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Last time on Starry
Love Dream! Melanie, Hazel, and Justin’s narration: Melanie: “My name is Melanie!
I’m 9 years old and I attend Grade 5 and I’ve become a famous
idol pop singer!” Hazel: “And I’m her number one
fan, Hazel!” Justin: “And I’m Justin, her
other number one fan.” Hazel: “Hey, Melanie! That was a really awesome show that you had
on Friday night! It was your
first television appearance ever, wasn’t it?” Melanie: “Yeah! It was a lot of fun! I was a little nervous at first, but then I
remember those times when I was like in the background whenever there
were cameras around my dad and my mom, since they work in politics.” Justin: “Oh, that’s right.
I guess you’re used to seeing cameras around you then.” Melanie: “Yes, exactly.” Hazel: “But this time, it’s you
the cameras are looking at, not your dad or mom. I watched the show that you were in, Melanie!
It was too cool! And your new song ‘Starry Night’ was really
awesome! A lot of people are
hearing it on the radio and they love it!” Justin: “That’s why it’s been
number one on the pop charts for a week now.” Hazel: “Hey, Justin, you haven’t
congratulated Melanie yet on her first TV appearance! What the heck is the matter with you?” Justin: “I did congratulate her
already. But if you want me to
say it again, I will. Congratulations
to you, Melanie. I watched you
on TV and you did really great.” Melanie: “Thank you so very much,
Justin, Hazel.” Hazel: “Yeah, but no thanks to
Kelsey Rayne for trying to heckle you on live television.” Melanie: “It’s time for Starry
Love Dream! I wonder what’s going
to happen next! Stay tuned!” Opening theme song “Starry Love Dream”
by Starry~en~Luv (Happy dreamy love, wings like a dove) (To the starry night, in the starry light) A dream can’t just stay a dream in my mind It would just be a waste and I would be
in a bind No matter where and how far you have to
go You’ve got to chase your dream so much so Never ever lose sight of the love, of the
dream Let your dream flow like the never-ending
stream I know things are tough and it’s easy to
get sad But as long as we’re together, even if things
go bad I want to sing like a lovebird and touch
your heart (touch my heart) Please stay with me and stay close to my
heart (close to my heart) Starry love dream! I wanna be your
happy dreamy love I wanna spread
my wings like a dove Fly with me all the way to the starry night
Fly to the sky and bask in the starry light I wanna be your
happy dreamy love (happy dreamy love) I wanna spread
my wings like a dove (wings like a dove) Fly with me all the way to the starry night
(to the starry night) Fly to the sky and bask in the starry light
(in the starry light) Starry love dream Hold my hand tight and always stay by my
side Let’s hold onto the dream as we go along
the ride Stay with me, my love, and don’t try to
look back If we lose our way, we’ll always try get
back on track There are so many obstacles to fight your
way through But as long as you believe, your dream will
come true Oh, my love, even if things don’t always
go right We have our love, our dream, never lose
our sight I want to sing like a lovebird and touch
your heart (touch my heart) Please stay with me and stay close to my
heart (close to my heart) Starry love dream! I wanna be your
happy dreamy love I wanna spread
my wings like a dove Fly with me all the way to the starry night
Fly to the sky and bask in the starry light I wanna be your
happy dreamy love (happy dream love) I wanna spread
my wings like a dove (wings like a dove) Fly with me all the way to the starry night
(to the starry night) Fly to the sky and bask in the starry light
(in the starry light) Starry love dream (Happy dreamy love, wings like a dove) (To the starry night, in the starry light) Starry love dream, I love you! The Prologue It was Monday once again, the Monday right
after the Friday that Melanie, being the idol pop singer Starry~en~Luv,
appeared on television for the first time.
When Melanie arrived at school that day, she looked around inside
the school with Hazel and Justin. Hazel
had already brought her little brother Lawrence to his class and Justin
had done the same for his little sister Helen.
They strolled down the hallways and could see that there were
Christmas decorations being put up by some students and a few teachers. Melanie
looked at the Christmas decorations lined up along the walls and she
smiled and sighed. “It’s beginning
to look like Christmas now,” she said softly. Hazel
smiled at Melanie. “Yeah, and
the decorations are really nice, too,” she said. “Is
Christmas your favorite holiday, Melanie?” asked Justin, looking as
calm as usual. “Oh,
yes, I love Christmas!” said Melanie.
“It’s my favorite holiday. I
love seeing Christmas decorations and Christmas trees and Christmas
presents wrapped up in pretty paper.
I just totally love it!” “I
like Christmas, too,” said Justin. “I
think I can say it’s my favorite also.” “Yeah,
me, too,” said Hazel, smiling cheerfully.
Then, she remembered something very important. “Oh, hey, Melanie, I almost forgot to tell you. Don’t forget about the Christmas play that’s
coming up. You’re going to audition
for it today, right? There’s
not much time left for them. Today’s
the last day.” Melanie
nodded to that. “Yeah, I remember. I’ll go to the audition at lunch period.” She smiled, for she was very confident about
the Christmas play. “I don’t
want to sound arrogant or anything.
The only reason why I still haven’t gone to the auditions is
because I’ve been busy with other things, too.
But I will go for it today, for sure.” “Oh,
I know, I understand you pretty well,” said Justin. “Yeah,
me, too, I understand that, but you really do need to brag about yourself
every once in a while.” Hazel
started to laugh. Melanie
blushed and she giggled. “Um,
well, yeah, I guess so…probably…” Starry Love Dream Episode 26: A Christmas
play. Let’s all do our best! The Christmas play, which was called “The
Gifts of Christmas”, was for the primary school division of Melanie
looked like she was really surprised when she was sitting on a seat
in the drama classroom. There
were many other students in the room.
Most of them were already selected to be in the Christmas play.
Melanie looked up at the drama teacher named Miss Olivia Mills. “So
what do you think, Melanie? Since
you’re already the idol pop singer Starry~en~Luv, why don’t you play
the part of Nicole, who is one of the main characters?
