Starlight is for Always

Chapter 9: "Who is He Kissing?"

Gossip filled the halls of CHAPA concerning the two competing bands, The Rioters and Starlight, who made the Pop Factor contest; the fact that the televised competition featured students from their own performing arts high school became the hot topic among the many internet blogs and message boards. Social media lit up with images, memes, and opinions as Twitter, Snapchat, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook began sharing support for both groups.

Posters surrounded the campus congratulating the two bands as daily announcements were made in support of their peers. Since Pop Factor chose the winner through texting and call-in votes from the viewers, Desiree Raymond did not waste time in promoting her band through flyers and her overwhelming popularity. She was hellbent on ensuring that The Rioters won the competitive reality show.

Standing in the front of the campus with her cronies Pia, Patrick, and Sherry, the quartet handed out flyers to students as they ridiculed their competition the moment they saw Pilar arriving at the front entrance of the school with her bandmates from Starlight. The teen goth wore an all-black dress, signature glasses, and emo make-up minus the nose ring that she normally wore. Pilar decided to try something different.

"Looks like the Halloween witch and her loser musicians have arrived," Desiree snickered. "Here! Catch!" She tossed a crumpled piece of paper at the young girl who picked up the flyer from the ground.

Glancing at the crumpled advertisement, Pilar frowned. "Trying to win votes from our classmates, Desiree? You can't rely on your group's talent to win?"

Desiree clenched her fists. "WE ARE TALENTED, YOU BITCH!" Smirking with an evil grin, she folded her arms. "Where's your lead singer? Don't tell me Pink Hair goes to this school?"

Pilar pushed her glasses back to her face and tried to think up an excuse. "Um...uh...Jax goes to a different school. Her parents enroll her at a private academy..."

"Which one?" Desiree challenged.

Dee interrupted the conversation. The gay teen twisted a black lock of his streaked blond hair. "Lady Magdelena's of the Carmillas up in VanNuys. Her parents are deeply, conservative so she uses a stage name to perform with us."

"You don't say," Desiree curled her lip.

"What are you going to do, Desiree?" Pilar wondered. "Check up on her? Dig up some dirt? You don't even know her real name!"

The spoiled blonde stamped her foot. "Listen, you little vampire! Don't get in my way or I will make your life a living hell! I don't know where you dug up that poor excuse of a singer but I'm going to find out and when I do, you'll be sorry!"

Pilar got up in the young woman's face. "Is that a threat?"

"No! This is a threat!"

With that said, Desiree slapped the gothic teen's hard knocking out her glasses off her face. The frames landed on the ground to which the evil blonde girl crushed it with her foot. Anger bubbled up inside the Pilar, that she clenched her fist and raised it.

Desiree had not been prepared for the impact of a fist making contact to her face, as Pilar knocked the blonde girl out cold as she fell backward against the ground. At this point, all the hell broke loose as both bands went at each other.

Pia shoved Pilar who was met a punch to the face by Cynthia McGee. Pia's brother Patrick slapped the African American teen who got a kick to the groin by Flo Juarez. Sherry jumped in and yanked the Hispanic girl's hair who equally had her red hair pulled out by the roots by Dee as Sam did a Karate Kid whooping crane stance and threatened to kick everyone's asses. Both groups wrestled to the ground as students gathered in a circle around them and chanted.