Gemma and the Ultimate Standoff

by Ahmet Zappa

  Zoe tucked the thick magazine into her backpack and the two girls wandered down the street side by side. The sun was beginning to set and the streetlamps started to turn on. Gemma had noticed that many of the stores were decorated with what she assumed were Halloween decorations—green-faced ladies with pointy hats, black winged creatures that looked a lot like bitbats, white-sheeted figures with dark holes for eyes. Gemma pointed to a pumpkin carved with a spooky face, flickering light shining through its eyes, nose, and mouth. “Spooky!” she said.

  “They should know better than to leave that out on Mischief Night!” said Zoe, shaking her head.

  “I thought it was Halloween,” said Gemma, feeling thoroughly confused.

  “Around here the night before Halloween is called Mischief Night,” Zoe explained. “Kids go around smashing pumpkins, egging cars, TP’ing houses…you know.”

  Of course Gemma didn’t know, but she nodded as if this all made perfect sense.

  “My family hates Mischief Night,” said Zoe. “One year someone took the giant spider off the roof and covered it with shaving cream. It took forever to wash it off. I’m lucky my parents let me out tonight.”

  “So was Cici invited to come tonight, too?” Gemma asked.

  A cloud passed over Zoe’s face. She shoved her hands into her jacket pockets and concentrated on a crack in the sidewalk. “No, she wasn’t invited. Luckily, she had her brother’s basketball game tonight, so she won’t know.”

  “So Maddie and Kaila don’t want to be friends with both of you,” Gemma said slowly. She had an uneasy feeling and again wondered what made this wish—one that involved befriending not-so-nice girls and leaving out a real friend—a good one.

  Zoe’s voice sounded a little strangled as she spoke. “It’s just really hard. Cici is fun and loyal and smart, but she’s just not…” Zoe had a pained look on her face. “She’s just not very cool.”

  “Cool is important?” asked Gemma.

  “If you want to be popular, it is,” Zoe said with a sigh. “I mean, look at Maddie and Kaila.”

  “What makes them so popular?” Gemma wanted to know.

  “Well, they wear nice clothes, and they listen to the coolest music, and all the kids like them, and they get invited to all the parties, and everyone copies what they do,” Zoe said in a rush. “I’m just…I’m just…tired of being boring. I really think I’d like that, too. And they seem to want to be my friends. So this is my chance. I can still be friends with Cici. We just won’t be able to spend all our time together. She’ll understand. It’s no big deal.”

  Gemma shook her head. Was Zoe trying to convince Gemma—or herself?

  Zoe stiffened. “Here they come,” she whispered harshly. “Act natural.” That made Gemma giggle a bit. How else was she supposed to act? The two girls crossed the street and stepped up to them, in two brand-new matching outfits—short dresses with cropped jackets and ankle boots.

  Gemma wondered if Zoe was going to have to buy a brand-new wardrobe to hang out with these girls.

  “Hi!” Gemma said. “Aren’t you cold?” she asked, noticing their bare legs.

  Maddie (Gemma thought it was Maddie, anyway) barked out a laugh. “Who cares, as long as we look great?”

  Gemma nodded politely. “Of course,” she said.

  Zoe was rooting around in her backpack frantically. She pulled out a half-eaten bag of pretzels, three tubes of something called ChapStick, and, finally, the magazine.

  “What do you have there?” Kaila asked curiously, pointing to the magazine Zoe was holding.

  “The newest fashion magazine!” Zoe said proudly. “Chic!” But she pronounced it like chick. Gemma grimaced. She was pretty sure that was wrong.

  The girls laughed. “Oh, Zoe, you’re always so funny,” Maddie said. “I’ve never heard of Chic, but it looks uh-maze-ing.”

  The girls flipped through the magazine. “Can we borrow this?” Kaila asked.

  “Sure!” said Zoe happily. Gemma smiled. Her plan was working.

  Gemma was all set for a fun time with the three girls. What would they do? She was excited to find out the fun things that Wishling kids—especially cool, popular ones—did for fun. But the evening was a bit of a disappointment. They wandered around, meeting up with groups of kids at different places around town. They went to the arcade, but they didn’t play games. They went to the ice cream parlor, but they didn’t order anything, even though the ice cream looked amazingly delicious. They waited outside the movie theater, but they never went inside. Then they headed to a long building called Lucky Lanes.

