by Ahmet Zappa
Libby thought fast. “It’s just temporary,” she said. “Don’t worry. It will come out in the shower.”
“It better,” said Waverly warningly.
“It will,” said Libby. “I guarantee it.” And she thought, Mission 2, Wishworld Observation #8: Sometimes wishes are wishes. But then again, sometimes they aren’t. Be careful out there; it’s hard to tell the difference.
Ava came out of the bathroom, towel drying her back-to-normal hair. Libby went in next, and she found that Ava had left her a change of clothes, a tube of something minty called toothpaste, and a brand-new instrument, still in its package—a toothbrush. Libby stood in the bathroom, staring at the toothbrush. She stuck it in her mouth and moved it around. She couldn’t be entirely sure she was doing it correctly. Was it up and down or side to side? She missed her toothlight.
Libby had been deliberately avoiding mirrors since she had arrived, knowing she would be horrified by her dull Wishling appearance. And she was. She gasped at her plain brown hair, her flat-looking skin. What she wouldn’t give for a little sparkle. She was feeling so tired, too, which made her look extra un-sparkly, in her opinion. Suddenly, she remembered her Mirror Mantra. She stared at her reflection and spoke the words: “It’s all in the balance. Glimmer and shine.” She grinned as her appearance was suddenly transformed and she looked as she did on Starland. Her eyes lit up and she touched the mirror. How she missed her long, flowing pink hair and glimmery skin! How did Wishlings deal with being so boring and uninspiring all the time?
Libby’s Mirror Mantra had given her the burst of confidence and energy she needed. When they arrived at school, she bustled around the hallway, wanting to get the posters up before the rest of the students began trickling in. They had an election to win. And the next day she would have some wish energy (a lot of it, she hoped) to collect. She glanced down at her Wish Pendant, dangling from her neck. Starf! Her wish energy was getting low. Luckily, everything was falling into place. Libby was confident that she wouldn’t need her special talent to make this wish come true.
“This will all be over by tomorrow afternoon,” said Ava as she and Libby climbed the stairs together on the way to class after they had hung all the posters. “Thank goodness.”
Libby stopped on the landing. “You don’t sound all that excited about it,” she said.
Ava shrugged.
“So what made you decide to run for president, anyway?” Libby asked.
“It happened by accident,” Ava said with a sigh. “No one was running, and the principal made an announcement at assembly one morning urging students to throw their hats into the ring.”
Libby’s eyes widened. Wishlings did some crazy things. What did tossing your hat have to do with an election?
“That’s exactly what she said,” Ava continued. “And I was wearing a hat, so of course I tossed it up onto the stage as a joke, and then the next thing I knew, Sammy Decker nominated me right then and there. And then no one else wanted to run and the principal kept saying that someone else had to run against me, they couldn’t just give it to me, so I talked Kristie into running, too. We figured that one of us would win and then the other person would help them out. It didn’t matter who won to us. We thought it would be fun.”
Libby considered this. “That’s interesting. But then things changed, obviously.”
“This girl named Holly volunteered to be Kristie’s campaign manager. And then little by little things started getting competitive. Fancy posters. Free candy if you promised to vote for her. And then Kristie got really busy after school all the time and couldn’t spend time with me. Then Waverly volunteered to help me, and then, before I knew it, Kristie and I just stopped talking. It was so weird.”
Libby nodded. “That is weird. So what happens tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow afternoon the whole school comes to the auditorium to hear our speeches,” Ava said. “Then everyone votes. They count up the ballots, and the one of us with the most votes wins.”
And then you win, Libby thought. One more day and then you win.
“I still don’t know why the lunch lady freaked out,” said Waverly as they headed out of the cafeteria that afternoon. “She just started yelling about chicken fingers out of the blue. It was so bizarre.”
