Ashley has been writing for the Teen Ink website for 4 months. Three of her articles were rated #1, and one was even published in their magazine. There’s one thing all of her articles have in common… David Archuleta. She’s a huge fan of David Archuleta. No, not a crazy, stalker “I want to marry him!” fan, a fan who has been greatly inspired by David and his music.

It’s now the start of the new year, and David’s tour dates for his The Other Side of Down Tour have been announced. Ashley read through them and was ecstatic to see that there would be a show in Boston on March 3rd! Of course, she got tickets as soon as they went on sale, and was thrilled.

A few days later, she got an email from Teen Ink:

Hi Ashley!

This is the editors of Teen Ink! We’ve loved all of your articles, and we’ve noticed that you’re a big David Archuleta fan. We recently saw his upcoming tour dates, and saw that he’s doing a concert in Boston, and we were wondering if you’d be interested in interviewing him for Teen Ink?

Let us know!
Sincerely,
Teen Ink

Ashley’s jaw dropped. Did she read that right? Was she dreaming? Did Teen Ink really just ask her to interview David? Archuleta? Her hero? THE David Archuleta? The ones she’s loved since Idol, and has inspired her in more ways than she can count? WHAT?
She quickly responded a bit over excitedly:

Hi! Omg what?! Are you serious? You really want me to interview David? Omg of course I will! :D

Thank you so much!
-Ashley

For the rest of the night, Ashley was in a daze. All she could do was think about that email. Think about the fact that she could get to interview David. Think about the fact that one of her dreams could be coming true.

Weeks went by, and David’s tour had started. Ashley was getting more and more excited each day. She had already received numerous emails about the time and location for the interview, who to meet up with, where to get her pass, etc. It was now March 2nd, the day before the big day. Ashley was nervous and excited, and just didn’t know what to think. That night she went to sleep, or tried to, thinking of what was to come…

The day had arrived. It was March 3rd, 2011. The day of the concert, but more importantly, the day Ashley would be interviewing her “idol”. She felt a swarm of butterflies just thinking about it.

The interview was set for 2pm on David’s bus. The thought of going on David’s bus was exciting enough for Ashley. On the way to the venue in Boston, Ashley tried thinking of her questions. She already had some in mind, but not enough. She wanted relevant questions, but also some fun, random ones. Finally, they arrived. It was 1:30pm, and Ashley met up with one of the Teen Ink editors in the venue. They gave Ashley a pass, and also gave her some tips.

Eventually, it was time. They walked to David’s bus, and now the butterflies were going crazier with each step. Ashley walked in, and there he was. David. Archie. Her hero. Sitting right there, that familiar smile on his face.

“Hi!” he greeted.

She was a bit awestruck at first, but finally managed to get out a hi. Ashley was now starting to panic. She could barely say hi to him, how is she going to interview him? She sat down next to David, still smiling. Ashley felt a goofy smile on her face too.

“So what’s your name?” David asked.

“Ashley.” she said a bit sheepishly.

“Hi Ashley!” he said, and gave her a cute smile.

The second he did that, Ashley relaxed. She felt completely calm and collected, and was ready for the interview.

“Hi David!” she replied. “Nice to meet you! This interview is going to be quick, but I’ll try and fit in as many questions as I can. I have quite a few…” she said, looking though her notes.

“Ok! I’ll try not to ramble as much then…” David responded. Ashley couldn’t help but laugh.

“Ok! First question… So, you’re out on tour now for your new album, The Other Side Of Down, so how has the tour been going so far?” she asked.

“It’s been going great! It’s been so much fun finally getting to perform these songs, and seeing the audience’s reactions, and having them sing along, and it’s been a lot of fun.” David answered, smiling once again.

“Cool! So you co-wrote 10 of the 12 songs on the album, which one of the songs is the most meaningful to you?”…


Finally, after numerous questions and a rambling David, the interview was over.

“Thanks so much David!” Ashley said.

“Oh, thank you! It was fun!” he replied.

Ashley walked out of the bus and into the venue. She was in awe. On Cloud 9. Ecstatic. She had just interviewed David. Her idol. Her hero. That was probably the most amazing experience of her life. At this point, she was staring into space, re-living the interview.

“Ashley? Ashley?” the Teen Ink editor said, waving her hand in front of her to try and get her attention.

“Ashley? Ashley? Ashley?”

Ashley awoke to her mother calling her.

“Ashley, good you’re up! I bought the tickets for the David concert in March!”

Ashley laid there for a moment. It was all a dream?, she thought.