Tracy Larkin glanced out the plane window. There was no place in the world quite like San Francisco. She and Link had been right to decide to spend the weekend here. They needed to celebrate that Tracy was finished with the latest season of her talk show, and Link had just finished laying down tracks at his studio. Link had fallen asleep an hour ago, leaving Tracy with nothing to do but look around her. The passenger that really caught her attention was a young girl with her pretty brown hair just hitting her shoulders, and writing in a diary. A uniformed man sat next to her with black sunglasses, and a black jacket. The girl looked very familiar.
"Dear Diary, I get so sick of being a princess," the Princess Mia of Genovia scrawled. "I had to fight tooth and nail just to be allowed to board a regular plane like a regular person. Sometimes I wish I weren't so different. I miss my life when it didn't require Joseph to watch me every second. Then there was the battle to stay at a regular hotel. All for my mom's wedding to my old teacher. At least Lilly and I will get to hang out." Mia stopped as the familiar skyline of San Francisco came into view. Across the aisle, she noticed a woman gently nudge her husband awake. 'Wow, Tracy Larkin,' Mia thought. She was an excellent talk show host. "Your highness," Joseph nudged her to move. Obediently she made her way off the plane, donning a hat and sunglasses to help disguise her.
A young woman with extremely short brown hair approached the reservation desk. "I'm here for Mia Thermidor," she said, giving the clerk the alias Mia had checked in under. "I'm Lilly. She's expecting me."
"Right away miss," the clerk said as he called up to her room.
Tracy and Link found their room at the best hotel in the city, complete with a hot tub and a view of the bay. "I'll go fill the ice bucket," she volunteered. Link had managed to bring one of their finest bottles for the evening ahead. It just needed to be chilled. When she reached the ice machine on their floor, it was broken. 'I'll just go to the floor below,' Tracy decided.
When she stepped on the elevator, she noticed the girl she had seen on the plane earlier. Tracy didn't say anything. She wanted to see if the girl would recognize her. Most girls her age did. That happened when your time slot was after school.
The elevator let out a whine before stopping between Tracy's floor and the floor beneath. "Uh oh," Mia said, pulling out her cell phone. "Joseph, I'm trapped." Mia quickly gave him the details of the elevator she was on. She put it away, and sat down on the floor with a sigh.
"Is Joseph your boyfriend?" Tracy asked as she sat down on the floor as well.
"Kind of like my bodyguard," Mia explained. "Aren't you Tracy Larkin?" she asked.
"One and the same. Pleased to meet you.."
"Please call me Mia," she begged. "Everyone else calls me Princess Mia and it drives me berserk."
"Princess Mia, wow. I'm sorry Mia, it's just that…"
"I know," Mia sighed. "I hate being so different."
"But being different is good. Do you know I was almost not cast on the Corny Collins show because of my weight? That's how I got my start."
"How is being different good?" Mia asked.
"Because people notice you, and you get heard," Tracy said. "It makes you special when you stand out from the crowd because you're not like everyone else. People pay attention, and you make more of an impact. Think of it Mia. Because you're royalty, you have a podium that few others can top."
Tracy's words reminded Mia of a far away day on a school playground when a girl who desperately wanted to rock the world had said something along those same lines. That's why Mia had wanted to become a princess… so she could inspire change, and make good ideas heard. She had almost forgotten about that day.
The women talked more as they waited for the elevator to come, Tracy about her talk show, and Mia about her royal duties. Tracy never thought she would have so much in common with a princess. "Tracy, would you come with me?" Mia asked when the elevator was finally moving to the ground floor.
"Certainly," Tracy agreed. They made their way over to a couch where a girl with short hair sat looking very nervous.
"Lilly," Mia exclaimed as she hugged her friend. "I want you to meet a woman who is as smart as you are. Tracy Larkin, meet Lilly Mosokowitz."