“So?” Scarlet stalled while she tried to figure out what to do next. She didn’t want to rush out of the room too quickly, for fear of raising suspicions.
“You’re right. I should introduce myself first. Let’s start again.” He promptly left the room and then walked back inside. This time he offered his hand for Scarlet to shake. “Hi. I haven’t seen you around here and I wondered what your name is?”
“And?” Scarlet asked, trying to find a way out of this awkward conversation as quickly as possible.
The boy seemed to enjoy Scarlet’s impertinence, although that wasn’t her intention. “My name is Maxwell. What’s yours?”
Why was he so insistent on knowing Scarlet’s name? Her heart fluttered so fast it echoed throughout her body. Wishlings shouldn’t have this kind of effect on a Starling, she thought. It went against what she had studied on Starland. She was feeling weird. She rushed out of the room without speaking another word.
Just then, Scarlet’s Star-Zap flashed. Sage needed her to go to the main theater right away. Sage had spotted Vivica and the Wisher. As Scarlet raced down the hall, she reminded herself, Boys are just distractions. I’m on a Wish Mission to save Starland, hello?
“And one, and two, and three…” Pete, the choreographer, called out to a class of fifteen Wishling dancers…plus Leona! Leona thought of herself as a decent dancer on Starland, but standing in the middle of a Wishling dance studio trying to keep up with the gifted ballerinas in the room proved to be a challenge. She couldn’t give up now, since blending in meant not calling too much attention to herself. She had promised Sage and Scarlet she would stay focused on the mission no matter what.
Pirouette? Pas de deux? These were terms she had never heard of up on Starland. Dance on her home star was more free-form, more improvisational. There weren’t names for moves. What was she supposed to do now?
Pete wove through the group of dancers. “Dancers, over to the wall. We’re going to take it one at a time across the room,” he commanded.
Leona counted out the steps in her head. “One, and two, and…” Just when it was her turn to dance the combination in front of the whole class, her Star-Zap flashed.
The choreographer had a no-phone policy in the classroom, so he was furious with her. “Shut it off,” Pete said, glaring at Leona.
She used the special persuasive power Starlings have over Wishling adults to her advantage and told him, “I have to go somewhere right now. It’s okay with you.” Pete responded by opening his arms and saying in a soft, patient voice, “You’ve got to do whatever you need to do. It’s okay with me.”
Leona raced across the floor and grabbed her backpack. Looking back around the room, she said sheepishly, “Family emergency!”
The class fell silent and so did the choreographer, who gave her a sympathetic look. He said, “Go on, honey. Family is everything.”
Leona waved good-bye to him and the other dancers. “So true!”
She turned the corner and holo-texted Sage: WHAT’S UP?
I HAVE VIVICA AND THE WISHER IN MY SIGHTS. GET TO THE MAIN THEATER NOW! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHERE SCARLET IS?
Just then Scarlet turned the corner and appeared right next to Leona. “Scarlet!” Leona screamed.
Scarlet hushed Leona. “We talked about not making a scene, remember?” She grabbed Leona’s hand. “I know. We need to get to the theater. Come on. Let’s go!”
Vivica!
Sage spotted Vivica from behind, so luckily Vivica hadn’t seen her. Vivica’s transformation into a pale-haired Wishworld teen, dressed in all black, with spiky heels and bright blue nail polish had thrown Sage for a moment. But as Sage got closer and saw the silvery-blue streak in her hair, discreetly tucked behind her ear, she knew it was Vivica. And she knew the girl was with the Wisher.
Lady Stella hadn’t known how much negative energy had overtaken Vivica’s body, so it was nearly impossible to determine the extent of its power. Sage waited anxiously for Leona and Scarlet to get to the theater. She suspected that she wouldn’t be able to confront Vivica alone. Why else would Lady Stella have sent three Star Darlings for this Wish Mission?
She hid toward the end of a side row in the darkened theater with her eyes fixed on Vivica and Clara, who sat next to each other while other acts rehearsed onstage. Vivica still hadn’t noticed Sage. She was too busy stealing all of Clara’s attention. The two were friends now, apparently, and Vivica was trying to find a way to understand more about the bad wish and win Clara’s trust with her charms.
