Tenney Shares the Stage

Nashville, TN – 2017
Author Kellen Hertz
Cover Illustrator Juliana Kolesova
Originally Published © 2017 American Girl
ISBN 9781338117578
 

A New Sound

Tenney and Logan are playing a concert at Cumberland Park. They had played four free concerts in the past month and each time they play, they get more comfortable together.

After the performance, Zane, their manager, pulls them aside. He tells them they need to start developing their own unique sound as a duo, meaning they need to start writing music together, as well as writing separately. Tenney and Logan are adamant they write better apart. While Zane agrees, he also thinks they need to work together to be a successful duo. In fact, if they do well, they could be ready to record their first EP album soon.

Logan says he can only work together three times a week, instead of the two recommended by Zane. It’ll have to do for now.

As Tenney escorts Logan to his mom’s car, she realizes that there’s still a lot of stuff she doesn’t know about Logan. What secret is he hiding?

 

Be Professional

At school, Tenney is sitting with her friends Jaya and Holliday at lunch. When Tenney tells them about the EP album opportunity. Her friends are gushing with excitement for Tenney. But when Tenney reveals she’ll have to write music with Logan, her friends are surprisingly supportive. They even help brainstorm ideas for new songs.

After school, Tenney meets up with Logan at her dad’s music shop. But when she brings up ideas for music, Logan shoots them all down. In fact, Logan didn’t even bring any ideas of his own! They finish the rehearsal with no new song ideas.

After rehearsal, Logan is getting his bike, when he notices he has a flat tire. To Tenney’s chagrin, Dad invites Logan back to their place for dinner.

 

Mud Pie and Melodies

At dinner, Logan eats all the spaghetti, and he politely answers all of the questions he’s asked. Logan has a younger brother, and his dad, a musician, is away on tour for months at a time. Logan plays guitar and bass, and is actually really good.

Logan patiently listens to Tenney’s little sister, Aubrey’s, accordion music. And when Logan picks up Tenney’s old beater guitar, it turns out he does have some unfinished song ideas up his sleeve.

Tenney offers to help him write the songs later. He graciously agrees. If Tenney knew food is all that is required to open Logan up, she would have fed him a long time ago!

 

Out of Tune

Before the meeting with Portia, Tenney decides to work on furthering the tune that Logan played. She manages to get some semblance of a chorus, but nothing else.

At the meeting with Portia, Logan turns up more than fifteen minutes late. He doesn’t give an explanation or apology, and tries to jump right in. When Tenney explains she made some additions to his piece, he’s frustrated that she worked on it without him. And when she plays it, he says he hates it because it’s too cute.

Portia gets up, saying that they need to learn how to trust each other in order to be songwriters together. If they can’t trust each other, Portia doesn’t know if she can work with them.

They both take a few deep breaths. Then they just start throwing off ideas. “Try this.” “How about this?” And before they know it, it’s been an hour and they’re just riffing off each other. And then Logan says he has to go. Tenney wants to schedule another time to work on the lyrics before Sunday, but Logan just responds he doesn’t have time for another session, and Tenney can do the lyrics herself.

 

Sing Your Mind

All through dinner, Tenney’s mind was elsewhere. She was so confused by Logan’s emotional rollercoaster. Even if Tenney writes the lyrics, as Logan said she could, will Logan just hate them?

She decides that Logan’s attitude isn’t going to prevent her from making music. So she takes a stab at the lyrics. She ends up venting all her frustrations about working with Logan into the lyrics. She hates his hot and cold attitude. He shuts her out. He’s unpredictable.

She counts the beats in every line to make sure the words all match up. She flip-flops the phrases and changes words here and there. Eventually, it gets to a point where she feels confident enough about the words. She names the song “The Nerve.”

Tentatively, she sends all the lyrics in an email. She wonders if Logan will realize the lyrics are about him!

That evening, she gets a text from him. It reads “Good job.” He also asks her to work on them with her at her dad’s shop the next day.

 

Facing the Music

The next day at the music store, Logan gave no indication of being upset about the mean lyrics. Instead, he plays it cool. When they get into the listening room at Dad’s music shop, he casually says he rewrote some of the lyrics in the second verse, and added a couple lines to the end.

Tenney immediately is nervous, but she knows that it wouldn’t be joint songwriting if she never let Logan make changes. They start to play the song from the top. Tenney is surprised when Logan’s new lyrics are all about her. So after the changes, she has a verse about how hard it is to work with him, and he has a verse about how hard it is to work with her. And Tenney actually likes the changes. They start throwing out new ideas, making even more changes here and there, until the song is at a place where they both feel like they got their point of view in.

Logan also wants to apologize for how he’s acted lately. He explains his mom has needed more and more help taking care of his younger brother, and other tasks around the house. But he doesn’t want Portia and Zane to find out. Tenney understands and agrees to keep it private.

