Chapter 1

Jerrica was staring blankly out at the pouring rain through one of the massive windows at Starlight Music when someone knocked on her office door. It was a gentle tap in reality, but the sound was deafening to her ears in the eerily silent office. With a start she turned and called, "Come in."

The door opened and her boyfriend Rio walked into the dimly-lit room, the worried expression on his face intensifying as he came closer. "I got your message," he said softly, reaching out for her. "I hurried to get here as fast as I could."

"Oh, Rio!" Jerrica sighed, letting his arms fold around her. She laid her head to rest on his shoulder, tears burning in her eyes. "How could this have happened?"

Rio rubbed her back gently to soothe her. "It's just one of those things," he said quietly. "It's raining so hard, and... bad things happen, even to good people."

"I know," Jerrica said, her voice trembling. "But why did it have to happen to Tom? Why?" She wrapped her arms around Rio's neck, burying her face against his collar as she let the tears flow, as heavily as the rain outside.

The funeral was a quiet affair. Jerrica, Rio, the Holograms, and many people from Starlight Music Company attended, along with Tom Merrit's family. Despite the crowd, the cemetery was hushed except for the priest, who finally fell silent himself as Starlight Music's former creative director's coffin was lowered into the ground.

Lightning flashed in the sky, followed by the boom of distant thunder. Jerrica shivered and pressed closer to Rio as it began to rain. He quickly wrapped his arm around her to draw her closer, and knew she must be thinking of her father's funeral; it had been raining that day, too.

"Jerrica? Jerrica, everyone's leaving," Kimber said softly, touching her sister's arm. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yes," Jerrica whispered. But she was rooted to the spot, staring at the gaping hole where Tom Merrit's body had been laid to rest, until Rio had to gently lead her away.

As the three of them met up with Aja, Raya and Shana back at Rio's van, Jerrica couldn't help but think how dreadful Kimber looked in black; it just really wasn't her color. Jerrica had only seen her sister wear it twice, both times at funerals.

She began to sob.

Aja sat on the cushion of the large bay window, staring out at the endless torrent of rain. "Jerrica's taking this really hard, isn't she?" she said sadly to no one in particular. Back at the Starlight Mansion, she and the other Holograms were gathered in the living room. Jerrica had gone up to her room the day of the funeral and hadn't come downstairs since.

"You can say that again," Shana sighed, softly strumming a melancholy song with her guitar.

"Well, we've known him since we were kids. Dad knew he had talent and hired him on the spot, and they worked closely together at Starlight Music for many years. Jerrica's a littler older than I am, so she remembers him better the way he was back then." She smiled a little. "I think she had a crush on him when we were kids."

"Speaking of kids, it's such a shame his little boy will grow up without knowing him," Raya added, lowering her head. "I don't know what I would do without my papa."

"It's hard," Kimber agreed, sniffling a little.

"What is?" Jem's voice asked from the doorway. The Holograms turned to look at the singer with surprise.

"Are you feeling better, Jerrica?" Raya asked cautiously.

"Jerrica is taking the day off," Jem corrected. "But we have work to do."

"What?" Shana cried.

"You're not serious!" Aja gasped.

"Starlight Music can't shut down because it's lost one man," Jem said quietly. "We have to get a new creative director, and fast. Have you forgotten our new video is due this week?"

"No..." Kimber answered slowly. "But are you really up to it?"

"We have a deadline, and with Anthony in London with the Fifth Avenue Boys, we don't have a choice in the matter." Jem shrugged, sighing. "I don't like it, and it won't be easy, but it has to be done."

The others nodded sadly.

"So... I'll call Rio and tell him to meet us at Starlight Music, okay?"

It took a few calls, but at last the word had been sent out that Jem and the Holograms needed a new creative director ASAP. The group, along with Rio and a few board members, interviewed director after prospective director in the conference room at Starlight Music, but none had managed to interest anyone with their mundane ideas. Countless hours later, Raya was asleep in her seat and the other Holograms weren't looking very impressed, either. Most of the board members had asked for breaks and hadn't returned; only one man was left, and he was yawning.

"This guy's a dinosaur," the boardman groaned under his breath.

Rio, who was sitting next to him, chuckled softly. "His slides are giving me a headache."

"They're giving me indigestion."

This time Rio laughed a little more heartily.

"It's nice to know the two of you are having a good time," Aja growled from across the table. The two men looked at each other and suddenly they could hardly contain their laughter.

Jem looked over at Rio sharply, then got out of her seat to turn on the lights with a flick of her finger. "I don't mean to interrupt, Mr. Turner, but your time's up. We'll give you a call when we reach our decision," she said quickly, hurrying the old man--and his slides--out of the conference room.

Raya stretched as the door closed, squinting her eyes in the sudden bright light. "Morning already?"

"I didn't know you snored, Raya," Kimber giggled. Raya stuck out her tongue playfully.

"That man was old enough to be my great-grandfather," Aja said with disappointment.

Jem flopped down in her swivel chair, rubbing her temples with an agitated expression. "This is the hardest thing I've ever done--for more reasons than one."

"You're right," Shana agreed. "They're all terrible."

"No one could ever be as good as Tom," Raya said. The room fell silent.

After a moment, the last remaining member of the board spoke up. "What you need is someone fresh, someone with an idea of what young people listen to these days. Someone who has a sense of style and knows how to excite people."

Kimber nodded vigorously. "That's exactly what I've been thinking!"

"Today we didn't see a single director under forty," Aja sighed, resting her chin on her hand.

Jem bit her bottom lip thoughtfully. "Maybe we could be a little more strict with the application requirements. We can begin a fresh search tomorrow."

"Maybe we don't have to," Rio grinned, turning to the young man next to him. "You seem to have some ideas; why don't you direct the Holograms' new video?"

Jem stiffened. "Rio, I don't think--"

"Why not?" Rio demanded a little hotly. "Everything's always your way. Why not listen to what someone else has to say for once?"

Everyone was uncomfortably quiet.

"Rio," Jem said gently, "I wasn't trying to put down your suggestion. It's just that Reggie is a member of the decision-making team around here. He doesn't have any experience with directing music videos."

"I wasn't trying to imply that I'm the man for the job," the man said a little defensively, "but I'll bet you anything I could do a better job at it than these old geezers."

"He has a point," Aja said, shrugging and leaning back in her seat.

"I guess so," Shana agreed.

Rio held his head a little higher. "I don't see why we can't give him a chance. You said it yourself, Jem: we've got a schedule to keep."

Kimber looked at Jem, her eyes pleading. "Can't we give him a try, Jem? If things don't work out, we can try and get somebody else."

Reggie laughed. "Why thank you, sweetheart, for your vote of confidence."

Jem frowned. "I feel like such a stick in the mud." She sighed with resignation. "Okay, Reggie, you're hired for the job. But if this doesn't turn out well, we'll get someone else next time."

The young man winked at her. "I promise you won't get bored with me all that quickly."