It had been a month since the day Moondancer’s friends betrayed her, the worst day of her life. Now it was the middle of November, and she still hadn’t gotten over it. Well, she would probably never get over it completely. She had been studying nonstop, and even talked to her parents less.
Moondancer sat in her room at the desk as usual, going through her books. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.
“Come in,” Moondancer said indifferently.
Her mom came inside. “Hello, Moony. How are you doing?”
“Fine,” she said, not looking up from the desk.
“Do you want any help?” her mom asked.
“No,” Moondancer said.
“Okay,” her mom replied, realizing she wasn’t up for talking at the moment. “Well, dinner is ready. Do you want to come?”
“In a minute,” Moondancer said.
Her mom paused. “You should come now, while it’s hot,” she insisted.
“I’m nearly done,” Moondancer replied. “Just a minute.”
“Okay,” her mom said, leaving the room and closing the door. This wasn’t going to work. Moondancer’s dad was coming up the stairs, just as her mom turned around. She sighed. “What are we going to do? She’s in a depression because of what those girls did to her.”
“Well, what makes her really happy?” he asked.
“It was her friends,” she said. “But now…I’m not quite sure.”
“Well, who does she have posters of all over her room?” her dad asked.
“Adagio Dazzle, her favourite singer,” her mom answered. “She listens to her music all the time too, but…it doesn’t seem to make a difference.”
“What if we took her to a concert?” he suggested, getting his phone out of his pocket.
“Right, like Adagio Dazzle would come to our town at such a convenient moment,” her mom said sarcastically.
“Not our town, but one pretty close by,” he said, holding up his phone. On the screen, there was a post from Adagio Dazzle about a list of concert dates. “Here, she’s performing only an hour away from here.”
“Really?” her mom’s face lit up. “Oh my gosh, this would make her so happy! She’s always dreamed of seeing Adagio live. Get the tickets right now! What date is it?”
“Next Sunday,” he said. “1 week away.”
“Wonderful,” she replied, lowering her voice. “Let’s not tell her, and make it a surprise. I can’t wait to see how happy she is!”
~.~.~.~.~.~
1 week later, Moondancer went to bed thinking of all the studies she had to do for the day. She was going to reorganize her bookshelf, and work on the school project. But when she woke up on Sunday morning, she felt just horrible. Her nose was stuffy and she had a sore throat. She coughed harshly, getting up to go and do her morning routine. Of course, with all the dropping temperatures going into the winter soon, her immunity would be weaker. She had a cold.
After finishing her routine, she made her way downstairs to try and have some breakfast. She just made it to the bottom of the stairs when she coughed again, and it didn’t sound very good. Her parents looked from the dining room to see if she was alright.
“Are you okay?” her dad asked worriedly.
“Actually, I’m not feeling very well,” she admitted, sniffling.
“Aww, I’m sorry to hear that,” her mom replied.
“Yeah, I think if I just stay home today I’ll be fine,” Moondancer said.
Her mom was about to agree, but then it hit her what today was. “Wait!” she exclaimed. “Stay home? Today?!”
“Did you plan on going somewhere?” Moondancer asked.
“No,” her mom said. “I mean…well, are you sure you don’t want to go out?”
“Yeah, I’m sure,” Moondancer said. “I just want to stay here. I’m going to my room.” To be honest, she didn’t feel like having any food after all. She went back up to her room to read her books in bed, with a box of tissues, hoping this wouldn’t last too long.
“This is a disaster,” her mom said.
“She could still feel better by this evening,” her dad commented. “She just says that now.”
“Ohh, now it’s not going to be a surprise!” her mom realized. “We’ll have to tell her to get her to go. And what if she really is too sick to go? Oh, and with all the noise and lights, what if she faints? Why today?”
“Hey, calm down,” her dad said. “The tickets also work for the virtual concert, so we can watch it on TV.”
“But it won’t be the same,” her mom said sadly. “Oh, you don’t understand anything. She wants to see Adagio in real life and sing with her!”
“But if it’s not good for her, we can’t take any chances,” her dad said.
“We’ll just see how the day goes,” her mom suggested.
“That’s what I said,” her dad spoke up.
Her mom shook her head. “Oh, just stop.”
