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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’m already working to become a singer!” Hazel: “And I’m Hazel, her number
one fan!” Justin: “Justin here.” Hazel: “What? Justin? Is that all you’re going to say for your introduction?” Justin: “Am I supposed to say
anything else?” Hazel: “Oh, never mind…” Melanie: “Hey, let’s look at
what happened last time!” Hazel: “Yeah, let’s do that.” Melanie: “It was my first ever
photo shoot. We went to the lakeshore
and they took lots of pictures of me doing all kinds of stuff. I guess it’s a little bit like modeling. It was really a lot of fun. I’m really glad that my friends Justin and Hazel
were able to come with me and watch!” Justin: “We weren’t the only
ones there.” Hazel: “Yeah. Too bad the evil Kelsey Rayne had to be there.
She pretty much invited herself, you know!
That’s so unfair!” Justin: “And she almost caused
a disaster. She broke one of
the cameras. But she got caught.” Melanie: “I wish it didn’t happen.
But, still, we were still able to get on with the photo shoot.
Even if you have one broken camera, it’s okay, because you have
lots of others and you can still take pictures!” Hazel: “Thank goodness, too.” 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 It was the first week of summer vacation!
School was over. No more studying, no more books, no more homework,
and it was going to be that way for the next 2 months. Melanie wanted to make sure that she would have
a lot of fun this summer with Melanie and Justin. But there was something else, too. Melanie and Christina had also been planning
on their first recording session. Melanie
was in her room writing a letter to her parents. She had finished a letter each to her friend
Janice and to her friend Jenna who were living in Dear
Mama and Papa, How are you? I hope you’re doing fine. I’m doing fine here, too. Grandma Annabelle takes care of me. I think she really wants to do her best to protect
me because she is very strict. I
hope I’m not making it sound like I don’t like her. Because I think I do like her. I don’t really understand what’s happening
with the politics there. But
I hope you’re doing your best to make things better, and I’m sure you
are. I know that things will get better for you.
You told me that as long as you believe in your dreams, it will
always come true. I have two friends at Please don’t worry too much about me. I think I’m going to do okay now. Things are getting better here for me. I hope I’ll make my dreams come true, too. I
love you both so much, Melanie. Melanie
stopped for a moment to look at the letter she wrote for her parents. She had to stop herself from telling them that
she really was making her dreams come true. She was going to be a singer! But it was not yet time to tell them. She wanted it to be a surprise for everybody. It’s
not yet time to tell them that she’s working on her new singing career
and that today was her first recording studio session. Starry Love Dream Episode 12: A song
for you, “Dream”! Melanie went downstairs to the living room
and she saw that her Grandma Annabelle was knitting a sweater. Melanie was holding three envelopes, one for
her parents and two for her best friends who were living in “Grandma,”
Melanie called out with a soft voice. Grandma
Annabelle looked up. “Yes, Melanie?”
she said. “Do
you have stamps that I could use to mail these letters?” Grandma
seemed to have a stern expression on her face as usual and Melanie almost
flinched. “What are those letters
for?” “Oh,
they’re for my parents and for my friends in Grandma
stared at Melanie for a long time with a strict face. Melanie wondered if it was a good idea to tell
her that she was writing a letter to her parents. She knew very well that Grandma did not like
her father one bit. “Um…do
you want me to buy them in the store instead if you don’t have any?”
asked Melanie. “That’s
fine. I have some here,” Grandma
suddenly said. She stood up and
went over to a table and pulled out one of the drawers.
Melanie walked over to her. Grandma
took out 3 stamps from an envelope that contained more. “Stamps are 50 cents each when you buy them
from the store. Save your money
and take them from here if you need to.” Melanie
smiled. “Oh, thank you, Grandma.” Grandma
gave Melanie the stamps and then she returned to her knitting, while
Melanie went to the kitchen. She
did not like licking stamps, so she dabbed a bit of water on the back
of each of the stamps and pasted them onto the envelopes. Melanie
returned to the living room. “Grandma,”
she called out. “What
is it?” said Grandma Annabelle. “Can
I go see my friends Hazel and Justin this afternoon?” Grandma
looked up at Melanie with a strict face again.
“Yes, you can. However…” Melanie
looked puzzled suddenly. “Be
sure that you are home at “Yes,
of course, Grandma,” said Melanie. Grandma
kept on looking at Melanie and it made her feel slightly uncomfortable.
“Grandma?” she asked. “You’ve
been really busy lately. Last
month, in your last month of school, you had several after-school activities. You said that you stayed in the school a lot
and that you visited the Callaway residence many times. That’s a lot of activities.” Melanie
felt even more uncomfortable. The
reason why she was so busy last month was because she was working with
Christina at Regal Records and Hazel was covering for her, making sure
that no one was going to find out what Melanie was doing. “This
week, you’ve been a little busy as well, even though school is out. You’ve been seeing your friends a lot. What have you been doing, Melanie?” Melanie
gasped and looked shocked. “I
was…seeing my friends. Back in
Grandma
kept on staring at Melanie for a while.
