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Last time on Starry
Love Dream! Melanie and Hazel’s narration: Melanie: “My name is Melanie!
I’m 9 years old and I attend Grade 4 and I would like to become
a singer!” Hazel: “So, what happened last
time again?” Melanie: “I can’t believe you
don’t remember. Or are you just
making me say it?” Hazel: “Hey…I think I’m making
you say it.” Melanie: “Okay, okay. Last time, we had a school play and it was called
‘Forever Love’, a very romantic and sweet school play. It’s a story about a Peasant Boy, who was in
love with a Noble Girl, but their families hate each other and their
country is divided by war. And
there was this Little Angel Girl who wanted to bring the two of them
together.” Hazel: “Oh, wow, you’re right.
That’s so very romantic. Aren’t those kinds of stories your favorite?” Melanie: “Yes, they are! I love romantic stories! Oh, I got to play the part of the Little Angel
Girl. The coolest part was that
the Little Angel Girls sings, so I got to sing.
A lot of people heard me sing and I even wrote the song that
was for that part.” Hazel: “That’s so awesome!” Melanie: “And here’s the twist.
The two Grade 8 students who were playing the parts of the Noble
Girl and the Peasant Boy? Well, the one who played the Peasant Boy was
in love with the girl who played the Noble Girl!” Hazel: “That really brings a
school play to life, doesn’t it?” Melanie: “Oh, yes, it does.
Too bad that she wasn’t in love with him.
But someone else was in love with him, though, so that love story
was a happy one.” Hazel: “Oh, good! Hey, wait a second. Isn’t it time for Starry Love Dream now?”” Melanie: “Oh, that’s right!
I almost forgot! Starry Love Dream! I wonder what’s going to happen next! Stay tuned!” Opening theme song “Starry Love Dream”
by Starry~en~Luv (Happy dreamy love, wings like a dove) (To the starry night, in the starry light) A dream can’t just stay a dream in my mind It would just be a waste and I would be
in a bind No matter where and how far you have to
go You’ve got to chase your dream so much so Never ever lose sight of the love, of the
dream Let your dream flow like the never-ending
stream I know things are tough and it’s easy to
get sad But as long as we’re together, even if things
go bad I want to sing like a lovebird and touch
your heart (touch my heart) Please stay with me and stay close to my
heart (close to my heart) Starry love dream! I wanna be your
happy dreamy love I wanna spread
my wings like a dove Fly with me all the way to the starry night
Fly to the sky and bask in the starry light I wanna be your
happy dreamy love (happy dreamy love) I wanna spread
my wings like a dove (wings like a dove) Fly with me all the way to the starry night
(to the starry night) Fly to the sky and bask in the starry light
(in the starry light) Starry love dream Hold my hand tight and always stay by my
side Let’s hold onto the dream as we go along
the ride Stay with me, my love, and don’t try to
look back If we lose our way, we’ll always try get
back on track There are so many obstacles to fight your
way through But as long as you believe, your dream will
come true Oh, my love, even if things don’t always
go right We have our love, our dream, never lose
our sight I want to sing like a lovebird and touch
your heart (touch my heart) Please stay with me and stay close to my
heart (close to my heart) Starry love dream! I wanna be your
happy dreamy love I wanna spread
my wings like a dove Fly with me all the way to the starry night
Fly to the sky and bask in the starry light I wanna be your
happy dreamy love (happy dream love) I wanna spread
my wings like a dove (wings like a dove) Fly with me all the way to the starry night
(to the starry night) Fly to the sky and bask in the starry light
(in the starry light) Starry love dream (Happy dreamy love, wings like a dove) (To the starry night, in the starry light) Starry love dream, I love you! The Prologue When it was the following Sunday morning,
Melanie left the house in regular summer clothes. She was going to visit Hazel. She walked by John Wilkins’ house and she saw
him watering the plants early that morning. “Good
morning, Mr. Wilkins,” she said to him with a bright morning smile. Mr.
Wilkins looked up and saw her. “Ah,
Melanie, how are you this morning?” he asked. “I’m
fine, thank you. I hope you are,
too.” “I’m
doing great. In fact, I’m doing
very, very great!” Melanie
smiled but was puzzled at the same time.
“Not just great, but very, very great?
Did something good happen?” she asked. “Yes,
something that is very good. It’s
something that is very good for you, in fact.
Someone at Regal Records wants to meet you.” Melanie
blinked a couple of times. “Someone
from Regal Records wants to meet me?
Who is it?” “Your
new manager,” said Mr. Wilkins. It
was a shock. Melanie felt like
she was suddenly whisked away and taken up into heaven.
“My…my…my manager?!” she cried out loud with pure excitement. Starry Love Dream Episode 8: The
first time I met my manager Mr. Wilkins poured a glass of water in his
kitchen and he went out to the front porch, where Melanie was sitting
down on the steps. He gave her
the glass of water and Melanie began to drink.
Mr. Wilkins laughed as she drank her water. “Whoa. It’s a good thing that you didn’t faint. You were practically out of breath there for
a second,” he said to her. Melanie
put down the glass of water, which was now half-empty. “I’m
sorry. I just got so excited,
I was so shocked. And I nearly
choked from the excitement,” she said softly.
And then she looked up at him, still with a lot of surprise in
her expression. “But, still, that’s…that’s so unbelievable.
That’s so wonderful!” “It
certainly is. They got you a
manager to work with you. I’ve
actually talked to her. I talked
to her while I went to Regal Records yesterday and she was really nice. I think you’re going to like her a lot. She’s still very young, she hasn’t had much
experience, but anyone could tell that she’s very good at what she does,”
said Mr. Wilkins. “What’s
her name?” asked Melanie. “Her
name is Melanie
jumped up from the steps. “ “Hey,
hold on a second.” Mr. Wilkins
laughed. “She wants to see you
tomorrow. She was wondering if
it was okay to see you during lunch time.