  “Ooh! Are we bowling?” Zoe asked excitedly. “Cici and—I mean, I love to bowl!”

  Maddie laughed. “Zoe, you have so much to learn. Nobody actually bowls. That’s for losers. We hang out.” She looked sharply at Zoe. “I mean, like I’m going to wear a pair of stinky bowling shoes with this outfit? Uh-uh.”

  Zoe laughed. It sounded forced to Gemma. Zoe nodded. “I was just kidding. Of course.” She glanced at Gemma. “Is something wrong?” she said. “You look pale.”

  Gemma was feeling a bit weak. She excused herself and left to find the bathroom. It was empty, so Gemma quickly recited her Mirror Mantra. “Make up your mind to blaze like a comet!” she said, and she was instantly rewarded with the sight of herself in all her sparkly orange glory. She smiled at her bright orange hair, her glittering skin. She felt like herself again! She had renewed energy and a sense of purpose. She was going to grant this wish if it was the last thing she did. She just had to get past her negative feelings and help make this wish come true.

  She pushed open the door and strode back out into the bowling alley, its air filled with bouncy music and the crashing sound of large round objects knocking into pins.

  She found Zoe leaning over, stuffing something into her backpack. Gemma was about to ask what it was when Maddie and Kaila rushed up, giggling excitedly. “Come on!” they said. “Now the fun is going to start. Eddie McNoonan has dozens of eggs and tons of shaving cream. Mischief Night has begun!”

  Zoe’s face fell. “Um…I…”

  “Sorry, guys,” said Gemma quickly. “But I have to get home and I promised my mom I would walk home with Zoe.”

  “Fine,” said Maddie. She leaned in close to Zoe. “Now don’t forget to meet us at the parade tomorrow.”

  “I won’t,” said Zoe. “Have fun!”

  But one thing confused Gemma. Why had Maddie’s message sounded more like a threat than a reminder?

  Gemma sat on the bed watching Zoe and Cici as they stood in front of the full-length mirror in Zoe’s bedroom, giggling. Gemma couldn’t help laughing, too. Cici was wearing a poorly fitting dress in a cheap, shiny material with a garish print. The hem of a white slip stuck out underneath the skirt. On her legs were black tights with runs in them, and she wore what Gemma could describe only as sensible lace-up shoes. She wore a pair of dark eyeglasses that were fastened together across the bridge with tape. Her hair was done up in a hugely unflattering three-ponytail style. Zoe wore slicked-back hair, a similar pair of taped-up glasses, a garish plaid shirt in shades of brown and blue, a clashing red-and-yellow plaid bow tie, and pants that were pulled up practically to her armpits, explosing her white socks. Black lace-up shoes completed her ensemble.

  “You are both totally hideous!” said Gemma.

  “Thank you!” they replied in unison.

  “But…um…what are you supposed to be?” Gemma asked.

  “Why, we’re nerds, of course!” Zoe answered, still admiring her reflection.

  The two girls turned and looked at Gemma. “Where’s your costume?” Cici asked. “Go put it on!”

  Gemma grabbed her backpack (which presumably held her nonexistent costume), walked into the bathroom, and closed the door. What should she be? The only costumes that came to her were Starlandian ones—a glion, a star ball player, a bunch of ozziefruit. Not exactly appropriate for Wishworld. She wondered if she could even access costumes on the Wishworld Ou
tfit Selector.

  “Hurry up!” called Zoe. “It’s time to go to the carnival!” Gemma had to think fast. Then she smiled. She knew exactly what to do. She looked into the mirror and did her thing.

  “Holy guacamole!” Zoe said as Gemma walked into the room. “You look amazing, Gemma!”

  Cici stared. “Wow,” she simply said.

  The costume that Gemma had chosen to wear was actually not a costume at all. It was Gemma’s real sparkly Starlandian appearance. It made perfect sense—since she was there on a holiday when Wishlings changed their looks, she could revert to her true appearance. It was liberating and fun.

  “How in the world did you manage to get ready so quickly?” Zoe asked, marveling at Gemma’s sparkly skin and glittery hair.

