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Last time on Starry
Love Dream! Hazel and Justin’s narration: Hazel: “Hey, Justin, thanks for
helping me with the introduction.” Justin: “Don’t worry about it.
I am your friend, you know.” Hazel: “Things are really tough
for Melanie all of a sudden. But
the tough stuff didn’t come from kids at school or from Regal Records
or anything like that. It came
right from where she’s living, her own grandmother.” Justin: “Yeah, I’ll bet she’s
feeling really down right now.” Hazel: “What a mean old grandmother
she has! I can’t believe that
she doesn’t want Melanie to sing anymore!
That’s so totally unfair!” Justin: “Hazel?” Hazel: “What?” Justin: “I think Melanie’s grandmother
is thinking about things that nobody is really thinking about right
now, and it’s probably something that Melanie hasn’t thought of either. She’s been so focused on making her dream come
true of becoming a singer that she probably forgot about something along
the way.” Hazel: “Huh? What do you mean by that?” Justin: “It’s just a feeling
that I have. I mean, I don’t
think her grandmother would just say no to Melanie without any reason. Well, that’s what I heard from Melanie anyway.” Hazel: “If she has a good reason,
then what on earth can it possibly be?” Justin: “Let’s find out, shall
we?” Hazel and Justin: “Starry Love
Dream! 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 “What have you been doing, Melanie? I demand that you tell me everything!” shouted
Grandma. Melanie
started to speak very softly as she looked down. “I…always…wanted to be a singer,” she said,
fearfully and shyly. “It’s my
dream to be a singer. I found
out about the audition from Mr. Wilkins and so I wanted to be in it. I asked you if I could go but you said no, so
I asked Mr. Wilkins if he could get me into the audition anyway. Hazel helped me, too, by recording my singing
so they can hear it. I went to
the audition and I won the audition.
They wanted me. They said
I was their perfect singer. It…went
on from there. I went to after-school classes at Regal Records,
like dance classes and modeling and photo shoots and dress rehearsals
and recording sessions and singing lessons and…so many other things. They had me sing a debut song, and I wrote it
myself. I have a manager who’s
really nice to me and takes care of me.
My song was on the radio, too, and, Grandma, you even said it
was good. Lots of people said it was good. And then on Saturday night, I had my first concert.
My identity was secret until that night.
That’s when everyone found out that I’m the singer called Starry~en~Luv.
They…helped me become…a singer.
They all helped me make my dream come true, Grandma…” There
was a long moment of silence between the two of them. Melanie looked up at Grandma for a second.
For a moment, Grandma seemed to look not so angry anymore.
But the anger came back very quickly.
Grandma was furious! “Melanie,
you have disobeyed me! You were
hiding many things from me! You
were lying to me! I told you
not to go that audition and you still went.
And now look at what’s happened!” Melanie
was terrified even more. What
was Grandma going to say next? “Melanie,
I forbid you from continuing to be a singer!” Melanie’s
heart broke to a million pieces, as if it was totally made of glass
and someone crushed it with a million tons of bricks.
She was frozen with shock as she looked up with a horrified expression
at Grandma, who had just told her to that she could not sing anymore. Starry Love Dream Episode 20: Grandma
won’t let me sing anymore! Melanie stared at Grandma Annabelle with
great horror on her face. Grandma
looked down at her with a very strict and very stern expression, the
typical “Grandma Annabelle” look that Melanie was starting to get used
to, except this one seemed a thousand times worse.
Melanie’s heart skipped a beat and her eyes were wide with shock,
and it took her a very long time to make herself speak. And
when the words came out, they were soft and barely audible and broken. “Grandma…what do you mean? What are you saying…?” she whispered with a
voice that was ready to break. “You
heard what I said!” Grandma exclaimed.
“You are not going to sing anymore!
I’m putting a stop to this right here and right now, before things
get any worse for you. You are
going to stop what you are doing and that is final!” Grandma
said it. Grandma really did say
it. Melanie was hoping that this was just a bad
dream, but it wasn’t a dream. It
was real. “Grandma…”
Melanie whispered, trying to speak, but she could not. Tears began to build up in her eyes and her
hands shook at her sides as if terrified of something. “I
forbid you from continuing to be a singer!” said Grandma. Melanie
was frozen for a long time, then she began to step back a few steps. She held a terribly frightened look on her face
as her hands covered a part of her face.
She turned around and began to run towards the stairs. “Melanie! I’m not done talking to you! Come back here this instant!” shouted Grandma. Melanie
stopped halfway up the stairs and turned to face Grandma again, and
this time, tears were coming down her cheeks.
Grandma was startled. “Come
here, child!” Melanie
hesitated and she shook her head and closed her eyes. “I hate you, Grandma!” she shouted and then
sobbed as she raced up the stairs towards her bedroom. “Melanie!” Melanie
closed her door and locked it from the inside.
She jumped onto her bed face down and she began to cry in the
most painful way that she has cried in a very long time. It seems that the whole world was getting darker
again, just like that time, when she had to leave her mother and her
father. Except
this time, the darkness seemed even closer to being pitch black. The telephone was ringing again in Mr. Wilkins’
house. He was reading a book
on gardening. He looked up at
the telephone and he stood up from his chair.
