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Last time on Starry
Love Dream! Hazel and Justin’s narration: Hazel: “I’m really worried about
Melanie. We haven’t heard from
her in a while and she hasn’t been doing the introductions with us lately.” Justin: “I know. I’m worried, too, but she has a lot on her mind
right now.” Hazel: “Right. I’m not sure if she can handle this though…” Justin: “Come on, Hazel. I think you know she can make it no matter what
happens. Other people might look
at her and think that she’s a weak person because she’s so gentle and
sensitive, but they have no idea what kind of strength she has in her
mind and in her heart. She has
more strength than most people.” Hazel: “Oh, yeah. You’re right about that. She is our friend, after all.” Justin: “That’s right. Her Grandma Annabelle was being really tough
on her last time. She got into
so much trouble. Mr. Wilkins
even had to step in, but even that wasn’t enough.
Melanie’s manager, Hazel: “Do you think that’s enough
help for Melanie?” Justin: “I don’t know, Hazel.
At least, we know that her grandmother understands what Melanie’s
trying to do. And it looks like Melanie understands more than
people think. She’s not just
doing this because it’s her dream. She’s
doing this to make things better for her and her family.” Hazel: “But, hey, what’s this
I hear about a secret about Mr. Wilkins, that man who a lot of people
in the neighborhood say is a mean-spirited old man?” Justin: “We’re going to find
out about that now.” 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 “I totally understand her dream of becoming
a singer. And she also totally
understands why I was not happy about it.”
Grandma 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? Grandma
Annabelle stood in the living room of her house, facing Mr. Wilkins
just a short distance away, and Melanie stood by her side. Christina was looking on from where the couches
were, but she was standing up. Both
Christina and Melanie looked very surprised by what Mr. Wilkins had
just said. “Mr.
Wilkins?” said Christina. “What
do you mean by that?” “What
do you mean, Mr. Wilkins?” asked Melanie. Mr.
Wilkins crossed his arms against his chest and he leaned against the
back of the large couch. Both
Melanie and her manager Christina looked very curious. “It’s
a true story of the person that I used to be.
It was a long time ago, when rock n’ roll music was still new. This is a story that I’ve kept hidden for many
years and very few people know about it.
Those who do know about it know very few details,” said Mr. Wilkins,
and he looked towards Melanie. “Your
Grandma knows a few small details, but she knows just enough to know
that it’s a past…that I wish had never happened the way it did.” Starry Love Dream Episode 21: A secret
revealed! Mr. Wilkins was a singer? Mr. Wilkins sat down on one of the small
couches. Melanie sat beside Christina
on the large one. Grandma remained
standing. All three of them listened as Mr. Wilkins began
to tell them a story from the days of this youth. “This
was about…oh, I don’t know, maybe 40 years ago.
Back in those days, rock n’ roll was still new but it was taking
over the world by storm. Artists
like Elvis Presley and The Beatles and a little kid just a few years
older than you are now named Stevie Wonder
were very popular back then,” said Mr. Wilkins, smiling at Melanie,
who looked even more puzzled. “Even
though I wasn’t thought of back then, I know those names, only because
I studied a lot of music to get to where I am.
But I don’t think Melanie would know about them,” said Christina. Mr.
Wilkins shook his head. “No,
she wouldn’t know about them. They
were some of the earliest famous artists in the world of rock n’ roll
music. And you know, back then, believe it or not,
I was a young man. I was a high
school student. And being a teenager
back in that day, I was obsessed with the rock n’ roll hype, just like
all the other teenagers.” Young John Wilkins was sitting in class
one day. It was just another
high school day where he would attend classes and listen to the teacher
talk for hours and hours about things that he didn’t really understand
very well. He was starting to feel a little sleepy while
the teacher was writing some notes on the chalkboard and he was explaining
what he was writing to the students.
Eventually, his eyes closed and he dozed off for several seconds. John saw himself
standing on a stage with an electric guitar.
There was a microphone stand in front of him. He looked up in front of him and the lights
were shining from somewhere far away towards him and he could barely
see the thousands of people that were in front of him, cheering for
him in the audience. Behind him were shadows of people he did not
know. They were people he had
created in his mind to make this dream come as close as possible to
being realistic. They were the rest of his rock band, who played
different kinds of musical instruments. It was his dream to do this. For a long time, in his heart, he has had this
wish to sing on this stage and to sing with all his heart, using the
music that he has grown to love very much.
He saw himself here, finally making his dream become reality. Of course, that dream stayed a dream just
for now. “Mr.
Wilkins!” shouted the teacher, his head balding and his eyeglasses reflecting
light. John
woke up with a start. “A
little more attention from you would be nice, you slacker!” Some
of the students giggled. John
looked a little embarrassed but he shrugged it off.
The teacher went back to what he was doing. Then he noticed a note that was put on his desk
by one of the students who sat to the right of him. He looked up and the girl beside him smiled
and winked. John
opened the note and he started to read. “Let’s
all go to The Juveniles rock n’ roll concert on Saturday night!” He
looked at the girl beside him and then at two boys and another girl
some distance away. All of them
looked at his direction and they smiled and nodded.