I told her that you would be at school, so that would be a little
bit of a problem.” “How
long do you think she needs to talk to me?” “It
shouldn’t take that long. It
should probably be about an hour or less.” Melanie
smiled and nodded. “I think during
lunch time tomorrow at school would be perfect!
I really, really want to meet her.
She sounds like a wonderful person.” Mr.
Wilkins was glad that she decided to meet with her. “That’s great. I’ll call her later and tell her that you’ll
see her at lunch time at your school.
It’s “Yes,
that’s right.” “Great. So I’ll tell her that. What time is lunch period in your school?” “It’s
from “That’s
good. I’ll tell her all that.” Mr. Wilkins smiled at Melanie again. “Well, things are happening for you, it looks
like, Melanie. You’ve had your
audition, and you got accepted immediately.
They didn’t even want anyone else after you.
And, now, you have a manager who’s going to help you with your
new singing career. You’ll be
the youngest pop singer in the world, probably.” Melanie
began to blush slightly and she smiled.
“I guess I will be. I’m
going to be singing pop music. I
have some songs that I wrote by myself.
I still keep on writing my own songs, too.” Mr.
Wilkins nodded to that. “I’m
very proud of you. You’re taking
the first steps to making your dream come true, your dream of becoming
a singer.” Melanie
sighed and she smiled. “Thank
you so much. You helped me a
lot, too.” “Oh,
I didn’t help that much. I just
told you what the steps are that you should take to follow that dream,
you know.” Suddenly,
Melanie seemed to look a little down, and Mr. Wilkins noticed that quickly. “Hey,
what’s wrong?” Melanie
looked up at Mr. Wilkins. She
was thinking about something that frightened her a little. “I’m so excited about meeting Mr.
Wilkins seemed puzzled at first, but he began to understand. “What
would happen if she found out that I went to the audition without her
permission? And what would happen
if she found out that they accepted me and suddenly, I’m one of the
singers for Regal Records? What
would happen if she found out I had a manager?
And you know, there’s one more thing…” “What
is it?” “When
I become a singer…actually, I already am a singer. What I meant was...when I become famous enough
that I start doing concerts and things like that, and I might appear
on TV and things like that. She’ll
definitely find out what I’ve been doing.” Mr.
Wilkins thought about that for a long time.
“Hmmm…you’re right. That
would be a problem, wouldn’t it?” Melanie
was thinking about that, too. She
was silent for a while. And she
seemed to have a sad look on her face.
But it wasn’t just a little bit of sadness.
It was a little bit of fear and anxiety, too. “So
what will you do, Melanie?” asked Mr. Wilkins. Melanie
looked up at him. “Please don’t
get me wrong. I’m going to meet
Mr.
Wilkins smiled at her. “That’s
right. That’s what I would do,
too, if I was in your position.” “Grandma
will find out eventually. But
I shouldn’t worry about that. I
want her to find out. But I want
to surprise her, too. I want
her to see me as a singer on television or on the newspaper or anything.
That’s how I want her to find out.
I want to show her a dream that I want to come true, my dream
to become a singer.” Mr.
Wilkins thought about something else suddenly.
“There’s also your father. Premiere
Thompson will find out, too, once you become famous. It’ll be all over the newspapers.” Melanie
sighed as she thought about that, too.
“Yes, that’s right. I
want my Mama and Papa to find out, too.
My family’s been made to look bad.
I…I want to make it look good again.
But that’s not the big reason why I want them to find out.
I want them to see me fulfill my dream.
They know that it’s my dream to be a singer. That’s what I want from them. I want them to see me fulfill my dream.” Mr.
Wilkins smiled at Melanie. “Nothing
stops you once you’ve made up your mind about something,” he said to
her. Melanie
smiled at him. “It’s my dream. I have to make it come true no matter what happens.
It’s what I have to do.” “That’s
very good, Melanie.” Mr. Wilkins
descended the steps of his front porch and he looked around at the garden. “I’m glad you came. I really wanted to tell you about Melanie
smiled again and she stood up from the steps.
“Yes, Mr. Wilkins. I wanted
to see how you’re doing this morning, and I wanted to see if you needed
any help with your garden. Do
you want me to do anything?” she asked. “If
only most other kids were like you,” he said with a smile. “Thanks. Why
don’t you go to that garden hose over there and continue watering the
plants? You know how it’s done.” “Oh,
yes, of course! I’ll water them
now,” she said, as she walked over to the garden hose that was on the
ground and she turned on the hose. She
began to use a gentle misty spray to water the plants and flowers that
were in Mr. Wilkins’ garden. “Things
are getting better again. Just
like they were when I was living in The next morning, Melanie was at school
and she was sitting in class. As
she was listening to the teacher talking about the subject that they
were learning about, she looked up from her notebook and she saw the
clock that was above the door of the classroom.
It was almost lunch period. She
felt excited. Actually, she felt nervous as well. Her manager was coming soon! Outside
the school, a car slowed down in front of the school and parked at a
visitor’s parking space at the side.
It was actually Mr. Wilkins’ car.
He came out of the car and he was dressed in a business suit. He had just come from Regal Records. Another car slowed down and parked right beside
Mr. Wilkins’ car, and the young woman who was driving it came out of
the car. She
was probably only in her early 20s and she was dressed in a business
casual manner, but she also looked like a business executive because
of her power suit. She smiled
as she approached Mr. Wilkins, who was waiting for her there. “Well,
here we are, Christina. “It’s
a nice-looking school. I never
went to a private school when I was a kid,” said “I
never did either. Do you know
what the difference is between private school and public school, Christina
thought for a moment about that question.
“Well…I know that private school is much more expensive and public
school is free. I also know that
in private schools, you often have to wear school uniforms, while in
public schools, they don’t.” “Yeah,
I think those are the main differences.
Anyways, shall we go into the front office?” “Yeah,
let’s go,” she said. Mr.
