Twinkle twinkle, little star–

How I wonder what you are!

Up above the world so high,

Like a diamond in the sky!

Twinkle twinkle, little star–

How I wonder what you are!

The childhood song chimed from the alarm clock she had had since she was six years old. Slowly rising, she turned off the alarm and greeted the morning with a yawn and stretch.

"Breakfast is ready, Virginia!" her mother called from downstairs.

"I'll be down in a minute!" she replied.

Setting foot on the soft, plush carpet, she got out of bed and immediately straightened the disheveled covers to hospital bed perfection. Then, sliding her foot into her slippers and wrapping herself into her robe, she descended the stairs to the kitchen where an Ego waffle sat, fresh from the toaster. After adding the right amount of butter and syrup, she started eating, waiting for her mother to ask the question she asked every year.

"So, are you excited that school's starting again?" It was a more teasing tone than it was sincere.

Virginia simply shrugged.

"It'll be your first day of high school. Should be interesting."

"I guess."

"Well, before you start getting ready to go, I want to give you something." She took a velvet box from the counter and handed it to her daughter, a wide grin on her face. "I've been looking for it for years, and I finally found it while I was cleaning out the attic. I thought you'd be able to take better care of it than I would."

Brow furrowed in curiosity, she opened the box. Inside was a round, golden pendant on a long, golden chain. In the center of the pendant was a 20 kt diamond in the shape of a star burst that twinkled fiercely with even the slightest movement.

"It was your great grandmother's," her mother explained. "She gave it to your grandmother, who gave it to me, and I...well, I lost it in the attic for awhile."

"It's beautiful; thanks, Mom! But...are you sure you don't want it for awhile? You can wear it when you go to the theatre with Dad."

"I'd probably lose it. You know, I still can't find that other opal earring your father gave me for our anniversary three years ago. Take it."

Giving her mother hug, Virginia departed to her room to change. Along with her new pendent, she donned a spotless white blouse, a pair of crisp black pants, and a pair of like-new black clogs. She drew her long brown hair into a French braid, and fixed a slim pair of silver-framed spectacles over her blue eyes. With her backpack slung over her shoulder, she left on her walk to the bus stop. As she waited at one intersection for a car to pass, she was grabbed by the arm and pulled aside. It was a young man dressed in an elegant tuxedo, hat, and mask.

"Give me your necklace," he demanded.

This is new, she thought. A mugger with a degree of class.

"I said give me your necklace!"

Though tears were forming in her eyes, she said firmly, "No!"

He gripped his fingers around the pendant and tried to take it off from over her head. She countered his grip, trying to keep it on.

"Let go!" she screamed.

To her rescue, the bus pulled up, and the masked mugger fled in an instant.

"Are you okay?" the driver asked from his seat in the bus.

Virginia simply nodded, boarding the bus as quickly as she possibly could.

A few minutes later, they arrived at the bus stop. The doors opened, allowing all the other patrons to board. Among them was her friend Grace, who sat down beside her.

"Oh my God, where did you get that sparkler!" Grace exclaimed, noticing Virginia's pendent.

"It was my great-grandmother's," she replied. "Mom found it in the attic over the weekend."

"Is that a real diamond?"

"I don't know."

"I wish my great-grandmother had something like that."

Virginia examined the pendent for any stamped marks of what it was made of, but all she found was a small symbol that she would need a magnifying glass to decipher.

"So...high school, huh?" Grace began again.

"Yeah, high school." She was already getting sick of the topic.

"What do you think it'll be like?"

"Like school."

"Well yeah, but, what about all the things we've heard about it?"

"You mean that there will be classes, teachers, and other students?"

"No, like how all the freshmen go through some initiation, or that the principle monitors the security cameras that he has every two feet, or that..."

"Oh, come on, Grace. Do you really believe all that? That's probably just seniors making up crap to scare the freshmen. It'll be fine; it'll be like junior high, just in a bigger building with more people."

