CHAPTER 7: A WHALE OF A WHALE
As soon as the sun rose, Oingo Boingo's "Just Another Day" blared next to Jill through her phone alarm. The goth turned off the alarm and yawned, stumbling to her closet and taking out her Starsending Robes.
"I'm gettin' sick of that song," Grim complained. "Why that one for our alarm?"
"First, because Oingo Boingo is tragically underappreciated," Jill replied. "And second, because it's the perfect morning alarm. Every day is just another day."
"Well yeah, I know every day is different. I don't need no alarm to tell me that!" Grim said.
"Tell you what, Grim. As soon as you find a better song, let me know," Jill said, knowing full-well that Grim knew next to nothing about music.
Jill put on her Starsending Robes, had a quick breakfast and makeover, and then went to school with her friends as always. The ceremony song, "When You Wish Upon a Star", was playing in her head the whole time. She had once heard that if she envisioned success enough, she would perform better. Jill would have to make sure her pitch and tempo were perfect for the next rehearsal.
The classes passed by in what seemed like minutes. Between classes, Deuce, Trey, and Jill split up to get the remaining Wishing Stars. Grim once again wanted to accompany Jill, and Ace seconded that opinion, thoroughly sick of being a beast-sitter. Jill agreed on one condition—that she handled confrontations on her own. She needed to prove that she could stand on her own two feet. Most of the students she talked to were worn down by now, but some were still stubborn.
Like Bryan Fenn. He was a Diasomnia sophomore than was about as friendly as a wall of thorns. Last time Jill tried to get him to make a wish, he literally shoved her aside, with just a bruise to show for her effort. As soon as Jill saw him again, she paused. "…I gotta do this."
"Right. You got this, minion!" Grim said. "As your boss, I order ya to get this guy's Wishin' Star!"
"…Sure," Jill affirmed, and she moved to cut off Bryan before he could pass her.
"Ugh! For the last time, I don't want to make a stupid wish! Just leave me alone before I smack you into tomorrow… again!" Bryan threatened.
Jill refused to freeze. She remembered everything that Deuce taught her—use whatever strength she had against the enemy. Sizing the two up, this guy was a head higher than Jill, and his arms had a lot more muscle. Whether it was a physical brawl or a magical duel, a fight with Bryan wouldn't end well. But either way, Jill would throw everything at him, no matter how little she had!
She stepped up, glaring up at him. "No! You will make a wish! It's mandatory!" she demanded.
"Out of my way!" He tried to throw her aside, but she grabbed his arm and caught him like they were in a do-si-do. When he shook his arm, attempting to force Jill off, she knew that she'd lose her hold soon. She had to do something!
So she bit Bryan's arm. Hard.
"Myahahaha! Atta girl!" Grim cheered.
"OW! Geez! What the heck is wrong with you?!" Bryan cried. "Okay, okay, FINE! I wish that you would leave me alone!"
His Wishing Star sparkled, and Jill stepped back and threw the Star into her bag. "Thank you!" she said happily.
"Sheesh, girls… so freakin' weird…" The Diasomnian went off, massaging his arm. It seemed more like an annoyance than any real injury. It wasn't the most ladylike way to settle a dispute… but Jill was not among gentlemen.
"Huh, so that's what gathering wishes looks like." Ace said from behind. "And here I thought Deuce's fights got crazy."
"Ace!" Jill blushed. "You watched that?"
"Why not?" Ace asked breezily. "It's in a public hall. Lots of guys watch scuffles." He smirked and waved as he walked away. "Well, keep collecting wishes. Hope you don't have to bite anyone else!"
Jill frowned as she heard him chuckle. "Ace is so aloof," she said. "Does he think this is all fun and games?"
"Of course not," Grim said. "Back when he was with me, he actually watched you get a few Wishin' Stars. Even tried to step in a couple of times. He felt bad when you got hurt while he wasn't there." He smirked like the Cheshire Cat. "Oh, and Ace also had his pen out," he noted. "Hid it right after you won your fight."
"Aw, was Ace trying to help me?" Jill cooed playfully. "He must've been so worried."
"Yeah, but don't tell Ace I told ya that!"
"Of course not, Grim. My lips are sealed~"
After classes were done for the day, Grim went back to Hallowgrim on his own, making a 'pinkie swear' not to eat all the food within his reach this time. Jill wanted to point out that Grim had no pinkies, but it didn't matter. She needed all her concentration.
Ortho once again assisted the Stargazers by hanging the Wishing Stars on the tree. There were still some spots left to fill, but every bit helped. Jill wished that Idia was as helpful as his brother.
When rehearsal began, Deuce was having an easier time of the dance. According to him, Trey helped him go through the dance last night when Deuce returned to Heartslabyul. The song was easier, mainly because Jill already knew the lyrics by heart. But when the group ran through the song and dance a couple of times, Deuce was still unsatisfied.
