Libby and the Class Election (10 page)

“Ready for takeoff?” asked the wrangler.

“Ready!” said Libby.

“Libby! Libby!” Libby turned her head and saw Sage fighting her way to the edge of the balcony. “I just remembered something! When my mission started going wrong, I started
feeling really—”

Whoosh!
The wrangler released the powerful star, and Libby's head was thrown back as it took off. She was on her way as quick as she could say Jack Starling (an old expression of
her great-grandmother's, which oddly came to mind at that moment).

What had Sage been about to say? She had felt really hungry? Angry? Sad? Hopefully, Libby wouldn't find out.

Whoa!
She hadn't realized what a bumpy ride it would be down to Wishworld! Her long pink hair whipped back as she sped down, down, down. She stared out at the swirling air around
her, almost hypnotized by the shifting colors, the intense glow and flashes of light.

Just then she remembered her Star-Zap. She fished it out of her pocket and realized that it was blinking. Libby snapped back to reality.
COMMENCE APPEARANCE CHANGE
, the
screen read.
APPROACHING WISHWORLD ATMOSPHERE
.
Oh, starf.
How long had the Star-Zap been trying to remind her? It was flashing really intently, surely an indicator
that she had been ignoring it for a while.

Quickly, she accessed the Wishworld Outfit Selector, and she was instantly dressed. She looked down at the outfit Lady Stella had helped her choose the night before. Pink denim skirt,
pink-and-white-striped leggings, pink flats, and a pink shirt with white polka dots. A white jean jacket completed her Wishling ensemble. She smiled.
Adorable!

Next step: skin and hair. She placed her hand on her star necklace and recited the words that would start the transformation: “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 wonderful, warm, comforting feeling began to flow through her, and she focused first on her body. She visualized her smooth pale skin
devoid of any glitter. Next she pictured plain brown hair instead of her beautiful sparkling pink tresses. (That was a tough one for her, and she was happy to notice that a streak of pink
remained.) The star sped up for a moment as it swerved around a meteorite, and she watched in dismay as the sparkles were swept right off her skin. She felt very dull indeed. But now she was
ready.

PREPARE FOR LANDING
, read her Star-Zap. Libby shot through the clouds and began hurtling toward Wishworld. She closed her eyes as the ground rushed up to meet her. Nobody
had told her how scary that would be! But to her relief, she touched down gently. When she opened her eyes, she was pleased to discover that the star had brought her to a secluded spot. She picked
up the star and folded it neatly, then stowed it in her backpack. It would come in handy to help her get back home; that was for sure! She scooped up her Star-Zap, which lay on the ground beside
her, and stuck it in her pocket. It was only then that she took a closer look at her surroundings. Everything was so lovely, bathed in pink light! Then she laughed as she realized she had forgotten
to take off her safety starglasses. Things weren't quite so rosy anymore. Instead of the beautiful park that Sage had described landing in, Libby discovered that she was in a dreary alley,
and there was a large green metal container that really stank. She could hardly breathe! She held her nose and peeked inside, morbidly curious to discover what on Wishworld could make such a
terrible smell. It was filled with garbage! Papers and wrappers and leftover food scraps and used drink containers, as well as other unidentifiable items in various degrees of decay. She looked
away. What a mess! Then she remembered learning in class that Wishlings did not have disappearing garbage as they did on Starland, and she felt very sorry for them. She caught another whiff and
realized that at the moment, she felt sorry for herself. She held her breath and scurried out of the alley.

Libby pulled out her Star-Zap and said, “Take me to the Wisher I've come to help.” Directions appeared and Libby quickly fell into step behind an adult female Wishling. After a
couple of turns, she found herself on a busy city street. She stood still for a moment and tried to take it all in. It was loud, crowded, overwhelming, and totally wonderful all at the same time.
Then someone bumped right into her, nearly knocking her over onto the sidewalk.

“Out of the way, kid,” said a gruff voice. “You can't just stop in the middle of the sidewalk! What's wrong with you?”

