by Ahmet Zappa
“Concentrate, Piper,” she told herself. “Focus on Olivia!”
Where could she be? Why had she left so suddenly? Would she return?
Piper pushed aside Our Nation’s History Through the Centuries to clear space to put her head down. She always thought better that way. But the history textbook bumped the math book, which nudged something called Advanced Reading Material for the Young Scholar, and they all fell onto the seat across the table.
“Ouch!” Olivia popped up, rubbing her shoulder. The books thudded to the floor.
“You were resting here the whole time?” Piper was amazed. “I’m so sorry I interrupted your time of rejuvenation.”
“Huh?” Olivia sounded confused. She blinked and shook her head. “I must have fallen asleep.”
Piper nodded encouragingly. It certainly made sense to sleep in the late afternoon. Although, as a general rule, she preferred an earlier naptime.
Olivia yawned. “I’ve been so tired lately.”
Piper leaned closer, a tingle of excitement running down her spine. Clearly, Olivia wasn’t getting enough sleep. Most likely, she was anxious about a problem; worrying could keep anyone awake. And her wish must revolve around solving the problem.
But what was the problem?
Piper could almost feel the wish dangling in front of her, tantalizingly, as if she could reach out and touch it.
“Sometimes I have trouble sleeping, too,” Piper told Olivia in a way meant to encourage her to tell more. That was stretching the truth. So Piper crossed her legs at the ankles the way Starlings did if they told a fib.
“You do?” Olivia took a deep breath. “Usually I fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow and I don’t wake up until my alarm goes off. But lately I’ve been—”
“Sensing an evil presence lurking in your dreams. Dark and threatening. You can almost see it in your mind’s eye whenever you close your eyes….”
Piper’s voice trailed off when she caught sight of Olivia’s put-off expression. “Uh, no,” Olivia said, leaning back against the bench, farther away from Piper.
“Oh, starf,” Piper muttered to herself. Now she had really freaked out her Wisher. And she really needed to gain Olivia’s trust. It was so important in pinpointing the correct wish.
“Don’t mind me,” she said airily, as if didn’t matter that much. “That whole ‘evil presence’ stuff? It was just part of a bad dream I had the other night.”
Olivia smiled sadly. “I’ve been having bad dreams, too,” she confided. But then she seemed to pull back once more and shrugged. “It’s really no big deal. Everyone has bad dreams. I’m sure they’ll just go away.”
She didn’t sound like she believed it. And Piper didn’t believe it, either. Bad dreams had a way of sticking around until you figured out what they meant.
“Girls!” Alice called from behind the counter. “Come and get your dinner.”
Reluctantly, Piper stood when Olivia did. They made their way to the front of the diner, where two heaping plates of food were waiting. Piper stared at her dish. She didn’t recognize a thing. So she grabbed a nearby menu and leafed through the pages. There were tons of choices. How could she figure out what she was eating?
Her eyes stopped at the entry HOT DOG. She gasped. Wasn’t that a Wishling pet? But right next to the words was a picture of a cylinder-shaped food in a bun. It looked nothing at all like those cute four-legged creatures. Luckily, there were other pictures, too. Piper identified her food as a veggie burger, sweet potato fries, one of those long green and bumpy things called a pickle, and coleslaw. She couldn’t guess what that was, even squinting at the photo.
Partial to greens, she started with the pickle. It reminded her of cukumbrella, a crunchy vegetable that didn’t need much light to grow. There were always lots to be found in the Flats.
Piper picked up her knife and fork to cut the pickle. But Olivia was just holding hers in one hand, so Piper did the same. When on Wishworld, do as Wishlings do, she thought. That was one of the sayings professors were always spouting. She took a big bite. Sour! Everything else was delicious, though. Piper decided she’d have this for every meal on Wishworld if she could.
In record time, Piper finished her dinner. Traveling to Wishworld used up so much energy! She had definitely needed to replenish. Meanwhile, Olivia just pushed her food around the plate. Piper was sure she was still thinking about her bad dream. If only she could get Olivia to open up again. She had to try. And this time, she’d take it slow.