She’s supposed to sing in the story anyway, so I was hoping that
you’d play the part. That’s why
I haven’t allowed anyone to audition for her character yet!” said Miss
Mills. The
students in the back started to talk among themselves. “Yeah,
you know, that’s a good idea.” “I
think she should play that part.” “Are
teachers really allowed to do something like that?” “Oh,
don’t worry about it. I think
she should play that part.” “Yeah,
she should be perfect for the top singing role.” Melanie
looked up with a blush and then she smiled.
“Okay, Miss Mills, I’ll do it.
I’ll be glad, too,” she said with a soft voice. Miss
Mills seemed quite excited. “Oh,
great, thank you so much, Melanie!” Melanie
smiled sweetly at the drama teacher.
“I’ll do my best.” “Okay. Now that it’s decided, let’s talk more about
the play,” said Miss Mills. “As
everyone knows already, the title of the Christmas play is ‘The Gifts
of Christmas’. These are the
characters. Nicole is a young
girl who cares deeply about Christmas.
Paul is a friend of Nicole’s who is very streetwise.
Janice is the mother of Paul and she is the main advice-giver. Nelson is Nicole’s older brother and he thinks
that Christmas is pointless. Joanne
is Nicole and Paul’s friend who thinks that Christmas is all about getting
gifts from everyone. Mrs. Hathaway
is a mother who is more concerned about her work than spending holidays
with her family. Stephanie is
a poor girl and she is too poor to get anything for Christmas. Mrs. Greene is one of the elderly neighbors
of the children and she misses her family for the holidays. Robert is a friend of Paul’s who won’t be seeing
his girlfriend for Christmas because something dreadful happens to her
just before the holidays.” “What
happens to his girlfriend?” asked Susan, one of Melanie’s friends and
classmates and fellow member of the school newsletter committee. “His
girlfriend dies in a car accident,” said the teacher. Some of the students looked surprised. Miss Mills smiled. “Yeah, it’s a pretty dramatic play. But it’s a great play. This is probably the biggest Christmas play
we’re going to have. Well, I
hope future ones will be bigger, but this is the biggest one so far.” Then, Miss Mills glanced over at Melanie and
she looked slightly embarrassed for some reason. That made Melanie a little puzzled. “Oh, Melanie, I need to ask you a favor, too.” “Yes,
Miss Mills?” said Melanie. “Well,
there’s a problem with the play the way it is right now, and I was hoping
you could help solve the problem.” “What
is it?” “Well…it’s
just that the songs haven’t been written yet.
And since I heard that you’re not just a great singer, but also
a great songwriter, could you please write the songs for the Christmas
play?” A
few students nearly fell over with shock when they heard that. Melanie felt strange about that. You’d think that the songs for the Christmas
play were already done, since it was a written play after all. That really was strange for her. Perhaps it was a new play that they had just
come up with recently. Melanie
sighed and she shrugged and she smiled.
“Okay, Miss Mills. But
I need a copy of the entire story of the play.” “Sure,
that’s no problem,” said Miss Mills delightfully. “Thank you so much, Melanie! You’re going to save our butts! Everyone’s getting a copy of the whole story
anyway because we have to start rehearsals as soon as possible.” “Miss
Mills,” said Karen, who was one of Hazel’s friends. “Are all the roles filled up yet for the play? We don’t know yet who’s playing who.” “Oh,
right. I might as well tell you
now. It’s been decided already. Everyone in this room will be in the play and
all of you have auditioned for the parts that you were interested in. Thank you so much for doing that. Now, let’s look at who’s playing who. I’ll start with the major characters.” All the students paid attention as Miss Mills
got ready to announce who’s playing which characters. “Melanie Thompson, you’re playing Nicole, the
girl who tries to teach the meaning of Christmas.” “Thank
you,” said Melanie, smiling sweetly. “Terry
McMillan, also known as Mr. Chief Editor of the newsletter committee,
you’re playing Paul, the street-smart older friend of Nicole who helps
her.” Terry
was thumbs up. “Great. Thanks,” he said as he smiled. “Kathy
Morris, you’re playing Janice, the advice-giving mother of Paul who
helps them both.” Kathy
smiled very excitedly. “Thanks
a lot! That’s such a cool role!”
she said. She could very well
be the long-lost twin sister of Hazel because of the fact that she acted
so hyper most of the time. But,
of course, it only seemed that way! “Justin
Lagazo, you’re playing Nelson, the older brother of Nicole who thinks
that Christmas is pointless. I
think that part fits you pretty well.”
Miss Mills smiled and winked. Justin
nodded to that very calmly. “Thanks,
Miss Mills.” He almost looked
like he wasn’t excited at all, because he was so calm.
That must be why Miss Mills said what she said, and a few students
giggled slightly. Melanie did
the same. She was also a little surprised that Justin
was going to be in the play with her.
Justin had told her earlier that he’s been in a couple of school
plays before when he was smaller. But
it’s been a while since that time. “Susan
Lockhart, you’re playing Joanne, not the real one that’s in your class,
but the girl in the play who is a friend of Nicole’s.
All she cares about when it comes to Christmas is getting lots
and lots of presents.” Susan
smiled at that and she giggled slightly.
“Thank you, Miss Mills.” “Karen
Smith, you’re playing Mrs. Hathaway, the overworked mother who’s more
concerned about her work than spending the holidays with her family.” Karen
nodded to that. “Thanks.” “Yung
Thai, the little Miss Genius of the school newsletter, you’re playing
Stephanie, the poor little girl who’s too poor to get anything for Christmas.
