Sage looked at Scarlet, who had taken a seat at a drum set that was in the band pit. Scarlet flipped on her Star-Zap, took out her Starland drumsticks, and started drumming softly to a song.
Sage was unaware that Scarlet was listening to “Far Away,” the song Maxwell had played for her, and Holly had sung at rehearsal. Something sparked inside Scarlet when she listened to it. Inspiration! She turned up the volume and discovered an amazing new drum rhythm. She was fully immersed in the music, adding her own touch to the song.
After she had been playing for a few minutes, Scarlet looked up from the drums at the Star Darlings, who had gathered around her. She stopped drumming and confessed to them, “I’ve never felt this way before. From the moment I met Maxwell, I’ve been getting these strange symptoms.”
“Like what?” Sage asked.
“There’s a warm feeling in my heart. I’m forgetful. I’m losing track of time, and I can’t seem to stop thinking about him.”
Sage began to piece it together. “Wait, a warm feeling in your heart, losing track of time…”
“Daydreaming about a boy?” Leona asked. She looked at Sage. “Is that our Scarlet?”
Sage looked at Scarlet. “I saw the way your aura glowed when Holly sang that love song. I watched you transform….Oh, my stars, you have a crush on a boy! And he’s a Wishling!”
The rest of the Star Darlings squealed in excitement.
Scarlet was quick to deny it. “Of course not! It’s about Wishworld. I’m starstruck by this place.”
“It’s not about Wishworld, Scarlet,” Sage said.
Scarlet was about to say something, then stopped herself. Sage was right! It was about Maxwell. Scarlet didn’t want to admit it, but she couldn’t deny it, either. Embarrassed and unaccustomed to the feelings she was having, Scarlet bowed her head. The other Star Darlings circled her with sparkling enthusiasm. They were beyond stoked for Scarlet.
Leona announced, “Scarlet is having a feeling!”
Something sparked inside Scarlet. She cracked a smile. Her aura glowed. A creative display of glistening stardust burst into the air. Scarlet picked up her drumsticks and started playing again. She felt happy and free. Her drum combinations were fresh and imaginative, way more inventive than any time she’d ever played on Starland. She took a deep breath and tried the drum trick she had failed to master during the practice sessions for the Light Giving Day performance. She closed her eyes, thought about the feelings she had for Maxwell, and let those feelings guide her through the music. It worked! She performed the drum trick perfectly. Powered by a true and positive feeling for someone else, Scarlet expressed herself through her music and found her groove again!
Inspired, Vega picked up the electric bass that had been sitting in its stand, just waiting for her. She started to jam along with Scarlet. Libby sat down at the keyboards and began to play along, too. Sage picked up the guitar from the stand and strapped it on. She found the notes to complete the melody. Leona tried singing, but her voice was noticeably weak. She started playing tambourine instead of pushing her voice any further.
Led by Scarlet’s incredible beat, the Star Darlings jammed together.
Sage looked at Scarlet, who was clearly more inspired and openhearted than she’d ever known her to be before. Sage told her, “When Holly sang the song he had played for you, it sparked something in you. The music helped you realize your true feelings for him.”
As soon as Sage heard herself say that, she knew she had hit on something important. Music had the power to change people’s hearts. The right song, played at the right time, could have a truly powerful effect on someone. And maybe, just maybe, that was the way to get through to Clara. Sage felt as though she had discovered the key to saving Starland. A surge of wish energy flowed throughout her body. Her Wish Pendant necklace lit up, confirming it. She stopped playing guitar and shared her idea with her friends.
“I just had this thought. It might be crazy, but maybe music can change Clara’s bad wish to a good wish?” Sage told her friends.
“I’m not sure I get it,” Vega said, confused.
“You know that feeling you get when you listen to a song that, like, speaks to you?” Sage asked. “Like there’s something about the music and the lyrics that gets at your heart, makes you feel something really strongly?”
All the girls nodded.
“Like when a song makes you cry, but in a good way!” Libby exclaimed.
“Or makes you feel invincible,” Leona said.