He smiled and nodded, too. “The Juveniles, huh?” said John. “They sure are getting famous. I heard they all go to our school, too. That’s really great!” John
was sitting in a restaurant with his friends from school. This place was usually a hang-out for the students
after school hours. His friends
were sitting with him. They were
Shirley McInnis, Mandy Roberts, Rick Pearce, and Todd Wakefield. All of them, like John Wilkins, were 17 years
old. “Yeah,
can you believe it? I only saw
them do their thing once and I loved it already,” said Shirley, who
was the person who had passed the note to John earlier at school. “Where
was it, Shirley?” asked Todd. “It
was in their garage.” “What? They performed in their garage? What kind of a place to perform in is that supposed
to be?” said Rick. “Well,
it wasn’t like a big performance, you know.
It was just the band and a few people from school, that’s it. And the funniest part of it was that the neighbors
really freaked out. A bunch of
old guys just came up to us and told us to stop so we had to run out
of there.” Everyone
started to laugh. “Oh, they better
not do it in a garage then. They
need a better place, some place where no one can bother them and everyone
can enjoy their music in peace,” said the girl named Mandy. “Where
are The Juveniles playing?” asked John. “They’ll
be at the park close to our school.
It’ll be great! A lot
of people are coming,” said Shirley. “I
hope every one of us is going to make it there?” asked Mandy. The
three boys nodded to Mandy. “Oh,
for sure, we’ll be there,” said Rick. “This
is going to be something, huh?” said Todd. John
was probably the most excited of them all.
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” The 3 members of The Juveniles rock band
were playing famous rock n’ roll songs at the park near the high school
that John Wilkins and his friends attended.
They sang into their microphones and through the loud speakers
as they played their cool guitars. They
were loud and fun and the 30 or so students from the high school were
enjoying it very much. A majority of the students were dancing to the
music while the rest were watching and enjoying the music quietly. The band and their equipment stood on a wooden
platform that was raised from the ground. It was part of the park and even though it was
old, the band took advantage of its height by using it as a stage. John
and his friends were at the front so they had the best view of the band
as they were performing. All
of them were totally in love with the music, but John seemed to be the
one who was the most fascinated by it.
While it made his 4 friends dance and laugh, it made him stand
still and stare at the band as they performed, because he was totally
taken in by it. “Hey,
John, you okay?” said Mandy. John
hesitated and then looked at Mandy and smiled.
“What?” “You’re
just staring at them. Are you
enjoying yourself?” He
smiled and he nodded. “I’m fine. I’m enjoying it. It’s really great! It’s unbelievable!” he said, becoming very excited.
“These guys should be performing like professionals!
Get a deal with some record company and then make it big!” “Oh,
that would nice, huh?” Mandy said with a smile. John
nodded to her and he continued watching The Juveniles as they performed
their rock music. After about
an hour, the small rock concert ended and people were leaving. John’s friends were about to leave, too, but
John didn’t really want to leave yet. “Okay,
guys, I guess it’s time to go home,” said Mandy. “You
know, I think I’ll talk to the band for a bit before I go home. Is that alright with you guys?” John said to
his friends. The
4 of them were puzzled for a second, but they quickly understood why. “You want to do that? Yeah, that’s fine. You might learn something,” said Rick. Shirley
and Todd laughed a little bit. “Yeah,
I think it would be great if you talk to them,” said Todd. “I think it would do you good.” “We’ll
see you tomorrow, then?” asked Shirley. John
smiled and nodded to them. “Yeah,
I’ll see you guys tomorrow.” Shirley,
Mandy, Todd, and Rick left the park.
There were still a few people around but they were just either
talking or getting ready to leave. John
saw the band members starting to pack up some of their sound equipment
so he began to approach them. “Hey,
guys,” said John. The 3 band
members looked up at him and saw him approach.
“That’s really an awesome concert you guys put. You think you guys will have another one soon?” The
band members smiled at him. “Yeah,
we hope so. Thanks! We’re glad you liked it,” said one of them.
“You were at the front of the audience, right?” “Yeah,
I was.” “You
were just staring at us the whole time.
I wasn’t sure if you were enjoying yourself.” The other 2 band members laughed at that. John
laughed also. “I just get like
that sometimes when I hear something that really gets to me. Your music does that. It’s unbelievable. I don’t know many singers who can do that, not
even among the pro singers. It’s
pretty amazing.” “That’s
good! I’m glad you think that
way. So what’s your name?” “John
Wilkins. I attend the same school
you guys do.” “I’m
Erik Fletcher,” said the leader of the rock band. He introduced his 2 other members. “This is Alan King and this is James Winfield.
We’re The Juveniles! It’s great to meet you. The next time we have a concert, we’ll make
sure you and your friends have the best seats in the house.” “It’s
great to meet all of you. Thanks
a lot!” said John. The
band members and John talked to each other for several more minutes. Then James, one of the band members, asked John
something interesting. “You
want to be a rock singer, John?” asked James. “It’s
what I want to do when I’m older. I
do write my own songs at times and I also do a bit of singing, but not
enough considering certain circumstances.” “Not
enough? What do you mean? You should do as much singing as you feel you
need to,” said Alan. “It’s part
of your soul or something like that.
You have to let it out, you know.
That’s what we do, and we do that with rock n’ roll.” “That’s
right. If you don’t let it out,
it might die. What’s stopping
you from singing?” John
sighed a little bit. “Oh, it’s
my parents. They have this weird
thing in their mind that rock n’ roll music is the product of the devil
or something. It’s pretty weird.” James,
Alan, and Erik were taken aback for a moment.