Wilkins and Christina walked up the front steps of the school and they
went through the entrance. They
proceeded towards the main office which was just nearby.
It was easy to find it because there was a sign that pointed
to it and they could see it easily from the front entrance. When they reached the main office, they greeted
the receptionist. “Hello,”
said The
receptionist smiled. “Oh, yes,
of course. Melanie came by earlier
and told me to be expecting someone.
What’s your name, miss?” “ The
receptionist looked at Mr. Wilkins and she seemed to recognize him. “Mr. Wilkins.
It’s surprising to see you here.
Are you with Mr.
Wilkins nodded and looked a little serious.
“Yes, I’m with her. I
had to show her the way here, that’s why.” The
receptionist stopped her smile quickly, as if she had just been intimidated.
Apparently, Mr. Wilkins’ reputation as a mean and scary old man
was still very much alive and kicking, and it was evident in this school
as well. “Okay.” She looked up at Christina. “I’m going to call Melanie’s classroom and have
her come down here to the main office to see you. Could you please have a seat?” “Sure,
that’s fine. Thanks!” said Christina. Christina
and Mr. Wilkins sat down on the seats that were available for people
who were waiting as the receptionist went to the phone and dialed an
extension number that would reach Melanie’s classroom and Miss Langley
who was the teacher in that classroom. “Is
it my imagination or did that receptionist just get scared of you?”
asked Christina. Mr.
Wilkins sighed and shook his head. “Don’t
even ask.” “Bad
reputation?” she asked. “I
think that’s a pretty good possibility,” he answered. And
because of that, Christina laughed.
“Oh, a secret, that sounds interesting.
I wonder what kinds of secrets you’re hiding in your past, Mr.
Wilkins.” Mr.
Wilkins looked at her and shook his head.
“I don’t think so,” he said, and then he smiled at her mischievously.
“But since you said it was a secret, doesn’t that mean that I’m
not supposed to tell you anything about anything?” Christina
lost her smile and pouted like a child.
“Hmmm…I guess you’re right.” Mr.
Wilkins started to laugh. Miss Langley came out of a room that was
beside her Grade 4 classroom and she looked at Melanie, who was sitting
quietly. “Melanie?” she called
out. Melanie
looked up. “Yes, ma’am?” she
said. “Could
you please go to the main office? Apparently,
there’s someone there who’s supposed to see you,” said Miss Langley. Melanie
nearly gasped, but she stopped herself, and just smiled really brightly. “Oh, okay. Thank
you, Miss Langley.” She stood
up from her chair and she put her books away inside her desk. Just when she was about to leave, Hazel called
out to her. “Hey,
Melanie, what’s going on?” asked Hazel. Melanie
smiled at her. “I’ll tell you
later,” she said. She left the
classroom. As she left the classroom, Kelsey Rayne, one
of the students in the classroom, stared at her. She had a slight frown on her face, as if she
was annoyed by something. Melanie,
outside the classroom, began to walk down the hallway and down the stairs. She proceeded to the main office. When
she arrived at the main office, the receptionist smiled at her and motioned
towards the two people who were waiting for her there. Melanie seemed very happy as she entered the
main office. Mr. Wilkins and
Christina stood up from their seats. “Mr.
Wilkins, hello!” said Melanie. Mr.
Wilkins smiled at Melanie. “Thank
you for coming down here, Melanie. We’re
a little bit early, aren’t we? I
hope we weren’t too early.” “Oh,
it’s okay. It’s only 5 minutes
early. Lunch will start 5 minutes
from now.” “Oh,
that’s good. Anyways, Melanie,
this is Christina
smiled at Melanie and offered to shake hands with her, and Melanie shook
her hand. “It’s good to finally
meet you, Melanie. I was listening
to a recording of your singing from the audition and it was really sweet!” “Thank
you so much,” said Melanie. “I’m
pleased to meet you, too!” “So
where should we talk, Melanie?” asked Mr. Wilkins. “We’ll
talk in the library. Please come
with me.” Melanie led them to the library. There were very few students there because everyone
else was having their lunch at the school cafeteria. Melanie asked the librarian if she could use
one of the quiet rooms and she was allowed.
They went into one of the quiet rooms and closed the door. Melanie, Mr. Wilkins, and Christina sat down
on seats around a wide wooden table. “I’ve
been dying to meet you ever since I heard you sing, Melanie. I think you have great talent, and I would really
love to work with you as a new artist,” said Christina. “Thank
you, “Please
call me Christina. I’m going
to be your manager from now on so you can definitely call me by my first
name. Since you’re a new singer who just came out
of auditions and based on the information you had given on your registration,
we need to not only work on vocals, but also other important things
like dance lessons.” Melanie
smiled at her. “I do know how
to dance, but I haven’t really worked that much on dancing while I’m
singing. I think all pop singers dance, don’t they?” Christina
nodded and smiled as well. “That’s
right. And also, since you just
came out of auditions, and you’re a new singer, it’s best to start working
immediately on your new singing career.
Things are going to get very busy from now on for you.” “One
thing, Christina,” said Mr. Wilkins. “Yes,
Mr. Wilkins?” asked Christina. “There
is still the fact that she’s a Grade 4 student, so I was just wondering
who she will be working with in those lessons and classes that she might
take.” “It’s
no problem. They’re all going
to be close to her age. She’s
really the youngest, but they’re really not much older than she is. Most of them are 10 to 15 years old. That’s one of the reasons why the audition for
new talent was targeted at that age group.” “And
also the times that she’s going to be working with you?” Melanie
looked up at Mr. Wilkins and was a little bit puzzled. He almost seemed like a parent because of the
way he was speaking to Christina. Christina
answered. “Melanie’s going to
work only after school during the weekdays.
She can also work on the weekends, but not as often.”
She glanced over at Melanie.
