SECTION ONE
MEL
Hello. My name is Melody Brianne Banks and I'm seventeen years old. (Well okay, ALMOST. But I might as well just go ahead and say it, you know?) I'm seventeen going on twelve. I get different responses--I've had guys think I'm twelve and guys think I'm EIGHTEEN! Like, where did THAT come from? Anyway, I'm small for my age. I'm five feet, two inches and extremely underweight. But I'm not sick. I'm perfectly healthy. I get being so little from my biological mother (I live with my step-mother) and I have a high metabolism. NOT a good combination. I don't like to think of myself as skinny. I like to think of myself as petite. (And pray to heaven that everyone else thinks so, too.)
Anyway, I have layered, shoulder-length brown hair and hazel eyes. And talk about fair skin and freckles! I burn easily but I tan nicely. And I'm really lucky that my freckles don't stand out that bad. I'm not exactly fond of them, but I don't spend my spare time dwelling on the agony. All in all, I don't really care what you think of me. As long as I like me, that's all that matters.
By the way, call me Mel.
I've lived in Tulsa, Oklahoma all my life. I live in a two-story white house on Browne Street. Born and raised, baby! And I've been lucky enough to have my best friend, Drew, live across the street from me for most of those years! We almost know each other's houses better than our own!
Drew moved in when we were in kindergarten. We just started playing together one day and we've been the best of friends ever since. But before Drew, there was a crucial part of my life that I haven't been able to forget...
I remember I used to play with this little boy. We were so little, I don't even remember when we met! But I remember playing with him. We were the best of friends. You couldn't keep us apart. We were at each other's houses all the time. I think we even spent the night sometimes. I remember trips to the park, the circus, the zoo. Even the beach! I think our families went together one summer.
We used to play Superman and Wonder Woman. A LOT. I remember we went trick-or-treating together one Halloween and he was Superman and I was Wonder Woman. I think that's how it all got started.
Anyway, he had a baby brother who could barely walk. We didn't really like him tagging along because he couldn't do much of anything. He also had another brother who was in FIRST GRADE! So of course we wanted to play with HIM a lot, but he got a kick out of calling us "babies." So it was just us and I think that's why we were so close.
So then we learned that school was just around the corner for us and we were excited. We were FINALLY gonna be big kids in kindergarten! We played school a lot that summer and then I learned that the little boy and his family were moving away. Far away. He and I were very sad. We didn't want him to move. So we made necklaces to remember each other by. They were brown necklaces with wooden beads and a little brown block in the front. On the wooden block was each of our initials painted in red. Mine had an "M" and his had a "T." And then we switched.
I've never, since that day, taken the necklace off. I still wear that "T" around my neck. But for the life of me, I can't remember the little boy's name! Through the years I've contemplated it. Was it Tommy? Timmy? Toby? Then I stumbled upon the name Trevor. Yes, I remember saying something like that so that HAS to be it. I think his name was Trevor.
It's weird. After thirteen years, I still think about him. I never saw him again.
Anyway (sorry about all that) I am a music freak. Actually, I'm a singer and I take my music very seriously. I listen to all genres of music and I could tell you about each one. Right now I'm doing little gigs all over town. I do covers of popular songs and I sing original lyrics of my own a cappella. I haven't quite learned how to play a real instrument yet, so all I have is lyrics.
You know, it's funny. The little boy I used to play with wanted to be a singer, too. I've been singing since I can remember. We used to sing little songs together and put on little shows. We'd have arguments about it sometimes. I'd go, "I'M gonna be a SINGER when I grow up." And he'd go, "Uh-uh, I'M gonna be a singer." And I'd say, "No, I am!" And he'd go, "No, I am!" And we'd argue like that back and forth. I'm getting there. I wonder what he's doing now?
Okay, okay, I'm sorry. Some things just remind me of him. Even Taylor Hanson reminds me of him! Which is weird, because Isaac is my favorite Hanson. As you could tell, Hanson is my favorite music group. They were the ones who helped me to realize my talent and go places with it. I love it. I absolutely adore music and I wouldn't want to be doing anything else for the rest of my life. They're my inspiration.
Oh, that and the fact that we live in the same city! And the odd thing is, I've never met them! But trust me, Drew and I are making it our goal.
Drew is a major Hanson fan, too. Thank goodness, because I can share my feelings with her and she not think me stupid. But I think you'd rather hear it coming from her...
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DREW
Hi! I'm Andrew Brooks. I'm 16. Actually I'm 18 going on 35. I'm very mature for my age. I'm 5'8" and I have long, blonde hair. It's layered and comes down to the middle of my shoulder blades. I'm sort of thin but not underweight. Just right for my personality. I have a very weird sense of fashion. And weird cravings. If you didn't know me you'd think I was pregnant.
Okay, okay, back to the story.
I moved to Tulsa when I was four. To 1125 Browne Street. I love it here. You're probably wondering, "Why Tulsa?" Right? Well my father died when I was three and a half so my mom and I moved out here. And never looked back. That's when I met Mel! My best friend in the whole world! We spend a lot of time together, we have a lot in common. But before Mel and I met there was a very important part of her life that she hasn't been able to forget. And here lately she's had a borderline obsession with that part of her life.
As for me the only thing I'm obsessed with is as follows: Hanson, dates, and dancing. For the past eight years I've been going to dance competitions, one right after the other. I live to dance! It's my passion! I mean, what would the world be like without it? Boring! As for Hanson, they are the best. I've always had a thing for Taylor. And Mel, well, she's sold on the idea of marrying Ike. So our life goal is to one day meet them.
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MEL
Hey. Mel here again. Okay, so as for my music, I try to get gigs everywhere I can. I've done birthday parties, weddings, office parties, school functions...nothing really major. So I was EXTREMELY excited to hear about a new gig for me in April, just before school let out.
My dad had just come home from work one day and I had nothing to do, so I was just channel surfing. He walked in and was like, "Mel? How would you like to perform at Mayfest this year?"
I turned off the TV and sat up straight. "That would be great! How do I get to perform?"
