Libby and the Class Election (7 page)

“What about singers?” Gemma asked.

Leona threw back her head and laughed. “We've already got a lead singer—me! Every other instrument is up for grabs.”

Scarlet rolled her eyes. But Libby started thinking.

As the Star Darlings filed out of the classroom and joined the throngs of students in the hallway eager to enjoy the precious few hours before dinnertime, Libby noticed a few girls staring at
them and whispering. So did Leona. “Take a holo-picture,” she told them huffily. “It lasts longer.”

The girls gave her scornful looks but hurried away. Libby hid a smile. In order to keep their Star Darlings status secret from the rest of the school, they all had to pretend that they were in a
special study group during last period. That bothered some Star Darlings more than others. Libby felt a little strange about being singled out, but she knew that the work they were doing was just
too important for them to worry about what other people thought. Others (like Leona) felt humiliated by it and couldn't seem to get past it. Of course, Libby was hopeful that someday maybe
the truth would come out. But if it didn't, well, that was okay, too. Mostly because it had to be.

Libby hurried back
to the Little Dipper Dorm alone. She had her one free afternoon each week on Lunarday, and she usually waited for Gemma to finish
whatever conversation she was having after class so that the two could head back together. But not that day. She pushed open the door and stepped onto the Cosmic Transporter, which deposited her
right in front of room 333. She placed her palm on the hand scanner in the middle of the door. Her handprint was accepted, and the door slid open. “Welcome, Libby,” the Bot-Bot voice
said.

Entering the bedroom, Libby noticed that the flowers smelled twice as strong as they had that morning. She placed her Star-Zap on her dresser and walked right over to them. It was as if they
were beckoning to her. She sniffed deeply.
Ahhhhhhhh.
They were just so irresistible. She shook her head. Gemma and Scarlet were so wrong. They smelled just like blushbelles, no doubt
about it.

Libby walked over to her side of the room and knelt next to her bed, the pink rug soft and fluffy under her knees. She fished around under the bed for a bit, pushed aside the unopened case of
glimmerchips, then found what she was looking for. She hooked her fingers around the handle and pulled out a bright pink case. She stared at it for a brief moment, then undid the clasps and lifted
the lid.

The door to the room whooshed open, startling Libby. “What's the deal? You left after class without me,” Gemma said, pouting. Then she noticed the open case. “Hey,
what's that?” she asked, walking over and dropping to her knees next to Libby. “I mean, I know it's an instrument of some sort, but what kind is it? It's
bizarre!”

Libby bristled, running her hands over the keyboard.

“I mean, I think I've played almost every instrument there is,” Gemma continued. “But I've never seen this one before in my life.”

“It's a keytar,” Libby said. “A portable keyboard that you play like a guitar.” She lifted it out of the case and hung it around her neck by the pink strap.
“See?”

“Ohhhhhh,” said Gemma. “So does this mean you're trying out for the band?”

“Maybe,” said Libby. “I can't make up my mind.”

“Well,
I
am,” said Gemma. “I just have to figure out which instrument to bring. I play so many, you know.” She walked over to her shelf and began studying her
choices: guitar, starflooty, star shakers, pluckalong, clarinet.

Better to play one well than many not so well,
Libby thought. She blushed, immediately embarrassed by her unkind thought.
My stars.
What was getting into her these days? She
carefully lifted the keytar from around her neck and placed it back in the case. Maybe she wouldn't try out. She wasn't feeling quite right. It was entirely possible that she was coming
down with something and could use some rest.

“So are you sure you want to try out with that keyfar thing?” Gemma asked Libby. “It just seems kind of weird.” She pointed to her shelf of instruments. “Maybe
borrow one of mine instead?” She had a funny look on her face, as if she was a bit surprised at the words that had come out of her mouth.

“Key
tar
,” said Libby between gritted teeth. “It's called a keytar,” she repeated.

“Do what you like,” Gemma said with a shrug. She stared at the jumble of instruments, considering them. Finally, she grabbed the pair of star shakers. “See you,” she
said.

That was just the motivation Libby needed. She snapped the case closed and, after a brief pause to give Gemma a head start, headed to Star Quad herself.

Libby's mood improved as soon as she stepped outside. It was a pleasant, sunny Time of Letting Go afternoon with a slight breeze, and she was looking forward to sitting in
the grass near the splashing fountain and playing music with her fellow Star Darlings. Plus, she could show Gemma just how amazing and versatile a keytar could be. Her roommate had no idea that the
instrument could sound like an organ, an accordion,
or
an electric guitar!

Libby stopped in her tracks as she approached the band shell. She had been expecting to see a couple of the Star Darlings—Leona, of course; Sage with her guitar; Vega and her bass; Gemma;
maybe even Scarlet with her drum kit; and possibly one or two others. But there were literally dozens of Starling Academy students milling about in Star Quad, singing scales and toting guitars,
violins, and other instruments. They couldn't possibly all be there to try out for Leona's band, could they? How had they even found out about it?

She spotted Orchid, a girl from her Intro to Wishful Thinking class, practicing her starflooty.

“Hey, Orchid, what's going on?” Libby asked her.

Orchid blew a few more notes, then lowered her starflooty. “Hey, Libby,” she said in a friendly tone. “Everyone's here to try out for the band!” She glanced down at
the pink case in Libby's hand. “Aren't you?”