She looked suspicious but she did not say that she was suspicious. Melanie felt very strange. “I
see. Well, then, have fun with
your friends this afternoon. Like
I said before, make sure you are home by Melanie
sighed with relief. “Thank you,
Grandma.” She went upstairs to
her room. Melanie walked over to Hazel’s house at
around Hazel
answered the door when Melanie rang the doorbell. “Hey, Melanie!” she said. Melanie
smiled at her. “Hi! Oh, guess what, Christina is going to pick me
up from the front of your house soon.” “I
know that already. I know what
the plan is, you know,” said Hazel, who started to giggle and Melanie
started to do the same thing. “If
anyone asks, you’re with me. But,
you know, I wish I could go with you!” “I
wish you could come with me, too! I
think it would be really fun. But
that’s okay. I’ll tell you all
about it when I get home. I’ll
call you.” “By
the way, why is Christina picking you up from here?” asked Hazel. “You
forgot about that already?” said Melanie.
“Remember? Christina dropped
me off at home and Grandma saw her.
Grandma was wondering who she was.
I don’t want her to know who she is yet.
When I become a real singer, that’s when I’ll let her know.” Hazel
looked silly. “Oh, right,” she
said, and she started to laugh in an embarrassed way.
“I forgot about that.” A
car pulled up in front of Hazel’s house.
Hazel and Melanie looked at the car and knew that it was Christina. Christina was in the car and she waved at Melanie
and Hazel. Melanie
turned to Hazel and she gave her a hug.
“I’ll see you later!” she said. “Okay! Have fun!” said Hazel. Melanie
ran towards Christina’s car. “Hi,
Christina!” she called out. “Hi! Are you ready?” Christina asked cheerfully. “Yup,
I’m ready,” said Melanie. She
went around the car and got inside.
Hazel began to wave at them and they waved back.
Very soon, the car drove away and Melanie and Christina were
on their way to Regal Records on this lovely early Friday afternoon. In the neighborhood was a plaza and it was
located at an intersection. One
of the many stores that were part of that plaza was a convenience store
that was very popular among the children in the neighborhood. It was frequented by them because they liked
to buy from there, and Kelsey Rayne was definitely one of those children. She
was in her summer clothes. She
probably dressed a lot less than she should be dressing, according to
her parents, but she was not the kind of person to care about things
like that. She did whatever she wanted, as long as no one
got hurt…except Melanie Thompson, of course. In
the store, she was looking at some stationery.
She picked one up, looked at it, and then put it back. She would constantly do that and whenever she
did that, she seemed to have a happy and cheerful expression on her
face. The stationery had very cute and colorful designs
on them, like cute animals and hearts and stars. They were also very colorful, mostly pink and
white and light blue. Kelsey
got one of the cute little stationery pads and planned to buy it, and
she smiled a sweet smile to herself.
If only Melanie and Hazel were here to see this!
Kelsey actually looked pleasant!
She turned around and was about to head for the cashier. “Hey!”
said Natasha. Kelsey
gasped and was startled. She
sighed and frowned at her. Natasha
smiled slightly as she stood a few feet in front of her.
It was almost as if she had come from nowhere. “Natasha,
what are you doing here?” asked Kelsey. “I
saw you through the convenience store window,” she said. “I thought I’d bug you for a bit.” “Thanks
a lot.” Kelsey no longer had
the pleasant look on her face, even though she was with her friend. Natasha followed her as she went to the cashier.
Kelsey placed the stationery on the counter.
“I’d like to buy this, please.” “Sure,
no problem,” said the person behind the counter. He rang up the total on the cash register.
“That will be 2 dollars and 29 cents, please.” Kelsey
gave the exact change. When that
was done, she got the stationery and she and Natasha left the convenience
store. Natasha started to laugh,
softly at first, but it was getting louder.
Kelsey looked at her with a puzzled expression. “What? Why are you laughing?” asked Kelsey. “I’m
not sure if I’m imagining this. I
never knew you liked such cute things, Kelsey,” said Natasha, and she
stopped her laughing eventually. Kelsey
shrugged. “So what if I like
cute things?” “I
heard Melanie likes cute things,” said Natasha. Kelsey
glared at Natasha suddenly. “She
does?” she said angrily. Natasha
nodded. “Yeah, she does. That’s what I heard. She seems like the kind of girl who would.
I think that’s pretty obvious.” Kelsey
looked away and made her self look as proud and arrogant as possible. “Humph! Whatever!