“Maybe you’d like something else to eat?” she asked gently. “Some kind of comfort food?” Eating garble greens always made Piper feel better. “I can get it for you.”
“Good idea, Piper. Comfort food! But I’ll take care of it myself.” Olivia jumped off her stool, went around the counter, and started working by the fountain area.
Piper grinned.
Olivia smiled back as she grabbed two tall glasses. In each, she put a spoonful of chocolate syrup and some milk. Then she filled the glasses with cold seltzer from the fountain tap. Olivia named everything as she went, so it was easy to follow.
Piper could barely contain her excitement when she heard chocolate. Even though she’d eaten a big dinner, she still had to try the tasty treat she’d heard about from other Star Darlings. But she did have to ask about the seltzer.
“Oh, it’s just bubbly water,” Olivia explained, adding a bit more.
The drinks foamed to the brim, without one drop spilling over. Olivia mixed the glasses with a long spoon and plopped in straws. Then she pushed one across to Piper.
“Try it!” she said.
Piper sipped. “Startast—I mean fantastic!” The drink was starmazingly refreshing, with a yummy chocolate sweetness to it. But it had a fizz and pop, too, and might just have been the best thing Piper had ever tasted. Other Star Darlings had talked about soda and chocolate milk, but she doubted anyone else had had one of these on her mission. “What is it called?”
“It’s a chocolate egg cream. I know, I know,” Olivia added quickly. “It doesn’t have eggs or cream. So don’t ask me why it’s called an egg cream. And I’m not surprised you don’t know it. Hardly anyone outside of New York City has heard about it.”
New York City? The place name meant nothing to Piper. She supposed it was a very small town in the middle of nowhere. It had to be, for hardly anyone to know about this wonderful drink.
Piper reached for her trusty menu to find the listing. “Oh, you won’t find it there,” Olivia said. “People wouldn’t order it, anyway. It’s just a New York thing. You know my parents are from there.”
“Okay, girls,” said Alice, reaching to clear Piper’s empty glass. “It’s getting late. Time for you to head out.” She looked at Piper. “Is someone coming to pick you up?”
Piper concentrated. Staring into Alice’s eyes, she said solemnly, “Why don’t I sleep over at your house?”
Alice sniffed the air. “There’s that rhubarb pie smell again. How strange. Pete isn’t even baking today!” Then she looked at Piper. “Why don’t you sleep over at our house?”
Olivia looked surprised but not upset. A favorable sign, Piper thought.
“Sounds good,” said Piper. “I’m sure my grandma won’t mind.” Holding in her laughter, she pretended to place a call on her Star-Zap. Her family had no idea she was on Wishworld. But she felt sure that if they had, they’d have been fine with her spending the night with this nice family.
The two girls cleared the rest of their dishes, then made their way to Olivia’s home. It was just around the corner from the diner, on a street very much like the one she’d walked down earlier, with snug little houses and big leafy trees.
To open the front door, Olivia used a metal tool, twisting it into a hole below a knob. The inside of the house was just like the outside, Piper thought: cozy and colorful, with shaggy rugs covering brightly polished hardwood floors, small rooms, and lots of knickknacks spread on shelves and cabinet tops. In one al
cove, framed photos and awards covered the wall. Piper examined them all closely.
In most pictures, Olivia posed with an older girl who had the same deep blue eyes. “Is this your sister?” Piper asked.
“Yup,” said Olivia. “Isabel.”
Isabel’s awards took up more space than Olivia’s, Piper noticed. But that was probably because she was older. She’d finished more school years. “You both are excellent students,” Piper observed.
Piper meant it as a compliment. She expected Olivia to say thank you or at least acknowledge the comment in some way. But Olivia leaned over her backpack as if she didn’t want to continue the conversation. She pulled out some textbooks and said, “I’ll do my homework now if you don’t—”
“Mind,” Piper finished for her. “Why would I mind? You feel like I’m a real guest, I know, and like you’re responsible for me. But I basically invited myself. Do your homework.”
