Scarlet Discovers True Strength

by Ahmet Zappa

  “Nothing…yet. But we should probably hear soon.”

  “Promise to tell me when you do.”

  Vega drew an X over her heart. “Cross my stars—and moons. But…how? I mean, when will I see you again? Where have you been all this time?”

  “I’ve been…around,” said Scarlet vaguely. “They gave me a new roommate. Her name’s Mira.”

  “I don’t know her,” said Vega.

  “Neither did I.”

  “Is she nice?”

  “She’s fine,” said Scarlet. “We don’t really know each other yet. She isn’t around that much, and I pretty much stay in my loft all the time, so maybe we never will….”

  “Have you been to any classes since…”

  “No,” said Scarlet bitterly.

  “Don’t you think you should?” Vega gently asked. “I mean, I can understand dropping out of Leona’s band. No one—well, except Leona maybe—blames you for that. But even if you’re not in the Star Darlings anymore, you’re still a student at the school, and you can still go to Wishworld and grant wishes one day…but only if you graduate, of course.”

  Scarlet looked over her shoulder, past the hedge maze, toward the majestic Crystal Mountains, which glimmered across Luminous Lake. Vega was right, she guessed. Not that Scarlet was worried about falling behind in any subjects. Her classes seemed to get easier for her every year. But hiding from everyone and everything, while it made life simpler right then, wasn’t helping her solve her problem, either.

  “You can’t hide forever,” Vega went on, almost as if she’d peeked into Scarlet’s mind. “How about I make you a deal like I made with Cassie?”

  “I don’t make deals,” muttered Scarlet. “But what?”

  “You start going to your classes, and I’ll do whatever I can to help you get to the bottom of what went wrong.”

  The next day, Scarlet went through the motions of going to morning assembly, classes, meals…all the things she was supposed to do. But the more she tried to act like everything was normal, the surer she was that everything was wrong.

  She didn’t even try to move all the desks in Wishful Thinking class, and yet with a single eyebrow raise she did exactly that. She was just as surprised as everyone else when it happened but was determined as always not to let her emotions show.

  Even Professor Dolores Raye’s mouth fell open. “Who did that?” she gasped.

  In the far corner of the room, Scarlet slowly raised her hand.

  “Oh, my stars!” said Professor Raye. “I didn’t even see you back there, Scarlet. Welcome back to class, by the way. I must say, I’ve never seen such control in a third year. Those are very special powers. Er…now, if you don’t mind, would you be so kind as to move the desks back to where they were?”

  This only confirmed something Scarlet had already begun to sense: somehow, instead of feeling less special since leaving the Star Darlings, she felt as if her wish energy powers were stronger than ever before.

  At lunch, Scarlet managed to sit by herself: no small feat in the Celestial Café. The tables were large and round and designed to encourage Starlings to linger and talk for starhours. Scarlet sequestered herself at an empty corner table, where she promptly spilled her mug of Zing. “Forget it,” she told the Bot-Bot waiter who appeared instantly with another as the puddle disappeared. Instead, she ordered a steaming bowl of stewed garble greens—the smell of which was guaranteed to keep other Starlings far away.

  Rather than eating, though—she hated garble greens—Scarlet observed the Star Darlings from afar. They sat together, as they had since they’d been summoned, at the middle table near the window overlooking Luminous Lake. Astra was dressed in her neon-trimmed fiery-red star ball uniform. It could have been a game day or not. With her, you never knew. Cassie was nose-deep in a holo-book, and Gemma was giggling and prattling away. Listening to Gemma was one thing Scarlet did not miss in the least.

  Vega noticed her and waved so that the others couldn’t see. She flashed Scarlet a sparkly smile of friendly encouragement, which Scarlet accepted reluctantly.

  As she watched them all, Scarlet couldn’t help remembering what Vega had told her in the maze about roommates bickering. And, indeed, they were. If they weren’t barking at or arguing with each other, they were sitting far enough apart that they didn’t have to talk. Cassie and Sage were the only roommates who appeared to be enjoying each other’s company—and Leona and Ophelia, who were sharing a glimmerberry shake.