Melanie is nothing but a…” Kelsey
looked down and tried to think of something to say.
“She’s nothing. She’s
nothing to me.” “So
you really do hate her, huh?” said Natasha. Kelsey
looked up at Natasha with a shocked and angry face. “You know that already!” “Yeah,
well, no matter how much you hate her, you should just leave you alone. That’s just my opinion. You can do whatever you want and I don’t really
care. That’s none of my business.
But if you want to stress yourself out and die of a heart attack
before you’re old enough to get married, that’s your choice, too.
When you think about her and pay attention to her, that’s what
you’re doing to yourself, and I think you know that already, because
you were one of the smartest kids in Miss Langley’s class.” Kelsey
was quiet for a while as she stood with her arms crossed against her
chest. She looked at the ground
in front of her with a serious frown.
Natasha was just calm this time, like her usual self. “By
the way, can I ask you something?” asked Natasha. “What?” “What’s
so bad about Melanie anyway? I
mean, hey, I don’t like her either, but I think your reasons for not
liking her are much, much worse than mine.
Is there something I’m missing?” Kelsey
hesitated for a long time. “Kelsey?” Kelsey
suddenly looked up at Natasha. “No. You’re not missing anything.” Natasha
frowned at her for a long time and Kelsey had a feeling that something
was about to happen and it made her feel uncomfortable slightly. Natasha raised her hand slowly and let her forefinger
stick out towards Kelsey. Kelsey
gasped softly. “You’re
really bugging me, you know that?” said Natasha. Kelsey
shook her head hastily, looking slightly worried. “There’s really nothing, Natasha!” Natasha
stared at her for a long time, still with the deep frown in her face. She sighed and she shrugged and put her hand
down. “Okay, whatever. Maybe you just don’t want to tell me. Am I right?” Kelsey
smiled slightly and shook her head.
“It’s really nothing.” “You’re
still lying to me.” Kelsey
was startled by that. She looked
down on the pavement again with a slight frown on her face. She did not know what else to say. “Oh,
well. I don’t care. But one of these days, I’m going to find out
what it is. And when I find out
what it is, you know what I’m going to do, Kelsey?” “What?” “I’m
going to stay by your side and be your friend like I’ve always been,
but don’t tell anyone I said that. I
have a reputation to keep, you know.” Natasha
crossed her arms against her chest and looked rather cold and calm with
her eyes closed. Her appearance
totally contradicted what she was saying. Kelsey
smiled slightly. “I know that. But it’s really nothing.” “Fine,
be that way,” said Natasha. “Let’s
go take a walk to your place.” Kelsey and Natasha was certainly a strange
pair of friends. Natasha seemed
like a cold person and yet, she seemed to care about Kelsey very much,
even though she liked to pretend that she didn’t care about anything. As for Kelsey, a lot of people know about her
mean side. But it looks like
there might be more to her. “So
what else are you doing today?” asked Natasha. “I’m
not really sure yet. I guess
I could do some reading,” said Kelsey. “ “You
don’t like to read anyway.” “You’re
right about that. It’s boring.” “What
do you want to do then?” “I’ll
just watch movies at your house. You
still have some action flicks I haven’t watched yet?” “Action
flicks? I don’t know why you
like those kinds of movies. They’re
so violent.” “You
prefer drama, don’t you?” said Natasha. “That’s
kind of obvious. You know that
already,” replied Kelsey. “Oh,
God, dramas are so boring.” “That’s
because you don’t understand them.” Kelsey
and Natasha were walking down the sidewalk and most of the time, they
stayed quiet. Natasha wore pants
and a t-shirt and a baseball cap. She
looked almost like a tomboy. As
for Kelsey, she looked feminine and revealed too much.
But both of them had strong personalities.
The two of them seemed like opposites and yet they seemed like
each other as well. A
car was about to pass them by. Kelsey
just happened to be looking at the car at the right time as it was about
to pass her by. Kelsey’s eyes
widened slightly as she fixed her gaze on the girl who was on the passenger
side of the car as it drove by her. It
was Melanie. There
was another person in the car, the one who was driving. It was The
car passed them by and continued to drive away.
Kelsey stopped walking and she stared at the car for a very long
time until it disappeared around a corner.
Natasha stopped as well and was puzzled.
Kelsey looked angry already.
Her hands formed fists at her sides. “Hey,
what happened? Did you see something?”
asked Natasha. Kelsey
was silent for a while. She closed
her eyes and she took a deep breath and then looked up at Natasha. “I thought I saw someone,” she said. “Who
did you see?” Kelsey
knew who it was, but she didn’t want to say anything about it. “I thought it was someone I knew but I guess
not. I didn’t know who it was.” Natasha
looked at Kelsey in a very puzzled way.
