Cassie Comes Through (10 page)

Still no response. Cassie tried to keep an eye on her screen as well as on her teacher. She stole a glance at Mica, whose pink fur was now standing up on his head in his obvious irritation. She was about to raise her hand to reveal the wish and help put the glowfur out of his misery when her Star-Zap began to vibrate and beep loudly. She scrambled to silence it and dropped her Star-Zap on the floor. It landed with a loud clatter and slid to the middle of the classroom, out of her reach.

Starf!
She thought she had put it in silent mode.

Her classmates stared at her, openmouthed. The room was so still you could have heard a glowfur gasp. With as much dignity as she could muster, she walked over to pick up her Star-Zap. The tiny professor glided over and held out her hand. Shamefaced, Cassie placed the Star-Zap in her palm.

“Star apologies,” muttered Cassie. For a girl who hated to call attention to herself, this was an extraordinarily mortifying moment. She stood in front of her teacher, unsure what to do next.

“Outside,” the professor said sternly, turning and heading toward the classroom door, which opened smoothly. As Cassie followed the teacher out of the room, she was well aware that all eyes, including Mica's, were on her.

To Cassie's dismay, the professor began to lecture her in front of the open doorway, in view of the entire class, which seemed to be hanging on every word. “Now, Cassie, I am very disappointed in you,” the professor said sternly. “You know that there is no holo-texting allowed in the classroom. Your behavior was disrespectful and inexcusable.”

Cassie shut her eyes. This was her worst nightmare. More than once she had dreamed of being humiliated in front of her class. And it was even more distressing and embarrassing than she had imagined it would be.
What is going to happen to me?
she wondered.
Will she keep my Star-Zap to teach me a lesson? Give me an extra holo-report assignment on wish identification? Or could it be something worse?
She had heard rumors of a double secret detention room for badly misbehaving students that featured uncomfortable chairs and a special light that masked everyone's glow, leaving them looking like dull Wishlings. She was sure it was a star legend that upperclassmen told to scare unsuspecting first years, but she certainly didn't want to find out.

She braced herself for the punishment that was no doubt to come. The classroom door slid shut behind her silently and ominously.

Cassie gulped.

“How was that?”
said the professor.

Cassie was confused. “Star-starscuse me?” she stammered. She looked up to see her that her teacher was grinning down at her.

“I was just putting on a show for the rest of the students,” Professor Lucretia Delphinus explained, handing Cassie her Star-Zap. “You know, make them think I was really annoyed with you. I didn't want to blow your cover.” She put a hand on Cassie's shoulder. “Pretty convincing, huh?”

Cassie nodded. She was still so tense she was unable to speak. Professor Lucretia Delphinus had been convincing, all right!

“Look, I realize how boring these introductory classes can be for you when your studies have already taken you so much further,” the professor continued.

Cassie nodded again. Relief flowed over her and she was finally able to give the teacher a shaky smile.

“For the rest of these girls,” Professor Lucretia Delphinus explained, “wish identification is something that will happen staryears from now. For you, it could happen any starmin.”

Cassie felt her stomach give a little flip of anxiety. Professor Lucretia Delphinus's words brought her both extreme excitement and crippling terror. Each time another Star Darling was chosen to go on a mission, she could see the looks of disappointment on the other girls' faces and realized they did not experience the same overwhelming feeling of relief that swept through her.

Professor Lucretia Delphinus raised a finger as an idea came to her. “I know! I'm going to go inside and tell the rest of the class that I sent you to Lady Stella's office for a chat. That will keep them on their toes!” She laughed a conspiratorial laugh as she smoothed her skirt. “Why don't you go to the Luminous Library and relax until your next class?” She paused for a moment as if she was considering whether to say something else. “Cassie, maybe you could spend some time mulling over what's been bothering you.”

Cassie looked at the teacher quizzically.

“You look like you have the weight of Starling Academy on your shoulders,” the teacher explained. She looked deep into Cassie's eyes. “Is there anything you want to talk about?”

Cassie felt her chest expand for a moment when she thought of the possibility of having an adult ally. A grown-up to trust? An authority figure to share her worries with? It was like being presented with an unexpected but extremely valuable gift. But she couldn't get rid of the feeling that she just shouldn't trust anyone. She shook her head. “Actually, everything's fine,” she fibbed. “I'm just worried about my Wish History assignment. Star salutations for understanding what happened in class. I'm really sorry.”

The teacher nodded. “Now I'd better get back inside and help poor Mica,” she said. “Of course, as you probably already figured out, he's wishing…”

“For a mirror so he can begin his daily grooming,” finished Cassie. She could tell by the irritated way he had been preening his whiskers.

Her teacher smiled. “That he is, the vain little thing!”

The thought of having forty starmins to herself before her next class put a little bounce in Cassie's step. She walked down the hall, her footfalls echoing, as she considered her options. She could go to the Lightning Lounge and clear her mind in a meditation room and possibly come up with a clever idea for disposing of Astra and Clover's flowers. Since those two had had their flowers the longest, she thought that they could certainly put up a fight to keep them. She might have to do some fancy footwork. Or she could steal some time for herself and finish the last chapter of the holo-book she was reading. It was her uncle's latest thriller, which would definitely relax her. (It wasn't even available to the public yet, but she was certain it would be another runaway best seller.) She was pretty sure she had the mystery all figured out, but Uncle Andreas often threw a few misleading clues (also known as drifting moonbugs) into his stories, so she was really interested to find out if her hunch was correct. Not wanting to waste any of her free time, she sat on a nearby starmarble bench and pulled out her holo-book.

