by Ahmet Zappa
“I was kind of hoping this was going to be my Wish Blossom presentation,” Libby said, twirling a strand of her pretty pink hair around her finger. “But then where’s everyone else?” She looked around the office as if the other girls were hiding behind the furniture and would soon pop out to surprise her.
Lady Stella strode into the room, followed by Lady Cordial, the head of admissions. Lady Cordial was one of a handful of Starling Academy administrators who knew of the Star Darlings’ and Lady Stella’s plan. Smiling tightly, as she always did, she greeted the Star Darlings with clasped hands and a tidy bow. Lady Stella used her wish energy to close the door behind them—a little more forcefully than necessary, in Leona’s opinion. Leona couldn’t help admiring Lady Stella, so lithe and beautiful. The headmistress was as regal and confident as the head of admissions was meek and nervous. Then Leona took a closer look at Lady Stella. In her two plus years at Starling Academy, Leona had never seen the woman look so…so…irritated. It couldn’t be good news. Lady Stella looked at the four girls. “Where’s Scarlet?” she asked.
Leona shrugged. “I haven’t seen her since she moved out of our room,” she said. The other girls nodded in agreement.
“Really?” said Lady Stella. Her smooth forehead creased with concern. “That is surprising. We had a lengthy discussion after everything happened and she was very gracious. I’m surprised she didn’t respond to my holo-text.”
Scarlet? Gracious? thought Leona. She’d have to take the headmistress’s word for it.
Libby shook her head. “It’s true. We haven’t seen her anywhere,” she said. “Not at lunch or at band practice.”
Sage spoke up. “She missed our Wish Probability class, and study group, too.”
Lady Stella frowned. “I see…I suppose it’s entirely possible that Scarlet was more upset than she let on.” She inhaled sharply. “Perhaps it’s no surprise that a Starling would need some time alone.”
Especially Scarlet, thought Leona. She never seemed particularly eager to be around other Starlings before anyway.
She stood, thinking the meeting was over.
“Not so fast, Leona,” said Lady Stella. “I haven’t gotten to the reason I summoned you all here.”
Leona sat down with a thump.
“I have two words for you girls,” the headmistress said grimly. “Star Darlings.”
The girls looked at her blankly. She continued. “What in the stars were you thinking, naming your band after our secret group?”
Leona gasped. She had been so excited about being named the lead singer of the band that the actual name had barely registered with her at the moment. It was strange, come to think if it. Quickly she explained to Lady Stella exactly what had happened, the other girls breaking in and adding their thoughts. She had always wanted to start a rock band—since her younger years, in fact, back in Flairfield—so that she could be the lead singer, of course. And as soon as Lady Stella formed the Star Darlings, Leona couldn’t help thinking that it would be the perfect place to start.
Many of the Star Darlings already played instruments, Leona knew, and it would be a startastic way to get to know each other even better than they already did.
There were never supposed to be open auditions. That was something Leona had thought she’d made perfectly clear. Somehow, though—it was still a mystery—a holo-flyer was sent out to every Star-Zap in the school. Except the Star Darlings’ Star-Zaps, which just made everything even weirder. Worse was that Leona couldn’t even pick the band members in the end, even though it had all been her idea. Starling Academy rules—ever fair and balanced and just—stipulated that any tryout on school property be overseen by a school official using a Ranker, a judging machine designed to be completely objective and keep any contest a hydrong percent fair.
So the Ranker had chosen a group of girls and also the name of the band. And it just so happened that the five girls who were chosen were all Star Darlings, and that the name it picked was…the Star Darlings.
Lady Stella shook her head. “This is very odd indeed.”
Lady Cordial piped up, “S-s-s-s-so very s-s-s-s-strange Lady Stella. S-s-s-s-so very s-s-s-s-strange.”
Lady Stella looked at the girls and her expression softened. “So you girls had nothing to do with this?” They shook their heads.
“And who was the professor in charge?” Lady Stella asked.
Leona thought. “It was Professor…Professor Leticia Langtree.”
