Music was the backbone of every Ace in the kingdom of Sarias. Music and art pulled in more money each year than technology, medicine, and science combined. Wealthy parents encouraged and pushed their children into music if only to keep the wealth going. And the most surefire way to get children into music? Starting them young.

The government ran public schools to assist the middle and lower class with studies in the arts; however, it was the private academies that pulled in the real talent. Rayne Academy, Chloe's school, was one of the most influential academies breeding talent and fame since the dawn of its conception.

It was a prestigious school—one that made families take on three jobs or sell organs to get into; and even then, it was hard to get in without connections.

But if you did manage to get in... the possibilities were endless.

Chloe juggled her green tea and her books as she stepped out of the passenger seat of Josh's rusting sedan. She used her hip to knock the door shut and winced at the horrible creaking noise it made as it closed.

Josh stared over the top of the car at her. "Don't say it," he warned.

She inhaled dramatically, opening her mouth to say the words.

"Don't." Josh pointed his finger at her in warning. "Chlo."

"You need a new car," she said.

Josh groaned.

They walked together through the tightly packed SUVs and polished convertibles towards the school's ivy-covered main entrance. Even on a brisk spring morning, teens clustered into groups around the courtyard, talking or singing to each other. The place was a flurry of activity in the mornings all the way until the dead of winter when snow covered the ground. Then students would find their way to the auditorium or cafeteria before school started.

Chloe's white collared shirt had bunched up where it was tucked into her red plaid uniform skirt and her matching red tie was draped over the collar. She'd gotten up early this morning to add a few notes to her next piece and practically flew out the door, barely grabbing her books on her way out. She would have to stop at the restroom before class to fix her shirt and tie. Hopefully the navy blazer would disguise the rest of her appearance. She smoothed out her skirt with her hand, yawned, and took a sip of her green tea. She made a face at her cup. "Bleh."

Wearing a matching male version of her own uniform, Josh looked over. "What?"

"Nothing. Just cold tea."

Josh held out his hand for the cup, which Chloe passed over.

She watched in barely withheld excitement as Josh's hands glowed a soft, churning white-orange. All too soon he handed her the steaming cup.

Chloe sipped at it carefully. Perfectly steaming. "Thanks, Josh." She sniffed. "Now, back to the car situation..."

"Leave it be, Chlo. You know Sally's my baby. I could never give her up."

"Your parents are rich. They can buy you a new Sally."

Josh held open the door for her. "It wouldn't be the same and you know it."

She did know it. All too well. "Fine. But I want you to know that if I die in some tragic Sally explosion, I'm going to haunt you until you die."

Josh grinned. "Someone's a bit dramatic today."

"Bite me."

They wandered off towards their lockers in the yellow history hallway. The usual chatter and conversations floated to Chloe's ears. "...she's 568 on Musetunes now. I'm still 603."

"Prince Ethan is going to be on the Darren Show tomorrow!"

"...you hear? Danika's back in town again for the rest of the fall semester. I hope she's in one of my classes."

"I moved up to 1024 this weekend! Isn't that great?"

Chloe stopped at her locker and spun the combination. "It's a number," she muttered. "That's all it is."

Josh leaned his shoulder against the neighboring locker and fiddled with a strand of his blond hair that'd escaped its slightly gelled mold. "You know it's more than that."

She swung open the metal door. "Can you hold my tea?" She placed her books in the locker. Musetunes was the website of their generation. People lived by the trending chart. The higher the number, the better the chance of getting noticed by a producer or professional songwriter. "It shouldn't be about popularity. What about inspiring others? What about the art of it all? What's the point if you don't do it for the music?"

He shrugged. "Beats me. All I know is that popularity doesn't last. It's the determined, fun-loving people like you and me that stay on."

A commotion behind her had the students in the hallway stopping to look. Danika walked past, her Rayne Academy uniform pressed and not a single long brown hair out of place. A group of students chattered and followed close at her heels.

Chloe watched her stepsister pass. "Or if your name is Danika."

"Right." Josh half-turned to stare at Danika and her crowd move further down the hall until they disappeared. "I still prefer listening to the people who actually put emotion into it."

Chloe slammed her locker and thanked Josh for carrying her tea. She took another sip, fighting a satisfied sigh. Nothing was better than a cup of hot tea. "I think I'll keep you, Josh."

The day passed painfully slow. None of Chloe's morning classes could focus long enough to do work—all the students heard Danika was home and were more interested in gossiping about her return. Most of the teachers, after an attempt or two, gave up and made their classes a study hall.

Only her last class did anything. It was her last, but also her favorite. Music Vocals 301, taught by Mrs. Medina.

Mrs. Medina was her favorite teacher. Passionate about the business, she spent most of her time trying to get her students to love what they were coming to Rayne Academy for: performing.

She was also the only teacher Chloe confided in about her situation.

As soon as the bell rang, the door shut and Mrs. Medina clapped her hands together. "Alright folks, break into your groups and bounce song ideas off each other."

The students shuffled to follow orders. Chairs squeaked and desks scraped the floor as everyone got into their set group of three.

"Remember guys that your complete recorded song is due by next Thursday," Mrs. Medina announced to the class. "I don't accept late work."

Chloe had just one other student in her group at the moment. Her name was Gina, a very enthusiastic junior. She was nice and Chloe enjoyed her company, but at the same time, she could only take Gina in small doses.

Gina and Chloe stared awkwardly at each of their open notebooks for a moment. Chloe cleared her throat. "So...have you started writing your song yet?"

Gina grinned, her teeth perfectly white and straight in that borderline fake-looking way. "Nah, I was too busy with cheerleading practice and watching Muse videos to do anything."