“Are you serious? That’s
pretty crazy,” said Erik and he shook his head. “Hey,
remember, rock music is still kind of new.
It’s been around for like less than 10 years. Young people all over have totally accepted
it, but I don’t know about the adults.
They’re a whole different story.
Some of them love it, some of them hate it,” said James. “Yeah,
but that shouldn’t stop you from doing what you love, right?” said Alan. John
nodded and smiled to that. “That’s
totally right. If it’s your dream
to become a singer, you should go for it.
It shouldn’t matter what kind of music it is.” “That’s
right. Rock isn’t the devil’s
music like some traditional folks try to make everyone believe. Some people even make love songs out of it,
you know, so how can that evil?” “Yeah,
that’s true,” said John, as he looked at his watch. “Oh, you know what, I better go. It’s getting late. Make sure you guys invite me to your concert,
alright?” “No
problem. You’ll be the first
to know. We’ll find you at school,”
said Erik. John
smiled and nodded. “Alright,
thanks!” After that, he started
to jog away from the area where the concert had taken place. “John!”
James called out. John
stopped and turned around to look at them. “Hey,
when you get the chance, bring some of your songs to school! I want to see them! If they’re good, we might even sing them for
the next concert!” John
was surprised by that and smiled. “Sure!
I’ll do that! Thanks!” he called out, then he waved, and then
continued jogging away. As he
reached the sidewalk and started walking home, he jumped up once and
punched the air with great excitement, and then he started to run home. When it was Monday at school, John met with
James in the hallway after one of their classes and they shook hands
when they met. “Hey,
how’s it going?” asked James. “Not
bad. It’s probably the first
time I saw you in school, you know,” said John. James
laughed. “Hey, I know I skip
classes sometimes but that doesn’t mean that I never go to school, you
know.” John
smiled at that. “Oh, yeah, true.” “So
did you bring them?” asked James. John
took out a folder from his bag and he opened it. There were several sheets of paper inside and
each one of them had a song written on them, all of the composed by
John himself. “Yeah, I got some
right here. These are actually
the ones that I probably liked the most.” “Hey,
that looks great. You have a
good number of songs for someone who hasn’t been in a band and hasn’t
sung very much.” John
chuckled and nodded. “Yeah, that’s
true.” James
was reading one of the songs and then he read another one after that. “The lyrics are pretty good for these ones.
Out of all these, which one do you think is your best one?” “Oh,
my best song…I guess that would be…”
John looked through some of the sheets and then he took out one
from somewhere in the middle. “I
guess it would be this one. It
took me the longest time, too, and when I was finished with it, I was
totally satisfied and I didn’t want to change anything.” “Don’t
change your songs when you write them.” “What?” John was puzzled. “See,
when you write a song, it comes straight from the heart, right? Let your heart speak. Forget about your brain, because that’s when
you’ll write something, make a mistake, re-write it, add something that
doesn’t look good, take that part out, and do all kinds of freaky things. Any idiot can write a song, but a good song
takes a long time to write.” John
thought about that for a moment. “Hey,
you know what, that totally makes sense.” They both laughed. “So
which one you said was probably your best one?” “This
song right here,” said John, pointing at the sheet of paper that he
had taken from the middle of the pile and placed on the top. James
looked at it and started to read. “’Rock
n’ Roll Heart’,” he said. “Hey,
catchy name you got there.” “Thanks,
man.” James
kept on reading the song. In
fact, as he read, he slowed down and started from the top again. John looked at James and was puzzled. James leaned on the wall that was behind him
and then he crouched down near the floor as if he thought he was going
to be in the hallway for a while as he was reading.
There was silence for a few minutes and James was getting even
more puzzled. “James?”
said John. James
looked up and stood back up. “How
long did it take you to write this?” “Oh,
it took about….maybe about…a few days.” “Hey,
John, this song…this song is pretty good.
Can I borrow this for a while?
I’ll bring it back to you at the end of the school day. I want to show the guys this song.” John
shrugged and smiled. “Hey, sure,
that’s no problem. Just make
sure you actually do give it back to me at the end of the school day,”
he said with a little bit of laughter.
“After all, that is the best song that I got.” James
laughed, too. “Don’t worry, I’m
not like that. When I get the
guys to look at this, I get the feeling that we’re going to want to
talk to you at the end of the day so do stick around.
You don’t have any plans later, do you?” “No,
I don’t have any. I guess I’ll
meet you guys later then.” “Yeah,
so we’ll see you after school.” James
smiled and nodded. “Okay, no
problem.” After
that, the two of them left and went to their respective classes. Of course, since James had taken a bit of time
to read the song that John had written, they were both a couple of minutes
late for their classes. But it
didn’t matter to them at the time, especially to John. “On that day,” said John Wilkins in the
present-day. “I met with the
band after school. They invited
me to join them for band practice and I was very excited about it.
When you’re a kid who’s obsessed with rock music, and when a
rock band invites you to their band practice, you have to be excited. It’s almost like a dream. I almost wanted to pinch myself to see if it
was for real. And the reason
why they invited me to their band practice was because of that song
that I showed them. The song
called “Rock n’ Roll Heart”, they were very interested in it.
And they were very interested in my ability to write songs that
people would not just hear but also feel inside them.
Not only did they want me to come to their band practice, they
also wanted to heart me sing it! When
I heard that, I really thought I was dreaming.
