"Touched A Dream"

A Degrassi Fan Fiction

Chapter Three: Unforgettable

(((Manny)))

As Chris and I got off the bus, the first thing I saw was the big ferris wheel. The lights twinkled in the darkness, and it lit the sky up like glitter.

"Beautiful, huh?" Chris asked, taking out some money for tickets.

I nodded, in awe of all the lights and attractions, "So, what do you wanna do first?"

Chris shrugged, "I was thinking we could check out some of the games, and then hop one some of the rides. Sound good?"

I smiled and nodded, "Sounds great."

We walked around, looking for some good games. Finally, we came across the ball toss.

I burst out laughing as Chris showed interest in playing the game.

"What's so funny?" He asked, a confused look present on his face.

"Well, on my first date ever, I happened to play this game. Did I mention I made a complete fool of myself?" I told Chris about me and Craig's first date. By the time I finished telling the story, a huge grin was spreading across Chris' face.

"Wow, Ms. Santos. I didn't know you were that...bubbly and...perky." Chris teased.

I pushed him playfully, "Shut up!"

He smiled and started to play the game. Ten minutes later, he has successfully won three stuffed animals.

"Good job, Chris," I gave him a high five.

"Who's tha man?" Chris asked in a cocky tone.

"You're the man," I said, laughing a little.

He handed me one of the stuffed animals. It was a large orange plush Care Bear, which I immediately recognized as Friend Bear.

"Thanks, Chris! I was missing Friend Bear! I'm gonna name him...Sunshine!" I hugged the bear to my chest, grinning broadly," So are those for Emma?"

"This one is," Chris held up a cute stuffed panda. "She's crazy about endangered animals, we all know that."

"Oh, that's perfect for her!" I said, "Who's that for?"

He hugged the large stuffed monkey to his chest, "Shhh...it's for me. I'ma name him...DJ Fuzzy."

I shook my head and tried not to laugh, "Are you serious?"

"Yeah," Chris said, "I've always liked monkeys..."

I smiled, "Me too. They're so...cute."

"Yeah, that's true but that's not the reason I like them," Chris said, as we started walking. We passed rows and rows of booths, some selling refreshments, some were game booths, and some were for art such as portraits or bottled sand.

"Hey! Let's go on that roller coaster they have set up," Chris said, a grin still present on his face.

I felt a little sick as I thought of that.

"Um, a roller coaster?" I asked meekly.

"Yeah," Chris looked at me, "Are you afraid of them or something? 'Cause we don't have to go on..."

"Are you kidding me? I love roller coasters..." I lied, sending him a reassuring smile.

"Great!"

(((Jimmy)))

Even though I had sometimes wished I had different parents, I felt tears come to my eyes at the thought of Davon and Jane not being my real mother and father.

"Do you know who my, uh, biological parents are?" I asked, after a long moment of silence.

I saw a single tear make it's way down my father- I mean Davon's face. It fell off his cheek and he wiped whatever remained of it off his face.

"Well, you walked in while your mother, I mean...Jane, was on the phone-"

I cut him off, "Wait, that was who she was arguing with on the phone? My um, mother?"

Davon nodded, and sighed.

"How long have you guys been in contact with her?" I asked, getting angrier at her by the second.

"About a month now," Davon said slowly, "She said she had just realized how empty her life as been since you left. She says she missed the pitter patter of feet on the floor...and the paintings and other artwork you used to bring home from school..."

Davon eyes were dangerously close to spilling over, and his voice was shaky.

"Wait a minute..." I said, remembering something from my past.

FLASHBACK

"Mama, where am I going?" I asked, petrified as my mother walked me over to a car I had never seen before. A very "business" looking young woman, got out and started loading most of my belongings into the backseat. I wanted to grab my stuff and bring it back into the house, but something about that woman scared me.

A tear slid down my mother's cheek and she held me close, "You're going away for a little while, baby. Mama's gotta get better, and when she does, she's gonna come back and we're all gonna be one happy family."

I looked up at her. At 5'10, she towered over me, "With Ricky, too?"

Ricky was the puppy we had found abandoned around the old warehouse, which was down the street from where we lived. My mother didn't really enjoy having an untrained puppy around the house, but she tolerated it for my sake.

My mother smiled weakly, "Even Ricky."

"Promise?"

"Promise," She gave me another tight hug, and gestured for me to get in the backseat of the car.

She leaned over and kissed my forehead, "Now be good while mama's away, Jimmy."

"Okay," I whispered.

My mother stood back as the car started move. I twisted around in my seat, and tears slid down my cheeks as I watched my mother become smaller and smaller as we went farther away.

END FLASHBACK

"She never came back for me. She hadn't even contacted me once in the past..." I looked at Davon for help.

"...Twelve years." Davon said, "You were just four when she left you. You're lucky you were so cute that we wanted adopted you the minute we saw you."

We laughed a little and then it was back to the questions.

"What do you mean she never came back for you?" Davon asked curiously.

"I remember. I remember the day when I last saw her. She said she would come back for me," Tears started making there way down my cheeks, "She said we could be a happy family...Ricky too."

