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  Cesar glanced around at the other kids, astonished.

  Marissa, looking mortified, took a few steps back.

  The two security guards had advanced, but Bubbles was following them slowly, watching Jade Blossom without hurrying. She glanced over to Cesar and Marissa.

  Jade Blossom glared at Cesar, thinking, C’mon, idiot, work with me. “Finish our date, Cesar!”

  “What for?” Cesar asked, with a tentative smile.

  “You’re not leaving me for her, are you?” Jade Blossom wailed in an embarrassing display of overacting.

  This time even Marissa’s hard facial features seemed amused.

  “You won’t leave me for that joker, will you?” Jade Blossom pleaded.

  “Now wait right there!” Lara edged around Rustbelt and stomped toward Cesar. “Cesar, you just get away from her!”

  “Which her?” Cesar asked, with a hint of humor.

  “Not me!” Jade Blossom whined, fighting down a laugh.

  The other kids guffawed, enjoying the awkward moment.

  Even Bubbles smiled with reluctant amusement.

  Lara swiveled to Marissa. “Back off, you mutant!”

  Cesar stepped in front of his mother.

  Jade Blossom shifted her density to aluminum.

  “Uh, Mom? Go upstairs, okay?” Cesar said.

  “Are you talking back to me?” Lara shrieked. She eyed Marissa, looking over Cesar’s shoulder. “Get away from him!”

  “It’s about the music,” said Cesar.

  “Don’t you talk to me like that!”

  Just as Lara reached for the front of Cesar’s shirt, Jade Blossom leaned down, grabbed Lara’s petite form below her butt, and hoisted her up on one shoulder. “No!” Jade Blossom shouted, just for the fun of it.

  “You put me down!” Lara yelled.

  Jade Blossom carried Lara, whose short arms and legs were kicking and punching, with her typical long strides, heading out of the ballroom.

  “Don’t worry, Mrs. Chao,” Marissa called playfully. “I’m a lady and a lady doesn’t blow and tell!”

  “Psycho mutant bitch!” Lara yelled, still hanging over Jade Blossom’s shoulder.

  Jade Blossom strode out the front door of the hotel and saw the protesters turning toward her in surprise. Darkness had fallen, but she stopped in the light from the hotel. “Got a present for ya!” She leaned forward, set Lara on her feet, and made a catwalk turn that swirled her gown around her legs. Then she hurried back into the ballroom.

  The room had changed in the moments since she had left. The crowd had parted in the middle, where Bubbles stood flanked by the two security guards. Rustbelt stood behind them with other parents and staff members.

  “Whoa, now, fellas,” said Rusty. He seemed trapped by the close quarters, reluctant to move forward for fear of hurting someone. “Maybe this ain’t such a good idea.”

  Cesar and Marissa, stiff with alarm, remained close to the ruins of the piano. They made a distinctive pair in his too-tight suit and tie and her green dress hanging from her sharp edges and angles.

  Jade Blossom looked from Cesar and Marissa to Bubbles. She knew perfectly well that Bubbles’ ace was far more powerful than her own and decided to enjoy herself while she could.

  In the silence, Rusty clapped one hand to his head, with a loud clang. “Aww, Judas Priest, what now?”

  Jade Blossom spotted Ethan standing with Elaine against one wall. “Give the bill to my studio rep.” She took a catwalk pose with one hand on her hip. “After all, I was forced to be here!”

  “Why are you still here?” Bubbles asked, stepping up face-to-face with Jade Blossom. “Again with the making me sad-like. Except now you’ve really stepped over the line. You know I am going to have to kick your ass in front of all these people. And that’s just embarrassing for both of us. And so much YouTube action is going to ensue. You’re really set on full self-destruct mode, aren’t you?”

  “Maybe I’m just dense.” Jade Blossom smiled at her little joke. “You expect me to care what you say? You’re denser than I am. Come on, bubble-girl, join me. We’ll make it a two-bitch fashion show.”

  “Seriously, you have a problem, Jade Blossom,” Bubbles said. “You can’t bear who you are. I pity you, I really do. No snark at all. Well, for now.”

  That stung. “I don’t need your pity, or you, or anyone else!”

  “If it weren’t for the kids, I’d feel sorry for you.”

