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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 5 and I’m already working
to become a singer!” Hazel: “And I’m Hazel, her number
one fan!” Justin: “And I’m Justin, also
a number one fan.” Hazel: “Hey, Melanie, are you
okay? You look a bit shaken up.” Justin: “Did something happen?” Melanie: “Lots of things happened.
First of all, there was this creepy-looking guy who was following
me outside the Regal Records office. Hazel: “What?! Ewww! A nasty pervert was following you?!” Melanie: “Well, not like that!
Actually, I guess you could say he’s a bit perverted in a way.
Christina told me that he was a photographer that collects all
kinds of secrets about celebrities.
What he wanted to do was to expose Starry~en~Luv’s true identity
by taking pictures of me! Christina and I won’t let that happen! We had to race down the highway to try to get
away and we almost got hit by a train!” Justin: “This sounds way too
much like an action movie.” Melanie: “Oh, there’s another
thing. You know the infamous
Shadow Burglar? He tried to rob
our house while Grandma Annabelle and I were sleeping!
But fortunately, we were able to…knock him out! Then we called the police. Hazel: “Oh, my goodness! That’s scary!” Justin: “I hope you’re not hurt
or anything.” Melanie: “Oh, I’m fine! There’s no problem at all.” Hazel: “That’s good to know.
I was worried there for a second.” Melanie: “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 the talk of the school for a
little while. When she came to
class, some of the students asked her about catching the infamous Shadow
Burglar when he had tried to rob her house last week.
Hazel and Justin were proud of her as well, but Melanie just
blushed and told everyone that she just did what she felt she had to
do. “Stop
right there!” shouted Grandma. “It’s you!” shouted Melanie, who was standing
at the top of the stairs. She
was holding a big book in her hands. Grandma was alarmed. The thief was also alarmed and he looked up
towards Melanie, but she was the last thing that he saw. Melanie threw the book at him and it slammed
into his face and he fell backwards.
The thief hit his head on the wall and he slid to the floor,
unconscious. Melanie gasped at what just happened. Grandma quickly went to the thief and made sure
that he was unconscious. “He’s out cold! Good job, Melanie!” shouted Grandma. She quickly went to get some rope and began
to tie up the man’s hands behind his back as tightly as she could. Melanie picked up the cordless phone from the
floor at the top of the stairs and she spoke to the operator. “Miss, he’s out cold! We caught him!” said Melanie. “That
was pretty cool. You and your
grandmother caught the thief who robbed those 3 houses in the neighborhood
last week,” said Jim, one of her classmates. “Were
you scared?” asked Susan, who was another classmate. Melanie
blushed and smiled slightly and shyly.
“I was really scared. It
happened pretty fast, so it’s hard to explain.
I guess my body moved without thinking.” Hazel
waved Jim, Susan, and a few other students away. “Come on, you guys. That’s enough,” she said. “She’s getting all shy now.” Because of that, they all giggled, including
Hazel, but not Justin. He has
never been seen laughing, or maybe it was so rare that no one remembered
seeing him laugh. Their
teacher Miss Patel entered the classroom.
“Good morning, Grade 5,” she said to everyone. Students took their seats. “Good
morning, Miss Patel,” said the entire class. Miss
Patel smiled at all of them like she was in a very good mood. In fact, she always seemed to be in a good mood. “I
have some news for everyone for those who might be interested. At least, I hope some of you are interested.
The school is going to start a newsletter committee.
Well, actually, they’re going to start 3 newsletter committees,
one in the primary school division, one in the middle school division,
and one in the high school division.
But the only one you need to worry about is the primary school
division.” Everyone
listened intently. Melanie, Hazel,
and Justin all paid attention. “So,
there you go. We’re going to
have a school newsletter. Today,
there’s going to be a meeting for people who want to join the newsletter
committee for the primary school division.
So, if you’re interested, please go check it out.
It’s at room 120 during lunch period.
The teacher who is in charge of the newsletter committee is Mr.
William Summers. He’s the advisor. There are already a few students from the Grade
6 class who are a part of it but they’re like the leaders. I encourage anyone who is interested to join
the newsletter committee, especially if you’re good at writing or photography
or graphics and stuff like that. Don’t
you guys think that’s a great idea having a school newsletter?” “I
think it’s great. It’ll be like
having a newspaper at school,” said one of the students whose name was
Joanne. “Yeah,
that way we can read the newsletter while we’re pretending to study,”
said Jim, another one of the students in the class.
Because of what he said, some students giggled. Miss
Patel shook her head and smiled, but she seemed satisfied. “Great. Do
you guys have any questions about it?
They’ll answer your questions anyway if you go there and join
up.” There
were no questions. “Okay,
that’s fine. Anyway, I’ve told
you what you needed to know about the new newsletter committee. Now…let’s do some Grade 5 stuff.” Melanie
looked at Hazel. “Hazel, I think
I want to check it out,” she said softly. “I
want to check it out, too,” said Hazel with a cheery smile on her face. She glanced over at Justin. “Hey, Justin, do you want to go there, too?” Justin
nodded. “I’ll go with you, but
I’m not interested in joining.” Melanie
and Hazel smiled at each other. “I
think we should join the newsletter committee,” Melanie said. “I think it’s going to be a lot of fun.” Starry Love Dream Episode 17: Starry~en~Luv
writes in our school newsletter?! Later, during lunch period, Melanie, Hazel,
and Justin left the school cafeteria after their lunch and headed straight
for the room where they were told the school newsletter committee meeting
was going to be. They looked
inside the classroom and saw a few people inside. “There
aren’t many people in there,” said Hazel.
