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Last time on Starry
Love Dream! Melanie, Hazel, and Justin’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: “And I’m Hazel, her number
one fan!” Melanie: “Justin? Why don’t you introduce yourself?” Justin: “Huh? Oh. I’m
Justin.” Hazel: “You need to be more enthusiastic
like me!” Justin: “But why?” Melanie: “Okay, you two. Don’t worry about it. Let’s just to do the review of what happened
last time!” Hazel: “Right. Sorry.” Melanie: “There was this really
scary girl in my class named Kelsey and she really, really hates me!
I don’t really know why she hates me.
Remember? She tried to frame me in front of the teacher!
That was really scary, too!” Hazel: “Yeah, but everything
is okay now, because Justin was there to save the day! Right, Justin?” Justin: “It was nothing. It’s just common sense, really.” Hazel: “Your common sense did
well! Now, you’re one of Melanie’s
friends. Be happy because you
are now part of her fan club!” Justin: “Fan club? What do you mean?” Melanie: “Um, Hazel, please calm
down! I don’t have a fan club.” Hazel: “Then I’ll make one!” Melanie: “I think that’s it.
Anyways, it’s time for 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 Melanie was walking to school in the morning
and while she was talking to Christina on her cell phone. They were talking about Melanie’s next job,
which they had been planning for the last few days. At the other end of the line, Christina was
inside her apartment getting ready for her day. “Christina,
I’m so excited. It’ll be my first
ever photo session,” said Melanie excitedly. “Yes,
it is, so don’t be late,” said Christina and she started to laugh cheerfully. Melanie
shook her head. “Of course, I’m
not going to be late. It’s right
after school, right?” “That’s
right. So how are we going to
explain this one to your grandmother?” “Oh,
there’s nothing to worry about. Please
trust me on this. I told her
that I’m going to stay in the library to do my homework and to study. She said it was fine, so I think its okay.” “Well,
that’s good,” said Christina, and she began to laugh excitedly. “You know what? I’m kind of excited, too. It’s like we’re part of a great government conspiracy.” Speaking
of government conspiracies, that just made Melanie feel strange somehow
and it made her wonder what was going on with her father Mark Thompson
and her mother Sarah Thompson. She
wondered how they were doing. “Melanie?” Melanie
realized she was still supposed to be talking on the phone. “Oh, sorry, I just thought of something.” “What
is it?” asked Christina. Melanie
began to laugh, too, but almost like she was hiding what she had done
wrong, even though she didn’t. “Oh,
it’s nothing. It has nothing
to do with anything, actually.” “Well,
okay. But, anyways, let’s meet
at the front of your school after school.
I’m sure you’ll be ready for it.
This is going to be so much fun.” Melanie
and Christina began to giggle like little girls, even though one of
them was not one. “Oh,
Christina, I wanted to ask you something, too,” said Melanie. “What
is it?” “It’s
my friend Hazel. You’ve met her
already, right?” “Yes,
I have. She seems really nice. What about her?” “I
was wondering if I could invite her to the photo shoot, too. She asked me if it’s okay if I invite her to
my first job as a professional singer.
And since, this is the first one, I was wondering if it’s okay
for me to invite her.” Christina
thought for a moment. “Oh, okay. I don’t think there’s any problem with that.
But, she should probably talk to her parents first.
I don’t want anybody to get in trouble, you know.” “She
already asked her mom and she said yes,” said Melanie, with a very cheerful
smile. Christina
looked suspicious. “You guys
planned this already, huh?” “Yes,
we did.” Melanie still smiled
cheerfully. Christina
smiled, too, and shook her head. “Okay,
okay. That’s fine. She can come.” Melanie
sighed with relief. “Thank you,
Christina!” Starry Love Dream Episode 11: My
first ever photo session! Wish
me luck! It was before morning recess time. The students in class were closing their books.
Melanie stood up from her desk and she stood beside Hazel’s. “Hazel!”
Melanie said excitedly and cheerfully. Hazel
looked puzzled and she looked directly into Melanie’s eyes like a suspicious
detective. “Something’s going
on here and I’m going to find out what it is, you got that?” said Hazel. Melanie
was surprised by that. “Huh? What on earth do you mean, Hazel?” she asked. Hazel
laughed. “It’s nothing. Forget it.” “Okay. By the way, today, after school, I’m going to
have my first job as a professional singer.” Hazel’s
eyes went wide open. “What! Hey, you promised to invite me, remember?” “I
did remember,” said Melanie, who giggled.
“I was talking to Christina about it and she said it’s okay as
long as it’s okay with your mom.” “It’s
okay with my mom. I already told
her that on your first job, you’ll invite me to see it.” “Yes! And, you know what, you’re definitely invited!”
said Melanie. Hazel
screamed and everyone who was still inside the class and had not left
for morning recess yet had heard her scream.
“Aaaaaahhhhh! That’s so cool! Thanks, Melanie!” Melanie
was looking around, blushing. “Hazel,
please don’t scream so loud.” “Can
I scream silently?” Melanie
was surprised again. “Um…I guess
so…” Hazel
screamed again, but with a very soft voice.
“Aaaaaahhhhh! That’s so cool! Thanks, Melanie!” “You
just said the exact same thing,” Justin said suddenly, who walked over
to stand beside Hazel’s desk. “What
kind of job is it, Melanie?” Melanie
smiled at Justin. “It’s a photo
shoot.” “S
it’s a photo shoot? What’s that?”
asked Hazel. “That’s
where you go somewhere and you have all these photographers taking pictures
of you doing stuff or doing nothing at all.
