‹ Prequel: American Girl: Can't I Just Be Chloe?
Amped Up: Why Is My Name Jason?
Camp Rock
The fact was that I was unable to give my father that note. When he got back from giving the performance (wherever it was), he immediately secluded himself for awhile. I rarely ever saw him. No surprise that Garrett and Madison did. Why would I? They were his favorites. I was pissed over that. Why would his favorite kids be the ones that preferred to attend football games or cheer rather than playing music like he did? I just like to Play my music (ha, Jonas reference!); Garrett and Maddie are more interested in popularity than music. That definitely wasn’t right, particularly for the child of a Jonas Brother. If Mom was alive, she would never let this happen; I know she wouldn’t. “Ugh!” I groaned slamming the guitar down in anger. “Why won’t Dad realize that this is bothering me so much?”
“He’ll realize the truth,” Uncle Nick said as he helped me learn Lovebug. “Just give him a little time. Your father will come to understand that he’s made a huge mistake in his priorities. Spending all his time with the two kids who only like listening to music is the wrong thing for him to be doing; he should be spending time with you. You have a connection to music like Manda does. Your name held a special meaning that even you don’t know about.”
“And exactly is that?” I asked.
Uncle Nick chuckled and went to go get something. “Well, first of all, don’t tell your father I did this,” he called from the other room. “Your father never wanted this to be brought up…ever. The fact is though that you need to know; you need to understand why your father hates you the way he does.” He returned with a collection of DVDs and showed them to me. “I know for a fact that you’ve never watched these; you need to though.”
I looked at the DVDs that Uncle Nick shoved in front of me. Camp Rock, I thought glancing down at the series name. Looking at the cover I saw that my father, uncles, and a family friend, Demi Lovato, were on each of the covers. This was a series of movies that they made early on in their careers, I realized judging by the age of them. I looked up at my uncle. “You want me to watch each of these, am I right?” I asked him curiously.
“That’s right,” he said with a smile. “Then once you watch each of the movies, I’ll explain everything, something that your parents or Beth should have done a long time ago.”
Upon watching all of the movies, I looked over to my uncle for an explanation as to what was going on. My name was in each of these movies. In fact, it was my father who played the character of Jason. “Why?” I asked him with a slight hint of anger in my voice. “Why is it that I was given the very same name as the character my father plays in those movies?”
“That, my dear Jason, is the reason your father hates you so much,” Uncle Nick said. “You see, when your mother first found out that she was pregnant, she made us swear that we wouldn’t mention any of this to your father; he was always so protective of her and, if he found out that she was pregnant, Kevin would become even more protective of her. So, we all agreed that the pregnancy that resulted in you, Madison, and Garrett would be kept a secret from him until after we returned from filming the second Camp Rock. It was during this time that Manda decided that at least one of her sons would be named Jason, in honor of the character Kevin was portraying at the time of the pregnancy. It would be his way of remembering the fact that he was away for a portion of the pregnancy. Now, after we were down filming the movie and Kevin learned of the pregnancy, he was the one to name your siblings. You were the only one that Manda named. So, when she died, your father came to hate you because you were the one reminder of the fact that he was a widower. Manda named you and Kevin was forced to live with the reminder that she chose a name for you that would force him to always remember the fact that this was the one time he couldn’t protect her. As a result, you were ignored.”
“What?” I yelled vehemently. “Why would my father ignore me merely because of the fact that my mother was the one to name me? Just because she named me Jason as her final act on this Earth doesn’t mean that my father has the right to ignore me like this.”
“Yeah, Jason, I know. Of course, Kevin just doesn’t see things that way. He just blames you for Manda’s death. And the fact that you’re the one to possess your mother’s gift doesn’t help much either. I mean, if your wife died leaving the only son she named with an ability she possessed, would you want to be around him at all?” Uncle Nick asked me.
“No, but that wouldn’t stop me from spending time with him!” I yelled angrily. “Dad needs to understand that. Now where exactly has my father been hiding out? He and I are going to work this out TONIGHT! I am not about to let this go. I want him to understand he should not be ignoring me merely because Mom named me in honor of a character he played in a series of Disney Channel Original Movies.” My thoughts quickly turned to the note that was still in my pocket. If I could, I would make an addendum to it, but I was far too angry at what my father was doing to do so. “So, where is he, Uncle Nick?”
“Hold on; I’ll call him,” Uncle Nick said.
As I waited for Uncle Nick to contact my father, I took a quick look around the room. Mom was there…as usual. “Why, Mom? Why didn’t you tell me that I was named after my father’s character in Camp Rock? I mean, that’s something I really needed to know.”
