Days passed by so fast I didn’t even notice that summer is almost over in a few weeks. Things at Hollywood Arts are pretty good, Heather and I are more closer than ever, we also gained lots of friends. Yes, including the guys. Mom kept her promise to spend more time with me. And most importantly, I’m not so afraid to face an amount of audience anymore, thanks to Ms. Posey. Heather is my partner for the final presentation and we’ll start rehearsing tomorrow. This vacation turned out pretty good. I thought it was going to suck like every other vacations that I had, but I’m glad it didn’t.
The next day, Wednesday, Heather came over before noon and we started practicing the song for the finals. The problem is... we haven’t decided what song we are going to sing yet. The requirement is one song, we do it as a duet, and Ms. Posey will evaluate our performance.
“So, what are we gonna sing, Daph?” Heather asked while braiding my long brown hair.
“I don’t know yet,” I replied, frowning. Suddenly, an idea popped into my head. “Wait, I got it!”
“What?”
“How about we write all the songs we like and then we pick the song that’s perfect for the presentation.”
Heather bit her lower lip and said, “That’s a great idea! Let’s start.”
I nodded and took a piece of paper and a black pen in my bag. We thought ten songs would be enough to choose from, so we only wrote the best songs to perform in front of a massive audience.
Brave
Tattooed Heart
Forget You
Who Says
Teenage Dream
Made in the USA
Fearless
Valerie
Clarity
Human
“I think we should sing Brave,” Heather said, looking at the list.
“We could also sing Human, it’s a great song,” I replied confidently.
Heather looked at me for a few seconds, putting her index finger to the side of her head. “I got it!”
“What? What is it?”
“Why not do a mash-up song?”
“Oh, that’s a great idea! But are we allowed to do that?”
She simply shrugged and said, “I don’t know, I guess we have to ask Ms. Posey next meeting.”
I just nodded my head in agreement. I stood up to get some food in the kitchen. “I’m gonna get us some food, do you want popcorn?”
“Yeah, popcorn sounds good.”
Since Heather and I can’t choose the song yet, we decided to just watch some movie. She suggested Beautiful Creatures because she said that movie was perfectly amazing. We both sat down on the carpet, scattered some pillows beside us and I placed the popcorn on the table so we could eat while watching.
After two hours, we finished watching the movie and it was so beautiful, I cried a river, literally. Okay, maybe not literally but I cried a lot. That’s how beautiful it was.
I heard the front door open then shut, revealing my mother standing with a brown paper bag in her hands. “I’ve got food! You kids want some?” Mom asked cheerfully.
It was already seven in the evening. Mom bought Chinese food, not exactly my fave but anything would be delicious for a hungry person such as me. “Yeah, we’re starving!” I replied in a very dramatic tone.
Mom laughed in response and started unwrapping the food then placed it on the dining table. Heather and I quickly got up and practically raced to the table, earning a short chuckle from my mom. “Teenagers,” Mom said, dramatically rolling her eyes and shaking her head.
While all three of us are eating, I told my mom what we did today. She said if Heather is free, we can do a sleepover at our house. And of course, knowing Heather, she wouldn’t say no to that. We checked our schedules and settled for Saturday, next week. It’s my mom’s day off from work so that means she can be with us all day.
After eating dinner, Heather volunteered to help us clear the table and then we walked her to her car and watched her leave.
---
It was finally Friday. We’ve got three more meetings at Hollywood Arts, then its presentation day. As for our song, Ms. Posey didn’t allow us to do a mash-up, but she did help us decide about the song. She recommended us to sing Human because she said we can be more creative with the song and the costume that we’re going to wear.
Heather was a little upset and even pretended that she was so mad at me for like, ten minutes. After that, she bursts out laughing while pointing her finger at me.
“You… you should’ve seen your face!” She stammered as she continues to laugh.
I rolled my eyes and snorted a laugh. “I knew you were just pretending, duh?”
She looked so surprised, her reaction was absolutely priceless. “You knew?! How?”
“Well, I know because it’s obvious. Plus, I know you too well,” I replied confidently, crossing my arms.
“Aw. Jeez, I thought I could fool you easily.”
“Well, you thought wrong.” I answered back, beaming at her until she gets annoyed.
When the class was over, I said goodbye to Heather and went straight to our house. I know mom wouldn’t be there yet, so I was planning to eat in my room again. But when I got inside the house, there was a note one the living room table, probably mom left it earlier. The note says “The key is in your room.” I don’t understand the note, so I went upstairs to look for whatever that key is.
When I opened the door to my room, there was a silver car keys on top of my side table. I immediately shrieked, “No freaking way!”
Then, my phone suddenly rang and I ran downstairs to pick it up.
“Hello? Honey, have you seen the note I left?” Mom asked.
“Yes. Is this what I think it is?” I replied, unsure how to react at the moment.
“Yes. Happy early birthday, Daph! I hope you like it! It’s in the garage,” Mom greeted.
Suddenly, I couldn’t feel my knees and I had to sit on the couch. I’m so surprised even though I haven’t seen it yet. So, I thanked my mom and told her how much I love her and then I went to the garage. I unlocked the door and opened it, then saw a brand new, magenta colored Porsche Macan. My eyes widened so much that I think one of the veins popped out.
I pinched my arm lightly just to make sure this is real, and yep, it hurt which means this is real. I never thought my mom would buy me a car as a gift. I mean, it’s not even my birthday today yet, its next week after the final presentation. Two years ago when I took my driving test I was really upset because I failed the first time. The instructor said I should take my time learning how to parallel park. Psh, he’s dumb. I know how to parallel park! It’s just not… perfect.
Anyway, I passed the test the second time I took it. Thankfully, it wasn’t the same instructor from my first test. And mom was there the second time, so I guess she’s my lucky charm.
I still can’t believe I’m turning eighteen in a few days. Mom surely doesn’t want to believe it, but I know she’s happy for me. This just feels so… surreal. Like imagine being eighteen and legal which basically means no more curfews and freedom. I’m gonna make sure my birthday would be a blast. I can’t wait to drive this baby around town.
YOU ARE READING
Living The American Dream
Teen FictionDaphne Evans' lifelong dream is to become a singer and to entertain people. But as she finds her way to stardom, she falls in love with her hot, new Australian neighbor, gets into a major fight with her best friend and discovers prodigious secrets a...
