Scarlet Discovers True Strength (8 page)

Scarlet slid out from her silky black sheets and scooped her combat boots off the floor. As light as a flutterfocus, she tiptoed past Mira, blinked open the door, and, still wearing her pink-and-black polka-starred pajamas, slipped out into the hall.

To save energy, the hallway Cosmic Transporter ceased flowing after lights-down, but Scarlet was happy to walk. She left her feet bare on the off chance that some other wakeful Starling might hear the
clomp-clomp
of her boots through their chamber doors. Starlings slept exceptionally soundly…still, “better safe than lost in space,” as Scarlet's father sometimes said.

It wasn't Scarlet's first venture out after lights-down. She'd been taking walks on restless nights since the beginning of the year, when she'd literally stumbled upon the entrance to the mysterious Star Caves. That was before Lady Stella had taken the Star Darlings there, via a secret door in her office, to show them the Wish Cavern she'd had built in the deepest chamber for them and them alone. It was there that the headmistress kept their Wish Orbs. Scarlet knew she had looked as awed and surprised by the caves as everyone else at the time. That was yet another example of her acting talents, she supposed, since she had already discovered the caves herself more than a starweek earlier.

She had arrived at school, as usual, stardays before everyone else. She'd had quite enough of her parents and living out of a suitcase for one Time of Lumiere break. She had checked out her room and was aimlessly riding the Cosmic Transporter around the dorm when she noticed the neon sign on the door in front of her.
STARLING ACADEMY STAFF ONLY,
it temptingly flashed.

Naturally, she got off and opened it (after peeking over each of her shoulders to make sure she was alone). But it was just a plain old supply closet full of baskets of star-pong balls, sparkle-shower gel, and stuff like that. Because nothing on Starland ever got truly dirty, there were no cleaning supplies, of course. There were, however, a few dust mops and feather dusters for adding an extra layer of stardust to anything that might need shining up. Scarlet had never actually used one, since Bot-Bot maids were always there to shine her hotel rooms. Curious, she took a step into the closet to pull a duster down and see exactly how it worked. “Freakin' fireballs!” she exclaimed as the toe of her boot caught on something and sent her stumbling into a wall of shelves. The next thing she knew, glo-pong balls were raining down on her head like the Perseid meteor shower.

Scarlet looked down as the balls bounced and flashed around her, and that was when she saw the trapdoor. A rogue glo-pong paddle had kept it from closing completely, and that was what had tripped her up. Without thinking twice, she raised the panel and waited as a bunch of glo-pong balls spilled through the hole. She listened to them bounce down a long winding set of metal stairs for several moogles, until they hit a distant floor…then, flipping her Star-Zap to flashlight mode, she climbed in to see for herself exactly what was down there.

Since then, not counting her trips with the Star Darlings, Scarlet had been down to explore the Star Caves more than a dozen times. She'd covered only a tiny fraction, she knew, but on each visit she tried to delve a little deeper than before. This night, without really thinking, she headed due north, down a wide winding tunnel, roughly in the direction of Halo Hall.

As ever, the cave air was cool, like at the top of the Crystal Mountains, but also damp and slightly musty, like her boots before they dried out after a day in Starland snow. The air clung to Scarlet as she moved. Without a doubt, the energy was different down there. What Scarlet liked best of all about the caves was the light that came from glowing rocks set in the walls. It gave her the feeling of being in outer space, where the only light came from distant twinkling stars. Every now and then, as Scarlet walked, a big cold drop of water would splash somewhere on her hair or face. One time, she'd caught one on her tongue. She couldn't say it had much taste.

Suddenly, she heard a high
squeak
, followed by the rustling of wings, and sensed a bitbat swooping down. Scarlet lifted her arm and held out her hand. A starsec later, a silvery-white creature the size of a glowfur settled onto her finger and dangled upside down.

“Star greetings,” said Scarlet.

The bitbat blinked its wide fluorescent green eyes and squeaked twice more, as if in reply. Why bitbats made the other Star Darlings nervous, Scarlet would never know. They were as gentle as any flutterfocus, she thought, just not as hyperactive and ostentatious. Unlike every creature that lived on the surface of Starland, Star Cave creatures did not show off.

The creatures were her second favorite thing about the caves. She envied their solitude, their privacy, their freedom to be themselves and to be alone.

As quickly as it had appeared, the bitbat took off again. Scarlet watched it fly deeper into the cave.

“What's down there?” she called out, following it.

She tried to keep up, but the bitbat was too fast. By the time she rounded a tight corner, Scarlet had lost it in the darkness.

But she had found something else….

Scarlet was dressed
and out of her room the next morning before Mira was even awake. Scarlet hadn't slept a wink. She'd spent most of the night in the room at the top of the stairs she'd discovered in the Star Caves, after losing sight of the bitbat. Was it luck that those stairs had led to a trapdoor into the Office of Student Holo-Records? Or was it somehow fate?

Halo Hall would not open officially for another hour but she couldn't see waiting around. She raced across campus to the entrance and begged the Bot-Bot guard to let her in.

“I have to see Lady Stella!” she said. “It's urgent! It can't wait!”

“Star apologies, Scarlet,” the Bot-Bot guard replied mechanically. “Halo Hall is not open, nor is Lady Stella in. Would you like to make an appointment? I can help you with that, if you wish. Lady Stella's office hours are eleven to thirteen starhours. She has another meeting scheduled from twelve to twelve-eighty. What time do you request?”

