Scarlet Discovers True Strength by Ahmet Zappa Page A

Starlings—Scarlet, Vega, and Cassie—entered and were met by a pair of turquoise-haired technicians in sturdy star-covered overalls under long shimmery white lab coats.
    â€œAh! Star greetings, Cassie,” said one, a short woman with a blue holo–name tag reading GLADIOLUS ROSE . “Oh, my stars, you got here quickly! You must have ridden a laser beam!”
    She clasped her hands and bowed, as was Starland custom. Her partner did the same. He was taller by a moonstone and wore a hard-to-miss star-shaped bandage on his nose.
    Cassie bowed in return, as did Vega and Scarlet.
    â€œWe couldn’t wait to hear the results of your tests!” Cassie told the lab technicians. She nodded to the man. “What happened to you, by the way?”
    â€œWhat? Oh, this?” The man patted his bandaged nose, then turned to his flickering silver-tinged partner, who guiltily sucked in her cheeks. “Flying flowerpot…Funny story…” He sighed. “Or at least it will be, I hope, one starday.”
    â€œWhy don’t we show them those flowers?” said his partner.
    He nodded. “Good idea.”
    â€œAfter you. Please.” She waved him past.
    â€œStar salutations, but please, no, after you.”
    They went on like that, back and forth, until Scarlet couldn’t take one more exchange.
    â€œWhy don’t you show us
together
?”
    â€œGreat idea!” they said in unison. “To the back of the lab. This way.”
    The Starlings followed them down a winding aisle between empty workstations.
    â€œWhere is everyone?” Vega asked.
    Gladiolus Rose picked up an uprooted kaleidoscope tree sapling and set it on a counter between a broken beaker and an upside-down microscope. “Most of the botanists decided to go home early yesterday. We stayed to finish this job. The energy in the air was rather…
tense
, you might say. Lots of name-calling, flowerpot flinging, energy sapping, I’m afraid.”
    â€œNot much work getting done,” said her partner. “Not safely, anyway.”
    Scarlet gazed around at the mess and couldn’t help cracking a smile. She could only imagine the scene that must have made it.
    â€œThat sounds like Piper and me,” said Vega. “Until yesterday afternoon.” Suddenly, her expression began to change. “When exactly did your fighting stop?”
    â€œAlmost as soon as we put them behind glass,” Gladiolus Rose answered. “When was that?” She turned to her partner. “In the afternoon?”
    â€œIndeed, it was.”
    Cassie’s eyes grew round, and so did Vega’s. Scarlet’s jaw dropped slightly, too.
    â€œAre you saying you think the flowers made you bicker and fight?” asked Vega.
    â€œI’m afraid so,” the techs said together. “Star apologies!” They bowed and laughed.
    â€œAs you can see,” said Gladiolus Rose, “arguing is not in our nature. So as soon as it started, we knew that something was starmendously wrong.”
    â€œThe moment we put them behind glass, however,” the man said, “the fiery tempers cooled.”
    He pointed to a glass case at the end of the lab. Inside, the Starlings could see Vega and Piper’s lavish coral-colored bouquet.
    Scarlet instantly remembered the flowers, though she’d given them little thought when they showed up in her room. Not surprisingly, Leona had claimed them for her half of the room almost immediately, so Scarlet paid even less attention to them after that.
    â€œYou were absolutely correct in suspecting those flowers of negative energy,” Gladiolus Rose told Cassie as they moved toward the case. “The things are full of it, in fact. The measurements we recorded were frankly
floozels
off the charts. It’s as if each and every flower was grown in negative-energy-infused soil.”
    Scarlet scowled and spoke up. “But isn’t that impossible? Every Bad