“You really are strange, you know that?” “You
could say you are, too, always dressed like a boy when you’re not in
school.” “That’s
totally different.” “How
is it different?” asked Kelsey. “I
dress in whatever is comfortable for me.
I do things naturally. I
don’t know about you. I don’t
know how you can wear extremely short shorts and tiny little tank tops
like the ones you’re wearing. I
tried them before and they were so damn uncomfortable.
And you act weird, too. Don’t
forget that.” Kelsey
frowned slightly. “Some friend
you are, talking about things like that.” “What
do you mean? Just call it constructive
criticism.” “I
wear whatever I want, too. That’s
what’s comfortable to me.” Natasha
frowned also. “Whatever.” Kelsey
looked slightly angry and she looked away and closed her eyes, crossing
her arms against her chest arrogantly.
“Say whatever you like! Humph!”
she said. “Fine,
I will!” said Natasha, sounding angry as well.
“Humph!” She turned away
and closed her eyes, too, with her arms crossed against her front as
well, and looking just as arrogant as Kelsey. But
while Kelsey was just standing there looking like she was putting on
airs, Natasha opened one of her eyes and looked at Kelsey without her
knowing. A small smile appeared on Natasha’s face and
she almost giggled, but she stopped herself. While they were in the car, Melanie was
listening to a music CD that was in her portable CD player. Christina drove the car through downtown “You’ve
been really busy lately. Last
month, in your last month of school, you had several after-school activities. You said that you stayed in the school a lot
and that you visited the Callaway residence many times. That’s a lot of activities.” Melanie felt even more uncomfortable. The reason why she was so busy last month was
because she was working with Christina at Regal Records and Hazel was
covering for her, making sure that no one was going to find out what
Melanie was doing. “This week, you’ve been a little busy as
well, even though school is out. You’ve
been seeing your friends a lot. What
have you been doing, Melanie?” Melanie
stopped the CD and she took out her earphones.
“Christina?” Christina
glanced over at Melanie. “What
is it?” “I
think Grandma Annabelle was suspicious with me earlier,” said Melanie. Christina
looked puzzled. “What? Suspicious about what?” she asked. “She
was suspicious about what I was doing in the last month of school after
school. I always told her that
I was at the school studying in the library or I was with my friend
Hazel. That’s what I always told her. But today, she seemed suspicious about it.” “Is
that so? But we’re doing everything
right, aren’t we?” Melanie
looked at Christina. “I think
it had something to do with that day when you dropped me off at my home. She saw you drop me off through the window.” Christina
became surprised. “What!” “I
had to tell her that you were one of my teachers in school.” “Oh,
I see…” said Christina, and then she gently slapped her forehead. “Crap! Why
did I do that? I must’ve been
so stupid!” Melanie
looked puzzled this time. “What’s
wrong?” “I
shouldn’t have dropped you off at home then.
I should have dropped you off somewhere else, like Hazel’s house
or just near your house but where your grandmother wouldn’t see you
coming out of my car. I can’t
believe that I did that!” “Oh,
no, that’s not your fault. That’s
my fault. I should have thought
about it,” said Melanie. Christina
sighed and shook her head. “So
now she’s suspicious about what you’ve been doing?” “I
think she is. She didn’t say
that she was suspicious. But
I can tell.” “I’m
so sorry, Melanie!” Christina said, sounding like she was very sad about
it. “I really hope that she doesn’t
find out. It’s not time for her
to find out that you’re a singer yet.
Actually, it’s not time for anyone to find out that you’re a
singer. That time is supposed to come when you have
your debut or when you have your first concert in public.” Melanie
glanced at Christina. “Oh, wait. It’s not time for them to know yet. But they’ll know about it anyway. When they do find out about it, it’ll be too
late, right?” “What?” “When
I have my first concert in public, everyone’s going to know who Starry~en~Luv
really is. They’re going to know
that she’s me. Grandma didn’t
want me to audition at Regal Records, but I did anyway.
When I become a real singer, she can’t say no anymore.” Christina
thought about that and she smiled at Melanie.
“I think I wasn’t thinking. I
forgot about that part. You’re
right.” “But
I have to do my best not to make her suspicious anymore. It’s not time for her to know yet. If she found out now, I would be in big trouble.” “I
think I would be in big trouble, too.” “So
we’ll do better from now on, right?” said Melanie and she smiled. Christina
smiled, too. “That’s right.” A
few minutes later, the car arrived at the building of Regal Records. Christina parked the car in the parking lot
and both she and Melanie came out of the car and headed for the front
door. In the Regal Records building, Melanie and
Christina greeted the receptionist who was there. Melanie knew who the receptionist now and her
name was Sally Jones. Sally was
a girl who finished college recently but after talking to Melanie a
few times, Melanie thought that she acted more like a girl her age than
a college graduate. “Hi,
Melanie!” said Sally, waving at her like a little girl. Melanie
smiled sweetly and waved back. “Hi!”
she said back. “Are
you here for the recording session?” “Yes,
I am!” Melanie said excitedly. “I’m
really excited about it.” “Wonderful! Good luck!” “Thank
you!” Melanie
and Christina walked to the elevator.