At the end of rehearsal, they’re surprised to see Ellie Cane, Zane’s niece, talking to Tenney’s dad. Ellie explains that Belle Starr is coming back to Nashville and playing a private concert, and she specifically asked Tenney and Logan to open for her! This is an incredible opportunity, and Tenney is excited to start working on their opening act.

 

Where Are You?

When Tenney tells Holliday and Jaya about the opportunity to open for Belle Starr, they squeal with excitement. They are so proud of Tenney.

The next day, Tenney goes over to Portia’s house to meet with Logan and Zane. She gets there early and warms up. But as the clock ticks by, Logan still hasn’t shown up. Zane arrives, and Logan still isn’t there. After fifteen minutes passes, Zane and Tenney try to call both Logan, and Logan’s house… no answer at either.

Eventually, Zane explains that he has to get going, and he leaves. Disappointed, Tenney walks back to Dad’s store. When she gets there, she asks Mason, her older brother, if he can take Tenney to his house. She knocks on the front door, but nobody answers.

When Tenney gets back to her dad’s store, she learns the reason Logan never showed up: he was arrested.

 

Silence

Tenney tries a few more times to text and call Logan. No response. Mason points out he probably doesn’t have his phone if he’s in jail.

That evening at dinner, Dad says he thinks Tenney should take a break from Logan. No more songwriting, performing, or rehearsing. For now, at least until they have more information. Mom also points out that if Zane decides to drop Logan from the label, that would also jeopardize Tenney’s label, too.

Tenney spends her evening upstairs in her room, sobbing, and angry at everybody—Logan, Zane, her parents, and the whole situation. The only thing giving her a shred of hope is that Logan promised that music was the best part of his life, and he wouldn’t let anything keep him from playing.

 

When the Music Stops

It’s the next day after school, and Tenney still hasn’t heard anything from or about Logan. Her head can’t stop thinking about him, so she takes Waylon out for a walk. Before she knows it, she’s in front of Portia’s house.

Portia hasn’t heard anything either. So, she and Tenney drop off the dog, and drive over to Logan’s house. Logan isn’t home, but his mother and little brother, Jude, are. They invite Tenney and Portia inside.

Logan’s mother explains that Logan’s father is in Japan on tour with another band. He tries to send money back to the family when he can, but payment is sporadic and unpredictable. Lately, payments have stalled. So in the meantime, Logan decided to get a part-time janitorial job at the hospital. And in addition to school and his job, he also has to take care of adult things around the house, like laundry, cooking, cleaning, and taking care of Jude.

So the other day, when Jude ran out of asthma medication, Logan took it upon himself to run down to the pharmacy to get a refill. When he realized he had forgotten his wallet at home, with his insurance card and money, the pharmacist told Logan he’d have to come back later. Logan felt like he didn’t have the time or energy to wait for the medication, so he stole it. His intention was to bring the medication back to his brother, and then come back later that day with the payment. But a security guard caught him and arrested him instead.

Both Portia and Tenney understand. His mood swings, tardiness, running out of rehearsal suddenly… it all made sense now. And then Logan came home. He’s surprised to see Portia and Tenney, and immediately thinks Tenney told Portia his secrets. He’s mad at her.

Tenney is mad at Logan for keeping everything a secret; she believes that if they’re truly to be a team, he has to let her in. Logan is angry with Tenney for invading his privacy; he didn’t want his personal life to affect the band. They fight, and Logan quits the band and the record label.

 

Duet for One

Sitting at the lunch table, Tenney tells Jaya and Holliday that Logan quit. Jaya can’t believe it. She says that Logan treated Tenney badly; she doesn’t blame her if Tenney never wanted to play with Logan again. Holliday thoughtfully says that when people are upset or feel bad, sometimes that comes out as anger. Maybe after Tenney gives it some time, she will be more understanding of Logan’s point of view.

After school, Tenney heads downtown to meet Zane and Ellie at Mockingbird Records. Zane confirms that Logan quit. But the good news is that they’re working on drafting a new solo contract up for Tenney so she can continue working. Unfortunately, Tenney won’t be able to open for Belle Starr—she just doesn’t have enough time to develop a full solo set.

Even though this is all of Tenney’s dreams come true, something still feels missing, and Tenney feels horrible for Logan.

At Dad’s shop, Tenney knew she had to face the uncomfortable feeling of playing their music alone. As she started, she realized how much of their music had developed into a duet act… even though it could be played solo, it just felt lonely without Logan’s drums and energy.

Just three measures into “The Nerve” she stops herself. She just can’t play this duet alone. Instead, a new melody came into her head. She strummed it out, and soon rough lyrics followed.

 

By the weekend, Tenney’s song about Logan is just about finished, and her parents inform her the lawyers received the solo act contract. But no matter how excited Tenney is, she just knows there’s one thing she has to do before she signs the new contract: talk to Logan face to face.

Tenney convinces Mason to take her to look for Logan. They try his house, his school, the library, and the park. They are just about to head home and give up when Tenney, looking outside the window of the car, recognizes Logan’s bike chained to a hospital bike rack.

