The next day, time seemed to be going in slow motion. Each class seemed like
four or five hours, when really they were just over an hour each. I kept tapping
my pencil on my paper, as if that would help time go by faster. I could only
imagine that Candy would be just about jumping out of her seat with excitement.
The teachers voices just droned on, and I couldn't even understand what each of
them were saying. All I could hear were Dream Street songs, playing in my head
as if it were a CD player, and I could see them singing each song as if to just
me and Candy.
When I finally got out of class, I rushed to Candy�s locker and gave her a high
five.
�You ready for tonight? This is gonna rock!� I said enthusiastically.
�Are you kidding? After yesterday at the mall, I am so totally ready for this!
Maybe they�ll sing to us!� she said her last sentence with a faraway look.
�You mean, maybe Greg will sing to you? Hey, you never know! But don�t get your
hopes up too high, though . . . he might not . . .�
�Oh bite your tongue! Of course he will!� she yelled a little too loudly. She
looked around and saw some people looking at her, giving her a weird look.
�Sorry about that, I�m just really excited about tonight.�
�That�s okay, I understand. This is gonna be awesome though, isn�t it?� I said,
excited.
�Yeah. Hey, we should get going though. We want to look good for this, don�t
we?� she asked, although she already knew the answer. �Come on, let�s go.� And
with that, we left for home.
5:30, Wednesday, Candy�s House.
�Come on, Candy, we don�t have that much time until we have to leave for the
bus. You don�t want to miss it, do you? Let�s go!� I was half-yelling,
half-pleading with her, trying to get Candy out of the washroom so we could get
going to the bus station. She was trying to look better and better, and had
been for the last 20 minutes. �Besides, I still need to pop over to my house to
get my purse. And . . .�
�Okay okay! I�m coming out!� and with that, the door popped open and almost hit
me in the head.
�Hey, watch it! You almost hit me!�
�Sorry, I just want to get going now.� she said, looking in the mirror.
�You want to get going? I�ve been out here waiting for you for the
last 20 minutes, trying to get you to come out! And now you say you want to get
going? Sheesh!�
�Well, sorry, but I don�t want to look like a clown at the concert, okay? She
said, checking her hair one last time in the washroom mirror.
�So that�s why you put more make-up on? Okay . . .� I said, rolling my eyes and
stepping into the washroom. I attempted to make my hair look better, but I can
never do anything with it, anyways. I sighed. �Not like I can do anything with
this mop. I�ll have to hope there�s a bit of a breeze, maybe that�ll help.�
�You�re lucky. You�re the only one I know that has their hair look better when
they get caught in the wind.� she sighed and let her hair fall down to her
shoulders. �I need help.�
�As usual. Here, let me see.� I put her hair up into a scrunchie, and used a
big hair clip to pin it up. �Perfect! Now, let�s get to the bus stop.� I picked
up the huge poster we made to take to the concert, and we left.
6:00pm, Wednesday, The Bus.
�Well, we've got another hour on this bus, so what do you wanna talk about?� I
asked Candy, then thought about that question for a second. �I mean, anything
other than Greg?� she laughed.
�What do you think? I mean, come on . . . is there ever a moment when I leave
him out of my conversation?�
�For a second there you did.� I laughed at that, then we sat in silence for a
few minutes. "Do you think they'll remember us?" I asked, just out of curiosity.
� �Cuz, if you think about it, how many fans must they meet every single day?