Scarlet's energy sizzled. That was exactly the problem with thickheaded Bot-Bots. They didn't
understand
. She didn't need an
appointment
. She needed to see the headmistress right
then
!

“Sc-sc-scarlet! Er, st-st-star greetings.”

Scarlet turned to see the head of admissions, Lady Cordial, walking briskly toward the door with a stack of files and a mug of Zing.

“Star greetings, Lady Cordial,” said Scarlet, bowing.

“You're up early. Feeling better?” She stood before Scarlet, smiling in an awkward but sweet way. Scarlet realized she hadn't seen the head of admissions since learning that her being a Star Darling was a mistake.

“I know what
happened
…” Lady Cordial paused and cut her eyes to the Bot-Bot guard, who, like everyone else, knew nothing about the top secret group. “If you don't mind, I'm going to turn off your hearing for a starsec,” she told it.

“Yes, Lady Cordial. As you wish.”

Lady Cordial fixed her eyes on its head and narrowed them. “Can you hear me now?” she asked.

She waited.

“Very good. So, er, I was s-saying…” She turned back to Scarlet. “I know this mix-up with Ophelia was, well, quite a…quite a blow, I'm s-s-sure. Of course, I take full responsibility for everything.” She lowered her head and shook it. “How it happened, I'll never know.”

“But that's why I'm here! I don't think it
did
happen!”

Lady Cordial's head rose slowly, as Starland's sun was doing just then. “St-st-star excuse me? You don't think
what
happened?”

“I don't think there's been a mix-up!” blurted Scarlet. “I mean, yes, there's been a mix-up—but it's the mix-up that's a mistake! I looked at my holo-records and there's no way in the Milky Way that the scores recorded in them are mine! On the other hand, Ophelia, whose records I also checked, has exactly the scores that I should have. And that's why I'm here—to tell Lady Stella that our scores were switched somehow!”

“What?”
Lady Cordial gasped. Her cup of Zing slipped out of her hand. Scarlet jumped back and used her energy to catch the cup in midair, but not without hot liquid splashing over her tights and boots. Of course, it all disappeared in a starsec, as spills on Starland always did.

“St-st-star apologies,” said Lady Cordial. She blinked her cup back into her hand and clutched both it and her folders to her chest. “Clearly, you've taken me by starprise here. Moon and st-st-stars…” She took a breath. “If this is true, why…er…we have more problems than we thought….I must look into this immediately. And inform Lady St-st-stella, of course.”

“I'll go with you!” Scarlet told her.

“No, no. St-st-star s-s-salutations, but you've done your part—and more.” Lady Cordial's smile slowly returned. “Please, Sc-sc-scarlet, let me take this from here. It's, er, the least I can do.”

Scarlet was so excited she couldn't eat breakfast. And no way could she go to class. How could she sit through another lecture on energy manipulation when her whole life was about to change? About to get back on track, at last!

She had to find some way to pass the time, though, while she waited for Lady Cordial to set everything straight. She flipped open her Star-Zap, tapped Vega's icon, and dictated a holo-text.

MYSTERY SOLVED! MEET ME IN THE ORCHARD.

Within a starmin another message came through:
NO WAY! ★ MENDOUS NEWS!

When Vega arrived, she was not alone to Scarlet's surprise. Cassie, with her pinkish white pigtail buns and her star-shaped glasses, was arm in arm with her.

Scarlet knew Cassie, of course, from the Star Darlings class but not very well beyond that. The first-year Starling had become particularly close to Scarlet's old roommate, Leona—something Scarlet could never understand, since Leona was, without a doubt, the most self-centered, self-absorbed Starling Scarlet had ever met.

Still, besides that, Scarlet had to admit that what she did know of Cassie, she admired. Cassie was never too loud or bubbly or bossy, and it was clear that behind her glasses, a very intelligent mind was hard at work.

“You don't mind that I brought Cassie, do you?” said Vega. Something about Scarlet's expression must have prompted her to ask. “I promised her I'd tell her the next time we met. I told her about your…theories, and of course—”

“I think you're right!” Cassie cut in. She leaned forward and pushed up her glasses. Her normally soft pink glow flashed bright, almost blindingly white. “I don't care what Leona says. There is no way in the galaxy that Ophelia could grant a wish. Tell us everything!” she said. “What have you found out?”

So Scarlet told them everything….

“Moon and stars!” Cassie gasped at the end. “So when will you hear back from Lady Cordial?”

“Soon,” Scarlet said. “I'm sure.”

“Oh, I hope it's all a mistake, the way you say!”

“Does that mean you'll come back to the band?” Vega asked. “You know, there was just an announcement this morning—did you hear?—that this year for Starshine Day there's going to be a battle of the bands. We could win with you playing, Scarlet. I really think we could. In fact…maybe you should come back, no matter what, even if it turns out no mistake was made.”

“First of all”—Scarlet's eyes narrowed—“there
was
a mistake. A starmendous one. That's just a fact. Second, as I've said a hydrong times now, the band is about the last thing on my mind.”

Vega and Cassie lowered their eyes and traded glances.

“Star apologies,” said Vega. “Of course. We can talk about the band later. One thing at a time. So…if there was a mistake…how in the stars did it happen? How did your and Ophelia's scores get switched?”