“I’m sure you already knew much of this stuff already, like voice
training and rehearsals. Your
life will get a lot busier, but I’m sure it should be no problem for
you.” Melanie
agreed with that. “That’s the
life I wanted. That’s the life
of a singer. I already know how
it’s like even though I haven’t experienced much of it yet.” “That’s
good, Melanie,” said Christina. “What
should we work on first…Christina?” asked Melanie. Christina
smiled at Melanie’s hesitation to use her first name but she was still
able to use it. From now on,
Melanie would be comfortable calling her on a first name basis.
“Since you just came out of auditions, it would be great to work
on your debut as a singer.” “My
debut?” said Melanie, who looked very shocked, but she knew already
that this was the next step. And
it sounded exciting, too! “Yeah,
that’s right. The first thing
we should do is to work on that. Have
your first ever recording session at Regal Records and then your song
will be broadcasted to all the pop stations in the city.
Everyone’s going to hear you sing, my dear!” Melanie
felt nervous but happy at the same time. “I
don’t think you had any modeling experience, have you, Melanie?” asked
Christina. Melanie
thought about that and she shook her head.
“No, I haven’t done any modeling.” “That’s
going to be a part of it, too, but not as much as professional models. Singers don’t have to model as much. It’s just for photography sessions, and when
you have those photo shoots, one day, when you hopefully get your first
album released, it’s going to have your pictures in the inserts. It would look so cool, too. Other than inserts for CD’s, they’re also used
for advertising and stuff like that.
Does that sound like it would be okay for you?” “Oh,
yes, definitely,” said Melanie, her voice sounding excited. “So that means that I probably have to have
modeling classes, too, right?” “Yeah,
that’s right. You’re not shy
with a camera, are you?” Melanie
shook her head. “No, I like having
my picture taken. You should
see the photos in our family photo albums.
I’m always trying to get in them.” Christina
was amused by that. “Oh, good,”
she said. Mr.
Wilkins looked down at Melanie and smiled.
“See that, Melanie? You’re
going to be working on your dream to become a singer, finally,” he said
to her. Melanie
smiled. “Yes!” “I’m
so glad that’s what you’ve always wanted to do,” said Christina. “I love music.” “I
love music, too. It can do a
lot of things that sometimes people don’t expect, like reach their hearts
or make them feel certain feelings,” said Melanie.
“I want to touch the hearts of people with my songs and I want
to sing. That’s my dream.” “I’m
so glad. Oh, by the way, I read
also that when you did the audition, you sang a song that you wrote
yourself. It wasn’t written or sung by anyone else.” Melanie
nearly blushed. “Yes. I wrote the song myself. It’s called ‘My Heart’.” “That’s
really amazing. I liked that
song a lot, too. I heard that
the interviewers that asked you to sing were really blown away.”
Christina giggled as she said that. Melanie
giggled, too. “Oh, yeah, I was
kind of shocked, too, when I saw them running around and screaming. Then I realized they chose me and I was even
more shocked.” “Oh,
I just thought of something. When
you go on your debut, do you want to use your real name or do you want
to use a stage name?” “Stage
name?” Melanie asked. Mr.
Wilkins was the one who explained it to her.
“A stage name would be like a nickname that you would use as
a singer. That’s what people
will call you when they refer to you.
They wouldn’t call you Melanie, but they would call you something
else.” “’And
it has to be something really cool,” said Christina. “Oh,
I see,” said Melanie as she thought for a moment. But there was a name that was already in her
mind for a while now. She had
been thinking about putting that name on the songs that she wrote, instead
of her real name. “I have a name
in mind.” “What
is it?” “I
want to be called…Starry~en~Luv,” said Melanie, as she smiled sweetly. From
that time forward, Melanie Thompson as the singer was known as Starry~en~Luv. Kelsey and Natasha were sitting together
in the cafeteria and they had just finished their lunch a short time
ago. They were talking for a while, but then, Kelsey
seemed slightly preoccupied by something. Natasha was starting to wonder about that, because
she has been acting a little preoccupied lately. “Hey,
Kelsey,” said Natasha. Kelsey
looked up at her. “Yeah, what?”
she asked. “Are
you sure you’re okay?” Kelsey
looked at her like she was puzzled.
“Huh? What are you talking
about? I’m fine.” “You’re
sure about that?” “Natasha,”
said Kelsey, looking slightly annoyed.
“What is it with you lately?
You’re always asking if I’m feeling okay or if I’m okay, and
I keep telling you that I’m fine. Why
are you doing that? Are you like
going paranoid on me or something?” Natasha
poked Kelsey’s forehead with her finger. “Ouch…”
said Kelsey. She frowned, while
rubbing her forehead. “What was
that for?” “You’re
smarter than that. I’m not being
paranoid. I was just concerned
for you, even though I don’t like to admit it.
But it’s true.” Kelsey
took a deep breath. “Well, yeah,
I know that part, but…still, why are you so worried?” “Because
your face keeps telling me that something’s been on your mind lately.” Kelsey
smiled and shook her head, trying to deny it.
“I don’t know what you mean.
Nothing’s wrong. Really,
I’m perfectly fine.” Natasha
poked her forehead again and Kelsey drew back and rubbed her forehead
again. “That better be true.” “Don’t
worry, it is…” said Kelsey. Hazel went to the main office and she looked
around. She went to the counter
and was waiting for the receptionist to notice her, but since it took
a few seconds too long, she had to call out. “Um,
excuse me?” said Hazel. The
receptionist turned around and saw her and smiled. “Oh, I’m sorry, I was busy with something and
I didn’t see you there. What
can I do for you?” she asked. “Did
Melanie come here just a little earlier, just before lunch period? I heard from our teacher Miss Langley that she
was called down here.” “Oh,
yes. There were a couple of visitors
that came here earlier and they were asking for Melanie. Actually, Melanie told me this morning before
classes started that she was expecting visitors. When they came, I had her paged to come down
here.” Hazel
nodded, understanding some of what was happening. “Oh, okay. Who
were they?” “Oh,
um, one of them was Mr. Wilkins. A
lot of people know about him, even though he’s a little scary sometimes.” Hazel
looked puzzled. “Oh, yeah, I
heard about that.” “And
there was this other person. It
was a young woman. I’ve never
seen her before, but since she was with Mr. Wilkins, and since Melanie
said she was expecting a lady to come visit her with Mr. Wilkins, I
thought it was all okay.” “Did
she tell you her name?” “Yeah,
she said her name was Hazel
was thinking about that name for a while but it was a name that she
had never heard of before. “Hmmm…a
mystery lady, I wonder who she is…” she whispered.
