Joan: And once again, you own me... and Pebbles... and Matt... and Chaotic Senses-
Aurora: Enough. Too much information. Gah. x.x
Chapter Two
Joan the pale green Gelert and her blue un-blinking Gathow were walking across the lawn of her mansion, having just walked half a block and ran a block and a half. Joan was going to have a concert that night, and she felt tired from running away from fans. The fans- most Neopets recognized her, and a vast majority of them wanted an autograph or picture. After all, Joan was a singer, and her career had started off with a blast two years ago.
As she walked up the steps to the door, she pulled out a key on a lavender ribbon and unlocked the lock before entering. She felt the coolness of the marble floor on her bare paws before walking around the two marble staircases, and walked through the house until she reached the door to the backyard. She pushed the door open and shut it behind her, and trotted onto the grassy lawn.
When the mansion had been built, she had asked the construction crew to not put anything in the backyard, and leave it as its grassy and green self. There were a few old trees, and they were large- large enough for the branches to reach out to each other, a distance of 10 meters, and provided a large amount of shade. They were arranged in a sort of a half moon arrangement, so there was a small clearing in the middle, where a small, old bench had been placed. The sunlight filtering through the leaves gave a dappled look to the ground and bench. It was a very peaceful spot. Joan sighed as she plopped down on the bench, and the Gathow, Pebbles, jumped from Joan's arms and curled up into a ball next to her owner. Then, Joan leaned back, clasped her paws behind her head, and looked up.
Between the leaves, she could make out a little dot in the sky. It was twinkling, but it was daytime…
"I barely get through / my whole boring day / But I look at the sky. / A little spark stands / Apart from the rest / another moon in the blue…" she said quietly and slowly, and suddenly realized: Wasn't she up late last night, and she was looking up at the sky, and a star seemed slightly out of place? She had started writing a song at that moment, but in her mind. She must have forgotten it, and was trying to remember it that same morning.
She ran back into the mansion and located a pad of paper, and ran back out to the bench. She sat down and pulled out her pen from her pocket, and wrote down what she had just sung. After a moment, she leaned back and looked up at the sky again. Maybe if she finished the song before the concert, she could sing it…? She went back into the house and left the paper and on her bed, Pebbles following her at her heels. She had just lifted her pen when the doorbell rang.
"I'll get it for you, Miss D'Arcy!" the butler said as he walked past Joan's room. Joan heard the clicking of the Kougra's claws as he went to answer the door. The front door was opened, and then she heard a familiar voice.
"Joan? I'm home… your mother is too."
"Dad! Mum!" Joan cried in happiness, and she bolted from her room, down the stairs, and there were two Gelerts standing in the doorway. One of them was a dark blue with whiskers, and the other was a pinkish red, and they were both holding travel bags. Joan ran up and hugged her parents.
"Hello, honey," the red Gelert said in a sweet voice. "We're glad to see you, too."
"We missed you!" the dark blue Gelert, obviously Joan's father, added.
"I'm glad to see you!" Joan said, and she snuggled her nose into her mother's coat. "You've been gone for four months on that mining expedition!"
"It was a rather long business job on Mystery Island," her father apologized. "And… I don't remember you being that tall. You've been eating too much smoked cheese."
"I like that kind of cheese, that's all," Joan laughed. "Let me show you your rooms; I've decorated them!"
30 minutes later, her parents were in bed, exhausted from traveling. Joan was a little worried about them overworking, but she wanted to get on with her song. She went up to her room and added two lines for her song. Then, her mind was blank.
"Writers block," she mumbled, and glanced at the clock. It was around 5:00 p.m. She had to be at the concert at 8:30, but wanted to be there early to see the stage and crowd. She didn't have much time left. The Gelert growled and went downstairs, into the kitchen.
"Joan…? Do you need anything?" The maid asked. Joan went ahead and opened the fridge, grabbed a hunk of smoked cheese, and slammed it down on a cutting board. She found a table-knife and started cutting it into slices.
"Joan, I can do that for you. You are the owner of this mansion, anyway."
"I'm fine," Joan said as she munched a slice while still cutting. "There has to be a time when I can do things by myself, anyway."
"I came here because you couldn't do that back then, you know," Marie replied. "And now you're doing it by yourself..."
"Yeah, I know," Joan answered, and she slid the slices onto a plate. "I have writer's block right now. I must have been a spoiled brat back then. Thank you, Marie." Marie looked confused, walked out of the room, and Joan picked up the plate and went back to her own room. Looking out her window, she spotted the little daystar. She heard a pattering of footsteps behind her, and turned to see her dad.
"Had a nice rest?" Joan asked, and her father nodded. He walked up next to her and put his arm around her shoulders.
"What're you looking at?" he asked, looking out the window. She pointed at the daystar, and he squinted at it.
"I don't see it."
"It's a daystar, Dad!"
"Daystar?" he asked, uncertain.
"Yeah, Dad."
"But they don't exist, honey." Those words hit Joan with such a shock that felt like plunging into icy water.
"Dad… I can see it. It was there an hour ago, it was there last night, it's there now," she said in a worried voice. Her father rubbed his eyes, and peered at the star.
