Scarlet Discovers True Strength (4 page)

Kicked out!
She nearly leaned out to yell, “I was not
kicked out
!”

“She wasn't kicked out…” said Cassie.

Thank you!
thought Scarlet. Cassie always had seemed a little smarter than the rest.

“…exactly. I mean, she didn't do anything wrong.”

“Mistakes happen, I guess,” Sage said. She shrugged and re-tossed her hair.

Mistakes
…thought Scarlet.
Mistakes?
Accidently using your roommate's toothlight was a
mistake
. Being told that you, in fact, weren't Star Darlings material? That wasn't a
mistake
. It was just plain wrong!

“I don't know….” Below, Cassie slowed to a stop, pulling Sage with her. Their arms were linked, as Starling arms usually were when they walked together.

“What?” said Sage.

“It's just…so many strange things are going on. There's poor Leona…ruining her Wish Pendant and not getting a Power Crystal when her mission was otherwise such a success.”

“Well, wasn't that her fault? She never used her special powers.”

“I know…but to ruin your Wish Pendant?” Cassie shook her head.

Above, Scarlet nodded sympathetically. Leona's ruined Wish Pendant didn't come close, of course, to Scarlet's losing her place as a Star Darling, but it had to hurt.

“And then, of course, there are those flowers,” Cassie went on. “Have you noticed, by the way, that we aren't fighting anymore?”

“Oh, Cassie!” A laugh bubbled out of Sage as she started to pull Cassie forward. “You and your conspiracy theories. You are too cute! Really, you are.”

“Hellooooo?”

Scarlet turned from the window at the sound of a reedy, shrill voice calling from below. She slid from the window seat and peered down the stairs. “Who's there?” she said cautiously, not sure she wanted to know.

As she started down the curving ladder, a Starling came into view. It was a woman—an old woman, Scarlet could tell immediately—grinning and bent over a crystal-tipped cane.

“Hello?” Scarlet said. Her eyes swept the room uneasily for a glimpse of her roommate, Mira. “Er, excuse me,” she said, not finding her, “but how did you get in?” Usually, Scarlet was the one sneaking up on people, not the other way around. Plus, as far as she knew, the only way to open the door was by using the palm scanner outside. Then it had to approve you. So how did the woman get in? “Er…can I help you?”

The little old Starling craned her neck to peer up at Scarlet. “Why, hello, and star salutations, dearie,” she said sweetly. Her voice cracked with age. Wire-rimmed star-shaped glasses rested halfway down her nose, and silvery lilac curls framed her pinched but pleasant face. “As a matter of fact, you can. I'm looking for my granddaughter, Mira. The Bot-Bot guard at the front told me this was her room?”

“Oh…” That made a little more sense. Scarlet guessed family members' hands must work on the palm scanners, too. Not that she would know. After two and a half staryears at Starling Academy, her own family had still never visited her, not once. The only time Scarlet saw her parents was when she met them on tour. They were classical musicians and composers, famous throughout Starland for their otherworldly sounds and scores. Scarlet's mother played the halo-harp, her father the violin, and they traveled staryear-round throughout Starland, recording holo-albums and selling out the most prestigious concert halls. Even when they played in Starland City, Starland's capital and the home of Starling Academy, rehearsals and interviews kept them so busy that Scarlet always had to go to them. Their schedules were simply too full to fit in a visit to the school.

Growing up, Scarlet had toured Starland with her parents, living out of suitcases, staying in five-star hotels. In between shows, her mother or father—depending on whose turn it was—would tutor her backstage as they tuned their precious instruments. By the time she had reached the Age of Fulfillment, Scarlet had met every dignitary on Starland—but not many other kids.

Scarlet's parents were naturally proud and not surprised when she showed an interest in music. They were astonished, however, when she chose to play the
drums
and began to wear a lot of black. At first, she'd just wanted to shock and annoy them and rebel against their stodgy ways. And she succeeded—particularly when she started adding black streaks to her hot-pink hair. Soon, though, she found herself loving the drums and her adopted color, too. Both made her feel strong. Both let her show her feelings without having to say a single word.

Still, Scarlet needed more. She needed a life that was truly her own, which was why she had applied to Starling Academy. She was stunned when she got in and sure she would struggle in her classes, but she found they were easy for her. The only things that were hard were fitting in and making friends.

“What's the matter, dearie?” The elder Starling chuckled. “Glowfur got your tongue?”

“Oh…star apologies,” Scarlet said quickly. She was suddenly aware that she probably seemed rude. “Uh, yes. Yes, this is Mira's room. But, well…” She looked around and shrugged. “She's not here.”

“Oh, what a pity!” The woman's face folded into a pained expression, like one of those comedy/tragedy masks that hung over Mira's bed. She sighed and shook her head slowly. “Well. I suppose I'll just wait for her, then. I should have told her I was coming. Hopefully she won't be long.” She shuffled across the room, smiling sweetly and looking ever so slightly confused. “Please do forgive me for surprising you. I didn't realize she had a roommate, you see. I could have sworn the last time she wrote to me she said she lived alone.”

“She did,” said Scarlet. “I just moved in.” She tried to sound less bitter than she felt.

“Ah, good!” said the old woman. “Glad to know I wasn't wrong.” She tapped her head just above her ear. “Two thousand and three and still sharp as a prism. So what's your name, my dear?”

“It's, um, Scarlet.”