Libby shrugged tiredly. She had a pretty good idea about what had happened. She had discovered her special talent—the ability to turn one Wishling object into another. In line, as they held their trays, she had overheard Ava softly saying, “I wish that they would serve chicken fingers today.” And before Libby knew it, she had transformed a tray of turkey sliders into chicken fingers. (Whatever those were, she didn’t want to know!) Libby couldn’t help herself. She hadn’t realized that it would completely freak the lunch lady out. No more little wishes! Libby thought. Concentrate on the big wish. You’re almost done. She stole a glance at the Countdown Clock. She was right on target for the election the next day. She just needed to focus.
“Imagine mixing up sliders and chicken fingers,” said Waverly. “So strange.” The three girls had finished their lunches quickly and left the cafeteria early. They walked down the hall, turned a corner, and headed toward their classroom. They all gasped at the same time. The hallway was lined with the posters they had taped up that morning. But now each picture had a large curlicue mustache drawn on Ava’s serious face! They looked so funny that Libby almost burst out laughing. But a glance at Ava’s confused expression and Waverly’s furious one forced her to clap her mouth shut.
“I can’t believe it!” said Ava. “Who would have done such a thing?”
“I can believe it,” said Waverly, crossing her arms tightly. “Politics is a dirty business. It’s a stupid joke that has Kristie and Holly written all over it. Well, now we have no choice. We have to retaliate.” She thought for a moment and nodded. “We have to break all of the balloons on their posters.”
“Waverly!” said Ava. “We can’t do that!” She looked down at the floor, her expression sad. “I just can’t believe that Kristie would do that to me.” She shook her head. “I can’t believe it’s come to this.”
“Believe it,” said Waverly. “That’s politics.”
Libby thought fast. “Listen,” she said. “You have to look at both sides. Sure, maybe Kristie did draw mustaches on all of Ava’s posters. If so, that’s not right. But if she did and Ava retaliates, she’s sinking to her level. She could get caught and be disqualified. Or people could get turned off by the bad behavior and they won’t know who to vote for. Or maybe they don’t vote at all. Nobody wins.”
Waverly opened her mouth to speak, but Libby held up her hand.
“And just suppose Kristie didn’t do it. It’s completely possible that some random kid grabbed a pen and decided to be artistic.” She smiled. “The artist didn’t sign his or her work, so we’ll never know.”
“Well, we can’t leave them up,” wailed Waverly. “She’ll be the laughingstock of the school!” She stomped over to one of the posters. “Fine,” she spat out. “We’ll just take them down.”
“Wait!” Libby cried. She thought for a moment, then smiled. “I have the perfect idea.”
She held out her hand. “Do either of you have one of those…” She searched her brain for the Wishling word. “One of those thick black writing utensils?”
The girls stared at her. “Do you mean a Magic Marker?” Ava asked, looking at her oddly.
Oh, that’s what it’s called! “Yes, one of those,” said Libby.
Ava fished around in her bag and pulled out a black-capped pen. “Here you go,” she said.
Libby marched over to the first poster and fixed it. It was awkward—and enjoyable—to write on paper instead of in the air on a holo-notebook. When Ava saw what she had done, she laughed and laughed. “It’s perfect!” she chortled. “Just my style!”
Waverly shook her head. “I think it’s silly,” she said. She walked up to the poster and looked again. “Yup, I hate it,” she said.
/> “Get over it,” said Libby saucily. “Everyone is going to love it. Trust me.”
Was she right? Libby watched, holding her breath, as the end-of-lunch bell rang and students started spilling out of the lunchroom. The first group stopped short in front of one of the posters. After a moment they all began pointing and laughing.
“That’s awesome!”
“So funny!”
“Hysterical!”
Libby and Ava had gone up and down the hallway drawing speech balloons next to Ava’s mustachioed face. Then they had carefully lettered the words I MUSTACHE YOU TO VOTE FOR ME! in the balloons.
Ava’s eyes were shining. “Everyone’s laughing. They think it’s funny. It’s exactly what I wanted in the first place!” she said. “Thank you, Libby!”
“You’re welcome,” said Libby.