They said �we�ll see you there�, but who�s to say they will?�
�Oh, don�t worry, they will.�
�How can you be so confident in thinking that? You're always saying �don't
worry�, but I still do.�
�How? Easy, I just am. Hey, you know that shirt you saw in the mall the other
week?� I nodded. �Well, it's on sale now, so you may be able to get it still
before someone else gets it.�
�Really? Cool! Thanks for the info, I'll have to get it next week or something,
I've got a couple more babysitting jobs this week, and the people I'm
babysitting for are really generous. They said I'd get like $7.50 an hour, and I
only usually get about 5 bucks an hour.�
�Pretty good.� she said with a laugh. �So, what are you planning on getting at
the concert? A T-shirt? Poster?�
�I�ll probably get a poster, so I can put it up in my room. I could do that
with a T-shirt too, but I�d probably want to wear it to school, and I don�t want
it to get dirtied up if I get it signed.�
�Of course not. But maybe you can get both, if they're not too expensive.�
�Yeah, probably. Hey, I wonder if any other people on the bus are going to the
concert.� she looked around the bus, straining her neck to see the back of the
bus. �Someone has a poster with them in their seat, but I can't tell if it's a
Dream Street one or not.�
�Might be. Who knows? We might see them at the concert . . . if they are going,
that is.�
�Well, if they are normal people, they will like them. But none of them better
steal . . .�
�Your man?� I said, cutting her off. �Do you own him or something?�
�No, of course not! I just meant . . .�
�Yeah, I know what you meant, I was only kidding.� for the rest of the bus
ride, we talked about the usual teenage-girl stuff. Boys, clothes, and of
course, the concert.
7pm, Wednesday, (concert place name)
�Well, we�re here! Let�s go!�Candy said, and we both got off the bus. �Let�s
get to that meet �n� greet quickly, before the line gets too long.�
�Alright, let�s hurry.� we quickly walked to the line-up of people at the sides
of the entranceway of the building. �Well, at least there�s not that many people
here. We could get the stuff signed and not have to go to the one afterwards, if
you want.�
�Oh, we�ll just go to both, it�s more fun that way, don�t you think?� she asked
me quizzically.
�Yeah, I guess so! See them twice, instead of once, twice the amount of fun!� I
said, as if I were advertising something on TV. We both laughed at that, as I
was usually impersonating people from TV commercials. We walked to the crowd,
and tried to get up a little bit closer every time someone else moved even a
little bit. We finally got up close enough (right near the front) to see where
the guys would come out to get behind the table to sign autographs for the fans.
We started talking to some of the other girls there, and about ten minutes
later, a man walked out of the entrance and asked everyone for their attention.
�The boys of Dream Street would like to sing a song that they have just made
for you. If you could please stay quiet. Thank you.�
�A new song? Oh, maybe it�s that one I heard on the internet! That one sounded
really good!�Candy told me.
�Well when have they ever made a song that didn�t sound good?�
�You�ve got a point there.� as she said that, I turned, and saw the guys
stepping out of the entrance. I heard someone screaming right into my ear, and
turned to see it was Candy screaming at the top of her lungs, waving her hands
in the air like a maniac.
�You�re gonna deafen me! Sheesh!� we laughed, then turned back towards where
the guys were now standing, which was along the sides of the barrier that was
holding everyone back.
�Oh my god! They�re coming over here! Quick, make sure no-one takes our spot!�
we moved to the very front, making sure nobody stepped in front of us to get
closer to the guys. �Maybe they�ll see us! Remember, there�s still a chance that
they may remember us from yesterday . . .� when I turned back, I saw them coming
along the sides, singing while touching the hands of all the fans. When they got
near us, we held out our hands so they wouldn�t miss us, and when Candy saw
Greg, she started screaming to the point where she was just about crying because
she was so excited. When he and Jesse reached us, it seemed like time had slowed
down to a crawl. They saw us and smiled, and then Candy and I knew that they had
remembered us. We smiled back at them. When it came to Jesse�s part, he squeezed
my hand and sang to me. I saw Greg give Candy a wink, then when Jesse finished
his part, they slowly walked along the line to see the other fans. I felt like I
was going to fall over, and when I looked at Candy, I knew she felt that same
way, and we both smiled.
7:15pm, Wednesday, Meet �N� Greet
We were now in the main lobby. Candy and I got in line to get our T-shirts
signed, along with the other fans that had been in the crowd. We talked to some
of the girls that we met outside the building. When we finally got close enough
to the table to actually see the guys, we could both feel our hearts thumping,
and we were getting more and more excited by the minute . . . well, by the
second, actually.
�Almost there! Wow, doesn�t he look . . .� she got a far off look for a minute,
and I had to snap to get her to �come back�.
�Hey, wake up! Earth to Candy! Earth to Candy!� I snapped my fingers near her
face, and called her.
