But when graduation day finally arrived, Stella got a sinking sense that a dark cloud was following her around. She wanted so much to focus on all the great things to come—such as her galactictorian address presentation! Receiving her Wish-Granting degree! And learning how she had fared at the Wish-Science Fair; maybe, just maybe, she had won! But while pulling on her long, sparkly golden robe and then placing the gold star-shaped graduation cap on her head, she glanced back at her dorm room on the way out the door. It was then a wave of sadness and guilt washed over her. She was almost certain that she could hear Cora’s voice telling her that she didn’t deserve to be there, that she should have been expelled, too. Terrified, Stella rushed to meet up with the rest of her classmates, hoping the menacing voice she was hearing in her head wouldn’t persist.
Thankfully, when she joined the long line of girls filing into the Radiant Recreation Center, Stella heard instead three sweet little voices laughing and calling out her name in unison. She turned in time to see her younger sisters waving to her. She felt a positive glow as she waved back, and pure joy overtook her when she locked eyes with her parents, who were beaming back at her with pride. Yes, this was what she needed to focus on—the positive energy was all around her. She just needed to remain focused on it.
Everything that happened after that—including Stella’s own galactictorian address—was a blur. All she wanted to do was find out who had won first place in the Wish-Science Fair! At long last, it was time, and she could hardly contain her excitement as Lady Astrid walked to the front of the stage and began talking about the significance of that year’s projects. Stella glanced around at her classmates but avoided making eye contact with any of them and instead looked over at her parents and her sisters again—five sparkling pairs of eyes all smiling back at her, filling her up with the confidence she so desperately needed. They believed in her, so how could she help believing in herself?
“And so, without further ado,” Lady Astrid said, “in third place…please give your most cosmic congratulations to…Indirra Solara!”
As she watched Indirra walk along the glittery silver path up to the stage, Stella smiled and clapped as loudly as she could—but self-doubt and fear began to creep in. If Indirra had come in third, did that mean Stella might only come in second? After all, Stella usually came in first with Indirra just behind her. She shook her head, trying to push aside the negative voices; a hush fell over the crowd as the headmistress prepared to read the name of the second-place finisher.
“Next,” said Lady Astrid, “in second place…congratulations to…Marisol Meriwether!”
Oh, my stars! Stella couldn’t believe it. Marisol was only a second-year student! Was that a good thing…or a bad thing? It was hard to say. Slowly, Stella turned around in her seat to look at her family, and once again she saw their bright faces smiling back at her. It didn’t matter to them if she won the Wish-Science Fair. To them, she was already a star. Stella smiled and looked up at Lady Astrid. She took a deep breath and reminded herself that the judges had already made their decision and she simply had to hope for the best. As the cheers died down again, Stella squeezed her eyes shut and held her breath.
“And now, it is my distinct honor and privilege to not only award first place, but to join with the heads of the Starland Wish-Tank in offering a most coveted position to…”
Just then, a Bad Wish Orb zoomed over the stage, nearly striking Lady Astrid in the head, before making its way through the crowd. Stella felt sick as it came right up to her, buzzing angrily, before finally shooting off into the atmosphere and—thank the stars—disappearing.
“Well, that was most unusual,” said Lady Astrid, who appeared shaken but then quickly cleared her throat and regained her composure. “As I was saying…the award for first place goes to…”
Stella tried hard to focus on Lady Astrid, but the Bad Wish Orb’s buzzing was still echoing in her ears, so loud that she couldn’t hear what the headmistress was saying. Had she announced the winner? She saw Lady Astrid’s lips moving but couldn’t make out the name she was citing. Stella glanced around, and as the stadium erupted in thunderous applause, it finally registered that all eyes were on her. She turned to look at her parents, who were nodding and cheering and motioning for her to go up to the stage.
“Me?” asked Stella as she blinked a few times, and they responded by nodding more urgently while laughing happily.