Clara smiled. “I’ve never had a friend like you, Vivica. You seem to be so interested in me.” Her eyes glazed over as she looked at Vivica.
“I can almost guarantee you won’t ever have a friend like me again.” Vivica’s necklace sparked, but as a Wishling, Clara couldn’t see the sparks. However, the negative energy had already had an effect on her.
Now that Clara was under the spell of the negativity, Vivica began to transform and cloud Clara’s perspective. She started by convincing her that Holly had never been a good friend to her and zapping any good memories that Clara had of her friendship with Holly. As long as the negative power in Vivica’s necklace remained strong, Clara was no longer completely in control of her own thoughts.
Vivica’s necklace continued to sizzle. She manipulated Clara by pointing to Holly, who was standing nearby, surrounded by Whitney and her girl clique.
Holly noticed Clara looking her way. She waved to her, but with Vivica’s negative forces at work, Clara saw the friendly gesture as fake. Clara turned away, annoyed, and Holly turned back to the group of girls, visibly hurt by Clara’s dismissal.
Whitney, Nelle, and the rest of the girls were circling Holly, admiring just about everything about her.
“How do you do that braid? You always have such cool braids and hairstyles. You need to vlog about it,” Whitney insisted.
“Agreed! A vlog! That’s perfect. I would totally follow you!” Nelle affirmed.
“We know, Nelle.” Whitney smiled and turned to Holly. “We all want to be there when you’re a star on Song and Chance! Promise?”
Holly blushed and hid her face. “Come on, you guys! Anyone here could get picked for the show, not just me.” As both girls vied for Holly’s attention, all Holly could think of was how her best friend was no longer talking to her.
Vivica pointed to Holly, working her negative influence over Clara. “Look how much she enjoys being the center of attention. She doesn’t even care that you’re sitting over here.”
Clara agreed. “You’re right. She’s not even looking at me. I don’t know how I’d handle this without you.”
Vivica sensed an opening to further influence her Wisher. She had succeeded in gaining Clara’s trust, and now she needed to figure out how she could guide Clara toward actually making her bad wish come true.
Leona and Scarlet entered the darkened theater, undetected by Vivica. Luckily, the only light in the large theater was onstage. Sage spotted her friends and immediately waved them over to her. They snuck around the edge of the theater to the back row.
Wordsworth shouted to the booth at the back of the balcony. “Lighting team. Spotlight over here, please!”
All three Star Darlings ducked down out of view as the spotlight panned the audience. Vivica turned in the direction of the Star Darlings. She still didn’t see them, but she didn’t have to, either. This time she sensed their presence. Her highly tuned intuition told her that a Star Darling was nearby. Under her breath, she taunted, “Welcome to Wishworld, Star Dipper!”
Sage, Leona, and Scarlet stayed hidden behind the seats. None of them spoke to one another, even after all three of their Wish Pendants flashed. They all felt the same thing:
Vivica knows we’re here!
Sage quickly brought the Star Darlings up to speed on what she had observed so far. In a hushed whisper, she told them, “Vivica has some sort of negative hold over this girl, whose name is Clara. I’ve been watching them both. It’s like Clara is un
der a spell. We need to find a way to get to Clara before Vivica helps her make the bad wish come true!”
All charged up, Leona explained that she could use her Wishworld power, which was super-hearing, to eavesdrop on Vivica and Clara’s conversation. “I’ll find out what the bad wish is and what they’re going to do!”
Sage nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”
Scarlet agreed. “Good luck, Leona.” Scarlet caught herself softening toward her roommate and quickly shook herself out of it. What was happening? Could Wishworld be changing her?
Leona wasn’t used to Scarlet being so encouraging. It threw her for a moment, but she quickly got back to focusing on the mission. She closed her eyes, touching behind her ears with each of her hands, and then zeroed in on Vivica and Clara. She listened for a few starmins, then turned back to the Star Darlings.
Sage leaned over to her. “What are they saying?” she asked anxiously.
“Nothing!” Leona whispered.
Sage lifted her head to observe Vivica and Clara. They were engaged in lively conversation. “I can see them talking. They can’t be saying nothing!”