I think you’re perfect for it because she’s so small and petite
and cute and so are you.” Yung,
who is usually calm in a professional way, blushed big time and Melanie
noticed it! But she recovered
herself quickly and cleared her throat and adjusted her eyeglasses. “Thank you for that part, Miss Mills. I will do my best,” she said, back to her usual
calm but happy and refined self. “Kelsey
Rayne, you’re playing the part of Mrs. Greene, the elderly woman who
misses her family very much for the holidays.” Melanie
was really surprised earlier that Kelsey had joined in the play as well. But she was too afraid of her to ask why she
joined the play. Perhaps Kelsey
had an interest in school plays, too.
That’s what Melanie thought.
But, of course, in reality, Natasha put her up to it because
Kelsey had not been in a school play for almost a year. “Thank
you very much, Miss Mills,” said Kelsey, her voice a bit softer than
usual. “Jimson
Reeve, you’re going to play the terribly dramatic part of Robert, who
is Paul’s friend, and your girlfriend is going to die before Christmas.” Jimson
nodded, but he also looked a bit uncomfortable.
“Thanks, Miss Mills, but I hope that if I did have a girlfriend,
that wouldn’t really happen, would it?” “Of
course not, it’s just a play, so relax,” said Miss Mills, and she and
some of the students started to laugh with her. “Thank
goodness,” said Jimson, with a sigh of relief. “Tara
Weston, you’re playing Alyssa, who is the girlfriend of Robert, and
you’re going to die.” Miss
Mills smiled at everyone. “Okay,
now the rest of you are playing other characters.
But just because they’re not main characters doesn’t mean that
they’re not important. They’re
just as important. They’re what
you call supporting roles. I’m
going to announce them now.” When
the announcing of the character roles were done, Miss Mills spoke to
them about the schedule of the Christmas play, from now until when they
get to perform the play, which will be on the last day of school before
Christmas holidays. That day will be a half day to accommodate the
play schedule. When the meeting
was over, everyone headed back to their respective classrooms. “Why did you have to put me up to this?”
said Kelsey, who was talking to Natasha in the hallway. “I
told you already. It’s because
you haven’t been in a school play for almost a year. It’s not like you to not go for these kinds
of things. I know everything
about you. Well, maybe almost
everything. But I think I know you pretty well. I know you like being in plays. You always did,” said Natasha, and then she
frowned. “Are you thinking about
backing out?” Kelsey
looked up at Natasha with a slightly uncomfortable face and she smiled. “Oh, no, I’m not backing out. Like you said, I like being in plays.” She sighed and she smiled a little more sincerely
this time. “It’s just been a
while. The only thing is…” “What?”
Natasha asked. “I
just don’t like the fact that I have to be in the same play as Melanie,”
said Kelsey. The
two of them were silent for a while.
They remembered the big argument they had on Friday when Kelsey
called the YTV television talk show “Friday Night Hangout” and told
Melanie as Starry~en~Luv that her songs were very bad in front of millions
of people in Canada. Kelsey didn’t
say much in the argument but Natasha had a mouthful, saying that what
Kelsey just did was totally pointless. “Hey,
let’s just forget about her, okay? You’re
here to do what you like to do, Kelsey. Now, quit pouting, damn it! You have a play to get ready for!” Natasha said
loudly. Kelsey
smiled slightly. “Okay…” Melanie was at home that night and she was
writing songs in her notepad. She
thought about the story of the Christmas play over and over again and
let it be completely taken in by her heart.
When she was able to do that, she could think about the music
that was supposed to go with the play, and songs began to form within
her heart and her mind. She wrote the words down. Song-writing had become easier for her lately,
and today was no exception. One
of the songs she was writing was called “Christmas Love”, and she imagined
that it was supposed to have a soft pop beat along with the music from
a famous classical song called “Canon in D Major” by the late composer
Johann Pachelbel. There
was a knock on her door and soon it opened.
Melanie looked up from her study table.
Grandma had opened the door to her room. “Melanie,
it’s getting late. You should
be going to sleep soon,” said Grandma. Melanie
glanced at the clock. “Oh, of
course, I’m sorry, I almost forgot.
I was just writing some songs for the Christmas play at school,”
she said. “I
see. It must be very important
to you and I can see that you’re working very hard for it.” Melanie
smiled at her. “Yes, Grandma,”
she said softly. “They put me
in charge of the songs and I’m playing one of the main characters, too,
and she’s going to be singing a lot.” “That’s
very good, child. I’ll make sure
to attend the school play then.” “Oh,
yes, please, Grandma, I would so love it if you came to see it.” Melanie looked really happy in a calm way. “Then,
I’ll do my best.” “Thank
you so very much, Grandma.” Later
on, after about 15 minutes, Melanie had retired to bed. On her study table was a new song for the Christmas
play, one of several that she had already written. On the top of the song sheet were the words
“Christmas Love”, one of the lovely songs that she wrote. It was already finished. During lunch period the next day, Melanie,
Hazel, and Justin were at school. Melanie
was writing more songs in her notepad while Justin was reading the story
of the Christmas play. Hazel
was swinging on the swings. All
three of them wore winter coats, since winter was approaching closer
and closer. “This
play is going to be so cool. I
so want to see it,” said Hazel. She
looked over at Justin. “You know,
I still can’t get over you being in dramatic play like this.” Justin
looked up at Hazel, slightly puzzled.
“What do you mean?” “Well,
it’s just that…you’re not exactly the dramatic type.” Melanie
smiled and she tried to change Hazel’s mind.
“It’s okay. Justin said
he’s been in a couple of school plays before.
Right, Justin?” Hazel
frowned at that. “Yeah, that’s
right, in Grade 2! That was centuries
ago!” She calmed down. Melanie looked a little embarrassed for saying
that while Justin had no expression at all. “Anyways, I hope you still have it, Justin.
Don’t ruin this play from your lack of experience.” “I’ll
be fine. I know it’s not that
hard,” said Justin. “You
better be right,” said Hazel. Melanie
giggled because of the two of them talking to each other that way, and
despite that, they’re still very good friends.