  What a dud, thought Scarlet as she studied Ophelia. There was nothing at all best or brightest or star-charmed about her—at least from what Scarlet could see. While the Starlings around her radiated confidence, brilliance, and power, Ophelia gave off an awkward, muddled aura of confusion and fear.

  So why was she there instead of Scarlet? Instead of anyone, really…but especially Scarlet.

  Scarlet remembered the explanation Lady Stella had given when the headmistress had delivered the shocking news.

  “I’m truly sorry, Scarlet. Star apologies don’t begin to express how I feel. But accidents happen, even on Starland, and I’m afraid one has occurred here. As you know, I chose the twelve Star Darlings myself, using an intricate algorithm comprising numerous factors, including grades and test scores and energy records.”

  “Yes?” Scarlet had said. She could tell something grave was coming, but she had no idea what on Starland it could be.

  “Naturally, great care was taken with the data, and yet…somehow, somewhere, a glitch occurred along the way…and your name, most unfortunately, was given to me in error.”

  “I don’t understand…” Scarlet had whispered with what little breath she could find in her chest.

  “I must say, I don’t, either. And yet the holo-records Lady Cordial has shown me are as clear as the night sky. Your scores and those of another Starling, Ophelia, were mixed up in the holo-files. Therefore, she is the rightful twelfth Star Darling—something you, Scarlet, were never truly meant to be.”

  Naturally, Scarlet had argued—vehemently. But the energy had been spent in vain. She left Lady Stella’s office stinging, as if a hive of angry glitterbees had attacked her, and the feeling still hadn’t gone away. The black hole Scarlet had felt in her stomach at that moment was still there, just as deep. In fact, sitting in the Celestial Café, watching Ophelia in her place among the other Star Darlings, only made the feeling worse. Scarlet knew her grades and scores were strong, so the whole thing already made no sense. But in what crazy parallel universe could a starling such as Ophelia have one score higher than Scarlet’s, let alone a whole file’s worth?

  Scarlet blinked and slid her now cold bowl of garble greens across the table before standing up and leaving the café. She had Lighterature next period, but she didn’t care. The thought of sitting in a class full of happy, carefree Starlings made her want to zap something. Besides, they were reading a tragedy by Shakestar that she had read hydrongs of times—Romea and Jupiter. The whole star-crossed romance thing made her want to hurl. So when she left the Celestial Café, she turned away from Halo Hall and headed across the Star Quad, straight back to the Big Dipper Dorm.

  The building was empty except for the Bot-Bot guard inside the front door. “Star greetings, Scarlet,” it welcomed her.

  “Star greetings,” she muttered back.

  Scarlet stepped onto the Cosmic Transporter as it rolled through the halls.

  Outside her door, Scarlet placed her hand on the palm scanner. The door opened with a gentle whoosh. As she walked in, the door slid smoothly closed. Scarlet scrunched her eyes to dim the lights and gazed around the room. Her eyes fell on her drum kit on its platform. Yes! That was just what she needed to do! Bang out a few dark and angry riffs…or maybe a few hydrong.

  Scarlet hadn’t played the drums much at all since she’d left the Star Darlings. Before that, she’d played hours every day—either with Leona’s band or in their old room while Leona sang. They found it was the one thing they could do together
without getting on each other’s nerves. As soon as Lady Stella told her she was out of the Star Darlings, however, Scarlet stopped going to band practice, too. Every other member was still a Star Darling, and the last thing she needed was to hear them talk about their missions—or deal with their pity or, worse, their phony good cheer. The only place she could play was her room, but lately the inspiration just hadn’t been there.

  That day, she felt different, though. The drums seemed to be calling to her. She grabbed her sticks and climbed the platform and sat down. She waited a moogle for the stool to adjust itself beneath her, then gave her bass drum pedal three fierce stomps: BAM! BAM! BAM! The energy in the room flickered and rolled away from the star-shaped drum pad in powerful glittery waves. Scarlet smiled and whacked the cymbals—CRASH! BANG!—one at a time. She did it again…and again…and again…and again. CRASH! BANG! CRASH! BANG-A-DEE-BANG! CRASH! BANG! CRASH! BANG-A-DEE! BANG-A-DEE! BOOM!

  With her eyes closed, she let her arms fly in a series of rolls and riffs, wherever they wanted to go. If her eyes had been open, she would have seen the energy aura surrounding her glow brighter and brighter pink. But the light grew so blinding she would have soon had to close them again.