“I know,” she said. “Of course, it’s not something I really wanted you to know about. Despite the fact that I know you should have learned the truth long ago, I didn’t want you to know what was going on. Your father wasn’t the only one who didn’t want you to learn what was going on; the fact was that I didn’t either. I really wasn’t sure how you would take the news that I named you after your father’s character in Camp Rock. I did it so I would always remember the reason that your father wasn’t around during half the pregnancy.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know the rest of the story. You died and left Dad with a constant reminder of you and the fact that he couldn’t see you ever again: me,” I groaned. My mother had done something that had seriously bugged me here. Now that I knew that my mother had saddled me with a name that reminded me of my father, I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to even speak with her right now. She had ultimately caused this rift between me and my father, a rift that I wasn’t even sure could be fixed. Dad would never understand what was going on and I wasn’t sure if he ever would. Playing Lovebug was the only possible way for him to understand as it would give Mom the opportunity to speak with him about everything that was going on here. That was the only way this could happen.
“Sorry about that,” she said.
I groaned and turned to face my uncle. I needed to figure out what was going on. “Uncle Nick, where is he? I need to speak with my father right now. If I don’t, there’s really no telling as to what could end up happening. I mean, my father needs to understand that playing Lovebug for Mom is imperative. He needs to understand that playing Lovebug is the only possible way to keep Mom’s link to us going strong. He’ll also be able to communicate with her once the song is played. I mean, that’s actually how I was able to get in contact with her; the moment I played Lovebug was the very same moment that I discovered the ability that I inherited from my mother. Therefore, I think that my father needs to play that song…for my parents’ sakes as well as mine and my aunt’s sakes.”
“I think he’s with your aunt,” Uncle Nick said.
“Really?” I asked.
He nodded. “Yeah, but if I may make a suggestion, I think that it would be best for you to wait until after we finish practicing Lovebug for today. Once we’re done with that, you can go out and talk to them about everything that’s been going on. Joe and I know full well how much you want your father in your life. Whereas Garrett and Madison have never been that fond of dealing with the music industry, you have. You’re the one who has always been a fan of our music and interested in following in your father’s footsteps. As a result, you should be the one to spend more time with him, not Garrett or Madison. Everyone knows that…everyone except for Kevin that is. He’s oblivious.”
I smiled. “Thanks, Uncle Nick.”
“You’re welcome,” he said. “Now let’s get back to practicing this song. We don’t have very much time to do this. You must remember that, Jason. If you are to continue to see your mother following the New Year, you must learn this song or risk losing your mother.”
“I know.” With that, I began strumming the guitar, thinking of my father and what he needed to do in order for me to continue speaking with my mother about what was going on in my life. He needed to understand how I felt and what I had been going through.
“He’ll realize the truth,” Uncle Nick said as he helped me learn Lovebug. “Just give him a little time. Your father will come to understand that he’s made a huge mistake in his priorities. Spending all his time with the two kids who only like listening to music is the wrong thing for him to be doing; he should be spending time with you. You have a connection to music like Manda does. Your name held a special meaning that even you don’t know about.”
“And exactly is that?” I asked.
Uncle Nick chuckled and went to go get something. “Well, first of all, don’t tell your father I did this,” he called from the other room. “Your father never wanted this to be brought up…ever. The fact is though that you need to know; you need to understand why your father hates you the way he does.” He returned with a collection of DVDs and showed them to me. “I know for a fact that you’ve never watched these; you need to though.”
I looked at the DVDs that Uncle Nick shoved in front of me. Camp Rock, I thought glancing down at the series name. Looking at the cover I saw that my father, uncles, and a family friend, Demi Lovato, were on each of the covers. This was a series of movies that they made early on in their careers, I realized judging by the age of them. I looked up at my uncle. “You want me to watch each of these, am I right?” I asked him curiously.
“That’s right,” he said with a smile. “Then once you watch each of the movies, I’ll explain everything, something that your parents or Beth should have done a long time ago.”
Upon watching all of the movies, I looked over to my uncle for an explanation as to what was going on. My name was in each of these movies. In fact, it was my father who played the character of Jason. “Why?” I asked him with a slight hint of anger in my voice. “Why is it that I was given the very same name as the character my father plays in those movies?”