“I’m going to have to ask Melanie about her later on.” The meeting between Melanie, Christina,
and Mr. Wilkins continued in the quiet room in the library. Melanie seemed a little overwhelmed but she
was very happy nonetheless because she was working to become a singer. Christina was telling her about all the things
that they were supposed to do and Mr. Wilkins spoke occasionally to
explain things to Melanie. “Also,
you will need your own cell phone,” said Christina. Melanie
blinked a couple of times. “A
cell phone?” she said. “Yes. I brought one here from Regal Records, actually.”
Christina reached into her bag and she brought out a rather petty
mobile phone. It was pink in color and smaller than all the
cell phones that Melanie saw other people use.
“This is a really good phone.
It’s like one of the best out there.
But, anyways, in order to keep in touch, you will need this.” Christina
gave the cell phone to Melanie. “Thank
you,” said Melanie with a smile. “Also,
it’s fully paid for by Regal Records.
It is a company phone, after all.
I have the same one. You
can talk as much as you want and never have to worry about anything
else.” Melanie
nodded as Christina told her about these details. “Oh, okay.” “It’s
very expensive, so please be careful with it,” said Christina, also
with a smile. “You might want
to keep the cell phone silent just in case anyone notices.
It’s not customary for children to use cell phones right now. Maybe in the future, it will be, but at the
moment, it might be bothersome to some people.
Cell phones are known to bug people if they don’t expect it.” Melanie
nodded. “Like my grandmother,
for example,” she said. “Your
grandmother probably wouldn’t like it, huh?” “I
think she’s a very traditional grandmother.
She wouldn’t like it if I had a cell phone. So I guess I better keep it hidden or something.” “Yes,
keep it in your pocket and in vibrate mode.
It has its own voice mail so anyone can leave messages. It’s already been set up for you. I’ll give you the instruction manuals, too.
So play with it when you get home and get used to it.
You are good with technical things like cell phones, aren’t you?” Melanie
nodded. “Yeah, I know. I’m pretty good with computers so I think I
can be pretty good at this, too,” she said. “Oh,
good,” said Christina, who seemed relieved.
She noticed a hint of worry on Melanie’s face. “Are you worried about anything? Since I’m your manager, if anything is bugging
you about anything, you can also tell me about it. Please do.” “Oh,
I was just thinking about my grandmother.” Christina
seemed puzzled. “Oh, your grandmother,
she is your legal guardian on your registration, right? Let me see.”
She looked through some papers.
“Annabelle Hartford, right?” “Yes,
that’s her name.” “Is
there anything wrong I should know about?” Melanie
felt a little uncomfortable. She
sighed deeply and looked up at Mr. Wilkins, then back at Christina. “Well…my Grandma Annabelle…sort of doesn’t know
that I’m going to become a singer.” Christina
looked even more puzzled in an almost comical way. “What? She
doesn’t know that you’re going to become a singer? You mean she doesn’t know anything?” Melanie
nodded. “She doesn’t know anything.” “Yikes…”
said Christina, who became surprised.
“That does complicate things a little, I think…” Mr.
Wilkins interrupted. “It’s true
that it might complicate things. But
only in terms of going to all those activities that she’s going to be
participating in as she works towards her debut, Christina,” he said
to her firmly. “You see, she wants to become a singer because
she wants to follow her dream to become one and touch people’s hearts.” He glanced down at Melanie. “Isn’t that right?” Melanie
looked up at him and nodded. “But
she doesn’t want her grandmother to know about it because it’s a surprise. I…think you know a lot about making your dreams
come true.” “I
do. I do know about making dreams
come true…” said Christina and she sighed and looked down a little. “But, it’s just that I don’t want to get into
trouble or anything.” She looked
up at Melanie. “I need you to
tell me that you know what you’re doing.” Melanie
paused for a moment and looked at Christina straight in the eye. “I do. It’s
my dream to become a singer, with or without the permission of my grandmother.
You don’t need anyone’s permission to follow your dream.
This is what I want to do.” Christina
looked at Melanie for a very long time and she thought about her new
job as a manager. The truth was that Christina had not been a
manager for a long time. In fact,
Melanie was her first job. It
was also her first job ever. But
she knew that Melanie wanted to fulfill her dream of becoming a singer. Christina also had her own dream to accomplish,
and it seemed that Melanie was going to help her fulfill that dream
as well. “Both
of you should follow your dreams. You
shouldn’t let anyone stop you from following your dreams. Don’t make the same mistake that I did…” said
Mr. Wilkins. That last part made
Christina and Melanie look at him with puzzled faces. He also said that last part much more softly. “Pardon?”
said Melanie. Mr.
Wilkins cleared his throat. “It’s
nothing. Never mind.
Like I said, both of you should follow your dreams. That’s the most important thing in life. I’ve lived long enough to realize that.” Christina
paused for a while and then looked at the registration forms again. She had a pen in her hand, ready to make some
changes, but she closed her pen. “Annabelle
Hartford is your legal guardian on this registration and it will stay
that way. The primary contact,
it says here, is Mr. Wilkins. It’s
going to stay that way, too.” Melanie
smiled at Christina. “Christina?”
she said. Christina
stood up from her chair and she looked up at her and smiled. “Let’s work together, Melanie. Let’s do our best. I’m looking forward to our time together.” Melanie
also stood up from her chair. The
two of them shook hands. “I’m
really happy that we can work together on this,” she said to Christina. After the meeting, Melanie escorted Christina
and Mr. Wilkins towards the front entrance of the school. She stood at the entrance as Christina and Mr.