  Scarlet had never played her drums so hard before or felt so energized. All her frustration, her bitterness, her confusion dissolved with every beat. Finally, after what felt like a moogle but could have been a staryear, Scarlet had to stop. Exhausted, she let go of her drumsticks and let them twirl in the air above the tom-tom while her head fell back. As her eyes opened, she let out a gasp at the dazzling sight of pure sparkling energy pulsing throughout the room.

  Did I do that? Scarlet wondered. There was no other source she could see.

  Gradually, the energy faded, but Scarlet’s clarity did not. From the beginning, she had suspected there was something not right about Ophelia’s replacing her. Now she was sure. And if she didn’t get to the bottom of it, who else on Starland would? Maybe Vega could help her. But maybe not. Who knew? And why wait to see, Scarlet thought as her eyes fell on her roommate’s jam-packed costume closet, when I have all I need to do it on my own?

  The door to Scarlet’s dorm room slid open and a small, distinguished-looking man stepped into the hall. He wore a long silver topcoat with a wide forest-green collar and half-moon-shaped buttons as big as ears. His own ears were covered by a burnt-orange fedora tilted so far forward it concealed his face. The only feature not hidden, in fact, was the very tip of his emerald beard. Pausing, he stroked the bright green whiskers as his head swiveled right and left. Satisfied that the hall was empty, he raised a star-studded shiny black combat boot and boarded the Cosmic Transporter as it rolled past him.

  Scarlet hoped her disguise (courtesy of her roommate’s closet) was convincing. The first test was the Bot-Bot guard at the front door.

  She brushed past it, keeping her head down and her velvet collar up.

  “Star greetings, Scarlet,” the Bot-Bot guard said cheerfully.

  Scarlet sighed. “Star greetings,” she mumbled without turning. Bot-Bot guards were a useless gauge, she guessed. They could read an aura a floozel away. Hopefully, the Starling adults where she was going would be easier to trick.

  Once outside, Scarlet headed directly for the enormous star-shaped building between the hedge maze and the Celestial Café. Although it wasn’t geographically at the center of campus, it was the hub in every other way. Halo Hall, as it was called, housed all the Starling Academy classrooms, as well as the Astral Auditorium, where assemblies and performances were held. In the hall, too, were various offices, including that of Lady Stella, the headmistress. Its most spectacular feature was the gleaming lone white tower attached to the Wish-House. At the very top sat the Wishworld Surveillance Deck, the platform where Starlings could observe Wishworld and its Wishlings through telescopes and where they waited to catch a shooting star when their day for a Wish Mission came at last.

  Normally, a Starling walked up the white starmarble stairs and entered through the front doors. Since this starday was far from normal, however, Scarlet hurried around the Bot-Bot guard at the front and made her way into Halo Hall through the back. After all, she wasn’t going to some old class in Stellation four or five. She was on a mission to right what was wrong.

  If only she knew exactly where she needed to go.

  As far as offices went, Scarlet was familiar with only two: that of the perky guidance counselor, Lady Solara, who had made it her mission to “light Scarlet up,” and Lady Stella’s. Both were offices Scarlet hoped to stay well clear of, since she didn’t want to see either administrator just then. Fortunately, they were clustered with other faculty offices in Stellation one and she was fairly certain that the office she was looking for was in Stellation two…or maybe three.

  She decided to try the second wing first, since it was closest. Like every hall, its walls and floor were made of gleaming rainbow-hued starmarble. In that wing, they gave off a pink-tinged glow. Up near the ceiling ran a series of windows, letting light from outside shine in. Scarlet hurried down the hall, passing door after door. As she did, she lifted her hat brim ever so slightly to read the holo-signs outside of each.

  SUPPLY ROOM, read one star-shaped plaque. STAR-ZAP REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE, announced the next, followed by TECHNOLOGY, SWIFT-TRANSPORTATION SERVICES, and WISH ENERGY MANAGEMENT. Then Scarlet read the holo-sign by the door at the end: BOT-BOT SECURITY.

  Freakin’ fireballs, she thought. Security! Time to turn around!

