Dreams Do Come True: Part Three

     Ms. Annette Lightfoot,

     We are terribly sorry to announce this, but your application to the Terror Mountain School of Music has been rejected. On the bottom of this message, you will find your judges’ opinions and your scores on your last performance. Thank you for applying, and feel free to try again next year.

     A tear wove through the fur on Annette’s cheek, but she continued onto her judging reviews.

     Judge 1: Beautiful warm-up. However, I can not judge off of your warm up. You froze up on your song, making you miss a couple of rhythms and notes. I believe that a bit more experience in performing in front of judges might be necessary in future auditions. You have great potential, but I believe this just isn’t your year.

     Judge 2: Great voice! Not the best I have heard all day, and I might suggest a different scale to warm up on, but overall, you did very well. I hope you go further in auditions, because I’d like to hear you in choir sometimes.

     Judge 3: Sorry to bring this to attention, but if I am not mistaken, this is your first year. How do I know? You stutter your name, are slower with music, and more likely to mess up. Better luck next year.

     Annette took it much better than she had actually expected to. Since she had anticipated this happening, the news hadn’t been too bad.

     Fae’s ears sagged, and she desperately tried to think of words of encouragement for her friend. Nothing much came to mind.

     “Well... Maybe they got you mixed up with someone else!”

     “No, Fae, both of us know they didn’t,” Annette said glumly. “Congratulations on getting in, but it looks like it’s regular NeoSchool for me for another year.”

     “We’ll do better next year,” Fae said guiltily, looking down at the ground.

     “I hope so.” Annette sat down in the long grass on the front lawn. “Well, we’d would have had to commute to Terror Mountain if I would have gotten accepted anyway.”

     “Yeah. Since I live there, it’s no problem.” Fae giggled, sitting down as well.

     “I’ve got a question.” Annette’s curiosity was getting the best of her. Although silly, her question was something she'd always wondered.

     “Go,” Fae replied, looking up at the radiant blue sky. Some Weewoos flew by, bulked down with heavy packages.

     “Is there a public neoschool in every level at Terror Mountain?” Annette asked jokingly with a giggle.

     “Annette!” Fae wailed, joking back. “I thought you were going to ask a serious question!”

     “I wanted to know.” Annette shrugged then laughed, for the first time in a week.

     “FYI: Yes, there is.” The two Cybunnies continued to giggle until it grew into a full-out laughing fit. A few passing Neopets, walking their petpets, stared in curiosity, but Annette didn’t care. She was having fun with her friend and that was all that mattered.

     ---

     One week later, Annette hadn’t been able to talk to Fae since she had talked to her when the two had read her rejection letter.

     Her school choir had a few rehearsals left, but NeoSchool was out for summer vacation. She had never cared for NeoSchool. The classes were dull and seemingly pointless, the work was easy, and the teachers were less than enthusiastic about teaching the young Neopets.

     She had, for some reason, enjoyed reading, though. She would always find herself daydreaming of a beautiful Royal Cybunny with an equally beautiful voice that had letters pouring in asking to perform in front of various royal Faerieland members. Annette smiled sheepishly at herself. This was probably a very common daydream for many aspiring singers.

     She was lying on her bed, trying to think of something to do that would keep her from being bored out of her skull. The daydream had ended--this one concluding after performing a solo piece in front of Queen Fyora herself.

     The music school was still heavy on her mind, but she had accepted the fact that she would just have to do better next year. There was a knock on her bedroom door, making Annette groan and roll over.

     “Come in!” she mumbled.

     “Annette...” Her mother had opened the door a small crack. Annette lifted one of her floppy ears to signal she was listening. “Someone is at the door for you.”

     Happy to find an excuse to get her out of the house, Annette got up and trudged downstairs. Standing at the door was Fae, as bright and cheerful as ever.

     “What are you doing here?” Annette cried in shock. “You should be at school! I know how strict they are about attendance!”

     “I dropped out of it,” Fae said happily. Annette blinked, continuing down the stairs.

     “What?” The information didn’t quite register in Annette’s mind.

     “I dropped out,” Fae said again, more simply. This made her friend's ear's shoot straight up in the air.

     “But... why?” Annette reached the bottom of the stairs, gazing at her friend curiously. Why would she do something like that?

     “Because it wasn’t fun without my friends there. Everyone already had friends, and nobody was willing to act like they knew me.” Fae nodded sadly, but gave a weak smile. “I was hoping that we’ll both make it when we try out next year. We can do a duet. I already picked out some music!” Fae held out a worn sheet of music. Despite being worn, the lyrics and notes were still very clear.

     Annette took the second part of the duet, reading the lines. The piece was called ‘Best Friends Forever’.

     “So... what do you say...?” Fae pressured, a smirk spreading across her face.

     “Of course!” Annette squealed, pulling her friend into a hug. The two then left for the music hall, Annette filled with excitement that she hadn't felt in a very long time.

     They arrived after an hour of wandering around Neopia Central, Annette being happy to be back into the music hall. The hall was busy today, however. It took Annette and Fae a long time to find an open rehearsal room.

     When they found one, it wasn’t actually empty. There was a Royal Kougra perched on a bench, but she wasn’t playing, which is why Annette and Fae had made the mistake that the room was empty.

     “Oh, sorry for bothering you. We didn’t notice you were in here,” Annette quickly said as the Kougra looked up.

     “It’s okay.” She smiled warmly. “You can use the piano and practice if you’d like, since there’s probably not many rooms open. I’m just doing some work, and I always enjoy listening to somebody sing while I work.”

     “We won’t be too long.” Fae nodded quickly. “Just need to look over a piece.”

     The duo warmed up--and unknown to them, the Kougra in the corner continually looked up, genuinely impressed with the voices she was hearing from the two Cybunnies. Their voices grew as they made progress in learning the song.

     Time flew by. An hour had already passed before the two stood up to leave. The Kougra stopped them, gathering up her notebook. Annette and Fae were still a few feet from the door.

     “Wait! I’d like to ask you two something.” The two singers snapped around in response as the Kougra began. “You know about the Faerieland Regal Choir, correct?”

     “Yes!” Fae and Annette chorused, their eyes widening at its mention.

     “Well, I’m a sponsor and assistant director of that very choir. My name is Marianne Kingsford. We were thinking of doing an introductory summer program for younger students who show talent and ambition, in which I’ve seen in both of you today.”

     Annette let out a small squeal of delight as Ms. Kingsford continued.

     “Would you two be interested?” She took the squeals from both girls as a yes. “Great! If you can give me your addresses, I’ll send a Weewoo when times and dates are arranged.”

     --

     “Can you believe it?” Fae asked her best friend on their walk home.

     “Not at all!” Annette clapped happily. “We’re going to be on our way to the top. Best friends doing what they love to—SING!” She jumped at the last word, her heart fluttering at the mere thought of singing professionally.

     The sun was going down, illuminating the water in the nearby lake. Colors of deep purple, mauve, yellow, and pink reflected in the waters.

     Today was truly perfect for the two best friends. Annette then realized that just because someone tells you you're not good enough, it doesn't mean you're not. It's their opinion. Although the choir judges hadn't liked her singing, someone more important had.

     Dreams really can come true.

The End

Author’s Note: It’s been a while since I wrote a story for the NT, and this series has been in the works for a while now. Hope you enjoyed! ~littlej001