“Why is that?” “I
don’t know,” said Melanie. “Maybe
it’s because it’s a new school club, so that’s why very few people are
joining right now. Maybe later
on, there will be lots more people.” “It’s
always like that with new school activities, I think,” said Justin. Melanie
looked up at Hazel. “Let’s go
in.” Hazel smiled and she nodded and Melanie held
the sleeve of Hazel’s school uniform and gently pulled her into the
classroom. She looked back and saw Justin standing at the
doorway. “Come, Justin.” Justin
shook his head. “No, don’t worry
about me. I’ll just wait outside.” “Why?”
said Hazel. “I
might be a distraction, because I wouldn’t be there to join the committee.” There
was certain logic to what Justin said.
Even if they tried to argue it, Justin would win anyway. He seemed very good at logical thinking. “Oh,
okay. Please wait for us,” said
Melanie. “I
will. I’ll just be out here,”
said Justin. Melanie
suddenly thought of something. She
put a hand on her chin as if she was deep in thought and she looked
rather serious, too. She looked
more serious than usual. Hazel
saw that and she was puzzled. She
was wondering what Melanie was thinking. “Hey,
Melanie,” said Hazel. Melanie
looked up after a few seconds of silence.
“What?” she said. “You
look like you’re really thinking of something really serious.” Melanie
smiled. “Oh, I’m sorry. I have an idea. It’s something about the newsletter. I’ll bet they haven’t thought of it.” “Oh,
an idea,” said Hazel, and she giggled.
“Come on, tell me all about it.” “Sure. Here’s the plan,” said Melanie. She started whispering into Hazel’s ear. The first newsletter committee meeting began.
There was a circular arrangement of chairs.
Melanie and Hazel sat down beside each other.
There were a few students there, too.
One of them was Susan Lockhart, a classmate, and she smiled at
them when she came in. Melanie and Hazel smiled back. “Cool! You’re here, too?” asked Hazel. “Yes,
I am,” Susan said with a cheerful smile. William
Summers, a teacher, began to address the small group of about 7 kids. “Okay, thank you, everyone for coming to this
first meeting of the newsletter committee.
I’m guessing that everyone who’s here is interested in joining
the newsletter committee.” Everyone
nodded and Mr. Summers smiled at that. “Great. We’ve always wanted a school newsletter. Now that we finally have one, we’re very happy
about it and I hope that it’s going to be a big success. But we won’t be able to do that without the
help of each and every one of you. I’m
the teacher-advisor of the newsletter committee, William Summers. I may act like I’m the leader of the committee,
but the real leader is…” Mr.
Summers put a hand on the shoulder of a rather tall boy who was in the
Grade 6 class. “The real leader
is this young man right here. Let
me introduce you to Terry McMillan.
He’s going to be the chief editor of the Havenly Times school
newsletter.” He
was quite handsome. When Melanie
and Hazel both looked up at him, they imagined him with sparkles around
his face and pastel colors in the background behind him and roses in
the foreground. If Justin was
the prettiest boy in the Grade 5 class, Terry was probably the prettiest
boy in the Grade 6 class. They
were both extremely good-looking. “Hello,”
said Terry, speaking with a charming smile.
“Thanks, Mr. Williams, for the introduction.” He stood up from his chair and Mr. Williams
sat down. “I just wanted to tell
you more about the new newsletter for now.” In
the group of 7 kids, which included Terry, 5 of them were girls, which
meant that there was only one other boy in the group.
They all looked up at Terry with full attention. “Havenly
Times is the name of the newsletter.
It’s kind of a word play for the name of the school, The
boy was startled. “What? Me?” “Yes,
you,” said Terry. “Oh,
man, why do you have to do this to me, Terry?” said the boy, and because
of that, everyone in the group laughed.
“Okay. I’m Darren Law. I’m in Terry’s Grade 6 class.” A
very cheerful girl introduced herself after him. “I’m Kathy Morris! I’m the assistant editor! I’m also in the Grade 6 class but not the same
classroom as Terry and Darren. Let’s
have fun with this newsletter, everyone!”
She spoke loudly and cheerfully with a fist raised in the air
as if cheering everyone. Everyone
was definitely taken aback by that.
She smiled very cheerfully. But
she seemed a lot like an even more energetic version of Hazel Callaway. Because of that, Hazel smiled very brightly
and raised her fist into the air as well.
“Yeah, let’s do it!” she said loudly.
Kathy smiled, too, just as brightly, while everyone else looked
at the two of them strangely. Susan
introduced herself next. “I’m
Susan Lockhart. I’m in the Miss
Patel’s Grade 5 class.” She spoke
politely, almost quietly, but she smiled in a very friendly way. Next
was an extremely scholarly-looking but small girl who wore eyeglasses. “Good afternoon. My name is Yung Hazel
was next. “I’m Hazel Callaway. I’m in Miss Patel’s class, Grade 5.” Then she did a peace sign and smiled. Last
but not least, Melanie. “I’m
Melanie Thompson. I’m also in
Miss Patel’s Grade 5 class.” She
spoke softly and she smiled sweetly with a slight tilt of her head,
which made her look excessively cute.
The only one in the group who rivaled her cuteness was Yung Thai,
the little Grade 4 student. Terry
was probably thinking that this was an odd group of interesting characters
by now, because that’s what Melanie was thinking. “Great! Now that everyone’s been introduced, let me
talk about what we have planned so far that’s going to be in the school
newsletter,” said Terry. He started
to write some notes on a whiteboard with a dark marker. “We have the obvious stuff, like news. There’s the editorial which I get to take care
of because I’m the fearless leader.”
