Authors: Tyra Banks
Bloodcurdling seconds passed. Tookie spotted a deep gash on the Guru’s right cheek, directly under the eye. Tookie held her breath, expecting something awful to happen. But then, abruptly, the strange figure continued toward the base of the waterfall, disappearing from view.
“What was that?” Dylan murmured.
The music shifted again, this time to an enchanting classical melody. The deep timpani rolled. The music shifted, and on cue, each of the uniformed color-coded groups started dancing wildly. One group of Bellas did an intricate Viennese waltz; another belly danced and shimmied wildly; another trance-danced like they were at a pulsing rave; and another responded with acrobatics. They all seemed to be trying to outdance one another.
Shiraz grabbed Dylan’s hands. “Come on! Is fun!”
Dylan gave in and swung her long ponytails round and round. Even Piper did a unique robotlike bop, every movement precise.
Suddenly, Tookie got a twinge of sadness that Myrracle hadn’t been chosen. Her sister would love this.
Suddenly, the waterfall vanished, revealing an enormous statue standing directly in front of all the girls. The statue was as tall as a ten-story building and made of what appeared to be
shimmering, flawless diamond. Atop its dazzling head sat a broad-brimmed headdress. Its chin tilted to the right, its hands froze artfully around its cheekbones, and its eyes remained half closed.
“It’s—” Piper blurted out.
“Th-the—” stammered Dylan.
“Bella—” chirped Shiraz.
“Donna!” Tookie whispered.
Dylan bit her lip nervously. “She looks pissed off, y’all!”
One of the blank-eyed, soulless women took five giant, measured steps and stood at attention on the left side of the statue. She appeared to be in her midforties. She was the only one of the mannequin-bodied women who wore epaulettes.
“Who’s that?” Tookie asked ZhenZhen.
“Her name’s Persimmon, like the weird fruit,” ZhenZhen replied. “She’s the BellaDonna’s chief Mannecant.”
“Mannecant?” Dylan asked.
“Servants of Modelland,” ZhenZhen explained. “They are failed Bellas who dedicated their lives to this place in exchange for never having to leave.” She eyed Persimmon. The dark seams of her mannequin joints stood out in the light. “I wouldn’t trust her. She always adds her own special spin when she relays a message to the BellaDonna. We call her Persimmon the Persecutor.”
The music diminished to a steady drumroll. Persimmon turned around and faced the crowd. “New Bellas and old,” she began, speaking without the help of any microphone Tookie could see, “male models and Mannecants, and the esteemed Bored, I present to you the most beloved of the beloved, the chicest of the chic, the definer of all things beautiful, and the esteemed leader of all Bellas lucky to be led … I present to you the BellaDonna of Modelland!”
Everyone in the O dropped to one knee and bowed their heads. Their poistions looked as if they were posing for a photograph. The new girls quickly followed suit awkwardly.
Then, as the music flared once more, the grand statue began to move. Tookie’s mouth dropped. “The BellaDonna is a
statue
?”
“Might as well be,” ZhenZhen said, her gaze nervously darting around the O. “We only see the
real
thing once a year. At the 7Seven Tournament.”
The statue looked around the O. Its head moved in Tookie’s direction, and Tookie’s stomach clenched.
The BellaDonna is looking at me!
Then the statue directed its full attention to the entire audience and, accompanied by the full orchestra, began to sing.
“My dear Modelland is a heavenly queendom
,
Its walls rich with memories of yesteryear
.
Our laws, antiquated, but must be respected
,
Or I’ll discard you like moth-eaten cashmere
.
Listen to me now, my spanking new No-Sees
,
You’re infants, you’re rascals, and oh-so-askew
.
You’ve entered a world that most would slay for
,
But amongst them all, I have chosen you.…”
Tookie tilted her head toward ZhenZhen. “No-Sees?” she whispered.
“New girls,” replied ZhenZhen, before bringing a finger to her lips. “Listen up … this is my favorite part.”
The BellaDonna began the chorus of her melody and the older Bellas sang with her.
“Modelland is your new HOME …”
“Home … home,”
the older Bellas sang.
“Welcome to this superDOME …”
“Dome, Dome,”
sang the older Bellas.
