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"Starlight, starbright, first star I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might, have this wish I wish tonight..." ten year old, Mya, sang in her best whistling voice. It became cracky between the words as she finished and she sat silently in her treehouse making her wish.
"Do you actually believe that your wishes come true?" her friend, Amy, asked from behind her.
Mya jumped and turned around. She didn't know that Amy was up there. "Yeah. Why?" her voice trailed off as she looked down at her feet.
"You're crazy! My wishes never come true" Amy replied as she started to go back down the stairs.
"Maybe you just have to want them to" Mya followed.
"So, what did you wish for?" Amy asked as she jumped to the ground.
"Well, if I tell you then it won't come true!" Mya exclaimed as she stepped down off the ladder.
"Anyways, am I allowed to stay over tonight?" said Amy as she looked back.
"Yeah, I think so" Mya replied as she caught up to her friend.
"Ok, good!" Amy finished as she and Mya walked into the house.
"So, did Mya tell you about wanting to perform in this talent show?" her father asked her mother as he flopped the newspaper down on the kitchen table.
"No, she didn't say anything to me" her mother replied as she dried the dishes.
"Well, she has her heart set on it. There is a twenty dollar entry fee and the winner wins two thousand dollars and a new bike" her father tipped his glasses down to the bottom of his nose to read the small print on the bottom of the ad.
"She doesn't need another bike" her mother continued drying dishes.
"No, but, she could use two thousand dollars" her father looked up from the paper. Her mother just looked at him as she finished and walked over to him.
"Well, what is she going to do?" her mother questioned, sitting in a chair.
"I dunno...the usual song and dance?" he answered her.
"That is so typical" she replied.
"Well, what else is a ten year old going to do?" he asked her.
"Acting, maybe?" she suggested.
"She can't act" her father finished and walked out the room.
"Oh, great! Jess Evans is here!" Mya stomped on the floor as she saw the blonde haired, blue eyed, twelve year old girl who could be queen of the elementary school if the role was even possible.
"Mya, calm down! This is supposed to be about having fun, not competition!" her mother put her hands on her shoulders. Mya grumbled under her breath.
"This is going to be so fun!" Amy exclaimed as she ran up beside her.
"Why? You're not in it" Mya wrinkled her nose, looking confused.
"Well...." she thought for a second. "This is going to be fun for you and fun for me to watch!" she finished.
"Ok?" she replied, still confused. She looked up to the stage just as Jess started to perform. Everyone cheered for her, except Mya. She sang an oldies song, as her expensive velvet dress swung around her. Mya turned away in disgust as her perfect little blonde ponytails danced around her head. She finished and everyone cheered again.
"Our final performance today is Mya Anderson singing *From A Distance*" the announcer exclaimed into the microphone. Mya was amazed by the response she got when she walked on stage. She figured it was only because she was singing one of the popular songs of the year, not her ten dollar black cortouroy jumper and her white turtle-neck.
"From a distance, the world looks blue and green....." she started to sing. Not one time did she get stagefright, but most young kids didn't. The crowd wasnt very big either since most of them were congregating around Jess in the back. But yet her singing was good for her age. Jess couldnt sing but she had her charm, and that is what always got the best of everyone.
"Mya Anderson, everybody!" the announcer exclaimed as Mya finished and trotted down off the stage. Everyone clapped and then soon became quiet, awaiting for the final results.
"And first place goes to....Jess Evans!" the announcer yelled. Jess' family ran up to her on stage. It was like she won a grammy or something. Mya sulked down off the stage and to her family in the back. She had won second place, a small trophy, and a fifty dollar gift certificate.
"C'mon hunny! Cheer up!" her mother tried to console her. "Second place is great! At least you weren't last!" she finished. Mya looked back at Jess on the stage, surrounded by her family, being presented with her shiny new bike and her money. She remembered what her father always said when he came home from losing yet another round of golf at the country club - second place is the first loser. She turned around and followed her mother. She couldnt accept second place because she was a winner.
"Mya, wait up!" Amy yelled to her from down the hall. They had both chosen the same local college and were finishing up their last year of their two year course.
"You're gonna miss your next class!" Mya yelled back to her. She knew her everyday routine by heart.
"My last class was cancelled. Let's go put the top down and cruise around the beach! It's so nice out today!" she finally caught up with her and walked with her out the doors.
"What about Drew?" Mya asked about her boyfriend.