"The freshman initiation is real." The comment came from an unfamiliar source.

Virginia and Grace turned around to face the seat behind them where a guy whom they presumed to be a senior sat. His hair was dark brown, short, and spiked with caramel highlights on the tips. His dark brown eyes and tan skin suggested that he was of Hispanic decent. His outfit was a dark red, short-sleeved collared shirt partially unbuttoned, a pair of black denim cargo pants, and dark grey Nikes.

"How would you know?" Virginia asked. "Are you a senior?"

"No, a junior," he replied. "But just the same, I went through the initiation."

"What was it like?" Grace asked, her eyes fixated on him.

"I'm not allowed to divulge."

"Then what's the point in freaking her out?" Virginia rebutted.

"I just thought I'd bring it to your attention. Expect it."

"And what if we fail this alleged 'initiation'? Will we be pilloried in the village square?"

"Depends on your point of view."

Virginia rolled her eyes and turned back around. "Neither informative nor stimulating."

Grace, on the other hand, was still captivated. "What's your name?"

"Hunter O'Brien. You?"

"Grace O'Malley!"

A kindred Irish spirit–Virginia knew her friend was lost.

"So what's your accent?" Grace asked him.

"My Mom's from Brazil."

"Oh, do you speak Spanish? I took Spanish last year!"

"Portuguese," Virginia corrected.

"No, I took Spanish."

"She means," Hunter explained, "that most Brazilians speak Portuguese, not Spanish."

All conversation suddenly ceased when the bus lurched to a sharp halt. A number of students shouted rude comments to the driver.

"Sorry," the driver replied. "There was a cat in the middle of the road."

Was? Virginia thought. Looking out the window as the bus continued, she saw the cat as they passed it by. It was a young Siamese cat with the brightest green eyes that she had ever seen. The eyes almost seemed concentrated on her, following her as they drove by. Her attention from it was broken when Grace began to plead Hunter to speak some Portuguese.

The school day progressed like any other–Virginia didn't feel the high school difference as much as her friend seemed to, who was chatting endlessly during lunch with comparisons between junior and high school as she had discovered thus far. She ignored most of it, nodding every once and awhile to acknowledge her. And just as she was taking a bite of her cucumber sandwich, Grace started sneezing. The same cat from the road was poking its head into Virginia's backpack.

"Get it away!" Grace whined between sneezes.

The cat looked clean, but it had still been out in the streets. Wrapping her hands in napkins, Virginia picked up the cat around the middle and, with arms outstretched, walked it to the doors where she set it outside.

"Now, shoo!" she ordered awkwardly.

The cat only stared at her pendent, as though hypnotized.

"Go!" She pointed off toward the parking lot.

The cat finally mewed, then turned and left.

After lunch, Virginia proceeded to her Algebra class. The teacher lectured on procedures and expectations.

"...And I will by no means tolerate cell phones or pagers in my class."

On cue, someone's cell phone rang. Everyone instinctively dived into their backpacks to check. And though no one seemed to have an incoming call, the ring was still playing. Gradually, everyone's heads turned to Virginia, who was the only one who hadn't dug around for a cell phone.

"I don't have a cell phone," she said.

The teacher reached into her backpack and took one out, the ring emitting from it. "Then what's this?"

"That's not mine. My name doesn't even start with an 'M'." The cell phone case had an elegantly scribed 'M' on it in green.

"I won't confiscate it this time because it's the first day. Go and quick answer it, then come right back."

With a sigh, Virginia took the cell phone out into the hallway. Flipping it open, she glanced at the screen. Flashed across the monitor in red letters were the words "ENEMY ALERT". Then in smaller letters, it read, "Press SEND for coordinates."

What the hell? Out of curiosity, she pressed the SEND button.