Melanie tugged at Christina’s sleeve and Christina looked down
at her. “Sally
is different from that day when I came to the audition. When you don’t know her, she’s like very professional,
but when you really get to know her, she acts like she’s in the same
grade as me,” said Melanie. Christina
started to laugh. “Yeah, she’s
like that.” “Oh,
I almost forgot,” said Melanie. She
took out 3 letters from her purse. “Can
I mail these from the office? I
think I saw someone going around one day delivering mail.” “The
office has a mailroom. Why don’t
we go there first?” said Christina. Melanie
smiled. “Okay.” They went down to the mailroom. There were several office workers who came out
of the mailroom laughing and talking and some of them had their hands
full with mail. Christina and
Melanie entered the mailroom and saw one man working there. “Hey,
Joe,” said Christina. Joe
Paris looked up from his computer at one corner of the mailroom. “Hey, Christina, how’s it going?” “Oh,
lots of things.” Christina put
a hand on Melanie’s shoulder. “Meet
Melanie. She’s a singer, even though she’s still a kid.” “That’s
awesome!” said Joe, smiling cheerfully in a masculine way. “Good to meet you, Melanie.” Melanie
smiled and nodded. “Pleased to
meet you, sir” “Melanie
has some mail for you to send out,” said Christina. “No
problem. Just put the mail right
here on my desk and I’ll take care of them,” said Joe. “Thanks. Go for it, Melanie.” Melanie
placed the three envelopes on Joe’s desk and Joe took a look at them. “Thank you, sir.” “No
problem,” said Joe. With
that, Melanie and Christina left the mailroom and they headed for the
elevator again. Christina pressed
the up button beside one of the elevator doors. “Is
he the only mailman in the whole building?” asked Melanie. “Oh,
no. I think there are 5 of them.
I guess the others are busy in the other parts
of the building or maybe they’re outside.
No matter how macho he is, he could never take care of this whole
entire building,” Christina answered, and she giggled. Melanie
smiled and nodded. “Oh, I see.” When Melanie and Christina got to one of
the middle floors of the building, they exited the elevator and they
headed for the recording studio. “Oh,
I haven’t been to the recording studio before.
This is the first time I’ve been inside here. I mean, Mr. King gave me a tour and I saw one
of the recording studios from the outside, but now I’m inside one,”
said Melanie, her hands clasped together at her heart. “It’s
really cool, isn’t it?” said Christina. “Yeah,
it’s very cool.” Christina and
Melanie started to giggle together. There
were some staff members in the recording studio already. The room was large and was divided into two
areas. The first area was where
Christina and Melanie were in. There
was a part were people could sit on couches while they watched. There was also a part where there were a lot
of audio controls. There were
people sitting and standing near them.
Near that was a huge glass window and beyond the glass window
was the other half of the room that had microphone stands.
There were people inside there setting up audio equipment. One
of the staff members turned around and saw Melanie and Christina. It was Joseph King, the producer. “Ah,
Christina, Melanie, you’re here. Perfect
timing,” said the producer. “Mr.
King!” said Melanie. She was
a little surprised. Christina
smiled. “I’m glad we’re not late. We just had to drop some mail at the mailroom.” “Oh,
no, we’re ahead of schedule so that’s okay,” said Mr. King, as he approached
the two of them. He glanced down
at Melanie. “Well, Melanie, here
you are at your first recording. How
does it feel?” Melanie
was looking around at all the high-tech audio equipment and the people
who were working with them. “It
looks really cool. One time,
I saw this room but there was no one inside and I could only see it
from the outside,” she replied. “That was during the tour that you gave me when
I first came here, the day of the audition.” “It
is great, isn’t it? You’ll get
used to it. Everyone is almost
ready.” A
short time later, Melanie found herself inside the quiet room. The walls were covered by something that did
not allow sound from the outside to get in.
She felt like this was the quietest room in the entire world,
except for the two staff members who were in the room setting up the
equipment. “This
room is so quiet,” said Melanie. One
of the staff members smiled at her.