It’s like taking your pictures for posters, advertising, CD covers,
and things like that.” Hazel
looked at Melanie with wide-eyed surprise.
“Wow, Melanie. You really
are a professional singer. You
even know things like that.” “Amazing,”
said Justin, with a very soft voice, but with no expression on his face. “That’s
kind of like modeling, right?” asked Hazel. “You
could say that. You pose for
pictures, basically,” Melanie replied.
She looked up at Justin. “Oh,
Justin, why don’t you come, too?” Justin
looked up at Melanie and still with no expression on his face. But Melanie could tell he was a little puzzled
by what he said. “Me? You want me to come?” he asked. “Yes,
please! You’re my friend, so
you should come. I’ll ask Christina
if it’s okay, but I think she’ll say yes.
I’m sure she will. But
I think you need to ask your parents, too.” Justin
nodded. “I’ll come. I’ll tell my parents later when I call them.” “Wow,
really? It’s really okay with
your parents?” asked Hazel. “Mom
and Dad don’t have to worry about me.
I always tell them where I’m going and what I’m doing and they
always trust me,” said Justin. “Wow. Sounds like you have really cool parents.” “They’re
really nice parents. I’d love
to see them one day,” said Melanie. “Uh-huh,”
said Hazel as she smiled and nodded.
“Okay, then that’s the plan.
After school today, Justin and I will go to your first job as
a professional singer, a photo shoot!” Melanie
smiled at the two of them. “I’m
so glad you both can come,” she said. A
strange face suddenly appeared beside Melanie’s. “What’s this I hear about your first job as
a professional singer?” Melanie
gasped and moved away while Hazel was angrily surprised. “Kelsey!” Kelsey
began to laugh like a witch, but she had to be doing that on purpose. “Ohohohohohohohohohoho! Hey, come on, you’re the one who said that Melanie
was going to become an idol pop singer, right? And what did she say this first job was going
to be?” said Kelsey, and she turned towards Melanie. “Melanie? What
is it anyway?” Melanie
hesitated. “Um, it’s…a photo
shoot. That’s where they take pictures of you. It’s almost like modeling.” Kelsey
smiled in an almost evil way. “Oh,
is that so? So that’s your first
job as a professional idol pop singer, huh?”
She began to laugh again. “What’s
so funny anyway? And what do
you care?” said Hazel. “First,
you invite Hazel. Then, you invite
Justin. What about me? Where’s my invitation?” “What!”
Hazel shouted. Justin did not
respond. Melanie looked shocked. “Are you saying that you want to come to the
photo shoot?” Kelsey
laughed. “Of course, I am. I have to see this for myself if it’s for real
or not. And I just know that
it’s not for real, too. Why would
anyone want to take pictures of you, anyway?” said Kelsey.
“I want to see this and see what’s up.” Melanie
was speechless. She looked over
to Hazel and to Justin. “Come
on, Melanie. Don’t invite her,”
said Hazel. “She’s nothing but
trouble.” “That’s
not a very nice thing to say,” said Kelsey.
She turned towards Melanie again.
“Well, how about it, Melanie?
Invite me to your so-called photography session. Let’s see if it’s for real.” How
did she know a photo shoot was also called a photography session? That was the next thing that went through Melanie’s
mind. But that was not the important
thing to think about right now. “Melanie?”
said Hazel. Melanie
looked up at Kelsey. “If you
want to come…I think you have to ask your parents.” Kelsey
smiled and pushed back a lock of her long blonde hair in the most arrogant
way possible. “No problem. I’ll ask them,” she said. Hazel
felt like she had just fallen into a deep well with no one to catch
her. It was an endless well so she fell into the
darkness forever and ever. “Oh,
my God…” Hazel whispered. “I
think…we’re all going to die. It’s
the end of the world now…” “Don’t
worry too much about it,” Justin whispered. “The
more, the merrier,” said Kelsey. “Isn’t
that how the grown-ups say it?” She
began to laugh in a fake witch voice again.
“Ohohohohohohohohohoho!” Melanie
hesitated and then she nodded. “Um…yeah,
you’re right…” she said. “You’re going to do what?” said Natasha,
who was Kelsey’s friend. It was
during lunch time in the cafeteria and they were sitting together. “I’m
going somewhere after school. Melanie
invited me to her so-called photo shoot,” said Kelsey. Natasha
looked puzzled, and then she frowned.
“Is that so?” Kelsey
nodded. “Yes.” Natasha
poked Kelsey in the forehead and Kelsey felt that. She rubbed her forehead. “I thought you hated her guts or something.
You really made that loud and clear in class a few days back.” “Of
course, I hate her.” “Then,
why would she invite you?” Kelsey
hesitated. “Okay, she didn’t
invite me. But I made her say
that she invited me. I guess
I invited myself,” she said and she started to giggle. “You
invite yourself?” asked Natasha. She
frowned again. “Yes,”
said Kelsey. Natasha
poked Kelsey again in the forehead.
“You really are weird, you know, doing things that don’t have
any reason.” “What
do you mean? Of course, there’s
a reason.” “What’s
the reason?” Kelsey
thought about it for a while. “I’m
just curious, that’s all.” “Curious? Is that all?” “Yes.” “What’s
so good about a photo shoot? In
fact, what the heck is a photo shoot anyway?” asked Natasha, looking
very puzzled. Kelsey
answered quickly, sounding like an expert.