“Don’t worry. I think
Justin will do fine,” she said softly. “And
I can’t believe Kelsey Rayne is in the play, too. She doesn’t look like the kind of girl who would
even want to be in one,” said Hazel. “Actually,
I heard that she’s been in a few plays herself,” said Justin. Hazel
was shocked. “What! You’re joking! How can witch like that act?” “Stranger
things have happened.” “I
see.” Hazel crossed her arms
against her chest and frowned and closed her eyes.
“Well, she better not do anything to Melanie. And she better not do anything to embarrass
her like she tried to do when she phoned in on the ‘Friday Night Hangout’
talk show on YTV while Melanie was having her first television interview. If she does, I’ll beat her up.” “I
don’t think she’ll do that when she knows that she’ll just make a fool
of herself again even more,” said Justin. Melanie
thought of something. “After
the play, maybe we should all do something fun, something to do with
Christmas.” “Oh,
that sounds like a really cool idea.”
Hazel was all cheerful all of a sudden, and then she realized
something that she thought was very important.
“Hey, that reminds me. Justin,
what do you want for Christmas anyway?” Justin
looked up and was silent for a while.
“What I want for Christmas?” “Yeah,
what do you want for Christmas?” Justin
thought about it for a moment. “That’s
a tough question.” Hazel
frowned. “Hey, I don’t want you
to start getting modest on me here!” “Okay,
I thought of something.” “What
is it?” “For
Christmas, I want a few new video games.
I like mostly shooters and role playing games,” Justin said very
calmly. Hazel
smiled with satisfaction. “Oh,
good, that sounds like fun!” Melanie
was looking on with a slightly puzzled expression on her face. She watched Hazel and Justin talking about Christmas
presents for a while. “What
about you, Hazel? What do you
want for Christmas?” asked Justin. “I
want one million dollars!” Both
Melanie and Justin were totally taken aback by that surprising thing
that Hazel just said. Melanie
took a deep breath and shook her head.
Justin sighed and looked seriously at Hazel.
“What if we keep things a little more realistic?” he said. “Oh,
you want me to be realistic? That’s
kind of hard.” Hazel thought
about it some more. “Okay, well,
how about a few new pairs of shoes?
I saw some hot new pairs of shoes at the mall the other day with
my mom and I wanted to buy them but my mom said that they were way too
expensive.” “That’s
what my parents would say about video games, too.” Hazel
started to laugh and she put an arm around Justin in such a way that
weighed him down slightly. If
Justin was a little surprised, he didn’t show it.
“Wow, we understand each other pretty well, right, Justin?” she
asked. “That’s
kind of obvious, since you are my friend,” said Justin. Hazel
giggled. “Oh, yeah, that’s right.” Melanie
kept on looking at them with a puzzled face and she sighed because she
was starting to feel a little put off by what they were talking about. “As
for video games and shoes being really expensive, I think if we saved
up some money, we could go for them.
It shouldn’t be too hard, I think.” “Or
we can ask our parents to save their money.
Then they can buy us what we want for Christmas. What do you think about that?” Justin
thought about that for a moment, and then he nodded with approval. “That’s a good idea.” “Hazel? Justin?” Hazel
and Justin looked up at Melanie. “What,
Melanie?” Hazel asked. “I
thought it’s supposed to be Christmas.
All you two are talking about are what you hope you’ll get for
Christmas and saving money to get those presents that you want and asking
your mom and dad to buy them for you and things like that.” “So?”
said Hazel. Melanie
sighed softly. “I thought Christmas
is supposed to be a time for giving.” “It
is a time for giving,” said Justin. “Yeah,
it is. It’s a time for people
to give us Christmas presents,” said Hazel. Justin
nodded to that. “Yeah, something
like that…I think…” Melanie
sighed and smiled uncomfortably. “Oh,
okay…well, if you say so…” But
it was still quite disappointing to her.
The only thing that her best friends in school were talking about
when it came to Christmas was what presents they’ll get.
Melanie was hoping that they would know a little better than
that, because when Christmas came around, getting presents from other
people was the least of Melanie’s worries. Melanie was in her room again late that
night, writing more songs for the Christmas play that was coming up. She was thinking about the songs that she was
making, and then she thought about Hazel and Justin earlier and the
kind of attitude they had towards Christmas.
Sure, it seemed that Christmas was a very big thing to them,
but maybe it wasn’t big enough. In
Melanie’s heart, Christmas was a very big deal and something that was
very important. “You
know, I think these songs need to teach what Christmas is all about,”
she said to herself with a very soft voice and she smiled. She
started writing some more songs for the play.
She even changed some of the lyrics for the other songs that
she had already made. She didn’t
really make too many changes because it seemed that the songs that were
already made were already perfect for the Christmas play. Melanie
wanted to make sure that she would be able to spread the gift of Christmas
through the songs. Besides, that
was the point of the school play, which was why it was called “The Gifts
of Christmas”. Melanie wanted
it to live up to its name. And
then, suddenly, she realized something very important. “Oh,
that’s going to be my Christmas present that I’ll give to everyone. For people who will see the play, I’ll give
them the gift of love for Christmas,” she said softly. She smiled and she took a deep breath and thought
about more song lyrics. She let
her heart speak as she moved her pen across the pages of her notepad,
creating songs that would touch people’s hearts. For the next several days until the very
last week of school before the holidays, the participants of the Christmas
play rehearsed their parts and the many scenes that they were supposed
to appear in. They rehearsed
sometimes in the drama classroom. Sometimes,
they went to the school auditorium to have their rehearsal there. There were also dress rehearsals where they
were fitted in the costumes that they were going to be wearing in the
school play. To
Kelsey’s discomfort, she did have to have a few scenes where she had
to act with Melanie. She didn’t
really want to at first. “Let’s
just get this over with,” said Kelsey, with a massive frown on her face. Melanie
nodded shyly. “Um, okay…” she
said softly. Justin
watched the rehearsal between Melanie and Kelsey. Justin seemed quite surprised, however, but
he kept it hidden inside. Melanie
was doing very well, but that was not what surprised him. What surprised him was that Kelsey was doing
probably just a little better than all the other students who were participating
in the play. “Kelsey
is a pretty good actress. Hmmm…I
wonder what Hazel will think when she sees this on stage,” he whispered
to himself. Everyone
continued to practice and they practiced as hard as they could. They did their best and they put all their energy
into it. Everyone wanted to do
their best, including Kelsey. She
had an unusual determination that Melanie and Justin were a little surprised
about. It was not something that
they had seen before. It was
almost as if…Kelsey wanted to be better than Melanie.