There was a bit of laughter in the group. “There’s also something we would like to put
and that’s some funny stuff, like cartoons.
It’s sort of like the comics in a real world newspaper.” “A
comics section, that sounds really good,” said Susan. “We
have to have it. But someone
has to be able to draw it,” said the assistant editor, Kathy. “I
could draw it.” Everyone
looked at Susan. Hazel was probably
the most surprised. “Susan, you
can draw?” she asked with great surprise. Susan
smiled. “Oh, I can draw. You should see my sketchbook.” She reached down and opened her schoolbag and
took out her sketchbook. Then
she opened the sketchbook. “Check
this out!” “Oh,
wow. That’s really good…” Melanie
said softly. Susan’s drawings
showed a lot of talent and everyone looked at them as she turned the
pages of her sketchbook. Everyone
was in awe and they told her how good an artist she was. “You’re
probably the best artist in the school, Susan,” said Hazel. “Thank
you,” said Susan, and she giggled. “I
just do my best. I love to draw.” “Then
that means, you’re the artist for the newsletter,” said Terry. “Thanks for volunteering, Susan. You are volunteering, right?” “Of
course, I am,” Susan said with a big, bright smile. “Awesome. In that case, I want to know who wants to do
what for the newsletter.” Terry
began to write more notes on the whiteboard.
“We need to have a main news writer.
We already have Darren doing that for us.
Right, Darren?” Darren
nodded. “Right,” he said. “Who’s
going to be the main designer? Someone
needs to actually use the software on the computer to design the way
the newsletter is going to look. Someone
who does this has to be a super-smart whiz kid and I know who wants
this job,” said Terry. He looked
at the tiny little girl, Yung. “Yung,
you said you wanted to do that, right?” Everyone
was surprised again. Yung looks
very small and very young, but she was in the Grade 4 class. She was still the youngest in the group. She did look like a very smart girl. Yung looked up through her eyeglasses and she
nodded. “Yes,
please. That’s what I wanted
to do. I want to be the designer. I know how to use the computer programs for
the design and layout.” “Wow,”
Hazel whispered. “She talks like
she’s already in high school. Can
I copy your homework?” Some of
the other students laughed. “She’s
in Grade 4, Hazel. You already
did her kind of homework last year,” Melanie said, looking at Hazel
as if she had gone crazy. Hazel
put her hand on the back of her head and laughed, for she was slightly
embarrassed. “Oh, right. I forgot about that. Sorry. I
probably shouldn’t have said that.” Yung
smiled. “That’s okay. I get that a lot.” “Great,”
said Terry. “You’re our designer. Now, I need a photographer.” Hazel
raised her hand. “Oh! Oh! I
want to be the photographer!” Because
of the slightly infantile way that Hazel acted right there, there was
a bit of laughter among the students. “You’re
very excited about that,” said Terry. “I’m
good with stuff like that. Taking
pictures, for example. I love
to take pictures. I’m the only
one in my house who actually knows how to use a 35-millimeter single
lens reflex camera,” said Hazel, sounding like a technology expert.
Melanie smiled and she giggled. “Wow. That’s great, Hazel. I’m really blown away,” said Terry, who smiled
and the other students laughed slightly.
“Okay, you’ll be our photographer.
I have no doubt that you’re very good at it. Now, Kathy is the assistant editor so she also
does news articles and a second editorial.
She also does everything else that no one wants to do.” “Right,
and darn proud of it, too,” said Kathy, with a very cheerful smile. “You
better be.” Terry smiled and
the other students laughed slightly again, including Kathy herself. “Now, those are the jobs so far.” He looked at Melanie. “I know you don’t have one yet. I want to know what other things we can put
in the newsletter. Whatever it
is will probably be something that you’ll take care of.” Melanie
hesitated but she quickly found the courage to speak her mind. “Um, actually, you know, I do have one idea.” Terry
smiled and nodded. “Oh, that’s
good. What is it?” “If
it’s okay with you…I think we should have an advice section,” said Melanie,
her voice soft. “That’s where
kids can write letters to us asking for advice about something and it
can be about anything. They don’t
have to put their name down or they can use a fake name.
Then we can put their letter on the newsletter and the advice
that we’re giving.” “That’s
like a Dear Abby section. That’s
an excellent idea, Melanie,” said the advisor of the newsletter committee,
Mr. Williams. “Very
excellent,” said Terry. “We’re
taking that idea. Thank you,
Melanie. So, I guess you want to be the writer of the
advice section then.” Melanie
smiled and she nodded. “Oh, yes,
please.” “Okay,
you’re the writer for the advice section.” “I
do have another idea though,” said Melanie. “Great. What is it?” asked Terry. Melanie
took a deep breath. “Okay. So I’m the one writing the advice section, but
let’s not use my real name. How
about if I use another name? It’ll
be like my secret identity or something.
One reason is because if everyone reading the newsletter knows
that the advice writer is me, then they’re never going to stop asking
me for advice. The other reason is that it just seems more
interesting and fun that way. It
just sounds really cool.” “Oh,
I see…” said Darren. “That does
sound cool. It’s like you’re
the mystery advice giver, the mystery helper.” “Pretty
cool,” said Kathy. “Okay. That sounds good. What name do you want to use then?” asked Terry. “Starry~en~Luv,”
Melanie answered. Everyone
looked at Melanie with a puzzled face, except for Hazel. She already knew this was coming, so she closed
her eyes and smiled and she crossed her arms against her chest and crossed
her legs, looking like she had something to do with what Melanie was
planning, and looking quite proud of it, too.
