Piper's Perfect Dream (5 page)

Even as a young Starling in Wee Constellation School, Piper could tell her mom specifics of her dreams, right down to what color socks she wore. Starmazingly, her mom sometimes wore the same color socks in her own dreams—and their actions often matched, too.

It had been hard to make friends growing up in the Gloom Flats; there weren't many girls Piper's age. The homes were spread so far apart it didn't make sense to have a Cosmic Transporter linking houses. So Piper had always felt an extra-special close connection to her mother.

When her granddad completed his Cycle of Life, Piper and her mom both dreamed that Piper and her older brother moved in with their grandmother on the other side of town. It seemed it was meant to be. Besides, her mom and dad were busy giving meditation workshops throughout Starland. It made sense for Piper and Finn to stay with their grandma. And Piper loved her grandmother's home, a mysterious old house floozels from everything, with a musty attic filled with odds and ends and a basement that echoed with eerie noises in the middle of the night. Piper found it all oddly comforting, even if the kids from school refused to visit. But now she had more classmates living on her floor than there were Starlings in all of Gloom Flats. And at least some of them—the Star Darlings—were waiting for her at the café.

A few starmins later, Piper breezed into the dining area and slid into a seat at the Star Darlings' table. To Piper's way of thinking, their table had the best spot, right by the floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the Crystal Mountains. The others smiled at Piper. But they were too excited about Star Kindness Day to stop chattering and say hello.

Smiling back, Piper placed her order with the Bot-Bot waiter: starcakes with whipped beam. It arrived a starmin or two later, even quicker than usual. Already, the holiday seemed starmendously special.

Sage actually bounced in her chair, her wavy lavender hair flying. “I can't believe I don't have Lighterature today,” she said with a giggle. “I stayed up so late writing an essay, ‘Long Stardays' Journey into Light.' And I didn't even have to!” She giggled again.

Across the table, Adora nodded and mumbled something about missing Wishful Thinking class. At least Piper thought she said Wishful Thinking. Maybe she was really asking for a dishful of plinking, the delicious striped fruit that bounced like a ball, since the Bot-Bot hovered by her chair. Adora went on to say more, but Piper didn't catch a word.

She'd probably gotten some sparkles in her ear from showering. She shook her head, and a bit of green glitter fell out. There, that was better. She was about to ask Adora to repeat herself when Clover flung her arms around her shoulders. “Piper!” she exclaimed.

Really, everyone was over the moon about this holiday, Piper thought. She dug a fork into the starcakes, then turned to Leona, who was sitting next to her.

“I'm going to race through the rest of breakfast so I can be closer-than-close to the stage for the ceremony,” she was saying. Then she languidly picked up her spoon and slowly dipped it into her bowl of Sparkle-O's.

Piper sighed. Leona was being sarcastic again. She probably thought she didn't deserve compliments. It was sad, really, since before her mission Leona had lived for them. Piper believed the old saying “Don't judge a Starling until you've walked a floozel in her shoes.” But she had difficulty understanding Leona's need for attention. Piper preferred to blend into the background if she could, to observe and understand her surroundings.

Tessa took a big swig of juice, then looked at the glass quizzically. “That's odd. It looks like glorange juice, but it tastes just like—”

“Mooncheese,” said Piper.

“No, moonberries,” said Tessa.

On the other side of the table, Scarlet stood up. “Wish I could stay and compare moonberries and glorange juice.” She gave an exaggerated yawn. “But I have to get to the quad early for the ceremony.” She pulled a drumstick from her back pocket and flipped it in the air. Then she shot a look at Leona. “I'm the opening act.”

“What?” Leona called after her, but Scarlet was already skipping away.

All around them now, Starlings were scraping back their chairs and starting to leave. The cafeteria took on a charged atmosphere.

“Let's all go,” Piper said.

Immediately, the Star Darlings jumped up to join the stream of students heading for the ceremony. Most walked in pairs, linking arms in the Starling way. Soon the grassy star-shaped quad was filled with students looking around expectantly.

Star Kindness Day was here at last!

Piper felt the excitement
almost as if it was a real, live being, pulsing with vitality. But she sensed an undercurrent of worry as well.

Piper knew what some were wondering:
Will I get as many compliments as everyone else? What if my teacher compliments all the other students in my class, but not me? What if no one I complimented compliments me back?

The negative energy felt strongest to her left, where Vivica stood. She was a girl none of the Star Darlings liked. Piper would be surprised if anyone truly did. But still, she was sure to receive hydrongs of compliments, since most students were afraid of her.

Moving away from Vivica, Piper edged between Cassie and Astra. Cassie turned to Piper with a questioning look.

“What do you want, Piper?”

“Nothing,” said Piper. “Why do you ask?”

Cassie stared at her. “Because you tapped my shoulder.”

“Wasn't me,” said Piper.

“But—” Cassie began.

Then Astra burst out laughing.

“Oh, it was
you
,” said Cassie. “How can I help you?”

Astra shook her head, still laughing.

Just then Lady Stella swept up to the stage, the long sleeves of her luminous gown trailing gently behind her, and both girls turned their attention to the headmistress.

There was something about Lady Stella so right and so true that sometimes Piper couldn't look at her directly. Her sparkly aura was too intense. Scarlet skipped up behind her and settled behind a large set of drums.