When he got near the telephone, he saw in the display panel the
name of Annabelle Hartford. He
hesitated, as he remembered the conversation that she had with him earlier. “You
were part of Regal Records. Then
you met Melanie. She’s been spending
a lot of time with you. And now
all of a sudden, I find out that she’s become a famous singer!” Mr. Wilkins suddenly felt uncomfortable. “I demand that you tell me what’s going on
here!” Grandma exclaimed. Mr. Wilkins sighed and looked down for a
moment to collect his thoughts. He
looked back up at Grandma Annabelle, who was waiting impatiently. “This shouldn’t even be a surprise to me.
You would find out eventually that Melanie had become a singer.” “What is going on, Mr. Wilkins?” “Melanie is a very good singer. When I learned of her dream to become a singer,
I told her about Regal Records and the audition that they were having.
She wanted to take part in that audition to see what her chances
would be. But you turned her
down. You forbade her.
But Melanie went anyway. And
because she went anyway, she was chosen because the ones in charge of
the audition were amazed by her singing talent.
In fact, amazed would be an understatement.
And it continued from there.” Grandma Annabelle looked shocked. “So that’s it! After I told her not to participate in the audition,
she went out and did it anyway! She
disobeyed me?! And all these
mysterious after-school activities!
All these visits to the Callaway’s household!
These were all lies, weren’t they?!
She was working behind my back to become a singer?! And all of you kept this massive conspiracy
from me?!” At
first, he didn’t really want to answer the phone, because he knew the
reason why Grandma Annabelle Hartford was calling him.
It was because of Melanie and the person that she has become. She has become the idol pop singer named Starry~en~Luv.
But Mr. Wilkins sighed and he answered the phone anyway. About 30 minutes later, the doorbell at
Grandma Annabelle’s house rang and Grandma came out of the kitchen and
walked to the front door. She
opened the door and Mr. Wilkins was standing there, dressed in a business
casual manner, the usual way that he dressed when he was going out. “Miss
Hartford?” said Mr. Wilkins. “Thank
you for coming, Mr. Wilkins,” said Grandma, but the look on her face
was not welcoming at all, even though her voice might have sounded like
it. “You’re
the one who asked me to come, Miss Hartford.” Grandma
nodded. “Yes, that’s right. Please have a seat, Mr. Wilkins.” Mr.
Wilkins entered the house and looked around.
He was in the living room of the house and he sat down on the
large couch. It was the first
time he had ever been inside Grandma Annabelle’s house.
Grandma did not sit down but she did stand behind a small couch
and looked straight at Mr. Wilkins with piercing eyes that held a lot
of anger and disappointment. “Mr.
Wilkins---“ Mr.
Wilkins interrupted her. “Now
before you start screaming all kinds of angry words at me, Miss Hartford,
I think you should allow me to explain some more,” he said to her. Grandma’s
narrowed. “What else is there
to explain? I’ve been given enough
information as to what is going on here.
My granddaughter went against my wishes and participated in an
audition that led her to become a famous idol pop singer, and she hid
all this from me until now. Do
you know what I’m feeling, Mr. Wilkins?
I feel like I’m the victim of a huge conspiracy!” “You
think this was some kind of conspiracy?” “What
else could it possibly be called? Even
you, Mr. Wilkins, participated in this.” Mr.
Wilkins sighed. “Look. Melanie had a dream, and that dream was to become
a singer. Why should I stand
in the way of that dream? And
why should you stand in the way of that dream either?
Nobody has the right to do that!” “I
don’t want to hear it!” Mr.
Wilkins put his hands up a little bit as if to accept defeat, but it
only looked that way. There was
no way that he would allow himself to lose in an argument such as this
one. He sighed. “Then
what are you asking from me, Miss Hartford?” “I
want all this to stop. I’ve told
her that she cannot continue being a professional singer. I will not have her prancing around on a stage
in revealing short skirts and tops with millions of people watching
her! And I will not have her
sing in front of those millions of people.
I have ordered her to stop, and now I’m going to ask you to undo
everything that has been done. Talk
to your Regal Records and tell them that she is no longer going to continue
singing. Tell whoever her manager is and her producer
is that there will be no more of this Starry~en~Luv nonsense.” Mr.
Wilkins looked up at Grandma and he took a deep breath. He had a serious look on his face all of a sudden
as he slowly stood up and clasped his hands behind his back. “So this is what you asked me to come here for?” “That’s
right, Mr. Wilkins. I ask that
you honor these requests.” “I
must apologize to you once again, Miss Hartford.” “I’m
glad that you understand.” “No,
Miss Hartford. It is you who
does not understand,” said Mr. Wilkins, and Grandma was taken aback. “I am not apologizing to you for helping this
little girl make her dream come true.
I’m apologizing to you now because I refuse to do what you have
asked me to do.” Grandma
felt a shock going through her. At
first, she was very much surprised by what Mr. Wilkins had just said,
but very soon, she felt very angry about it. “You
refuse to honor my requests?!” Grandma shouted. “Yes,
Miss Grandma
tried to say something but she was so angry that she did not know what
to say now. “I
will not be the one to destroy the dreams of this little girl. She has such a bright future ahead of her in
music. But if you wish to destroy
that future, Miss Hartford, I am not going to be the one to help you
do that. I will not be the one to stop her from fulfilling
her dreams.” Grandma
was at a loss for words. She
did not know what to say. Usually,
she knew exactly what to say in every situation.
But this one was exceptionally challenging for her, because she
had never dealt with anything like this before, especially since it
had a lot to do with her granddaughter, who is someone she never raised
until the last several months. “Mr.
Wilkins?” said Grandma, her voice a little more quiet but still very
much strict and stern. “Yes,
Miss “Melanie
mentioned she had a manager who takes care of her. Who is this person?” Mr.