“That, my dear Jason, is the reason your father hates you so much,” Uncle Nick said. “You see, when your mother first found out that she was pregnant, she made us swear that we wouldn’t mention any of this to your father; he was always so protective of her and, if he found out that she was pregnant, Kevin would become even more protective of her. So, we all agreed that the pregnancy that resulted in you, Madison, and Garrett would be kept a secret from him until after we returned from filming the second Camp Rock. It was during this time that Manda decided that at least one of her sons would be named Jason, in honor of the character Kevin was portraying at the time of the pregnancy. It would be his way of remembering the fact that he was away for a portion of the pregnancy. Now, after we were down filming the movie and Kevin learned of the pregnancy, he was the one to name your siblings. You were the only one that Manda named. So, when she died, your father came to hate you because you were the one reminder of the fact that he was a widower. Manda named you and Kevin was forced to live with the reminder that she chose a name for you that would force him to always remember the fact that this was the one time he couldn’t protect her. As a result, you were ignored.”
“What?” I yelled vehemently. “Why would my father ignore me merely because of the fact that my mother was the one to name me? Just because she named me Jason as her final act on this Earth doesn’t mean that my father has the right to ignore me like this.”
“Yeah, Jason, I know. Of course, Kevin just doesn’t see things that way. He just blames you for Manda’s death. And the fact that you’re the one to possess your mother’s gift doesn’t help much either. I mean, if your wife died leaving the only son she named with an ability she possessed, would you want to be around him at all?” Uncle Nick asked me.
“No, but that wouldn’t stop me from spending time with him!” I yelled angrily. “Dad needs to understand that. Now where exactly has my father been hiding out? He and I are going to work this out TONIGHT! I am not about to let this go. I want him to understand he should not be ignoring me merely because Mom named me in honor of a character he played in a series of Disney Channel Original Movies.” My thoughts quickly turned to the note that was still in my pocket. If I could, I would make an addendum to it, but I was far too angry at what my father was doing to do so. “So, where is he, Uncle Nick?”
“Hold on; I’ll call him,” Uncle Nick said.
As I waited for Uncle Nick to contact my father, I took a quick look around the room. Mom was there…as usual. “Why, Mom? Why didn’t you tell me that I was named after my father’s character in Camp Rock? I mean, that’s something I really needed to know.”
“I know,” she said. “Of course, it’s not something I really wanted you to know about. Despite the fact that I know you should have learned the truth long ago, I didn’t want you to know what was going on. Your father wasn’t the only one who didn’t want you to learn what was going on; the fact was that I didn’t either. I really wasn’t sure how you would take the news that I named you after your father’s character in Camp Rock. I did it so I would always remember the reason that your father wasn’t around during half the pregnancy.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know the rest of the story. You died and left Dad with a constant reminder of you and the fact that he couldn’t see you ever again: me,” I groaned. My mother had done something that had seriously bugged me here. Now that I knew that my mother had saddled me with a name that reminded me of my father, I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to even speak with her right now. She had ultimately caused this rift between me and my father, a rift that I wasn’t even sure could be fixed. Dad would never understand what was going on and I wasn’t sure if he ever would. Playing Lovebug was the only possible way for him to understand as it would give Mom the opportunity to speak with him about everything that was going on here. That was the only way this could happen.
“Sorry about that,” she said.
I groaned and turned to face my uncle. I needed to figure out what was going on. “Uncle Nick, where is he? I need to speak with my father right now. If I don’t, there’s really no telling as to what could end up happening. I mean, my father needs to understand that playing Lovebug for Mom is imperative. He needs to understand that playing Lovebug is the only possible way to keep Mom’s link to us going strong. He’ll also be able to communicate with her once the song is played. I mean, that’s actually how I was able to get in contact with her; the moment I played Lovebug was the very same moment that I discovered the ability that I inherited from my mother. Therefore, I think that my father needs to play that song…for my parents’ sakes as well as mine and my aunt’s sakes.”
“I think he’s with your aunt,” Uncle Nick said.
“Really?” I asked.
He nodded. “Yeah, but if I may make a suggestion, I think that it would be best for you to wait until after we finish practicing Lovebug for today. Once we’re done with that, you can go out and talk to them about everything that’s been going on. Joe and I know full well how much you want your father in your life. Whereas Garrett and Madison have never been that fond of dealing with the music industry, you have. You’re the one who has always been a fan of our music and interested in following in your father’s footsteps. As a result, you should be the one to spend more time with him, not Garrett or Madison. Everyone knows that…everyone except for Kevin that is. He’s oblivious.”
I smiled. “Thanks, Uncle Nick.”
“You’re welcome,” he said. “Now let’s get back to practicing this song. We don’t have very much time to do this. You must remember that, Jason. If you are to continue to see your mother following the New Year, you must learn this song or risk losing your mother.”
“I know.” With that, I began strumming the guitar, thinking of my father and what he needed to do in order for me to continue speaking with my mother about what was going on in my life. He needed to understand how I felt and what I had been going through.
♠ ♠ ♠
Comment and subscribe.