Leona''s Unlucky Mission

by Ahmet Zappa

  Lady Cordial gave Leona her backpack with the stuffed star-shaped keychain and wished her luck.

  On the Special Star Darling Wishworld Surveillance Deck, Star Wranglers were already waiting with lassos made of wish energy to harness Leona to the next shooting star, which came before she even had time to think Am I ready? or Should I have brought a microphone? The next thing Leona knew, she was strapped to the star and hurtling through space like a golden meteor.

  It was beautiful! The colors were endless—like a giant box of cray-osmic crayons times a hydrong. Leona had to force herself to focus on her mission like Lady Stella had said, and to use the precious starmins she had to prepare for what was to come. It was hard, though, not to simply gaze around, enjoying a view of the universe that only a few Starlings ever got.

  Fortunately, she had her Star-Zap to alert her when it was time to commence her appearance change. By then, she had entered Wishworld’s atmosphere and could see the shapes of the continents below. She hurried to pull up the Wishworld Outfit Selector on her Star-Zap and choose something Wishlingy to wear. Then she closed her eyes, placed her hand over her golden cuff, and recited the body-transforming lines: “Star light, star bright, the first star I see tonight: I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight.” A soothing warmth spread through her body, and she envisioned what she’d look like on Wishworld—hair that was light brown instead of gold, and skin that was still honey brown but shimmerless and dull. She opened her eyes slowly to see if the mantra had worked.

  “Starmendous!” she said out loud, shaking the stars loose from her hair.

  Her Star-Zap flashed: prepare for landing. And Leona did, once more closing her eyes. She braced for a jolt, but she was far from ready for the icy-cold splash she got instead.

  “Ahh!” she wailed, opening her eyes to find herself in the middle of a wide blue tree-lined lake.

  She grabbed the star and swam to shore as fast as she could, grateful for her water ballet lessons in Luminous Lake. Unfortunately, while all bodies of water on Starland instantly adjusted to any temperature a swimmer might desire—from hot-tub warm to refreshingly cool—the water in this Wishworld lake was most undesirably ice-cold.

  Leona reached the bank and climbed out, shivering, only to feel colder when her wet skin met the air. Without her natural star energy glow and shimmer, she had no way to keep off the chill. But she did have a Star-Zap—fortunately—which meant a whole wardrobe of dry clothes. She quickly pulled it out and dialed up the warmest outfit she could find: a butter-soft long-sleeved gold sweater with a chenille star appliquéd on the chest, a pair of brown leggings flecked with gold, and cozy fleece-lined boots covered with tiny shiny gold sequins.

  Then she took a starmin to make a mental note, which would be recorded in her Cyber Journal when she pressed a button on her Star-Zap.

  Mission 3, Wishworld Observation #1: Wishworld water is cold. Recommend including a drying feature in future Star Darlings’ Star-Zaps.

  Leona shook the water off her star and folded it up. She checked her image in her Star-Zap and was pleased—with the outfit, at least. Her hair, on the other hand, was dripping wet. On Starland, of course, this never happened. Hair looked exactly the same dry or wet. Leona wished she knew what Wishlings did with their hair in these situations, but the subject had never come up in class. All she could do was give it a shake and hope it dried by itself.

  Most important, she knew, was to find her Wisher, and she turned once more to her Star-Zap for that. “Take me to the Wisher I’ve come to help,” she said, holding the Star-Zap out to see where it would lead. Before my Wisher forgets her wish, she thought, or somehow changes her mind.

  Directions appeared on the holo-screen and Leona followed them away from the lake and through the trees. Pine trees. Leona recognized them from a holo-picture in the Wishworld Relations classroom; only in that picture, the trees were frosted with plain white Wishworld snow. On Starland they had snow, as well, but the flakes were all different colors and looked like confetti when they fell. Leona remembered thinking how much fun it would be, just once, to have one-color snow. She would, of course, have picked gold.