They turn around, park the car, and head into a hospital. A nurse at the front desk informs them that Logan’s shift just finished. Tenney and Mason start wandering down a hallway when they hear faint guitar music. They recognize the song as “Reach the Sky,” one of Tenney’s first songs. But when Tenney opens the door, she doesn’t find Logan, but instead a little girl watching a video on her tablet.

 

Alice

The girl introduces herself as Alice. When Tenney asks where she got that song, she says her friend Logan recorded it for her. When Tenney says her own name, Alice recognizes it. Apparently Logan had mentioned her once or twice. Then Alice asks Tenney to play a song on her own guitar.

Tenney begins to play the new song she had written. Part way through, Tenney is interrupted by somebody behind her saying her own name. Logan is standing into the doorway, surprised to see her there.

Alice is ecstatic. She asks them to play a song together. They agree to play “Reach the Sky” as a duet. Tenney hands Logan the guitar and lets him sing the first verse. On the choruses, they harmonize perfectly. They are more in sync than they’ve ever been before.

After, Tenney pulls him aside. She explains that she hasn’t signed the solo contract yet, and she’d love to keep working with Logan. He apologizes for his behavior, and says that although he’d like to keep working together, too, both Tenney and Zane deserve someone who’s committed 110%, and that’s just not Logan right now.

They agree that sometimes, they can still jam and perform together. And then, Tenney hugs Logan, and he hugs her back.

When the two of them go back inside the room, they’re surprised when Alice suggests they do a performance the next weekend together. Tenney and Logan agree at exactly the same time.

 

Secret Plans

As Tenney and Mason drive home, they realize that if they come clean and tell Mom and Dad about the concert with Logan at the hospital, they probably won’t let Tenney play with Mason. So they decide they need a plan to tell them about the performance, without telling them about Logan.

At dinner, Mason tells Mom and Dad a friend of a friend asked Tenney to do the show. They say it’ll be fun, but when Aubrey asks if she can perform, too, it throws Tenney for a loop. How can she keep it casual, while not letting Aubrey’s performance ruin everything? Tenney obliges, saying Aubrey can sing the last song with her.

Throughout the next week, Tenney manages to squeeze in virtual rehearsals with Logan, as well as one face to face rehearsal at the store while Dad is out running errands. Without the pressure of an EP album or a high-stakes performance, Logan and Tenney get on fantastically, and by the end, Tenney’s face hurts from laughing so much. She feels bad for lying to everybody about the performance, but she knows it’s what has to happen to pull this thing off.

 

The Gathering Place

The day of the hospital performance, Tenney nervously gets ready. She and her family make their way to the hospital. Once inside, her parents are surprised when they see Logan. Aubrey is, of course, thrilled. But before Tenney’s parents can ask what’s going on, Portia, Zane, and Ellie come in. Logan is upset that Portia, Zane, and Ellie are there. They’re surprised to see Logan. And then, Logan’s mom and brother come in. They know what’s going on.

Tenney explains that not revealing the full details was the only way to convince everybody to show up! Furthermore, although people said Tenney shouldn’t perform with Logan, she can’t imagine playing her set without him. And, Logan wouldn’t have wanted to do a performance that led him to reconsider quitting music.

Before anybody can make any decisions, the audience starts to file in. Some are teenagers, some are kids, as young as five. They’re all wearing hospital gowns and slippers. The adults realize it’s too late to cancel the concert, and it’s for the children. So they let the performance go on.

 

Healing Music

Although Tenney and Logan didn’t have a lot of face time to practice, they play their best performance yet. They are so in-sync. They communicate via nods and smiles, and they listen to each other as they go, playing forcefully when someone speeds up or slows down, harmonizing perfectly. When Aubrey comes up on stage, she’s nervous. She fumbles over her notes, and her tempo is erratic, but the whole time, Tenney and Logan have her back.

After the concert, Tenney is surprised to see Belle Starr standing in the back. Although she invited Belle via email, she didn’t expect her to show up. Belle asks if Tenney and Logan would like to join her for dinner with their families, Zane, Portia, and Ellie.

At dinner, Belle tells the others about her plan to do a charity concert over the summer for local hospitals. She wants to travel to do small shows to hospitals throughout the day, and then will do a big benefit concert for all of Nashville, and all proceeds will go to local hospitals.

And then, Belle asks Tenney and Logan to open for her. Tenney is hesitant… she’s not allowed to play with Logan. But Mom and Dad reassure her that they want her to keep playing with Logan. Logan and Jude can come hang out at Dad’s shop as much as they need, and then Logan and Tenney can practice and work together. Mrs. Everett, Jude, and Logan are welcome to Sunday night dinner every week!

And even better, Zane never finished canceling their contract, which means Logan and Tenney can pick up right where they left off, working on original music.

This could really work! Logan and Tenney are in!

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