“When you’re a celebrity, you have photo shoots. In photo shoots, photographers take pictures
of you for things like posters and advertising billboards and things
like that.” “And
how do you know about all that?” “Because
I’m smart!” said Kelsey, looking very proud and laughing. And
for acting that way, Natasha tried to poke Kelsey in the forehead again
but Kelsey blocked it with her hand.
Natasha looked annoyed now. “What
the hell! I thought you said you didn’t believe that ridiculous
story of her becoming some idol pop singer!” “I
don’t. I don’t believe any of
it. I’m just curious about what she’s doing, that’s
all.” “That’s
not a good reason.” “Huh? Why?” Natasha
tried to poke Kelsey in the forehead again with her left forefinger
but Kelsey blocked it with her right hand.
However, Natasha countered with a successful poke with her right
forefinger and Kelsey did not see that one coming. “Ouch!” Christina’s car was parked at the front
of the school and she was really puzzled.
She was looking at the other two kids who were with Melanie and
Justin. There was one girl with
long blonde hair and one boy who looked very unemotional. “You
weren’t kidding, were you, Melanie?” said Christina. Melanie
had called Christina on the cell phone earlier and told her that she
wanted to invite her friend Justin and also a girl named Kelsey. She told her also that both of them called their
parents and said that it was okay for them to go. Melanie
looked up at Christina, blinking a couple of times with puzzlement. “Huh? What
do you mean? I wanted to invite
Justin, too, because he’s my friend.
I thought it might be nice, because I’ve only known him for a
few days.” “Oh,
okay,” said Christina, who smiled at Justin.
“Well, pleased to meet you, Justin.
I’m Christina, Melanie’s manager.” “Pleased
to meet you,” said Justin, who extended a hand, and Christina shook
it. Melanie
introduced the other girl. “This
is Kelsey. She is one of my classmates.
I think she wanted to know more about the photo shoot.
So she asked if she could come along,” said Melanie. Christina
smiled at Kelsey. “I’m pleased
to meet you, Kelsey. I’m Melanie’s
manager. Christina.” Kelsey
looked puzzled. “Her manager…I
mean…sorry, pleased to meet you,” she said with a soft voice. Hazel looked at Kelsey and grinned, because
it looked like Kelsey was about to be proven wrong in the most humiliating
way. Christina
sighed and looked at everyone. Then
she glanced at Melanie. “Well,
Melanie, let’s go to the photo shoot.
You can take care of all of them, right?” “Yes,
of course,” said Melanie. After
that, everyone got in the car, with Melanie sitting at the front with
Christina. The car began to drive
away. During the ride, Melanie spoke with Christina,
who was driving. Justin and Hazel
would talk to each other some and sometimes with Melanie. Kelsey did not say anything at all as she looked
at her surroundings. She looked
down at the space between the two front seats and there was a purse
there. There was an ID badge that was hanging out of
the purse. “ Kelsey’s
eyes went wide for a second, but she calmed herself down quickly. Her hands formed fists at her sides but she
did not let anyone see it. They
traveled towards the downtown area of “I
wonder what Kelsey was really thinking.
She said she wanted to see if it was for real. That’s the reason she said when she wanted to
go with us to the photo session. What
did she really want to do anyway? I
have a feeling that there’s something a lot more to this. I wonder what’s
going to happen. I wonder what’s
on her mind. I don’t understand.” Christina, Melanie, Hazel, Justin, and Kelsey
left the car and the parking lot and they went to a part of the lakeshore
that had some trees, a park area, and flower gardens. There was also a small beach area nearby.
The whole place overlooked the beautiful lake that was beside
the city. There were large boats
in the distance that were sailing to and from the “It’s
so nice out here, you know. I
love being near the Lakeshore,” said Christina. Melanie
looked around her and she seemed really happy.
“It’s beautiful. I’ve
never been to the Toronto Lakeshore before.” “But
you haven’t spent a very long time in “Yes,
that’s right,” said Melanie. In
the distance were several people. They
were setting up all kinds of photography equipment, including stands
for lights and stands for cameras and lengths of cable and all kinds
of other equipment. There were
about 10 people there and Melanie recognized most of them. “Wow,
this is so amazing! These people
are going to be taking your pictures, Melanie?” asked Hazel. “Yes,
some of them are my photographers,” said Melanie. Justin
did not say anything. Hazel looked
at him and elbowed him. “Ouch...”
he said. “Hazel, what was that
for?” “You
have to admit that you’re really amazed, right?” said Hazel. “I
am amazed. I just don’t show
it,” said Justin. Hazel
began to laugh. “Oh, okay.” She looked over at Kelsey, who was looking around.
She looked rather speechless and Hazel held a proud look on her
face because of that. “Well, well, well. What do you think, Kelsey?” Kelsey
looked at Hazel. After a moment,
she smiled and maintained a look of pride on her face, which made Hazel
lose hers. “It’s nice,” said
Kelsey. Hazel
was surprised. “Nice? That’s it?” “Yes. That’s it.” “Are
you going to say anything else? Like,
maybe, an apology?” said Hazel. Kelsey
looked surprised. “I have nothing
to apologize for, Hazel,” said Kelsey.
She began to laugh again. “So
she’s a singer. I’m surprised
that it surprises you that she would be doing things like this.
I wasn’t surprised about it at all that she would have a photo
session.” “That’s
not what you were saying before!” shouted Hazel. Christina
turned towards Hazel and Kelsey. “Hey,
please be quiet over there.” The
two of them quieted down. “You
contradict yourself,” said Hazel. “Whatever,”
Kelsey replied. Christina
turned towards Melanie and they both smiled.
