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Ruins of Starlight House

Jerrica Benton waded through the tall grass until she found the remnants of the foundation. She closed her eyes as she stepped onto the scorched concrete. Although the structure had long since burned to the ground, in her mind's eye, she could see the mahogany doors opening to let her inside. She walked down the foyer to pass the kitchen where her mother had just baked her favorite cookies and left them to cool on the windowsill. She came to a stop in the living room. Everyone was congregated around the TV to watch their favorite prime time show. Her parents were still alive. She still had a crush on the boy next door. There was no Jem and the Holograms, only her and her sisters.

All's right with the world.

She opened her eyes and unclipped one of her ruby earrings. She placed the Jem Star earring, jewel side up, in the center of the slab and then walked back into the grass where her sisters Kimber, Aja, and Shana waited.

Jerrica then tapped the twin earring on her other ear with her index finger and commanded, "Synergy, create a full scale hologram of Starlight House."

A flicker of light emanated from the center of the foundation. It was subtle at first, but with increasing intensity, it began to swirl outward like an illuminated tornado. Light danced around and filled every corner of the slab. It took different shapes and colors before finally coalescing into her childhood home.

Aja took off her sunglasses; her mouth was agape. "Wow. It's just like I remember."

"I can't believe were selling the land," said Kimber.

"All things come to an end," Kimber replied.

"Are you sure about this, Jerrica?" Shana asked.

"Yes," Jerrica answered. "There's nothing left of our childhood except memories."

"That's not true," said Aja.

Jerrica looked at her blue-haired sister with a quizzical expression. "What do you mean?"

Aja held her hand, reciting the pledge they had made as children so many years before, "We solemnly promise to share everything we have."

Shana smiled in recognition and held Jerrica's other hand to continue, "And to be good and true friends forever and ever."

Jerrica regarded both of them with a smile and finished by saying, "And to let nothing interfere with our friendship."

"Even boys?" Kimber said with a smirk.

Jerrica arched her brow as she eyed the redhead. "Especially boys."

A whistle was then heard by all. They turned to where Raya, the fifth Hologram, was waiting by the curb, seated in the Rockin' Roadster. Jerrica touched her earring again.

"Show's over, Synergy."

The image of Starlight House vanished. A few seconds later, a car turned the corner and passed them to continue on its way down the street. Jerrica retrieved her earring and returned to the car, hand in hand with her sisters—The Holograms.

Aja turned the keys in the ignition and revved the engine. "Why am I always the driver?"

"Age before beauty, Aja," Kimber said.

Before Aja could retort, Jerrica changed the subject, "Do we have a replacement for Thomas yet? We have an investor's meeting, and I want to be able to report that we're on track for our new album."

"No. But we're still looking," Kimber replied.

"We could always hire Rio," Shana offered.

Aja frowned. "That's not funny, Shana."

"Who's laughing? This is business. We don't have time to bring someone else up to speed."

Kimber cut in, saying, "Rio's not available."

"How do you know?"

"I've already asked him. He's booked with a gig at Stinger's Sound till the end of next month."

"Stinger's Sound?" Raya interjected. "They're our biggest competitor. How can he do that to us?"

Jerrica could see that the discussion was moving in an uncomfortable direction. She decided to end it. "Rio is the most sought after sound engineer in the industry. You can't expect him to keep his schedule clear on our account."

"It's settled then; I'll pull double duty in the sound room," Aja declared.

Kimber grinned. "Good. Maybe now you can tweak the recordings to make your part come out in tune for a change."

"Hey, I only play the notes you put on the page, Red."

Kimber pouted as everyone laughed at Aja's rejoinder—everyone except Jerrica. Kimber noticed how she looked longingly out of the passenger window, as if she were miles away. She put a supportive hand on her sister's shoulder and said, "Don't worry Jerrica, we'll get this album out on time and on budget. We've been in worse scrapes."

Aja glared suspiciously at Jerrica through the rear view mirror. "It's not the record. She's thinking about him. You shouldn't've brought up Rio. Now she's gonna be brooding for the rest of the day."

Jerrica met her eyes in the mirror and replied, "Mr. Pachenco and I haven't spoken in over a year. We are ancient history."