Starlight is for Always

Chapter 15: "I Can See Me a Star"

The Pacheco Home

Despite the huge cake that her dad bought for her and her friends, Pilar did not feel like celebrating. Starlight had lost the biggest competition of their lives and there was nothing that he or her Aunt Aja and Uncle Craig could do to cheer them up.

Pilar slept on the couch while Dee, Cynthia, Flo and Sam crashed in the nearby guest rooms of Rio's Malibu home.

Still, this did not help the following morning blues. Depressed and angry, she padded into the kitchen to pour herself a cup of coffee and eat a slice of cake.

Scruffy and sympathetic, Rio entered to find his daughter gorging on a slice of dessert.

"Honey, you okay?" He asked her with concern.

Pilar frowned and shook her head. "Not really Daddy. I mean how do you handle missing out on the biggest opportunity of your life. I mean we we're good. Really good. Jax was our best lead singer and everyone played their hearts out."

The businessman embraced his daughter. "I know, honey. Sometimes there are disappointments in life. These are one of those times."

"Rio's right." Aja entered in her pajamas followed by her husband, Craig, in a pair of sweats. They poured themselves a cup of java. "Your uncle and I struggled in the music industry. We know what it's like to face rejection. It's part of being an entertainer."

"Don't worry, kiddo." Craig Phillips reassured her. "Starlight will get another opportunity. You just keep on pounding the pavement."

Looking disheveled, Dee crossed into the kitchen followed by the other band members as Rio offered them some juice and milk and microwave waffles from the freezers. Sadly, none of them were hungry after last night's disappointing loss.

"I can't believe Station 36 got more votes than us!" Dee yawned. "They sucked!"

"It's fixed!" Sam declared. "Someone rigged the votes!"

"That's hard to prove." Rio replied. "Pop Factor has a heavy-duty computer voting system. You need a really good hacker who can infiltrate the program without being caught."

Cynthia turned to Pilar. "Has Jagger called you yet?"

The sixteen-year old sighed. "He left several messages and texts, but I've been ignoring him. I'm not in the mood to talk to him right now considering what happened."

"Well, he's blowing up my phone right now asking about you." Dee said as he sipped his orange juice. "He keeps apologizing."

"Porque?" Flo questioned. "It not his fault that the votes went todo to The Rioters. Todos voted for them so they should be happy. Muy felices!"

Craig stepped in. "If I know my nephew, he's like his mother. He has a kind heart and is concerned about everyone in Starlight. You should call him."

"I will, Uncle Craig." Pilar agreed. "I promise to do so later."

"Speaking of which," said Dee. "I've been checking the message boards online and they too agree the contest was unfair. Starlight should've placed. They keep asking about Jax's whereabouts."

"Where is Jax?" Rio wondered even though he knew the truth. He lifted an eyebrow to his daughter. "Surprisingly, she didn't come with you guys to crash at our house. You would think that she too would be upset."

Pilar's face turned pale. She tried to think up a lie. "Jax is...the thing is...she's..."

She was saved by someone angrily pounding on the front door. When no one answered, the doorbell kept ringing incessantly. Rio went to answer it.