�Huh? Oh, yeah, sorry about that, felt a little dizzy for a minute there.�
�Well then, don�t look at him anymore, if that�s what he does to you.� I said
to her jokingly.
�What?! Are you kidding?! No way!� she snapped.
�Hey, I was just kidding, don�t worry!� I laughed at the way she reacted to
what I had said, then we moved along the line a little farther. �Almost there .
.. . do you think you can hold your excitement until we get to them? Or are you
going to burst before that?� I asked her jokingly.
�Yeah, probably.� she replied with a sigh.
�Probably what? Be specific, remember?� I always said that to her, just to get
on her nerves. She gave me her evil look, although on her it just looks funny,
so I tried not to laugh.
�What do you think?�
�Now Candy, don�t get mad at me now, we�re almost there . . . look, there�s
Jesse . . .�
�Hey, don�t you daze off now, only I can do that.�
�Oh yeah? I swear, I was going to faint when he was singing to me. I felt all
dizzy and . . .�
�I know, I put my hand on your back to steady you, you were starting to sway
and I thought you were going to fall or something.�
�So that�s what it was I felt. I thought someone was going to push me out of
the way.� we both laughed at that, and moved up a bit in the line as the people
in front of us moved ahead.
When we finally got to the guys, the order they were sitting in at the table
was: Chris, Frankie, Greg, Matt and last (but of course) not least, Jesse. Chris
gave me a hello, and asked me what my name was. I told him, and when he finished
signing the poster, he complimented me on the shirt I was wearing. I said
thanks, and asked him to sign it for me.
�Sure I�ll sign it. Did you do all that yourself?� he asked, standing up so as
to sign it. I turned around and replied with a yes.
�Candy, my friend . . . she�s the next in line . . . her and I made them over
the holidays.� he told me it looked really good. I told him thanks, for that and
the autographs, and I moved onto the next member at the table, Frankie. It was
basically the same conversation the whole time, of course, until I got to Jesse.
I inhaled deeply, when I said thanks to Matt when he finished signing the poster
and moved towards Jesse. He smiled, and I shyly said hi to him.
�Hey, don�t I remember you from somewhere?� he replied sarcastically.
Playing along, I said: �Hmm . . . maybe.� he laughed, and I joined him. �So you
do remember us . . . Candy and I.�
�Of course, how could I forget?� he smiled again, and I once again felt weak in
the knees. �So did you find whatever you were looking for in the store
yesterday?�
�Huh? Oh, I wasn�t looking for anything. Candy thought maybe she could find
Aaron Carters new CD if it wasn�t too much, or a poster of you guys . . . but we
just ended up leaving after you guys left the store.
�Oh . . .� he smiled. Did Greg and I make you forget about everything?�
I laughed slightly. �Doesn�t matter. I wanted to save my money for tonight, so I
could buy something here, but oh well.� we talked for a few minutes, and he
signed the shirt and my poster. I also got him to sign my sutograph book, as I
did with all the other guys. When he signed the book, I looked at Candy and saw
her talking to Matt. When Jesse handed back my book after he signed it, I
noticed a small piece of paper sticking out of it a bit. After I left the table,
I waited for Candy to finish getting Jesse to sign her stuff. When she was done,
she came over to me.
�Melissa! I think he likes you, eh?�
�Who? Jesse? Really? . . . hey, when Greg signed your stuff, did he put
something in your book? �Cuz I think Jesse put something in mine.� I asked,
smiling.
�I think so, I saw something sticking out of it. Let�s check.� we moved along
to the side of the crowd, at the railing. We opened our books, and, on the page
where Jesse had signed his name, there was a folded piece of paper with a
laminated card sticking out of it. I opened up the paper, and it said:
Hey,
I really enjoyed meeting you and your friend yesterday. Here�s a backstage
pass. Come back after the show.
Love,
Jesse
When I read that, my eyes went wide, and I looked at the note Candy had, and It
was basically the same, except of course, it was signed by Greg. We screamed
with hapiness and gave eachother high fives, thenwe walked into the building to
our seats.