Wilkins hesitated but he figured it would be alright to tell Grandma. “ Grandma
paused for a while and sighed. “I
wish to speak with this person. I
want this woman to come to my house as soon as possible, preferably
within the next hour. I wish to have a very long talk with her,” she
said. Mr.
Wilkins stopped for a while and then he sighed.
“I can call her and ask her to come.
Can I use your phone then?” “Be
my guest.” “ “ She
smiled brightly. “Good afternoon,
Mr. Wilkins. How are you today?”
she said sweetly and very cheerfully. “I
could be better.” Christina
lost her smile a little. “Is
that so? I’m sorry to hear that. Is something wrong?” “You
could say that. But I think we
all knew that it was going to happen eventually.” Christina
stopped for a while and felt a little suspicious by that. “What do you mean? Did something happen?” she asked. “Can
you come to Melanie’s address immediately?
I hope you’re not busy or anything, but…it is extremely important
that you come to her residence as soon as possible.” There
was a sense of urgency and regret in Mr. Wilkins’ voice and Christina
picked it up very easily. The
elevator door had opened but Christina had totally not noticed it, and
it just closed by itself. Christina no longer had a cheerful smile.
She had a worried look on her face. “Let
me guess. Her grandmother found
out. But we knew that this would
happen, so I’m guessing she’s not taking it very well.” “You
could say that,” said Mr. Wilkins. “So
can you make it here in the next hour?” Christina
sighed. “I have an appointment
with the recording studio managers, but I’ll tell them that I have an
emergency that I have to take care of.
And it wouldn’t be a lie either.
I’ll be there very soon, Mr. Wilkins.” “Thank
you very much, She
sighed and she pressed the down button on the wall to summon the elevator
again. “I’m afraid as to what
the future might hold for us now…” she whispered.
When the elevator doors opened, she went in. Melanie was in her room. She was still in her school uniform. She was sitting on the very middle of her bed
while hugging a large white teddy bear.
She had a blank look on her face.
Her eyes were red because she had been crying earlier, and she
was crying a lot. But now, she
had stopped crying. All she did
was staring at the window of her room while she was sitting on her bed. But she did not even see the window. She was not looking at anything. Melanie’s
dreams of becoming a singer seemed to be falling apart all of a sudden. After all the things that she did and all the
hard work she put into it, despite the fact that she was still a little
girl, had led her into becoming a professional singer. But now, it looks like that dream was falling
apart. And it was all because
of her grandmother. Her
eyes held a glazed-over look. She
had no expression on her face at all.
It was almost as if she had just died. Christina’s car parked in front of the house
in which Melanie lived with her Grandma Annabelle. She stopped the car and she saw Mr. Wilkins
standing at the front porch of the house.
She took her purse and got out of the car and she looked around
as she started walking towards the front porch to meet with Mr. Wilkins. “Thank
you for coming at such short notice, Christina
sighed and she clasped her hands in front of her. “It’s not a problem,” she said. Then she shook her head. “Actually, we still have a very big problem,
don’t we?” Mr.
Wilkins looked down and saw that “You’re
nervous,” said Mr. Wilkins. Christina
noticed her hands and she tried to make them stop. “Yes, I am, Mr. Wilkins. I’ve never faced anything like this before.” “As
a young singer’s manager, especially since the singer just happens to
be less than 18 years of age, you will get into confrontations with
that singer’s next of kin. It’s
inevitable. It’s something that you will have to face one
of these days.” Christina
sighed and nodded. “Yeah, I know. I just hoped that it didn’t have to come now.” Mr.
Wilkins put a hand on her shoulder as he led her to the front door. “Whatever happens, do not give in to any emotional
outbursts. People have a tendency
to do that in this kind of situation.
Keep yourself cool and calm but watch yourself. You don’t want Melanie’s grandmother to get
you fired.” “Okay…”
she whispered. “Melanie
came home about a little more than an hour ago, only to find out that
her grandmother was very angry at her.
We can’t really blame her. Melanie
had to lie to her to get into the audition a while back and had to lie
to her many times again just to do her job at Regal Records. In fact, her grandmother had told her not to
participate in that audition. Now,
she is very angry at Melanie, very angry at me, and I’m sure she’s very
angry at you as well.” Christina
gasped a little. “Um, yeah, I’ll
say she is…” “But
you’ll be fine. Trust me. Just do your best. Keep cool and keep calm and be cautious.” “Yes,
Mr. Wilkins.” Mr.
Wilkins opened the door and he and Christina went inside. Christina saw Melanie’s grandmother for the
first time. Grandma Annabelle
was sitting on the couch as Mr. Wilkins brought Christina in and closed
the door. “Miss
Hartford. This is Christina
did her best to hide the fact that she was nervous and she was doing
well so far. “Good afternoon,
Miss Hartford.” Grandma
Annabelle stood up from her chair and walked closer to her, looking
at her from head to toe as if scrutinizing her. “It’s
a pleasure to meet you, Miss Hartford,” said Christina, with a professional
smile and an offer to shake hands, but Grandma just stared at her for
a long time and did not move an inch.
Christina drew her hand back, feeling a cold presence in the
room, coming straight from Grandma Annabelle. “I
was hoping to have met you under better circumstances. But unfortunately, it can’t be helped, Christina
spoke gently. “I see. I’m sorry to hear that, Miss Hartford.” “Can
you please have a seat?” Grandma
took a seat on one of the smaller couches and so did Mr. Wilkins. Christina sat in the very middle of the large
couch. “You
have a very nice place, Miss Hartford.
