Mrs Daniels held mine and Sarah's hands. Alex held my other hand. Tanya and Olivia held hands.
'Don't let fear get the better of you.' Mrs Daniels whispered to me. 'It's your chance to shine, my star.'

The act that was on went off.
'It's time for the final act of the evening. Please, give it up for Ravenwood High's group The Energy!' Alice Derby cried.
We took our positions. It started with my solo to introduce the medley.
(CREDIT TO NIGHTCORE AND THE ORIGINAL ARTISTS OF THESE PIECES - B.Rees

)

'Lost in the darkness,
hoping for a sign,
instead there's only silence,
can't you hear my scream?
Never stop hoping,
if you know where you are...
My boy thinks for sure,
you're always in my heart...

I sung it perfectly. I was astonished by the sound of my voice here. The music changed. Sarah started to sing.

'Dam dadi doo dam dam didoodi dam,
Dam dadi doo dam dam didoodi dam,
Dam dadi doo dam dam didoodi dam,
Dam dadi doo dam dam didoodi dam...

There was instrumental. Tanya started to sing. Sarah sung the last paragraph and the sung the last part together.

'When the morning come come,
I'm dancing like you're dumb, dumb,
And when the groove is high,
when dummies jump to sky,

if you feel the groove, groove,
the dummies have to move, move,
can you feel the beat, the beat, the beat,

You never tell me what is wrong
'cause now it's time to be alone,
let me love you everyday
so long you let the dummies play

Dance to the beat, dance, dance to the beat
Dance to the beat, dance, dance to the beat...

The music changed again. Olivia sang.

'Be my bad boy, be my man,
Be my weekend lover, but don't be my friend,
You can be my bad boy, but understand,
That I don't need you in my life again,

Would you be my bad boy, be my man,
Be my weekend lover, but don't be my friend,
You can be my bad boy, but understand,
That I don't need you again,
No, I don't need you again...

There was an instrumental, and then all four of us cried 'BAD BOY!'
There was another change in music. Alex sang.

It was the final music change. We all sang.

'(Alex: WAKE ME UP!) Wake me up inside...
(Alex: CAN'T WAKE UP!) Wake me up inside...
(Alex: SAVE ME!) Call my name and save me from the dark...
(Alex: WAKE ME UP!) Be my blood to run...
(Alex: CAN'T WAKE UP!) Before I come undone...
(Alex: SAVE ME!) Save me from the nothing I've become...

We all shouted 'WAKE ME UP!' At the end.
We had a massive load of applause.

'What a performance!' Gareth Clare cried. 'How do you feel, Ever?'
'Tired!' I cried. The audience laughed. 'It was so hard - in rehearsal, I didn't get anything right. I'm astonished that I actually did it. We couldn't have performed tonight without Stacey Daniels - please come out, Mrs Daniels!'

After all of this, Alice said the voting details and that the lines were open and would close after an exclusive performance from Gabrielle Aplin. We went into the dressing room.

'Give it up for our acts!'
We all came out.
After saying the first 45 of the top 50, the acts in the 45 went off, leaving us with a few other acts.
They sent off the next three, leaving the top two. Us and Samantha Pop.

They let Gabrielle Aplin announce the winner.
'The winner is...'
It's not gonna be us

, I thought.
'The Energy!

The Party Starts Now

Oh my Lord

, I thought. WE WON!

We got the trophy and performed our piece again. We got a bigger cheer than before.
'So, Ever - the first half of the £30,000 cash prize will be split between each of you, but what would you like to do with the other half?'
We had a group huddle and then decided.
'We're going to donate it to the Ravenwood High Music department, to get more kids into music.' I said.
'Congratulations! Now, for an EXCLUSIVE performance, 3 years since her Newbies Concert performance - Stacey Daniels!'
Mrs Daniels was in the spotlight.
I knew this song.
Another Club Penguin edit!
We were asked to sing, too.

'Get up party people
Haven't you heard?
I get a lot of distance'
For a little flightless bird
I'm a,
Crowned queen,
Of this funky scene
With my stylin' diva floww
And my ice cold beats.
Can I get a what, what
Can I get a who, where
At the coolest club around

The party starts NOW
When I walk in
Turn the music loud for an epic win
DJ K Dance in the house!
You ready to move
Cause I'm spinning the tunes
The party starts NOW
The party starts NOW
Let's begin the countdown!
Let's turn it up loud!
Come on, 5-4-3-2-1
The party starts now!

Aaaaw yeah!
I've got my boom box with me and I'm ready to spin
Turn tables and the microphone
In case you want to win
the party starts and you're still asking around
It doesn't start in 5 minutes!

The party starts now!

The party starts NOW
When I walk in
Turn the music loud for an epic win
DJ K Dance in the house!
Get ready to move
You can boogie down
Cause I'm spinning tunes
The party starts NOW ah ah ah ow!
The party starts NOW ah ah ah ow!
Let's begin the count down!
Let's turn it up loud!
Come on, 5-4-3-2-1
The party starts now!

(CREDIT TO DISNEY - B.Rees

)

We had another massive cheer.

At the dressing room, some of the acts came to congratulate us. A security guard came in to remove the acts.
'The Energy might want some private time, kids, so the party's over.'
'No it's not,' I said to the security guard. 'It's only just beginning...'

Imprint

Text: Book © Bethan Rees 2013 - All lyrics belong to their rightful owners, and I give credit to all.
Images: Illustrations © Bethan Rees 2013
Publication Date: 02-17-2013

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