"Well, you already are," he said.
I jumped up. "WHAT? Oh my god! Oh my god! HOW?!"
"I stopped to get gas on the way home from work and the talent director for Mayfest just happened to be there. We struck up a conversation and I told him about you and he said he'd heard about you from different people and would love to have you perform." He handed me a small white card. "He gave me his card and said to call if you're interested."
"Why didn't you say I was interested?"
"Because I wasn't sure if you still wanted the gig or not," he said.
"Of course I do! I'm gonna go call him!"
So I called him, told him who I was, and told him I was interested. He told me I was allowed a five-song set and that my time slot would be 2:30-3:00 that afternoon. This was gonna be so great! But what five songs would I do? I had to call Drew. "You are never gonna guess where I'm performing!" I said.
"Uh...where?" said Drew.
"This is so great! Just guess!"
"I don't know. Uh...oh, just tell me!"
"Okay. Okay. I'm gonna tell you. Okay--"
"Come on!" she urged.
"Mayfest!" I said.
"Oh my god!" She started freaking. "Mayfest!? That is so cool! Omigosh! That's where--"
"Yes! That's one of the places Hanson got their start! I am gonna be standing on the same stage they stood on before they became famous."
"Wouldn't it be cool if they were actually there?"
"It would, yeah. But after all the places they've been, do you ACTUALLY think they'd go to MAYFEST? They're probably not even IN Tulsa right now."
"Yeah. Good point. So what song are you doing?"
"I'm allowed five. But I don't know. You gotta come over right now!"
A few minutes after we hung up, Drew came over. We sat in my room, pouring over CD after CD, trying to come up with five songs I could perform at Mayfest. After a long, long elimination process, we finally decided on my lineup.
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DREW
I was so excited for Mel when I heard about what she was going to do! I couldn't believe that she was going to be performing on the exact stage that Hanson got their "break" on. And then I realized what I had just thought. The exact stage THEY stood on. What if they showed up? Oh my god, what if we saw them there? What would we do? Freak!! "Wouldn't it be cool if they were actually there?" I asked Mel when she called.
"It would, yeah. But after all the places they've been, do you actually think they'd go to Mayfest?"
"Yeah. Good point. So what song are you doing?"
"I'm allowed five. But I don't know. You gotta come over right now."
"Okay, I'll be there in a few."
I went over to Mel's and we decided on five songs.
The month flew by! Before Mel and I knew it we were putting finishing touches on her dance moves that I helped her with. The day finally came and we were on our way.
As we stood backstage at Mayfest I could tell that Mel was genuinely nervous. I tried my best to calm her down. Then it came time for her to go on. "Good luck!" I said as I gave her a hug.
"Thanks," she said, pulling away.
As she walked away, I yelled, "Break a leg!" I practically ran to my seat so I wouldn't miss a thing.
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MEL
I looked out at the sea of people in front of me. Most were just walking by, some glanced over to see what was going on, and there were SOME actually waiting for me to perform. Good ol' Drew was front row and center and that made me feel better. She was about the only one I recognized in the audience and I decided that was a good thing. That way it didn't really matter what those people thought.
I started my performance with a little girl power and got the crowd going. I was nervous at first, but when I saw how enthusiastic the crowd was, I felt better and began to do my best.
I ended the set with my big blowout song and I was glad to know I'd pleased the crowd. I exited the stage feeling great. This had gone so well!
I grabbed a towel and a bottle of water and headed "backstage" to my changing area to get out of my costume.
I had just finished getting dressed when Drew ran in, flinging the curtain open, then stopping to catch her breath. The words that flew out of her mouth made me forget who I was...
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DREW
"I SAW HANSON!" I screamed.
"What?" she asked.
"Come on." I took her arm. "Walk with me and I'll tell you what happened! Well I got to my seat and watched you perform the first song. I looked over to my left about halfway through the song and saw none other than Isaac Hanson. About three seats down!"
"Oh my god. I can't believe they saw me perform! And that they're really here..."
About that time we walked into the largest crowd I've ever seen. We were walking around, freaking out that they were actually there.
"Oh my god, look ou--!" Mel ran straight into some guy's chest.
I started to laugh. "Hahaha...oh my god." I looked up about the same time as Mel. "You're Taylor Hanson," I said, pointing at him in disbelief.
"So tell me something I don't know," he said with a laugh.
Mel looked up about that time.
"Wow, you guys are really here," I said.
About that time I felt Mel's hand over my mouth. "She gets a little carried away sometimes," she said to the guys.
"We're used to it by now," Taylor said in a really snotty voice.
"We loved your performance," Ike said as he stuck out his hand toward Mel.
'Oh my god, she must be freaking,' I thought to myself.
"Thanks!" Mel said, shaking his hand.
"Well we really need to go, guys," I heard Zac's voice say.
"Yeah, it was nice meeting you," Taylor said.
I shook his hand and said, "The pleasure was ALL mine."
_________________________________________________________________________
MEL
I couldn't believe Taylor was being such a jerk! Well, I guess that can be expected from just about any good-looking guy. And he wasn't HALF as cute as Ike, if you ask me. But still...something made me want to see him again.
Before Drew started freaking, I looked up at Taylor and he was like, "Have we met?"
I stepped back. "Believe me, I'd remember if we met." But there was something about him. His eyes...
Immediately I was reminded of that little boy who used to be my best friend. I'm not sure why. The little boy used to look at me with the same expression when was curious of me or what I was doing. The same expression Taylor was giving me just then.
Drew's freaking interrupted my thoughts.
So anyway, being even more jerky, when Ike said they loved my performance, I was led to believe he was talking about he and Zac. Because after he said that, Taylor was like, "But, you know, there's always room for improvement."
I plastered a fake smile on my face. "Yeah. Thanks for the encouragement. I'll keep that in mind next time," I said sarcastically.
Then Zac (finally) piped up and said, "Well we really need to go, you guys."
"Yeah, it was nice meeting you," Taylor said, shaking Drew's hand.
"The pleasure's all mine," said Drew.