This was the idea that Melanie was whispering to Hazel earlier. “You
want to be called Starry~en~Luv on the advice section of the newsletter? Isn’t that the name of the new singer on the
radio?” asked Susan. “You’re
going to pretend to be that little girl idol pop singer on the radio?”
asked Kathy. “Oh,
no, I’m not going to pretend to be her,” said Melanie, as she smiled. “Then,
what are you doing?” asked Terry. “I’m
just being myself. It’s just
that no one knows it’s me yet.” Mr.
Williams, Terry, Darren, Kathy, and Yung were all taken aback as all
of them were nearly thrown back by the shock of what Melanie just said. Did Melanie just say that she was Starry~en~Luv?
Is that really what she said?
They were not sure how to react. “What? What are you saying, Melanie?” said Kathy. “I
think she just said that she’s Starry~en~Luv,” said Yung, with a soft
voice. Melanie smiled and so did Hazel. “It’s
true,” said Hazel. She turned
to Melanie. “You don’t believe
her? Melanie, show them….the ID badge.” Hazel made her voice sound sinister on purpose
and she started to laugh softly in an almost evil way, as if she was
planning something. Melanie
stood up and took her hand out of the pocket at the side of her skirt
and she produced what looked like an ID badge attached to a lanyard. She showed it to everyone. They all looked. It consisted of 2 cards. Both of them had Melanie’s smiling picture on
them. One of them had a black
magnetic strip on the back. The
other one had information about the company for which Melanie worked,
Regal Records. On the front of both cards, where her picture
was located, it said “Melanie ‘Starry~en~Luv’ Thompson, Singer, Regal
Records.” “Dear
God! It’s true!” Susan said with
great shock. Everyone was shocked,
especially Susan, who just happened to have liked Starry~en~Luv’s debut
song on the radio. “You’re
Starry~en~Luv?” said Darren. “Man,
oh, man. This is turning out
to be one interesting group of kids,” said Mr. Williams. “I
can’t believe it. One of us is
a professional pop singer,” said Terry. “It
really is a real ID badge. There’s
no way you could fake something like that,” said Yung. “Well,
of course, she can’t fake that. There’s
no way. Melanie Thompson is Starry~en~Luv,”
said Hazel, smiling proudly. “And
I’m her number one fan, because I’m her best friend.” Everyone
looked in awe. “Oh, my God, that’s
probably the most shocking thing I’ve heard in all my life,” said Terry. Melanie
put her ID badge back in her pocket and she sat down. “Now that you all know who Starry~en~Luv really
is, there’s something that you have to promise me.” “What
is it?” asked Kathy. “Please
promise me that you won’t tell anyone.
This is a secret for now. I’m
trying to make my dream come true of becoming a pop singer. I’m still trying to do that, even though I’ve
had my first song on the radio for the past month. No one knows that she’s actually me. I don’t want anyone to know that it’s actually
me until I have my first public concert, because I want to surprise
everyone. So, please promise
me that you’ll keep it a secret.” “But
won’t people start guessing that Starry~en~Luv goes to our school and
writes in our school newsletter?” asked Darren. “Probably,
but isn’t that part of the mystery of Starry~en~Luv?” said Hazel. “She’s a total mystery to a lot of people right
now. A lot of them will probably
think that it’s fake and that someone’s just using her name. But someday, they’ll find out for sure that
Starry~en~Luv really is writing for our school newsletter. Melanie wants to use her name to give the mystery
some spice to it. And it’ll make
the newsletter even more interesting, too.” Terry
smiled at Melanie and Hazel. “That
is a very interesting idea. What
do you think, Mr. Williams?” he asked. Mr.
Williams nodded and smiled. “You’re
right. It’ll definitely make
the newsletter very interesting indeed,” he answered.
“I think you should go for it.
But, of course, since you’re the editor, the final decision is
up to you.” Terry
thought about it some more but it did not take him long. He smiled and he nodded to Melanie. “No problem, Melanie. Your other identity, Starry~en~Luv, will be
the writer for the advice section of the newsletter. And, of course, we’ll keep it a secret.” “That’s
right! The mystery! The romance!
We’ll do our best to work with you on that!” said Kathy. “Does everyone promise to keep this a secret?” “Oh,
for sure,” said Darren, with a delighted smile. “Definitely,
I won’t tell a soul,” said Susan. “I
promise, it’ll be a well-guarded secret among the newsletter committee,”
said Yung. “No
one is going to find out, Melanie,” said Mr. Williams. Kathy
smiled. “I promise that it’ll
be a well-kept secret.” “And
if anyone breaks their promise, they’ll be betraying Melanie, Starry~en~Luv,
the school newsletter, everyone in the newsletter committee, the school,
and their Maker. I’m going to
catch that person and I’m going to dip them in black tar and then I’m
going to feather them,” said Hazel. Everyone
in the class started to laugh. Everyone
promised. Melanie smiled with
great delight and joy and she was very thankful.
“Thank you so very much, everyone,” she said softly. Hazel
smiled, too. “This is going to
be so interesting…” Terry
shook hands with Melanie and everyone else in the room. They continued the meeting for a few more minutes
and they decided to meet again the next day at the same time. When the meeting was over, everyone left, keeping
the secret of Starry~en~Luv within their hearts. But
they would only need to do that until Starry~en~Luv reveals her true
self one day. There was an announcement made a couple
of days later over the public address system of the school. “Ladies
and gentlemen, this is Mr. Williams speaking.”
