I have begun to write every lunch and every recess.

Thirteen:

"I don't even know any Scarletta songs!"

Macy was being disguised by Benjamin, and protesting. Very loudly. Benjamin was multitasking and was also fixing Flinch's harness, with help from Duncan. Matilda stopped relishing in the fact that her best friend was being made girly rather than her for three seconds to give Benjamin a suggestion. Scarletta Scar songs were ridiculously catchy, you only really needed one listen to know all the words, just plug Macy into an IPod and play Rage, the most famous Scarletta Scar album, and Maddness, the second most so. And so they did. Half an hour later, Macy had a high ponytail, a red dress and heels, a red leather jacket, a faint fake scar, and Scarletta Scar's voice down.

"I don't hate the jacket. Everything else is dumb."

The lunch lady stuck his head into the cabin.

"Approaching descent."

"Do I have to skydive in a dress?"

Agent Brand fixed his suit jacket.

"Yes, Megaphone."

Megaphone whined like the real Scarletta.

Then Wheezer pushed her out the door and threw her parachute after.

"WHAT THE HELL!"

"CANNONBALL!"

"I HATE THIS!"

"SUCK IT UP!"

"COULD WE USE THE NEW HIGH-TECH ONE NEXT TIME?"

"BRACEFACE, YOU HAVE MY MISSION PACK!"

The typical sense of the yelling returned some clarity to Megaphone's head, at least in time for her to pull the cord on her parachute, which almost-but-not-quite fit over her jacket. She was, to be honest, more focused on holding down her DAMN SKIRT STAY DOWN YOU STUPID THING. As such, the straps slid neatly if the slippery jacket as the force pulled it upright and Macy Nelson plummeted towards the ground entirely parachute-free. She opened her mouth and yelled extremely loudly, leading her teammates to think they had just broken the sound barrier, and several people on the ground to think something had just exploded. By the time her teammates realised what was happening, Macy was only about thirty seconds from hitting the ground. Her brain was filled with pure panic. She could not remember the lessons on how to fall more slowly. She could only scream, too scared to even cry. Her life did not flash across her eyes, they were squeezed too tightly shut. Then...

WHUMP!

Something had her. What had her? Help! Wait, no. She was no longer falling. Oh. Actually... Yes, Wheezer was taking a photo. This was worse.

Somehow, despite the fact it did not seem within the realms of possibility, Flinch had got to the ground first. He had then caught her. And now Wheezer was taking pictures of him holding her. Were her legs working right? No. What was that from- THE FALL! CLEARLY THE FALL!

"Uh... You can put me down now?"

It was a question, and that worried her. He chuckled nervously, then did so. She fell over.

A few minutes later, the team worked out the problem. It was not the nerves. Megaphone just could not walk in high heels. Pufferfish frowned at nothing.

"What do we do now?"

Macy made a suggestion from the ground.

"I could take the heels off?"

Matilda was grinning deviously.

"No, my dear friend. That would ruin the disguise. Flinch is just going to have to carry you for ten blocks."

After some serious arguing, it was decided that this was the best solution. Megaphone sullenly allowed herself to be picked up, face burning under the dumb makeup. Ten blocks later, face still burning, she found herself outside the enormous building. She was immediately flocked by a crew of burly bodyguards, yelling into their earpieces and trying to pull her away from her friends. She raised both hands and, in a whiny Scarletta voice, launched into the explanation she had spent ten blocks perfecting.

"Hey! Back off! My limo broke down, I got out and started walking because they wanted me to HELP get it going again, then I tripped and sprained my ankle, so a bunch of randoms going to my concert helped, and I said they could come backstage. Okay?"

"Yes, Miss Scar. Immediately. But you must get into costume."

The burliest of the bodyguards plucked her out of Flinch's grasp.

"I will carry you to the dressing rooms. Brutus, get these kids VIP passes and throw them backstage."

Thirty seconds later, Macy was in her (Scarletta's) dressing room, being crammed into an even more ridiculous outfit. The red dress she was now clad in was shorter than the last one and had a flurry of red peacock feathers erupting from behind it. A matching headdress with a hole for the high ponytail clamped onto her skull. The shoes she was now wearing were also red, but thankfully were flats. Scarletta's manager stuck his head around the door.

"You're on in five, kid."

Before she knew it, Macy was on the stage, staring out at the audience, microphone in hand. An announcer said the songs she was going to sing, she just had to sing them. She could do this. She already was.

"OPENING STRONG WITH A PERSONAL FAVOURITE OF MINE, LITTLE MISS MAAAAADDDDDDNNNNNNEEEEEEESSSSSSS!"

Gah! What were the lyrics to this again? Panic flooded her thoughts and she was falling again, tumbling through the sky. Then, WHUMP! She was fine. The first cords were plucked out by the gutarist behind her.

"Little Miss Madness, couldn't be a beauty queen. Pretty enough, but weren't her thoughts obscene! Seeing things no-one else could see, saying

It doesn't worry me. Just crown me,

Little Miss Madness,

Escapist of Reality,

I say normal,

You shout back insanity,

Little Miss Madness,

This is just what I see, I see, I see...

Played her own game, ignored the advice, followed no rules, brought her own dice, refused every option they said she had! Her mother told everyone: WHY, IT'S DRIVING ME MAD!

Little Miss Madness,

Escapist of Reality,

I say normal,

You shout back insanity,

Little Miss Madness,

My brain seems fine to me, to me, to me..."

About a million songs later, Macy took her bow and walked off. Immediately, the bodyguards flicked her again.

"Who are you?"

"Wait, what? I'm Scarletta. Clearly."

One bodyguard cracked his knuckles.

"You don't whine enough to be Scarletta."

Macy dropped the microphone and went into a bracing-for-impact position.

"So we want to ask you..."

If she died before the season finale of her favourite show, she was going to flip.

"Can you permanently replace her?"

"Huh?"

"We hate Scarletta, and honestly don't care where she is now. If she never came back, we would be fine."

The School Bus touched down a short distance away with the bang that meant she needed to get back there.

"I'll work on the issue, but I gotta run right now!"

Macy dashed out the door, feet flying. Sprained ankle, as if. She skidded around screaming fans, losing feathers like she was moulting, and hit the outside of the School Bus because, like an idiot, she had not seen it coming. Inside, she collapsed.

"Please tell me I never have to do that again."

Duncan, video calling one of the scientists on his watch, looked up to answer her.

"Dr McHallister has made an incredibly realistic android and programmed it to act exactly the way the real Scarletta Scar would act."

"Soooo..."

"No."

"In which case I will be putting my normal stuff back on and then brushing my helmet-hair sprayed hair."

Macy left. Then she stuck her head back in the main compartment.

"Nobody light a match."

If you write every lunch and every recess, it will still take eternity to finish a chapter.

~Madei