The picture on the monitor switched to a diagram with a green dot and a red dot. After walking across the hall, she realized the green dot represented herself, and the red dot was down the hall. Looking ahead, the door to one of the classrooms blew off the hinges, slamming into the lockers across the hall. Then out tread a demon whose head nearly touched the ceiling, red and clad in black with the theatre teacher slung over its shoulder. Virginia opened her mouth for a silent scream, then dashed into the nearest girls' bathroom. Sitting crouched on the floor of a stall, she used the phone to dial 911.

Three minutes passed. She began to wonder if she really even saw the demon at all, or if she had just imagined it. Calming down, she looked at the phone in her hand. For the first time, she recognized that the symbol on the case wasn't an 'M' but the astrological symbol for Virgo.

Coincidence... she thought.

Opening it, she still saw the green and red dots. Denying their existence, she decided to check the contact numbers stored to try to find out who the phone belonged to. There were two numbers listed–one was marked "Phoebe" and the other was simply marked "Speed Dial". She decided to try the "Speed Dial" number. After selecting it, music surrounded her, and a shower of sparks sprayed from the phone, causing her to jump to her feet in alarm. But when the sparks fell on her, they didn't burn–they felt warm and pleasant. In fact, she held the phone above her as the green sparks descended on her like a rushing waterfall, completely engulfing her. When it stopped seconds later, she finally decided to leave the stall. But before leaving the bathroom, she halted in front of a mirror, stunned. Her hair was loose and flowing free; a golden tiara with a teardrop green jewel banded across her forehead; her spectacles had been replaced with a mask; and her whole outfit had been replaced by a one-piece outfit with a green collar and a short green skirt, green boots adorning her feet, and white gloves on her arms.

"What the heck is going on!" she wondered aloud.

"Now go after the demon!"

The small voice made her jump; she had thought she was alone. Looking all around, she could only find the Siamese cat, sitting on the counter.

"What are you waiting for?" the cat asked. "Go, before it gets away!"

"What are you talking about? Wait...talking?" Grasping her head, she slid down to her knees, staring at the floor and taking deep, slow breaths.

"There's no time to explain; you have to stop that demon before that teacher's done for!"

"Done for? What, you mean...?"

"Do you think a demon is taking her to a surprise party? She needs help!"

"What do you expect me to do? At least you have claws!"

"Take your pendent and shout 'Virgo to Arms'."

She took her pendent into her hand. "This is ridiculous; I'm not going to shout that. What if someone hears me?"

"Just do it!"

If I'm going to listen to a talking cat, I may as well follow through. "VIRGO TO ARMS!"

Before her eyes, a pistol with a Virgo symbol on it was conjured, and the crystal pendant molded itself into the barrel.

"Hey, what happened? Where did the gem go?"

"It's inside as the power source. Now go get that demon!"

"But I can't use a gun! I never have before, and I'm against violence!"

A low snarl prompted Virginia to turn around. There loomed the demon, its black teeth dripping with yellow saliva, its purely black eyes glaring at her.

Wake up, wake up, wake up! She simply stood there, frozen.

The demon drew back it's free hand, full of long claws, then prepared to strike. But it was stopped when a razor-sharp Ace of hearts playing card zinged through the air and cut its hand.

"Now's the time to act!" Phoebe said. "Aim the pistol at the demon and shout Virgo Stardust Blast!"

Virginia aimed the pistol at the demon as instructed and shouted, "VIRGO STARDUST BLAST!"

A beam of bright light shot from the pistol right to the center of the demon's chest. With a cry, the demon emitted black sparks, dissolving into dust. The teacher on its shoulder was about to fall onto the ground, but was caught by a masked man in a tuxedo.

Him again? Virginia thought, aiming the pistol at him.

He set the teacher gently on the ground, then he reached over to retrieve his Ace.

He had saved me? She lowered her pistol, confused.

"Thank you," he said. "I've been after that thing for weeks, but never been able to destroy it. What's your name?"

"Vir..." He had saved her life, but he was still a mugger. "Virgo."