He was in the main office of the school as he spoke into a microphone.
“The new school newsletter is going to be published this Friday.
We’re going to have an advice section.
I am requesting that anyone who would like to ask our advice
giver for any kind of advice, please drop your letters into the advice
box in the main office. You can
use a fake name or you can stay anonymous.
The writer of the advice column of the newsletter, Starry~en~Luv,
will answer all your questions and do her best to give you the best
advice that she can.” A
lot of students who have heard Starry~en~Luv’s debut song on the radio
were quite surprised by that. And
that included Natasha and Kelsey. “What? That’s odd,” said Natasha. “Isn’t that the name of the new pop singer on
the radio who sang that song?” Kelsey
thought about it for a moment. She
and Natasha were both sitting in the library.
“Yeah, you’re right. That’s
the name of that singer,” she said. “Why
are they using her name? Someone’s
using her name and pretending to be her.
I think that’s kind of stupid, don’t you think?”
Natasha took a deep breath and shrugged.
“Oh, well, I don’t really care what they do.” Kelsey
kept quiet. There was something
very odd about that announcement and it made her a little bit suspicious. She was deep in thought for a very long time.
There was something that she could feel that seemed rather strange,
but she could not tell what it was. And she even felt like she was supposed to know
what it was, but didn’t. At
the same time, a few students began to think that maybe the new singer
on the radio attended their school, but there were more people who thought
that it was just some girl using her name.
But it was still interesting.
They could not ignore it. And
because they could not ignore it, the advice box in the main office
did get some letters from the students by the end of the day. During lunch time, Terry was sitting on
top of a fence while writing in his notebook.
He was writing his editorial and he was thinking hard about what
he was supposed to write. He
watched the other students of the school playing or talking in the distance. Then he continued to write for the editorial. Kathy
was in the library and she was compiling some facts from some of the
encyclopedias that were beside her.
She wrote into her notebook as well what she needed to write
for the school newsletter. Everything
was quiet in the library, but in her mind, her thoughts raced. There
was a bake sale being done by the Grade 4 class and Hazel was there
taking pictures of the event. Some
of the students were showing off their baked goodies and Hazel took
pictures of them and their creations.
Hazel was having a lot of fun. Darren
was writing in a notepad and clipboard while he was talking to one of
the teachers. He was asking the
teacher questions and Darren was writing down some notes as the teacher
answered them. He was writing
about a news article. Susan
was at the front of the school and she was sitting down on the front
steps that led up to the school’s front entrance.
She was sitting down and drawing in her sketchbook. She erased a few marks and then she continued
her drawing and it was a very good-looking comic that she was drawing. Yung
was in the one of the computer labs after school and she was sitting
in front of a computer. On the
screen were page layouts. She
was moving around blocks of text and pictures and other graphics on
the virtual page. Every once in a while, she would look at some
sketches she had made in her notebook, and then she would go back to
arranging elements on the computer screen. Melanie
sat down in her seat in her classroom, but there were no longer any
students here, for they had left the school already.
It was a half hour after classes had ended and she was reading
some of the letters that she had received from the students, asking
for advice. She smiled to herself and she started to write
some good advice for each of the letters. By
the time it was Friday morning, the newsletter had been published. A few hundred copies were circulated among the
students. “The
first school newsletter’s been published and given to the students and
teachers of the primary school,” said Melanie.
“I can’t believe it got so popular so quickly.
And I think the most popular part…became the advice column where
the mysterious Starry~en~Luv was the writer.” “What? That
new little girl pop singer on the radio is writing in the school newsletter?”
said Anita, one of Melanie’s classmates. She grabbed the newsletter from her friend and
classmate, Karen. They were in
the Grade 5 classroom just before classes were to resume after lunch
period. “It’s
true. Take a look at the advice
column,” said Karen. Anita
saw it. There were short letters
paragraphs that were letters from kids asking for advice. Then there were the responses that apparently
came from the singer Starry~en~Luv.
At least, it looked like it was from her.
“You’re kidding.” “Do
you think it’s really her?” Anita
thought for a long time and she was very puzzled. “I…don’t know. It’s possible. I mean, they said on the radio that Starry~en~Luv
was an elementary school girl.” “But
what if someone’s just using that name and pretending to be her?” said
Karen. They
didn’t really know. But it was
extremely interesting. Some distance
away, Melanie and Hazel looked at each other and they giggled as Karen
and Anita struggled to try to find out what the heck was really going
on. Anita
went over to Susan, who they knew was in the school newsletter. “Hey, Susan, you’re in the school newsletter
committee. Is this the real Starry~en~Luv,
the singer on the radio?” she asked. Susan
smiled and she shrugged. “I’m
in the committee, but still, I don’t know.” “Oh,
come on! Of course, you know!”
said Karen. Susan
shook her head. “Sorry. I don’t know anything about it.” Melanie
and Hazel watched and both of them smiled at her and started giggling. Anita and Karen gave up for now, but they vowed
to find out if the Starry~en~Luv girl on the newsletter is really the
singer on the radio. “It
looks like it was the biggest mystery in the entire primary school division.
Actually, it was also a big mystery in the other divisions, too,
in the middle school and in the high school.
They know about Starry~en~Luv on the radio.