Leona opened her eyes wide and motioned to Sage to quiet her. “Wait, I hear something. It’s just not coming in clearly. Let me try again.”
Rehearsal would be over soon. It was crucial to get wish-granting information from Vivica and Clara while the Star Darlings had them in view. “We don’t have much time, Leona!” Sage whispered urgently.
Scarlet leaned in closer. “We can’t hide behind these seats too much longer without a Wishling catching on and wondering what we’re doing.”
Leona waved at both Sage and Scarlet to stop talking. “I’ve got something. Shh!” Leona closed her eyes. Then she opened them again and held her ears. “It’s just noise!” Suddenly, she jumped, screeching. “Ouch! Sounds like a Bot-Bot that needs retuning!”
Sage slumped down, a bit defeated. “Must be the negative energy field that Vivica created around them. She’s stronger than I thought she’d be.” She tapped her head a few times with her finger. “Think, Sage, think.”
Scarlet stretched her legs and then finally stood up, tired of hiding from Vivica—especially since Vivica obviously knew they were there. She immediately caught Vivica’s eye and casually waved at her. Vivica casually waved back. Both played it cool. None of the Wishlings in the theater noticed anything strange, since the theater was still dark, and Vivica and Scarlet appeared to be normal teenage girls just waving at each other. The possibility that they could be Starlings representing good and evil, who held the future of their home star in their hands, never crossed any of the Wishlings’ minds.
Scarlet kept her eyes locked on Vivica and Clara. Out of the corner of her mouth, hardly moving her lips, she told Leona and Sage, “She sees me. Now it’s my turn to try something.”
Sage checked her Star-Zap for any indication of the Star Darlings’ positive energy levels. As she suspected, the levels were dwindling. She looked up at Scarlet. “It’s all you. How can we help?”
Scarlet, usually defiantly independent, surprised Sage and Leona by asking them both to follow her. “Come on! And stay close.”
Leona looked at Sage. Sage just shrugged and followed Scarlet. Leona was right behind her.
Wordsworth stood onstage, giving final directions to the lighting designers before rehearsal ended. “Spotlight, over here.” The spotlight shifted, nearly exposing the Star Darlings as they headed down the aisle toward Vivica and Clara. They ducked just in time. “I’m thinking of the first act opening from the audience!” Wordsworth shouted, pointing to Vivica’s seat. “Right about there.” The spotlight shone directly on Vivica and Clara!
The Star Darlings, led by Scarlet, snuck farther down the aisle. “I’ll take care of Vivica while you two grab Clara’s attention and get her away from Vivica,” Scarlet ordered.
Wordsworth instructed the lighting student on the spotlight. “Okay, shut it down. We’ve got it.”
With the spotlight turned off, Scarlet moved closer to Vivica and applied her ability to manipulate gravity to try to lift Vivica off her seat, but Vivica held on to the armrests. Her necklace crackled and vibrated. The negatites were still strong. Scarlet tried again but had no power over Vivica. As Scarlet walked away, Vivica turned and shot her a nasty smirk.
Meanwhile, Clara had put her headphones back on and was listening to the song she had written to perform for the show, unaware of the struggle right next to her. But the Star Darlings could see there was a force at work that none of them had prepared for on Starland.
Scarlet returned to her friends. Out of breath, she apologized. “I tried, it just wasn’t happening.”
Leona reassured her. “No worries. We’ll figure it out!”
Suddenly, the lights flickered on and off. Wordsworth announced the end of rehearsal. “That’s a wrap. I don’t need to remind you that the show is three days away. Bring your best stuff tomorrow! Now get some rest.”
Just as the lights went on, Sage pointed to the spot where Clara had been sitting with Vivica. “They’re gone!”
Then Scarlet noticed a girl standing at the center of the adoring group of girls led by Whitney and Nelle. “Who’s she?” Scarlet asked Sage.
Sage recognized the Wishling girl. She could feel her Wish Pendant glowing. “Wait, I saw Clara and Vivica looking at her just before you and Leona arrived. The girl waved at Clara from across the theater, but Clara ignored her and turned away. I didn’t think anything of it at the time, but now, maybe she’s…”
“Part of the bad wish,” Leona said, finishing Sage’s thought for her.