Mr. Wilkins told me that you asked him to have me come over. Thank you for having me.” “Admiring
my house is not the reason why you are here, “I’m
sorry, Miss Hartford.” Grandma
Annabelle was quiet for a while and then she started to speak. There was that same look on her face before,
the one that Mr. Wilkins was all too familiar with. It was very strict and very stern. It was the first time that Christina had seen
it, and she hoped that it would be the last. “My
daughter Melanie has become a pop singer.
Isn’t that right, “Yes,
Miss “Melanie
told me a while ago that there was going to be an audition at your record
company for young people her age and slightly older. She asked me if she could participate and I
refused. But she went to the
audition anyway. Because of that,
she was accepted by your company. Is
this what happened?” Christina
took a deep breath. “Yes. We signed her on a contract with Regal Records.
Your name was on her application as her guardian, but Mr. Wilkins
signed as the primary contact for her.
Since that time, Melanie’s been very busy with a lot of projects
that were mainly after school or in the weekends.
Projects including dance lessons and vocal lessons and recording
sessions and photo shoots. She’s doing very well, Miss Hartford.” “I
see. And because of these…projects…she
had to lie to me in order to attend them.” Christina
felt even more nervous. “That’s
what she told me.” “So
you knew about this as well? And
Mr. Wilkins obviously knew about it.
You both knew that she was doing all these things behind my back. Is it because you recognized Mr. Wilkins as
her contact, which is completely incorrect?
I should be that child’s contact, not Mr. Wilkins! At least, you had my name as the legal guardian.
At least, you got that part right! But everything else was wrong!” Christina
was silent for a while and Grandma looked at her with great disapproval. “I
didn’t know that the music industry was this corrupt. If I had known, I wouldn’t have allowed Melanie
to run so freely. I’ve given
her more freedom than I should have, and now, look at what’s happened. Things are getting worse for her now and it’s
the fault of both of you.” Christina’s
eyes narrowed a little. What
Grandma Annabelle had just said was quite offensive.
She looked up at Mr. Wilkins, who watched her and shook his head
a little as if to make her remember what he had told her outside the
door. He had told her to stay calm and stay cool and
not get emotional. Grandma
stood up from her chair and paced around.
“What kind of a world is this that we’re living in? I have to take care of this child and protect
her from all the harm that might come to her because of that irresponsible
father of hers, the Premiere of Ontario.
But behind my back, she does something like this! I have never known a child to be so disrespectful
to the wishes of her elders! I
will not allow my granddaughter to continue doing this, Christina
sighed and leaned her chin in her hands as she leaned forward. “Am
I making myself clear, Christina
stood up and faced Grandma Annabelle with a confidence that she probably
did not know that she had. “I
heard you loud and clear, Miss Hartford,” she said firmly. Mr.
Wilkins stood up as well. “Christina…”
he started but Christina waved her hand at him as if to stop him from
speaking. “Miss
Hartford, the music industry is not some corrupt mega-corporation that
just wants to make money out of talented kids.
The only people who would say something like that are those who
don’t know anything about the music industry,” said Christina. “They are clueless and uninformed.” Grandma
Annabelle was surprised and she held a look that was even stricter. “How dare you speak to me like that, you impertinent
young woman?!” “Regal
Records has always done their best to help exceptionally talented young
people follow their dreams. With
Melanie Thompson, it is no different.
That’s what we’re trying to do for her because that is what she
wanted. She had a dream to become a professional idol
pop singer, and that’s what we helped her become. That’s what she is now. That’s what we are here for.” Grandma
glared at Christina with furious eyes. “And
that’s what I’m here for. It’s
not just a job for me to help Melanie become the singer that she wants
to be. It’s not just a job for me to help her fulfill
her dreams, Miss Hartford. It’s
a passion. That’s what I am and
that’s what I do. And it’s not
just her dream, but mine, too. I
understand if you are angry at her and at me and at Mr. Wilkins and
at Regal Records and at the entire music industry because everything
was done behind your back and against your wishes.
I’m sure that anyone would be upset as well.
But I will not apologize to you for helping Melanie fulfill her
dreams, because that’s what I am and that’s what I do.
It’s more than just a job. And
Melanie’s job as a singer is more than just that.
The least you could do for Melanie now is to be more understanding!” “That’s
enough, Christina,” said Mr. Wilkins. Christina
glanced at Mr. Wilkins and she sighed and she looked back at Grandma
Annabelle. “I’m sorry if I have
said too much. But that’s just
what I feel,” she whispered. She
sat back down. Grandma
was silent for a while as she walked towards the window and she looked
outside and she took a deep breath.
She still held that same scary strict look on her face.
She was angry but Christina and Mr. Wilkins both had a point,
even though she hated to admit it. She
felt that she had to counter that somehow, but she was actually starting
to run out of ideas, and she did not want to look like the villain either. She turned around towards Mr. Wilkins and Christina
again. “I
will call Melanie downstairs. She
has locked herself in her room and is probably crying a waterfall,”
said Grandma Annabelle. “I
could not blame her, Miss Hartford,” said Christina. “This is how anyone would react if they were
denied of fulfilling their dreams.” Grandma
Annabelle went to the stairs and began to climb. When she reached Melanie’s room, she tried to
turn the handle and noticed that it was still locked. “Melanie,
open this door and come downstairs immediately.