I shook Ike and Zac's hands and then Taylor held his hand out to me. I took it. "Yeah, see you around," I said. "Uh...what was your name again?" I did it just for spite.
Taylor rolled his eyes and the guys turned around and walked the other way.
"Mel! I can't believe you just did that!" Drew said in disbelief as we walked on.
"Did what?" I asked innocently.
"Talked to him that way."
"Who, Taylor? He was such an ass! And I don't care WHO he is, I'm NOT gonna take that crap." But in the back of my mind I thought, 'Whatta man, though.' I felt myself blushing and looked in the other direction before Drew could catch me.
We'd talk about the guys some more, and every once in awhile, Drew would give me these Looks. As we talked, we saw the guys from a distance. Taylor noticed us and gave a little wave.
Then, out of nowhere, Drew exploded. "What is UP with you?"
I gave her a look of confusion. "What?"
"You were blushing!"
"What?" I said skeptically.
"When Taylor waved at us you started blushing."
"I did not!" I protested.
"Yes you were! You blush every time I mention his name!"
"No I don't!"
"I saw you!"
I fell silent. I didn't have an alibi for that one. So I gave in. "Well...so? I mean, if there's a cute guy..."
"You don't blush at every cute guy that checks you out, Mel, believe me I know. Just Taylor."
"Oh, whatever," I said. But I gave in. I'd been had.
---------------------------------------------------
"WHAT? You can't fire me! I TOLD you I had a gig at Mayfest Saturday," I argued with my boss.
"You went AWOL Saturday, Melody. We don't tolerate that here," said my boss calmly.
"I did NOT go AWOL! I couldn't get ahold of you to tell you so I asked Henry to tell you."
"I never go the message, so therefore--"
"But Henry knows! Henry!" I called out to a younger (Well, younger than my boss. He'd just graduated from mine and Drew's high school.) guy that I worked with.
Henry walked over, wiping his hands with a dish cloth. "Yeah. What's up?"
"Tell him where I was Saturday," I said to Henry.
"Oh yeah. By the way, Mel has this gig at Mayfest Saturday. She said to tell you she won't be in," he said, grinning. But when he saw the look I was giving him, his smile faded. "I, uh, got work to do." He turned around and walked off.
"See?" I said.
My boss looked a little sheepish. "Oh. Well I guess you're right. I'm sorry I accused you, Melody. I guess you're not fired after all."
I'm not sure why, but that enraged me. "You're right. I'm not fired. But I'm sick of getting treated with all this disrespect and mistrust and you know what? I never wanted to work I a fast food joint anyway! I quit!" I turned around and walked out of the restaurant.
Later that day, I went to Drew's house. "Guess what I did today?" I said.
"You saw Taylor?"
"No. Better," I said.
Drew laughed at my statement. "What?"
"I quit my job."
"You what? Why?"
"My boss accused me of going AWOL and was gonna fire me. So I got Henry to prove that I hadn't and my boss felt bad so he's like, 'Oh you're not fired after all.' And I was like, 'Whatever, screw THAT crap, I'm outta here.' And I told him I quit and I walked out."
"Oh. I wondered why you were here so early," said Drew. "So what are you gonna do now?"
"I don't know. I'll probably go back to babysitting until I find a new job. I'll post some ads or something," I said.
"Need some help?'
"Sure."
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Within a week that I had posted my babysitting ads, my first call came. "Hello, may I speak to Melody Banks?"
"This is she," I answered.
"Oh. You sound so grown up. How old are you now?" The woman was so friendly. So friendly, in fact, that her voice seemed to have a bit of awe in it.
"Um, I'll be seventeen in October," I said unsurely.
"Aw," she said in an almost whisper. "I should have known."
I was getting freaked. "Should've known what? Who is this?"
The woman laughed. "Oh I'm sorry. I must be scaring you to death. This is Diana Hanson."
I choked on my words. "Diana HANSON? As in--?"
"The band? Yes. And tell me, are you the Mel Banks my boys met at Mayfest a week or so ago?"
"Um, yeah. I performed there."
"Yes, yes. Tay hasn't STOPPED talking about you."
"Could've fooled me," I mumbled.
"Huh?" she asked.
"Oh, nothing," I said. "Please continue."
"He says you remind him of a girl he used to know."
I couldn't help but smile. He was thinking of me. And heaven knows I'd been doing some thinking of my own. "That's funny," I said. "He reminds me of someone I used to know, too."
She laughed. "Small world." Then she calmed down. "Melody, the reason I called was because I was in need of a sitter and there your ad sat. It was like fate." We both laughed. "Do you think you could sit for me?"
COULD I? She didn't even have to ask! "Sure," I said. "Just name the day and the time and I'll be there."
"It'll be so great to have someone I can depend on. All right, my husband and I have to take the guys to a business meeting the day after tomorrow. I have four others who really don't need to go."
"All right. Is it okay if I bring a friend to help? Four can be a little overwhelming."
"Sure. I understand completely." She gave me info on the kids and her address. They lived just around the block from Drew and I! How come we never knew this?! "And where do you live?" she asked.
"Um, Browne Street," I said.
"Would that be 1123 Browne Street?"
"Yeah...it is," I said unsurely. What was this? What ELSE did she know about me?
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Soon after we hung up, I decided not to waste any time calling Drew. I raced over to her house.
I had barely climbed through her window when the words just fell from my lips. "I just got the best babysitting job in the WORLD!"
"That rich family at the end of the street?"
"Close. But better."
"I don't know, Mel, I give up."
"Turn around and I'll give you a hint."
When she turned her back, I found her 3 Car Garage CD and turned the song to Soldier. When Drew heard the kids' voices in the beginning of the song, she turned around, eyes wide. "No way!"
I grinned at her and nodded. Then we had our freak-out session and I told her all about my phone conversation with Diana. "And the best part is I'm gonna need help and you can come!"
"Are you serious? Oh my god!" Drew exclaimed. "We're going to the Hansons' HOUSE?" Then she paused. "Omigosh! What am I gonna wear?"