But, of course, it wasn’t.” Back in the old days, during the next several
days, John was very busy with The Juveniles. On that day that he attended their practice
session, they came up with the music for the song “Rock n’ Roll Heart”
and John was very amazed. In
fact, they all amazed themselves. The
Juveniles thought that this would be a great song to sing at their next
concert and they wanted John to be part of their rock band.
They wanted him to sing with them, especially when they heard
him sing his own song as they played the music during the practice,
after they composed the music for it. One
day after school, Shirley, Mandy, Todd, and Rick were outside the school
and they saw John coming towards them. “Hey,
John, you’ve been avoiding us lately.
What’s going on?” said Shirley. John
came to them and smiled. “Hey,
guys. No, I’m not avoiding you. I’ve just been really busy lately, you know.” “Busy
with that? You’ve been disappearing
after school,” said Rick. “Yeah,
John, what have you been up to anyway?” asked Todd. John
smiled at them mischievously. “I’ve
been working on something big lately.
I’ll tell you guys if you don’t tell anybody else.
Besides, I wouldn’t want my parents to find out because if they
find out, they’ll probably hit my head with a giant Holy Cross or something.” “We
won’t tell anyone. So what have
you been doing?” asked Mandy. “I’ve
been hanging out with The Juveniles lately.” John’s
friends were a little surprised. “You’ve
been hanging out with The Juveniles?
Why?” asked Shirley. “What’s
going on?” “Oh,
it’s just that I showed them a song that I wrote and they really liked
it so we came up with the music for it.
They also had me sing it for them, and they were totally excited. I joined their rock band now. So now, I’m John Wilkins, member of The Juveniles.” “What?!”
they all exclaimed. John’s friends
were extremely surprised. “Hey,
that’s totally unbelievable! You’re
not making this up, are you?” said Todd. “You
better not. If you are, we’re
going to have to kick some sense into you,” said Rick. “I’m
serious, guys. I’m working to
be a full fledged member of the band right now.
In the next concert, I’m going to sing with them,” said John. “Oh,
my God, that’s so cool!” said Shirley. “Oh,
man, you better not lie to us about something like that! That’s just way too major to lie about!” shouted
Todd. “Yeah,
I mean, who knew that something that great could happen to someone like
you anyway?” said Mandy. All
of them laughed. John
laughed also. “Hey, come on,
you guys. Don’t worry, it’ll
be great. The next concert is going to be in the park
also, and it’ll be even bigger than the last one. It’s going to be a month from now. Just don’t tell anyone yet.” Mandy
and the rest of them smiled and they nodded.
“Oh, no problem, we’ll keep it a secret.” “Thanks
a lot, guys.” “I knew my parents were suspicious. I have been going to school a lot earlier than
usual to see the band members of The Juveniles,” said the present-day
John Wilkins. “I had been staying
at school far later than I normally would.
And sometimes I would be out until late at night.
I was spending so much time with the band.
I gave my parents tons of excuses.
Of course, I knew that, eventually, I would run out of excuses,
and lately, I’ve been avoiding the subject of me going out until late
at night altogether. My parents
were suspicious of me and I knew that pretty soon, they would try to
find out what’s going on. And
you can be sure that they’re not going to like what they’re going to
find out.” The concert was on! And to everyone’s massive surprise, The Juveniles
were introducing the newest member of their rock band. Erik,
the leader of the rock band, went up to the microphone. “Okay, guys!
Thanks for coming to our concert!
We’re going to make sure that you guys get more than what you
expected! Let’s dance to some
cool music!” he shouted. Everyone
in the audience was cheering. Alan
looked towards the makeshift backstage area and saw John waiting there. “John, are you ready?” John
was in the darkness. No one could
see him at all, not even The Juveniles.
“I’m ready back here. I’m
just waiting for the cue,” he said coolly. “I
have a big surprise for all of you!” shouted Erik, speaking to the audience.
“We have a new member in The Juveniles band!
You guys probably saw him at school!
He’s going to be our main song writer and he’s going to be singing
our very first song tonight! Everyone, please welcome John Wilkins!” Several
students in the audience were surprised.
That’s when John Wilkins came out of the makeshift backstage
area and showed himself to the audience, wearing very cool and very
casual clothes. He held an electric guitar in front of him and
the guitar strap was around his neck.
John’s friends, Shirley, Mandy, Rick, and Todd saw him and they
were shocked about his extremely cool appearance.
He had his eyes closed and his hair was blown by the gentle wind. People in the audience began to cheer very loudly,
because if he was going to look so cool, he must be very serious about
being a very, very good rock n’ roll singer and a new member of The
Juveniles band. It
was in the early evening and the sun was just setting on the park near
the high school, but there were almost a hundred students here, attending
the biggest concert The Juveniles would perform.
It would have been their biggest performance so far. John
whispered to himself. “So, this
is it. I’m finally going to become
a rock n’ roll singer.” He pointed
at his friends near the front of the audience and gave them thumbs up. Shirley, Mandy, Rick, and Todd were cheering
him on. “Yeah,
go for it, John!” shouted Todd. “Do
your best!” Shirley exclaimed. The
many teenagers around her cheered loudly as the band began to perform. And the first song that they sung during the
concert was “Rock n’ Roll Heart”, the song written by John Wilkins,
the newest member of The Juveniles. It
was a slow tempo rock song. Erik,
Alan, and James were playing the music while John was doing the vocals. He poured out his heart as he sang his song.