Your manager is here,” she said. But
there was no answer. Grandma
knocked on the door more forcefully. Inside
the room, Melanie was still sitting on the middle of her bed, holding
her large white teddy bear in front of her and wrapping her arms around
it. Her eyes were glazed over and she had no expression
on her face. She thought she
could hear someone knocking on her door, but she could barely hear it. Right now, she was in her own little world,
and it was a very desolate and lonely world.
She thought she heard someone’s voice, but she did not know who
it was. Melanie was totally out
of it. “Melanie! Did you hear what I said? Open this door at once and come downstairs!” Still,
there was no answer. She was
about to knock on it even harder but she stopped herself. She began to walk away from the door and went
back downstairs. “She
will not answer me,” said Grandma. Mr.
Wilkins and Christina looked up at her. “I
think it’s understandable why she would not answer you, Miss Hartford,”
said Mr. Wilkins. Grandma
glared at both of them furiously but she did not know what to say. “This is ridiculous…” she whispered. She looked at Christina. “ “Yes,
Miss “Then,
as a friend of Melanie’s, could you get her to come down here? She is on the last door on the right when you
go up the stairs and walk down the hallway.” Christina
hesitated, and then she got up. “Thank
you, Miss Hartford, I’ll do that,” she said, and she quickly went to
the stairs. She went up the stairs
and searched for the door that was to lead to Melanie’s room. She found the room and she knocked on the door. At
first, there was no answer. “Melanie. It’s me. Christina,”
she said softly. “I need you
to come downstairs with me. Could
you…could you please open the door for me, my dear?” Inside
the room, Melanie stared at the window, still with no expression on
her face and with her eyes glazed over.
She thought she heard another person trying to talk to her from
beyond her bedroom door and she heard knocking as well.
The voice of the person kept repeating in her mind and the voice
was becoming more and more clear. Her
eyes closed and she opened them and they seemed to come back to normal
slightly. She looked at her door. Christina
waited there for about a minute. She
knew that Melanie would take that long if she was going to answer the
door and was feeling depressed. Slowly,
the door began to open and Christina stepped back.
Melanie walked out of the room slowly.
Her head was down, but when she slowly looked up at Christina,
her eyes were red. She had been
crying for a long time earlier. “Christina…”
Melanie whispered very softly and it was so sad that it made Christina’s
heart break. She had never seen
Melanie like this before and it almost scared her. Christina
waved her to come to her and Melanie quickly did just that and embraced
her. Christina put her arms around
her. “It’s
alright, Melanie. I’m here now,”
she said softly. “I’m here just
for you.” They
held each other for a long time. Christina held Melanie’s hand and led her
down the stairs to the living room where Grandma and Mr. Wilkins were
waiting for them. Melanie took
one look at Grandma and was frightened immediately, so she looked down
and kept her eyes downcast. “You
both finally came down. You certainly
took your time,” said Grandma, her voice very strict as it had been
since earlier. Christina
sat down on the large couch again and Melanie sat down beside her. Grandma was standing and staring at Melanie
for a long time. “You
did a lot of things wrong, Melanie.
Even just a little while ago, you said that you hated me. That’s not the way you should be speaking to
your elders, child.” Melanie
looked up at Grandma. She looked
sad and worried and scared all at the same time.
“Grandma, I’m so sorry. I
didn’t mean it!” she said quickly. “I
don’t hate you. I could never
hate you. I don’t know why I said it!” “That’s
enough,” said Grandma, and Melanie gasped.
Melanie became quiet. “Why
did you do these things?” Christina
thought that Melanie had probably explained it many times. Even Christina had explained it as well and
she was sure that Mr. Wilkins also did.
She was starting to think that there was something else that
Grandma was thinking about that no one in the room had realized. Melanie
hesitated before she spoke. “Because…because
I wanted to follow my dream…but you didn’t let me…” she said very softly. “So
because I didn’t let you follow your dream, you did all these things,”
said Grandma. Her voice became
stricter again as usual. “So
I guess that means that what I think doesn’t matter.
Is that right, child? Does
what I think matter to you at all?” Melanie
was startled by that. “Oh, um,
no, it’s not like that…” “If
it’s not like that…then you should have respected my wishes. But that’s not what you did. You still went out and did what you did! You contradict yourself!” Melanie
was silent again. She did not
know what to say anymore and she looked down and away. Grandma
sighed and shook her head. “What
a mess this whole situation has become.
Melanie, do you even realize what you’ve done? I don’t think you realize what you’ve done and
that goes the same for Mr. Wilkins and for Christina as well.” Melanie
looked up at Grandma a little puzzled.
Mr. Wilkins was puzzled as well and so was Christina. Grandma walked over to the window and looked
outside. “Don’t
you realize what this will do to you?
I know about dreams and I understand them.
But in your current situation…don’t you realize that this can
do a lot of negative things to you?” “Huh?” Melanie appeared very puzzled by that. What was she talking about? Christina was thinking about it and so was Mr.
Wilkins but they didn’t seem all that puzzled about it. They just stayed quiet for a while. Grandma
turned around and faced Melanie again.
Her face was still appeared strict but her voice seemed a lot
calmer than it was just a few minutes ago.
“Let’s talk upstairs, Melanie.” Grandma had taken Melanie upstairs. Mr. Wilkins and Christina stayed downstairs
in the living room. Mr. Wilkins
stood up from the couch and sighed. “Mr.