"Not good clothes," I said. "We're babysitting, not picking up guys."
"Oh. But if Taylor's looking fine..." she grinned.
I just smiled. But my mind was screaming, 'Back off!' I don't know. I guess I had sort of a crush on him.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
It seemed like forever for that day to come. For some reason, I found myself thinking of nothing but Taylor.
Drew raced over to my house to make sure I was ready. As soon as I was ready, I stopped in the hall for a second. I looked at a picture hanging on the wall. It was a picture of me and that little boy at the beach when we were three. We were building a sand castle together. Okay, a mound. I was standing over it, patting down the sand, and he was on the other side, biting his bottom lip and wiping sand away at the bottom of the mound. I clutched my necklace and smiled. "Wish me luck," I said to the picture. "Wherever you are." I tucked the necklace back in my shirt and met Drew outside.
We were standing at their front door, ready to ring the bell. We were nervous. I rang the bell and Diana answered. She smiled at us warmly. "Are you Melody?" she asked.
I smiled politely. "I'm Mel, and this is my best friend, Drew."
She let us in, shook Drew's hand and then she hugged me! I gave Drew a Look over Diana's shoulder. These people certainly were friendly.
I looked around the living room. It all seemed so...familiar. I smiled and shoved my hands in my pockets. "I love this house," I said to Diana and Walker. "I already feel at home here."
They just smiled at me. At that point, Taylor came down the stairs. I felt my heartbeat increase rapidly. My palms got all sweaty and I began to feel very self-conscious. But when he opened his mouth to speak, all those feelings went away. "What are YOU doing here?" he asked with an attitude. Walker gave him a Look.
"I'm babysitting," I snapped back. "Got a problem with it?"
"Maybe."
"Jordan Taylor!" Diana said in a voice that was distinctly familiar. My immediate reaction was to stand at attention next to Taylor and keep my mouth shut. Then I realized I'd done this before. When I was little. Taylor turned and gave me a look with a softer expression and it seemed as if he realized it too. "You be polite and apologize to her!"
He turned his whole body toward me. He shoved his hands in his pockets, bit his bottom lip, and glanced at the floor. Then he looked at me. "Look, uh, I'm sorry. I'm just not in the best of moods."
I smiled shyly. "That's okay. Apology accepted."
He began studying my face with great intensity and when I realized this, my smile slowly faded. "That scar on the side of your lip," he said. "You got it when you fell out of a tree and had to have surgery on it when you were two."
He seemed to sure of himself and I just stared at him in complete shock. There was NO WAY he could have known that. "Am I right?" he asked.
I looked at Drew in disbelief and she looked just as stunned as I was. I knew SHE knew that. I told her. Was Taylor stalking me or reading up on my history or something?
I turned back to Taylor. "Uh, yeah. Yeah, that's right. How did you know that?"
It was his turn to look shocked and he took a step back. "I don't know." Without another word, he went and sat on the couch. That was TOO weird.
Diana started giving me and Drew directions and Mackenzie raced into the room. "Mom! Mom! Can I have some chips?"
"Not now, honey, I'll get them when I'm through talking to the babysitter."
"Oh, I'll get it," I said. I went straight into the kitchen, Mackenzie at my heels, opened the cabinet above the stove and gazed up at the assortment of potato chips. "What kind, buddy?" I asked.
"Um...barbecue."
"That's the best kind," I said. I got them down, opened a cabinet by the fridge, got out a bowl, poured some chips in it, and put the chips back up. I handed the bowl to Mackenzie. "Bon appetite," I said.
He smiled up at me. "Thank you." And he ran off.
I was about to follow him when I thought about what I'd just done. I stopped, turned around, and looked back at the cabinets. That was kinda cool. I knew exactly where to find things. I frantically began opening drawers and cabinets. I knew where EVERYTHING was! It was like I'd been here before! Okay. Something was up. And I intended to find out what it was.
I poked my head around the doorway into the living room. "How long have you guys lived here?"
"We've lived here since before Ike was born," said Walker. "We moved to South America for a couple of years when Tay was four, but we never sold the house."
That statement felt like a punch in the stomach. When Taylor was FOUR? I gave Drew a Look and she was beginning to squirm. I raced over to the couch and grabbed Taylor's hand. "What are you doing?" he asked.
"I KNOW this HOUSE," I said. I proceeded to lead Taylor and Drew around the house as I knew where EVERYTHING was. But it was in the hall when it all came together.
We stopped in the hall and by now I was frantically searching for a clue as I looked at all the pictures on the walls. But Drew caught it before I did. "Oh, hey, Mel. You've got that picture on the wall at your house."
I looked up at the picture of me and that little boy at the beach. The sand mound one. I stopped breathing. I covered my mouth and stumbled backward against Taylor. "That's me in that picture," I said quietly to him, pointing at the picture.
It all made sense now! The little boy in the picture--the eyes, the expression of concentration on his face, biting the bottom lip...that little boy's name was Taylor, not Trevor. And I was standing right in front of him. All grown up.
I can't explain the look on his face. Shock, disbelief, surprise, stunned. As if it scared him to death.
I slowly pulled out the necklace with his initial on it and he just gaped at it. Then he pulled his out of his shirt. "I have one, too. M--Melody?"
"Taylor! Oh my god!" I wrapped my arms around his neck and we hugged each other tightly with excitement. "So you're a star now, like you said," I said.
He smiled. "You've grown up...nicely," he said, turning red.
"I can't believe it's you. I thought I'd never see you again."
"I never forgot about you," he said.
I put my arm around Tay's neck and turned to Drew with a huge grin. "Look who it is! Can you believe it? It's him!" I held up my necklace. "Small world, huh?"
"Bite size," Drew said, obviously in great shock.
Then I thought about it. He never tried to get in touch with me after he moved back! I wasn't sure if he deserved all this joy from me. I turned around and slapped him across the face. He put his hand to his cheek and gave me a Look. I turned around and walked off to finish getting the instructions from Diana so Taylor could hurry up and leave.