Lady Cordial touched Lady Stella’s arm, and the headmistress bent down so the shorter woman could whisper in her ear. Lady Stella listened, nodded, then straightened, her mouth set in a grim line. “I will make a delicate inquiry with her to determine if this was a random mistake or done deliberately.” She shook her head. “But really, what are the chances of a Ranker picking the same secret name?” she mused aloud. “What are the chances?”
Her question was rhetorical, but Starlings were born with an innate knowledge of mathematics, and the answer was on the tips of their tongues in no time. “One in five hydrong mooniums,” everyone chorused.
As they stood and began filing out of the room, Lady Stella was shaking her head. “The revelation of your group’s secret name is very concerning to me. Very concerning.”
Leona and the rest of the band walked down the hallway, nobody saying a word. They stepped out into the still night, the sky clear and filled with twinkling stars. They all paused for a moment, looking up and taking it all in. Most of their other classmates were already in bed, dreaming their Starling dreams as they absorbed their lessons for the day. Then, without a word, the four Star Darlings headed to the campus Cosmic Transporter, the moving sidewalk that whisked Starlings across the school grounds. It wasn’t until they were moving toward the dorms that Leona broke the silence.
“So what?’ she said. “What is the big deal that our name is out there? I mean, we’re still secretly going on missions. That hasn’t changed. I think Lady Stella is totally overreacting,” she said firmly.
Vega shook her blue-bobbed head from side to side. “I don’t know, Leona. Lady Stella seemed pretty upset. There must be more to it.”
“Time will tell,” said Sage wearily. “Time will tell.”
And with that, the four girls went their separate ways to try to get some sleep.
BAM!
Leona looked up. What had that been? Had it come from the hall? It was always so quiet. Intrigued, Leona jumped off the bed to see what was going on.
Leona ran to her door and pulled it open—just a crack. She peered down the hall to see Tessa, fists clenched, facing her own door. Tessa seemed about to tell the door something, but she changed her mind and turned away. Leona watched for another starmin as Tessa stomped onto the dorm’s Cosmic Transporter. Bright green sparkles flew from her hair as it swung back and forth.
Tessa could be stubborn, Leona knew, but this was a side she’d never seen before. In fact, in the two plus staryears they’d been together at Starling Academy, Leona had never witnessed Tessa losing her cool, not once. Not even with Gemma, her younger sister—a first-year student and their fellow Star Darling—whose mouth was as big as Wishworld’s sun. No, Tessa was always the even-tempered Starling, the peacemaker if anyone quarreled. Her roommate, Adora, must have done something pretty outrageous to get a reaction like that out of her.
Twinkle-twinkle.
On her desk, Leona’s Star-Zap rang. A holo-call was coming in. She dashed back to answer it. “Star greetings?”
Her fellow Star Darling Cassie popped up, waving. “It’s me,” Cassie chirped. She was in her reading nook in her dorm room, surrounded by star-shaped quilted pillows and piles of holo-books and holo-magazines. “So, have you heard anything more from Scarlet? I’m worried about her, aren’t you?”
“I guess.” Leona shrugged. “Right now, though, I’m much more interested in this fight Adora and Tessa just had.”
“Fight? Tessa and Adora?” Cassie’s pale skin shimmered in her surp
rise.
Leona made an X on her chest. “Cross my stars and hope to shine.”
“Moon and stars…What happened?”
“I don’t know. All I saw was Tessa storming down the hall.”
Just then, a tiny star flashed in the upper corner of her Star-Zap, indicating that lunch would soon be served.
“Lunchtime already?” exclaimed Leona. “Sunspots! Where did the morning go? I still have to take a sparkle shower! Give me ten starmins, and I’ll meet you outside, between the dorms.”
Freshly sparkling and dressed in her favorite gold tunic, marigold-colored leggings, and golden boots, Leona joined Cassie in the courtyard between their neighboring dorms. Cassie, who was just in her first year at Starling Academy, roomed with Sage, their fellow Star Darling, in the Little Dipper Dorm. The building was where all first- and second-year students lived. As a third year, Leona lived with all third- and fourth-year Starlings in the only slightly larger but more luxurious Big Dipper Dorm.