  “I wouldn’t want you to strain yourself on my account.” Jade Blossom started raising her density. Yet somewhere inside her, fourteen-year-old Haley Mok desperately ached for someone to like her. Jade Blossom forced away the feeling.

  “Please don’t fight,” said Cesar.

  “Take your girl out of here,” said Jade Blossom. She raised her voice, adding a desperate tone. “You like her better than me, fine! Take her!” She put one hand over her eyes, as though she was on the verge of tears, and winked at Cesar.

  Finally catching a clue, the kid with the slowest 140 IQ that Jade Blossom had ever seen took Marissa’s arm and they walked away through the crowd of kids.

  “Is this really the person you want to be?” Bubbles asked. “For your whole life?”

  “I’m just myself!” Jade Blossom heard her voice waver and hated the moment of showing weakness. Like everyone, she knew her looks would go someday. Sometimes she wondered if she should end the hollowness inside her using a hard, brittle density in a high fall. Young Haley Mok would understand. She had thought about the same fate before her card turned.

  “The curtain’s coming down, drama queen,” said Bubbles. “Take your bow and go home. No one will be sorry to see you go.”

  “Not without a finale.” Jade Blossom, at extreme density, bent her knees and launched herself at Bubbles, her arms outstretched.

  A dazzling rainbow-glazed silver blast flashed in front of Jade Blossom, as she had expected. The force knocked her backward. She stumbled on her Jimmy Choo stilettos and landed hard on her butt.

  A bubble surrounded Jade Blossom and rolled her backward, legs over her head and then around again. She grew dizzy as the bubble continued rotating, bouncing her against its flexible wall repeatedly. As much as she disliked it, she knew Bubbles was not going to hurt her. Bubbles was just throwing her out of the Terrace Room, down the stairs, and out the main doors.

  The bubble stopped rolling. Jade Blossom reduced her density, causing the bubble around her to do the same. She kicked out, popping the bubble with little effort, and got to her feet. Bubbles had gone easy on her.

  Swaying and staggering a little from dizziness, she found herself out on the sidewalk. She was not far from the protesters, but they kept their distance. Even Lara, Earl, and Betty Virginia said nothing as they watched her. After taking her phone from her purse, she texted Elaine: Outside main doors. Where the hell are U?

  The main doors opened again. Startled by the sound, Jade Blossom whirled to see if she was facing more trouble. Instead, she found the solemn brunette wearing the green T-shirt with a faded logo and black jeans.

  The girl stopped a respectful distance away. “Jade Blossom, may I ask you something about being a model?”

  The rented limousine glided to a stop at the curb. Elaine climbed out while Ethan waited in the rear seat.

  “What’s your name, kid?” Jade Blossom shook out the panels of her gown so they fell properly. The Aquilano Rimondi was destined for the trash heap after the beating it had taken tonight. She reduced her density to normal.

  “Natalie. What advice can you give me about becoming a model someday?”

  Jade Blossom let out a derisive breath. “Why aren’t you asking that bitch Bubbles? She’s a model and she’s a hell of a lot nicer than I am.”

  “I don’t want nice. I want the truth.”

  Jade Blossom liked that answer. She appraised the girl’s appearance and saw that Natalie was attractive, though with an average build. “You have just barely enough height and the che
ekbones. You need to lose fifteen, twenty pounds. I doubt you’ll make it because most people don’t. Prettier girls than you have failed and uglier ones have succeeded. Am I hurting your feelings?”

  Natalie gave a defensive little shrug.

  “Get used to it. You’ll always be too short or too fat, too ethnic or too white. You’ll be too outspoken or too timid. You’ll always have some other girl ready to take your job and eventually you’ll be too old. So maybe you should just go away and cry.”

  Natalie raised her chin defiantly. “No way.”

  “Good answer. How old are you?”

  “Seventeen. I’m a senior.”

  Jade Blossom looked into her eyes but spoke over her shoulder. “Elaine! Give this loser my private cell number. As for you, lard-ass, if you haven’t wised up after you graduate from high school, call me.”

  Natalie’s mouth opened in surprise. “Really?”

  “Get away from me before I change my mind! Elaine, take the limo to the airport. I’ll meet you there.” Jade Blossom turned her back to both of them and reduced her density. She walked away from the hotel and the protesters to a spot where she could feel a light breeze. As she reached tissue density, she jumped and found an updraft.