  And Gemma simply answered, “Practice.”

  Gemma discovered that she was totally in love with Halloween. Not only was the predominant color her favorite, but it was just so carefree and jolly and fun. Everyone was dressed up—babies in strollers, big kids, little kids, and even some adults. One man was dressed like a chef, and he held a pot with a little baby sitting inside it dressed up as a bright red creature with big claws. Some people simply wore white sheets with eyeholes cut out. There were monsters, and ladies with green faces and pointy hats. Even some pets were dressed up. Everyone was smiling and having fun.

  As the girls stood in line for a deliciously airy and sweet Wishworld delicacy called cotton candy, Maddie and Kaila showed up. They were wearing high heels, tons of makeup, slinky-looking gold dresses, fake fur coats, large sunglasses, and flowing wigs—one blond, one brunette. Gemma almost didn’t recognize them under all the makeup.

  “Wow,” said Gemma, amazed by their fancy costumes. “What are you two dressed up as?”

  Kaila tossed her head a little too hard, and her wig slipped to the side, covering half her face. “We’re supermodels, of course,” she said, yanking her hair back into place.

  Maddie leaned forward and touched Gemma’s arm, surprised that no glitter came off on her hand. “Where did you get that body glitter?” she asked. “It’s awesome.”

  “Um…I brought it from home,” Gemma answered.

  “And look at you two!” Maddie said to Zoe and Cici. “Very funny!”

  Zoe didn’t answer, but Cici thanked her.

  “See you later,” Maddie said, looking directly at Zoe, who nodded, then looked away.

  Gemma half expected the wish energy to pour off Zoe right then and there. The girls were obviously accepting her as a friend. And wasn’t that just what she wanted? As much as Gemma was enjoying Halloween, it was time for her to return to Starland.

  After Gemma, Zoe, and Cici went on rides (pretty tame compared to those on Starland), played several games of chance (Gemma won a large stuffed white-horned galliope, which she immediately gave to a little kid), and ate every treat there was to try (cotton candy was the winner, followed closely by something called fried dough), it was time for the parade.

  The girls lined up with all the other costumed kids. Music began to play, and slowly, everyone began to march. It was a procession down the main street of the town, ending when they reached the town square, where a stage was set up for the costume judging. People lined the streets to cheer on the costumed marchers, who waved like they were starlebrities. When Gemma saw people pointing and cheering just for her, being herself, she felt very proud. For a second she thought she saw a familiar face in the crowd, but she figured she was just feeling homesick.

  When they reached the end of the parade route, she had somehow gotten separated from Cici and Zoe in the mob of kids. She heard someone calling her name and turned around with a smile, expecting it to be one of the “nerds.” To her surprise, Gemma saw Leona pushing through the crowd toward her.

  “Oh, my stars!” Leona said when she reached Gemma’s side. “How perfect! You can be your Starlandian self today because everyone is in costume! What a great idea!”

  Gemma nodded proudly. Then she frowned. “Why are you here, Leona?” she asked a little testily. “I’ve got everything under control.”

  “Then I guess I’m just here for support,” said Leona with a shrug.

  “So what’s been going on back home?” Gemma asked eagerly. “Did you find Lady Stella?”

  Leona shook her head. “They’re still looking. We went to Lady Cordial for help, but she was useless.”

  “So why did they send you?” Gemma asked again. “You’ve already been a helper on a mission. I was expecting Tessa, actually.” If someone had to come help her on Wishworld, she would have liked it to be her big sister. It would have been startastic for Tessa to see her collecting her wish energy.

  “It’s kind of weird,” said Leona. “The rest of the Star Darlings were concentrating on finding Lady Stella, but Tessa and I started getting worried about you. We hadn’t heard anything from Lady Cordial, but we didn’t trust her to be paying attention to your orb. So we decided that Tessa would make the trip to see how things were going. We brought Astra along, too, and headed to the Wishworld Surveillance Deck. Astra had just lassoed the star, and we were struggling to hold on to it so Tessa could get strapped in, when all of a sudden something told me that I needed to go instead. It was like a voice in my head. It said, ‘It’s your turn, Leona. Go and help Gemma!’ So, um, I kind of pushed Tessa out of the way and strapped myself in. She was pretty mad, as you can imagine. She was yelling and shaking her fist at me as I took off!”