Wilkins stepped out of the building. “We’ll
keep in touch, Melanie. Feel
free to call me anytime. You
have your cell phone with you?” asked Christina. Melanie
smiled and she reached into the pocket of her skirt. “Yes, it’s right here. And it’s on vibration mode now, so no one is
going to hear it. If I’m in class,
I can’t answer it though, until I go somewhere where I can answer it,
like the washroom.” Christina
smiled as well. “Great. Oh, and even if you can’t answer your cell phone,
the voice mail will kick in after a few rings, and whoever’s calling
you can leave you a message. You
can listen to it later on when you’re free and call them back…if you
want to call them back.” She
giggled because of that last thing she said.
“Anyways, you know some of the things that we have to start doing
this week, so I’ll call you tomorrow night about them.” “Thank
you, Christina!” said Melanie, her smile very bright and very sweet. “See
you soon!” said Christina. “You
have a good day, Melanie,” said Mr. Wilkins, who patted her on the head
and smiled. “You’re doing everything
right. Trust me on this.” Melanie
nodded and she smiled at him. “Thank
you, Mr. Wilkins.” Mr.
Wilkins and Christina headed for their cars.
Before they went into their respective cars, they spoke to each
other for a few more seconds, and then once they were in their cars,
they started to drive away. Mr.
Wilkins drove towards his home, while Christina drove away towards where
Regal Records was located. Melanie
sighed and she smiled. She looked
up at the sky that was a deep blue. “Everything…everything
is going right for me now…thank you so much…” she whispered. Melanie looked at the time and saw that
it was 10 minutes before classes will start once again. It was still lunch period. She went down the hallways and was on her way
to the back exit which would lead her to the school park. However, she saw two people that she did not
want to see while she was in the hallway.
Melanie stopped and she gasped softly. “Hey,
Melanie,” said one of the two girls. “What’s
up?” said the other girl. Melanie
recognized the two of them immediately. “A
song?” said the first girl. They
both looked at each other and they started laughing.
“This song totally sucks! What
kind of crap is this? Look at
this!” “’My heart, oh, my heart, I feel like it’s
been broken’?” said the second girl and she started laughing as well. “’Shattered pieces blown away,
forgotten and forsaken’? What
the hell kind of song is this? Is
this some kind of love song?” Both of them were laughing. “Gosh, it really, really sucks!” They tore the sheet Melanie had been writing
the song on out of the paper pad. Melanie
gasped and her hands flew to her mouth, her eyes wide open. Another horrible pain shot through her heart,
just like so many times before, but this time, it felt much worse. “What do you think you are anyway? You think you’re a singer? This is what I think of your song.” The two girls ripped the paper in half and began
to tear them into tiny little pieces.
They threw the pieces into the wind, and the wind blew them all
away. Melanie stood up quickly to try to catch a large
piece that was about to fly away but she was unable to catch it, and she fell on the grass on her knees. The two girls laughed and began to walk away. “What a lame geek,” said the first girl. They
were the two girls who were bullying her that day. Melanie suddenly frightened and she took a step
back, but the two girls approached her quickly and she was trapped by
them. “Hey,
what are you doing? Don’t run
away,” said the first girl. “Why
don’t we become friends, you and me, huh?” “Yeah,
that’s right. Let’s become friends. My name is Mary Dawson,” said the second girl. “And
my name is Ginalyn Stewart.” “And
together, we are your worst nightmare.” What
a strange thing to say. Melanie
didn’t know what to say to that. And
somehow, they knew her name, too. Someone
must have told them when they asked around.
It seemed that a lot of people here knew who she was because
of her father, who is the Premiere of Ontario. “Are
you still writing songs, Melanie?” asked Mary. “Yeah,
why don’t you show us some of your songs?” said Ginalyn. “We
want to know how much they really suck!” “And,
after that, we want to beat you up!” Melanie’s
heart was beating very fast and she was very scared. Just as when things started to get better for
her, these two girls showed up and started messing things up. “Hey!”
someone shouted. Melanie
gasped. She looked around but
she did not see who said that. Mary
and Ginalyn looked behind them and that’s when Melanie saw who it was. In fact, it was two people. It was two boys, and both of them were in Melanie’s
class. They began to approach
Melanie and the two girls. “Why
don’t you Grade 6 girls get out of here before you get hurt?” said one
of the boys. Melanie recognized
him. It was Jim Castro, one of her classmates. The
other boy stayed silent, but Melanie recognized him as well. His name was Justin Lagazo. He was just calm and cool and wore sunglasses.
He stood with his hands in his pockets. “Who
the hell are you two?” said Mary. “And
who do you think you are?” said Ginalyn.
“You’re just a couple of fourth-graders.
What can you do anyway?” “I
told you already to get away. And
leave this girl alone,” said Jim. Justin
stayed quiet but anyone could tell there was a serious but calm look
on his face. Ginalyn
was starting to feel offended very quickly.
“You know, you think you’re so big.
You’re nothing,” she said to Jim. “Enough,”
Justin suddenly said, but there was still no expression on his face. His voice was soft but it also sounded firm.
“Get out of here. You will leave Melanie alone right now.” Mary
smirked with very high pride and she lifted her hand. Melanie gasped as Mary tried to slap Justin,
but Melanie, Mary, and Ginalyn were very shocked when Justin caught
her arm and was holding it in front of his face.
And he began to squeeze very hard. Mary
grimaced in pain. “Ouch! Let go!” “Hey,
what is this?” said Ginalyn, sounding worried. “Let
go of me!” said Mary. “Leave
here now,” said Justin, still very calm and cool. And then he let go of her arm. Mary glared at Justin as she nursed the part
of her arm that was bruised just by Justin holding it. She hesitated, then she began to walk away very
quickly and Ginalyn followed her as well.