“Let’s go talk to the director of photography,” said Christina. Melanie
nodded. “Sure, let’s go,” she
said softly with a bright smile. Melanie
and Christina met with the photography director and the two photographers. The photography director was Tom Walsh. The two photographers were Carol Grace and Richard
Fletcher. Carol was from “Hi,
everyone,” said Christina. “Hello!”
said Mr. Walsh, the photography director.
“And hello to you, too, Melanie.
I hope that you’re all set for your first photo shoot.” Melanie
smiled and nodded. “I’m ready. I guess I just need to change and have my hair
done.” “Yup,
that’s all there is to it.” Mr.
Walsh gestured towards the two photographers.
“I think you know Carol and Richard already, right?” Melanie
smiled at both of them. “Hello,”
she said sweetly. “Hi,
Melanie, I’m really looking forward to being your photographer today,”
said Carol. “Yeah,
it’s not everyday that we get to take pictures for someone’s debut,”
said Richard. Melanie
giggled softly. “Thank you so
much for your help.” Christina
was glad that everyone was getting along, but it was time for work to
be done. “I’m glad you remembered
everybody, Melanie. I think now
you have to get your hair and costume done,” she said. “Yes,
of course,” said Melanie. In one of the vans, Melanie was with a lady
named Cindy Paquin. Cindy was
helping Melanie put on a very pretty white dress with a few flower designs
on it. “How
does that feel, Melanie?” asked Cindy. Melanie
smiled. “It feels so soft! I love it. Can
I keep it?” she asked with a joking tone of voice. Cindy
laughed. “Well, it’s part of
your wardrobe at Regal Records. And
I designed this myself just for you.
I know you love anything that’s soft.” After
Melanie was fitted with her dress and shoes, she and her fashion designer
came out of the van. In the distance,
near the set, Hazel, Justin, and Kelsey were sitting on chairs and they
saw Melanie dressed in her beautiful white costume. “Oh,
wow. She’s so pretty,” said Hazel. “I wonder if she can let me borrow that dress.” “I
don’t think it’s hers to bring home, Hazel,” said Justin. “That’s
exactly right,” said Kelsey. “It’s
part of her wardrobe, but she can’t take it home.” Hazel
looked over at Kelsey with suspicion.
“How did you know that?” Kelsey
hesitated, and then she smiled proudly.
“I just know.” A
little later, Melanie was sitting on a chair outside and two girls were
around her. One of the girls
was Lisa Rosiak and she was Melanie’s hairstylist.
She was brushing Melanie’s hair and tying a cute ribbon into
it. She made sure Melanie’s hair was perfect.
The other girl was Mina Onodera and she was Melanie’s makeup
artist. She was putting a bit
of blush on Melanie’s cheeks. After
that, Mina held a mirror in front of Melanie.
“How’s that, Melanie? I
put a little bit of blush on you so you look so cute like that,” she
said with a quiet giggle. Melanie
giggled, too. “Thank you. That’s so perfect.” “What
about your hair?” Lisa said who smiled cheerfully as well. “That ribbon looks so cute on you. I think it’s perfect.” “It’s
very perfect,” said Melanie, who smiled at her as well. “Thank you so much.” Kelsey stood up from her seat and Hazel
and Justin looked up. “Where
are you going?” asked Hazel. “I
need to find a bathroom,” said Kelsey.
She started to walk away. Hazel
did not want to say anything else and she just looked away and concentrated
her attention on what Melanie was doing.
That would be much more interesting.
“Who cares where she’s going?
Why should anyone care with that attitude of hers?” “She
might get lost and we would be in trouble,” said Justin. “I
don’t think she’ll do that, because she’ll get into trouble, too.” Kelsey
did not look for a bathroom. She
did not really have a reason to. She
just wanted to be away from it for a while.
She walked around the park area and she ended up at the parking
lot. The two photographers were there and they were
talking. Soon, they began to
walk away from one of the vans and towards the set. The
side door of the van was open and she was a little bit curious as to
what was in the van. There was
something inside her that wanted to know.
She came closer to the van and she looked around and saw that
there was no one nearby. It looks like everyone was at the set. Inside
the van, there were several very high-tech cameras. She stared at the cameras for a while and a
lot of thoughts raced in her mind. She
was thinking about something, and whatever it was, it made her face
look very emotionless for a while. But
the emotionless look suddenly became an angry look. She formed fists at her sides. She leaned into the van and she grabbed one
of the expensive cameras. She
began to strike the camera against the side of the van! Then she struck the lens on the side of the
van and the lens broke into pieces.
She looked for something on the side of the camera that would
make it open up and she was able to find it.
She opened it up and ripped out the film that was inside!
Then she threw the camera on the ground violently. Kelsey
grabbed another camera but someone suddenly grabbed her arm. “Hey,
what do you think you’re doing?” someone shouted. Kelsey
gasped and looked up. It was
one of Melanie’s photographers, Richard Fletcher. “What
are you doing? Are you crazy? I’m taking you to the director. You’re not getting away with this!” he said
angrily. He
took the camera that Kelsey just took from the van and put it back in
the van. Then he picked up the
one that Kelsey had thrown on the ground. “Let
go of me!” shouted Kelsey. “Hey,
you’re the one who’s breaking the cameras!