The audience listened to it and they seemed to be enjoying it
very much, especially his friends. (So,
this is it.) (I’m
finally going to become a rock n’ roll singer.) Oh,
oh, oh… Rock
n’ roll power, rock n’ roll heart One,
two, three, let’s go! I
just lie down in my bed staring at the ceiling There’s
something going on, some kind of strange feeling Sometimes
I just don’t know what’s happening Inside
the heart, there’s something that’s growing I
didn’t know what it was, but I knew it must be great Because
when I thought about it, I thought about my fate What’s
going on? Does it lead to nothing
or something great? I
have to find out what it is, where it’s from, for my sake Something
that’s in the mind, something in the heart Something
engraved in my soul, a great work of art I
feel something coming up from inside from the heart I
want to scream out loud what’s in the rock n’ roll heart! (Rock
n’ roll power, rock n’ roll heart!) A
rock n’ roll singer! That’s what
I am! I
don’t really care what you think I am! (Rock
n’ roll power, rock n’ roll heart!) If
you think I’m bad, then maybe I am! As
long as my rock n’ roll heart can scream that I am! (One,
two, three, let’s go!) I
will always be the rock n’ roll singer that I am! Rock
n’ roll power, rock n’ roll heart! (One,
two, three, go, go, go!) I’m
here, I’m alive, and I’m following my heart! To
the place where I’m supposed to be, that’s where I am! Rock
n’ roll power, rock n’ roll heart (So,
this is it.) (I’m
finally going to become a rock n’ roll singer.) But
after finishing the first half of the song, a police siren rang out
and then stopped. It rang out
several times to get everyone’s attention.
John stopped singing, the band members stopped playing their
music, and the audience turned around to see what’s going on, confused.
But John and The Juveniles were probably the most confused of
all. “What’s
going on?” said Erik. There
were 2 police cars that drove on the grass.
They stopped close to the concert area and the police officers
came out. There was also 2 other
cars that drove onto the grass and one of them was unpleasantly familiar
to John Wilkins. “Damn. What are they doing here?” said John. One
of the police officers addressed everyone with a loudspeaker. “Alright, everyone, I’m sorry to have to do
this to you, but the neighborhood has made a complaint about all the
noise that you’re making here. So
it’s time to leave. This thing
you’re doing, it’s over now.” The
people there were extremely disappointed and they started booing the
police officers. “Please
leave this area immediately. We
don’t want to have to make any arrests.” After
a while, the audience began to slowly dissipate, but as they dissipated,
there was a lot of complaining and angry words being shouted. John
and The Juveniles turned to each other.
Alan shook his head. “This
is ridiculous. We’re far away
from the houses and our speakers are not that loud.” The
police loudspeaker came on again. “Please
remove your equipment and go home. Everyone,
the party is over.” “John!”
someone shouted. John
knew immediately who it was and he sighed with great frustration as
he turned around to face the source of the voice.
“I don’t believe this…” “Who’s
that?” asked James. “It’s
my Mom.” John
turned around and saw his father and mother walking quickly through
the audience that was clearing out.
When they got to the makeshift stage, John could see that they
were very angry with him. In
fact, they were probably beyond very angry. “You
get off that stage right now!” shouted his mother. The
band members looked on with confusion.
John’s friends were nearby and they watched, wondering what was
going to happen. “Hey,
what’s going on? Those are John’s
parents,” said Mandy. Rick
looked quite shocked. “Yeah,
they are. And they’re the hypocrites
who think that rock n’ roll music is some evil thing the devil created.” “What! Are you serious?” Todd exclaimed. “That’s crazy!” “They’re
crazy,” said Shirley. “His parents
are totally crazy.” John
looked at the band members, who didn’t really know how to react. He hesitated and then jumped off the stage.
Once he got near his parents, his Mom let him have it.
She slapped him across the face.
The band and John’s friends were surprised. “What
do you think you’re doing? So
this is what you’ve been doing? You’ve
been doing…this evil monstrous deed!” shouted Mrs. Wilkins. John didn’t really feel the pain in the slap
though. “You
think this is an evil monstrous deed?
Is that what you think this is?” said John. “What
else could it be?” shouted his Dad, who grabbed him by the front of
his shirt. “How many times have
we told you? Rock music is an
evil that was brought to the world by Satan!
Anyone and everyone who gets involved with rock music will go
to hell and burn eternally!” “Dad,
you don’t know what you’re talking about!
This is music!” “Be
quiet!” shouted his Mom. “Oh,
my God, what is this whole world coming to?
This evil rock music has come to take our son away from us!” “The
devil is using it to destroy people.
And it will destroy you! We’re
going home!” His Dad looked at
Erik, Alan, and James. “As for
you three boys up there, you will all go to hell for getting yourself
involved with this kind of music! Music
should be used to praise God and give glory to Him, not to send messages
of evil to young people! You will all burn!” shouted Mr. Wilkins. “You’re all going to die in hell one day and
that will be your punishment from God!” “If
I catch you people near our son, we will have you all arrested!” shouted
Mrs. Wilkins. After
that, they escorted their son away from the scene, leaving the confused
band and the confused friends of John behind. Erik,
the leader of the rock band, was angry.
He was holding a microphone in his hand and he slammed it against
the hardwood floor of the makeshift stage out of great frustration. His two friends didn’t even react, for they
understood why he did that. “This
is stupid! Who the hell do they
think they are?!” he shouted. John
heard what he said and he closed his eyes.