~.~.~.~.~.~
The day went by slowly, since Moondancer had already finished that week’s homework and read most of the books she had. She couldn’t really clean her room since every time she moved around, she would cough or need another tissue. Eventually, she got comfortable enough to take a short nap, but that didn’t help at all except for taking up time.
That evening, she was sitting in bed listening to The Dazzlings new group album, and that made her feel just a little bit better. She had almost forgotten about Sunny Flare and Sour Sweet that day. As she was playing her favourite track again, there was a knock.
“Come in,” she said, but talking made her cough again. Her mom came in looking very worried. “Hi, mom.”
“Hi sweetie,” her mom said, looking at the pile of tissues next to her. “Oh, no. you’re still sick.”
“Yes, but I think it’s just a cold,” Moondancer said. It wasn’t fun, but she didn’t want her mom to worry too much.
Her mom sat down next to her on the bed. “Moondancer…there is something I need to tell you. We know how much you love Adagio Dazzle and how much you’ve always wanted to see her live.”
“Yes?” Moondancer looked up. Was this really going where she thought it was?
“Well, she is performing a concert a few towns over and…it’s tonight,” her mom replied. “We got tickets.”
Moondancer gasped. “Really? So…we could go?!” she had seen the post from Adagio online, but thought that town was too far away.
“Well, that’s why I’ve been so worried all day,” her mom explained. “Do you think you’re feeling well enough to go?”
“Yes!” Moondancer exclaimed. “Of course, I am! Are you kidding? I’ve got to, we have to go now!” She got out from under the covers and stood up quickly, but she was dizzier than she had thought. She lost her balance and collapsed next to the bed.
“Moony!” her mom was quick to help her up. “Are you okay?”
Moondancer took a deep breath, looking around the room. Everything was fuzzy, and she probably couldn’t even make it downstairs easily.
Her mom sighed. “No, there’s no way we’ll be able to go.”
“No!” Moondancer protested. “I want to, I have to! it’s my dream! When will she ever come back again? I’m fine, let’s get going now!”
“Listen,” her mom said. “We can’t have you fainting at the concert or while walking in. We can watch it on the TV. Our tickets will get us into the online concert too.”
“But it’s not the same,” Moondancer sighed.
“I know, but it’s the best we can do,” her mom said. “Come on, we’ll make popcorn and watch it right from the living room. And we’ll all sing along, well as best as I can. I know some of her songs!” Her mom started singing one of Adagio’s hit songs, and not very well.
Moondancer burst into laughter. “Okay, mom, just stop! We’ll watch it from here.”
“Wonderful, I’ll get it all set up,” her mom said, heading downstairs. At least she had gotten Moondancer to laugh a little.
~.~.~.~.~.~
Moondancer and her parents sat on the living room couch, waiting for the concert to start. She had a bucket of homemade popcorn, and of course, her box of tissues. Once the concert started, she already felt better. It was not as amazing as being there in person, but it was still a special night with her family. She couldn’t sing along out loud, but she still had a wonderful time.
Once the concert was over, Moondancer was going back up the stairs with the help of her mom. That was not a very good place to get dizzy, after all.
“So, did you enjoy it?” her mom asked, though she knew the answer.
“I loved it,” Moondancer said. “It really did feel like we were there with her, and besides, it’s the thought that counts.” When they reached her bedroom door, she gave her mom a tight hug. “Thank you so much. I feel really happy now. Besides, your popcorn is probably better than anything they have there.”
“Of course, I’m so glad it made you feel better,” her mom smiled. “Now get some rest.”
~.~.~.~.~.~
The next few weeks were about the same. Moondancer would go to school, avoid talking to anyone, especially Sunny Flare and Sour Sweet. She always made sure to sit far away from them in class and in the cafeteria. They hadn’t tried to talk to her again, knowing it wouldn’t do any good. Even if they were sincere in their apologies, Moondancer didn’t care at this point. She wanted nothing to do with friendship, and it was just a distraction. Maybe it all happened for the better.
Moondancer’s life was back on track. She wasn’t going to let anyone distract her anymore. The holiday break was coming soon, but it didn't mean much for her. She would take the time off to get ahead in her studies. She couldn’t focus on anyone else's lives, because she had her own. And she would be just as successful, but in her own way.
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