I wouldn’t want you breaking anything else!” Richard took her by the arm and began to walk
away towards the set where everyone was gathered. He carried the broken camera with him. Melanie stood up from her chair and Christina
looked at her from head to toe. “Christina!
What do you think?” she said. “You’re
so cute! Can I hug you?” said
Christina, with wide-eyed excitement. “You
can hug her after the photo shoot, Christina,” said Lisa, who started
to laugh. “We have to keep that
beautiful hair and costume intact, you know.” “Oh,
right, sorry,” said Christina. “But,
still, Melanie, you look wonderful!” Melanie
smiled sweetly. “Thank you so
much.” “Let
me go!” a girl shouted. Everyone
turned towards the shouting. Justin
and Hazel turned and stood up from their chairs.
Melanie looked surprised and Christina did as well. Richard was holding Kelsey by the arm and Kelsey
was trying to get out of his grip. “What’s
going on here?” said Tom, who was the photography director. “Tom,
I caught this girl breaking the cameras.
She broke this one, and she almost broke another one, but I caught
her,” said Richard. Christina
was very surprised. “What!” Tom
went over to Richard and Richard gave him the camera that was broken. Carol, the other photographer, race over to
them and looked at the camera as well. “This
camera is gone! It’s totally
broken. We can’t use it anymore,”
said Carol. Tom
sighed and shook his head and then looked down at Kelsey. Since he was the senior photographer, he was
much calmer than the other photographers, despite the situation. “Why did you do that?” he asked her. But
Kelsey did not answer. Christina
quickly came to them. “I’m so
sorry!” she said quickly, looking at the broken camera.
She became very worried and very distressed but she did her best
not to show it too much. “I’m
really sorry that this happened. Mr.
Walsh, I’ll take full responsibility for the damages.” Tom
sighed again. “Well, that doesn’t
really help. It’s still broken. We can’t really do anything about it, you know.” “I’m
sorry. Is there anything I can
do?” asked Christina. “Maybe
there is. Next time Melanie invites
her friends over, say no.” Tom
took the broken camera and he shook his head again.
“What a total waste.” Justin
and Hazel came near them and saw what was happening. They realized immediately that Kelsey had done
something very stupid indeed. “What
did you do, Kelsey?” asked Hazel with a shocked look on her face. “That’s
none of your business!” shouted Kelsey, who looked very angry. “You
kids shouldn’t even be here,” said Richard. Hazel
was going to scream at Kelsey but Justin put a hand on her shoulder
and Hazel stopped herself suddenly.
Hazel was puzzled, because of his calm nature. Justin
looked up at the photographers. “I’m
sorry for the trouble. I don’t
know why Kelsey would break the cameras.
She won’t do that again,” said Justin. Christina
looked at Justin with a bit surprised.
He was surprisingly calm about the whole situation and seemed
very mature for his age, too. She
glanced at the photographers. “I’m
really sorry. I know that doesn’t
change the situation. Kelsey
won’t be invited again.” Kelsey
looked even angrier, but there was nothing that she could say about
it. “Hazel
and Justin are good kids. But
this one is a monster,” said Tom. Christina
looked behind her and saw Melanie, who looked a little bit down. She stood wearing her long dress with her hands
clasped together in front of her. “Christina…only
one camera was broken. That shouldn’t
stop us from having a photo shoot,” Melanie said softly. Tom and the other photographers were surprised
by that. Christina
glanced back at the director. “Can
we still go on with the photo shoot?” she asked. “Well,
only one camera was broken. We
have several more. We can still
use those,” said Richard. “Good
thing, too,” said Carol. “We
can’t let anything like this get in the way.” “We
can still go on. There’s no reason
not to.” Christina,
the photographers, Hazel, and Justin all turned towards Melanie, who
was standing with her hairstylist, makeup artist, and costume designer. Christina smiled at Melanie and she winked. Melanie
smiled at them. “Thank you so
much. Even if there was only one camera left that
was working, I think we could still take pictures, right?” she said
sweetly and with a positive tone in her voice.
It was something that made Tom a little bit surprised. “Young
lady, you’re right about that. But,
of course, we still have lots of cameras, so it’s okay.” “I’m
glad,” said Melanie. She smiled
brightly. “Oh,
my…for a second there, I really thought we weren’t going to have a photo
shoot. If Kelsey broke all the
cameras, then we wouldn’t have one.
I’m not happy that she got into trouble.
I really wish that she hadn’t done that.
But what I am happy about is that we could still continue,” said
Melanie. The photographers and the other people with
them got on with the photography session.
Melanie stood at the railing of a platform that overlooked the
beautiful lake. Tom, Carol, and
Richard were taking pictures of her as she stood there. Christina
was looking on, while Hazel and Justin were standing beside her, enjoying
what they were seeing. Kelsey
was sitting on a chair close to them and did not say anything.
People just ignored her, and even though she was quiet, she was
burning with anger on the inside. “That’s
perfect, Melanie,” said Tom. “You
look great. Just act natural.” They
continued to take pictures. Melanie
pushed back her long dark brown hair as the soft and gentle breeze blew. “That
was good, Melanie,” said Carol. “Keep
that up.” “Amazing
for someone who’s never been a model,” said Richard. Hazel
looked up at Christina. “Yeah,
she’s never been a model. How
does she know how to pose in front of a camera?” she asked. Christina
smiled proudly. “That’s because
I’m her manager,” she said. “After
school, the last few days, I taught her how to pose like a model. It was not too difficult though, because Melanie
is a little bit of a shy girl. But
I think she got the hang of it really fast.” “Wow. That’s so cool,” said Hazel. Christina
had some flashbacks. “What! Wait
a second. I thought you said
in the interview at your school that you like having your pictures taken,”
said Christina, looking very puzzled while she was standing in the hallway
outside of a photography studio in the Regal Records building. Melanie
looked up at Christina with a smile that looked embarrassed and she
started to laugh uncomfortably, as if she had just done something wrong. “Um…well, I mean…every single time someone tried
to take a picture with me in it, I kind of hesitated. I would only go in them when someone asked me
to go in them.” “What! I don’t get it.” Christina looked up and tried to think about
it for a while to see if she could understand it. She looked like she was very deep in thought.