Melanie had met him before. His
name was Steve Brown. “Yeah,
it’s very quiet. The room was
designed that way so that any sound from the outside wouldn’t get inside. That way, when you’re recording, only your voice
will be recorded and there won’t be anything else that gets recorded.” Melanie
looked quiet amazed. “That’s
awesome…” Steve
laughed. “It is. But after a while, you’ll get used to it.” “That’s
amazing…” “Oh,
yeah, this is the first time we’re recording for you, right? I’m really looking forward to it. A lot of people are saying that you have a really
awesome singing voice. It’ll
be great to be working with you on your debut song.” Melanie
blushed and she smiled. “Oh,
thank you so much, Steve.” After
they were finished setting up, the staff members left the quiet room
and went to the other side of the glass window.
Melanie watched Christina, Mr. King, and several others talking
but she could not hear them at all.
Now it really was the quietest room in the world.
Christina looked up at Melanie and she smiled and gave thumps
up. Melanie smiled back. Suddenly,
she heard the speakers in the room.
“Melanie?” Melanie
was not sure how to respond. Then
she saw another staff member speaking through a microphone at the other
side of the room. Melanie knew
him as well. His name was Jason Macintosh. His voice went into the quiet room. “Um,
yes?” she said, not sure what she should say. “Can
you say something into the mic? We’re
just going to conduct a mic test,” said Jason. “Oh,
um, okay,” said Melanie. She
stepped closer to the microphone. “Um,
can you hear me? Is everything
okay?” Some
seconds later, they finished the mic test.
“Okay, that’s perfect. Please
put on your headphones, Melanie.” Melanie
looked to the side and saw a set of headphones for her. She put on the headphones but she seemed to
be having trouble adjusting it to the small size of her head. “How
do you make this smaller?” Melanie asked as she struggled to make it
fit. She looked up and saw everyone staring at her
and she began to feel nervous. “Melanie,
are you okay in there?” It was
Christina’s voice, speaking through another microphone. Melanie
looked up nervously. “Um…yes! I’m just trying to make this fit me.” Her fingers slipped and she dropped the headphones
on the floor and she gasped. Melanie
looked up and saw some of the staff members laughing. Mr. King, however, looked very serious. Christina looked worried. Christina
went to the side and opened the door into the quiet room. “Melanie, let me help you.” Melanie
stood up with the headphones. “I’m
so sorry I dropped it!” she said nervously. “It’s
okay. They’re not going to break
that easily,” she said with a smile.
She took the headphones and she helped Melanie put it on her
head and adjusting it properly. “There
you go. You’re ready.” Melanie
smiled. “Thank you.” “You’re
welcome,” Christina said with a smile.
She went back to the other side of the room. Melanie
stood at the microphone and waited.
She had her headphones on properly this time.
Steve and Jason were working at the audio controls and talking
at the same time but Melanie could not hear them.
Mr. King and Christina spoke to them as well. Melanie hoped she didn’t embarrass herself too
much in front of the producer. She
was really worried about that. “Okay,
Melanie. In front of you are
the lyrics to ‘Dream’, your debut song,” said Jason, his voice coming
through Melanie’s headphones. Melanie
saw a folder on a stand in front of her and just below the microphone. She opened the folder and saw the lyrics to
the song that she wrote for her debut.
She smiled. “It
looks different when it’s printed from a computer,” said Melanie. At
the other side of the studio, Christina giggled softly and Mr. King
smiled. “She
really is new at this,” said Mr. King.
“I hope she can do her best like she did at the audition.” Christina
looked over at Mr. King, feeling a little nervous herself. “I believe she can do her best, Mr. King.
She’s a wonderful singer and she has lots of desire.” In
the quiet room, Melanie heard Jason’s voice again. “Melanie, we’re going to start the music.
Listen to it first without singing and read the lyrics.
After that, we can get to the fun part.” “Okay,”
said Melanie. Melanie
was listening to the instrumental music that was composed just for her
debut song. She has heard it
before and she liked it very much. It
had a medium tempo and had some soft pop beat.
She felt it was perfect for the song “Dream”.
As she listened to it, she read the lyrics of the song. Soon,
they were going for the real thing. “Alright,
cue the music,” said Steve at the other side of the studio. The music began to play. Melanie got ready to sing the song. Christina
looked at Melanie. Something
on her face didn’t look right. Her
eyes were wide and looked a little frightened.
She was very nervous. Christina
hoped that she would get over that nervousness as quickly as possible,
but she might need a little help. She
looked at Mr. King, who just watched intently. Dream… Oh,
make a wish upon a star Oh,
make 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! “She’s
nervous,” said Mr. King, who could tell right away. Christina
looked nervous herself. “Um,
yeah, I think so, too. She’s
doing her best, sir.” But she
knew that Melanie’s voice right now was not the usual way that she sang.
She was very nervous and it was showing slightly through her
singing voice. 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 “She’s
not singing the way she normally does,” said Mr. King. “Do you think she’s really okay?” Christina
gasped. “Oh, um, yes, sir, I
think she’ll be okay,” she said and she laughed a little, trying to
make things look like it’s alright.
