Libby and the Class Election Read Online Free

Scarlet. “You guys might want to think about working on your energy manipulation a bit more,” she said. As a third-year student, she had more practice with it and was much
better than they were.
    “Oh, hey, Scarlet,” Gemma said casually. But Libby could tell that her roommate was a little nervous. Libby couldn’t blame her: Scarlet, with her intense punk-rock look and
matching attitude, was pretty intimidating. She could be standoffish, intense, and mysterious—so much so that Libby had gone out of her way to avoid her in the beginning of the school year.
But then, one day, feeling blue, she had curled up in the Luminous Library to read one of her favorite holo-books from childhood and looked up to discover that both she and Scarlet were deeply
engrossed in
The Starling’s Surprise
. They’d had a good laugh about it, then bonded over the common bout of homesickness that had led to the book selection. (Scarlet had sworn
Libby to secrecy; she had a reputation to uphold!) Libby had realized that when you got to know her, Scarlet could also be kind and fun. But Gemma was not yet convinced. “Whatever you
say,” Gemma had said when Libby tried to explain it to her. “But until she’s kind and nice to
me
, I just won’t believe it.” The rest of the Star Darlings,
especially Leona, Scarlet’s roommate, all seemed to feel the same way.
    “Hey, I thought I’d stop by to see if you wanted to walk to the Celestial Café together,” Scarlet said. She looked around her. “I forgot how nice your room
is,” she said, nodding. “It kind of reminds me of a beautiful sunset.” Gemma smiled despite herself. Libby looked at the room as if through Scarlet’s eyes. The girl was
right. The lighting—soft pink on Libby’s side and cheerful orange on Gemma’s—combined in the middle of the room to create a rosy glow that was warm and cozy. The two girls
definitely had different tastes, but their furnishings fit together nicely. Libby was a bit neater, her bed always made and her belongings stowed away. Gemma had a lot of stuff for her many
interests—musical instruments, holo-books on almost every subject you could think of, stuffed animals, crafting supplies, flora she had collected on nature hikes, a variety of sporting
equipment—and it was all crammed onto her floor-to-ceiling shelves.
    The other Star Darlings’ rooms were not quite so harmonious. Sage and Cassie, also first-year students, had a room that was a study in complete opposites—one side austere and the
other quite cluttered. The room that second-years Piper and Vega shared was neat as a pin, in soothing shades of blue and green, but the similarity ended there. Piper’s side was soft and
dreamy, with soothing curved surfaces, lots of pillows, and stacks of dream journals, while Vega’s felt angular, clean, and precise. Clover and Astra’s room was a jarring combination of
sporty and sleek. And over in the Big Dipper Dorm, Tessa and Adora’s jumbled room reflected their dueling interests in science experiments and cooking. You never wanted to pick up a glass
that wasn’t handed specifically to you: it could be a tasty smoothie, but there was an equal chance that it could be a putrid-tasting potion nobody in her right mind would want to ingest.
    And then there were Scarlet and Leona. Their room was as discordant as their relationship. Leona was as bright, flashy, and in your face as her side of the room, with its warm golden glow, stage
for impromptu shows, and desk shaped like a vanity surrounded by bright lightbulbs. Scarlet’s space was designed so she could skateboard down its walls. It was certainly an interesting room.
But Libby didn’t feel truly comfortable there. Too much tension between the two roommates, maybe.
    “Hey!” said Scarlet, spotting the bouquet. “You got those flowers, too! And so did Tessa and Adora, down the hall from me. They must be from Lady Stella, don’t you
think?” She took a deep sniff.