“Or makes you feel understood, like someone gets you,” Scarlet added softly.
“Yes!” Sage replied. “Music can be powerful. If we find the right music and the right lyrics that Clara will connect with, it might just be the key to turning Clara’s wish around. Maybe this mission can be a success after all.”
“Well, it’s worth a try,” Scarlet said. “Nothing else has worked.”
Not missing a beat, Scarlet busted out a drum solo, then enthusiastically suggested to the girls, “Let’s write a song!”
“Yes, a song. Star Darlings, we’re going to write a song!” Sage strummed the guitar.
Leona asked with a hoarse voice, “Could this song actually save Starland?”
Sage turned to her. “You okay?”
“Just didn’t warm up my voice, that’s all.” Leona coughed a few times and began her warm-ups, although she soon discovered that her voice was cracking and warbly. She began to get worried.
Sage turned to the Star Darlings band. “How about we all warm up now!” She was certain they were on the right track. “We’ll write a song to save Starland and help Clara connect with her better self. Then she’ll see how she can shine on her own!”
“She’s spent too long in the shadows!” Leona whispered, saving her voice for the singing.
Sage’s eyes lit up. “Yes! That’s what Vivica said to us. And I think that’s how Clara feels about Holly….I know, let’s use those words in the song!”
“But Holly never tried to keep Clara in the shadows,” Leona insisted.
“It doesn’t matter. That’s how Clara felt,” Sage explained.
“Especially when Clara’s mind was just clouded by negative thoughts!” Scarlet added, tightening the drumhead and getting ready to play again.
Sage lifted her hands in the air. “Star Darlings, our song is going to inspire the Wisher, Clara, to see how amazing she truly is and show her that she’s a shining star! That she doesn’t need to dim Holly’s glow for her own to shine!”
The Star Darlings got down to the business of creating a song that would touch Clara’s heart. They stayed up all night, writing and playing music, snacking on treats, and jamming. As they wrote the song, sparkles of every color, including crimson, gold, lavender, pink, and blue, shined brightly throughout the theater. Sweet music filled the air. It was so lovely and melodic it might have even reached Starland.
Late that night, under a full moon, while the other Star Darlings slept, Sage sat with her Cyber Journal. She was excited to report her wish-changing observation. Wishworld Observation #2: Vivica’s powers are strong, and we were not able to get the teardrop pendant off her. But today we discovered that music possesses healing and transformative powers! Of course, there are still many unanswered questions. What we do know from Vivica is that the bad wish will be granted by the end of the Spring Variety Show, but we don’t know the full extent of Vivica’s plan or how and when she will guide Clara to fulfill her bad wish.
Sage looked up from her Cyber Journal. She read aloud something she had just written: “‘The bad wish will be granted by the end of the Spring Variety Show.’”
She stood up and woke the others, announcing, “We’ve got to play our song before the show ends.” She gasped. “Intermission! That’s it. Yes! Then maybe we’ll have a chance to change Clara’s wish when she hears our new song.”
Sage thought about the song the Star Darlings band had created the night before and felt hopeful, but she knew that Viv
ica’s negatite-powered wish energy would be a challenge for them. She hoped that the power of the song would change all that. The plan was to use her power of persuasion over Wishling adults to convince Wordsworth to include the Star Darlings in the lineup, and they would entertain the audience during intermission. If all went well, Clara would hear the song and it would inspire a change of heart in her. It was their only hope of turning her bad wish to a good wish. Sage was relying on her intuition that it would work.
For added strength, Sage looked into the mirror in the backstage dressing room and recited her Mirror Mantra: “I believe in you. Glow for it!” She needed an extra boost to face her last test for the Wish Mission. The Star Darlings’ song at intermission just had to work!
Leona sat in the audience to keep an eye on Vivica while Sage covered the wings of the stage, helping with set changes and ensuring that Holly was never too far out of her sight. Leona knew the success or failure of the mission would be decided that night, and she wanted to do her part. She took out a compact mirror she had found in the dressing room, and repeated to herself, “You are a star. Light up the world!”