"Sailor Virgo," the cat whispered.

"Yes, Sailor Virgo," she added.

"Interesting. I call myself Tuxedo Mask." He held out a gloved hand to shake, and Virgo took it hesitantly. "I hope we can meet again sometime."

The class bell rang, and he dashed away so fast it was as though he vanished. Virginia felt bombarded with an unbearable headache and fainted onto the bathroom floor.

Opening her eyes, Virginia woke to the familiarity of her bedroom. She reached over to her night stand, put on her glasses, and looked down at herself. She was in her regular blouse and pants with the pendent hanging from her neck. She smiled in relief.

"It was a dream. Of course it was a dream. I've just been in bed with a fever or something."

Shattering her reality, the Siamese cat jumped in through her window, dropping the cell phone onto the sill. "You forgot this."

For a split second, Virginia caught herself wondering how the cat had jumped up through a second-story window; but then again, if it could talk...Turning over onto her stomach, she covered her head with her pillow. "I'm so feverish, I'm delusional!"

"It was fortunate for you that that masked man drove the demon into the girl's bathroom; otherwise, it would have gotten away," the cat said. "You'll have to get your act together for next time."

"NEXT TIME!" Virginia raged before diving under her covers. "MOM, I NEED SOUP AND LOTS OF LIQUIDS, FAST!"

"Coming..." her mother replied from downstairs.

"Here; I'll prove that you're not hallucinating," the cat said, sitting out in the middle of the floor.

When Virginia's mother entered the room, she spied the cat immediately. "What is a cat doing in your room?" she asked.

"Throw it out!" she demanded, poking her head out from under her covers. But as her mother bent over to catch the cat, the Siamese gazed pitifully at her. With a sigh, she relented, "Never mind. Can it stay awhile?"

Her mother shrugged. "I suppose. Here's some soup and crackers." She unfolded a TV tray and placed it next to the bed, setting the bowl and pack of crackers on it. With that, she left the room.

As Virginia sat up to start on the soup, she glared at the cat. "Okay, so I'm not hallucinating. But I am hearing things, because cats can't talk."

"That's condescending; of course cats can talk. Most of them just don't speak the same language you do. Can a Frenchman not talk just because he doesn't speak English?"

"I can't believe I'm having a debate with a cat."

Getting irritated, the cat leaped up onto the bed. "I am Phoebe. And I do understand that you probably don't remember me, but can you at least bear with me?"

"I remember you pitting me against some mutant freak; that's what I remember."

"Please just listen to me. If it's really so miraculous that a cat is communicating with you, wouldn't you be interested to hear what it has to say?"

"...I guess. Yes. Fine, just...don't talk too loud."

"Now, don't interrupt me. You see, I was sent to find you and help you rediscover your identity...as Sailor Virgo. Since the demon showed up, I knew it was time to resurface your alias. There are more demons like that one, and they're sure to keep showing up. I don't know when, but we have to be ready to fight them."

"You mean I have to be ready to fight them; and, no I don't!"

"I don't know what they're after, but they work for an evil agent, so it can't be good. The whole existence of the human race depends on your fighting them."

"But I don't want to! Give the magical cell phone to someone else–I don't want it!"

Sternly, Phoebe scolded, "This isn't a choice, Virginia. That cell phone won't work for anyone else–it only reacts to your power."

"I HAVE NO POWER! LEAVE ME ALONE!"

"I can see it's no use trying to explain anything further to you. You have my number in your cell phone if you need me." With that, Phoebe jumped back out the window.

Furious, Virginia stormed over to the window and shouted out, "CATS DON'T USE PHONES!"

Hunter, who was walking along the sidewalk outside, looked up at her, lowering his sunglasses. "Is that the Starr residence lesson of the day?"

Virginia only slammed her window shut and jumped back in bed. Wait, I never told him my name...Oh, duh. Mailbox.