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shows. It was like going to the theater! Every day!”
    â€œSo where are you living now?” Cassie asked.
    â€œI have a single room in the Little Dipper Dorm,” said Ophelia sadly. “It’s pretty lonely. I really miss Leona and also being a…” She looked around, saw that the hallway was deserted, and lowered her voice anyway. “A Star Darling.”
    Cassie nodded.
    Ophelia leaned her head to one side, thinking. “I know I had some trouble fitting in. And my Wish Mission was a disaster, of course. But I really tried. Because I…I liked it. I finally felt like I belonged somewhere. Now I just feel kind of lost.”
    Cassie understood completely. “It was nice to belong to something special,” she said. “Now you’re just another Starling Academy student.”
    â€œThat’s right,” said Ophelia. “That’s exactly right.”
    â€œI understand you more than you know,” said Cassie. She was starting to feel even more protective toward the girl. “I don’t tell a lot of people about this, but I’m an orphan, too.”
    Ophelia gulped and looked away. “I’m sorry,” she said. She let her eyes wander around the hallway, unable make eye contact with Cassie for a moment.
    Cassie was touched. “Girls like us, we need to stick together,” she said. She was overwhelmed with an unfamiliar desire to hug Ophelia and make her feel better. Let her know that she wasn’t alone. She felt ashamed for the unkind thoughts she had had about the girl before.
    â€œIt’s just so…hard here,” said Ophelia.
    Cassie nodded. “It
is
hard,” she said. “It’s so big and there’s so much to learn and so many new people. It’s difficult to be away from home….” Her voice trailed off as she realized her slip. How thoughtless of her! Ophelia didn’t have a home; what had she been thinking?
    But Ophelia leaned forward eagerly. “I know!” she said. “My mom says…”
    Cassie looked at the girl in sympathy. “I used to do the same thing right after my parents began their afterglow,” she said. “It’s hard to talk about someone you love so much in the past tense, since they’re still so present for you.”
    â€œWhat?” said Ophelia. Her eyes widened and she shifted in place. “Oh, yeah,” she said. “What I meant was that my mom
used
to tell me that you need to find a group of friends who make you sparkle. And I thought I found it with you Starlings.”
    â€œJust because you’re not an official Star Darling, it doesn’t mean we can’t help to make you sparkle,” Cassie told the girl gently.
    Ophelia’s face lit up. “Star salutations, Cassie,” she said.
    The bell rang and girls began to swarm out of their classrooms. Ophelia was jostled a bit. “I’ll holo-text you later,” said Cassie as she turned to head down the hallway toward her next class. “I’ll see you again soon. Cross my stars and hope to shine,” she promised.
    Ophelia smiled wanly. “I’d like that,” she said softly. She then turned and merged into the current of students, her small yellow-pigtailed head disappearing almost immediately.
    Cassie stared after her, a smile on her face. All Ophelia needed was some friends, poor thing. She started toward the science stellation for her next class, then stopped in her tracks.
    â€œWatch it!” said a blue-haired girl. “First year!” she remarked to a friend.
    A sudden thought crossed Cassie’s mind. She knew why
she
was roaming the hallways during first period. But why hadn’t Ophelia been in class?

“I’m sorry,” said Vega. “I never got your holo-text. Scarlet and I have band practice right now, anyway. We can’t go with you.”
    Cassie smiled at Scarlet. Despite her disappointment, she was glad to hear