But if that was true, Justin would not be surprised at all. “Are we ready, everyone?” asked Miss Mills.
It was the day of the Christmas play.
All the children were in their play costumes and they were all
backstage. Outside, the auditorium
was full of kids and their families. It was in the mid-afternoon and the Christmas
play, “The Gifts of Christmas”, was about to start. Hazel was in the audience with her mother Isabelle
and her brother Lawrence. All
of Melanie’s classmates, except for those who were in the play, were
in the audience as well. Natasha
was near the front because she wanted to see Kelsey do her best in the
play up close. The ladies that Grandma Annabelle was usually
seen spending time with were in the audience as well and Grandma was
with them. “Yeah,
everyone’s ready!” Kathy cried out in her usual hyperactive way. “Okay,
then. Let’s do it. Let’s all do our best,” said Miss Mills. The
very first part of the school play was having all the participants singing
a group of Christmas songs together.
They were several different Christmas songs that blended into
each other. Melanie was the one who thought of the idea
of the Christmas carol medley, too.
Everyone in their group sang to the best of their abilities,
including Melanie. But Melanie
noticed something while she was singing.
She could pick out every single person’s voice that was singing
with her, but one voice seemed to stand out. It
was Kelsey’s voice. Melanie
looked to the side. Kelsey was
at the other end of the choir group.
Melanie kept on singing but she kept her eyes on Kelsey without
making it look obvious that she wasn’t looking at the audience.
Kelsey was singing…like an angel.
She sang loud and clear and beautifully and the feelings of the
Christmas carols was shown on her face and she smiled brightly and she
even moved her hands a little to give a little bit of body language
to go along with her singing. When
the Christmas carol medley was done, everyone in the audience cheered
and the choir group took a bow and then started to go back to the backstage
area to continue with the main parts of their Christmas play. This was one of the first scenes. Justin was playing the older brother named Nelson.
Melanie was playing the little sister named Nicole.
Nicole was trying to come up with a list of gifts to give to
everyone for Christmas, including their family, but Nelson was not interested
in helping at all. “But,
Nelson, how can you not be interested?
It’s Christmas. We should
be thinking about what to give to each other on Christmas,” said Nicole. Nelson
waved his hand with no interest at all.
“Whatever. I don’t really
care. You can do whatever you
want. Don’t involve me in it,” he said. Nicole
looked very sad all of a sudden. “But,
Nelson! Why? How can you not care? It’s not just about Christmas, you know. It’s about family, too!” Nelson
gave a rude snort. “Whatever. This is getting boring. I’m out of here. I’m going back to my room and play some video
games. I don’t care for this
Christmas rubbish. It has nothing
to do with me, so leave me out of it.” Nelson
was about to leave but Nicole went after him and grabbed hold of his
arm. “But, Nelson, please---“ Nelson
turned around and gave Nicole’s hands a slap!
Some of the audience members gasped, especially Hazel. Hazel watched Justin’s scary expression. He looked absolutely cold and serious. “Oh, my gosh, I’ve
never seen him like that before…it’s a little scary…” said Hazel. Nicole
looked terrified. Nelson was
very angry now. “That’s enough,
Nicole! Christmas is pointless! How can you be so blind? Just because it’s Christmas time, it doesn’t
mean that anything is different in the world!
Can’t you see that?” shouted Nelson.
“There will always be unhappy people in the world, the sick will
still be sick, the homeless will still be homeless…that’s how it is! It doesn’t change anything!” Nicole
looked like she was about to cry. “I’m…I’m
sorry…” “Leave
me alone! I don’t want to have
anything to do with this pointless holiday!”
And that’s when Nelson walked off the scene. In another scene, there were Terry and Kathy.
Terry played the older friend of Nicole, whose name was Paul.
Kathy was playing the mother of his character, named Janice. “Christmas
is supposed to be a time for gladness and happiness and love, you know,”
said Paul. “I guess some people
still can’t understand it.” “Some
people will never understand, but that doesn’t mean that we have to
stop celebrating. I think that’s
something that you should tell your friend Nicole, my dear,” said Janice.” “Where
is she now anyway?” “She’s
in my room. She cried for a while. But now that you’re here, I think she’ll feel
a little better. Why don’t you
go see her and talk to her? And
tell her what I told you.” “Me,
tell her what you told me? It’s
a little complicated. Help me
out, okay, Mom?” Janice
began to laugh. “Oh, Paul, you
still have a lot to learn. Okay,
fine, I’ll tell her. Why don’t
we both go see her?” A few scenes later, Susan was playing the
character of Joanne, who was hanging around with the characters Paul
and Nicole one day. Susan seemed
really excited and it was obvious to Nicole and Paul why she was feeling
that way. It was because of Christmas…or was it? “Oh,
man, you know, I can’t wait for Christmas!” said Joanne. “That’s
good, Joanne,” said Paul. “You
should be happy, especially since you get to spend so much time with
your family.” “Yeah,
yeah, I know, I know.” Nicole
looked puzzled. “What do you
mean by that?” she asked. “I
wonder what kinds of presents I’ll get!
This is so exciting! Let’s
see, there’s a ton of things that I want, and I hope everyone’s going
to give them to me! I mean, that
is what Christmas is all about it, isn’t it?