Melanie watched with surprise as Mary and Ginalyn disappeared
around a corner. Melanie
looked up at Justin and Jim shyly, her hands clasped together in front
of her. “Um…thank you,” she said
very softly and very shyly. Jim
smiled at her. “You let me borrow
a pen, so I should give it back,” he said, and offered the pen that
Melanie had let him borrow some days ago. “Oh…thank
you,” said Melanie. She took
the pen from him. “You don’t
need it anymore?” “I’m
fine. I made sure to bring my
own this time.” There
was silence between the three of them for a long time. “That’s
good,” Melanie said to him with a soft voice, but she smiled. Jim
smiled and he nodded. “Well,
see you around,” he said to her. He
began to walk away. Justin
nodded towards Melanie and raised his hand as if to say the same thing
as Jim just said, and he began to walk away as well. Melanie
watched them disappear around a corner and she sighed. She felt like she was flying in the heavens.
She had just been rescued by two extremely good-looking boys
from her class. She smiled to
herself because of that. Jim
seemed like someone who was very friendly. Justin, however, did not seem like anything.
He seemed so mysterious that Melanie wondered how he was like.
He was definitely one of the quietest kids in Miss Langley’s
Grade 4 class. But
he was very cool, too. That’s
what Melanie thought after seeing him just now.
Melanie thought about both of them again and really thought they
were extremely good-looking boys. She
could almost them standing cool and calm, their cool hairstyles being
blown by the wind, with rose petals flying around them as the wind blew,
pastel colors in the background, roses in the foreground and the dew
on them sparkling like diamonds. They
had to be two of the prettiest boys in the entire school.
She wondered if girls were falling for them left, right, and
center. Melanie
blushed and shook her head to get a hold of herself. Melanie
began to walk quickly towards the classroom.
It was just a few minutes before lunch period would end and classes
would resume. There was no point
in going outside to play with anyone because lunch period was going
to end so soon. Once Melanie
reached her classroom, she noticed that there was no one there. Before she went inside, she looked back and
thought about Justin and Jim. She
wondered where they went. Did
they go outside? “Thank
you so much, Jim, Justin,” said Melanie. Melanie
went inside the classroom. Melanie came out of the school. Classes for the day had just ended and she quickly
walked down the front steps. After
a few minutes, Hazel came out of the front of the school as well and
the two of them waved at each other.
“Hey,
Melanie, you didn’t tell me what happened with that thing earlier. Why did they call you down to the main office?”
Hazel asked. “Did someone visit
you?” Melanie
smiled and giggled. “Yes, that’s
right. Someone came to visit
me,” she answered. “Who
was it?” she asked. “It
was my new manager.” Hazel’s
jaw dropped open with shock. “What! What do you mean, your new manager?” Melanie
laughed and put a hand over her mouth.
“Yes! She’s my manager. Today is the first time that we met each other.
She’s going to help me with the start of my singing career.
And she’s really cool, too. Her
name is Hazel
smiled brightly and she hugged Melanie.
“Oh, wow, that’s so wonderful! You really are going through this,
aren’t you? You’re really going
to start your singing career. I
still can’t get over it! It’s
just so awesome! I’m so happy for you. I can’t wait for your debut.” “Thanks,
Hazel…” Melanie said softly. “Tell
me everything that she talked to you about tonight. Call me at home after dinner.” Melanie
nodded. “Sure, I will!” Hazel’s
mother arrived in her car and Hazel and Lawrence waved goodbye to Melanie
as they went towards the car and they got inside.
As the car drove away, Melanie waved at them again. When they were gone, Melanie sighed with happiness
and she began to walk home from school. Melanie arrived home. She opened the door to her house and she saw
Grandma Annabelle sitting on the couch and watching television. Melanie smiled as she took off her shoes and
put on her slippers and then closed the door. “Hello,
Grandma. I’m home,” she said
softly but happily. Grandma
looked up at her. “Welcome back,
Melanie,” she said to Melanie. Her
voice was calm and held the hint of being a strict voice, but somehow,
Melanie thought it felt welcoming. Perhaps
even that strict voice can be a welcoming sound at times. Melanie
was about to go up the stairs with her schoolbag when Grandma spoke
again. “I
see that you’ve been seeing Mr. Wilkins lately,” she said. Melanie
stopped and turned towards Grandma.
She was beginning to feel uncomfortable.
She had a feeling that Grandma was irritated, even though her
voice was very calm. “Um…yes,
that’s right, Grandma. I’m sorry…but
I just can’t believe that he’s a bad person and…” Melanie answered. There
was a long moment of silence and Grandma turned towards Melanie. “What do you think of him?” she asked. Melanie
answered as she sighed. “I think
he’s a nice man. He’s just misunderstood.” There
was more silence. But then Grandma
nodded. “Okay. You are the first person who has made him open
up to other people. As far as
I know. I think you’ve had a
pretty profound effect on him. He
doesn’t look as grumpy as he usually did before.” Melanie
smiled as Grandma turned back towards the television. “You
did well, Melanie,” said Grandma. Melanie
smiled even more brightly and she sighed, her heart feeling light. She began to walk up the stairs, but when she
reached the top of the stairs, she heard Grandma call her again. “Melanie?”
said Grandma. Melanie
stopped and she climbed down a few steps.
“Yes, Grandma?” “You
have a couple of letters at the bottom of the door to your bedroom.” “Oh,
letters for me?” she asked. “That’s
right.” “Thank
you, Grandma.” Melanie continued
to her room. When she got to
the door of her bedroom, she noticed a couple of envelopes on the floor
right next to her door and she picked them up, and at the same time,
she opened the door to her room. When she saw where the letters had come from,
she gasped with excitement. They
were letters from her friends in Melanie
closed the door to her room and went to her desk and turned on the light
that was there. She opened the
letters and she began to read them.
