"And this is your room."
Rio Pacheco assisted his daughter with her bags as he directed her toward a simple bedroom that included a private bathroom. Even at forty five years old, the former Holograms road manager now turned computer entrepreneur still look dashing for his age. Latin tanned skin complimented his structured Mexican features as a small glint of gray streaks added extra character to his dark hair and beard. Sixteen years of maturation had not changed the intelligent Mexican American man in the slightest.
"I know, Pilar, that it's pretty plain but you can decorate it any way you please," explained her father.
Analyzing his little girl's appearance, Rio attempted to be supported of his daughter's experimentation in style and clothing. Wearing a torn Misfits t-shirt with black shorts, fishnet stockings, and combat boots, Pilar's father turned away when she exhibited the dark eye make-up and nose ring on her face. In addition, her dark hair had been curled in greasy gelled tendrils which hid her thick, black glasses that she needed to see with. In short, the sixteen year old was a complete fright.
"Daddy, why did you choose to live in a simple beach house instead of a huge mansion like the one Auntie Asa and Uncle Craig live in?" Pilar wondered. She was right. Her father's tiny beach home paled in comparison to sprawling the estate of his business partners in Bel-Air.
"I was never in big homes," said Rio. "I prefer a house that I can clean all by myself. Plus, this house is perfect. It has a nice view of the ocean. It's near the beach. More importantly, it's quiet."
Pilar could not argue with that. The prime Malibu location of her father's home was in a nice gated neighborhood and included a private beach for its residents. She intended on taking every advantage of going to the beach. Helping her father with the rest of her bags, she followed him downstairs to the kitchen to grab something to eat.
"I'm not much of cook," Rio remarked. He opened the fridge to reveal his stack of frozen dinners. "Pick one. Frozen Salisbury steak or pasta?"
"How about we order a pizza?" Pilar suggested.
"Good thinking," he replied. I know a great pizza place down the street that delivers." He grabbed the cordless phone and dialed his order.
"So anything new you want to share, Daddy?" His daughter asked after he finished placing his order.
"Not much," the Mexican American entrepreneur admitted. "Mostly work. Here I want to show you something." Gesturing to his offspring, he led her down to the basement area of the house that served as his office. However, Rio had an interior designer remake the dank bottom level of the home to something nice and trendy.
Pilar followed her father toward the center of his office where a microscope and small glass slide had been placed on the counter. Beckoning the young teen forward, Rio held up the glass slide for her to see.
She raised her eyebrows confused. "You're showing me small piece of glass because…?"
"It's not the glass slide," Rio informed her. "It's what contained inside."
The teen looked closer. "I don't see anything."
"Of course, you can't," Rio agreed. "It's too little to be seen by the naked eye. However if we put the slide under a high density microscope…" He slid the glass slide into the device. Then he had Pilar watch through the peephole.
"Oh I see it!" Pilar exclaimed. Through her blue eyes, she saw a tiny square shaped chip placed at the center of the slide.
"That little chip contains close to 10,000 kilobytes of memory," her father explained. "Imagine if we get just few of those inside a compact computer, we can have faster connections, incredible software applications, and create holographic images to help people."
"What do you mean help people?" The teen asked. "What's a hologram going to do?"
"Holograms can do a lot of good in the world," Rio remarked. "They can create simulations for medical procedures, protect the military during strategic warfare on the battle field, and make impossible things become a reality. Our company MicroApple is bringing this new technology into the future and it's a project we're very excited about."
Pilar knew her father well enough to know that when he had a plan in his head it always was successful. Even with a multi-billion dollar company like MicroApple that was started up from the most basic computer concept by him, her aunt Aja and her husband Craig Phillips, it grew into this huge empire developing new technology like the internet, I-phones, and software. The dark haired teen could not be any more proud of her father than she was now.
"So when is this holographic microchip going on the market?" She asked him.
"Probably not for a few more years," Rio informed her. "We're still working on the prototype. But enough about my work. Tell me about your feelings about attending CHAPA!"
CHAPA was an acronym for California's Hollywood Arts and Performance Academy. Built twenty years ago as a high school dedicated to the arts, it became a well-respected magnet school in the same league as Hadleigh and LaGuardia in New York. For Pilar Jacqui Benton-Pacheco, it seemed to be her new prison.
"It's not like I had a choice," she snorted. "Especially since Mom decided to throw me out here!"
Rio sat her down. "Your Mom made the right decision in sending you here. Look I know you're angry at her but you were screwing up big time in New York. I mean look at you. The clothes you're wearing, the nose ring, and the attitude? This is not the little girl I know. You have so much talent and potential that you can't even begin to understand and you're wasting it by getting into trouble."
Casting her eyes down, the brown haired girl hated to admit that her father was right. Rio Pacheco always had a way of setting his little girl straight. "Daddy? If Jem wasn't in the picture, would you and Mom still be together?"