MEL
Hello. My name is Melody Brianne Banks and I'm seventeen years old. (Well okay, ALMOST. But I might as well just go ahead and say it, you know?) I'm seventeen going on twelve. I get different responses--I've had guys think I'm twelve and guys think I'm EIGHTEEN! Like, where did THAT come from? Anyway, I'm small for my age. I'm five feet, two inches and extremely underweight. But I'm not sick. I'm perfectly healthy. I get being so little from my biological mother (I live with my step-mother) and I have a high metabolism. NOT a good combination. I don't like to think of myself as skinny. I like to think of myself as petite. (And pray to heaven that everyone else thinks so, too.)
Anyway, I have layered, shoulder-length brown hair and hazel eyes. And talk about fair skin and freckles! I burn easily but I tan nicely. And I'm really lucky that my freckles don't stand out that bad. I'm not exactly fond of them, but I don't spend my spare time dwelling on the agony. All in all, I don't really care what you think of me. As long as I like me, that's all that matters.
By the way, call me Mel.
I've lived in Tulsa, Oklahoma all my life. I live in a two-story white house on Browne Street. Born and raised, baby! And I've been lucky enough to have my best friend, Drew, live across the street from me for most of those years! We almost know each other's houses better than our own!
Drew moved in when we were in kindergarten. We just started playing together one day and we've been the best of friends ever since. But before Drew, there was a crucial part of my life that I haven't been able to forget...
I remember I used to play with this little boy. We were so little, I don't even remember when we met! But I remember playing with him. We were the best of friends. You couldn't keep us apart. We were at each other's houses all the time. I think we even spent the night sometimes. I remember trips to the park, the circus, the zoo. Even the beach! I think our families went together one summer.
We used to play Superman and Wonder Woman. A LOT. I remember we went trick-or-treating together one Halloween and he was Superman and I was Wonder Woman. I think that's how it all got started.
Anyway, he had a baby brother who could barely walk. We didn't really like him tagging along because he couldn't do much of anything. He also had another brother who was in FIRST GRADE! So of course we wanted to play with HIM a lot, but he got a kick out of calling us "babies." So it was just us and I think that's why we were so close.
So then we learned that school was just around the corner for us and we were excited. We were FINALLY gonna be big kids in kindergarten! We played school a lot that summer and then I learned that the little boy and his family were moving away. Far away. He and I were very sad. We didn't want him to move. So we made necklaces to remember each other by. They were brown necklaces with wooden beads and a little brown block in the front. On the wooden block was each of our initials painted in red. Mine had an "M" and his had a "T." And then we switched.
I've never, since that day, taken the necklace off. I still wear that "T" around my neck. But for the life of me, I can't remember the little boy's name! Through the years I've contemplated it. Was it Tommy? Timmy? Toby? Then I stumbled upon the name Trevor. Yes, I remember saying something like that so that HAS to be it. I think his name was Trevor.
It's weird. After thirteen years, I still think about him. I never saw him again.
Anyway (sorry about all that) I am a music freak. Actually, I'm a singer and I take my music very seriously. I listen to all genres of music and I could tell you about each one. Right now I'm doing little gigs all over town. I do covers of popular songs and I sing original lyrics of my own a cappella. I haven't quite learned how to play a real instrument yet, so all I have is lyrics.
You know, it's funny. The little boy I used to play with wanted to be a singer, too. I've been singing since I can remember. We used to sing little songs together and put on little shows. We'd have arguments about it sometimes. I'd go, "I'M gonna be a SINGER when I grow up." And he'd go, "Uh-uh, I'M gonna be a singer." And I'd say, "No, I am!" And he'd go, "No, I am!" And we'd argue like that back and forth. I'm getting there. I wonder what he's doing now?
Okay, okay, I'm sorry. Some things just remind me of him. Even Taylor Hanson reminds me of him! Which is weird, because Isaac is my favorite Hanson. As you could tell, Hanson is my favorite music group. They were the ones who helped me to realize my talent and go places with it. I love it. I absolutely adore music and I wouldn't want to be doing anything else for the rest of my life. They're my inspiration.
Oh, that and the fact that we live in the same city! And the odd thing is, I've never met them! But trust me, Drew and I are making it our goal.
Drew is a major Hanson fan, too. Thank goodness, because I can share my feelings with her and she not think me stupid. But I think you'd rather hear it coming from her...
___________________________________________________________________________
DREW
Hi! I'm Andrew Brooks. I'm 16. Actually I'm 18 going on 35. I'm very mature for my age. I'm 5'8" and I have long, blonde hair. It's layered and comes down to the middle of my shoulder blades. I'm sort of thin but not underweight. Just right for my personality. I have a very weird sense of fashion. And weird cravings. If you didn't know me you'd think I was pregnant.
Okay, okay, back to the story.
I moved to Tulsa when I was four. To 1125 Browne Street. I love it here. You're probably wondering, "Why Tulsa?" Right? Well my father died when I was three and a half so my mom and I moved out here. And never looked back. That's when I met Mel! My best friend in the whole world! We spend a lot of time together, we have a lot in common. But before Mel and I met there was a very important part of her life that she hasn't been able to forget. And here lately she's had a borderline obsession with that part of her life.
As for me the only thing I'm obsessed with is as follows: Hanson, dates, and dancing. For the past eight years I've been going to dance competitions, one right after the other. I live to dance! It's my passion! I mean, what would the world be like without it? Boring! As for Hanson, they are the best. I've always had a thing for Taylor. And Mel, well, she's sold on the idea of marrying Ike. So our life goal is to one day meet them.
___________________________________________________________________________
MEL
Hey. Mel here again. Okay, so as for my music, I try to get gigs everywhere I can. I've done birthday parties, weddings, office parties, school functions...nothing really major. So I was EXTREMELY excited to hear about a new gig for me in April, just before school let out.
My dad had just come home from work one day and I had nothing to do, so I was just channel surfing. He walked in and was like, "Mel? How would you like to perform at Mayfest this year?"
I turned off the TV and sat up straight. "That would be great! How do I get to perform?"
"Well, you already are," he said.