Libby had one more trick up her sleeve to make sure that Ava’s wish came true. She wanted to surprise Ava and Waverly. Ava because she knew she’d be delighted and Waverly because she would try to stop her. Luckily, she had a bit of wish energy left, and hopefully there was enough. “Meet me on the front steps tomorrow morning for a cool surprise,” Libby told Ava. She didn’t ask to sleep over that night, because she was planning to sleep on the school roof in her special Star Darlings tent. She could work her Starling magic in the privacy of her own invisible tent. And she could also sleep in. A Star Darling, especially an overtired one, needed her rest.
The next morning Libby stored her energy tent back in her Star-Zap, packed up her surprise, and waited for Ava on the steps. She made sure her back was turned as Ava approached her.
“Hey, Libby,” said Ava, tapping her shoulder.
Libby turned around, and Ava shrieked with laughter. Libby twirled the end of her large fake mustache and waggled her eyebrows. “I mustache you to wear one of these!” she said. The night before, she had used her special talent of transformation to change hundreds of twigs she had collected after school into stick-on mustaches. She was quite exhausted. Her Wish Pendant was spent. She placed a mustache under Ava’s nose. “Here,” she said, handing Ava a full shopping bag. “Mustaches for everyone!”
Ava grinned, though it was hard to see under the mustache. “This is the most awesome thing ever. Thank you!” She smiled ruefully. “Waverly is going to hate this, you know.”
“Don’t I know it,” said Libby.
Libby stood backstage, observing from a distance. She stole a glance at her Countdown Clock. It was only a matter of starmins now. Ava and Kristie would give their speeches, and the students would fill out their ballots and drop them into ballot boxes on their way out of the auditorium. It didn’t have to be a landslide. If Ava got just one vote more than Kristie, her wish would come true. And Libby was sure that was going to happen.
Suddenly, Libby felt so exhausted she had to sit down, sinking onto a cardboard box that stood nearby. The top collapsed and she sat there uncomfortably, her feet dangling above the floor and her bottom firmly wedged inside. Now that was awkward.
Waverly bustled by, then grabbed Libby’s hand and pulled her to her feet. “This is no time to relax,” she scolded. “We have an election to win!” She clapped her hands together. “Now where’s Ava?” she asked. Libby pointed Ava out and Waverly headed in her direction.
Libby walked to the edge of the stage and peeked out from behind the heavy red stage curtain. Kristie was in the middle of her speech. She was making a lot of jokes and the audience was laughing at most of them. That was worrisome. But almost everyone in the audience was sporting a fake mustache. That was a good sign. Things were looking great. Really great.
A familiar voice came from behind her. “Excuse me.”
Libby had a sinking feeling in her stomach as she turned around. As she had feared, it was Sage—a Wishling version of her, with light brown hair and Wishling clothing.
“Wh-wh-what are you doing here?” Libby asked, bewildered. “I really don’t think I need any help. It’s all falling into place.”
“Hey, what’s that on your face?”
Libby reached up. “Oh, it’s a mustache. Want one?” She pulled one out of her pocket, peeled off its backing, and put it under Sage’s nose.
“Um, thanks,” said Sage, making a funny face. “So back to business. Lady Stella seems to think that something’s not quite right with your mission. Look at your pendant, it’s totally empty!” She looked closely at Libby. “Plus, are you tired?”
“Very,” Libby admitted. “But I think that’s because I was granting these silly little wishes my Wisher was making. It took a lot out of me. The main wish is totally under control.” She pointed out to the audience. “And it’s just about to come true.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” said Sage. “There’s got to be something else going on. Let’s think. Are you absolutely certain that you identified the correct Wisher?”
“Absolutely,” said Libby firmly. “My Wish Pendant was glowing, no question about it.”
“Then it must be the wish that’s wrong,” Sage said.
“Impossible,” said Libby. Her eyes swept the backstage area. Ava stood in the wings with Waverly. It looked like she was getting a pep talk. But then Libby took a closer look. She suddenly realized that Ava was not paying attention. She was staring at Kristie. And she didn’t look nervous, or competitive, or even particularly interested in what Kristie was saying. She was smiling, but there was a look of sadness in her eyes. And suddenly everything made perfect sense.