He didn’t know the answer to that question. But he did know some profane words to describe
it. He just didn’t want to say
anything right now. “You know, that’s the stupidest thing you’ve
ever done to me, Mom and Dad!” shouted John as he walked into the house,
slamming the door against the wall.
A small painting that was on the wall came off and fell to the
floor and the glass cover broke to pieces. “Hey,
don’t be talking that way to us!” shouted Mr. Wilkins. John
turned towards him and his Mom. “I
don’t care! This is my dream! I’ve always been writing songs, pouring my heart
into them, and letting my feelings out through songs. Rock n’ roll is the kind of music that allows
my heart to speak! I’ve always
wanted to become a rock n’ roll singer.
That’s what I’m going to do!” Mrs.
Wilkins slapped him across the face.
“No! You’re not going
to be a rock n’ roll singer! I’m
not going to have my son taken away from me by the devil!” John
was touching his cheek. That
was a pretty hard slap this time. “Why
do you think that rock music is evil?
I think you’re just traditional and using religion to protect
your traditions. Am I right?”
said John. His
parents were silent for a few seconds.
John just smiled and shook his head. “I
see. I guess you don’t have an
explanation.” Mr.
Wilkins wagged his finger right in front of John’s face. “We don’t need an explanation. The Bible doesn’t need an explanation. Rock music is evil and that is final! So you listen to me! You’re going to stop what you’re doing and you’re
going to abandon this evil distraction immediately!” “What!” John looked at them as if they had gone completely
crazy. In his mind, they totally
were crazy. “You’re asking me
to abandon my dream? You’re asking
me to abandon music which is the only thing in this world that makes
me feel alive?” “I
don’t care, John. Stop this foolishness
now,” said Mrs. Wilkins. John
was furious. He almost wanted
to punch his father right now. “And
what if I don’t? What if I decide
to follow my dream?” Mr.
Wilkins thought about it for a moment.
“Then…if you do that, you’re no longer part of this family. You’re not going to live in this house anymore.
We’re going to kick you out and we’re going to throw away everything
that you own. You’ll be out of the family!” John’s
heart broke to a million pieces, as if it was made of glass and a sharp
piece of ice had struck it. “No
more rock music,” said his mother. “No
more evil music in this house, John.
This is not a dream. You
only think it’s a dream that you must follow.
It’s not.” “We’re
just trying to save you,” said his father.
“In the end, you’ll thank us.
We love you, son. We’re
just doing what’s best for you. If
you don’t do as we ask, if you don’t stop what you’re doing, then that
means that you do not love and respect your family.” There
was no response from John Wilkins. He
just stared at the two of them with a great horror on his face. He did not know what to think, say, or feel. “So that was it. My parents told me never to sing again. And being such a good kid, I obeyed them,” said
John Wilkins. “But even though
I did not pursue my dream of singing and touching other people’s hearts
with song, I tried to do my best to stay as close as possible to the
world of music. I did my best to get involved without making
anyone unhappy. Instead of following
my own dream…I decided that maybe I could help others follow their own
dreams. “Erik
Fletcher was the leader of The Juveniles.
He and his two friends, Alan King and James Winfield, kept on
singing and trying to follow their dreams.
Without anyone knowing anything about it, I supplied them with
their songs. I was a better songwriter
than any of them, so I wrote songs for them, and they would sing them
at their concerts. They were
becoming more and more famous, and then one day, they signed a contract
with a record company. It was
a small record company called Giant Records.
The Juveniles became famous, too famous for Giant Records, and
eventually, after about 10 years, they terminated the contract with
The Juveniles. Giant Records was in it only for the money and
they lost their purpose. The
Juveniles wanted to touch people’s hearts, but Giant Records didn’t
care for that at all. Because
of that, they went under, never to be heard from again.” “The
Juveniles decided that they would build their own record company. After much hard work that took many years, Regal
Records was born. The Juveniles
continued to sing, I continued to supply them with songs without anyone
knowing about it, and Regal Records kept growing because The Juveniles
kept getting better and better every time they did a concert or released
an album and things like that. Eventually,
more artists signed up with Regal Records and the staff did their best
to help them realize their full potential in the world of music.
A lot of people joined Regal Records as well. I found some of those new people, the same way
I found you, Melanie. Also, it
wasn’t just the original band members of The Juveniles. It was also friends and family. I so wanted to be an official part of the company,
helping people do what they want to do, but my father and mother’s words
continued to haunt me. At times,
I thought, maybe after a while, I could follow my dream if I waited
long enough. I kept on waiting
and waiting, until, eventually, I became too old to realize that dream.” “After
a while, The Juveniles’ popularity waned and they were no more, but
those that took their place were great singers and bands that Regal
Records had under their wing. The
members are officially retired, but they still have contacts with Regal
Records occasionally, just like I do.
I officially retired as well from songwriting.” “Wait a second,” said Melanie
looked up at Christina. “The
members of The Juveniles from back then.
They’re the ones who started Regal Records, right?
So does that means…” She
looked amazed by something. Mr.