Libby looked up to see an adult male Wishling in a matching jacket and pants, a thin strip of material tied around his neck. He was holding a brown satchel in one hand and what looked like a
very early prototype of a Star-Zap to his ear with the other. He scowled at her. “Oh, just some dumb kid,” he said into the phone before he took off, weaving through the crowd.

Libby stuck out her tongue at his departing back.
How rude!

“Oh, don't mind him,” said a voice. Libby looked over to see an adult female Wishling with a kind face pushing a large wheeled contraption with a tiny baby sleeping inside.
“Some people have no manners.”

Libby smiled at her. “Thank you!” she said. She decided to make her first mental note. By pressing a button on her Star-Zap, she could record in her Cyber Journal an observation made
in her head. It could then be studied by the other Star Darlings for use on their missions.

Mission 2, Wishworld Observation #1: Some Wishlings are rude. And some are quite nice.

Hmmm…
Maybe that wasn't such a mind-blowing observation. It was actually a lot like life on Starland. She knew she should probably get to the school as soon as possible, but
she needed a starmin to take it all in. She moved out of the way and watched. Pedestrians rushed by, and people were spilling out of underground stairwells and onto the street.
Where did they
come from?
she wondered.
Do some Wishlings live underground?
There were tons of those funny-looking Wishling vehicles—some long and boxlike, filled with many people, and some
small and carrying only a few. Many of them were yellow and had signs and lights on the top. The streets were lined with large buildings with glass fronts. There were a lot of stores selling
clothes, shoes, and food. There were many places called banks and others called pharmacies. And it was noisy: vehicles were honking, revving, and screeching. People were yelling, chatting,
whistling, and constantly moving, moving, moving. She thought she could stand there all day watching the people walk by—wearing their Wishling clothes, their Wishling shoes, talking in their
Wishling voices.

Mission 2, Wishworld Observation #2: Wishlings seem to always be in a big rush to get someplace else.

An official-looking Wishling, wearing a blue uniform with a badge and a matching blue hat on his head, stopped in front of Libby. “Shouldn't you be in school, young lady?” he
asked.

Libby snapped out of her reverie. “That's right!” she said. “Thank you!”

She flipped open her Star-Zap (which looked enough like the devices everyone else was using that she wasn't afraid of standing out) and accessed the directions. She began to walk to the
school. She quickly figured out the flashing signs on the street corners. The red-lighted hand meant stop and the little white-lighted person walking meant it was okay to cross the street.

The rest of her walk was uneventful (though she did start to wonder why Wishlings needed quite so many banks and those mysterious pharmacy places), and she soon stood across the street from her
destination, waiting for the little walking man to tell her it was okay to cross. It was a white brick building with a flagpole in front, the starred and striped flag fluttering in the breeze. It
looked a little shabby, but in a nice way, like it was well used.
WELCOM TO OUR SCHOOL
read big cutout letters that hung in the large windows facing the street. That puzzled
Libby.
Maybe they spell words differently on Wishworld,
she thought.

“Hurry up,” someone called. Libby looked up to see an adult female Wishling in a bright yellow vest and a white hat and gloves beckoning for her to cross the street.
“You're late for school!” she said.

Libby did as she was told and hurried to the school entrance. She pushed open the front door and stepped inside. A large letter
E
was lying on the floor by the windows. Curious, Libby
picked it up. Actual paper! It was very light. She tried to stick it back in the window after the
M
, but as soon as she turned, it fluttered back to the ground.

“Don't worry about that. I'll fix it later. Don't want anyone to think we don't know how to spell here!” someone said in a jolly voice. It was an adult female
Wishling in a blue uniform that looked just like the one worn by the Wishling who had asked Libby if she should be in school. She held open a door that led to the school lobby. “I'm
sorry to say that you're going to need a late pass.”

“A late pass, of course,” replied Libby.
What on Starland is a late pass?
she wondered.

Libby walked inside, and the Wishling followed her and took a seat behind a desk. She pushed some papers to the side, pulled out a binder, and flipped it open. She picked up a pen and looked up
at Libby expectantly.