It’s all about giving! And
they should give me as much as I want for Christmas, because that’s
what it’s all about!” “Is
that all what you think Christmas is?” said Nicole, and she sighed and
she laughed uncomfortably. “Oh,
my goodness, this is just too weird for me…” “Weird? I don’t know what you mean, Nicole,” said Joanne,
and she giggled. Nicole
was going to start explaining what Christmas was all about, but Paul
stopped her. “Hey, you know,
why don’t we let her soak in her excitement for a little while?
We don’t want to drop the bomb on her yet. She doesn’t know any better, but she’ll learn
eventually.” There was a scene with Mrs. Hathaway, played
by Karen. Mrs. Hathaway was still
dressed in her business clothes and she was talking on her cell phone
about some really serious business matters.
She was sitting at her desk in her office. “That’s
ridiculous! How much am I paying
you to do this anyway? I think
I’m paying you way too much! Complete
the project by the planned due date or you’ll be looking for a new job
tomorrow!” Mrs. Hathaway shouted into her cell phone, and then she hung
up. Then
she found a letter from her son and daughter.
The letter was in her notebook. “Hey,
what’s this? It’s a letter from
my kids.” She began to read the
letter. “’Mom, please be home
for Christmas. We would really
like it if you can do that. We
love you.’” She sighed when she read that and shook her
head and frowned. “I have too
much work to do right now. I
can’t believe this. I don’t have
any time for Christmas right now!” Paul and Nicole and Susan were in their
neighborhood and they started to talk to their neighbor whose name was
Stephanie, played by the petite girl named Yung. Miss Mills was right. She did look extremely cute right about now. Stephanie
looked happy. “My mom’s going
to make candy canes for Christmas. She’s
going to give them to all my friends!
Don’t you think that’s really great?” she said.
Yung seemed different from her naturally calm self. She was a pretty good actress. “Are
you sure she can do all that? She
doesn’t have to. I mean, I’m
sure it’s hard to be very poor. You’re
not expected to give to everyone, you know,” said Nicole. “That’s
true. What’s more important is
what’s in the heart. Not gifts
or other material things,” said Paul, being very smart as usual. Stephanie
smiled at them and she sighed. “I
know. We’re very poor. I’m not even sure we’re going to have any Christmas
presents. But, like you said,
Paul, it’s not the gifts or material things that matters. It’s what’s in the heart that matters. My mother and I want to do this. We just…want to make others happy for Christmas,
that’s all.” Nicole
and Paul were touched by that and they both smiled at her. “That’s so sweet. I think you’re right. I should say that to my friend Joanne. All she cares about is getting gifts.” “Yeah,
I’ll say,” said Paul. A couple of scenes later, Kelsey played
Mrs. Greene, who was an elderly woman who lives on her own. She looked very convincing as a gentle grandmother.
When Melanie saw that, she almost wished that Grandma Annabelle
looked like that. Mrs. Greene said goodbye to her grandchildren
as they entered the car that belonged to her only son. The car began to drive away and she smiled,
but, soon, she lost her smile. “What’s
wrong, Mrs. Greene?” asked Nicole. Mrs.
Greene took a deep breath and patted Nicole on the head gently. Melanie blushed, for what that really meant
was that Kelsey just patted her on the head.
“I suppose nothing is really wrong, little girl,” said Mrs. Greene,
and then she smiled. “No, actually,
nothing is wrong. I have beautiful
grandchildren and a son that I’m very proud of.
Why should anything be wrong?” Nicole
looked kind of sad for a moment. “But
they just left. They’re going
to Mrs.
Greene paused for a moment. “That’s
true.” She looked into space
for a while and she closed her eyes.
When she opened her eyes again a few moments later, her eyes
were misty. Melanie was surprised. Kelsey really did have misty eyes. She was that good an actress?! “I’m happy that I have my family, but I really
wish they would spend more time with me…because for an old woman like
me, there’s not much time left in this world.
Who knows if this is my last Christmas on earth?” At one scene, Robert, played by Jimson,
was driving a car. On the passenger
seat was his girlfriend Alyssa, played by “I
can’t wait to see your family again.
I just love them,” said Alyssa. Robert
smiled at that. “They like you
a lot. That’s why one of these
days, I’d like to ask you to marry me, you know.” Alyssa
laughed. “That’s awfully fast
of you. We’re just teenagers
right now.” But she thought about
it more as the moments passed by. “But
you’re right. I would love to
be married to you someday. I
love your family a lot, Robert. I
want to see them this Christmas.” “We’ll
be home soon, so yeah, you’ll definitely see them.” Suddenly,
there was a bright light in front of them!
It was the light of an incoming truck and Robert tried to dodge
the truck. Alyssa screamed and
suddenly, the car was stuck by the truck.
After the chaos was over, Robert found that all he had were bad
bruises but he was shocked to find out that the other half of the car
was totally destroyed. Alyssa was nowhere to be found. “Oh,
my God, Alyssa, where are you?!” he shouted. He
climbed out of the car wreckage and he looked around. He found Alyssa’s body on the street and he
rushed to her. She was badly
injured but she was still alive. She
was barely alive. “Alyssa!” Alyssa
had tears in her eyes and she looked up at Robert. “Oh, no…Robert…I think…I might not be able to
get married to you…I’m so sorry…but, please remember…I’ll always love
you…” Alyssa took her last breath
and she closed her eyes. “No!”
Robert shouted. “No, don’t die! Alyssa! ALYSSA!!!” At another scene some time later, Paul and
his mother Janice were with Joanne and Stephanie. Paul and Janice were helping Stephanie with
the Christmas presents that she was going to give to her friends. Joanne looked really happy about it. “Wow,
Stephanie, you have lots of gifts to give!