Could there be tryouts for two bands?
Libby wondered. “Who's in charge?” she asked.

“Oh, a third-year named Leona,” the girl replied. She pointed to the band shell, where Leona stood, her hands on her hips. She was surveying the crowd, looking confused. “You
know, the one with the cool golden hair.”

“I know her,” said Libby.
What on Starland is going on?
she wondered. Leona had apparently decided to invite the whole school to try out. But why? Libby pushed her way
through the crowd to the band shell.

“Hey, Leona,” she said. “What's happening?”

Leona spun around. Her hair looked even wilder than usual. “What's going on? I wish I knew!” Her eyes swept the crowd.
“Starf!
How did all these people find out
about my tryouts? I didn't want the whole school to show up! This is going to take forever!” She stopped a girl walking by with a trumpet. “How did you hear about this?” she
asked her.

The girl looked at Leona like she was crazy. “Is this a joke?” she asked. “From the holo-flyer you sent out to the school, of course.” The girl lowered her voice and
leaned forward conspiratorially. “So is it true that whoever joins the band gets class credit and can drop music class?” she asked. “That's the rumor.”

Leona narrowed her eyes. “I bet you anything Scarlet had something to do with this. This sounds exactly like something she would do to annoy me.”

There was a laugh behind them. Leona and Libby spun around to find Scarlet standing there, grinning. “I wouldn't mind taking credit for this madhouse,” she said. “But it
wasn't me. I'm here to try out!” She pointed a drumstick at her drum kit, which was sitting on the stage. “You think I want all this competition?”

Leona groaned. “I'm going to be the most hated girl in Starling Academy when I have to turn most of these girls down,” she said, fretting. Libby nodded in sympathy. It would be
awful to have to hurt the feelings of so many of her fellow students. Leona had a sudden realization. “And then no one will come to see the band. That would be terrible!”

Libby pulled her Star-Zap out of her pocket and quickly checked her messages. Oddly enough, she had not received Leona's holo-flyer. A quick poll revealed that neither had Vega, Scarlet,
or any of the other Star Darlings.

Leona grabbed the arm of a girl who stood nearby, a guitar slung around her neck. “Hey, can you show me the holo-flyer?” she asked. The girl nodded, pulled her Star-Zap from her
pocket, and projected the message into the air. Leona read it out loud:

CALLING ALL ROCKERS!

Have you always wanted to play in a band?

Desperately seeking vocalists, drummers, guitarists, melodeon players, bass players, keyboard players—and more!

Meet at the band shell in Star Quad after school today.

Contact Leona for more details.

“That's so bizarre. I totally hate melodeons! I so clearly didn't send that,” she said, shaking her head. “But who did?”

The crowd began to shift. Someone was trying to push through. “Excuse me, pardon me,” said a loud adult voice. The crowd parted as a teacher made her way to the bandstand. She was of
average height with a round, pretty face, long silver hair parted in the middle, and a sweeping red dress with huge pockets. She was a fourth-year professor, and until then, Libby had only seen her
from a distance.

“Leona?” she said. “Professor Leticia Langtree here. You're just the person I've been looking for. Once an invitation for any type of tryout on school property goes
out to the entire school, Starling Academy rules require that it must be overseen by a school official. It's in the Student Manual,” she added seriously. “So I'm here to
make sure everything goes smoothly and fairly.” She fished around in her pocket and pulled out a small silver box. “That's why we always use the Ranker in situations like this.
You may have seen it used before in public speaking class. It's the only truly fair way to be able to pick a winner without showing favoritism.”

Leona stared at the Ranker. Things were not going the way she had planned, and Libby could see how frustrated that was making her. “When I find out who sent out that holo-flyer, I am going
to go supernova on them,” she said through gritted teeth. “Not. Funny. At. All.”

Professor Leticia Langtree ignored her comment. “So if we're all settled, I'm going to make an announcement explaining how we're going to proceed, and then we'll
start the tryouts so we can get out of here before breakfast tomorrow,” she told Leona.

“Fine,” sputtered Leona. She looked both furious and confused. But it was perfectly clear that she really had no choice.

The teacher stepped onto the band shell stage. “Hello, I am Professor Leticia Langtree, and I will be overseeing the band tryouts today. I will be recording you with this machine, called a
Ranker, for those of you not yet familiar with it. It will ensure that choosing the band is done in a fair way, showing no favoritism to any student. This machine is able to evaluate each
performance and assemble the perfect group of musicians, the group that will sound the best together. The Ranker is unbiased and incorruptible. Please remember that I will have nothing at all to do
with the choosing. It is entirely up to the Ranker.” She held up the machine and moved it back and forth, scanning the crowd. She looked down at the machine and smiled. “The Ranker now
has everyone's names and years in its database and is randomly shuffling them. I will call you to the stage to try out in the order the Ranker determines. You will each have two starmins to
perform. The Ranker will indicate when your time is up. You must stop performing immediately.”

Leona's shoulders sagged. Though she had accepted the unexpected turn of events, that didn't mean she was happy about it. She turned to Libby with a sigh. “This was just
supposed to be a Star Darlings band!” she said. “A way for us to have fun and spend time together. I don't want to be the lead singer of a band where I don't know
anyone!” She thought for a moment. “I guess this is the best thing to do now that everything got so messed up.” She shook her head. “But who could have sent out that flyer?
And why?”