Wilkins?” said Christina, who was looking down at the table in front
of her. “What
is it?” asked Mr. Wilkins. “What
Miss Hartford last said, it has something to do with Melanie’s father,
doesn’t it?” Mr.
Wilkins looked around the living room for a moment and he walked over
to the window as Christina waited for an answer.
Mr. Wilkins saw a picture frame on a small table in the corner
near the window. The picture
frame was lying face down. He
picked it up and looked at the picture that was on it.
It was a picture of Melanie’s family.
It was Melanie when she was smaller and her parents, Mark and
Sarah. “I
believe it does, Christina.” Mr.
Wilkins put the picture frame back down, lying face down. Christina
was silent for a while as she thought about what Grandma had said. “Miss Hartford said that we didn’t understand.
Of course, we understand. But…I’m not sure that Melanie does.” Mr.
Wilkins turned towards Christina and smiled a little. “Actually…I think Melanie understands more than
we think she does. She didn’t
jump into a singing career, you know.
She had thought about this for a very long time.
She knew what she was going to go through. As for her father’s situation, well…of course,
that is what she doesn’t really understand much of.” “I
can’t blame her if she doesn’t,” said Christina. “But…do you think that after this...that she
will continue to sing? I mean…it
sounds like Miss Hartford is going to explain her father’s situation. Do you think that because of that, Melanie will
want to keep singing?” Mr.
Wilkins was quiet for a while. “I
don’t know.” Melanie sat on the side of her bed with
her hands clasped together in front of her.
Grandma sat on a chair just a few feet in front of her and they
faced each other. The two of
them were quiet in Melanie’s room for a long time. “Do
you even understand what can happen, Melanie?” asked Grandma. Melanie
looked up at Grandma, her face a bit puzzled. “Let’s
look at what’s happening right now.
Actually, let’s go back to the original reason why your parents
sent you here to live with me. It’s
because your father, the Premiere of Ontario, Mark Thompson, is being
accused of taking millions of dollars from the people of our province. Nobody knows if it’s true or not. But accusations like that are pretty bad, and
they’re pretty big, especially if it’s against the leader of a province.” Melanie
was still silent and she looked down. “Your
mother and father told me that because of the accusations that are following
your father, you have to be protected.
Your father is getting so much unwanted attention from the press
right now. Your mother is also
getting a lot of unwanted attention because she works with him. And you also received some unwanted attention
from the press, because of the simple fact that you are their daughter. That is the reason why they sent you here.
They sent you here so that you can be protected from all that
unwanted attention.” Melanie
remembered being sent away by her mother and father to Grandma Annabelle’s
house. It seemed like such a
long time ago. It’s been about
half a year since that had happened. “I’m
so sorry, Melanie. But the reason
why you have to live with my mother is because we need to protect you,”
said Sarah. “Protect me? What do you mean? I don’t understand.” Mark held Melanie’s little hand. “Melanie. You
must try to understand. There
are people in this world who will try to take your dream away from you. And that’s what they are trying to do to me.
My dream was to make a better future for “We want them to leave you alone,” said Sarah.
“This is something that your father and I must face ourselves
and deal with. We will correct
the wrong that is happening here. But we don’t want you to get hurt by any of
it, so we have to ask that you live with my mother for a while, until
things have settled down. You
must be protected.” “You are so precious to us. We do not want anything bad to happen to you.” “That is how much we love you, my dear Melanie.” “I
realize that the way your mother and your father and I are protecting
you isn’t perfect. You still
have to go to the same school. They
could have placed you in a different school but that wouldn’t have done
anything for you, except to complicate your life even more.
The children at your school will know who you are and the teachers
will know who you are, and they’re also going to give you some unwanted
attention. But they were the only ones who knew that you
lived in this neighborhood and that you attended their school. The press didn’t know anything.” Grandma sighed again and shook her head. The strict and stern look on her face seemed
to disappear. “I hate to say
it but…I guess your father had some humanity in him to protect you from
the trouble that is following them, but I’m only saying that because
it’s true.” “Grandma…”
Melanie whispered. She wasn’t
sure what else to say, however. “I
realize that you have a dream. I
know that you love singing. Your
mother has told me that a few times, and I can see that it’s a very
powerful dream that you have. It’s
a wish that’s deeply engraved in your heart, isn’t it?” Melanie
nodded slowly. “And
then you met Mr. Wilkins and you told him that you’ve always wanted
to be a singer.” “Yeah,
your singing is perfect! I think
you should go for that audition. I
think you have a very good chance there.” Melanie still couldn’t believe what he was
saying. “Me? In an audition?” “If you want, I can contact the people there
that I used to work with, and I can tell them about you. If you want to participate in the audition,
you can send them an application and I can get one of those for you,
too.” Melanie looked at Mr. Wilkins, totally speechless. “It’s the first step to becoming a professional
singer, Melanie.” Total surprise was written all over Melanie’s
face. Her eyes went wide open
and a very bright and excited smile appear on her face! She nearly screamed with extreme excitement
as she jumped up and down. “Yes, please, Mr. Wilkins!” Melanie cried
out. She couldn’t believe it. If she could get into the audition, she could
show those people that she really could sing and maybe, just maybe,
she might be able to become a singer sooner rather than later. Just like what Hazel said to her before. “He
just happened to have been a former employee of Regal Records. I don’t know if it is coincidence or fate, but
he helped you get into Regal Records and very quickly, you became a
famous singer,” Grandma continued. “My
God, she’s amazing!” one of the interviewers shouted. “That’s it! Call Mr. King immediately!” shouted another.
