“What happened to the people who used to live here?” Shanti asked.
“Relocated.”
“Where?”
“To places where relocated people go. Trust me, they’re better off,” Ms. Smith said crisply. She opened the door to a gleaming gym and led them to a large, clean bathroom with individual shower stalls. “Enjoy your showers.”
Smiling, Sosie tugged on Jennifer’s shirt. “Cool, huh? This looks like something that could be in the Flint Avenger and Sosie, right?”
“It’s just the Flint Avenger now,” Jennifer said, and pushed ahead.
After they’d showered and shaved, moisturized and conditioned, Agent Jones appeared. “Got a surprise for you girls. Come with me.”
Outside the volcano, he lifted the panel in the rock, punching in the code that opened the secret door.
“Whoa. Holy Loch Lomond movie,” Jennifer said in awe.
“This is our headquarters,” the agent said. The girls entered a gleaming, stainless steel elevator. A pleasant, British woman’s voice asked for the floor.
“Four,” the agent said, and they rocketed down.
“How many floors are there?”
“Five.” He ticked them off on his fingers. “Product development. Marketing. Packaging. Corporate.”
“You said five. That’s only four.”
Agent Jones held up one finger — “Product” — then another — “Development. We’re here.”
The doors opened into an open room divided by half-wall cubicles and desks. The employees clapped and cheered as the girls came through, and it was almost like walking up the aisles of the hotel ballrooms where most of the girls had performed in various pageants.
“Thanks,” Nicole said. She smiled and waved, but it felt odd, like laughing at a joke you no longer found all that funny.
They entered a conference room where Harris sat at a computer. On the wall above his head was a flat-screen TV. A table and chairs dominated the center of the room.
“Hey! You girls smell a lot better — no offense. Have a seat.”
The girls settled into the big black chairs.
“Those babies cost five thousand dollars a pop,” Harris said. “Ergonomically correct.”
“Oh,” Tiara said, sitting uncertainly. “Springy.”
“Somebody special wants to talk to you,” Agent Jones said. “Harris?”
Harris clicked on the screen and Ladybird Hope appeared, wearing a red suit with a flag pin on the lapel. Her hair had been styled into a poufy twist. She waved and her charm bracelet rattled.
“Hello, Miss Teen Dreamers! I cannot tell you how happy I personally am to see you. I told the world, I said, ‘Don’t you count my girls out. A Miss Teen Dream never gives up. She’s a bright light in the world!’”
The girls were overcome. Ladybird Hope!
“What do you think of my new suit?” Ladybird asked.
The girls agreed that it was very nice. They were still dazed from the rescue and all that had come after. They talked excitedly, telling Ladybird everything that had happened to them since the crash, about how they, Miss Teen Dreams, had risen above and survived. No. More than survived. Thrived.
Tiara beamed with pride. “Like for our huts, we used engineering and physics. And interior decorating.”
“Well, isn’t that a kick in the head? That’s pretty darn cute.”
Tiara felt like she wanted to say something to Ladybird. She wanted to tell her that it wasn’t cute. It was awesome. And smart. And really cool that they’d managed to do it all together, without any help from anybody. But these people were here to rescue her, and she didn’t want to make waves. So she said, “I put flowers in mine.”
Ladybird gave her two thumbs up and smiled. “Fan-tas-tic!”
Tiara knew she should feel good that she made everyone smile like when she was little and did her sparkle hips and blew kisses. But she didn’t. She felt like a sellout.
“The good folks at The Corporation there are gonna give y’all a little tour and let you test our new beauty products, and then I have a super surprise for all my Teen Dreamers.” Ladybird Hope paused for dramatic effect. “We would like for you to stage the pageant right there on the island. Isn’t that something?”
The girls exchanged puzzled looks.
“It’ll be a real tribute to what you girls have been through, to let the world see how you triumphed. We think the folks back home would love it. It might be the highest-rated show ever. You girls will be famous!”