Dreaming Aloud

Christmas

I wake up to the sound of kids squeeling next door. Not a very pleasant sound. Its Christmas morning, so shouldn't they be opening their presents other than running around the back garden? People these days.

I lie in bed staring at the plain white ceiling, waiting for any signs of my family walking around. None. I guess I'll just sit here considering I can't sleep due to the amount of noise coming from next door. Its 6am, I never get up this early, even for school or work. I decide to get out my phone and text all my friends Merry Christmas. As I wait for my phone to turn on, I hear the kids next door bashing on the fence. That's it. I tie my hair up into a messy bun, slip on my ugg boots and storm outside.

As I step onto the wooden fence, a basketball gets thrown over to our lawn.

"Excuse me!?" a tiny voice screams over the fence.

"Yes?" I mumble.

"I want my ball back"

"Manners please?" I ask with attitude.

The young girl sighs. "Can you please throw my ball back" she says, emphasising the please.

I pick up the ball and chuck it back over just before I step back up to the fence, my head poking over the top. I don't want to be rude to this little girl, I'm just tired and she and her brother woke me up. "Sorry sweety, but my family and I are trying to sleep, can you please be a little bit quieter?" I say as nicely as possible. The little girl nods, just before someone, who I assume is her mum steps out to the backyard.

"Sorry about them, ill take them back inside" says the blonde haired girl as she pulls them inside. She hurries straight back out. She's dressed in a tight, blue dress that stops just above the knees. Her blonde hair is curled and they drop as ringlets above her shoulders. She doesn't look old enough to be a mother, she looks about 21 years old. "Wait, your Ellie Bauhn!" she adds. How does she know my name? I'm not even famous.

"Uhm, yeh. Hey?" I reply gripping onto the thin wood of the fence.

"What an honour" she says as she walks towards the gate at the end of the fence. "Sorry about my cousins, they're only 5 years old" she tells me. Well this is weird. I step through the gate that connects our backyards to one another as she smiles at me.

"How do you know me?" I ask.

"I watched your X Factor audition. I was in the audience and you were definitely my favourite. What a voice!" she chants.

"Thank you" I say with a polite smile. I'm wondering if I would be allowed to tell her that I'm in a duo now? Probably not. It could get me kicked off the show.

That's what happened to a 16 year old girl last year. Apparently she had told one of her school friends over Facebook, and they screenshotted it and posted it. After that, she got banned from auditioning for any television shows for another 12 years and got kicked off.

"I was just wondering, am I able to have your autograph? I know you will become famous one day and I'd love to have something from you to say I was supporting you this early in the competition?" she says excitedly.

Wow, an autograph! I've never done this before. If this is what fame is like, then I love it. Its quite nice to know I made a good impression in my audition.

She scurries off, telling me she will be right back and then returns really quickly with a permanent marker and her phone.

"Can you please sign the back of my phone case?" she asks me.

I nod and grab the marker in my right hand. As I turn the phone around so the back of the case is facing up, I notice 5 very familiar faces printed on it.