Davon wrapped me into a tight hug and we stayed like that for a couple of minutes.

"Are you going to try to get in contact with her?" Davon asked as we separated from the embrace, "I can go get her number for you."

"When I'm ready, Dad." I smiled a little and wiped the tears away quickly, "You know what? No matter, biological or not...you're still my dad, Davon. And Jane's still my mom. Things are just gonna change a little, right?"

Davon smiled, "Right."

He gave me a another tight hug and then exited my bedroom.

I wiped my face again until it was entirely dry and lay down on my bed, "Wow..."

It was all I could say. All that information was just unbelievable to me. It was surreal. There was a person out there that loved me and wanted to be around me. I mean, I love Davon and Jane, but they were never really there for me as parents. But then again, why did this woman leave me? She promised she would come back and she never did. Those thoughts made me angrier by the second, and I fell asleep with a frown on my face.

((((Chris)))

I waited patiently for Manny to come out of bathroom. I could hear her throwing up, and just that almost made me want to barf as well. Finally she opened the door and came out. Her hair was all messed up and her face was pale.

"If you didn't want to ride the roller coaster, you shoulda just told me," I said, giving her back the care bear she had made me hold.

"I'm dead afraid of heights," Manny said, looking at me apologetically, "I'm sorry. I bet I totally ruined the night for you."

I smiled, "You didn't ruin anything. The night is still young. How 'bout we just forget about this and go get us a picture?"

Manny smiled back and we went looking for the guy who was doing portraits.

"No way is my head that big," I said as we came out of the little tent/booth the guy had going.

Manny busted out laughing as we stared at the portrait, "First off, yes it is. Second off, it's a cartoon drawing. It's supposed to look like that."

"First off, no my head is not the big. And second off, oh..." I said, feeling a little stupid.

"Whatever, Chris," Manny said, smiling and shaking her head, "So, where to next?"

"How about the ferris wheel?" I asked uncertainly.

"Um, Chris...heights," Was all Manny said.

"Don't worry, I'll protect you," I joked, as I led her to the ferris wheel.

"Yeah, you and that humongous head of yours," Manny replied, gazing at the ferris wheel nervously.

I touched my head, "It is not big."

"Sure it's not, Chris," Manny said, rolling her eyes playfully.

"Ha ha. Anyways, are you too afraid of heights to go on the ferris wheel? I mean, I guess it's okay that Manny Santos is afraid of something that even a five year old isn't afraid of," I teased, trying to get her on the ride with me.

"Hmmmph," Manny said. She stepped up to the platform and gave the guy who was working the ferris wheel, four tickets. Two for me and two for her.

She got on and looked at me, "Well are you coming or not?"

I got in, shocked that my plan had actually worked. As the compartment we were in got to the top , the ride stopped. I loved when this happened. It was my favorite part of the ride. It was as if I could almost reach out and touch the stars. I loved being up high in the air.

I glanced at Manny. Her face was pale again and her eyes were glued to anywhere but the ground below us.

"Hey," I whispered. She looked at me and I continued, "You're afraid of heights...we should've left this ride alone."

"No! I need to conquer this fear," She whispered determinedly. She was tightly hugging Sunshine, the care bear I had won her earlier.

"Don't suffocate Sunshine!" I exclaimed.

"What else am I supposed to hold?" She cried softly, too scared to laugh.

"Manny, if you ever need to suffocate something, my hand is always there." I said, shaking my head, "Didn't you know that?"

Manny laughed and grabbed my hand, "Thanks, Chris."

"Um...maybe not that hard, Manny?" I replied in a small voice, twisted up in pain.

Manny laughed nervously, "Sorry..."

We gazed out at the stars and gradually Manny let go off my hand. I even rocked the compartment a little bit, and she almost didn't scream.

"Wow," She said, reaching out her hand to see if see if she could touch the sky, something you always have to do as a little kid. I mimicked her and we laughed. She then gazed at the sky in awe, "It's beautiful."

"Isn't it?" I replied in a comical voice, pretending it was my stuffed monkey. "What do you think Ms. Endangered Panda?"

"Why, yes I must declare that it is the most wonderful thing my eyes have ever come across. It's absolutely brilliant!" I made Emma's panda say to DJ Fuzzy. I said it in a heavy British old woman accent, just to make Manny laugh.

I succeeded. She burst out laughing and couldn't stop, even as we started to move. She had so much fun after she relaxed, that she wanted to ride it one more time.

We spent the rest of the night riding the ferris wheel, sharing secrets, fears, just talking about life in general. I learned a lot about Manny that night, and she learned a lot about me. She had to go home after a while, and she used her cell phone to call her brother for a ride. We exchanged numbers and promised to hang again sometime. I knew that "sometime" would be in the very near future. I also knew that Manny and I would become friends, wait, more than friends...best buddies, ha ha.

"What happened to you?" James asked when I got home. He started waving his hand in front of my face, "Earth to Chris."

"Jay, I think I finally find someone who understands me. And it's great." That was all I said. I walked into my room, changed, and eventually fell right asleep.