“Name?” she said. She peered at Libby closely. “Actually, come to think of it, you don't look familiar to me,” she said with a frown. Then she smiled despite
herself. “Mmmmm, chocolate cake,” she said. “My grandpa used to make one every Saturday, with vanilla frosting and sprinkles. And then, after dinner, he would light a candle and
sing ‘Happy Birthday' to me, because I liked birthdays so much. And we'd each eat a big piece with a tall glass of milk.”

Libby didn't smell anything, so she just smiled.
Oh, that's right!
Whenever Starlings were around, adult Wishlings smelled the scent of their favorite bakery treat from
their childhood. That was a little weird, but mostly kind of nice, she thought. Libby glanced at the name on the woman's badge. Then she leaned forward and looked into the woman's brown
eyes, just as Sage had taught her. “Lady Jones,” she began. “I am—”

“Lady Jones!” the adult female Wishling said with a cackle. “Do you think I'm royalty? That's Officer Jones to you, young lady!”

Oops.
Libby started over. “Officer Jones, I am Libby, the new student,” she said. She felt a rush of relief when the Wishling repeated, “You are Libby, the new
student.”

She smiled as Officer Jones wrote
Libby
on the late pass. Then Officer Jones looked up. “Last name?”

Libby opened her mouth, then closed it. They hadn't covered this in school. Starlings didn't have last names. “It's Libby…uh…Libby…”

In a panic, she glanced down at a folded piece of paper on the officer's desk and saw a list. A class list, maybe? She read aloud the first word she saw, which was not easy, as it was
upside down. “Li…li…liverwurst,” she said. That was when she realized that the piece of paper was not a class list. It was a menu.

She regretted her choice as soon as she said it out loud. She wasn't quite sure what it was, but she did know one thing for certain: it was a terrible-sounding name!

“Libby…Liverwurst?” the officer said, frowning.

“Libby Liverwurst,” Libby repeated glumly.

With a shake of her head, the officer wrote down the name on the late pass. “Libby Liverwurst.” She looked like she was trying hard not to smile. “And what class are you
in?”

“Room 546,” she said, recalling the number she had read on the directions.

“Room 546,” repeated the officer, writing down the numbers. She handed Libby the pass. “Have a good day, Miss Liverwurst.”

“Thank you,” said Libby politely.

Once she was out of the officer's view, Libby pulled out her Star-Zap and followed the directions it provided.
Up two flights, through the doors, make a left, past the gym, first
classroom on the right.
The hallway was quiet, but she could hear the drone of teachers' voices from behind closed classroom doors and the higher-pitched voices of the kids. Then she
caught the squeaking sound of rubber soles on wood. That had to be from the gym. She noted that the walls were painted a cheerful shade of yellow. By each doorway was a large rectangular board,
covered in artwork—busy scenes, funny faces, drawings of odd creatures she had never seen before. There were also several colorful posters hanging on the walls. One had a simple white
background with the words
AVA FOR PRESIDENT
on it in large letters. Nothing else. Another really caught her eye. On it was an image of a bearded adult male Wishling, in a
red, white, and blue outfit and top hat, pointing directly at her.
I WANT YOU TO VOTE FOR KRISTIE
! it read.

Interesting.
Libby had a secret desire to get involved in school politics and hoped one day to run for Light Leader, the head of the student government of Starling Academy. She glanced
at the bottom of the poster and noticed that the election was to be held in two days' time.
Hmmm.
Maybe she'd learn a few tricks about elections while she was here. In addition
to granting a wish and collecting a vast amount of wish energy, of course.

She glanced up and realized she had passed the classroom she was looking for, room 546. She backtracked, and then, taking a deep breath, she knocked and waited.

The door opened, and a teacher with a sweet round face and short curly brown hair looked down at her curiously. Libby remembered her line. Before the teacher could say a word, she announced,
“I am Libby, your new student.”

To Libby's relief, the teacher ushered her right in (after sniffing the air and exclaiming how it smelled just like red velvet cake, that is). “Class, this is Libby, our new
student,” she told everyone. She pointed to an empty desk in the back of the room. “You can sit right there,” she said.