A lot of kids tried to find out if it really was her writing
in the newsletter. They even went straight to us and asked us. But we didn’t tell them. Everyone kept their promise. And I’m so happy they did. Starry~en~Luv…sure is a mystery girl, isn’t
she?” said Melanie. A boy from the Grade 6 class quietly slipped
into the main office. He looked
around and saw the advice box on the counter where one of the office
staff was at. He took a deep
breath, trying to calm himself as much as possible, and then he gathered
up his courage to walk up to the advice box and drop in the letter that
he had written for the advice giver, Starry~en~Luv. The
young lady at the counter smiled at him.
“Thanks for the letter asking for advice,” she said. The
boy looked back but he did not say anything.
In fact, he looked a bit frightened.
The lady behind the counter was a little surprised by that. Then the boy left. He left as quickly as he came, almost like he
was running away. Kathy brought in the advice box into the
computer lab after school and she put it on a table. Everyone in the newsletter committee was in
the room as well. “Hey,
Melanie, you got more letters. Time
to become your other self and start writing some advice for the second
edition of the newsletter,” she said cheerfully and eagerly. Melanie
walked over to the advice box. “Thank
you,” she said softly with a sweet smile.
She opened the box and she saw a handful of letters and she picked
them up. She began to look through
some of them and she smiled. “These
are great. They’re perfect.” “Good,
Melanie,” said Kathy. Melanie
came across one letter that seemed peculiar.
She started to read it and at that moment, the happy look on
her face disappeared, and it made Kathy puzzled. “Hey,
what’s wrong?” Melanie
looked up and she sighed. “It’s
so sad. Here, please read it.” She gave the letter to Kathy and she started
to read it as well. When she
was done, Kathy looked speechless for several moments. “Oh…that’s
so awful. How could a dad beat
up his son like that?” Melanie
took the letter and she read it again. Dear
Starry~en~Luv, I really need your help, but I’m not sure
if you can help me. I know you’re
really good at helping people, because of last week’s newsletter. So could you please help me on this? You see, my dad beats me up a lot. He beats me up very badly. Sometimes, I have to go to the hospital but
I just hide it most of the time and pretend that nothing hurts. But the truth is that I’m always hurting.
What am I supposed to do? Sincerely, B. “Do
you think you can handle this? Maybe
you should talk to Mr. Williams,” said Kathy. “I’ll
talk to him. I think I’m going
to need advice, too,” said Melanie.
She sighed and she started to walk away from Kathy to look for
the newsletter committee advisor. In
Mr. Williams’ little office beside the computer lab, Melanie showed
him the letter and he began to read it.
After reading it, he looked up at her with concern. “Melanie,
you’re a very clever girl. I
saw all that good advice that you gave to those kids last week. You did a very good job. I think…you can do a very good job with this
one, too. It’s a very serious
problem, but I know you can give the right advice.” “Are
you sure?” asked Melanie, who looked a bit uneasy. “What
do you think he should do?” asked Mr. Williams. Melanie
thought for a few seconds. “I
guess…he has to report that to a teacher.
He has to if he wants the abuse to stop.” “You’re
exactly right.” Mr. Williams
sighed and shook his head. “It’s
a lousy situation. It will be
good for him if he tells his teacher.
It will be good for his family, so they can get the help they
need. But it will be hard.
The first step to the resolution of this problem of his is probably
the toughest part. Getting the
courage to tell his teacher, because I know this kid is scared to death
and doesn’t know if he can do it. But
we need to convince him to do what’s right.” Melanie
nodded as Mr. Williams gave her back the letter. She sighed again and thought for a while.
“I’ll do my best to help him.
I really want to help him. I wish I knew him face-to-face, but that would
complicate things. I’ll publish
his letter and I’ll publish my answer with it.” Mr.
Williams nodded to that. “Okay,
Melanie. Do your best.” The second newsletter of the school year
was released the following Friday. All
the students were very interested once again in the newsletter, and
the most important part, once again, was the advice column that was
apparently written by Starry~en~Luv.
But there was something different about it.
It was something that made the entire school’s heart break. It
was the letter of an abused boy, asking Starry~en~Luv for help. But Starry~en~Luv had written an answer just
for him. Dear
B. I’m going to tell you right now. I don’t know how it’s like to be beaten up by
my parents. But I know it must
be horrible! I’d like to think
that every parent loves their child.
But if a parent starts beating up their child, then something
isn’t right, and I’m sure you know that.
There’s probably something that’s hurting your father deep inside
him. Whatever it is, it’s also hurting you and the
rest of your family. But, please
realize that you have the power to change things.
What I would suggest that you do is tell your teacher or principal
or anyone else who’s an adult that you can trust and they will be able
to help you. Please tell your
teacher about it in secret. The
pain has to stop, as soon as possible, and that’s the best way that
you can do that. I hope that this will be helpful. I will do my best just for you. Affectionately, Starry~en~Luv In the Grade 6 class, two of Hazel’s former
friends, Dinah and Tara, were reading the advice section of the newsletter.
They both looked shocked for a while. “That’s
awful! I hope he does tell his
teacher. He should definitely
tell his teacher! It’s wrong
for anyone to beat up a kid! It’s
wrong for anyone to beat up anyone, in fact!” said “I
wonder who it is. There are a
lot of people with a first name or a last name that starts with the
letter B,” said Dinah. “I
don’t think that matters, Dinah.” “Yeah,
you’re right. Sorry I even said
that. But, you’re right. And this girl pretending to be Starry~en~Luv
is right. He should really tell
his teacher about it. Things
are just going to get worse if he doesn’t do that.” The
young boy who dropped a letter in the main office the other day looked
up at Dinah and Tara. He was
reading his own copy of the school newsletter.
