Star

Choir Fest Part 1

Back in real time...

Emma sat on the bus as it shook up and down. She quickly texted Lilly a selfie.

On our way. She typed and pressed send. She put her phone on her lap and looked out the window. Today was the MACS Choir Festival. Six MACS schools were coming together to practice songs all day and end with a performance. Memories of the past times when she had been with the other members of the Star group filled Emma's head. Spikefest, MACS, the St. Francis tournament... every time they had come together, they had been tracked down by the shade king, and he had sent one of his followers after them.

Emma took a deep breath. Those had all been sports events. This was just a choir festival. It would be completely fine; nothing would happen at all. Emma glanced at Betty, who was sitting next to her, and Betty looked at Emma's phone. She was texting Lilly again.

"Emma, sometimes I wish I could keep you all to myself," Betty said. "You have so many friends; sometimes, I wish you were only mine."

Emma laughed. "Just because I'm connected with so many people doesn't mean I don't care about each one less."

Sunny smiled as she sat on the bus. She was so excited about Choir Fest! Most of the people in her school were dreading the day, they didn't like singing, and a full day of it didn't sound great to them, but she was super excited. She loved singing and did it all the time. The bus pulled up to the school, and they all climbed out. When most people left their bags in a corner, Sunny hesitated. She didn't feel comfortable leaving her phone in her bag, and she also needed her chapstick, but she didn't have pockets in her dress. She quickly slipped the phone and chapstick into her biker shorts before the group headed into the auditorium. Sunny found her seat next to Renata, one of the girls in her class, and another girl named Megan from Fourth. Renata sat down, but Megan hadn't arrived yet. Sunny sat in her seat.

As soon as the bus pulled up to the school, Emma sprinted into the building, quickly hung up her bag, and ran into the auditorium. She spotted Sunny immediately and ran up to say hi.

"Hey, Sunny!" Emma beamed, hugging her.

"Hey."

Emma opened her mouth to say something but was called away by her teacher to get her music. Emma waved and quickly went to get her music. She felt a strange energy coming from the building but shook it off. There would be no problems today. It would be a good day, and she would be focused entirely on singing and performing.

Emma found her name and realized she was sitting right next to Nevaeh, the middle hitter from the Fourth volleyball team. Emma took a deep breath. Nevaeh was one of the best volleyball players on Fourth, and she had always been relatively nice to Emma, but she didn't know how she was going to act today. Emma was jolted out of her thoughts when she saw Lilly.

Lilly was standing between the pews when Emma ran up and hugged her.

"Lilly! I'm so excited to see you!" Emma beamed, and Lilly smiled.

"Me too," she said.

"I'm sitting by Nevaeh," Emma informed her.

"I'm so sorry."

"Wait, what do you mean?"

Lilly laughed. "Kidding."

Just then, the director stood up. "Please, everyone, find your seats."

Emma went to sit in her seat, and Nevaeh was already sitting there. "Emma? You sing alto?" Nevaeh asked.

Emma picked up her folder, music, pencil, and water bottle and sat down. "Yes. I've also sung tenor before."

"That's cool." Nevaeh said. "I didn't really expect that." Emma smiled to herself. She looked around her. She was sitting near a couple of girls from Woodcrest, Juliet and Kenzie, and Jojo and Abbie from Fourth. The other girls from her school were far away, but Emma was okay with that.

"I wish St. Francis had come," Emma said, and Juliet nodded.

"Yeah, but I don't think they have a choir."

"They do have a choir; they just weren't invited."

"That's annoying," Juliet said. The director had everyone turn to each other, introduce themselves and say their favorite soft drink. Emma turned to Nevaeh.

"I don't really drink soda," Nevaeh said.

"Neither do I," Emma replied. "When I do, it is usually lemonade, Sprite, or a mix of those two."

"Ooh, that actually sounds good," Nevaeh said.

Emma shrugged. "Sprite is just a classic. I don't really need caffeine, so..." Nevaeh nodded in agreement.

The director asked a few random people what their favorite soft drink was, and one of the boys said milk. Emma glanced around her. Jojo was making a face, and Nevaeh's eyebrows were raised.

"Milk? Who drinks plain milk?" Nevaeh asked, disgusted.

Emma laughed. "I'm dairy free, actually."

Sunny sat in her chair beside Megan. This girl was talking so much! Sunny had thought Emma talked a lot, but this girl might talk even more than her. Sunny mostly kept quiet, but it didn't seem to bother the girl; she kept talking anyway. Sunny didn't stop her but wasn't too upset when it was time to start singing.

"You failed me, son."

"I know, father. I'm sorry."

"You had one job. And I literally gave you the body of one of the Star girls to do it with."

"The team provided stronger than we expected."

"Well then. We must create a portal where there are only a few of them. A Choir Festival is being hosted today. Three of the Star girls are there. I'll send you there once again. We're running out of time, son. We need to destroy these girls. Our kind relies on it."

"Yes, Father."