Olivia finished her homework at the dining room table while Piper browsed through her schoolbooks. She couldn’t get over the feel of them. They were heavy, true, but wonderful, too. The textbook pages were so smooth and shiny and fun to turn. After about an hour, Alice came home from the diner and announced, “Bedtime!”
Olivia pushed aside dozens of stuffed animals on her bedroom floor and set up a blow-up bed for Piper. She opened a drawer to show Piper pair after pair of pajamas. Piper lifted a gauzy scoop-necked nightgown, the color of Luminous Lake. “Could I wear this one?” she asked.
“Of course,” said Olivia. Without even looking, she took the first pair of pajamas from the pile and went to the bathroom to change. It always amazed Piper that most Starlings paid so little attention to their nightwear. She guessed Wishlings did the same.
The girls settled into their beds quietly. That has to change; we need to connect, Piper thought. And really, it was the perfect time. There was something about talking in the dark, right before you fell asleep, that was tailor-made for confidences.
“So,” Piper said, pulling the blanket up to her chin, “tell me about a typical day here in Greenfield. Then I’ll tell you about my days in Ladyfield.”
“Ladyfield?” Olivia repeated. “I thought you were from Maylefield!”
Piper groaned to herself. Why couldn’t she keep these things straight? Sometimes she was too dreamy for her own good. “Just testing you,” Piper said. “You passed.”
“Oh, okay. Well”—Olivia fluffed up her pillow—“about my day. I set my alarm for six-fifteen. It’s early. I know. We don’t have to be in school until nine, but I have to—”
“Give yourself plenty of time, in case you have more bad dreams and need to shake off that feeling of impending doom.”
“Ummm. No. I have to go to the diner to eat breakfast.”
Piper considered this. Olivia went to the diner before school and after school. That was a lot of time spent away from home. Could that have something to do with her wish? Most likely, yes. She should definitely look into this more.
“Okay, breakfast. So then what?” Piper prompted her.
“Then my friends meet me in front of the diner and we—”
“Discuss any disturbing dreams you may have had the night before,” Piper finished.
“Walk to school together,” Olivia said, moving closer to the wall, putting more and more distance between them.
But Piper had to keep trying.
“And then school?”
“School is just plain old school.” Now Olivia actually turned her back on Piper. “And then I head back to the diner after.”
The diner again! Olivia was there way too often, and it was obviously stressing her out. It sounded like she was working an awful lot. Maybe she wanted to be home instead. Maybe she wanted to join an after-school club or play a sport. Although Piper didn’t see the appeal, many Starlings did, and it was really good for them! But once again, Piper was getting off track. Olivia, Olivia, she told herself.
“Well, I’m here now,” she said to Olivia. “I can cover for you at the diner so you don’t have to work so much. Wouldn’t that be great?”
“Oh, no! I love working there,” Olivia told her, sounding annoyed. “I don’t have to go. I go because I want to.” She yawned. “I’m getting kind of tired,” she said pointedly.
Uh-oh. All Olivia wanted to do was sleep, but Piper kept asking irritating questions. Suddenly, a thought popped into her head, and she sat up.
“What?” Olivia said, sounding even more annoyed.
“Don’t worry,” said Piper. “I won’t ask you any more questions. I just had an idea. If you like, I could show you some ways to relax. I know some techniques that may help you sleep.”
“Really?” said Olivia, interested. She sat up, too.
Piper nodded.
“Okay,” Olivia agreed. “Let’s do it.”
“First, let’s both lie back down.” It wouldn’t hurt Piper to de-stress, too. “Now we close our eyes and focus on breathing. Deep breath in. Deep breath out. Deep breath in. Deep breath out.”
Together, the girls breathed, keeping their eyes shut tight.
“Now we’re going to focus on each part of our body, to help it relax. Start with the toes on your right foot. Tense those toe muscles for a count of ten. One, two, three…” Piper spoke slowly and softly. “Now relax those same muscles for another count of ten.”
Of course, Piper couldn’t see Olivia with her own eyes closed. But as they worked from the toes to the legs, to the arms and up, she could sense a peace coming over the Wishling. By the end, Piper was as loose as a rag doll. She felt herself drifting off to sleep. I hope this helps Olivia, she thought.