His eyes felt a little bit misty but he wiped them away.
He folded the newsletter and was about to put it in his schoolbag
beside him on the floor when he felt a sharp pain in his shoulder. He stopped and rubbed his shoulder as he groaned
and closed his eyes. “It
hurts…” he whispered. “It really hurts…” whispered Melanie, because
on Monday, she took a look at the advice box and gathered up the two
letters that were inside. One
of them was from the same boy who named himself “B.” and she started
to read that letter while she was sitting outside on a park bench far
away from the school building. Dear
Starry~en~Luv, Thanks for telling me what I should do.
You’re right. It makes sense. That’s what I should do, but it’s very hard
to do that! I’m so scared! I’m too scared to tell anyone about it! They might not believe me or they might tell
me that I deserve it. My dad
hit me in the shoulder just before I went to school on Friday and it
hurt a lot. I didn’t let anyone know I was in pain all day.
How am I going to do what I have to do if I’m so scared to do
it?! And if I tell the teacher,
what will happen then? My dad
will be so furious at me! Please
help me! I’m scared to death!
I feel like I’m going to die and it’s so bad that sometimes I
wish that I was dead!” Sincerely, B. Melanie
put her hands over her forehead as she closed her eyes and sighed. A tear came out of one of her eyes. The pain that this boy was communicating through
his words was so great that it felt like Melanie was feeling it herself. “I’ll
do my best just for you,” she whispered.
She started writing in her notebook what she wanted to say back
to him. On Friday, another newsletter was released.
It was the third one of the school year.
The boy’s letter was part of the advice section of the newsletter
once again and everyone saw it. Right after it was Starry~en~Luv’s response
to his letter. Many, many students
were reading it. Even the teachers
were quite concerned as they read the newsletter. Dear
B., Oh, I know you’re scared! I would be scared, too! You’re probably thinking, “What’s going to happen
to me if I tell the teacher about it?”
A lot of things will happen.
One of them is that you and your father and your whole family
will get needed help. A father
won’t beat up his son unless something is eating him up.
Something is eating up this family.
But, I need you to think about this other question. What’s going to happen to you if you don’t tell
the teacher about it? Nothing
will change. If anything, it
would probably get even worse. I’m
always thinking about you and you’re always in my heart.
I’m very worried about you. Please.
Please go to your teacher and tell her what’s going on in your
family. I promise that things
will get better if you do. It’s not just a promise. It’s a fact.
Things will get better for you.
But only if you gather up the courage that I know you have in
your heart and make the right changes happen!
I know you can do it. I
know you can! I believe in you… Affectionately, Starry~en~Luv The
boy was leaning on the wall beside the school and he held the newsletter
in his hands. He knelt down on
the ground and he buried his face into his hands and sighed.
His hands formed fists. He
still was not sure if he should do what Starry~en~Luv was suggesting,
but he knew deep in his heart that she was telling him the right thing. It was Monday again. The students were filing out of the Grade 6
class because it was now lunch period.
They were all heading for the cafeteria.
The teacher of the Grade 6 class, Patricia Young, was at her
desk and she was gathering up some notes. The
boy stood up from his seat and he sighed.
He felt terrified, but he remembered the words of Starry~en~Luv
on the newsletter’s advice section.
She was right. He must
have the courage, because if he doesn’t, nothing good will come out
of the situation. He began to approach Miss Young. “Um…Miss
Young?” he started, his voice very soft and shaky. There was no one else in the classroom with
them. Miss
Young looked up and smiled at the boy.
“Brian. What is it?” she
asked. Brian
hesitated and he sighed. He looked
nervous and Miss Young noticed that. “Are
you okay?” she asked him with a more gentle voice. “Miss…have
you been reading that newsletter? Did
you read the part where the advice section is?
Everyone’s talking about that boy who gets beaten up by his father,”
he said softly. Miss
Young nodded and sighed. “Yeah,
I’ve been reading it. It’s so
sad. I really, really hope that the boy will take
the advice being given to him. It
would be much better if he did.” Then,
Brian was silent for a while and he looked down.
Miss Young looked at him more intently.
“Brian?” He
looked up at her with terrified eyes. Miss
Young felt something rather odd. She
had a feeling that Brian knew something.
“Do you know this boy?” she asked him. Brian
hesitated for a long time. “Um,
yeah…I know him.” Miss
Young looked very concerned now as she stood up from her chair and went
around her desk and sat on it while Brian was directly in front of her. He was looking down and there was a lot of fear
in his eyes. “It’s
alright, Brian. Tell me who it
is. We want to help him. We really do,” she said very softly and in the
most comforting way. Brian
was still hesitating. Miss Young
could tell he was trying to say something but it was very hard for him
to get it out. Miss Young touched
his shoulder to try to reassure him but he grimaced in pain and she
noticed that immediately. She
was puzzled. “Brian?” Brian
looked up at the teacher and there were tears in his eyes. They streamed down his cheeks. Then he gathered up all the courage that he
could muster to say what he absolutely and desperately needed to say
to his teacher. “That
boy…that boy is me…” Miss
Young looked surprised but she did her best to try to minimize it. She sighed softly and she looked at Brian for
a long time. Brian began to cry
even more. Miss Young gently
put her hands on his shoulders and that caused the collar of his shirt
to be pulled back and she saw a gigantic bruise starting from the bottom
of Brian’s neck. Miss
Young’s eyes became misty as well as she stood up and gently held him. “Did he beat you last night?” she asked. Brian
quickly nodded. There was more
silence between them for a while longer. “I’m
going to do everything in my power to make things better for you.” Brian
looked up at Miss Young with his tearful eyes. “He’s
not going to hit you anymore. I
promise. Last night was the last
time he’ll ever do that. Brian
leaned his face on Miss Young’s shoulder and she held him as he cried. “I
promise. He won’t hurt you anymore…” The following week, Melanie received some
more letters but she did not receive a letter from the boy who was being
abused by his father. “There’s
no letter from the boy,” said Melanie.