  Before too long, the directions led her out of the woods and into the sun, onto a lush green Wishworld lawn. Leona paused to let the warm rays sink in, then continued down a lane to a tall dull-black yet impressively intricate iron gate similar to the one that ran around Starling Academy. She noticed words at the top and read them: “‘Havisham Academy—Boarding School for Girls.’ Havisham Academy…Oh!” gasped Leona. “This must be the place!” Perhaps it was even a school for special Wishlings, like Starling Academy was for Starlings.

  Much like at Starling Academy, a long driveway led through the gate and was lined with stately broad-limbed trees. Unlike along Starling Academy’s Constellation Lane, though, the leaves along this Wishworld road remained a single color—green. The drive circled at the end, where it reached a wide rectangular building made of rough reddish bricks. Leafy green ropes grew up the walls, all the way to the slate roof.

  Leona was checking her Star-Zap again to see if it might inform her that her Wisher was inside when all of sudden, without any warning, the doors flew open and a flood of young female Wishlings poured out. And they weren’t just coming from that one building, Leona soon realized, but from similar-looking structures all around. Some kept to the paths that crisscrossed the well-trimmed lawns, and some hiked across the grass. Leona froze, fearing one of the kids might run over her if she kept moving.

  “Look out!”

  It almost happened anyway. A line of three girls stopped short just in front of her, forcing Leona to stumble back.

  “Oh, sorry,” one said.

  “You probably shouldn’t stand here.”

  “Yeah, not when classes let out, at least.”

  “Are you looking for someone?” the first girl asked.

  “Who, me?” If they only knew, Leona thought. “Um, actually, I go here!”

  “You do?” Two girls raised their eyebrows. The third eyed Leona from head to toe. “Then why aren’t you wearing a uniform?”

  “A what?” Leona said.

  The third girl nodded toward her outfit, then gave a quick chin bob to each of her friends. That’s when Leona noticed for the first time that they—and every other girl in sight—were all dressed exactly alike: black shoes, tall white socks folded just below the knee, crisp white shirts with plain white buttons in a row all down the front, red-and-blue-striped strips of fabric tied in knots around their necks, plaid skirts with a large decorative pin, and, finally, boxy storm-gray blazers with shield-shaped patches affixed to pockets on their chests.

  “Right. A uniform.” Leona remembered now. They had learned about those in class. Only, she thought those were clothes adult Wishlings wore for some of their special jobs, like putting out fires or fighting crime—things that on Starland never needed to be done. And then there were the uniforms adult Wishlings wore when they played young Wishling games in front of crowds. But to school? Leona must have somehow missed that lesson. Or laughed it off as a joke.

  “So…this is the uniform…today?” Her finger jumped from girl to girl. “And tomorrow, I guess, you wear a different one? Is there, by any chance, a gold day?”

  The girls’ faces wrinkled into different patterns of confusion.

  “We wear this every day. I thought you went here,” one of them said.

  “I do….”

  Every day? thought Leona. If she’d been on Starland, she’d surely have lost her glow.

  “But I’m new….I just arrived….” Leona forced herself to add a smile, but it was hard to make it stay. The image of her in that made her want to cry instead.

  “Oh! So you’re probably looking for the headmistress,” said the first girl. “She’ll give you a uniform and show you to your room.” She pointed to the door they’d just come out of. “In there. First door on the left.”

  “Star salu—oh, I mean, thanks,�
�� said Leona. She waved and watched the girls walk off. Then she turned and headed in to get her…gulp…school uniform.

  Mission 3, Wishworld Observation #2: Warning! Be prepared: choice of Wishling wardrobe is not guaranteed.

  Finding the headmistress was easy, as was convincing her that Leona was enrolled in her school. The mind-control techniques Sage and Libby had taught Leona and the others worked beautifully on her. Almost instantly, Leona was being given a room assignment, a class schedule, and, of course, a uniform while the headmistress remarked on the sudden scent of baking brownies and paused now and then to lick her lips. She told Leona her room number and handed her a key. Leona politely refused her offer to show her the way. She wanted to find her Wisher immediately.

  From there, Leona slipped into a restroom and quickly changed. She was more eager than ever to get on with her mission (and back to her wardrobe on Starland) as soon as possible.

  “Now, where is my Wisher?” She checked to see if her Star-Zap had any further instructions to give. “Ahh!” she cried as she suddenly noticed a Wishling girl standing right there.