Stella wanted to laugh, too—but she also wanted to cry. She felt completely disoriented as she raced up to the stage and did her best to thank a woman named Skylar, who would soon be her mentor at the Starland Wish-Tank. Skylar shook Stella’s hand and congratulated her. Then, at last, Lady Astrid extended her arms and Stella nearly collapsed into them as she returned her embrace. When they broke apart, Stella looked out at the crowd—her classmates, their families, her family—and tried to enjoy the moment.
But as Stella thought about the dark cloud that had been hanging over her all day, not to mention the Bad Wish Orb that had made such an ill-timed appearance, she had a strange and troubling sense that her victory might not last—that something terrible might be right around the corner. Was it possible that Lady Astrid was wrong—that Stella hadn’t stopped the spread of negative energy after all, and perhaps she still had far more work to do? And worse than that, could it be that Cora still had something to do with it?
All twelve Star Darlings stared in stunned silence at the staryearbook resting on Adora’s lap, trying to process everything they had just seen.
“Oh. My. Stars,” Adora finally said, her hand trembling as it hovered above the image of Stella on her graduation day. “Can you believe it?”
“Of course I can,” Vega replied, grabbing the staryearbook. Her blue eyes sparkled with admiration as she considered everything their headmistress had accomplished when she was about their age. “It was so obvious that Lady Stella—er, I mean, just Stella—was going to win the Wish-Science Fair and go to work in the Wish-Tank.”
“My mom did pretty well, too,” Sage pointed out.
“Who cares about that?” Adora interjected impatiently. “Can we talk about how Rancora—as in Cora—is Lady Stella’s best friend…or at least former best friend?”
“Incredible!” Scarlet nodded while pacing back and forth in front of the plush orange couch. “It all makes sense now—no wonder she disguised herself as Lady Cordial and came to work at Starling Academy. She’s been trying to bring down Lady Stella for getting her expelled—and that was totally her trying to ruin things at the graduation ceremony!”
Vega narrowed her blue eyes at Scarlet and then scrolled back to the image they had of their then young headmistress. She looked so accomplished, standing there in her golden star-shaped graduation cap. “But Lady Stella didn’t mean for anything bad to happen to Cora,” Vega pointed out. “She did everything she could to make things right—and Cora would have been expelled anyway, once Lady Astrid saw the starveillance footage. Plus, like Lady Astrid said, her punishment could have been a lot worse!”
“But Cora couldn’t see that,” sighed Libby with tears in her eyes. “Why couldn’t she just forgive Stella?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” Adora asked. “The oracle said Cora would be the one to release the negative energy, and Stella would be the one to stop it—so they were basically destined to be enemies!”
Scarlet walked over to Vega and grabbed the staryearbook, scrolling it back until she accessed the angry holo-text Cora sent to Stella.
“Yes, but how did she turn from Cora to Rancora—and how did she release all the negative energy that led to the crisis we just stopped? That’s what I want to know.”
“Me too,” agreed Adora. “I think she was affected by the cloud of negative energy inside the NEF. That and the rock she picked up in the Negative Energy Facility.”
“But how did she collect so much negative energy?” Sage wondered.
“I don’t know—that’s what we need to find out,” Adora rep
lied.
“How are we going to do that?” asked Cassie, blinking nervously behind her star-shaped glasses.
“We need to go to the Negative Energy Facility,” Adora proposed. “Maybe we can collect more of those black rocks and do some tests on them.”
Vega gasped and shook her head. “No way—going to the Negative Energy Facility would be way too dangerous!”
“Don’t worry about that,” Adora replied. “I’ve got an idea that’s both fashionable and functional!”
“Oh, really?” Vega demanded.
“Uh-huh.” Adora nodded without wavering. “I’ll design special protective suits for us to wear—kind of like the ones those Bad Wish Orb Gatherers were wearing when Cora snuck in. Believe it or not, I’ve been doing a lot of research in the lab ever since the negative energy crisis started, so I know exactly what materials I can use to make them.”