Piper was dreaming. She was floating on her back in a warm stream. Her skin tingled in the fresh air, and all was right with the cosmos. She gazed up at the starry sky, listening to the peaceful sound of water lapping against the shore. Suddenly, the calm gurgles turned into frenzied gasps.
It wasn’t the sound of the stream. It was someone struggling to breathe.
Piper shot up, wide-awake. Her heart was beating quickly. She could see Olivia in the dim light, shaking and heaving, trying to catch her breath.
“Are you okay?” Piper climbed into bed beside Olivia.
Olivia nodded, her eyes half closed. She held up a finger, the universal sign for Wait, and slowly her breathing returned to normal. Piper brushed a strand of hair from Olivia’s eyes. Her forehead felt damp and cold with sweat. Piper wished she could make that scared feeling disappear like a puff of stardust.
“I had another nightmare,” Olivia finally said.
Piper held her close, murmuring words her mother used to say after she and her brother had bad dreams. “Hush, hush, I’m right here. It’s over now. It will be all right.”
And it would be all right. Piper just had to identify the correct wish and help Olivia make it come true. Then everything would be fine. And Piper felt sure she was on the right track. Olivia might not be working too hard, but Piper was sure her wish had to do with the diner. She’d barely mentioned anything else!
Still, Piper thought ruefully, she’d felt sure the relaxation exercise would help Olivia get a good night’s sleep. And look how that had turned out. It hadn’t done a star-blessed thing.
True to her word, Olivia’s cell phone alarm went off at 6:15 the next morning. That was way too early for Piper, who liked to sleep as late as possible and still make it to breakfast in time.
Olivia didn’t seem particularly happy to get up, either. But she trudged around the room, grabbing clothes.
Meanwhile, Piper stretched lazily on her bed. Maybe she didn’t actually have to get up now. True, it was a school day, but only for Olivia. Piper’s pretend school was on vacation this week. She really didn’t need to spend the day in class. While she was curious about Wishling schools (Did the students really take notes by hand, writing down everything the teachers said, without recording a thing? How quaint!), she was more interested in completing her mission. And Piper felt p
ositive that Olivia’s wish had to do with Big Rosie’s.
“I really should spend another day at the diner for my assignment,” she told Olivia. “Do you mind if I don’t go to school with you?”
Olivia laughed. “I didn’t expect you to go with me! Why would you think that? You’re on vacation!”
Piper laughed, too. It was because all the other Star Darlings had gone to school so far. “Oh, I was just kidding,” she said.
Olivia nodded distractedly as she tried to fit all her books in her backpack. “I’ve got to hurry now. I’ll tell my parents you’ll go to the diner when you’re ready. You can eat there. Just close the front door of the house on your way out.”
Olivia was certainly organized when she needed to be! “Sounds like a plan.” Piper yawned and pulled the blanket over her head. Just a few more starmins of rest and she’d be raring to go. She didn’t even hear Olivia leave. She was already sound asleep.
ZZZZZZ! ZZZZZZZ! A loud startling noise, like the biggest swarm of glitterbees imaginable, woke up Piper. She glanced at the clock. Hmmm. That was a bit more than a few starmins.
ZZZZZZ! ZZZZZZZZ!
Moon and stars! What was that sound? If Olivia heard that every morning, no wonder she was having nightmares. Piper rolled off her cot and shuffled to the window.
A grown-up Wishling was riding some sort of machine. Grass and dirt spurted out one side, and the grass seemed to shorten as he rode over it.
Starland’s grass always looked immaculate but never actually needed cutting. These poor Wishlings had so many chores it was no wonder they looked harried.
Anyway, it was time to start her starday; her last on Wishworld, Piper felt sure. Now that she’d figured out that Olivia’s wish concerned the diner, she just had to get to Big Rosie’s to discover the details.
A little while later, Alice met Piper at the diner door, swinging it open and waving her inside. “Piper! I am so glad you’re here! Usually we have two waitresses working the morning shift. But Donna called in sick. It would be great if you could take care of customers today.” She paused. “Only if you’re comfortable waiting tables, of course.”