Rock Royalty by Kathryn Williams Page A

that Celeb Beat has a journalist embedded here. I feel like someone’s watching my every move!”
    â€œAnd waiting to criticize it,” Tess pointed out as she, Mitchie, Caitlyn, and Shane walked down the front-porch steps.
    I nside, Brown turned to his music director. “You know, Dee,” he said, “this is the part of rock ‘n’ roll that I never liked.”
    â€œWhat’s that?” Dee asked.
    â€œAll the hoopla and the celebrity that gets blown out of proportion—and the negative press. Why do we always want to build our rock stars up just to tear them down?”
    Dee sighed. “Good question.”
    â€œI guess I was just hoping that at camp, at least, these kids wouldn’t have to deal with all that.”
    â€œMaybe it’s better that they learn about it sooner rather than later,” Dee observed, trying to put a positive spin on it.
    It was Brown’s turn to sigh. “Maybe,” he said. “But now we have a mole to find.”
    K nowing that Celeb Beat had its eyes and ears trained on them had everyone at Camp Rock on edge. At the Mess Hall of Fame, campers spoke to each other in hushed whispers. In the B-Note canteen, people talked about “safe” things, such as the weather or the upcoming Bonfire Jamboree. And in classes, everyone was superfocused. If a reporter really was at Camp Rock, he—or she—would be getting nothing but stories about dedicated, well-behaved campers.
    Mitchie, however, still hadn’t gotten over the sting of her fellow campers talking about her. Was it true what they said? she wondered. Had she been acting like a diva? She hadn’t meant to. People were just offering her things and telling her ways to look good. When you were treated like rock royalty, it sure was easy to act like it! She couldn’t help but sort of get why Tess was the way she was. But still—that wasn’t her. She hated the idea of others getting that impression.
    Since reading the article, Mitchie had decided laying low was the best option. So she had been staying pretty quiet. Now, in songwriting class, she broke the silence with Lola and Caitlyn.
    â€œHey, guys,” Mitchie said suddenly, as the three girls were puzzling over a word that rhymed with “bonfire” for the jamboree.
    Lola and Caitlyn looked up from their notepads.
    â€œI’m sorry,” Mitchie said, “if I was acting kind of spoiled before the concert . . . and during the concert . . . and after the concert. I just wasn’t used to all the attention.”
    Caitlyn smiled. “We know,” she said.
    â€œWater under the bridge,” assured Lola.
    Mitchie smiled, realizing how good the friends she had made this summer at Camp Rock really were. “Thanks, you guys,” she said, breathing a huge sigh of relief.
    â€œJust promise us you and Tess won’t start your own divas tour,” Caitlyn joked.
    Mitchie laughed. “Cross my heart,” she said, using her finger to cross her chest. The girls fell into a comfortable silence. Even though she had apologized, something was still weighing on Mitchie. She finally spoke up. “I just keep wondering if people really said those things about me.”
    Lola shrugged. “Maybe they did, maybe they didn’t,” she said. “If they did, it was probably because they were a little jealous that you got to perform at a really cool concert. Either way, you can’t worry about it.”
    Just then, Tess wandered up. Ella and Lorraine were, for once, not trailing behind her. “What are you talking about?” she asked.
    â€œWe’re just talking about the article,” answered Caitlyn.
    â€œAnd how not fun it is to be put under a microscope,” Mitchie added.
    They all were expecting Tess to make some flippant remark, but instead she grew serious. “It’s not easy being famous,” she said. “People write things about you that