“So…you feel shy in front of a camera…but if someone asks you
to be in the picture, you hesitate and go anyway…but you said you like
having your picture taken…I don’t get it…” “Oh,
um…I mean, I always look good in the pictures when they take my picture. It doesn’t look like it, but I’m actually kind
of shy in front of a camera.” “Oh,
so that’s what you mean,” said Christina, who started to laugh. “Gosh, Melanie, I guess that means that we have
to work a little bit on that and that shouldn’t be a problem. You still want to go on ahead with having photo
shoots? Please say yes.” Melanie
smiled and nodded. “Yes, I do. I just…have to get really used to it, because
this time, I have to do things differently.” “That’s
right. This isn’t the regular
picture-taking that people do in parties and stuff like that. This is practically modeling, you know. It’s really different.” During
the last few days, at the Regal Records photography studios, Melanie
was practicing in front of the photographers on how she should pose. There were times when the photographers were
a little frustrated because she did not look right or pose the right
way. “No,
I don’t think so,” said Tom Walsh. “Huh?”
said Melanie, looking a little bit surprised. “When
you stand there, it doesn’t look natural for some reason.” “I’m
sorry…” Tom
just sighed and shook his head. “You
know, why don’t we all take a break?
I don’t know how we’re going to do the photo shoot that’s schedule
a few days from now at this rate.” The
people in the photography studio left the room for a while but they
said they’ll be back. Melanie
walked over to Christina looking a little bit sad. “Melanie,
are you okay?” asked Christina. “I
don’t know how I’m supposed to pose.
I don’t know anything.” Christina
smiled. “Hey, it’s only because
you haven’t done anything like this before.
It’s nothing to be worried about.
It’ll be your first time, that’s why you feel that way.” Melanie
sighed and she looked down for a while. “I’ll
talk to the photography director and tell him that it’s your first time. He’s a great photographer and he’s one of the
world’s best. That’s the reason
he might be a little hard on you, especially because it’s your first
time. I’m sure that when I tell him, he’ll take it
a little bit easy.” Melanie
looked up at Christina and she smiled slightly.
“Okay. Thank you so much.” “You’re
welcome. And as for you, just
do your best. That’s all you
have to do. Oh, yes, and also, you have to act natural.” “Natural?” “Yes. You look like you’re trying to hard. I know it’s different from ordinary picture-taking.
It looks different and it feels different.
But you still have to act like your own self.
Even though they’re different, there is one thing that’s the
same. And that is the fact that you still have to
act like your self.” “Act
like myself. Act like ordinary
picture-taking.” “That’s
right, Melanie. And I’ll help
you, too.” As
Melanie posed in front of the photographers, Christina told her to stand
in a certain way or sit in a certain way or do certain things that might
look appealing in a photograph, but she still had to act like herself. Melanie got used to it very quickly. There were no pictures taken of her at those
times. “Good,
Melanie. That’s how it’s supposed
to be. You just have to act normal,”
said Christina. The
photography director seemed much more pleased this time and he smiled. “Thanks for having that talk with her, Christina.
She looks like she’s learned a lot in just a short time.” Christine
nodded and smiled at him. “It
was nothing.” “She’s doing really well,” said Justin,
with a soft voice, watching Melanie as the photographers were taking
pictures of her. “She
learned to pretend that the cameras aren’t even there, too. Just act normal and pretty. That’s all there is to it,” said Christina,
with a proud smile on her face. Melanie
turned around and faced one of the cameras, causing her hair to move
around her in a swirl and it bounced back, and she smiled straight into
Carol’s camera. “That’s
perfect, Melanie!” said Carol, as she took more pictures. Later,
Melanie knelt down beside a patch of pretty flowers. Carol and Richard were the ones taking the pictures
this time while Tom looked on and gave instructions to the two photographers
and to Melanie. “Try
touching the flowers, Melanie,” said Tom.
“Perfect.” Melanie
touched the flowers and she did so very gently.
Carol and Richard continued taking pictures. Melanie leaned closer to the flowers and she
nearly fell into them. Because
of that, she was startled. “Be
careful,” said Tom. Christina
gasped, looking surprised. “I’m
so sorry,” said Melanie, who looked a little worried. “Don’t
worry about it. Just keep doing
what you were doing. But be careful.” Melanie
smiled and nodded. Christina
sighed with relief and she smiled. Tom
turned to one of the staff members.
“Do you think she can pull one of the flowers out?” The
staff member shrugged. “I don’t
think they would like it if we pulled out flowers from the park, sir,”
he said. “That
figures. Oh, well. There are always other things we can do.” A
short time later, Melanie was throwing small stones into the lake and
Carol and Richard were taking pictures of her doing that as well. She walked along the beach area of the lakeshore
and they followed her, snapping as many shots as possible. Every time they ran out of film, someone would
bring them another camera and they would continue. The film in the other camera would be replaced. There
was a water fountain in the park and Melanie sat beside it. The two photographers continued to take pictures
of her there as well. At one
point, she reached towards the water fountain and let the water drip
onto her hands and she smiled at the gentleness of the water. At the end of the photo shoot, Christina
and Melanie met with the photographers one last time. “Thank
you so much for today,” said Melanie.