After reciting her Mirror Mantra that time, Leona felt more illuminated, but still her positive wish energy was not at its full star power. She lifted her sleeve to check her Wish Pendant cuff and discovered a small crack in it. Her pendant had been damaged, something she had feared. That explained her weakened voice. “What do I do? Tell the Star Darlings? I’d better keep it quiet for now. No distractions!”
In the back of the audience, Scarlet watched from another vantage point for any unusual moves made by Holly, Clara, or Vivica. Instead of finding the three girls, she spotted Maxwell. She didn’t know the Wishworld customs for handling awkward moments between girls and boys. Was she supposed to run up to him and say hello first, or was he supposed to do that? Should she mention that she felt bad about telling him she couldn’t see him anymore without any real explanation, or should she not say anything at all? If only she had studied harder in Wishworld Relations class! She looked at the wall clock and saw that she had enough time to quickly run to the girls’ room to recite her Mirror Mantra. She needed the extra boost to successfully complete the mission. On the way to the girls’ room, she whispered her mantra: “It’s time for some star power!”
Backstage, opening night chaos was in full swing. There was extra tension in the air, too, since someone had just spotted the television producer from Song and Chance in the lobby. Cast members rushed around in different directions. Some performers chose to practice scales at the last minute. Others frantically adjusted their costumes and meticulously applied makeup, while a few sat against the wall, listening to their favorite tunes on their headphones to clear their minds before the big show.
Libby and Vega were covering the dressing room. They posed as hair-and-makeup assistants. They both kept a lookout for Clara and Holly, but so far there was no sign of either of them.
In the dressing room, a young Wishling shouted to Libby, “Hair spray, please. Extra hold!”
Libby looked at Vega, who just shrugged. “I know I studied what hair spray was, but now I can’t seem to find any here.” Libby used her gift of transforming objects to turn a hairbrush that had been sitting on the table into a bottle of extra-hold hair spray.
“I’m never going to be ready for the show at this rate,” insisted the Wishling, staring at herself in the mirror with black netting in her hair and bright red lipstick on her lips.
“Hair spray coming your way,” said Libby cheerfully, passing the hair spray down the line of girls who sat in front of a long mirror lit with oversized lightbulbs that shone blindingly.
Next another Wishling shouted to Libby, “Hairbrush, please!”
“Starf!” Libby had just transformed the hairbrush into a bottle of hair spray! Libby semi-panicked while she looked around the long makeup table for an object to transform into a hairbrush. Now what? she wondered.
Meanwhile, Vega rolled a costume cart behind Libby. She whispered to Libby, “Where’s Clara? I’ve lost track of her. I can’t find her anywhere.”
“I have no idea,” Libby said. Then she asked, “Did you happen to see a hairbrush?”
“Moonbeams, Libby. We’re on a mission to save Starland, and all you can think about is what your hair looks like?” Vega took a step back to check out Libby, whose long hair had turned a light brown with a single pink wave. “You could pull back the bangs a little. Otherwise, you look great.”
Libby giggled. “Not for me, Vega. The hairbrush is for—”
The Star Darlings heard another shout from the young Wishling student performer impatiently waiting for a hairbrush. “Have you found the hairbrush? I’m on in ten minutes!”
Libby pointed to the Wishling girl. “Her!” She giggled again.
Vega used her mind control to make sure the Wishling was happy with her hair as it was and no longer needed a hairbrush. “Done! The situation is under control. Now, I’ve got to find Clara!”
The Wishling who had demanded the hairbrush now said politely to Libby, “No need for a hairbrush. I actually think my hair looks fantastic just the way it is!”
Vivica and Clara were at the far side of the arts center building, out of sight of the cast and crew. Vivica assured Clara, “It’s all set. I have a plan to make Holly disappear so the producer won’t have a chance to see her.”
Clara looked around the dark hallway, far from backstage. “Shouldn’t we get back? I’m up first, and it’s kind of a big night for me.”
The lights flickered in the hallway. That meant the show was only minutes from starting.
