Chapter 3: Those Good Old Dreams (Revision)

Hannah and I biked through the neighborhood. Everything changed: new houses, buildings, recreations, malls and entertainment.

“So, what do you think?”, asked Hannah?

“Uh, yeah. I think it’s nice, cozy, pristine…and yeah oldies.”

She smirked, “Oh so? Glad you like this town.”

I adjusted my new shades as we biked past the school. The past came through.

***

It was a sunny day in 1946 California. I walk to the school alone wearing that era, shirt, slacks and leather shoes. I was just a normal person going to school. The school was bustling that day. I was on my way to my locker and stumbled into a new girl.

“Oh, sorry!” I quickly picked up her belongings scattered

She said, “It’s fine. Let me help you.”

After we gathered the belongings, we looked up and just greeted each other.

“Uh, I'm new here. My name is Diane,” said the blonde girl who would be my lovelife.

I stuttered a bit, “It’s Mario. Uh can I show you around?”

“That’d be great!” said she smiling.

I smiled and walked with her, “Sure uh…this is a student lounge…”

***

Back at the day I just smiled as we biked past the school. The same old John Baker.

We stopped at a music store which, I could say, contained every genre. Hannah sped through the rock music section and quickly pulled out a CD title. “She Wants Revenge”

Hannah smiled, “Look how great this is!”

“Uh what’s the band? I haven’t heard this band before,” said I as I stepped closer.

Hannah sighs and pouts, “Uh you don’t listen to rock and roll music? This is the best band this year ever! And it’s 2006!”

“Oh, I ain’t used to listening to rock music you know I just like, uh, pops, especially Carpenters.”
“Carpenters like Karen Carpenter? Oh how 70s you are, ” she put the CD into a basket.

I walked to a pop music section and browsed the vinyl racks.

“Whatcha got?”

I pulled out Carpenters’ 1972—A Song for You—vinyl cover and checked the disc.

“Hey! This is original!” I read the A&M record.

She walked over, “Oh, I can buy you some if you want.” She smirked, “sister’s discount.”

“Do you know how deeply sad it is, just to look at the smiling face of a young girl who had dreams?” I tapped at Karen Carpenter’s portrait in the vinyl cover.

Hannah leaned on a pole and listened.

“She had dreams. Like us. But all she wanted was love. True love which was an affection she never had.”

Hannah just listened.

I sighed, “The world seemed not to care about her well being. She wanted to be perfect for someone and that perfection took her life away at the age of 32.”

She nods.

“And all she wanted all her life had not been granted to her. You know. Deceived to the end. And I just thought how could people be this ignorant to a person’s life.”

I pulled out another album—A Kind of Hush. “Well, there is one song in this album which concludes her wish…I Need to Be in Love.”

Hannah nods, “Well, I haven’t heard that story that deep before but I should say it was heartbreaking. A young girl who had dreams she couldn’t reach for.”

We paid for the CDs and vinyl discs and decided to take a detour to an orange groove. We stopped by a diner and bought a take out.

Hannah sat under the blossomed orange tree, “Woah this is nice, I fancy a burger and coke for a long time since my last diet.”

I sat and ate my cheeseburger, “Mhmmm…tasty.”

“D’you know that these orange grooves were older than my mother?”

I smiled slyly, “Yes, I really do know.”

***

After school that day, Diane rode my bike with our food into the orange grooves and hung out.

We chuckled as I braked the bike dangerously.

“Hey! Be careful!” She swatted playfully as she got off the bike.

I lay the bike on the ground as we sat under the orange tree, “I’m sorry…do you mind?”

“Oh, really no! Just, don’t do that again without noticing me.”

We ate our meals then lay on the ground head to head in opposite directions.

“I haven’t felt this good before,” sighs Diane.

“Why?”

“I don’t know, I just have a hunch for good things?”

“Oh a hunch for good things?”, I asked chuckling

“Yeah, I think we should rest here under the blossoming orange trees and look onto the pristine sky. No more people. No more disturbance. No more obeying. Just you and me.

***

I leaned on the tree and kept smiling at those beautiful memories.

Hannah nudged me, “What you thinkin’?”

I shrugged and sighed, “Well, it’s something you can’t reach for no matter how hard you try…”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Again, I decided to revise chapter 3 and 4 because they are so complex and they creeped me out psychologically.

If you like the new revised version, you can leave a comment so I will try to revise the new chapters!

Thanks for reading and the comments!

Eve
17/10/26