chapter one
Like every year Amanda was sitting all alone on a train
back home from her vacation in the black forest. She loves visiting her family
and friends back there because she has always made her vacation visits as far as
she remembers. And she couldn't imagine not being there at least one time a year
to party and to play basketball or just to hang out and have fun. And although
she had left only a few hours ago, she already started to miss them again. Like
always she had a compartment for herself so that she didn't had to worry about
the content of other passengers. And because she wanted to keep it that way she
had closed all of the curtains that were on the side of the compartment, where
it had two windows and a door to the corridor.
As the train moved on she watched the landscape flowing
by. For a moment she started to dream away, what was pretty typical for her. She
always dreams of places she had been to. And she loves to remember her last trip
to Japan. She just couldn't forget the spirit of this country. Everything just
seems like from another planet. She continued dreaming for a little while, until
the train reached the next station and brought her back. When she realized where
she was, she started to watch different people outside. She always loved
watching people and their attitudes. And sometimes when she was together with
her friends, they could talk about them and sometimes even make fun of them all
day long. Although she knew that things like that aren't very nice.
After the train got out of the Station
again, she decided to listen to some music. So she opened her bag and flipped
through her CD's. After a while she choose the new CD from Mariah Carey. After a
few songs she skipped some and listened to "Hero". It has always been
her favourite song and she loved to sing along with it. After "Hero"
was over, she put her CD player back into her bag and restarted watching the
landscape again, until she heard a knocking on the door to her compartment.
After thinking for a few secs she got up and opened it. Outside she found a tall
man in his mid thirties with long blond hair. First she couldn't imagine why
this man would knock on her door but than she remembered suddenly what she had
done only a few seconds ago. And she felt sorry for it. She wanted to start
apologizing but before she could he spoke up.
"Excuse me can I ask you something? "
"Sure"
"Was it you, who sang a few seconds
ago? "
When she heard that question she started to apologize.
"Yes and I'm very sorry. I know I shouldn't have sang that loud, they always tell me that I sound ugly and that I better stop it forever. "
The man was obvious surprised by her reaction. And it
took him a few secs to answer.
With that he gave her a little card, which said:
Max Martin
Producer/Songwriter
Cheiron
Studios
Stockholm,
Sweden
She thought a moment than said with a
smile
"Thanx, I'll think about it."
"OK call me..."
"Amanda"
"Ok call me Amanda if you want"
"Bye"
"Bye"
When the man was gone she closed the door again and sat
down. She didn't know exactly from where but she remembered this man's name
somehow. But she didn't know exactly from where or what but she just couldn't
forget it. Then during watching the landscape again, it suddenly came to her
mind. She turned to reach for her bag, and when she got it, took her
"Sugar" magazine out. She flipped through it until she found what she
was looking for. There it was. The latest article about her all time favourite
group "the Backstreet Boys". In the last paragraph it said, that they
are supposed to be in the recording studio in early August. And it although said
that it will be in Stockholm, Sweden with a producer called Max Martin.
After she had read it over and over again, she finally
realized that it wasn't just a dream. That somebody beside her parents and
friends had said that she has a great voice. She was so happy about it, that she
couldn't put it with words.