  As she rose on the breeze into the shadows of evening, she looked down. The protesters had lost sight of her against the dark sky. Down the length of the hotel building, Cesar and Marissa strolled out of a secondary doorway, talking. Maybe they could have something together that teenage Haley Mok never had.

  Forcing a laugh at herself, Jade Blossom drifted away on the wind. Haley Mok’s girlish dream of being in a major Hollywood movie was going to come true. Jade Blossom would make it happen, no matter what it cost her.

  Bubbles and the Band Trip

  Part 4

  “UHM, SORRY ABOUT THE fight,” Michelle said awkwardly to the room. “Really, it doesn’t happen all that often. Let’s just get back to getting acquainted.”

  A lot of dubious expressions were aimed her way.

  “No, really. I promise,” she said. “No more ace fights tonight.”

  From the back of the room came a boy’s voice. “As long as Jade Blossom doesn’t come back, we’re good.”

  “Works for me,” Michelle replied. Then she saw Adesina pushing her way through the crowd.

  “Hey, honey,” Michelle said as some of the partygoers began to leave. They gave her excellent stink-eye as they passed by. The people who stayed behind started talking again, much to her relief. “How’re things going?”

  “Mom,” Adesina said in a low voice. “You’re really embarrassing me. You can’t just go around bubbling people.”

  “Well, sweetie,” Michelle replied. Having a teenager was turning out to be awful. Michelle was pretty sure she’d never been a teenager like this. “That’s pretty much what I do. Perhaps you hadn’t noticed.”

  “Do you have to do it here?” Segway and Ghost came up beside Adesina. They gave Michelle bright smiles. It made Michelle feel much better.

  “Hey,” Segway said as he touched Adesina’s shoulder. For a moment, Michelle thought Adesina might pull away, but then she visibly relaxed. “Your mom was just trying to do the right thing.”

  Ghost wrapped her arms around Adesina and gave her a hug.

  “C’mon,” Ghost said with a giggle. Michelle was glad to see Ghost acting like a normal little girl.

  “Your mom is awesome,” Ghost said. “She’s totes kewl. You’re just being weird. What happened is already all over the place. Everyone here was recording it. Accept your fate.”

  “And what’s that?”

  “That your mom is filled with fabu and you’re a big dork.”

  “I’m not a dork,” Adesina said. She was trying not to smile. “I’m totes a nerd. Get your geek terms right. I have a Venn diagram that can prove it. Here, let me find it.” She pulled out her phone. “And I won’t even look at YouTube, Mom.”

  “Those boys in the Plano Originals were so rude at orientation. If there’s one thing I can’t abide, it’s rudeness,” Priscilla Beecher said. She took a delicate sip of her sweet tea.

  “Well,” Michelle replied. “We’re from New York. We’re pretty used to rudeness.”

  Priscilla frowned. It wasn’t a good look for her. It accentuated the lines around her mouth and the lines between her eyes. Then her frown vanished and she looked at Michelle with concern.

  “Bless your heart,” Priscilla said. There was the same kind of honeyed tone that Betty Virginia had used when chastising the gun-toting Earl. Did every southern woman learn that voice when they were growing up? (“And today, ladies, we learn how to talk like Melanie Hamilton Wilkes.”)

  “You and your band are just so brave to come here,” Priscilla continued. “People can be so cruel.”

  Priscilla looked at Adesina, who was across the room talking to Peter and LoriAnne, the drummer from the Funkalicious Four. Asti was with them as well. Asti had informed Michelle that LoriAnne was too shy to come and meet her. Michelle thought that was goofy and told them they should bring her over anyway.

  “It’s remarkable how open some of the other children are to your band members. Why, I expected they would be shunned.”

  “Admittedly, the Plano Originals don’t seem to like us much, except for Kimmie Coldwater,” Michelle said, trying to make her voice more cheerful and upbeat.

  “Kimmie is lovely, isn’t she?” Priscilla replied.

  “Yes, yes she is. And how long have you been helping with the competition?” Michelle asked.