The words leapt into the air and she began to read eagerly. Her uncle's books used IMT, the new Illuminated Manuscript Technology: anytime the reader wanted to see the action unfold, she just needed to push a button and the animated holo-scene would play, with the text read aloud as it happened. It was a thrilling way to experience a story, especially a mystery. She got to a particularly exciting passage and pressed the IMT button.

She held her breath as Detective Marmaduke Carbuncle stepped out of the shadowy recesses of a dark alley in Starland City. “Hold it right there, NT-96,” he called.

“I…um…This does not compute!” Bot-Bot NT-96 barked. And suddenly it began to go berserk, ramming its metal body against the wall, sparks flying. Detective Carbuncle dove for cover as the Bot-Bot burst into—

“Um, starscuse me?” someone said meekly.

Cassie turned the book off with an irritated swipe. She turned to the figure that stood in front of her. “Yes?” she said through gritted teeth. There was nothing Cassie hated as much as being interrupted when she was reading.

“Um, hi, Cassie. Sorry for bothering you.”

Cassie blinked. It was Ophelia. Her bright yellow hair hung on either side of her face in two pigtails. She wore a plain yellow T-shirt and a pair of overalls, which were a little short, so her yellow-and-white-striped socks peeked out. She was so tiny and frail that she made Cassie feel tall, an unfamiliar sensation for her. When she gazed down at the girl, she realized the height difference made her feel motherly and protective.

“Oh, hi,” Cassie replied. “I was just talking about you with Leona.”

The girl's wide ochre eyes filled with liquid-glitter tears. “Oh, Leona,” she said. “I miss her so much. She was a wonderful roommate.”

“Really?” said Cassie, who imagined that sharing a room with Leona would involve a large amount of appreciative observation. And applause.

“Oh, yes,” she breathed. “She was so entertaining! Always putting on such fun shows. It was like going to the theater! Every day!”

“So where are you living now?” Cassie asked.

“I have a single room in the Little Dipper Dorm,” said Ophelia sadly. “It's pretty lonely. I really miss Leona and also being a…” She looked around, saw that the hallway was deserted, and lowered her voice anyway. “A Star Darling.”

Cassie nodded.

Ophelia leaned her head to one side, thinking. “I know I had some trouble fitting in. And my Wish Mission was a disaster, of course. But I really tried. Because I…I liked it. I finally felt like I belonged somewhere. Now I just feel kind of lost.”

Cassie understood completely. “It was nice to belong to something special,” she said. “Now you're just another Starling Academy student.”

“That's right,” said Ophelia. “That's exactly right.”

“I understand you more than you know,” said Cassie. She was starting to feel even more protective toward the girl. “I don't tell a lot of people about this, but I'm an orphan, too.”

Ophelia gulped and looked away. “I'm sorry,” she said. She let her eyes wander around the hallway, unable make eye contact with Cassie for a moment.

Cassie was touched. “Girls like us, we need to stick together,” she said. She was overwhelmed with an unfamiliar desire to hug Ophelia and make her feel better. Let her know that she wasn't alone. She felt ashamed for the unkind thoughts she had had about the girl before.

“It's just so…hard here,” said Ophelia.

Cassie nodded. “It
is
hard,” she said. “It's so big and there's so much to learn and so many new people. It's difficult to be away from home….” Her voice trailed off as she realized her slip. How thoughtless of her! Ophelia didn't have a home; what had she been thinking?

But Ophelia leaned forward eagerly. “I know!” she said. “My mom says…”

Cassie looked at the girl in sympathy. “I used to do the same thing right after my parents began their afterglow,” she said. “It's hard to talk about someone you love so much in the past tense, since they're still so present for you.”

“What?” said Ophelia. Her eyes widened and she shifted in place. “Oh, yeah,” she said. “What I meant was that my mom
used
to tell me that you need to find a group of friends who make you sparkle. And I thought I found it with you Starlings.”

“Just because you're not an official Star Darling, it doesn't mean we can't help to make you sparkle,” Cassie told the girl gently.

Ophelia's face lit up. “Star salutations, Cassie,” she said.

The bell rang and girls began to swarm out of their classrooms. Ophelia was jostled a bit. “I'll holo-text you later,” said Cassie as she turned to head down the hallway toward her next class. “I'll see you again soon. Cross my stars and hope to shine,” she promised.

Ophelia smiled wanly. “I'd like that,” she said softly. She then turned and merged into the current of students, her small yellow-pigtailed head disappearing almost immediately.

Cassie stared after her, a smile on her face. All Ophelia needed was some friends, poor thing. She started toward the science stellation for her next class, then stopped in her tracks.

“Watch it!” said a blue-haired girl. “First year!” she remarked to a friend.

A sudden thought crossed Cassie's mind. She knew why
she
was roaming the hallways during first period. But why hadn't Ophelia been in class?