"…I think Jill is right," he announced. "I think having someone actually play the drums would be better."
"Sheesh, be glad I'm here!" Idia's voice said from the tablet. "I could've been playing my favorite MMO instead of playing this music!"
"I've compared videos of live performances versus videos of recorded performances," Ortho said. "It seems as if the live performances are more successful."
"It shows that you care enough to make the performance a success," Trey added.
"N-O, that spells NO," Idia declared. "I'm not going offline, and that's final!"
"But didn't you say that you might consider it if we were better performers?" Jill asked. "We've been doing better than last time."
"I told you, I only said that for the lulz!" Idia said. "Besides, you're still newbs!"
"Seems like you're going back on what you said," Deuce told him. "How's this? If we make our performance perfect before the ceremony, then you'll come and drum for us?"
"That…" Idia hesitated. "You'll have to scale the difficulty on that one!"
"Well then… let's up the ante," Deuce said. "Ortho, you've been taking care of Idia's percentage of the Wishing Stars, right?"
"Correct. Why do you ask?" Ortho wondered.
"You don't have to do that anymore," Deuce announced. "Because if I collect all of my and Idia's Stars in time, and I perfect the dance, then Idia will have to come!"
"What?!" Jill looked between Deuce and Idia. "Deuce, that's a lot for one person! You'll bite off more than you can chew!"
"Yeah! That's so…!" Idia paused. "You know what? Doing all that is impossible. Fine!" He chuckled. "Good luck, Deuce. Don't feel too bad when you can't do it."
"He will do it!" Ortho said. "Maybe he'll be collecting Wishes for me, but I'll still help him find whoever hasn't made a wish yet!"
"That… Ortho, c'mon…" Idia muttered. "…K, you can do what you want. See you tomorrow." And he logged off, leaving the tablet blank.
"I can't believe you haggled Idia Shroud, of all things. Even the headmage can't make him budge," Trey said. "Deuce, are you really sure you can do all this?"
"It won't be easy, but I'll do all that I can!" Deuce said. "A wish won't come true unless you work at it, right?"
"…Right," Jill agreed quietly. "We still have the hang of the song and dance, and we got a lot of Stars. Things should be okay…"
"Bad news, students."
Crowley was suddenly behind the group, his features definitely worried behind the mask. "We may need a Plan B," he announced.
"Plan B?" Trey asked worriedly. "What's wrong, Headmage?"
"I've been keeping track of the weather reports, and there's talk of an enormous whale-shaped cloud heading to Sage's Island," Crowley said. His voice was quiet for a change. "It's also bringing a nasty thunderstorm along with it, and it's moving along the ocean right now."
"And you're worried it will disrupt the ceremony?" Ortho asked.
"There's only a chance it will come this way… it may not," Crowley said. "But just in case it does, we'll have no choice but to cancel the ceremony altogether."
"Cancel?!" Deuce and Jill cried together.
"But what will happen to the Wishing Stars?" Jill asked, looking up at the glowing tree. "Didn't you say they would float on that certain night?"
"If the whale-shaped storm came and the Wishing Stars floated into the air… I'm afraid the storm would destroy the Stars," Crowley replied. "That would be a very disheartening thing to see. I'd much rather cancel the event than see that happen."
"I assume in this case, we'd have to move the Wishing Stars inside to preserve them," Trey said thoughtfully. "But then they can't disintegrate into the cosmos."
"All those wishes…" Deuce echoed sadly.
"Can't you cancel the storm with magic?" Jill asked the headmage.
"I've already informed you that magic cannot simply solve all your problems," Crowley said. "Believe me, if such a solution were possible, I would've done so!"
"I… have also seen the reports in my daily feed," Ortho spoke up. "But at this stage, it's hard to predict which direction the storm will move in…" He picked up the tablet and put it in his holster. "Please excuse me, everyone. I need to speak with my brother about this." He bowed his head and left.
"You said it was just a chance," Deuce said. "If we cancel too soon and the storm doesn't show up, that would be worse, right? We have to try!"
"Right, it would be a shame to let our work so far go to waste," Trey agreed.
"Especially since we might see Idia drum in-person!" Jill said. "I can't wait to see it!"
"My, look at your moxie! You make this school proud already!" Crowley said. "I'll keep you updated on the situation. Of course, I don't want to cancel the ceremony either. It would mean wasted money and time, not to mention hurting one of our events with the public… ah, but don't worry, your safety is the most important thing here!"
"Of course," Jill assured him. She was already nervous about this ceremony thing. Getting into fights with classmates, collecting Stars from every student in the school, going through these rehearsals… it was all exhausting work.
But if this whale-like storm was anything like Monstro, then everything would be all for nothing.