Vivica’s mood suddenly shifted. She found it hard to contain her frustration with the Wishling. Time was running out for her to grant her bad wish. The Star Darlings were closing in, and Rancora was most certainly weakening with every starmin that passed. Didn’t Clara know how hard Vivica was working to grant her wish for her? What an ungrateful Wishling! Vivica mumbled, “You don’t think I know this is a big night for you? It’s an ever bigger night for me!”
Clara backed away. “What are you saying? You’re not in the show. I am!” Vivica’s teardrop necklace crackled. Clara felt a chill fall over her. “What’s happened to you? I thought you were my friend.”
Vivica was on edge. She needed the bad wish to be granted as much as the Star Darlings needed it to be stopped. So much was at stake. If she failed, Rancora would never trust her again. Since Vivica had turned her back on Lady Stella and Starland, there was nothing left for her at Starling Academy. She didn’t know what she would do if she didn’t come through for Rancora. Vivica needed to maintain the trust of the Wisher if her plan was to succeed. She took a deep breath and smiled, reminding herself, By curtain call tonight, Clara’s wish will be granted, and Rancora will reward me.
Softly, she said to Clara, “This is your wish!” She pointed to a closed door with a sign on it that read PROPS.
Clara anxiously looked at the wall clock. “Props? I don’t need any props. I’ve really got to get onstage,” she insisted. She walked away from Vivica, heading toward the theater.
Vivica held out her finger and created a strong energy force that stopped Clara in her tracks. Under Vivica’s control, Clara turned to her. Vivica opened the door and turned on the light, revealing a small empty prop room. “This is where Holly will be hanging out during the show. Away from the lights and noise. Where no one can hear her.”
Vivica used the power of the negative energy left in the pendant to persuade Clara to follow her plan without questioning it. Clara stood frozen, just staring at Vivica, as Vivica instructed her, “After you perform your song, you’ll reach out to Holly as a friend. Tell her you missed her. Ask her if she would take a quick walk with you.”
Entranced by Vivica, Clara nodded. “Finish my song. Tell Holly I miss her. Ask Holly to take a walk.”
“Tell her there’s a prop that Wordsworth asked you to retrieve for one of the performers. She’ll agree. The
n bring her here,” Vivica continued, pointing to the prop closet. “Close the door. It will lock automatically. I’ve got the only key, so there’ll be no problem there. Then—poof!—no more Holly. If the producer can’t see her perform, there will be no one to steal your thunder. You’ll finally get to be the star.”
Perplexed at first, Clara stared at Vivica, but then a smile moved across her face. “Of course. Holly will disappear!”
“Like magic!” Vivica said, knowing that her plan would work and that the bad wish would be granted before the Star Darlings could stop her.
Backstage, Sage tracked Holly’s every move. She watched as Holly stood in the wings, all made up, radiant, ready to sing for the producer. She could tell that Holly had opening-night nerves. Sage walked over to her.
“Good luck tonight, Holly!” Sage chirped.
“Thank you,” Holly replied warmly.
“I know you’re gonna be great,” Sage said enthusiastically.
Holly smiled at Sage, then snuck a peek from the wings into the audience. She saw the television producer who was scouting new talent for Song and Chance slip in through the back door and slide discreetly into the seat Wordsworth had reserved for her. The producer looked unhappy and checked her phone multiple times.
Holly whispered excitedly to Sage, “The Song and Chance producer is here!”
Meanwhile, Leona had lost track of Clara. She searched for her backstage. When she didn’t find her, she holo-texted the other Star Darlings to check if they had seen her leave the theater.
The lights flickered again. The director spoke to the backstage cast and crew in a hushed voice. “Take your places, please.”
Clara appeared just in time to take her place on the stage. Sage spotted her and quickly Star-Zapped the others to confirm Clara was back in view. THE WISHER IS HERE. IT’S SHOWTIME! KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN FOR ANY UNUSUAL MOVEMENT, AND KEEP THE WISHER IN YOUR SIGHT AT ALL TIMES! GOOD LUCK, STAR DARLINGS! WE CAN DO THIS THING!
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