  Heart thumping, she scurried back down the hall and rounded the corner into the safety, she hoped, of Stellation three. Please let me find what I’m looking for here, she wished.

  That hall looked basically the same, except the glow given off by the marble walls was a bit aquamarine. These doors, too, had holo-signs, and Scarlet read the first one on her right: ADMISSIONS. Lady Cordial’s office. Of course. Scarlet remembered it now from her own Time of Applying, when she had first visited the school. She’d come alone, since her parents had been on tour and unable to take the time off. Lady Cordial, the head of admissions, had been pleasant in their interview but not as welcoming as one might have hoped—especially one with test scores such as Scarlet’s, which were practically off the charts. But that was Lady Cordial, Scarlet now realized: stiff and skittish and often at a loss for words. Scarlet had eventually learned, like every Starling Academy student, not to take things too personally with her.

  On the other hand, Scarlet’s next interview with Lady Stella had been one of the best starhours of her whole life. There was something about the headmistress that made every Starling feel as if she’d known her for staryears. Scarlet had already thought she wanted to go to Starling Academy, but meeting Lady Stella had sealed the deal. The headmistress didn’t care if Scarlet didn’t like rainbows as much as rain clouds or loved the most unloved of Starling colors—black. She seemed to know, too, that Scarlet wasn’t half as interested in learning to grant wishes as she was in living on her own. And yet she welcomed Scarlet into Starling Academy with warm and open arms. Lady Stella had always seen Scarlet for who she was and admired her for being herself, which only made Scarlet feel worse about having to leave the Star Darlings—and more determined to get back in.

  With that in mind, she moved on, shifting her hat to continue reading each star-shaped sign.

  ATTENDANCE, ACCOUNTING, ALUMNI RELATIONS, STUDENT LIFE, FACULTY LOUNGE…

  “‘Faculty lounge’?” Hmmm. Scarlet paused. So this was where their professors hung out when they weren’t teaching the finer points of Wishful Thinking or giving a pop quiz on wish identification. She could only imagine what they did in there. Compare lesson plans? Share grading tips? Complain about students, such as Scarlet, who liked to bark out answers instead of politely raising their hands? She pictured them gathered around a table, sharing sighs and cups of Zing.

  “Are you going in?”

  Scarlet froze.

  The person behind her spoke again. “Sta
r apologies. I don’t mean to rush you.” A hand reached over Scarlet’s shoulder to cover the scanner in the middle of the door. “It’s just, well, my class ran a few moogles over and I’m late for my massage.”

  The scanner glowed bright blue. “Welcome, Professor Nicola Cecelia,” a Bot-Bot voice greeted the teacher—her Astral Accounting teacher, Scarlet realized—as the door to the faculty lounge opened wide.

  Starf! thought Scarlet as her eyes took in the scene. She was careful to keep her hat low, but she could still make out much of the room—everything from the frozen cocomoon yogurt bar to the manicure/pedicure stations to the hot tub and swimming pool! Most classes were still in session, so the lounge was far from full. Nevertheless, there were plenty of teachers already enjoying themselves. Professor Elara Ursa, the Wishers 101 teacher, was having her hair done by a Bot-Bot stylist as she read a holo-magazine. Professor Eugenia Bright, meanwhile, was playing a rather intense spark-filled game of star-pong with Professor Dolores Raye. Giggles spilled out of a holo–photo booth, but Scarlet couldn’t see who was inside. She sniffed. Was that zoomberry trifle she smelled? She sniffed again. Mmm…yes, it was…and glorange meringue pie, as well. Scarlet’s mouth was already watering by the time her eyes found the buffet.

  “Come on in!” By now, Professor Nicola Cecelia had slipped around Scarlet and stood inside. Reaching up, she pulled a silver-star-topped comb out of each side of her tight plum-colored bun. With a shake, she let her hair tumble down loose over her shoulders, and it stopped well below her waist. “Don’t be shy. Substitutes are welcome. More than welcome, in fact!” She flashed a smile far sunnier than Scarlet had ever seen on her normally dour face. “You could probably use a break the most. These students are bright, but give them half a chance and they’ll wear your glow away. Whose class did you have, by the way? I didn’t realize anyone was out. I hope you didn’t wear that hat and coat all day. You know, there are Bot-Bot valets to see to things like that.”