  Gemma smiled a little, imagining her irate sister.

  “So how much time is left on the Countdown Clock?” asked Leona.

  “A half starhour,” said Gemma anxiously. She took a deep breath. “But I have a feeling that the wish is going to come true when the girls are onstage during the costume judging.” She smiled. “I’m pretty sure they are going to win a prize for best costume, and that’s what will end up making Zoe part of the popular crowd.”

  “Your Wisher’s wish is to become popular?” Leona asked. “That’s a good wish?”

  Gemma shrugged. “I know. It seems weird. But she’s really a nice person, so I guess it’s somehow got to be a good wish.”

  “Talk about taking it down to the starwire,” said Leona with a whistle. “Very dramatic. So what are they dressed as?”

  “Nerds,” said Gemma.

  Leona looked at her uncomprehendingly.

  “From what I can tell, nerds are unfashionable-looking Wishlings,” Gemma explained. “Um, like they wear ugly clothes and broken accessories.”

  Leona made a face. “So why do Wishlings like to dress up as them?” she asked.

  “Your guess is as good as mine,” said Gemma.

  The Star Darlings watched as Wishlings lined up, were introduced by the announcer, walked across the stage, and stood in front of the table of judges, who scored them. A group of Wishlings—a girl in a blue-and-white checked dress and sparkly red shoes (that would have fit right in on Starland); a woman with a green face and a pointy hat; a silver man with a pointy hat; a large glion; and a man who seemed to be made of straw in raggedy clothing—were apparently from a movie called something like The Blizzard of Frogs. A bunch of girls with bodysuits that matched their skin tones, jewels in their belly buttons, and big brightly colored wigs were something called trolls. The crowd loved them all.

  Gemma grabbed Leona’s hand and squeezed it as she spotted Cici in the wings. “This is it,” she said. “They’re about to come onstage.”

  Gemma stood on her toes so she could get an unobstructed view of the wish coming true. She had to remind herself to breathe; she was hardly able to contain her excitement.

  Cici walked onstage, followed by Zoe. Gemma took one look and gasped. Something was wrong. Very wrong.

  Leona shook her head. “I don’t get it,” she said. Cici was still in her nerd outfit, dangling slip and all. But Zoe had changed. She was in a costume that looked remarkably similar to the ones Maddie and Kaila had been wearing earlier. Makeup. Wig. Fancy shiny dress.
Heels. The announcer called them onstage. Cici walked to the middle of the stage, then stopped short. Zoe bumped into her. The two girls began arguing.

  Gemma clutched Leona’s arm. “I don’t like this one bit,” she said.

  “Whenever you’re ready, girls,” said the announcer.

  Zoe took a few wobbly steps forward. She turned back and gestured for Cici to follow. Cici shook her head. Zoe motioned again, and then finally, reluctantly, Cici walked forward and stood next to Zoe.

  Even the announcer looked confused. “And what are you two dressed as?” he asked.

  Zoe hesitated for a moment.

  “They’re chic and the geek!” a voice called out from the audience. Gemma craned her neck to see Maddie and Kaila standing in the front row. They were laughing hysterically. The crowd laughed, too. “I’ll say!” someone yelled.

  “Chic and the geek?” said the announcer.

  Zoe looked awkward and uncertain. Cici was clearly miserable.

  “My Wisher just turned her wish into something really bad,” Gemma whispered. “And I helped her do it. This is terrible.”

  Cici stood for a moment as the laughter washed over her. Then she bolted off the stage.

  Leona and Gemma watched in horror as an arc of dark swirling colors invisible to everyone but them began to ooze from Zoe and sluggishly creep toward Gemma. She wanted to flee. But she was frozen in place as the horrible energy was sucked into her Wish Pendant. She suddenly felt very heavy and dull, as if she could barely stand.

  Leona turned toward Gemma, her eyes wide. “That can’t be good,” she said. It was the understatement of the staryear.

  “Oh, my stars,” said Gemma. “What have I done?”

  Leona found Gemma a bench to sit on. Gemma put her head between her legs and breathed deeply.