“Scarlet! How lovely! We had a glowsow on the farm with that name when I was a girl. So!” She crossed the star-trimmed corners of her shawl. “Just moved in, you say. Does that mean you're new?”

“No, ma'am…” Scarlet shook her head and turned back to her loft, longing to climb back up. She was usually so glad her new roommate, Mira, was always at “play rehearsal,” or whatever that drama stuff she loved so much was. For once, though, Scarlet wished she would hurry back to their room so her grandmother would have someone else to talk to.

The old woman, meanwhile, settled onto the bench in front of Mira's dressing table with a frail yet eager sigh. She took a moment to catch her breath and take in Scarlet's side of the wide, softly lit room. Her eyes lingered on the hot-pink drum set perched on a raised platform across from Scarlet's black-and-fuschia-covered bed. Scarlet's things had been moved for her the same starday Lady Stella had broken the news. When her Star-Zap finally led her to her newly assigned room on the other side of the Big Dipper Dorm, it wasn't clear who was more put out: Mira, who'd been quite content having a single, or Scarlet herself.

“Are those drums?” asked the old woman, pointing.

Scarlet nodded. What else would they be?

“Ooh! What fun! Can I try them?” She was already out of her seat. She hobbled over to the platform, raised her cane, and gave the cymbal a powerful smack.

CRASHHH!

“Don't!
Stop!
” Scarlet cried, hurrying over. “I mean, I'd rather you didn't, um, please.” Scarlet didn't want to be rude, but nobody—not even a little old Starling—was touching her precious drums. “Maybe you'd be more comfortable waiting for Mira in the Luminous Library. I'm sure a Bot-Bot guide could show you the way.”

“Oh, starry nights, no.” The old woman grinned and set her cane back on the polished star-studded floor. “I'm just as comfortable as can be. Where is my lovely granddaughter, though, do you know? I'm just as eager to see her as I can be.”

Scarlet didn't know, though she wanted to be helpful. If Mira had ever said anything to her about where she was going, Scarlet was too focused on her Star Darlings problem to care. Besides, Scarlet preferred for other Starlings to keep their noses out of her business, so she tried to set an example by keeping her nose to herself, too.

“I'm not sure…maybe play rehearsal?”

“Oh, yes, you're right, I'm sure!” crowed the old woman. “That Mira is quite an actor! Destined for stardom! Don't you think?”

“Is she? I don't know,” Scarlet confessed. “I've never seen her act.” Since leaving her parents to attend Starling Academy, she'd tried to steer clear of theaters and auditoriums. Quite frankly, she also had yet to see the appeal in running around, dressed up like a fool, pretending to be somebody else.

“Moon and stars!” Mira's grandmother gasped. “Never? What a shame. Oh, but surely you've seen her act
sometime
….”

Scarlet shook her head. “Star apologies. No.”

“Never?” The old woman leaned forward, twisting slightly. The corners of her mouth twitched, one at a time. A bluish star-shaped freckle on her cheek began to sparkle. Scarlet watched it closely, the familiarity clicking at last. How hadn't she noticed it before?

“All right, I'll admit it.” Scarlet sighed to hold back a groan. “I saw her once.”

“Really? You did see her? When?”

“The Time of Shadows production. Our first year at school.”

“Oh, that was a good one!”

Scarlet stifled a smile as she clicked her tongue and slowly shook her head.

“It wasn't?” The woman's blue eyes grew round. “You really don't think so? Why not?”

“Well, some parts were good…like the scenery….And the props could have been worse.”

“What about the acting?” croaked the old woman.

Scarlet looked down and smiled.

“
Well?
” Mira's “grandmother” waited, tapping her cane against the floor, sending sparks into the air. “Wasn't it good? Of course it was! We got a standing ovation at the end!”

“
We?
” Scarlet glanced back up, raising one eyebrow in a sharp arch.

The old woman threw back her head. “
Starf!
You knew it was me!” she groaned. Then she laughed and tossed off her shawl so it dangled behind her. “Tell me I had you going there for a while, though,” Mira said as she pulled off her wig. Her long indigo hair spilled down her back in shimmering waves. Beneath a thick layer of stage makeup, a whole galaxy of bright blue freckles flashed like sunlight on a lake.

“For a starmin,” muttered Scarlet. She did have to live with her, after all.

“Really? Is that all?” Mira sighed. “Sunspots. I guess that's why you're not in that remedial group anymore.” She grinned at Scarlet—then blanched in the heat of Scarlet's simmering glare. “No offense!” she said quickly. Like everyone at Starling Academy, it seemed, Mira assumed the special class the Star Darlings went to last period was for extra help so they didn't fail out of school. “Star apologies. I just thought…you know…since it was a mistake and all…”

“It was a mistake, all right,” hissed Scarlet.

“Are you mad?”

Am I mad?
thought Scarlet. Did a glowfur eat green globules? She was mad, all right. Madder than Leona when she'd had to try out for her own band!

Suddenly, Scarlet's Star-Zap beeped. A holo-text was coming in.

She read it:
IN THE HEDGE MAZE. R U STILL COMING?

It was Vega, waiting to meet.

“Forget about it. I'll be fine,” Scarlet snapped as she climbed off her bed.

She'd be perfectly
startacular
…just as soon as she set everything straight again.

Scarlet burst out
of the Big Dipper Dorm and hopped onto the Cosmic transporter. She passed the dancing fountain as she headed to the hedge maze, ignoring the water's friendly wave. She knew all too well that once encouraged, the fountain would only work harder to try to keep a Starling there.