Arm in arm, as was the custom for Starlings whenever traveling in pairs, they strode past the Star Quad, the star-shaped heart of the Starling Academy campus, where the iconic dancing fountain cheerfully sparkled and splashed. Just past the quad rose the semi-star-shaped band shell, Leona’s favorite place on campus apart from her room. Her brand-new band hadn’t played there yet, but they would soon. A few more practices and they’d be ready to take the stage and rock the school!
Behind the band shell stood the academy’s enormous dining hall, the Celestial Café. In case anyone missed the signal on her Star-Zap, a great glowing star above the door flashed, announcing mealtime to everyone.
Inside the vast, warmly lit dining room, which was somehow cozy and elegant at once, Leona and Cassie joined Piper and Gemma, their fellow Star Darlings who were already seated at the table the group had made their own. Ever since they’d been chosen, the girls had eaten their meals together at the table by the window with what many thought was one of the best views from the school. Gazing out, one could see both the jewellike Crystal Mountains and the glistening, violet-hued Luminous Lake. These landmarks were the pride and joy of Starland City, and they were beautiful indeed. Still, Leona personally enjoyed the view from her own dorm room window even more: it was of the glimmering skyline of downtown Starland City, the place she’d grown up dreaming about moving to—as a superstar, of course!
Before the girls could even exchange star greetings, a Bot-Bot waiter appeared. It filled their crystal goblets with sparkling water and placed a piping-hot roll fresh from the oven for each of them on their china plates.
“Star greetings, Leona, Cassie. What is it that you desire?” asked the Bot-Bot waiter.
“Hmm…let’s see…” Leona’s forehead wrinkled. What would she have that day?
There was no menu for them to choose from. They could truly order anything their Starling hearts desired, and Leona prided herself on never having ordered something more than once since she had been at Starling Academy.
“A garble-green soufflé for me, please,” said Cassie.
“Really? Again? You don’t get tired of that?” Leona asked.
“Not really,” said Cassie. “It’s tasty. And it’s healthy. Why mess with something that works?”
Leona cocked her head and grinned, waggling her eyebrows. “I don’t know…because you can?”
“And for you, Leona?” The Bot-Bot waiter hovered politely near her shoulder, ready to transmit her request to the café’s gourmet Bot-Bot chefs.
“Right…okay…for me…What are you having?” Leona asked Piper, eyeing the glossy emerald tendrils piled on her plate.
“Who, me? Oh, a starweed salad.”
Leona scrunched up her nose. “Hmn…I’ll pass. What about you?” She turned to Gemma.
“Me? A druderwomp burger,” said Gemma, moving in for another bite.
“Ah! Now that’s a vegetable I like! I think I’ll have that, a druderwomp burger—well done—with extra mooncheese. I haven’t had that before, have I?”
The Bot-Bot waiter scanned its memory to check. “No,” it replied decidedly. “Never with extra cheese.”
“Starmendous. Star salutations.” Leona thanked their server with a wave. “Soooo?” she went on, gazing around. “Where’s everyone else?”
“Well, we know where Scarlet’s not,” said Gemma as a glob of bright-orange mustardia-blossom sauce dribbled down her chin and onto her shirt. She glanced down, not sure where to wipe, since it was the same color as her top.
“Well, that I knew,” said Leona. “You do know she’s moved out of my room?”
“Really!” said Gemma. “Already!”
Leona nodded. “Completely. Everything’s gone. Not a speck of hot pink or black. It’s like she was never there.” She smiled.
“Ah, but she was. Don’t forget that,” said Piper.
“Uh, I wasn’t going to. But star salutations.”
Piper tossed her pale green hair over her shoulder. “You’re welcome,” she replied.
Cassie spoke up. “Well, Scarlet still has to eat. Even if she’s not a Star Darling, she’s still a student. Is she sitting with someone else?”