  Leona reeled back in surprise. “You scared me—” she started. Then she realized the pretty, curly-haired Wishling was saying the same thing.

  “Starf!” she said to her reflection in the mirror above the sink. She knew she was supposed to look like a real Wishling…but still, it was hard to accept! She fluffed her hair, which had dried out fairly well. “You are a star,” she said. “Light up the world!” Her sparkly self stared back at her. And a surge of energy boosted her confidence. And with that, she opened the bathroom door and charged into the hall.

  According to the headmistress, classes were over for the day. The hall, therefore, was empty, and Leona’s footsteps echoed as her stiff new loafers clip-clopped across the floor.

  Leona figured she’d head back outside and hope her Star-Zap directed her from there. She paused, though, as she passed a bulletin board, and did a double take. If there were two words that could catch her eye, they were the ones at the top of the pale pink flyer pinned between a cockeyed sign about a yearbook meeting and another about a semester in someplace called Spain.

  Leona read the two words at the top of the pink flyer out loud: “‘Talent show.’”

  A happy tingle made its way up her spine as she eagerly read on: “‘Auditions today from five to nine p.m. in Hawthorne Auditorium.’”

  Of course! she thought. That’s got to be where I’ll find my Wisher! She glanced up at the clock above the bulletin board. The time was four forty-five. Here I come, whoever you are! she thought as she turned and ran, loafers clippety-clapping, to find the auditorium.

  Hawthorne Auditorium turned out to be easy to find. The building took up most of the north end of the quad.

  Leona was less sure, though, once she skipped up the steps and slipped through the front doors. There wasn’t much to see: just a narrow lobby with framed posters in rows along the walls, two pairs of doors, and one wide-eyed grown-up Wishling waving a clipboard.

  “Who are you? And how did you do that?”

  “Excuse me?” Leona said. She covered her Wish Pendant with her hand. What exactly had she done? Something un-Wishlingish, she guessed.

  “How did you open those doors like that and walk right through?”

  “Uh…” Leona looked back at the doors behind her. “Isn’t that how all doors work?” She knew Wishworld was different…but weren’t all doors simply doors?

  “But you didn’t push? And they’re not automatic. Your hands were down at your sides the whole time….” The woman reached out and yanked hard on the door handle to open it. “See? They don’t just open. They’re heavy. They stick.”

  Leona gulped. She understood. She’d been so focused on finding her Wisher she’d forgotten to be careful not to let her energy work for her.

  Mission 3, Wishworld Observation #3: When on Wishworld, never use energy when you can use your hands. Not only will you conserve energy, you’ll avoid embarrassing questions.

  “Um…you are absolutely right,” she told the woman, gazing deep into her eyes. “Those doors are very heavy. That’s why I pushed them very hard—with my hands. And that’s how I got in.”

  The woman’s baffled scowl softened into a friendly, vaguely hungry grin. “You pushed them very hard with your hands,” she repeated. “That’s how you got in. Mmm. Warm apple pie.” She sighed. “I could use a piece right now.”

  Leona sighed, too. That was pretty easy. Now, back to the mission at hand. “I’m here for the auditions. Where are they exactly?” she asked.

  “You’re here for the auditions. Of course.” The woman nodded. “They’re in the auditorium, just through there.” She aimed a pen at a pair of double doors. “And your name is…?” she asked.

  “Um, Leona…I’m new….I sing!” she added before she could think to stop. “Uh, but I’m really just here to watch,” she went on quickly. “If that’s okay, of course.”

  “To watch?” The woman looked up. Her face was still calm and sweet and stiff. “That’s okay, of course. I was just on my way in myself. I’m Ms. Frasier, the music director. I’m in charge of the auditions.” She shifted her clipboard and held out her hand.

  “Really? Nice to meet you!” Leona shook it heartily. “Here!” She ran to the doors to the auditorium. “Let me get the door for you, Ms. Frasier. With my hands, of course!”

  Once they were inside, it all made sense to Leona. Now, this is more like it! she thought.