“I know she’s doing her best.” “We
might be here a little longer than we thought,” said Steve. “You
think so?” said Mr. King. Christina
was not feeling too good right now. Dreaming
a 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! After
singing the song three times already, Melanie looked at Mr. King through
the glass window. He seemed very
serious for some reason. It made
her even more nervous. Christina
looked nervous, too. At the other
side of the studio, Steve was going to ask Melanie to sing the song
once more, but Mr. King intervened. “That’s
enough,” said Mr. King. “Mr.
King?” said Christina, who looked surprised. “Stop
the recording for a second. I’m
going to talk to her for a little bit.” “Yes,
sir,” said both Steve and Jason. “Let
me talk to her, Mr. King,” said Christina. “That’s
fine. Just stay here,” said Mr.
King, as he went to the door that led to the other side. Melanie
looked up and she looked nervous as Mr. King came into the room. She knew that she was not singing as well as
she normally did. It looked like
Mr. King knew about it, too. It
made her feel disappointed. “Mr.
King, I’m so sorry, I---“ Mr.
King waved his hand. “Don’t worry
about it,” he said as he stood beside her.
“I noticed some things while you were singing.
First of all, you weren’t looking at the lyrics. I know that you know the lyrics by heart, but
you should keep your eyes down on the page.
That’s very important. If
you’re looking at me, Christina, Steve, Jason, and everyone else at
the other side of the room, you’re going to feel nervous.
Pretend that we’re not here.” “Pretend
that you’re not here?” said Melanie, looking rather puzzled and amazed
at the same time. Mr.
King smiled and nodded. “That’s
right. Christina is a nervous
wreck. I can tell just by looking
at her from here. Because you
were nervous, so was she.” “Oh. I’m sorry…” “Don’t
apologize. It’s natural to be
nervous. You’re human and you’re
still a kid, too. While we’re
recording your debut song, we’ll stand by your side every step of the
way. If you feel like you can’t do this today, we
can do it some other day.” Melanie
shook her head and made herself look more determined. “We can do it today! I want to do this today. I don’t want to be late in anything that we’re
doing.” Mr.
King smiled at her again. “That’s
good. If that’s what you want to do, that’s what we’ll
do. But you need to focus on
your music. There are no other
sounds in this room. It’s just
you and the music. It’s just you and the song that came from your
heart. Keep your eyes on the
lyrics and your mind and heart and soul on the music and the song. Is that cool?” Melanie
smiled and she nodded. “Yes,
Mr. Producer,” she said more confidently. “Great! Are you ready to sing like the beautiful singer
that you are?” Melanie
nodded. “Yes!” With
that, Mr. King went back to the other side of the recording studio. Melanie took a deep breath and she closed her
eyes for a while. Then she opened
her eyes and saw the lyrics in front of her.
She felt much calmer now as she focused her eyes on the song. “That’s
right. It’s just me and the song. The song that came from my heart,” she said
softly. At
the other side, Christina looked up at Mr. King. “Mr. King, can I ask what you said to her?
She looks a lot better than a few minutes ago.” Mr.
King smiled. “It was just a little
something to boost her confidence. Let’s
continue with the recording session.” “Yes,
sir,” said both Steve and Jason. Christina
smiled and she sighed with relief. She
looked at Melanie, who looked just like she was when she saw the girl
on a video tape while she was doing the audition.
She looked absolutely perfect. “Cue
the music,” said Steve. The
music began to play. Melanie
began to sing. 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! Christina
and Mr. King wore their headphones and Christina looked like she was
experiencing a dream. She looked
so happy. Mr. King closed his
eyes and listened to Melanie’s perfect singing voice that sounded like
a singing angel. Melanie sang perfectly. Her facial expressions and some of her body
movements matched the lyrics that she sang. 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! Close
to the end of the song, while the music was still playing, Melanie closed
her eyes and smiled softly. When
the music was done, she looked up at everyone that was on the other
side of the studio. Mr. King
took the microphone and he spoke through Melanie’s headphones. “Melanie,
that was perfect! You did very
well!” he said. Melanie
smiled excitedly, her eyes wide open.
“Thank you so much!” she said loudly. When the recording session was done, Melanie
came out into the other side of the recording studio and she looked
very happy and excited. She knew
she sang her debut song perfectly and everyone else in the room knew
it as well. “Christina,
I did it!” Melanie said excitedly and she gave Christina a hug. The two of them laughed. “I
knew you could do it. You sang
so perfectly. I think everyone
is going to love your debut song when they put it on the radio,” said
Christina. “So
that’s the next thing we’re going to do, right?” Mr.