  “I started about the same time you were on American Hero,” Priscilla replied. “Anyway, the last two years I was liaison for the Plano Originals,” she continued. “And I was supposed to be their liaison this year, but Dr. Smith thought I was the best qualified to welcome your band and help them along.”

  Adesina came up just then. “Hey, Mom. Hello, Ms. Beecher.”

  “Oh, it’s Miss Beecher, hon,” Priscilla said. “I’m an old-fashioned lady, I suppose.”

  “Sorry, Miss Beecher,” Adesina replied. Just then her eyes grew wide and she burst out, “Oh, there’s Mindy-Lou Gutiérrez.”

  “She’s so kewl,” Adesina said with a sigh. “Her solo videos on YouTube are awesome. She can play, like, every instrument and she even composes! And obvs she’s, like, hep to the jive. Mom, that’s old jazz talk. Yerodin and I are totes into that now.”

  Michelle looked at Adesina blankly. She could barely keep up with her own generation’s slang much less whatever language Adesina’s generation was using.

  Michelle finished off her Coke. She knew it would be a bad idea to have another—too much caffeine made her jittery—but she went to the bar anyway. A different bartender was there.

  “What can I get you?” the new bartender asked. She wore the same generic black-and-white uniform that Billy Rainbow had—though she looked a lot less like a model.

  “A Coke, please,” Michelle said. “What happened to the other bartender?”

  “You mean Billy? He did what he does best: ditch the last half of the party so he doesn’t have to do breakdown.” The bartender wrapped a paper napkin around Michelle’s glass and handed it to her. “He’s not a bad guy, but he’s always on the hustle. Even when there’s not much at stake.”

  “Sounds like a not-so-great guy to me.”

  The bartender shrugged. “Oh, he’s lousy at what he tries to do. He’s mostly a doofus. Pretty, but a doofus.”

  “I can see that.” Michelle might have said more, but that was when she heard Mindy-Lou Gutiérrez’s voice rise in anger.

  “Stop picking on me!” the girl from Modesto said hotly. “You’re just jealous because I’m a better musician than you.” Michelle knew that tone. It was someone on the edge of tears.

  “Oh, please,” was the reply. “Everyone knows you’re a poser.” It was the kind of nasty only a teenage girl was capable of, full of snottiness, contempt, and hostility.

  “You’re not nearly as hot a
s you think you are. There are jokers here who play better than you.”

  Michelle didn’t know the other girl, but she kinda hated her right off the bat. She was about to intervene when Mindy-Lou spun on her heel and rushed out of the ballroom. The other girl smiled maliciously as she watched.

  Adesina grabbed Michelle by the arm. “That’s Jillian Bigelow, Mom,” she whispered. “She’s totes a bitch.”

  “Language!”

  “Well, she is.”

  The ballroom was beginning to clear out. Time to round up the kids, Michelle thought. “You guys ready to call it a night?” she asked.

  The Mob looked unhappy. “It’s really early, Ms. Pond,” Sean said. The colors of his skin rippled and gradually changed color.

  “C’mon, Mom,” Adesina said. Her wings gave a flap and almost knocked over a floral arrangement. “It’s hella early.”

  “You guys have a super-busy day tomorrow,” Michelle said. “It’s time to head off to bed.”

  “Ms. Pond, it’s only nine o’clock,” Asti said. His peachy scent filled the air. “No one is going to bed at nine o’clock. Heck, curfew for the competition is ten.”

  Michelle had tried very hard to be Strict Mom and Serious Chaperone Woman, but it all seemed as if it was sliding away. The kids’ request wasn’t all that out of order. Dammit.

  “Fine,” she said. “But everyone back into their room by ten. Rusty’s going to keep an eye out for all of you. If you’re late coming in, I’m going to know. Also, stay away from those protesters.”

  “No problem, Ms. P,” said Peter. He rocked back and forth on his wheel. “They went away when the camera crews left earlier tonight.”

  “And don’t go down to the River Walk. Let’s have one night before you start surprising the tourists. Just hang around the hotel. Okay?”

  Michelle discovered Jan, Robin’s landlady, lurking behind one of the floral arrangements, looking fiercely at each partygoer as they left. Some of them didn’t notice her, but the ones who did recoiled and hurried out the door.

  “Jan, you’re making the guests feel uncomfortable,” Michelle said.