Melanie was wondering what had just happened and she looked a
little confused. “She has the perfect singing voice! Tell them the audition is over! Send everyone home!” “We’re choosing Melanie Thompson!” Everyone was in chaos. Melanie was totally shocked as well and she
looked around as the interviewers began calling people on the phone
and they seemed extremely excited. Melanie
stared at them all in shock. It
took a while for it to sink in, but she realized that they absolutely
loved her song and they have chosen her for the new talent audition! “I’ve been chosen!” Melanie whispered to
herself. “I’m…I’m going to be
a singer!” “You
became a famous child star. Do
you even know why I didn’t want you to go for the audition at Regal
Records? It was because I wanted to protect you.” “Protect
me?” Melanie said very softly and looking very puzzled. “That’s
right. If you became a singer,
if you followed your dream to become a singer, then you will get every
kind of attention from the public. You
would have many people listening to your music and knowing about you. And the press would also know about you. Eventually, they would find out that you live
in this neighborhood and I have no doubt that they already do because
of what’s happened. They would
know what school you attend. They
would know who your family is and who your friends are.
They would know everything about you.” Melanie
remembered someone named Alex Rowe, who was a photographer, and a rather
shady one at that. Mr. Rowe was
the kind of photographer to look for the dirt on celebrities. A
few minutes later, they stopped at a red light.
But what they did not know was that a few cars behind them and
to the right side, Mr. Rowe’s car stopped behind another car. The window on the driver’s seat rolled down.
There was a camera mounted on a stand between Mr. Rowe and the
door beside the driver’s seat. As the car in front of him moved forward some
more, he came closer and closer to the side of Christina’s car where
Melanie was sitting. Melanie looked at the side mirror and saw
the red car and a camera sticking out of the driver’s seat. She gasped.
“Christina!” she cried out. Christina’s eyes quickly went to the side
mirror and saw Mr. Rowe getting ready to take some pictures. In front of her, the lights became green and
she slammed on the accelerator hard.
Christina’s car tires screeched as it shot forward. Mr. Rowe gritted his teeth. “Ah, damn!” he shouted. He quickly turned the car to the next lane to
avoid the cars in front of him and he slammed on his accelerator as
well. “Your
father, your mother, and I wanted to protect you, but we won’t be able
to protect you if you are going to be a famous singer,” said Grandma. Melanie
looked down for a while, thinking about what Grandma was telling her. Everything that she was saying seemed to be
making sense for her. Grandma
sighed and closed her eyes and shook her head.
“I guess…it’s too late now. I
have failed in protecting you and I’ve failed to live up to the promise
that I made to my daughter, your mother.
Now, it would be almost impossible to protect you from all that. They’re going to be asking you so many questions
and assuming strange things about you at the same time as they’re praising
your singing and all your songs. And
I’m sure that, pretty soon, your father and mother would find out what
you have done. I’m sure they
know already.” Melanie
and Grandma were silent for a while.
Melanie just stared at the floor in front of her. She thought about her dream of becoming a singer.
She was able to realize it. But, at the same time, she had gone against
the wishes of her father and mother. “Now…I
don’t know what’s going to happen. This
is the reason why…you should stop singing, Melanie. If you really want to be a singer that badly,
at least…wait for a few years before everything blows over.” But
there was something else that Melanie thought about. She had thought about it before and she remembered
saying it to herself before as well.
It was one of the biggest motivations that helped her become
a singer. “But,
Grandma…” Melanie started. “Melanie?”
said Grandma, with a slightly puzzled face. Melanie
looked up at Grandma. “That’s
one other reason why I wanted to follow my dream.
It’s because of that reputation that Papa had.” Grandma
was even more puzzled. “What
do you mean?” “Papa…has
a bad reputation. I don’t really
understand why he has a bad reputation and why people look at him like
he’s a bad person, even though they don’t know anything about whom he
really is,” said Melanie, with a soft voice that seemed to rise a little
more as she spoke. “But…another reason why I want to make my dream
come true is because…I want to change things. I want to change things…for my family. Maybe…if I make something good happen, then
I can change things for Papa!” Grandma
was very surprised by that. Melanie
had a look of great determination in her eyes.
“Melanie…” she said softly. “I
don’t know if I really can do it, but…I have to try anyway. It’s not just for me. It’s for Papa and Mama, too. It’s like…there’s darkness…but I want to make
light in it!” Grandma
was silent for a while and Melanie didn’t say anything anymore. There was a long silence between the two of
them for a while. Grandma thought
about what Melanie was saying and it was something that surprised her
a lot. She did not expect something like that to come
from her granddaughter. She was
totally surprised by it. Grandma
sighed and she looked at Melanie for a long time. “I see that you’re a very determined young lady,
Melanie.” Melanie
looked up at Grandma, but she was worried about what she might say next. “You
remind me of your mother when she was your age.
Once she is determined to do something, there was no stopping
her. She hasn’t changed at all either. And I see that you are becoming like your mother.