“Yes! Let’s find out more!” Sage said, gaining momentum, convinced she was closer to understanding the true nature of the bad wish. Her intuition told her that the girl would play a role in the Wish Mission, but she wasn’t sure how yet. Sage noticed that the girl had a special glow about her, not the shimmering glow that Starlings had on Starland, but another kind, like she was shining from the inside. As they got closer to her, all three of their pendants glowed.
Before the Star Darlings could reach her, the girl left the auditorium. Scarlet slipped out after her.
Leona and Sage weren’t as lucky. Whitney and Nelle spotted them and waved them over. They were all wearing different-colored streaks in their hair. Leona smiled, seeing how the trends she had set were taking off on Wishworld. She pointed to Whitney’s bright red streak. “Like the hair!”
Nelle showed off her lime-green streak, twirling it around her finger. “Thanks for the inspiration, new girl!”
Sage had had enough small talk and wanted answers. “So who’s the girl you were talking to a minute ago?”
Nelle laughed. “You’re joking, right? Everyone knows Holly. She’s only the most amazing singer at North Coast.”
“Well, her best friend, Clara, is also really good,” Whitney added.
Nelle rolled her eyes. “Holly is a triple threat!” she explained to the girls.
Leona’s jaw dropped. “A threat? Holly is a threat?” That was all the Star Darlings needed right then. Another threat! Leona couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
Nelle chimed in excitedly, “Holly is a true star!”
“Only the brightest star at the North Coast Performing Arts Center. She’s so ridiculously awesome, I can’t even tell you,” Whitney said.
Sage stepped in just in time. She instantly put all the cramming she had done for Wishling Vocabulary to work. She told the Wishling girls, “Yeah, I heard she’s amaze?” She winked at Leona, which helped Leona find her footing again. Sage understood Wishling vocabulary better than any Starling at the academy. She whispered to Leona, “A triple threat is a person who has three different talents.”
Sage managed to step away from the girls and pulled Leona aside. “Okay, so back to our mission. We know Vivica is helping guide Clara to a bad wish. And I’m pretty sure that the bad wish is about Holly!”
“For sure,” Leona said. “Why else would o
ur pendants glow?”
The girls looked at each other, running through their heads everything they had learned about the Wishlings.
“What did Holly do to Clara? I thought they were best friends,” Leona remarked.
Sage paused, then gasped. “I’ve got it!” Leona raised her eyebrows, eager to know what she was thinking. Sage slowly explained. “Holly and Clara are both singers and best friends. Right? But everyone around here thinks Holly is a superstar. Imagine how that would make you feel if you were Clara.”
“It would make me crazy!” Leona cried.
“Exactly!” Sage said. “It’s made her jealous and resentful of her very best friend! Clara has been living in Holly’s shadow, and now she wants Holly to fail somehow, so she can shine.”
Scarlet had walked around the exterior of the building and finally located Holly. She leaned against a wall, studying Holly’s every move and not letting her out of her sight.
Scarlet noticed that Holly appeared to be waiting for someone. Then Scarlet’s heart skipped a beat when the cute boy she had been talking to earlier, Maxwell, showed up and gave Holly a big hug before they walked off together.
“Okay, Wishling boy. If you want to play, let’s play!” Just for fun, Scarlet decided to use her powers on Maxwell. As he walked down the sidewalk with Holly, away from the arts center building, Scarlet pointed her finger at him and tripped him. He caught himself just before he fell. Holly leaned over to him to see if he was okay. Maxwell glanced over his shoulder and saw Scarlet, away from the crowd of other students, with a smile on her face.
“Hi, there. It’s you!” he called to her, collecting himself. Then he said, “Have you met my sister, Holly?”
Scarlet looked straight into Maxwell’s green eyes, confused and relieved. “Your sister?”
DAY TWO
Scarlet wasn’t feeling herself. Maybe the journey from Starland was catching up with her, or maybe it was the failed attempt to overpower Vivica’s negatites. From the moment she had woken up that morning, it was like she had flutterfocuses in her stomach. She felt almost light-headed.
Stealing Starlight Page 6