"Oh. Anyone good on Musetunes lately?"

"Actually—" The door to the classroom swung open, cutting Gina off. Her classmates looked up.

Chloe's stepsister picked through her purse with her perfectly manicured nails as she entered. "Sorry I'm late," she told Mrs. Medina. Danika pulled two small pieces of paper out of her purse and gave them to the teacher. "These should cover any assignments I may have missed."

The class chittered excitedly as Danika's presence spread through the room. Hushed whispers and giggles floated into the air.

Chloe crossed her arms over her chest and sank further down in her seat.

Mrs. Medina furrowed her eyebrows. "Miss Leighton, bribery will get you nowhere in this classroom." She extended the money back to Danika. "I expect all the assignments you've missed on my desk by next Monday morning."

Chloe smirked. Sweet justice.

Danika paled considerably. "That's two months of work!"

"I'm glad you can count, dear. Now please go take a seat with Chloe and Gina. They'll let you know what you've missed."

Gina quickly leaned forward, her eyes wide and bright. "Oh my gosh, Danika's in our group," she almost squealed.

Danika walked over to their table, chin high and shoulder back. She sat carefully in the chair to Gina's left, across from Chloe.

"Hey Danika," Gina spoke up. "N-nice to meet you, I'm Gina."

Danika nodded in acknowledgment but said nothing. She pulled out an emery board and began filing her nails.

Chloe doodled tiny stars and swirls on the corner of her leather-bound song notebook as Gina explained the details of the project. "...then next week, we all are recording the songs in the studio. It'd be so cool if you could show us how it's done though."

The rest of the class passed quickly and easily. Like usual, Danika pretended Chloe didn't exist. She didn't particularly have a problem with that since it meant not having to deal with her.

A loud, shrill ring signaled the end of the school day. The students rustled together all their supplies and rushed out the door. Danika exited the room without even a glance at Chloe.

"Bye Chloe," Gina called out as she left.

"See ya."

The room was dead quiet after everyone left. "Are you all set, Chloe?" Mrs. Medina asked her from the front of the room.

Chloe did a mental once-over of her notebook. "I think so." Yeah, she definitely had the lyrics in her notebook. "Let me text Josh and tell him to meet us in the studio."

"Of course."

"Thank you so much, Mrs. Medina." Chloe sent a grateful look her way.

Mrs. Medina snatched a file from the top drawer of her desk and a pen. "Anytime, Chloe."

Chloe pulled out her dinky phone and texted Josh. Meet @ studio in 5.

Rayne Academy had a wing of modified recording studios next to the music department. A lot of the upper classes utilized the rooms for projects and class purposes. After school, the studios could be signed out in 30-minute increments for the student's use. Whether they wanted to get to know the control board, record their own songs, or do final post-production on their music, students often used them as an added resource. So much so that they were booked out weeks in advance.

Chloe was a foot away from a tall standing microphone, her headphones snug against her ears. Right behind the mic, her leather notebook rested on a black music stand. The lyrics she'd scribbled down on a rainy Tuesday night waited for her.

"Ready Chlo?" Josh asked from the control room.

She gave him a thumbs up.

A piano began playing in her ear, smoothly flowing through each key. The steady drums and guitar followed. Chloe took a deep breath and let her diaphragm begin its work.

The intro went beautifully. The music picked up for the chorus and notes echoed through her ear. Her voice transitioned easily for the high notes. The song continued. She put a bit of finesse on the longer notes and kept along with the music.

The drums and bass faded out as she held onto the last note. Her voice drifted off, but the piano kept playing until it faded out completely.

"Sounded great," Josh told her through the headset. "I think we may have to redo the second verse and fix the third repeat of the chorus."

Chloe nodded at him through the glass window. "I'm okay with whatever. Just no auto-tune."

Josh smirked and flicked blonde fringe from his eyes. "Wouldn't want you to sound fake. It's bad for your image."

She rolled her eyes. "Shut it."

The music started up again in her ear. She sang with the tune, picking it up easier. The second run-through ended up better than the first.

"I like it," Josh told her later when they were cutting and adjusting the song in the control booth.

"What about the pre-chorus?" she asked him.

"What about it?"

Chloe bit her lip as her gaze traced the music program on Josh's computer. A song was made up of layers—lyrics, harmonies, instrumentals, and a variety of other elements. The software program made it easier to cut, arrange, and reconfigure a song by keeping different strips of each piece separated. "There's a note towards the end, right before the chorus, that doesn't quite fit."

Josh nodded and pointed to the particular strand. "This one?"

"Mhm." She tapped her finger against the edge of the control board as she replayed it in her head. "What if we cut the last few notes and then fade it into the chorus?"

"I can mess with it until it sounds natural. Unless you want to rerecord that line."

She shook her head. "The instrumentals and harmonies will take care of the heavy lifting. Go ahead and cut it."

Josh snipped that piece and did a quick blend.

Chloe beamed at him. "I ever tell you you're a genius at this stuff?"

Her best friend shrugged, his eyes still on the screen. "You have, but I'm not going to complain if you keep saying it."

She laughed.

Mrs. Medina glanced up from the corner chair. "I hate to say it, but we have to wrap this up, guys. I told my husband I'd be home for dinner and it's seven already."

"That's fine," Chloe said. "We just have to upload it."

Mrs. Medina packed all her stuff up as Josh downloaded the track to his computer and emailed it to her. He then went through and deleted any file history from the main computer.

"Thanks again, Mrs. Medina."

Mrs. Medina locked up the door behind them. "Having superstars in your family does sometimes hinder people. I understand."

Chloe posted the new song to her Musetunes page at midnight that night.