Wilkins smiled at Melanie. “Joseph
King, your producer, is the brother of Alan King, who was one of the
band members of The Juveniles.” Melanie
gasped. “Oh, my, that’s amazing!”
she said. Christina
was also very surprised. “You
did say friends and family.” “That’s
right. Melanie, one of your photographer,
Richard Fletcher, he’s the son of Erik Fletcher, who was the leader
of The Juveniles. And then there’s
Sheryl Winfield, who talked to you on the phone way back. She’s the first official Regal Records staff
member who heard you sing on tape and got you into the audition. One of her cousins is James Winfield, one of
The Juveniles.” Christina
and Melanie were all looking at Mr. Wilkins with great surprise and
awe in their faces. They were
absolutely amazed by that. “It’s
amazing how everyone seems to be connected.
Regal Records is almost like a family business between all of
them,” said Christina. Melanie
nodded to that. “Except now,
there’s a lot more than just the family and friends.” There
was a long silence. Everyone
looked at Grandma Annabelle, who was standing behind the small couch
that was directly opposite of where Mr. Wilkins was sitting.
When they all put their attention on her, she sighed and shook
her head. “You
wanted to be a songwriter and a singer, but you did not, because you
did not wish to disappoint your family,” said Grandma. “That’s
right. I still wrote songs, but
in secret. But that was all that
I could do,” said Mr. Wilkins. “When
it was okay for me to become a singer, when the time came when my parents
were no longer able to stop me, I had become too aged and outdated with
the music industry. My singing
abilities had waned as well. It
was too late.” “You
were trapped, Mr. Wilkins. There
was nothing that you could do.” “Yes,
and that is something that I wouldn’t want to happen to Melanie either,
Miss Grandma
stared straight at Mr. Wilkins while Christina and Melanie listened
intently. They were both a little
nervous. It sounded like a major
argument was about to start once again between Mr. Wilkins and Grandma
Annabelle. “Melanie
has a dream and that dream is to touch people’s hearts with song. She wants to sing, Miss Hartford! Are you going to stop her from fulfilling her
dream? I strongly suggest that
you back away from doing that, because if you do, this little girl will
never find her true happiness. Everyone
must follow their dreams! That’s
what I always told all those artists in the past who were involved with
Regal Records! They should follow their dream! They should make all their wishes come true!
And they must do it with everything that they got and not let
anyone get in their way, because that is the way and the only way they
will find their true happiness!” said Mr. Wilkins.
He spoke with a loud voice and with great determination.
He was determined not to let Melanie stop singing and not to
let her grandmother stop her from doing what she loves to do. Grandma
was silent for a while as she stared at Mr. Wilkins. Melanie was wondering what she was thinking
about and so was Christina. Mr.
Wilkins turned to Melanie. “Melanie,
don’t stop what you’re doing, I beg of you,” he said with a much softer
voice. “Don’t allow your dreams
to be shattered. It doesn’t matter
who tries to shatter them. I
don’t care if it’s your best friend, your mother, your father, your
grandmother, the prime minister, the president, or God Himself!
You must make your wishes and dreams come true, because that
is what makes you happy! If you
don’t, then you will be doomed to be miserable for the rest of your
life. And I don’t mean to make that last part threatening.
I’m only speaking the truth.” Melanie’s
eyes, set on Mr. Wilkins, were becoming misty as she stared into his. She thought that Mr. Wilkins’ past when it comes
to music was very sad. He was
unable to fulfill his dreams. She
had her own dreams and he was telling her to fulfill them no matter
what! Melanie was silent for a long time as she looked
down. Christina looked down at
her and put a hand on her shoulder. “Melanie?”
she said softly. “Grandma,”
said Melanie, as she looked up at her grandmother. Her voice became very soft, almost like a whisper.
Tears began to come down her cheeks as she looked up at her grandmother,
who looked back at her with cold eyes.
“It’s my dream to be a singer.
I’ve become a singer. I have to keep singing…because that’s what makes
me the most happy. And I want
to keep singing…because I want to help Mama and Papa…and that would
make me even happier. Please,
Grandma…” Grandma
was quiet for a moment as she stared at Melanie. No one could tell what she was thinking or feeling
because she had no expression on her face at all. Eventually, Grandma waved Melanie to come to
her. Melanie hesitated as she
stood up and slowly walked over to Grandma.
Melanie was a little scared, because she did not know what Grandma
was about to do or say. She kept
her eyes downcast because of her fear, but then something peculiar happened. Grandma
extended her hand towards Melanie and gently stroked her cheek and wiped
her tears away. And then, Grandma
spoke with a voice that was much softer than usual.
When Grandma did that, Melanie was a little puzzled, because
she has never ever done anything like that with her before. “If
that’s what makes you the most happy, Melanie…then that is what you
must do.” Melanie
looked up with a shocked expression.
“Grandma…” she whispered, trying to find the words to express
herself, but her feelings were all mixed up inside of her so it was
very difficult to find the right words to say. “Do
your best in what you have to do, my child,” said Grandma Annabelle. “I will do my best to support you in every way
that I can. Because I am your
grandmother and I love you.” Melanie’s
tears came down even more and she embraced her grandmother, wrapping
her arms around her completely. “Grandma!”
she cried out. Grandma put her
arms around her, too. She looked
down and stroked the top of her hair.
If Melanie had looked up at Grandma at that moment, she would
have seen a small smile appear on Grandma’s face! Christina
was extremely happy, her hands clasped in front of her with joy. She took out a handkerchief and she dabbed her
eyes, because she felt like she was going to cry, too. She looked over at Mr. Wilkins, who also smiled
and nodded. She stood up and
quickly went to him and he stood up as well and they both shook hands. “Thank
you so much, Mr. Wilkins,” said Christina, her voice very soft as if
she really was going to cry. “Without
you, Melanie’s singing career would have been over.” “Oh,
I didn’t do that much. I was
just giving her a little push in the right direction, that’s all,” said
Mr. Wilkins. “She’ll do the right thing. I know that.
