It was another boring day at school in April. I was in Geography, listening to
the teacher go on and on about a project we would be doing next week when my
cell phone buzzed in my pocket. I put my hand up and asked if I could go to the
washroom.
�Go, but be quick, you have to hear this.� She said. She always says that, even
if it isn�t important.
As soon as I left the classroom I brought out my cell phone and answered it.
�Hello?� I asked quietly, although there are only a few people that have my
number, and only one that I knew of who would call me during class.
�Melissa? It�s Candy. I have the most awesome news! You have to meet me after
class at my locker.� She said, sounding excited.
�Why can�t you tell me now? I�m out of class . . . for a few minutes, anyway.�
I told her as I walked down the hall toward the washroom.
�Well, as long as you promise not to scream when I tell you . . . �
�Why would I? Is it that bad?�
�Bad? No way, this is good news . . . does it sound bad?� She said hurriedly.
�No, not really, you just sound like you�re going to burst with excitement or
something . . . � I sighed. She was always hyperactive, so I could hardly ever
tell how �good� the news was when she �had� to tell me something. By now I had
reached the washroom. �Aren�t you in class now though?�
�Well, I have a study period, and I obviously wasn�t going to study during it .
.. . I was listening to the radio on my headphones.�
�And . . . ?�
�The DJ said that the right caller could win two tickets to a Dream Street
concert . . . front and centre!� she told me.
�Lemme guess, a friend of yours got them, and you�re going to bug her to let
you go with her. Am I right?�
�Nope, better than that!�
�You?� I asked her doubtfully.
�YES!� She screamed into the phone. She screamed so loud I had to pull the
phone away from my ear.
�You�re kidding me!�
�No way! Would I kid you on something like that? That�s why I wanted you to
meet me at my locker after class. We�re going to see Dream Street!�
�All right, I�ll be there. Just make sure you�re there too. And don�t go
blabbing this to everyone you know, ok? They�ll be bugging you like flies for
those tickets.�
� Don�t worry! I won�t tell. Bye!�
�Yeah, see ya.� I said, and hung up. So she won tickets. She�s usually the one
to call too early or too late, so it was hard to believe that she wasn�t either
one of those things this time. Well, miracles do happen, I suppose. With these
thoughts on my mind, I slowly walked back to class.
3:05pm, Tuesday, school.
As I walked toward Candy�s locker, I wondered about how many people she would
have told about the tickets. Dream Street is her favourite group alongside of
Aaron Carter, although I can never tell if she likes Aaron more for his looks or
his music. Candy does have lots of good qualities though. She�s really smart,
sweet, and always keeps her promises to her friends. She�s the kind of person
who helps you during all of your troubles, makes you laugh even when you�re
down.
As I rounded the corner of the hallway toward the end of the hallway, which is
where Candy�s locker is, I expected to see a whole bunch of people crowding
around her, begging her for the tickets. Surprisingly, I was wrong. There was
only her other friend, Sam, talking to each other. Even though Sam loves Dream
Street too, I knew I wouldn�t have to �battle� her for the tickets. Or at least
I thought. Thought and hoped. I turned my head to look at the advertisements for
the upcoming dance that were posted on the walls as I walked.
�Melissa! Quick!� I turned my head and saw Candy waving at me to hurry over. I
noticed that Sam had left. Good, I thought with a smile, we don�t have to do one
of Candy�s crazy contests to see who gets the tickets.
�Candy! Oh my god . . . I still can�t believe you won!� I said as I ran over to
her.
�I know! Hey, do you think you could come with me to get the tickets? We have
to go to the radio station, it�s like 20 minutes away from our houses . . . or
are you busy?�
�Well, I am supposed to do a little of what my mom calls work when I get home,
but that�ll only take a little while . . . I think that at about five or 5:30 I
could. Do we have to be there at a certain time?�
�Not really, they just said before eight o�clock.�
�Great then! I�ll just come over to your house when I�m finished, then we could
go to the mall for a bit after we pick up the tickets if you want.� I suggested.
�All right . . . well, I guess we better get home, or my parents will think
I�ve been abducted my aliens or something.� We laughed. Her parents are
sometimes too protective over her, and I know how she feels sometimes she got
her stuff from her locker, and we started home.
4pm, Tuesday, my house
�Mom, I have to go to the radio station with Candy . . . she won some tickets
to a concert and her and I are going to go to it . . . is five o�clock all
right?� I was now at home, following my mom around while trying to ask her if I
could go to the radio station at five, like I�d promised Candy.
�And how do you plan on getting to the concert?� She asked me.