“I really had a lot of fun. I
hope we can do this lots more times.
It’s really great.” Tom
smiled. “Oh, I’m sure that we’ll
be doing this for you lots more times, Melanie.
You’ll be a famous singer. I
know that for sure. So we’ll
definitely be working with you again on lots more photo sessions.” Melanie
nodded and smiled at that. “Thank
you…” she said softly. Christina
shook hands with the photographers.
“Thank you again for today. Again,
I’m really sorry about that broken camera earlier.” “Oh,
don’t worry about it anymore,” said Carole, who smiled at her. “Cameras
can be replaced, so that’s fine,” said Richard. Once
the meeting was done, Christina and Melanie met with Hazel, Justin,
and Kelsey, and then all five of them headed for the parking lot where
Christina’s car was parked. “That
was really awesome, Melanie. You
were like a professional model, too, not just a professional singer,”
said Hazel. Melanie
giggled at that. “You think so? I’ve never been a model before.” “That’s
one of the things you do when you’re a singer,” Kelsey said suddenly,
but with a very cold tone of voice.
“You should know that.” Hazel
became angry already. “You need
to apologize, you know!” she shouted. Kelsey
looked coldly at Hazel. “Don’t
even talk to me right now.” Christina
broke it up. “Hey, you guys. Please stop arguing, alright? Let’s just all go home. I’ll take all of you home.” “Thanks
for the ride, Christina
smiled at Justin. “Oh, you’re
welcome.” Everyone
got in the car, and once everyone was settled in, Christina started
to drive the car out of the parking lot.
She turned onto the lakeshore streets and began to drive uptown. Pretty soon, the sun was going to set into the
horizon. Christina’s car stopped at Kelsey’s house
first. Kelsey came out of the
car with her schoolbag. “Thank
you for the ride home, Christina
smiled. “You’re welcome.” Kelsey
closed the door and she began to walk towards her house quickly. Once, Kelsey was able to get inside her house,
Christina began to drive away. “You
can still be nice to her even after what she did?” asked Hazel. “You
have to be nice to people, no matter what they do wrong,” said Christina. “Isn’t that right, Melanie? That’s what you said, too, right?” Melanie
smiled and she nodded. “That’s
right.” Justin
was the next person to be dropped off.
He closed the car door and he turned to Christina. “Thank you for the ride, “You’re
welcome, Justin,” said Christina, who smiled. Melanie
and Hazel smiled, too. “You’re
welcome. I hope I can invite
you again for other stuff at Regal Records, too,” said Melanie. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Justin.” “See
you tomorrow, Justin,” said Hazel. Justin
nodded. “See you tomorrow.” He turned around and he started to walk towards
the front door of his house. Melanie
looked at Justin’s house. “His
house is really nice. I wonder
what his family is like,” she said with a curious tone in her voice. When
the front door of Justin’s house opened, a little girl appeared and
hugged Justin. Melanie and Hazel
were surprised. Justin patted
the little girl’s head. “I
wonder who that is,” said Melanie. “Maybe
that’s his little sister,” said Hazel, with amazement. “Wow. That’s
amazing.” Christina
looked at both of the girls with a puzzled look on her face but she
almost laughed, too. “Why would
that be amazing?” “He’s
so calm and unemotional most of the time.
It’s kind of surprising when a younger sister hugs him. It makes him look…almost sensitive,” said Hazel. “But
that would be so cool, I think,” said Melanie. Christina
thought about that for a moment. She
tried to remember the way Justin acted while he was at the photo shoot. “Come to think of it, I didn’t see him smile
at all, not even once. But I
don’t think he’s depressed or anything.
He’s just really calm.” “I
think that’s all there is to it,” said Melanie.
“He’s very calm.” Hazel
laughed. “Just watch. One of these days, I’m going to make him break
out with laughter.” All
three of the girls laughed. Christina
dropped off Hazel next. Hazel
waved goodbye at the Melanie and Christina as she ran towards her house. When she got inside the house, Christina drove
away. Christina drove towards
where Melanie’s house would be. “Christina?”
said Melanie. “Yes,
Melanie?” said Christina. “Thank
you so much again for the photo shoot.
It was so much fun.” Christina
smiled at her. “Oh, you’re welcome.” “If
it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have been able to do it. You taught me a lot about how to pose in front
of a camera the last few days. I
just have to pretend that the camera is not there. I just have to act like myself. Act natural.
That’s what you told me. It
helped me a lot. Thank you so
much.” “No
problem. It is a lot of fun,
you know. It helps not to be
shy, but that’s okay, if you’re just a little bit shy.
You can get over it and pretend the camera is not there and still
be yourself. Then it helps a
lot. But you really did do very well, Melanie.
Believe me.” Melanie
smiled sweetly and she blushed. “Thanks!
I wonder how all those pictures will come out.