And I think you know that, too, Mr.
Wilkins and Christina watched for a long time as Grandma held her granddaughter
in her arms, Melanie, who was also the famous child pop singer called
Starry~en~Luv. “However,
you must remember, Melanie, that since you’re all over the entertainment
news in this entire country, I’m sure that your mother and father will
know about this very quickly,” said Grandma Annabelle, as Melanie pulled
away from her slightly and looked up. “I
want them to find out. I want
them to find out because that’ll be the start of things getting better,”
Melanie said softly. “I want
to touch people’s hearts with my songs.” Grandma
patted her head. “Good. Then you must do your best. You really do remind so much of your mother,”
she said. “I am proud of you,
Melanie.” Melanie
smiled at her, her smile once again bright and delightful like it was
before. It was the smile that
she always showed whenever she sang a beautiful song and knew that she
touched someone’s heart. She
felt even more delightful than at the end of her concert on Saturday
night, when she knew that her first public concert was a massive success. “Thank
you, Grandma. I love you, too.” The next day, Melanie and Christina arrived
at Regal Records for their first appointment since the concert on Saturday
night. Melanie and Christina
waited outside of the office of Joseph King.
His secretary was at her desk, typing away some reports. Then her telephone rang and she picked it up
to answer it. “Yes,
Mr. King,” said the secretary, Laura Tanner.
There was a pause. “Great. I’ll tell them that you’re ready then. Okay. Bye.” She hung up the phone. She turned to Christina and Melanie, who were
seated. “You can go in now,”
said with a smile. “Thanks,”
said Christina. “Thank
you,” said Melanie, both she and her manager smiling cheerfully and
sweetly. The
two of them went to the door that led to Mr. King’s office and they
went on inside. Mr. King was
looking out the window, which had a great view of the “Christina,
Melanie. Thanks for coming,”
said Mr. King, and then he stopped because he seemed to notice something. “Thanks
for having us, Mr. King,” said Christina, who smiled at him. “Thank
you, Mr. King,” said Melanie, who did a little curtsy, then she and
Christina noticed the look that was on Mr. King’s face.
They were both puzzled. “Mr.
King?” Mr.
King smiled. “Melanie, you’re
in an extremely good mood today. Did
you self-actualize?” Melanie
was puzzled in a cute way. “Huh? Self-actualize? I haven’t learned what that means yet. What does it mean?” Christina
smiled brightly at Mr. King. “You
could say that. Well, actually,
you could say that she is a lot closer to getting there.” “I
see. Why don’t you two tell me
all about it? Something good
happened and I’d love to know what it is.
Besides, it sounds like fun.” Melanie
smiled at Mr. King. “Mr. King,
did you have a brother who was a rock singer and helped create Regal
Records? Mr.
King was surprised. “Well, now,
how did you know about that?” he said, and started to laugh. “Mr.
Wilkins told us,” said Christina. “Really?”
said Mr. King. “Tell me all about
it.” Melanie
and Christina began to tell Mr. King about what had happened yesterday
with Mr. Wilkins and with Grandma Annabelle.
Mr. King listened intently to every single thing that they said
and when they were finished with the story, he smiled at the two of
them and looked like he was glad. “I’m
glad you’re still going to continue to sing, Melanie. You’ve come this far in fulfilling your dream
and it’s definitely a good thing that you’ve decided to keep doing what
you’re doing,” said the world-famous music producer.
“And I’m very glad that Mr. Wilkins told you that story. He was a friend of my brother’s a long time
ago. I’m glad that he can still
find wonderfully talented people like you, even after all the pain that
he’s been through. Thanks for
deciding to follow your dream, Melanie.” Christina
glanced down at Melanie, who was all smiles. “I’ll
keep doing my best, Mr. King.” 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 Melanie, Hazel, and Justin’s narration: Hazel: “Melanie!” Justin: “Melanie.” Melanie: “Hey, you two! I’m so glad to see you again. I missed doing the previews and introductions
with you.” Hazel: “I’m so glad that you’re
back! Don’t ever disappear on
us like that again!” Justin: “What she’s trying to
say is that she missed you terribly.” Hazel: “That’s the same thing,
isn’t it?” Melanie: “Thank you so much,
Justin, Hazel! Thank you so much
for being there for me. You’re
such great friends. You’re definitely
my best friends. I love you both!” Hazel: “I love you, too!” Justin: “No problem. Things are going well for you once again.” Melanie: “But, you know what,
I don’t think it’s totally over yet.
I’ve decided to keep on doing what makes me happy and that’s
to keep following my dreams. My
parents will find out very soon that I’ve become a famous child pop
singer. I wonder what they’re going to think about that!” Hazel: “They would be happy,
of course! They know that it’s
been your dream forever to become a singer, right?” Justin: “I think they would love
it. They would be proud of you,
like your Grandma Annabelle was proud of you.” Melanie: “I sure hope so. I’m really quite nervous about it.” Hazel and Justin: “Next time
on Starry Love Dream!” Melanie: “Episode 22: Mama and Papa! They
have come…but why?” |
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