Where’s mine?” asked Joanne. Janice
turned to Paul. “Now, it looks
like Joanne is about to learn a valuable lesson.” Paul
thought about that for a moment. “I
see. Stephanie is very poor and
she might not get anything for Christmas, but she’s doing her best anyway
to give to others. Joanne only
expects gifts to be given to her, even though she is rich.” “That
will change soon enough, my dear.” Stephanie
brought Joanne’s gift to her. “Here
you go. This one’s yours.” “Oh,
wow, great! Thanks, Stephanie!” Joanne took the gift and she seemed extremely
happy. She looked down at Stephanie. “What are you getting for Christmas?” “Nothing,”
said Stephanie, but she was still smiling. Joanne
looked puzzled. “What? You’re getting nothing? Why? Doesn’t
that make you feel bad?” Stephanie
shook her head. “No, it doesn’t. It doesn’t matter to me if I don’t get gifts
from people. What matters more
to me is giving to others and seeing the smiles on their faces. Joanne, I gave you a gift and I saw you smile,
and that’s what makes me really happy.
Thank you for your smile.” Joanne
was speechless for several moments.
She looked quite shocked by that, and then guilt began to take
her. “Oh, Stephanie, I’m so sorry…I’ll give you something
for Christmas. I want to see
you smile, too. I think that
would make me happier than people giving me gifts!” she said. Janice
put a hand on her son Paul’s shoulder.
“Come, let’s go home. I
think Joanne and Stephanie will be fine.
But there is someone else that we must try to be there for because
he has lost someone that he held dear to his heart.” Paul
nodded to that. “My friend Robert…” Some scenes later, Nicole was with Mrs.
Greene and they were waiting for her grandchildren to arrive. Nicole seemed quite happy about something and
Mrs. Greene seemed calmly happy. “I’m
so glad they decided to come here for Christmas after all,” said Mrs.
Greene. She glanced at Nicole. “I don’t know what happened. All they said was that the plane got canceled
and they decided that maybe they should spend time with me instead. Does it have something to do with that wish
that you made upon a Christmas star, Nicole?” Nicole
sighed and she smiled sweetly. “I
think so. It was the Christmas
spirit.” Mrs.
Greene smiled as well and she seemed very happy. “This must be…this must be the power of the
magic of Christmas. Isn’t that
what it is? It’s the magic of
Christmas!” “That’s
right, Mrs. Greene. Good things
can happen if you wish for them on Christmas.
You wished for your grandchildren to be with you for Christmas,
and I wished for you as well. Because
of that, the magic of Christmas happened and it came true.” Tears
came down from Mrs. Greene’s eyes, and they were real tears, too. Kelsey knew how to cry on command. “My dear child, thank you so much,” she said
softly and she put her arms around Nicole.
Melanie, playing Nicole, began to blush a lot. Hazel
in the audience was shocked. Kelsey
was hugging Melanie? That was
something that you would probably never see in real life.
Not outside the world of the Christmas play, at least. A few scenes later, Mrs. Hathaway was feeling
guilty. She had received so many
letters from her kids that she was feeling guilty about not being able
to come home for Christmas. When
she looked up at her office window, she saw the bright stars.
There was one star that was shining brighter than all the others. She began to realize something that was very
important. “What
am I doing here?” she said to herself.
She dialed someone’s number on her cell phone and she began to
talk to the person she was talking to before.
“Hey, you know, I changed my mind.
Why don’t you go home now? It’s
Christmas Eve, you know. Please
spend it with your family. You’re
welcome.” After
the conversation, she stood up from her desk and she sighed and she
smiled. “There’s
a lot of work to do. But it’s
Christmas, so too bad. I’m going
home. I want to see my children. I want to spend Christmas with my children.”
She took her bag and she began to walk off the scene. Robert was sitting with his friend Paul
on swings in a park. The funeral
for Alyssa was the day before and Robert was feeling rather down. “What
was the last thing that she said to you, Robert?” asked Paul. Robert
began to think back to the car accident.
He remembered what Alyssa was saying to him as she lay dying
in his arms. “She said to me…she
told me to remember that she’ll always love me,” he said with a soft
voice. Paul
sighed at that and he stood up from the swings and put an arm around
his friend’s shoulder. “So why
don’t you do that, Robert? Why
don’t you remember?” Robert
looked up at Paul. “It’s painful
to remember…” “Yeah,
I know it is. I’ll bet it is. It hurts to lose someone. But I think what she meant by that when she
said that to you was to remember the good times that you had together. Never forget Alyssa. She’ll always be in your heart, and as long
as you think of the good times, she’ll always be happy in your heart.” Robert
listened intently to what Paul was saying and he nodded. Then he covered his face and he started to break
down for the first time since Alyssa had died. Paul did his best to comfort him as he stood
there with him. Nicole came home. She noticed that her big brother Nelson was
playing video games in the living room.
He didn’t seem to notice her coming in.
Nicole hesitated, and then she went over to the couch and sat
down beside Nelson, facing him. “What
do you want this time?” Nelson asked with a cold attitude. Nicole
was quiet for a while, but then she found the courage to say what she
needed to say. “Nelson…I have
a Christmas present for you,” she said softly. Nelson
sighed and shook his head. “You
wasted your money again, didn’t you?” “I
didn’t spend any money on it.” “Free
gifts, huh? It’s kind of hard
to get those these days. Who
cares?” “But
I really need to give it to you. I
have to,” said Nicole, sounding as if she was pleading. Nelson stayed silent and played his video game.
“Don’t you at least want to know what it is?” Nelson
sighed again. “Fine, fine, what
is it? What’s your Christmas
present for me?” “It’s…my
love for you as a sister.” Nelson
stopped suddenly, and he was very surprised and confused at the same
time. He looked at Nicole for a long time. “What?” Nicole
had misty eyes. She was going
to cry. Melanie made herself
cry by thinking about how emotionally dramatic this scene was. It was not the same way that Kelsey used to
make herself cry. “Nelson…you’re
my big brother…so, please remember that I love you.” Nelson
looked away for several moments. Nicole
looked kind of sad for a while when he looked back at her. Her extreme love touched his heart almost immediately.