There were so many of them, too.” “I’ll
have them give you copies. Would
you like that?” “Oh,
yes, please. I think that would
be great. Thank you.” As
they neared Melanie’s house, Christina began to slow down the car. When they reached Melanie’s house, Melanie got
ready to get out of the car. “Thank
you so much again, Christina!” said Melanie with a bright smile on her
face. “Even though Kelsey broke
a camera, things didn’t go totally wrong, so I’m really glad. I’m glad that everything still went the way
it should.” “Yeah,
so am I,” said Christina. “Oh,
Melanie, one more thing I need to tell you.” Melanie
looked up. “Next
time we go on a job, and I’m sure there will be lots more…can you please
do me a really big favor? It’s
really important.” “What
is it?” asked Melanie. “You
can invite Hazel and Justin. But
please…please don’t invite Kelsey anymore.” Melanie
looked surprised and she looked down a little.
“But what if…” “Please,
Melanie. There’s no guarantee
that she’s not going to do anything bad again, and I don’t want us to
get into any trouble. We almost
did today. But I’m sure that Mr. King, our producer, will
know about it first thing tomorrow morning. He might talk to us a little bit about it, but
I’m sure we’re not in big trouble. But
I don’t want to take any more chances like that.” “Oh,
I see…” “So,
please, Melanie. Don’t invite
Kelsey anymore.” Melanie
sighed and she looked up. After
a moment, she nodded. “Okay. I won’t invite Kelsey anymore. I…I don’t want to get into trouble either.” Christina
smiled. “Thanks, Melanie. I knew I could count on you. Anyways, I’ll talk to you tomorrow, okay? And I’ll remember to ask the photographers for
copies of those pictures just for you…and for me, too, because, hey,
I’m your manager.” Melanie
and Christina laughed. “Okay. Please have a good night, Christina,” said Melanie. “Oh,
you, too, and take care!” With
that, Melanie got out of the car with her schoolbag. She waved at Christina, who waved back. When Melanie was able to get inside the house,
Christina began to drive away. Melanie
closed the door of the house quietly and she took off her shoes there.
She picked up her schoolbag and was about to go upstairs when
Grandma Annabelle suddenly appeared at the entrance of the kitchen. “Melanie,”
said Grandma Annabelle. Melanie
gasped, startled. “Hi, Grandma,”
she said sweetly. “Who
just dropped you off outside?” she asked, and her voice sounded very
strict at the same time. It made
Melanie feel very frightened already. Grandma
Annabelle was asking who dropped off Melanie!
Oh, no! What would happen
if Melanie told her that it was her manager from a record company called
Regal Records? That means that
she would have to tell her everything about what she has been doing
lately. It was not yet time for her to find out about
it. “Oh,
um, that was one of the teachers at our school.
I’m sorry, I should have called you and told you about that,”
said Melanie. “I
see…” said Grandma Annabelle, who looked a little suspicious. Melanie felt insecure and she tried not to look
away. “Next time, you should
definitely tell me what your plans are, so I won’t start wondering what
you’re doing and where you have been.” “Yes,
Grandma, I’m really sorry,” said Melanie. “Anyways,
dinner will be ready soon. So
get settled.” Melanie
was relieved. “Thank you, Grandma,”
she said. She went up the stairs
quickly and she went into her room and she put her schoolbag down. She lied down on her bed and took a deep breath.
She was so relieved that she was not in trouble with her grandmother. After
a few minutes, she got up and went over to the window and she opened
it and let the fresh air in. She
took a deep breath again and she smiled. “Today
was a great day,” Melanie whispered. “But
I’m not sure if Kelsey had a good day.
I don’t think she did. I’m
sure she didn’t. It looks to
everyone like she didn’t. But…I
have a feeling that whatever was on her mind today…I think it’s a lot
worse than what people might see on the outside…” A girl with long blonde hair walked into
a dark bedroom. She wore a school
uniform and she was carrying a schoolbag.
She had her face down and she dropped her bag heavily on the
floor. She leaned against the door and she just stood
there for a very long time. The
girl’s fists were shaking at her sides, as if she was very angry about
something. She began to walk
towards her bed and she knelt down beside it. She
put her head down on the bed. Very
soon, there were very soft sounds of someone crying. 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, Hazel, and Justin’s narration: Melanie: “Hello, everyone!” Hazel: “Hey, Melanie! I can’t believe that evil Kelsey went with us
to your photo shoot. She’s so
annoying! She’s so evil, too! How could she do that?” Justin: “What’s done is done,
so don’t worry about it anymore.” Melanie: “Yes. Let’s not worry about it anymore. What we have to worry about is something else!” Hazel: “What is it?” Melanie: “The next job! It’s my first recording session!” Hazel: “Your
first recording session? What’s
that?” Justin: “That’s when she sings
in a studio and they record it.” Melanie: “Yes, that’s right.
Thanks, Justin!” Justin: “You’re welcome.” Hazel: “That’s awesome! You’re just too cool! I’m burning with excitement here! Aaaaahhhhh! I can’t believe you’re finally going to have
your songs recorded by those people!
That’s just way too awesome!” Melanie: “Not so loud, Hazel.
You’re more excited than me! We’re still working on my debut as an idol pop
singer. The next thing we have
to do now is record my debut song. It’ll
be wonderful…” Hazel: “Great! But why do we have to worry about that? We know you’ll do really well!” Melanie: “I’m really nervous! I’ve never done anything like this before.
This is actually getting my songs recorded and they’re going
to put it on the radio one day! I’m excited, but I’m really nervous at the same
time!” Justin: “I think you’ll be fine,
Melanie. Just trust in yourself.” Hazel and Justin: “Next time
on Starry Love Dream!” Melanie: “Episode 12: A song for you, “Dream”!” |
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