The Mexican American man's eyes widened. "Why would say that honey?"
"I found the love letters you wrote to Jem in mom's things," Pilar admitted. "You loved her, didn't you?"
Rio inhaled a breath. "I'll admit I had feelings for her but looking back it was just a passing infatuation. I mean who wouldn't fall for a seductive rock singer who was famous, beautiful, and wielded a certain power around herself? In the end, it was simply an illusion. An image. A fantasy. Jem was not a real person. Your mother was. Jerrica was everything that Jem wasn't. Strong, intelligent, and selfless. She sacrificed a lot and that is why I fell in love with her."
"But you still broke up?" Pilar pointed out. "I mean if Jem didn't interfere in your relationship you both would still be together?"
"There were other issues in our relationship that prevented us from making it work," he admitted. "It stemmed much deeper than my unfaithfulness to your mother. The one thing that we both agreed upon was that we shared the most perfect gift. You. For that, I will always love your mother."
Folding her hands, she posed one more question. "Is there a chance you two would ever get back together?"
Suddenly the doorbell rang, Rio said nothing as he sprinted up the stairs.
"Pizza's here!"
He never did answer her question.
The next few days, Pilar settled into her new home. Painting her room a mixture of black, red, gray, and white, she hung up posters in her room of The Misfits and The Stingers as her father helped hook up both her computer internet service and Wi-Fi on her laptop. The bedroom makeover helped strengthen her bond with her father as they reconnected for common topics such as music, clothes, and yes, even boys. Pilar found adjust to living in Los Angeles was starting to grow on her and began mentally preparing herself to attend CHAPA.
Selecting a ratty Stinger's t-shirt, plaid British skirt, black leggings and army boots, she greased and spiked her hair as he straightened her glasses and headed inside the school. Rio dropped her off but not before giving her peck on the cheek for good luck. Slinging her backpack over shoulder, she picked up her guitar case and headed inside the front entrance.
Students stared at the bizarre looking student with a nose ring as Pilar grabbed her class schedule from the office and made her way to the locker. Leaning her guitar case against the metal, she fumbled with the combination and could not get it open.
"Here let me," said a sixteen year old, blue eyed, blond boy with black highlights. Pilar noticed his baby blue slacks, rainbow pride V-neck tee, and pink scarf and immediately could tell the boy was part of the GLBT community. He opened it with ease. "Sometimes you got to jiggle the combo. These lockers are so old that they need to be upgraded."
"Thanks," she smiled. The teen girl extended her hand. "Pilar Benton-Pacheco. I'm new."
"Destiny Vishu Ashe!" The blond lad shook her hand. "Call me Dee. Everyone does."
"Your name is Destiny Vishnu?" Pilar giggled.
"It's my mother's fault," clucked Dee. "She claims to be psychic and is into metaphysical science and some New Age crap. She named me after a Hindu god and Destiny came from a vision she claimed she had of me. I was destined for greatness, apparently!" He rolled his eyes.
"Don't feel bad," Pilar replied. "My parents named me after my paternal grandmother in Mexico and my middle name Jacqui was from my maternal grandmother who was a singer in the 70's."
"Wait!" Dee's mouth dropped. "You're talking about Jacqui Benton? You're her granddaughter? I love that song Starlight! She is on my I-Tunes list of female artists next to Liza, Judy, Bette Midler, and Streisand!"
"Yeah but my mother doesn't talk about her much," Pilar remarked. "I did get a chance to listen to some of her old songs but it's not my cup of tea. I prefer more no nonsense bands like The Misfits and The Stingers."
"Ooooh The Stingers! I'm sure Dee you know all about that!"
Pilar and Dee shifted their heads to see a trio of students standing behind them. The three appeared to be the same age as Dee and exhibited friendly smiles. One was a pretty African American girl with braids while standing next to her was a Hispanic brown haired girl wearing a simple church dress and gold cross around her neck. Finally, an Asian American kid rounded out the trio wearing a comic book t-shirt and anime beanie on his head.
"Shut it Sam!" Dee stuck out his tongue at the Asian teen. "Pilar, these are my friends Cynthia McGee and Flo Juarez. The dorky computer nerd there is Sam Newark! Guys, this is Pilar!"
"Please to meet you!" Pilar shook their hands.
"So Pilar, you're the new kid," commented Cynthia. "Where you from?"
"New York City," the teen replied.
"Ooooh! New York!" Sam exclaimed. "You came here from there? That's like going backwards."
Pilar sighed. "It's not like I had a choice. I had a falling out with my mom and she sent me here to live with my dad in Los Angeles."
"Bienvenido!" Flo greeted. "Claro que, tu eres con amigos!"
Pilar curled her lip in embarrassment. "I'm sorry, Flo, but I don't speak Spanish."