The dining room was so vast it was hard to identify each and every sparkling face. But Scarlet had always stood out in a crowd in her palette of hot pink and jet black. The four Star Darlings scanned the wavy rows of tables. One by one, each shook her head. If Scarlet had been in the café, they would have spotted her in the rainbow of students, without a doubt.
“It wouldn’t be the first meal she ever skipped,” said Leona. “You know how antisocial she can be. Honestly, I never could see how Lady Stella ever sensed Star Darling potential in her, let alone see her granting wishes.”
“Well, don’t tell Libby that,” Gemma warned. “She’s really upset about the whole thing. And her stars get out of line so easily lately. You’d think a successful mission would have helped, but nooooo,” Gemma groaned. “Honestly, I don’t know how much longer I can room with her.”
“Hey, here come Clover and Astra,” observed Piper, pointing with her chin.
Leona and the others turned, eager to find out what news the second-year roommates might have. If they did have any, though, it didn’t look like it was very good.
“What’s wrong?” Cassie asked as they reached the table.
Clover shrugged and nodded toward Astra. “Ask her.”
“No, ask her.” Astra slid her warm auburn eyes to Clover. “Seriously, what were we fighting about again?”
“Well…if I remember correctly, you were cheating.”
“But I wasn’t.”
“But you were.”
“Oh, just admit it, Astra,” Gemma cut in. “Everyone knows you hate to lose.”
Astra glared down her nose at the ginger-haired Starling. Her own flame-red hair flickered indignantly. “That doesn’t mean I’d cheat, Gemma. Who asked you, anyway?”
“Could somebody please start from the beginning?” said Cassie.
“It’s no big deal,” said Clover, shrugging the whole episode away. She shook off her plum jacket and tossed it over the back of her chair. With a flick of her head, she shook her violet bangs out of her eyes and sank into her seat. “I’m not even mad…anymore….We were playing a friendly game of holo-cards in our room, and Astra cheated. The end.”
“But I didn’t cheat,” groaned Astra. “I mean, what kind of Starling do you think I am? Besides, Clover, I didn’t even need to cheat to win. You tried to shoot the moon when you knew I’d broken hearts.”
“Let’s just forget about it,” said Clover, bowing her head.
“You know, I was kind of missing having a roommate,” said Leona, chuckling. “But not so much anymore.”
“It’s not funny,” Piper said, leaning intently over her salad. “I don’t know if you Starlings have noticed it, but lately I’ve been sensing a lot of tension in the air, including from my own roommate, Vega. She wasn’t talking to me this morning when she left. I
n fact”—Piper frowned and slowly sat back—“I wonder if that’s why she’s not here, because she’s still so mad…”
“Like Tessa and Adora!” exclaimed Cassie.
“What about Tessa?” Gemma’s ears glistened at her sister’s name.
By that time, though, a duo of Bot-Bot waiters had returned to take Clover’s and Astra’s orders and serve Leona’s and Cassie’s food.
“Mmm! Star salutations!” Leona licked her lips and used her wish energy manipulation skills to mentally flick open her napkin, a crisp cloth square, which she then laid across her lap. “Could we worry about all that stuff later and worry about eating right now?” she begged.
In the end, there was no discussion of Star Darlings tension, because the rest of the girls soon arrived and the talk at the lunch table shifted quickly to Scarlet and her dismissal and, most important, what it meant. Did it really matter that there were only eleven of them now?
“I don’t see why it would,” Leona said. “We’ll just all go on more missions. We can pick up one Starling’s slack. Especially a Starling like Scarlet. I never trusted her anyway.”
“Oh, Leona!” Libby’s eyes flashed protectively across the table. “That’s a terrible thing to say.”
“Star apologies,” muttered Leona. “But you didn’t live with her….I’m just saying I wasn’t surprised.”
Sage, meanwhile, tugged on her lavender braids, thinking. “Remember what Lady Stella told us all when she met with us for the first time? If we didn’t want to be part of this mission, she would find another Starling who did. What if she’s finding another one right now to make us twelve again?”
“Maybe…” Vega nodded.
“Well, I’m going to miss her,” Libby said, “even if she did say more with her drums than she ever did with her mouth. I mean, she used to—”