He put down his video game controller and he faced Nicole and
waved him to come to him. “Hey,
I love you, too,” said Nelson. “I
love you, big brother!” said Nicole, and she hugged him for a very long
time. When she pulled away, she
held him close to her. “Don’t
you see now? This is what Christmas is all about.” Nelson
realized that suddenly, and he closed his eyes.
“Yeah…you’re right…thanks, Nicole.” Throughout the Christmas play, there were
several songs that were sung, mostly by Melanie singing solo. The other songs that she didn’t sing solo in
were sung by the entire cast. The
final song of the Christmas play was to be sung as a choir group. The
music of “Canon in D Major” started to play but it was a remixed version
with a soft pop beat. “Christmas Love” Vocals by the cast
of “The Gifts of Christmas” school play Lyrics by Starry~en~Luv Instrumentation
by This
dream we keep, this love we feel Joyful
are we, this peace made it real On
this cold night, our hearts shall be Full
of calmness singing joyfully This
night, cold night, warm hearts, yuletide Wishing,
dreaming, waiting tonight Singing
angels, glorious above, Standing
to raise, hopeful Christmas love Making
a wish tonight under a sky full of shining bright stars On
this clear night, with voices hushed down and safe in each other’s loving
arms Mother
and father, watching with smiles children singing lovingly Songs
of praises and great joy and love and life, and their hope we will see
happily With
joyful Christmas love, with happy Christmas love, with a very happy
joyful Merry Christmas love Sing
along together with family and friends, until we make true this dream
of happy Merry Christmas love Small
child, please sing with joy and love Tonight
we sing this peace we have Loving
calmness, please stay with us This
night, we shall, on this Christmas Little
angel singing with hope Tonight,
come true, this dream we know Fly
to the sky, lovely white dove Spread
to the world, joyful Christmas love Snow
falling from the clear sky, shining countless on this night is ours Our
hearts are warm with love and great joy, graceful and joyful under these
stars Shining
bright with yuletide décor, standing and sparkling, brightly tall Gifts
wrapped with much love under the tree, little children waiting to open
them all With
joyful Christmas love, with happy Christmas love, with a very happy
joyful Merry Christmas love Sing
along together with family and friends, until we make true this dream
of happy Merry Christmas love We
will always have this Merry Christmas love The
primary division of “Melanie,
you did very well…” she said as she continued to applaud, and her four
lady friends with her, Mrs. Dobson and Mrs. Rayne and Mrs. Lagazo and
Mrs. Weston, were doing the same thing.
Mrs. Rayne, Mrs. Lagazo, and Mrs. Weston were cheering on their
kids who were on stage, Kelsey, Justin, and “Oh,
my God, that was amazing! I need
a camera!” Hazel cried out, wiping tears from her eyes. “I
have one, Hazel, so no worries,” said Isabelle, and she smiled. “Mom,
you’re a lifesaver!” The
audience continued to give a standing ovation.
Melanie felt extremely happy about this moment. It was definitely the biggest school play that
she’s ever been in and it made her feel very good to be a part of it. Justin also did a very good job, despite the
fact that he had not performed in a school play for a very long time. As for Kelsey, Melanie didn’t really know what
to think. She was a good actress
and she was also a good singer. The
Christmas play, “The Gifts of Christmas”, was a grand success. The sun was setting outside the school and
Melanie, Hazel, and Justin were standing together at the front steps
of the school building. They
were watching the sun setting in the west.
It was getting cold but their hearts felt very warm.
The play was over and most people had gone home. “Hey,
Melanie,” said Justin. Melanie
looked up at him. “I was thinking
about a lot of things while I was in the play.
Those songs that you sang for the school play, especially the
very last one, ‘Christmas Love’, were really touching for me.” Hazel
was puzzled by that. “They really
got to you that much? Wow, that’s
amazing,” she said with a slight giggle. “Yeah,
they did. I don’t care if I don’t
get those video games that I want for Christmas.
That’s not the most important thing.” Melanie
smiled at him and she took a deep breath.
“Oh, good, Justin, I’m so happy that you understand.” “Yeah,
me, too,” said Hazel. “Forget
about the shoes that I want. If
I get them, that’s great. If
I don’t get them…it doesn’t really matter.
Those are not the most important things about Christmas.
Family and friends and being together and the love they all feel
for each other are the most important things.” “Great,
Hazel. You understand, too,”
Melanie said happily and with a soft voice.
“Merry Christmas, Hazel, Justin.” “Merry
Christmas,” said both Hazel and Justin, both of them smiling happily. 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: Melanie: “Hi, everyone!” Hazel: “Hey, Happy New Year,
everyone!” Justin: “Happy New Year.” Hazel: “Man, you don’t sound
very excited.” Justin: “I am excited. I thought you knew me better than that, Hazel.” Melanie: “She does! She’s just teasing you. I think we know Hazel pretty well and we always
know when she’s teasing.” Hazel: “You do? Oh…I guess my evil plans have all gone down
the drain now. Oh, well.” Justin: “Melanie, Hazel, there’s
going to be a New Year’s Eve party at our house. My mother is inviting both of you. And she’s also inviting a lot of other people,
too. It’s going to be a big party.
She’s always wanted to meet the both of you.” Melanie: “Oh, a New Year’s Eve
party at your house?” Hazel: “Cool! Let’s all go!
I’ve wanted to meet your family, Justin.” Melanie: “Me, too. We know your sister Helen already. We want to know about everyone else, too.
I think that would be fun. And there’s something else, too. Christina told me about a job that we’re doing
and it’s going to be an audition for a commercial!” Hazel: “A commercial?! You’re appearing on TV again?! That’s so cool!” Justin: “That is very cool.
I hope they show it on TV soon.” Melanie: “You’ll see it soon,
and when you do, I hope you’ll really like it.” Hazel: “What’s the commercial
going to be about?” Melanie: “I can’t tell you now!
You have to wait until it comes out on TV!” Hazel and Justin: “Next time
on Starry Love Dream!” Melanie: “Episode 27: New Year’s Eve party! My
first commercial!” |
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