"Los cientos. I'm sorry," Flo blushed. "I thought by your name that you might be Mexican."
"Well I am," said the dark haired teen. "At least half. My Dad's Mexican American and my mom's white. They have joint custody of me but my father never fully taught me Spanish."
"It doesn't matter," Dee announced. "I think you are faaaabulous!" He ran over and hugged her close.
Pilar laughed. "So are all you in the sophomore music program?"
"Yeah," replied Cynthia. "We're all in the same classes. You probably be in some of ours. I play bass guitar. Dee plays lead guitar. Flo does keyboards. And Sam, drums. I see from your guitar case that you play the guitar too."
"That and a little bit of everything," answered the teen. "I'm one of those musical prodigy freaks that can play almost every instrument."
"You're not the only freak!" Dee laughed. "We're all freaks together!"
A tense atmosphere suddenly changed the hallway. Students began to divide into both sides of the corridor as a group of older teens made their way toward the group. Something in the way they walked commanded a certain kind presence. Pilar could feel it as they headed in their direction.
On left side of the group, she saw a pair of attractive brown haired teenagers, a female and male, wearing matching trendy clothes as they looked at their classmates with disdain. To the left the side, a pretty red headed girl in expensive name brand clothes sucked on her lollipop as she snubbed her nose toward everyone watching her. However, it was the duo at the center of the group that caught the most attention.
The first was a female with blonde hair impeccably dressed in a designer top and tight jeans and she wore a zebra print scarf around her neck. Wrapping her arm around her male companion, Pilar became fascinated by the muscular gentleman with dark blond hair and blue eyes that seemed to make all the females in the room swoon in his presence. He slowly stopped in front of her locker.
"Oh look! It's gay boy and his beards!" The brown haired teen from the group taunted Dee. Laughter erupted from his friends except for the main dark blond las who grabbed his friend by the shirt.
"Lay off my little brother, Patrick!" Their leader hissed. He released the teen who cowered back to his matching female counterpart. The blond teen then turned to Dee and smiled. "Sorry about that, Dee."
"No offense taken, Jag," Dee nodded. He turned to Pilar. "Oh Pilar, this is my older brother Jagger. Jagger, this is Pilar. She just moved here from New York!"
"New York?" Jagger's blue eyes lit up. "That's my dream to one day go there!" His face then noticed The Stingers t-shirt she had been wearing. "Nice shirt. My dad would be proud."
"So would my mom?" Dee jumped in.
Jagger nodded in agreement correcting his mistake. "Of course, your mom too."
"Jag! Why are we wasting our time with these sophomores?" His female companion whined. "We should be rehearsing for Pop Factor!"
"Pop Factor?" Cynthia asked. "That's the hottest competition show in town? You guys are auditioning?"
"We're more than auditioning," teased Jagger's blonde companion. "We're going to win it! No one has stands a chance against The Rioters!" She laughed. Turning a nose up at Pilar's new friends, she smirked. "Oh, you weren't thinking of auditioning were you? I hate to see you guys embarrass yourselves."
Jagger shot any angry look in reference to his girlfriend's snide remark by changing the subject. "My mom wants your mom to know that she is hosting dinner party next weekend and wants her to come."
"I'll give her the message," mentioned Dee.
The popular group left leaving Pilar curious about what just happened. She turned to Dee.
"Who was that?" She inquired.
"That, Pilar, are The Rioters," sighed Dee. "They are most popular juniors at this school and have who've won several high profile local band competitions in the area. The brown haired fraternal twins are Pia and Patrick Cross who play drums and guitar. The red head is Sherry Bomb, the biggest ho in school. And of course, you met my brother's girlfriend Desiree or Desire as she likes to call herself. She thinks she's hot stuff because her mom was Pizazz of The Misfits."
Pilar's mouth dropped. "That was Pizazz's daughter? I'm a fan of The Misfits!"
"Yeah but she also inherited her mother's bitchiness," clucked Cynthia. "That girl is pure evil so it'd be best if you don't get on her bad side."
"Pizazz's daughter!" Dee twisted his lip. "Big whoop! Jagger's and my dad was Riot of The Stingers! Take that as a name drop!"
Pilar gasped again. "You're Riot's son? You and Jagger are related? No way!"
"Same father. Different mothers." Dee explained. "My mom was his band mate Rapture who went back to changing her name to Phoebe Ashe. Jag's mother was Stormer of the Misfits who also went back to her name Mary Phillips. Both my mom and Mary became best friends after our dad died from a drug overdose. Jag and I are about a year apart."
"Mary Phillips!" The teen girl exclaimed. "My Aunt Kimber is songwriting partners with her! This is a weird coincidence! The Stingers! The Misfits! The Holograms! It's like we're all related!"
"Well sis," teased Dee. "Why don't this brother of yours show you to your first class?"
As soon as he said that, the first bell rang.