I jumped up. "WHAT? Oh my god! Oh my god! HOW?!"
"I stopped to get gas on the way home from work and the talent director for Mayfest just happened to be there. We struck up a conversation and I told him about you and he said he'd heard about you from different people and would love to have you perform." He handed me a small white card. "He gave me his card and said to call if you're interested."
"Why didn't you say I was interested?"
"Because I wasn't sure if you still wanted the gig or not," he said.
"Of course I do! I'm gonna go call him!"
So I called him, told him who I was, and told him I was interested. He told me I was allowed a five-song set and that my time slot would be 2:30-3:00 that afternoon. This was gonna be so great! But what five songs would I do? I had to call Drew. "You are never gonna guess where I'm performing!" I said.
"Uh...where?" said Drew.
"This is so great! Just guess!"
"I don't know. Uh...oh, just tell me!"
"Okay. Okay. I'm gonna tell you. Okay--"
"Come on!" she urged.
"Mayfest!" I said.
"Oh my god!" She started freaking. "Mayfest!? That is so cool! Omigosh! That's where--"
"Yes! That's one of the places Hanson got their start! I am gonna be standing on the same stage they stood on before they became famous."
"Wouldn't it be cool if they were actually there?"
"It would, yeah. But after all the places they've been, do you ACTUALLY think they'd go to MAYFEST? They're probably not even IN Tulsa right now."
"Yeah. Good point. So what song are you doing?"
"I'm allowed five. But I don't know. You gotta come over right now!"
A few minutes after we hung up, Drew came over. We sat in my room, pouring over CD after CD, trying to come up with five songs I could perform at Mayfest. After a long, long elimination process, we finally decided on my lineup.
_________________________________________________________________________
DREW
I was so excited for Mel when I heard about what she was going to do! I couldn't believe that she was going to be performing on the exact stage that Hanson got their "break" on. And then I realized what I had just thought. The exact stage THEY stood on. What if they showed up? Oh my god, what if we saw them there? What would we do? Freak!! "Wouldn't it be cool if they were actually there?" I asked Mel when she called.
"It would, yeah. But after all the places they've been, do you actually think they'd go to Mayfest?"
"Yeah. Good point. So what song are you doing?"
"I'm allowed five. But I don't know. You gotta come over right now."
"Okay, I'll be there in a few."
I went over to Mel's and we decided on five songs.
The month flew by! Before Mel and I knew it we were putting finishing touches on her dance moves that I helped her with. The day finally came and we were on our way.
As we stood backstage at Mayfest I could tell that Mel was genuinely nervous. I tried my best to calm her down. Then it came time for her to go on. "Good luck!" I said as I gave her a hug.
"Thanks," she said, pulling away.
As she walked away, I yelled, "Break a leg!" I practically ran to my seat so I wouldn't miss a thing.
___________________________________________________________________________
MEL
I looked out at the sea of people in front of me. Most were just walking by, some glanced over to see what was going on, and there were SOME actually waiting for me to perform. Good ol' Drew was front row and center and that made me feel better. She was about the only one I recognized in the audience and I decided that was a good thing. That way it didn't really matter what those people thought.
I started my performance with a little girl power and got the crowd going. I was nervous at first, but when I saw how enthusiastic the crowd was, I felt better and began to do my best.
I ended the set with my big blowout song and I was glad to know I'd pleased the crowd. I exited the stage feeling great. This had gone so well!
I grabbed a towel and a bottle of water and headed "backstage" to my changing area to get out of my costume.
I had just finished getting dressed when Drew ran in, flinging the curtain open, then stopping to catch her breath. The words that flew out of her mouth made me forget who I was...
___________________________________________________________________________
DREW
"I SAW HANSON!" I screamed.
"What?" she asked.
"Come on." I took her arm. "Walk with me and I'll tell you what happened! Well I got to my seat and watched you perform the first song. I looked over to my left about halfway through the song and saw none other than Isaac Hanson. About three seats down!"
"Oh my god. I can't believe they saw me perform! And that they're really here..."
About that time we walked into the largest crowd I've ever seen. We were walking around, freaking out that they were actually there.
"Oh my god, look ou--!" Mel ran straight into some guy's chest.
I started to laugh. "Hahaha...oh my god." I looked up about the same time as Mel. "You're Taylor Hanson," I said, pointing at him in disbelief.
"So tell me something I don't know," he said with a laugh.
Mel looked up about that time.
"Wow, you guys are really here," I said.
About that time I felt Mel's hand over my mouth. "She gets a little carried away sometimes," she said to the guys.
"We're used to it by now," Taylor said in a really snotty voice.
"We loved your performance," Ike said as he stuck out his hand toward Mel.
'Oh my god, she must be freaking,' I thought to myself.
"Thanks!" Mel said, shaking his hand.
"Well we really need to go, guys," I heard Zac's voice say.
"Yeah, it was nice meeting you," Taylor said.
I shook his hand and said, "The pleasure was ALL mine."
_________________________________________________________________________
MEL
I couldn't believe Taylor was being such a jerk! Well, I guess that can be expected from just about any good-looking guy. And he wasn't HALF as cute as Ike, if you ask me. But still...something made me want to see him again.
Before Drew started freaking, I looked up at Taylor and he was like, "Have we met?"
I stepped back. "Believe me, I'd remember if we met." But there was something about him. His eyes...
Immediately I was reminded of that little boy who used to be my best friend. I'm not sure why. The little boy used to look at me with the same expression when was curious of me or what I was doing. The same expression Taylor was giving me just then.
Drew's freaking interrupted my thoughts.
So anyway, being even more jerky, when Ike said they loved my performance, I was led to believe he was talking about he and Zac. Because after he said that, Taylor was like, "But, you know, there's always room for improvement."
I plastered a fake smile on my face. "Yeah. Thanks for the encouragement. I'll keep that in mind next time," I said sarcastically.
Then Zac (finally) piped up and said, "Well we really need to go, you guys."
"Yeah, it was nice meeting you," Taylor said, shaking Drew's hand.