Vega sighed but remained skeptical. “Yeah, right. Have you ever done any research using real negative energy—like from an actual Bad Wish Orb—before?”
“Well, no, but—”
“Exactly,” Vega concluded.
But Sage felt reassured as she peered over Scarlet’s shoulder at the staryearbook. “Actually…I think Adora might be right—I think we’ll find out everything we need to know in the Negative Energy Facility.”
“I do, too,” Scarlet agreed, her eyes lighting up in eager anticipation. “I want to check that place out!”
“I’m telling you, it’s way too dangerous,” Vega insisted. “I say we go find out more about Lady Stella—like what happened after she went to work in the Wish-Tank.”
“How would we do that?” Gemma asked.
“We can go to her office, where The Great Holo-Book of Wish-Granters is kept,” Vega proposed. “The details of all of her Wish Missions will be there for sure.”
Adora rolled her eyes. “How’s that going to help?”
“We’ll be able to see if she ever managed to encourage Wishlings to make more wishes—and maybe learn other techniques that Starlings in the Wish-Tank used to generate lots of positive wish energy,” Vega reasoned. “Especially if we wind up needing to solve this whole thing by going on more Wish Missions, it would be super helpful to see some of their trips down to Wishworld.”
“You just think you’ll find some information that will help you with your Wish-Science Fair project—but you’re never going to beat me,” Adora scoffed.
“Wrong.” Vega frowned and crossed her arms, even though the thought of learning about Lady Stella and the Wish-Tank’s missions did suddenly appeal to her a lot more than finding out how Rancora harnessed all of her negative energy.
Adora shrugged. “Okay, fine. If you want to check out The Great Holo-Book, go ahead—but I’m going to the Negative Energy Facility. It’s the only way we’re going to get the information we really need about Rancora.”
“I agree,” Piper chimed in as she strolled over to where Scarlet was standing with the staryearbook. “I’m getting a powerful feeling that we must go to the Negative Energy Facility—that it will hold all the answers.”
Vega cringed at her roommate’s ominous prediction. “Seriously?” she snapped at Piper. “How are you even going to get in? I guarantee you they changed the code on that lock and probably added a lot more security, too.”
“I bet I can get MO-J4 to help us find a way,” Sage offered, knowing how devoted and capable her close personal Starling Academy–appointed Bot-Bot guide would be.
“I still say it will never work,” Vega said, tossing her short blue bob as she got up from the couch. “I’m going to Lady Stella’s office. Whoever’s with me is welcome to join.”
“Go ahead,” Adora replied, also standing up. “I’m going to make those suits, and anyone who wants to find out more about the source of all Rancora’s negative energy—anyone who’s not too scared, that is—can join me.”
With that, Adora straightened the hem on her shimmering blue tunic and headed toward the winding staircase leading down to the first floor of the library.
“Sorry, but I’m going with Adora,” Piper said softly to Vega, giving her roommate’s shoulder a gentle squeeze before making her way to the staircase as well.
“Me too,” said Sage—and then Astra nodded and followed as well.
“I did like those shiny yellow suits the Bad Wish Gatherers were wearing!” Leona added, also heading out.
“Yup—see ya!” Scarlet gave a quick salute to Vega and stomped over to the staircase.
Vega widened her bright blue eyes, astonished that so many of the girls would do something so risky. “Well,” she said, turning to search the faces of the remaining Star Darlings. “Are any of you coming with me?”
“I guess so,” Gemma replied with a tentative nod.
“I don’t know,” said Cassie as she wrinkled her nose. “Don’t you think we should try to stop Adora and the others? I’m really worried about them going to the Negative Energy Facility.”
“Me too,” said Tessa. “Adora’s my roommate! Even if she makes those jumpsuits, what if the negative energy still winds up doing something to her, like it did to Cora, and then she tries to do something awful to me…or to all of us?”
“They’ve already made their decision—just like Cora made hers,” Clover pointed out.
“She’s right,” agreed Libby. “I say we go to Lady Stella’s office and find The Great Holo-Book of Wish-Granters.”