�Candy�s mom might drive us there, it�s not that far away . . . so can I go?
Please?�
�We�ll see, go do the little bit of dishes I didn�t finish yet, then you can
go . . . and don�t forget . . . �
�Yes, I know mom, I have done that every day for five years now, I think I
remember.� I rolled my eyes. She was always reminding me to do stuff, even when
I�m in the middle of doing that exact thing. This time she was reminding me to
feed the cats . . . we have three, and she always tells me to feed them, even
though I always remember. I went to my room to get a cd so I could listen to my
music while I do the dishes . . . mom says that gets annoying, but she always
does the same thing, and it seems all right to her.
Anyway, I�m washing the dishes, and Candy comes running into the kitchen from
the front door, as usual. Wonder when she�ll learn how to knock on the door, I
thought.
�Melissa! Aren�t you ready yet?!�
�Candy, it�s four, not five, and . . . �
�Hello Candace.�My mom said as she passed through with a load of laundry.
�Hi mom.� Candace said back enthusiastically with a wave. It always seems like
she never runs out of energy. (�Mom� is a little joke with Candy and my mom, in
case you were wondering. She always calls her that, says she�s better than her
mom sometimes), and my mom�s the only one Candy lets get away by calling her by
her full name.
�Well, Candy, if you want to leave now, you�re gonna have to help me with these
dishes.� I told her, and nodded toward the dishes in the drying rack.
Surprisingly, Candy picked up a dish cloth and started drying the dishes.
Usually she leaves halfway through that sentence and starts talking to my mom.
�Can�t let you do all the work.� She said. We quickly finished the dishes and
told my mom we were leaving for the radio station.
�Don�t be too long.�She replied.
�We were planning to go to the mall afterwards though, if that�s okay.� Candy
said sweetly.
�Well, I suppose, don�t get home too late though, all right?�
�Yes mom.� We both said at the same time.
4:30pm, Tuesday, Pop96.2FM
As we walked into Pop96.2, we looked at the walls, which had lots of CD�s and
autographs toward the station, and a couple small couches for waiting, with
tables nearby holding magazines for people to read, like M Mag, PoPstar! And
others such as Teen People and YM. We walked up to the secretary�s desk, and she
asked us if she could help us, what we would like.
�I . . . we just won the tickets for the Dream Street concert. We were told to
pick them up before eight today.�
�Oh yes . . . name please?�
�Candace Canady.�
�What was the secret number he gave you?� to keep people from stealing someone
else�s prize, when the radio goes to a song after someone wins something, they
give you a secret number that only you can hear.
�24.�
�Thank you. Just a moment, please.� As the secretary said that, she left the
room, and came back a minute later with an envelope in her left hand. She looked
inside it, to make sure the tickets were in there, and said: �Here you are. Have
a good day.�
�Thanks. Bye.� We walked out of the radio station, Candy carrying the envelope,
checking it two or three times as we walked to her mom�s car.
�So, when exactly is this concert?� I asked her as we got into the car.
�Tomorrow night. It�s about an hour and a half from here, so we�ll have to go
on the bus. Oh, that reminds me . . . mom?� she said, turning toward the front.
�Melissa and I will go on the bus to get to the concert, if that�s okay.�
�I guess that would be okay.� She replied, turning out of the stations parking
lot onto the almost empty road toward the mall. �Do you girls have enough for
the fares though?�
�I think I do.� I said, checking the back pocket of my purse for my money. �10,
12, 13, 15, 20, 30 . . . yeah, I�ve got enough, unless I�m gonna buy a T-shirt
though, they cost like 30 bucks by themselves at some concerts . . . or a poster
to sign, or . . . �
�Okay . . . �her mom said, laughing.� I�ll give you girls a bit of money,
unless you can get some from your mom, Melissa.�
�Oh, mom, you know Melissa�s mom, she won�t give her a dime unless she works
two full weeks doing every bit of work possible around her house! And we don�t
even have two weeks �till the concert! In fact, we don�t even have a whole week!
�Sorry, Candace, forgot.�
�Mom . . . �
�I mean, sorry, Candy, I forgot . . . sheesh.�
We laughed. She and her mom go on like this every day, because her mom always
calls Candy by her full name, and Candy insists she calls her by her nickname.
Anyway, we were on our way to the mall, with Candy and me talking to each other
in the back, and her mom humming along to the music on the radio, which was on
some oldies rock station. When we reached the mall, Candy�s mom dropped us off
at the main doors, and said she had wanted to go do some shopping, so she�d be
back in a couple hours to pick us up. She reminded us that we could call her at
any time if something went wrong, as she usually does when Candy and I go out.