  Her gaze moved down the aisle, along the rows of seats, and up onto the empty stage. No, it wasn’t star-shaped, and the curtains, unfortunately, were rust-colored, with no neon twinkle at all. Still, it was all Leona could do not to run up there, grab the mic, and belt out a rocking song.

  But no, this was not the time. She had to remind herself of that twice. With luck, that would come soon enough, but Leona still had to find her Wisher. Then would come the hardest part of all: identifying the Wisher’s wish.

  She dragged her eyes from the stage and began to scan the auditioners. She saw Ms. Frasier doing the same.

  “Okay, people! Let’s do this!” the music teacher shouted as she marched down the aisle toward the first row of seats. “We have a long list of auditions to get through here, so I want you ready when I call your name!”

  Leona quickly counted. There were forty-eight girls in the auditorium, most scattered among the seats. Two sat at the end of the row right next to her. She decided to start with them.

  “Hi,” she said.

  The first girl turned. It looked like she held a small child on her lap. A strange, tiny little kid.

  The friend turned also, stiffly. “Hi, hello there!” she declared.

  Leona jumped back.

  “Oh, my stars!” she gasped.

  The first girl dissolved into laughter while her small friend stared off into space.

  “What?” said Leona. “What’s so funny?”

  “Nothing,” said the girl, laughing. She covered her mouth with her free hand. “It’s just that you look really startled by Dolly. Like you thought she was a real girl.”

  Leona didn’t know what to say. She did know that her Wish Pendant did not show this was her Wisher, so she smiled and slowly backed away.

  “Excuse us, we’re trying to rehearse here,” said a sharp voice, which made Leona spin around.

  “Oh, sorry!” She smiled at the three girls. “What’s your talent?” she inquired.

  They all looked at her and then at each other’s matching shorts and leotards.

  “Dance,” one said, swinging her hip to meet her hand.

  Another nodded. “Jazz.”

  “Wait, Talia, I thought it was modern,” the third one said, frowning.

  “Whatever, Adeline.” The first girl, Talia, rolled her eyes back to Leona and lifted one cheek in a half grin. “What’s your talent?” she asked. “Staring? Good one, right, Kasey?”

  “Ha!” Kasey laughed.
/>   “Can you do that as a talent?” asked Adeline.

  “It was a joke,” explained Talia. She was their leader, Leona guessed.

  Leona wondered if maybe these girls didn’t want to be mean and wished they weren’t that way. She checked her Wish Pendant, but it was barely glowing. None of the girls was her Wisher. Too bad. That would have been such a great wish to grant, helping one of them change into a better person.

  “First up! Make-a-Move!”

  “Omigosh, Talia! We’re first!” Kasey squealed.

  “First?” Adeline blanched.

  “First is good!” Talia declared. “Then we can get out of here and eat, and we don’t have to sit through all these weirdos, like Hannah and her creepy dummy.”

  She nodded toward the girl with the little stiff friend as she said that. The other girls giggled behind their hands.

  “Come on, let’s go!” Talia went on, dragging her dance mates down the aisle.

  “Good luck,” Leona told them.

  “Thanks,” Adeline said.

  Talia tossed her ponytail. “Who needs luck when you have talent? But yeah…” She snorted. “Thanks, lemonhead.”

  Leona watched them head toward the stage, wishing she could take her “good luck” back. She had no idea what a lemonhead was, but it sure didn’t sound like a compliment. Still, she couldn’t take things on Wishworld personally. She had to remind herself of that. She was there on a mission, and it was way too important to let silly names distract her from that.

  And besides, she thought, she had more talent in her little finger than those three Make-a-Moves combined.

  Anyway… Leona sighed and turned at a sound behind her. A girl stood in the back of the theater, blinking nervously, looking as if she was afraid the auditorium would swallow her. Leona walked up to the girl, and feeling her wrist tingle, she looked down at her Wish Pendant. She was nearly blinded by its glow.

  “Hi. My name’s Leona. What’s yours?”

  “Er…Lily,” the girl said, then gulped. She stared at the floor.

  “Lily!” Leona nodded. “That’s a pretty name! So…Lily…are you here to try out for this thing?”