“I wonder what happened.” Kathy
was with her in the computer lab and she sighed. “Maybe he took your advice…” she said softly. Melanie
looked up at her and she had a concerned look on her face. “I hope you’re right.” When
the newsletter was published by Friday, everyone noticed that the abused
boy did not write a letter to Starry~en~Luv anymore. People started to wonder what had happened to
him and they wondered if he was okay. Brian went to the main office of the school
but he did not wear his school uniform.
He was in casual clothes. He
did not come as a student. Miss
Young was in the main office as well when he walked in. “Hi,
Brian,” she said to him with a gentle smile.
“How are you doing now?” Brian
was silent for a while but then he smiled slightly. “I think things are finally getting better.
My dad is getting counseling.
Everyone in the family is getting counseling.
My dad chose to live with my uncle, who’s also doing his best
to help him. My mom and my sister
and brother are moving across town,” he said to her.
He sighed and smiled at Miss Young more prominently.
“Thanks for everything, Miss Young.” “A
lot of people care about you here, Brian.
You can tell just by everyone’s reaction when they read the newsletter,
even though they don’t know it’s you.” Brian
nodded to that. “Yeah, I saw
that. Thanks a lot.” He looked down and he was holding a letter in
his hand. “I just need to do
one more thing before I leave.” He
walked over to the advice box and he dropped the letter in.
Then he started for the door and looked back at Miss Young one
last time. “Thanks for everything,
Miss Young.” Miss
Young smiled and she was a little misty-eyed.
“I hope you come back someday.” Brian
smiled at her and that’s when he left the main office. He left for the front door of the school and
he looked back one more time at the school.
Then he exited and went for the car that was waiting for him
outside. Once he entered that
car, it drove away. Dear
Starry~en~Luv, Thank you for all the good advice you gave
me. You’ve helped me a lot. I really hope that you’ll keep doing what you’re
doing for a long time and that you’ll get to help a lot more people.
My family is getting the help that they need.
I’m sorry to say that I’m not going to be a student anymore at
this school because I’m moving away.
But I won’t forget you. For the first time in a long time, things have
become better. Thank you so very
much for everything that you’ve done for me.
I’m really grateful to you. By the way, before I close, I wanted to ask
you one more thing. Are you that
popular little girl pop singer on the radio named Starry~en~Luv? I thought I’d ask, because you have the same
name as her. Are you the same
person? Sincerely, B. Melanie
smiled as she sat down on the park bench in the school park far from
the school building. She sighed
and she closed her eyes. She
was feeling very happy. She felt happy that she was able to do the right
thing, but she was even happier because she was able to help someone
who desperately needed it. She
began to write her answer for this last letter from B. And
on the next school newsletter, it was published. Dear
B. I’m so happy for you! I’m so happy that things are getting better
with you and your family. I’m
sorry that you’re leaving us, but I hope that maybe someday, you’ll
come back. I’m also very proud of you for gathering up
the courage to do what you had to do.
You’ve saved your own family.
You always had the courage. You
just needed a little push. I’m
so happy that things are getting better for you. As for my real identity…that will have to
stay a secret for now. With
love, Starry~en~Luv 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: “Oh, my
gosh, Melanie! I can’t
believe it! The day is finally
here! The day that you’ve been waiting for so long!
It’s finally here!” Justin: “You should be very proud,
Melanie. You’ve worked hard for
this moment. And now, it’s finally
going to happen. I’m very happy
for you.” Hazel: “You have a funny way
of showing that you’re happy about it.” Justin: “Whatever…” Melanie: “It’s finally here.
It’s my first concert! The first concert of Starry~en~Luv! It’s Starry~en~Luv’s debut!” Hazel: “Isn’t it exciting?
I hope lots of people come to your first-ever concert!
People have been listening to your debut single on the radio
for almost 2 months now. It’s been number one on the pop charts for that
long already.” Justin: “And let’s not forget
that it hasn’t fallen below first place on the pop charts at all. Not even once.” Hazel: “That’s right!” Melanie: “Oh, my, oh, my gosh! I’m so nervous!
I hope I do everything right!
Make-up! Costume! Hairstyle!
Rehearsal! Goodness gracious! There’s so much to do! I’m so nervous! This is…this is my first concert!” Hazel: “Come on, Melanie, you’ve
got to calm down. If you don’t,
it’ll be harder to sing.” Melanie: “Um, okay, okay. I’ll do my best. I’ll do my best because that’s what I’m supposed
to do. That’s what I always do.” Justin: “That’s right, Melanie.” Melanie: “I’m fulfilling my dream
to be singer who touches the hearts of people. Now, it’s time to reveal the true identity of
Starry~en~Luv!” Hazel and Justin: “Next time
on Starry Love Dream!” Melanie: “Episode 18: It’s my first concert, I’m so excited!” |
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