There was a bright glow of happiness on her face as she began
to read them. First,
there was the letter from Janice. Dearest
Melanie, How are you doing? It’s been a long time since we talked, hasn’t
it? I know this is only the third
letter that I’ve sent you since you left So what have you been doing? You have to tell me everything that’s happened
with you the last little while. I
want to know everything that you’re doing. Have you met any new friends yet? Last time, you said you were feeling a little
down because you felt like you didn’t really have any friends at all
there. I was feeling a little
down, too, when you wrote that, but I hope that you have some friends
now. However, don’t forget me and Jenna. I will always be your friend, no matter what
happens. Please do remember that,
even though we’re far away from each other. I hope everything’s going well with you.
They’re still talking about your father on the news, saying things
like the wonderful things that he did and also the things that they’re
accusing him of doing. I don’t really understand it. Do you understand any of it? One of these days, could you please try to explain
it to me? I don’t really know
anything about that kind of stuff. But
anyways, I better go now. I have
some studying to catch up on and I hope I don’t fail anything! Take care of yourself! With
love, Janice Melanie
smiled and she sighed, feeling warmth surrounding her heart. She took the other letter, the one that came
from Jenna, and she started reading that as well. My
dear Melanie, What’s up?
What have you been doing lately?
Tell me everything the next time that you write to me. You said you didn’t really have friends at school
there last time, but you know you’ll always have me and Janice here.
I hope someday that you’ll come back to us and then we can hang
out together again. And it might be nice if we are allowed to come
visit you, even though you’re kind of far away. I don’t know how long it takes to go from It’s been a while, you know. Tell me what happened. Did you meet any new friends yet? If you have, and I hope you have, tell me about
them. Are they almost as cool
as me and Janice? Please don’t
say they’re cooler than us, because that will just make me go crazy
and I’ll start getting jealous and I’ll start making myself even cooler
than I already am, and that’s a lot of hard work, you know.
I’m just joking, but you know that, don’t you? Oh, by the way, did you find a boyfriend
yet? I think you should have
a boyfriend, but whenever I talk about that, you always blush and giggle
and get all shy. I just know
you’re doing that now. I can
almost see it while you’re reading this.
Anyways, if you do get a boyfriend, tell me about him, okay?
And if you want any advice, you can always talk to me. That won’t be a problem! Anyways, I have to go now. Please write back soon, okay? Love
you always, Jenna Melanie
smiled again, and she started to giggle slightly. Janice was the more sensitive of the two best
friends she had in She
held the letters next to her heart and she closed her eyes and smiled
a sweet smile. She felt like
she was covered by a warm blanket that comforted her.
She felt so good about today.
Many good things happened today.
She got letters from her best friends in “Today
was a great day…” Melanie whispered. The End (to be
continued) Ending theme song “Dream” by Starry~en~Luv Dream… Oh, make a wish upon a star (wish upon a
star) Oh, make your dream come true (your dream
come true) Dreaming a dream The quest for a wish might make you happy,
make you sad But in the end, it will all be worth it,
you will be glad! Just dream! Dreaming a dream, make your dream come true Sing a song or write a story, anything you
want to do Whatever good thing your dream might just
be Never lose your hope, never lose your energy Dreaming a dream (Just dream) Dreaming a dream, make a wish upon a star Go on a journey, you’ll go to many places
afar Always remember that I will stay and walk
with you And keep in your heart whatever it is you
want to do Dreaming a dream (Just dream) Just dream! Wake up from your comfortable and peaceful
sleep Remember the dream you had while you slept
deep Let the warm golden sunshine through your
window (sunshine through the window) The first thing to do is smile while you
hug your pillow (hug your pillow) And today, the most important thing that
you should do (you should do) Will be to come closer to making your dream
come true (make your dream come true) Just dream! Dreaming a dream, make a wish upon a star Look up at the night and watch for a shooting
star It’s a long and difficult road to get to
where you’re going No matter what happens, we should always
keep trying Dreaming a dream (Just dream) Dreaming a dream, make your dream come true Don’t be discouraged and always be true
to you Leave behind all the troubles that made
you cry The dream would only be a waste if we did
never try Dreaming a dream (Just dream) Just dream! Wake up from your comfortable and peaceful
sleep Remember the dream you had while you slept
deep Let the warm golden sunshine through your
window (sunshine through the window) The first thing to do is smile while you
hug your pillow (hug your pillow) And today, the most important thing that
you should do (you should do) Will be to come closer to making your dream
come true (make your dream come true) Dreaming a dream, make a wish upon a star Just dream! Dreaming a dream, make your dream come true!
(Just dream) Dreaming a dream, make a wish upon a star
(Just dream) Dreaming a dream (dreaming a dream) Just dream! Preview for Next
Episode Melanie and Hazel’s narration: Melanie: “Hello, everyone!” Hazel: “Hey, you seem really
happy. And you should be after
meeting your manager!” Melanie: “I know! It’s so wonderful! Very soon, something else is going to happen.” Hazel: “Really?” Melanie: “Yes, something great!” Hazel: “What’s going to happen?” Melanie: “Well, I can’t tell
you everything. It might spoil
the surprise.” Hazel: “What! Come on…at least give me a clue or something…” Melanie: “Are you sure?” Hazel: “Yes!” Melanie: “Well, I’m going to
meet someone at Regal Records who’s a really famous producer. He’s the person that Christina and I will be
working with. We’re going to
work with him on my debut as a singer!” Hazel: “Oh, good! Hey, who’s Christina?” Melanie: “Christina’s my new
manager!” Hazel: “Oh, right. I should have known that. Melanie, I can’t believe it. I’m not even sure if I can get over it. But things are really heating up for you now,
huh?” Melanie: “I know. I wonder what the future has in store for me!” Melanie and Hazel: “Next time
on Starry Love Dream! Episode 9: Impress the producer, but his songs
are scary!” |
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