Without Lady Stella's saying a word, the crowd quieted.

“Star greetings, Starlings!” Lady Stella said in a low voice that somehow carried to the far reaches of the quad. “We are about to begin.”

As she spoke, professors and administrators gathered behind her, smiling at the girls. Lady Cordial stood to the side, nodding. But even that small movement seemed nervous. She always made Piper nervous, too. Idly, Piper wondered if Lady Cordial's stutter would disappear if she learned some relaxation techniques.

“I expect throughout the day there will be compliments and positive messages galore,” Lady Stella continued.

“Messages galore? Is Lady Stella so sure?” Vega, standing in front of Piper, turned to whisper to her friends while gesturing at Vivica.

“So don't be concerned if right now,” Lady Stella was saying, “you don't receive as many as you'd like. In all, the good feelings and sense of well-being should be powerful, and the positive energy will last and last.”

“Now please set your Star-Zaps to sensor mode, to send your holo-texts at the exact end of Scarlet's drumroll.”

Scarlet rapped out a complicated
tat-a-tat-tat
. Cheers rang out at the end as, at the same starsec, each and every Starling's Star-Zap lit up with messages.

Eagerly, Piper swiped the screen for holo-text number one. The words appeared in the air directly at eye level. It was from Scarlet:
YOU CREEP ME OUT, STAR-LOONY.

Piper gasped softly and read it again:
YOU CREEP ME OUT, STAR-LOONY.
It hadn't changed.

A wave of emotion swept over Piper, and a tear trickled down her cheek.
Shrug it off, Piper,
she told herself. It was just Scarlet being Scarlet. She'd probably written much worse to the other Starlings.

Piper went on to read the next text. Surely this one would be better.
WAKE UP AND SMELL THE ZING, DREAM GIRL, YOU DON'T HAVE A CLUE ABOUT THE FUTURE, PAST, OR PRESENT.
That was from Clover. That couldn't be right. The texts were so negative it was alarming.

Just then Clover strode over and gave Piper a big hug. She wouldn't be doing that if she meant the text! Piper sighed, relieved, and waited for an explanation. Instead, Clover glared at her with the force of a moonium shooting stars. “Glad to know you think I have a closed mind”—she checked her Star-Zap—“plus I'm the shallowest Starling around.” Clover frowned. “Is that because I grew up in a circus?”

“No! That wasn't from me!” Piper protested. “It doesn't even rhyme!” But Clover was already hurrying off in a huff.

Piper heard a sniffle and turned to see Vega holding back tears. Vega was always so rational. What kind of compliment would get her teary? Without saying a word, Vega turned her Star-Zap around so Piper could read it:
PLEASE PACK UP YOUR PUZZLES SO WE CAN GO OUR SEPARATE WAYS.

“I said just the opposite!” Piper said. “Something about our paths always merging.” And she had actually commended Clover for being open-minded. The compliments had been turned inside out.

“Have you always felt this way, or did it just hit you on Star Kindness Day?” Vega asked sarcastically.

“I don't feel that way at all!” Piper practically shouted. But Vega was already gone.

Not knowing what else to do, Piper read more of her holo-texts.

Each and every text was insulting.

Two girls in front of Piper began to argue. “How can you call me a dimwit? I shine in every class.”

“I didn't say that,” the other retorted. “But why did you say I can't lift a moonfeather with my wish energy manipulation skills?”

Their next words were lost as the entire quad erupted in shouts and negative energy.

Piper pressed toward the stage, to get closer to Lady Stella. Surely just seeing her would set Piper's mind at ease. But Lady Stella was wringing her hands, distraught. “What do you think is going on?” she asked Lady Cordial.

“This is s-s-s-starmendously s-s-s-s-s-strange!” Lady Cordial shook her head, confused.

This situation certainly isn't helping her stammer,
Piper thought.

Lady Stella closed her eyes, apparently gathering her thoughts, then stepped to center stage. “Starlings!” she called, raising her arms high. At first, the students were so caught up in their Star-Zaps and confronting one another, they didn't notice.

“Starlings!” Lady Stella called, slightly louder. One by one, the students looked toward the stage.

“Star salutations for your attention. There is a major mistake here, a mix-up of the very worst kind. Do not pay attention to these messages. Stay calm and go to your next class. Star Kindness Day will be postponed until we have figured out the problem.” She smiled reassuringly. “Don't worry. Everything will work out.”

Piper breathed a sigh of relief. For a starsec, she had panicked like the others. But if Lady Stella said everything would be fine, Piper believed it.

Slowly, students began to disperse, heading toward Halo Hall for classes. Only Piper stood still, so only Piper heard Lady Stella say to Lady Cordial, “First the blackout, now this. Another wave of negative energy is the last thing we need.”

Piper's heart quickened. Was Lady Stella saying there was more to this than a simple technological mix-up? That there wasn't a simple fix?

It was too much to think about, especially since Piper was still smarting from the insulting comments. You couldn't just forget about those kinds of holo-texts, Piper realized, no matter what Lady Stella had said. She knew her friends didn't always want to hear about dreams or premonitions. But did they really think she was weird and creepy? And unfashionable!