King approached them. “That’s
right. When all the editing is
done, we’re going to promote it to the radio stations. They’re always looking for new songs to play
and we’re going to do our best to promote it to them. I’m sure they will love it.” Melanie
smiled and she nodded. “I’m so
glad. I like recording. It’s a lot of fun!” she said. Christina
and Mr. King smiled at that. “I
had a feeling you would like it a lot,” said Christina. “I
hope that when they release the song on radio that a lot of people will
like it and that it would become a great hit!
It’s exciting, but…” Christina
and Mr. King looked puzzled. “What
is it, Melanie?” Christina asked. Melanie
sighed and she smiled calmly. “I
couldn’t have done it without everyone’s help.
Christina, Mr. King, thank you so much for helping me in doing
this.” “Oh,
you’re welcome,” said Christina. “Like
I said earlier, we’re always by your side and we’ll do our best for
you,” said Mr. King. Melanie
looked over at Steve and Jason as well.
“Steve and Jason, thank you so very much, too. Everyone here helped me today. Without you, I wouldn’t have been able to do
this!” Steve
and Jason smiled and nodded to her.
“Hey, no problem, Melanie,” said Steve. “It’s
a lot of fun recording for you. I
hope we can do this many times,” said Jason. “Thank
you, everyone,” Melanie said sweetly and with a bright and cheerful
smile. When Melanie had come home, she went to
her bedroom and she got out her cell phone.
She dialed the number that belonged to her friend Hazel. Melanie lied down on her bed and waited for
someone to answer at Hazel’s house. Hazel
was at her house and she was just coming out of the kitchen, eating
a small bag of potato chips. The
phone was ringing in the living room. “Okay,
okay, I’ll be right there,” she said.
She picked up the phone. “Hello?” “Hazel,
it’s me,” said Melanie. Hazel
was surprised. “Oh, hey, Melanie,
are you home now?” she asked. “Yeah,
I am. We kind of had to rush
home because Grandma said that I had to be home by “You
didn’t get into trouble or anything?” Melanie
smiled and she shook her head. “Oh,
no, I didn’t get into trouble, thank goodness.” “You
better not. Otherwise, you’ll
get into trouble with me, too, if you get into trouble with her,” said
Hazel, and she started to laugh. Melanie
felt strange and she laughed uncomfortably.
“Oh, um, okay…I guess I have to be careful.” Hazel
smiled also, as she sat down on the couch, making sure she doesn’t spill
her potato chips all over the place.
“So, how was it? You just
came home from your first ever recording session, right?
How did it go? Tell me
everything!” Melanie
giggled excitedly. “Okay, I’ll
tell you everything…” And she
started to tell Hazel about the kind of nice day that she had today
at Regal Records. It was a very good day. Some days later, there was a woman walking
down the sidewalk and she was dressed in old raggedy clothes. She was also pushing a shopping cart, and in
the shopping cart were several plastic bags.
But the plastic bags did not contain groceries. They contained other items that looked like
they were someone’s belongings. The
woman seemed to have a gentle and cheerful face, but also one that looked
tired. She stopped in front of
the entrance to a public park. She
turned to face the school building that was on the other side of the
street from where she was. “So
this is the place. This is the
place where you are,” she said, and she smiled and she sighed. “It’s been a very long time…” She
turned her shopping cart and continued pushing it, but she was pushing
it down the walkways that led into the public park.
She was looking around for a good place to rest. She found the place, which was on a park bench
that was in a more secluded part of the park. She stopped the shopping cart next to the bench
and she sat down. The
woman took a deep breath and she smiled slightly. “I’ve come back…” she said softly. 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, there!” Justin: “I guess I wasn’t in
this episode. That doesn’t really
matter though.” Hazel: “Were you that desperate
for a part?” Justin: “Huh? What are you talking about?” Melanie: “Oh, don’t worry about
it. There are lots of chances
for you.” Hazel: “Melanie, Justin, who
is that lady that’s been hanging around the park near our school lately? She looks like she’s not from around here.” Justin: “A lady in the park?
I don’t know. She looks like she’s really poor pushing around
that old shopping cart.” Hazel: “I wonder where she came
from.” Melanie: “She’s definitely not
from around here. I wonder who
she is and what she’s doing here. Maybe
she’s looking for someone.” Justin: “Should we go ask her?
I think we should. There’s no harm in trying, right?” Hazel: “Not really. But I hear that some people don’t want kids
to get anywhere near her.” Melanie: “That sounds really
mean. I don’t think she would
hurt anyone.” Hazel: “How do you know?” Melanie: “Well…it’s in her eyes.
She looks like a gentle person.
I think there’s something about her that, if everyone knew about
it, they would think really good things about her.
I think we should find out what that is.” Hazel and Justin: “Next time
on Starry Love Dream!” Melanie: “Episode 13: She can write stories? And
they’re beautiful!” |
||