"Maybe I was wrong…" he said slowly. "But if it's not there in an hour, I'm convinced that it must be a plane or something." He left the room, leaving Joan feeling very disappointed. She ran over to her bed and plopped down on it. Munching a slice of cheese, she began writing furiously, trying to wear away the writer's block in her mind.
She was still at it, when she glanced at the clock. 7:30! She had half an hour left! She looked down at her paper, to find lots of lines, and a lot of scribbles. She had no time to memorize all of this, and she had a very rough idea of what it would sound like… Her Gathow Pebbles pattered over to her and meowed loudly. Joan bounced out of bed and pulled sneakers onto her feet, and then hastily folded the song, and pocketed it. She ran downstairs, Pebbles on her heel, and grabbed a helmet off of the coat hanger in the hall.
"Dad! Mum! I'm going to the concert!" she yelled as she strapped a helmet on, and a voice in the kitchen said, "Okay honey, we'll be there at around 8:30."
She ran out the front door, and grabbed her bike that was on the side of the house. She only used the bike for emergencies; and this was one of them. If it took her forty-five minutes to walk four huge blocks- with the fans following her everywhere, then-
Joan cursed loudly, as she discovered the chain on her bicycle to have broken. She kicked the bike, and the chain broke off into two pieces. Feeling like she could kick herself instead, she ran across the lawn, onto the sidewalk, and in the direction of the stage. She ran as fast as she could to the concert, the Gathow running faster, and jumped to perch on her shoulders.
She had only gone half a block, when an Aisha, about her age, was riding a motor scooter rode up alongside her, keeping pace with her jogging.
"Joan? Is that you?" the Aisha asked.
"Yes, it's her- me, and I'm late for my concert!" Joan exclaimed. "I have to be there in half an hour-"
"I can give you a lift," the Aisha replied, and they both slowed down.
"Really?" Joan asked, and the Aisha nodded. "But I don't have a helmet-"
"You're already wearing one."
"How can I ever thank you!?" Joan sighed in relief, not caring that she might have looked silly with a helmet on and no bike. She would be there on time! She stepped onto the scooter behind the Aisha and held him around the middle.
"Let's go!" he said, and the scooter's engine hummed a little, as it picked up speed.
"Aiiieeee!" they screamed in delight as they zoomed down a hill, and other Neopets hurriedly jumped out of the way, only to gawk at them when they realized it was Joan on that scooter.
"There it is!" she said, pointing at the stage. Neopets were just starting to pay for their tickets and gather in front of the stage. Some of them were spreading blankets on the grass and setting up beach chairs. Others were making use of the plastic seats already set in front of the stage.
The Aisha steered the scooter so that they would go on a parkway that would take them backstage. Just as they passed the gates, a security officer Chia ran up to them and blew his whistle. They stopped and got off the scooter.
"You don't have a backstage pass! Out!" he yelled, and then his eyes met Joan's. His face turned a lovely shade of pink.
"Uh, hello, Miss D'Arcy, I'm sorry, go right ahead," he said, and the Aisha and Joan walked right on ahead, leaving the scooter and helmets by the gate. She sneaked a look at the clock. It was 7:56. She made it in time!
"How can I ever thank you?" Joan repeated to the Aisha, who was looking around with interest. "I don't even know your name!" The Aisha faced Joan.
"The name's Matt. I'm the lead guitarist for that rock band, 'Chaotic Senses'. But we've broken up… I've been looking for a band to play in." he explained. Joan considered the information for a few minutes, until she had an idea.
"Well, when I sing, there is a band playing behind me- the drums, lead guitar, you know. Just recently, a really good idea for a song popped into my mind, and I want a chance to sing it, but the band doesn't know yet. It's not finished," she added. "And of course, getting a chance figure out a new song with me is very hard to come by…"
"Oh! You'd like me to help? I'd be honored to!" he exclaimed, grinning. "This is perfect! I've always wanted to do this; I write songs for Chaotic Senses, too." Joan smiled, found a couple of chairs, and an acoustic guitar that was in a corner. They settled in, and Matt strummed a G chord on the guitar. He winced and started tuning it, plucking one string as he fiddled with the tuning knobs.
"Sing a G?"
"Geeeeee….."
"Great, thanks." He strummed it again, and this time, the proper chord came out. He played a few more until he got used to the width of the fret board, and waited while Joan pulled out the song.
"Let's see… the first line starts off as 'Laying there all night, / Thinking about now, / The wind brushes my fur.' "
"Lying there… all night… thinking' about now…" Matt tried out. "No, wait- Laying there all night, thinking' about… now…" Joan looked at the clock. It was 8:07. She wondered if they could finish the song on time….
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"I barely get through
My whole boring day
But I look at the sky.
A little spark stands
Apart from the rest,
Another moon in the blue.
It keeps us all
Guessing, you don't know
Where it'll be next, it moves...
For all you know it
Could be a planet
Thousands of miles away.
For all you know it
Could be a supernova
That never ends.
For all you know it
Could be a parallel
Universe of our home,
Or a sun...
It disobeys the rules,
It has its own ways,
My little Midnight Daystar."
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Aurora: That was the second chapter! One more to go!
Joan: You were complaining when you were editing this one...
Aurora: ...Well, this one was hard to write.
Joan: I don't blame you, hahaha.
Aurora: 0.o? Anyway... review because-
Joan: She needs feedback before starting on the third chapter!
Aurora: Eh... yeah.