“For you XX-chromoSOMED …”
“Somed, somed,”
the older Bellas echoed.
“Modelland is your new HOME.”
And then the BellaDonna launched into the next verse.
“Regard your dear neighbor, the Bella to your near left
,
Ambassador to Modelland, and you are now, too
.
She’ll excite the world to buy wares of design and splendor
.
Here’s a list of Modelland’s curriculum menu.”
ZhenZhen leaned in to Tookie and the girls. “Listen to all the great stuff you’ll be learning how to entice the world to wear. It’s really cool!”
“From footwear to freeze sprays, foundation, face powders
To corsets and camisoles and culottes and trousers
,
Moccasins and miniskirts, mesh tops and bronzers
,
Sandals, suspenders and sunblock with powers …”
“Sunblock?” Piper commented. “Your poster girl’s right here, BellaDonna!”
“You’ll wear waistcoats, wedding dresses, wet suits, and lingerie
,
Leotards and yellow belts, deodorant every day
,
Hosiery and houndstooth and rougy lips to chalets
,
Bandeaus and bodices and LBDs at soirees
.
“You’ll exfoliate, emulsify, depilate, and moisturize
,
Sell glycerins, jojoba oils, fragrances, and fluorides
.
Cocktail dresses, cardigans, concealers for tired eyes
,
And practice all your posing tricks from sunset till sunrise
.
“Perform in petticoat-themed much-attended fashion-elite expos
,
Safari-wear, tuxedos, tunics, tops, all types of clothes
.
Kilts and cloaks and swinging coats and crocheted kimonos
With audiences making bets on who will fall upon their nose.”
The older Bellas began to sing the chorus again, and this time some of the new girls sang along.
Ci~L, dressed in a sateen couture straitjacket, rose through the ground, imprisoned in a birdcage. Its bars were made of razors.
Tookie clapped her hands over her mouth.
The BellaDonna continued.
“Regard this renegade, this rowdy rabble-rouser
.
This shameless charlatan, this skank scalawag
.
A troublemaking malady, a traitor, defective
.
While we all zig, this pest must zag …”
Ci~L cast a mournful look at the statue.
“You’ve all grown up dreaming, hoping to be her
,
Now this Triple 7Seven is inferior to you
.
So learn from her missteps, hello to your futures
,
To Ci~L’s: au revoir, adios, and adieu.”
Beside them, ZhenZhen let out a whimper. “I feel her pain,” she cried, tears forming in her eyes.
“I
knew
it!” Zarpessa yelped. “How the mighty have fallen! Maybe if Ci~L had a famous boyfriend, she wouldn’t be in this mess.”
The orchestra ended with a crescendo, and all that remained was a lone violin playing a haunting melody. The girls sang the chorus once more, but this time they sounded nervous and even a little fearful.
“This scary,” mumbled Shiraz.
“Listen closely to this next part,” ZhenZhen warned.
“UNO!”
the upperclassBellas called in Gowdee’an.
“You will exit my gates through five distinct fashions
.
Listen closely, one of five’ll be your truth.”
“The foolish, moronic, the feeble, the mindless
Will risk all and regift their coveted youth …”
“ ‘Regift their coveted youth’? What does that mean?” asked Tookie.
“Close your eyes and imagine yourself fifty years older,” ZhenZhen said. “If you leave Modelland without permission, you kiss your youth goodbye.”
“DOS!”
“The meek and misguided muckety-muck flunkies
Will ride
senso unico
through farewell tollbooths.
”
“Tookie, what she mean?” Shiraz asked.
“
Senso unico
means ‘one-way’ in Cappuccinian,” Tookie translated.
“You get a one-way ticket out of here if you continually suck,” ZhenZhen explained.
“TRES!”
“Other castaways’ll opt for Mannecant memoirs
,
Perhaps better to pitiful pre-Modelland pursuits.”
When the BellaDonna sang the word
Mannecant
, Tookie turned to look at Persimmon in time to see her head drop.
“QUATRO!”
“Second-string Bellas will opt for the silver screen
,
Miming in the multiplex, so trite, so uncouth.”
“The BellaDonna can’t stand actresses,” ZhenZhen whispered. “She says they’re pitiful Modelland rejects who just want any kind of spotlight. I once heard her say actresses are a step below Mannecants.”
