Piper's Perfect Dream by Ahmet Zappa Read Free Book Online Page A

night. So she’d asked Bot-Bots to deliver star sack after star sack of sparklecorn to serve. Unfortunately, the dream merely meant their scanner was broken. Piper had sparklecorn sandwiches, sparklecorn salads, and just plain sparklecorn for starweeks.
    She still didn’t like sparklecorn, after all those staryears! As Piper smiled to herself, her Star-Zap buzzed. Piper felt a tingle. Could this be it? Could this be her mission?
    Of course, every time her Star-Zap had gone off lately, she had wondered the same thing. But this time it was different: SD WISH ORB IDENTIFIED , read the holo-text. PROCEED TO LADY STELLA’S OFFICE IMMEDIATELY.
    Piper moved as if she was in a dream, as if the Cosmic Transporter wasn’t real, as if Halo Hall was just in her mind. When she reached Lady Stella’s office, she had no real memory of getting there. But apparently, she had gotten there quickly. Piper was the first to arrive.
    â€œOh, Piper.” Lady Stella smiled, standing at the doorway and ushering her inside. “You could have taken a few starsecs to change.” She gestured at Piper’s clothes.
    Piper looked down. She was still wearing her nightgown.
    One by one, the other girls came through the door. Some looked sleepy. Some looked wide-awake. Scarlet skipped in, as if she was in Physical Energy class, ready to go.
    Everyone sat at Lady Stella’s round silver table. Starlight streamed through the large windows, flashing on the Star Darlings’ sparkly skin. Each girl twinkled with energy—except for Libby, who snored lightly.
    Lady Stella walked around the table and leaned down to place her hands on Libby’s shoulders. “Libby,” she said with a gentle tap, “you need to stay awake.” She squeezed her shoulders lightly.
    â€œI know,” Libby said without opening her eyes. “I’m just so tired.”
    â€œLet’s assume Libby is listening and continue with our meeting,” Lady Stella continued, pacing around the table. Each girl twisted in her seat to follow the headmistress’s graceful movements.
    Lady Stella sounded as calm as ever, Piper thought. But why didn’t she just stop and speak to them from her usual spot? She held herself a little stiffly, too, as if she was trying to contain some nervous energy.
    â€œSoon we will head down to the Wish-Cavern to see who will be going on the next Wish Mission,” she said. “Please remember that we still haven’t determined what happened to Leona’s Wish Pendant. Although this will most likely not happen again, whoever is chosen for this mission should proceed with caution.”
    Up till then, Piper had just assumed it wouldn’t happen again. Leona had had a scary trip home. Her star had stalled and Vega had had to pick her up along the way. But now Piper didn’t feel so sure. Quickly, she pushed away the negative thoughts. She wanted to relish this part of being a Star Darling. The starhours before a mission were filled with anticipation and optimism, a time before anything went wrong.
    And if Piper concentrated on this mission…really concentrated…if she kept thinking positive thoughts and stayed alert…the stars were the limit.
    Lady Stella pressed a secret button in her desk drawer. A hidden door slid open to reveal the passage to the Star Darlings’ own Wish-Cavern.
    Piper took a deep breath and pushed back her chair. Sage pulled Libby to her feet. “It’s time to get serious,” she said with a giggle. Gemma moved slowly, too. And when her sister told her to “hop to it,” Gemma jumped on one foot all the way to the door.
    Piper barely noticed. She paused to breathe deeply. Then she followed everyone down the winding stairs to the underground cavern.
    Piper loved going around and around, down and down along the stairway, catching sight of bitbat creatures hanging by their feet. Maybe one day she’d try that pose for meditation.