"The pleasure's all mine," said Drew.
I shook Ike and Zac's hands and then Taylor held his hand out to me. I took it. "Yeah, see you around," I said. "Uh...what was your name again?" I did it just for spite.
Taylor rolled his eyes and the guys turned around and walked the other way.
"Mel! I can't believe you just did that!" Drew said in disbelief as we walked on.
"Did what?" I asked innocently.
"Talked to him that way."
"Who, Taylor? He was such an ass! And I don't care WHO he is, I'm NOT gonna take that crap." But in the back of my mind I thought, 'Whatta man, though.' I felt myself blushing and looked in the other direction before Drew could catch me.
We'd talk about the guys some more, and every once in awhile, Drew would give me these Looks. As we talked, we saw the guys from a distance. Taylor noticed us and gave a little wave.
Then, out of nowhere, Drew exploded. "What is UP with you?"
I gave her a look of confusion. "What?"
"You were blushing!"
"What?" I said skeptically.
"When Taylor waved at us you started blushing."
"I did not!" I protested.
"Yes you were! You blush every time I mention his name!"
"No I don't!"
"I saw you!"
I fell silent. I didn't have an alibi for that one. So I gave in. "Well...so? I mean, if there's a cute guy..."
"You don't blush at every cute guy that checks you out, Mel, believe me I know. Just Taylor."
"Oh, whatever," I said. But I gave in. I'd been had.
---------------------------------------------------
"WHAT? You can't fire me! I TOLD you I had a gig at Mayfest Saturday," I argued with my boss.
"You went AWOL Saturday, Melody. We don't tolerate that here," said my boss calmly.
"I did NOT go AWOL! I couldn't get ahold of you to tell you so I asked Henry to tell you."
"I never go the message, so therefore--"
"But Henry knows! Henry!" I called out to a younger (Well, younger than my boss. He'd just graduated from mine and Drew's high school.) guy that I worked with.
Henry walked over, wiping his hands with a dish cloth. "Yeah. What's up?"
"Tell him where I was Saturday," I said to Henry.
"Oh yeah. By the way, Mel has this gig at Mayfest Saturday. She said to tell you she won't be in," he said, grinning. But when he saw the look I was giving him, his smile faded. "I, uh, got work to do." He turned around and walked off.
"See?" I said.
My boss looked a little sheepish. "Oh. Well I guess you're right. I'm sorry I accused you, Melody. I guess you're not fired after all."
I'm not sure why, but that enraged me. "You're right. I'm not fired. But I'm sick of getting treated with all this disrespect and mistrust and you know what? I never wanted to work I a fast food joint anyway! I quit!" I turned around and walked out of the restaurant.
Later that day, I went to Drew's house. "Guess what I did today?" I said.
"You saw Taylor?"
"No. Better," I said.
Drew laughed at my statement. "What?"
"I quit my job."
"You what? Why?"
"My boss accused me of going AWOL and was gonna fire me. So I got Henry to prove that I hadn't and my boss felt bad so he's like, 'Oh you're not fired after all.' And I was like, 'Whatever, screw THAT crap, I'm outta here.' And I told him I quit and I walked out."
"Oh. I wondered why you were here so early," said Drew. "So what are you gonna do now?"
"I don't know. I'll probably go back to babysitting until I find a new job. I'll post some ads or something," I said.
"Need some help?'
"Sure."
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Within a week that I had posted my babysitting ads, my first call came. "Hello, may I speak to Melody Banks?"
"This is she," I answered.
"Oh. You sound so grown up. How old are you now?" The woman was so friendly. So friendly, in fact, that her voice seemed to have a bit of awe in it.
"Um, I'll be seventeen in October," I said unsurely.
"Aw," she said in an almost whisper. "I should have known."
I was getting freaked. "Should've known what? Who is this?"
The woman laughed. "Oh I'm sorry. I must be scaring you to death. This is Diana Hanson."
I choked on my words. "Diana HANSON? As in--?"
"The band? Yes. And tell me, are you the Mel Banks my boys met at Mayfest a week or so ago?"
"Um, yeah. I performed there."
"Yes, yes. Tay hasn't STOPPED talking about you."
"Could've fooled me," I mumbled.
"Huh?" she asked.
"Oh, nothing," I said. "Please continue."
"He says you remind him of a girl he used to know."
I couldn't help but smile. He was thinking of me. And heaven knows I'd been doing some thinking of my own. "That's funny," I said. "He reminds me of someone I used to know, too."
She laughed. "Small world." Then she calmed down. "Melody, the reason I called was because I was in need of a sitter and there your ad sat. It was like fate." We both laughed. "Do you think you could sit for me?"
COULD I? She didn't even have to ask! "Sure," I said. "Just name the day and the time and I'll be there."
"It'll be so great to have someone I can depend on. All right, my husband and I have to take the guys to a business meeting the day after tomorrow. I have four others who really don't need to go."
"All right. Is it okay if I bring a friend to help? Four can be a little overwhelming."
"Sure. I understand completely." She gave me info on the kids and her address. They lived just around the block from Drew and I! How come we never knew this?! "And where do you live?" she asked.
"Um, Browne Street," I said.
"Would that be 1123 Browne Street?"
"Yeah...it is," I said unsurely. What was this? What ELSE did she know about me?
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Soon after we hung up, I decided not to waste any time calling Drew. I raced over to her house.
I had barely climbed through her window when the words just fell from my lips. "I just got the best babysitting job in the WORLD!"
"That rich family at the end of the street?"
"Close. But better."
"I don't know, Mel, I give up."
"Turn around and I'll give you a hint."
When she turned her back, I found her 3 Car Garage CD and turned the song to Soldier. When Drew heard the kids' voices in the beginning of the song, she turned around, eyes wide. "No way!"
I grinned at her and nodded. Then we had our freak-out session and I told her all about my phone conversation with Diana. "And the best part is I'm gonna need help and you can come!"
"Are you serious? Oh my god!" Drew exclaimed. "We're going to the Hansons' HOUSE?" Then she paused. "Omigosh! What am I gonna wear?"