"He went out with some friends. I told him to meet me later!" she replied as she plopped her backpack on the backseat of Mya's white Cabrio convertible.
"I'm glad you two are getting along so good!" Mya said as she operated the convertible top to make it go down.
"Well, what about you and Brady?" she asked with a smirk.
"That was so over a long time ago!" she defended herself as she pulled out of the parking lot. The wind started to blow their hair and give them reprieve from the baking sun.
"It was only last week!" Amy started to laugh.
"Ok, so it wasnt so long ago!" Mya replied.
"Are you okay about all that? I mean, we really didn't talk much about it" she asked as she looked at the road in front of them.
"Oh, I'm fine! Trust me! I've always been strong, you know that! Remember when I lost that talent contest? I bounced back and kicked Jess' butt in gym class!" she joked.
Amy laughed and pointed towards the beach. "Talk about the devil, it's the prom queen herself!"
"With her royal hiness, Ethan, no less!" Mya smirked as she pulled the car into the boardwalk parking lot.
"Well, hello there Mya!" Jess said in her snobbyish valley girl accent as she walked up to them.
"Um...hi?" she replied, wondering why she was talking to her.
"So, are you coming out to get some sun? You look a bit pale today" she asked, gripping onto Ethan's arm and standing in a pose like she was trying to win the Miss USA pagent.
"Yeah, I guess so" Mya replied, looking out at the ocean.
"Well, I'm sorry I can't hang around and mingle but I must regroup my posse and jet on out of here. Bye bye!" she finished and pulled Ethan behind her like he was on a leash.
"Regroup my posse and jet? What the fuck is that?" Amy exclaimed. The only time she cursed was when she was really irritated.
"Isn't it funny that you can try to be so kewl that you are actually stupid?" Mya joked as they walked through the sand.
"Hey, wait a minute, I think I see Drew! I'll be right back!" Amy said and ran off.
"Ok!" she replied quickly as she layed her towel on the sand. She sat down and took her cd walkman out of her backpack. She slipped in some Dido and unwound.
The wind started to pick up again as Amy returned to where she left Mya. As she walked back, a page of a local newspaper wrapped around her leg. She was about to let it go again when an ad caught her eye. She finished reading it and hurried back.
"Was it Drew?" Mya asked with her eyes closed. She could hear Amy running up to her.
"Yeah. He said he would meet up with us then. He wants a ride back with us" she said, still standing above her.
"Ok. That's kewl" Mya said, taking the headphones off.
"What is the date today?" Amy asked, sitting down but yet still reading the paper.
"What? You don't know the date?" Mya questioned her and opened her eyes to look at her.
"It's the 18th, right?" she looked over at her for a second and looked back at the paper.
"Yeah, why? What are you reading?" Mya leaned over at the paper in her hand.
"Then this ad is new! Here, read it!" Amy practically shoved the paper into her hands.
"Ok, and?" Mya said, unimpressed, and gave the paper back.
"It's an ad searching for a new actress for a big blockbuster movie!" Amy said, getting excited.
"What does it have to do with me?" Mya replied, still clueless.
"This is what you always wanted to do! Now is the perfect chance to get out there!" Amy persuaded her.
"It used to be what I wanted to do. Ever since I lost that talent contest, I never thought about it again" she answered, as she continued to look out at the waves crashing onto the beach.
"Well, even if you don't make it, it will be a great opportunity and you get to go to L.A.!" she told her with herself also in mind to go along, but she decided not to mention that part of it.
"I don't even have any experience to even try!" Mya tried to deny the fact that it wasn't really a bad idea.
"You have the past two years of experience with the acting classes you are taking!" Amy still tried to persuade her.
"I'm just taking them for extra credit, its not serious or anything!" she still denied herself.
"But, it's what you wished for, isn't it?" Amy looked at her seriously.
"What are you talking about?" Mya looked away.
"In the treehouse when we were ten. You wouldn't tell me what you wished for. It was for an opportunity like this. To be someone. To be out there on the big screen. To be everywhere. Remember, I didn't believe that your wish could come true. But you did. You believed in your dream the best way a ten year old could!" she finished.
"That wish was fake. I was too young to know what I wanted!" she started to become irritated.
"You weren't too young! You know what you wanted then and you know what you want now! I need to go find Drew again. I'll be back!" she finished and ran off.
Mya put her headphones on again and turned on her Dido. She once again looked out into the ocean. The horizon seemed to go on forever, like it was limitless. And yet, maybe so were her dreams.