“Thank you, Libby. Anyone else?” Vega asked with a hopeful, inviting tone to her voice.
One by one, each of the girls finally agreed. Vega smiled gratefully and they all headed downstairs and out of the library. But once they arrived at the door to Lady Stella’s office, Vega suddenly had second thoughts. What if the headmistress caught them? Could they be the ones who would wind up getting expelled like Cora had—even if they were trying to do the right thing and find a way to help?
“Are you sure about this, Vega?” Cassie asked, picking up on the growing nervous energy that they had carried in with them.
“I—I think so,” Vega replied, trying to reassure herself as much as anyone else. “It’s still early enough, so Lady Stella probably won’t be here for a while….”
“But how do we get into her office?” Gemma whispered.
“Step aside,” Tessa told her little sister, gently moving her out of the way. She then trained her bright emerald eyes on the gleaming silver door and used her energy manipulation skills to slide it open.
“Nicely done,” Vega said, pushing past Tessa and leading the group inside.
Once there, the girls all gathered around the large silver table—the very one where they had first learned they had been chosen to be Star Darlings. Vega finally felt certain that they were doing the right thing.
“Do you know where Lady Stella keeps The Great Holo-Book?” Libby asked. As a first-year student, she hadn’t even realized there was a place where they could look up all the Wish Missions that had taken place throughout Starland’s history.
“Of course.” Vega marched straight over to the far wall of the office, which was lined with shelves of old holo-books. Lady Stella occasionally loaned out some of them, but The Great Holo-Book was one that students typically could not borrow. Vega, however, had seen it on the shelf and thought she remembered where it was located. But when she got to the spot where she thought it would be, she couldn’t find it. “Hmmm—that’s weird. It’s not here.”
“Well, where else could it be?” Tessa asked, a little bewildered.
“I don’t know.” Vega frowned and began wandering around the office, running a finger along the spines of the holo-books as she studied each title. “Everyone start looking.”
While most of the others followed Vega’s lead and began looking through the shelves of the headmistress’s holo-books, Gemma couldn’t resist sitting down in Lady Stella’s desk chair. “Star Darlings,” she said in her most sophisticated voice, smoothing down her bright orange hair and elongat
ing her spine as she attempted to impersonate the headmistress, “I am most impressed with your efforts to assist me with this crisis!”
“Cut it out, Gem,” Tessa whispered, narrowing her green eyes so that they focused in on just her sister.
“Aw, you’re no fun,” Gemma replied, sticking out her tongue before turning her gaze to one of the desk drawers and using her energy manipulation powers to open it. However, she did this a bit too forcefully, and its contents immediately flew up into the air.
“Oh, my stars!” Cassie gasped when she saw what Gemma had done. “You shouldn’t be looking in there. Those are Lady Stella’s private belongings!”
“Oops,” Gemma said with an apologetic, if somewhat exaggerated, shrug. But as she began lowering everything back into the desk drawer, one of the objects caught her older sister’s eye.
“Hey—is that Lady Stella’s new energy meter?” Tessa asked, racing over to pluck a small round instrument out of the air. It was gold and had a circle in the center where an arrow would move between the words good and bad, reading the current level of energy.
“Oooh, it is!” Cassie hurried over to take a look at the meter, forgetting that she’d reprimanded Gemma only a moment earlier.
“Cool!” interjected Clover as she tipped up the rim on her purple hat and joined the others at Lady Stella’s desk.
They all watched in awe as Tessa trained her eyes on the meter, not to use it for its intended function, but rather to make it bounce around in the air. But just then, it seemed to take on a life of its own. It started flying all around the office, weaving furiously as it zipped over the head of each girl.
“Yikes!” Cassie squealed when it skimmed over her pale pink pigtails and bumped her on the shoulder before heading in Vega’s direction.
“Watch out!” Gemma shouted, warning Vega just in time. She ducked down just as the energy meter narrowly missed hitting her in the head.
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