"Not good clothes," I said. "We're babysitting, not picking up guys."
"Oh. But if Taylor's looking fine..." she grinned.
I just smiled. But my mind was screaming, 'Back off!' I don't know. I guess I had sort of a crush on him.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
It seemed like forever for that day to come. For some reason, I found myself thinking of nothing but Taylor.
Drew raced over to my house to make sure I was ready. As soon as I was ready, I stopped in the hall for a second. I looked at a picture hanging on the wall. It was a picture of me and that little boy at the beach when we were three. We were building a sand castle together. Okay, a mound. I was standing over it, patting down the sand, and he was on the other side, biting his bottom lip and wiping sand away at the bottom of the mound. I clutched my necklace and smiled. "Wish me luck," I said to the picture. "Wherever you are." I tucked the necklace back in my shirt and met Drew outside.
We were standing at their front door, ready to ring the bell. We were nervous. I rang the bell and Diana answered. She smiled at us warmly. "Are you Melody?" she asked.
I smiled politely. "I'm Mel, and this is my best friend, Drew."
She let us in, shook Drew's hand and then she hugged me! I gave Drew a Look over Diana's shoulder. These people certainly were friendly.
I looked around the living room. It all seemed so...familiar. I smiled and shoved my hands in my pockets. "I love this house," I said to Diana and Walker. "I already feel at home here."
They just smiled at me. At that point, Taylor came down the stairs. I felt my heartbeat increase rapidly. My palms got all sweaty and I began to feel very self-conscious. But when he opened his mouth to speak, all those feelings went away. "What are YOU doing here?" he asked with an attitude. Walker gave him a Look.
"I'm babysitting," I snapped back. "Got a problem with it?"
"Maybe."
"Jordan Taylor!" Diana said in a voice that was distinctly familiar. My immediate reaction was to stand at attention next to Taylor and keep my mouth shut. Then I realized I'd done this before. When I was little. Taylor turned and gave me a look with a softer expression and it seemed as if he realized it too. "You be polite and apologize to her!"
He turned his whole body toward me. He shoved his hands in his pockets, bit his bottom lip, and glanced at the floor. Then he looked at me. "Look, uh, I'm sorry. I'm just not in the best of moods."
I smiled shyly. "That's okay. Apology accepted."
He began studying my face with great intensity and when I realized this, my smile slowly faded. "That scar on the side of your lip," he said. "You got it when you fell out of a tree and had to have surgery on it when you were two."
He seemed to sure of himself and I just stared at him in complete shock. There was NO WAY he could have known that. "Am I right?" he asked.
I looked at Drew in disbelief and she looked just as stunned as I was. I knew SHE knew that. I told her. Was Taylor stalking me or reading up on my history or something?
I turned back to Taylor. "Uh, yeah. Yeah, that's right. How did you know that?"
It was his turn to look shocked and he took a step back. "I don't know." Without another word, he went and sat on the couch. That was TOO weird.
Diana started giving me and Drew directions and Mackenzie raced into the room. "Mom! Mom! Can I have some chips?"
"Not now, honey, I'll get them when I'm through talking to the babysitter."
"Oh, I'll get it," I said. I went straight into the kitchen, Mackenzie at my heels, opened the cabinet above the stove and gazed up at the assortment of potato chips. "What kind, buddy?" I asked.
"Um...barbecue."
"That's the best kind," I said. I got them down, opened a cabinet by the fridge, got out a bowl, poured some chips in it, and put the chips back up. I handed the bowl to Mackenzie. "Bon appetite," I said.
He smiled up at me. "Thank you." And he ran off.
I was about to follow him when I thought about what I'd just done. I stopped, turned around, and looked back at the cabinets. That was kinda cool. I knew exactly where to find things. I frantically began opening drawers and cabinets. I knew where EVERYTHING was! It was like I'd been here before! Okay. Something was up. And I intended to find out what it was.
I poked my head around the doorway into the living room. "How long have you guys lived here?"
"We've lived here since before Ike was born," said Walker. "We moved to South America for a couple of years when Tay was four, but we never sold the house."
That statement felt like a punch in the stomach. When Taylor was FOUR? I gave Drew a Look and she was beginning to squirm. I raced over to the couch and grabbed Taylor's hand. "What are you doing?" he asked.
"I KNOW this HOUSE," I said. I proceeded to lead Taylor and Drew around the house as I knew where EVERYTHING was. But it was in the hall when it all came together.
We stopped in the hall and by now I was frantically searching for a clue as I looked at all the pictures on the walls. But Drew caught it before I did. "Oh, hey, Mel. You've got that picture on the wall at your house."
I looked up at the picture of me and that little boy at the beach. The sand mound one. I stopped breathing. I covered my mouth and stumbled backward against Taylor. "That's me in that picture," I said quietly to him, pointing at the picture.
It all made sense now! The little boy in the picture--the eyes, the expression of concentration on his face, biting the bottom lip...that little boy's name was Taylor, not Trevor. And I was standing right in front of him. All grown up.
I can't explain the look on his face. Shock, disbelief, surprise, stunned. As if it scared him to death.
I slowly pulled out the necklace with his initial on it and he just gaped at it. Then he pulled his out of his shirt. "I have one, too. M--Melody?"
"Taylor! Oh my god!" I wrapped my arms around his neck and we hugged each other tightly with excitement. "So you're a star now, like you said," I said.
He smiled. "You've grown up...nicely," he said, turning red.
"I can't believe it's you. I thought I'd never see you again."
"I never forgot about you," he said.
I put my arm around Tay's neck and turned to Drew with a huge grin. "Look who it is! Can you believe it? It's him!" I held up my necklace. "Small world, huh?"
"Bite size," Drew said, obviously in great shock.
Then I thought about it. He never tried to get in touch with me after he moved back! I wasn't sure if he deserved all this joy from me. I turned around and slapped him across the face. He put his hand to his cheek and gave me a Look. I turned around and walked off to finish getting the instructions from Diana so Taylor could hurry up and leave.