“CINCO!”
“Prime few’ll emerge 7Seven ’toxibellas
.
For this reward, pathetics would sell their eyetooths.”
After the last chorus, the newly recruited Bellas all cheered wildly. The agile ones did high kicks, backflips, and splits in the air. Shiraz did a cartwheel.
The statue began singing again, this time without music:
“Your premature merriment has come much too fast
.
Disparity ’tween good and bad will be very vast
.
THBC separates the punks from the class
.
For some No-Sees, Discovery Day will be your … last.”
The new Bellas’ contagious jubilance at the start of the opera had abruptly turned to an awkward mix of hope and dread. Quickly, tour guides ushered the new girls back to the ZipZaps. Everything was taking place very hurriedly, as though they had somewhere very important to go next. No one spoke. The BellaDonna’s song had been so … ominous. Piper had a very determined look on her face, as though she was doing math problems in her head. Dylan nervously straightened her outfit and combed her two long ponytails with her fingers. Only cheery Shiraz was still dancing and singing the music from the event.
Then Tookie detected someone else humming a different
melody, quite out of tune. It was a girl with skin the color of toasted breadcrumbs standing one line over. She had long, wavy dark brown hair, honey-colored eyes, a tiny ruby decorating the middle of her SMIZE, and a decorative Headbangor—a newfangled invention from the far southeast that delivered music directly to a wearer’s brainwaves—in her hair. Tookie realized this was the girl who’d rescued her in the plaza, telling her to run for the ZipZaps.
Tookie walked over to her. “Are you from Chakra?” she asked shyly. She’d never met a Chakran before.
At first, the girl didn’t notice her, and Tookie was about to turn away when the girl touched her Headbangor lightly to pause it. “Oh, hi, I’m …
nervous
. Nice to meet you.”
Tookie and the girl shared a laugh. The girl continued, “I’m also Kamalini. Kamalini Dara from Chakra.”
“Tookie De La Crème. From Metopia.” Tookie shifted back and forth, waiting for Kamalini to look at her strangely and remark on how odd-looking she was, how she didn’t belong here.
Kamalini smiled. “
Tookie
. I like that.”
“Quiet, ladies! Keep moving!” Kamalini’s guide yelled.
“Bye, Tookie from Metopia,” Kamalini said. “See you later, hopefully.”
Clutching her Headbangor, Kamalini scuttled ahead to join her group, climbing through a ZipZap and disappearing down the hole. Tookie and Dylan turned back to the ZipZaps and noticed four nearly identical girls wearing identical outfits. The only way to tell them apart was by their pastel-hued hair.
“Well, lookie here. Who are y’all?” Dylan asked.
“I’m SheLikee!” the first girl announced. Blue hair.
“I’m HerLikee!” Green hair.
“I’m ILikee!” Pink hair.
“I’m MeLikee!” Purple.
“We’re”—“from”—“Mini”—“Paul!” Each said a different word in the sentence. Then, one by one, the girls disappeared into the ZipZap like sand crabs sneaking down their little holes.
A girl named Angelîka from Icylann yapped like an excited Yorkshire terrier. “Yay, yay, yay! Isn’t dis great?” She jumped into one of the ZipZaps so enthusiastically, she scraped the top of her head on its sharp pull-tab. Tookie cringed, seeing bits of blood and hair still hanging from it.
ZhenZhen then stepped up to Tookie and put both hands on her shoulders. “I have to leave you now, Tookie. You heard what the BellaDonna said, right?”
Tookie nodded.
“Be careful, okay?”
“Why?” Tookie whispered. “Should I be worried?”
“Um …” ZhenZhen looked uncomfortable. “Well, yes. Everyone should be worried about what comes next.”
“Why? What’s going to happen?”
ZhenZhen blew out a long breath. “I cannot tell you. One bit of advice, though: there’s strength in numbers.”
There were only ten girls left waiting to enter the ZipZap, including Tookie, her friends, and Zarpessa, who turned around, glared at them, and then started feverishly scratching her arms. “Ick. I’m allergic to dust, pollen, and
farm animals.
”
Ci~L’s words echoed in Tookie’s head.
The girl who is sucking your blood is hurting way more than you. Never stoop to her level
.