In a lot of ways…that can be a good thing.” Melanie’s
eyes were damp. “Grandma…” “You’re
growing up, Melanie.” Melanie and Grandma went back downstairs
to the living room, where Christina and Mr. Wilkins were waiting. Mr. Wilkins was looking through the window and
he turned around to face them. Christina
stood up from the couch to see them. When the two of them looked at Melanie, she
looked so calm that they were not sure whether she was happy or sad. There was no indication whether or not what
happened upstairs with Grandma was a good thing or a bad thing. “Miss
Hartford. Did anything happen?”
asked Mr. Wilkins. Grandma
looked a little strict and Mr. Wilkins and Christina felt that perhaps
it might have been a bad thing. Melanie
was standing beside her, looking down at the floor. “Are
you going to let Melanie continue with her dream, Miss Hartford?” asked
Christina. “I
didn’t say anything to her about allowing her to continue.” Melanie
gasped and she looked startled. The
feeling that she got while they were talking upstairs seemed positive
but maybe she was wrong. Christina
sighed. “I see…” “But
by now, you have a totally full understanding of Melanie’s dream, don’t
you, Miss Hartford?” asked Mr. Wilkins. Grandma
hesitated and she nodded. “Yes,
I do. I totally understand her
dream of becoming a singer. And
she also totally understands why I was not happy about it.”
She stopped for a while and looked at everyone, especially Melanie,
who seemed scared. “I…think that
following your dream is a good thing.
But she will be exposing herself to so many negative things.
I am…uncomfortable about letting her continue with what she’s
doing.” Mr.
Wilkins stepped closer towards Grandma and Melanie. “Miss Hartford, do you know the whole story
of what happened to me a long time ago?” Christina
looked at Mr. Wilkins with a puzzled face.
Melanie did the same, and then when she looked up at Grandma,
she seemed like she was not confused at all. “I
know some of it, but not the whole story,” said Grandma. “Then,
perhaps, I should tell each and every one of you the full story of John
Wilkins, a young rock n’ roll singer,” said Mr. Wilkins. Christina
and Melanie were both surprised, but Grandma wasn’t. That was quite possibly one of the most shocking
things that Christina and Melanie ever heard of. But Grandma did not seem surprised. What’s going on? The End (to be
continued) Ending theme song “Family Love” by
Starry~en~Luv The love of family (the love of family) Always be in your heart (in your heart) Forever and ever (family love forever) Good memories of fun little things Bedtime stories read while in your bed They come tuck you in with a goodnight kiss Sweet dream wishes always said If you get hurt, they will always take care Make you feel better, always be at your
side Staying with you when things get unfair Stories of wisdom from generations’ wise Old times and good times, nobody else will
know Telling the little ones unforgettable stories To be loving to you and to be caring for Times of family love, those are real treats Children who live in a very happy home (very
happy home) But for some, it’s something they can’t
have (they can’t have) If I had the power to make people happy
(make people happy) I’d show them there’s always family love
(always family love) Even if you might have done something bad They’re always going to love you Even if they think you’re bothering them They’re always going to love you Even if they say things you don’t like They’re always going to love you You can have all the friends that you want But you’ll always have one family Always be together and support each other Because you’ll always have one family For the love of family (for the love of
family) We shall always be together (we shall always
be together) Forever and ever (forever and ever) Living so far away from each other now I haven’t seen my parents for a long time They’re busy with lots of things and lots
of work I wonder how they’re doing, if they are
fine I don’t have a sister, I don’t have a brother I wish I did so I could play with them I have friends who care for me and love
me But family is different and it’s just not
the same I don’t know my grandparents because they’re
gone All that I have left is one grandmother Even if she gets mad at me for so many things That’s okay, no matter what, I’ll always
love her I must never forget them no matter what
happens (no matter what happens) Memories of togetherness that we’ll always
have (we’ll always have) If I had the power to make things better
again (make things better again) We could be together again with our family
love (with our family love) Even if you might have done something bad They’re always going to love you Even if they think you’re bothering them They’re always going to love you Even if they say things you don’t like They’re always going to love you You can have all the friends that you want But you’ll always have one family Always be together and support each other Because you’ll always have one family For the love of family (for the love of
family) We shall always be together (we shall always
be together) Forever and ever (forever and ever) (The love of family) The love of family (Always be in your heart) In your heart (Forever and ever) Family love forever Oh, we’ll always have our family love For the love of family (for the love of
family) We shall always be together (we shall always
be together) Forever and ever (forever and ever) For the love of family We shall always be together Forever and ever Preview for Next
Episode Hazel and Justin’s narration: Hazel: “What the heck is going
on, Justin?” Justin: “What do you mean, Hazel?” Hazel: “First, Melanie’s grandmother
tells her not to sing anymore. Looks
like you’re right, I guess she did have a good reason, but that’s still
not a good enough reason to not follow your dream! That’s not a good enough reason!” Justin: “You’re right about that.
And I think Melanie knows that.
She’s very determined.” Hazel: “But even though Melanie
told her another great reason why she wants to keep singing, her Grandma
still won’t let her sing? What
is it with her anyway?!” Justin: “Her Grandma understands
why she wants to keep singing, but she’s not feeling right about it.
She’s uncomfortable about it because of what might happen to
Melanie.” Hazel: “Well, yeah…but…” Justin: “Anyways, I think Mr.
Wilkins might have something in store for Melanie, her Grandma, and
Hazel: “Oh, that’s right. He said something about being a young rock n’
roll singer? What does he mean
by that?” Justin: “I guess we’re going
to find out more about what happened to him in the past. I always thought there was something more to
him. I just couldn’t put my finger
on it. It’s just a feeling that
I had for a long time whenever Melanie talked about him.” Hazel: “Oh, I see. He has a secret. He has something from his past.” Justin: “That’s right.” Hazel and Justin: “Next time
on Starry Love Dream! Episode 21: A secret revealed! Mr. Wilkins was a singer?” |
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