“You’re right,” she told Sage. “I messed up.” But how was she going to fix this? She looked at Sage, panic stricken. “I’m not sure what to do,” she told her. Should she stop the election? Try to get the two girls to talk to each other? Grab the microphone and talk to both of them? Sage held out her hands. “Let’s say your Mirror Mantra together,” she said. “It will help you decide.” The two girls held hands. “It’s all in the balance. Glimmer and shine,” they said together. A feeling of pure peace flowed through Libby. Her jumbled thoughts were gone. And suddenly she knew exactly what she had to do.
“Good luck!” said Sage.
Libby walked over to Ava and Waverly.
Waverly looked at Libby. “I don’t know what to do,” she said. “She needs to get out there and give the speech of her life. And it’s like she could care less. Will you see what you can do?”
“I will,” said Libby. “Just give us a minute.” She stared at Waverly, who was lingering to eavesdrop. “A little privacy?” she asked.
Waverly looked uncertain, but she did as she was asked.
Ava looked at Libby. “There’s nothing to say. I don’t need a pep talk. I’ll be fine.” She sighed deeply.
Libby put her hand on Ava’s shoulder. “I got it wrong,” she said. “When we first met, you said you wished for something. I assumed you wished that you would win the election. But what you wished for was that you could win your best friend back. Is that right?”
Ava nodded, looking at the floor. “That’s right.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?” asked Libby sadly.
“It just seemed pointless,” Ava said. “And Waverly was working so hard, and then you joined in. You guys had done so much, and I just felt bad. I felt like I had to see it through. But I don’t care about this stupid election. I just want my best friend back.”
Libby’s heart sank. How in the world was she going to fix this?
“There’s no time,” she said. “You have this speech to make and…” Suddenly, Libby was inspired. “Hand me your speech,” she said. “And make it snappy.” She glanced at her Countdown Clock. “We’re almost out of time.”
Ava handed it over. “What are you doing?” she asked.
“Turn around,” Libby instructed. Using Ava’s back as a makeshift desk, she scribbled some words on the paper. “Hope you can read my handwriting,” she said.
She handed the paper back to Ava, who looked panicked.
Kristie finished her speech to applaus
e and cheers.
The principal walked over to the microphone. “And now please put your hands together for presidential candidate Ava Cunningham!” she said.
“You can do it,” said Libby. “You can make your wish come true. It’s a wish from the heart. Your heart.”
Ava stumbled onto the stage. The audience was silent. She slowly made her way to the podium. Libby held her breath as Ava blinked for a moment at the large audience.
“Speech!” someone called out. A couple of students laughed.
Ava looked down and scanned the paper. And then she began to speak. “Hi, everyone, my name is Ava Cunningham. You’ve probably seen my posters around school, asking you to vote for me. I’ve shaken many of your hands in the hallway, telling you that I am the best candidate for this job. And here”—she held up the paper—“I have a carefully written speech about all the things I’ll do as class president, and how you should vote for me instead of Kristie. But I’m not going to read it.”
Waverly stomped over to Libby. “Are you kidding me?” she said furiously. “What kind of pep talk did you give her?”
Libby held up a hand. Waverly crossed her arms tightly, her mouth set in a grim line.
“I’m here to talk about something else,” Ava continued. “I’m here today to tell you about someone who has a great sense of humor and really cares about this school. Someone who will be the best president you guys could want. I used to call her my very best friend. And her name is Kristie Chang.”
Waverly shook her head at Libby. “What a disaster!” she said.
The crowd began to murmur. “That’s right,” said Ava. “I am dropping out of the race. It cost me the thing that was most important to me. So please vote for my very best friend, Kristie Chang, for class president!”
There was a stunned silence.
Libby stepped onstage. And then she began to clap. At first she was the only one. But then, one by one, the students started to applaud, until the whole school, faculty included, were on their feet, cheering for Ava.