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The Halo Effect



Being in a band almost guarantees you plenty of attention. Most of it is good, but occasionally it garners the wrong kind.

The members of Kids Incorporated were very all well-liked, but it had very little to do with the band itself. Stacy, Richie, Kenny, Devyn, and Robin were friendly people. They talked to everyone, and were always willing to help out if needed. When one is a teenager, however, "popularity" is not based on these things.

When Kids Inc. finished their latest number, everyone they knew was there to applaud them. They offered hugs and high-fives as the kids left the stage, none of which were refused. It just so happened that after this number, the biggest recipient of praise was Stacy.

"Really good show, you guys." Flip said to the Kids as each of them made their way to the counter. Four of them made it through the crowd unscathed. Of Stacy, only the top of her ponytail was visible over the throngs of fans surrounding her. "Did you lose somebody?" joked Flip.

Everyone laughed. "Hey, Stacy, you still with us?" Kenny called to her.

She was at least getting closer. "...I know, I saw him, isn't he cute? I gotta go." they heard her say. Someone else passed by her briefly and said hi as her companion was saying something else to her at the same time. "Hi!...He is not gonna come over here! Is he still looking?" More friends began to pass by. "He won't come over while his friends are still here...Ok, bye, see you later!...No, 'cause if they knew he liked me, they'd terrorize him." She attempted to take a step towards the counter. "I'm just gonna be over here, and if he comes over, I'll be like, Oh, hi, Matt! I didn't see you!...bye." Finally seeing her escape, she quickly joined the others at the counter. "Sorry." she said sheepishly.

"So, is he coming over?" said Richie in his best impression of a gossipy girl.

Stacy blushed. "No." Then she quickly added, "If he does, don't you dare say anything!"

"Why don't you go over there?" Kenny asked.

"She can't do that!" Devyn quickly interjected. "Then he'd know she likes him!" She looked to Robin, who nodded her agreement.

"What's wrong with that?"

Both girls gave each other a look. "Boys are completely clueless!" complained Robin.

"Does Matt have light brown hair, kind of curly?" Flip asked.

"Yeah." Stacy answered.

"Is he wearing a green and white shirt?"

"Yeah."

"Then he's not the guy who's coming this way."

The girls sighed and rolled their eyes. "Thanks for all your help, Flip." said Stacy.

"Oh wait...here he comes!" Flip announced suddenly.

"Quick!" Stacy grabbed Robin and Devyn. "Act like you're saying something really interesting."

This left the boys free to comment. "Uh oh! Operation Cute Boy is in full effect!" joked Richie.

"Man your battle stations! How's my hair?" Kenny added.

Fortunately, Matt didn't appear to see the boys as he walked over to Stacy's impromptu huddle. "Stacy."

Whatever battle plans she'd had in mind failed to reenact themselves. "Hey, Matt." was all Stacy could get out. The smile she plastered on her face wasn't helping, either. Oh, great! Now he'll think I'm an idiot!

Lucky for her, the cavalry arrived. Matt's friends were indeed terrorizing him as Stacy had predicted, whistling and making kissing noises. "Um," He started to say, "excuse me." he finished as he let his friends drag him off to a table.

As soon as Matt was gone, the backlash began. "Hey, Matt" the boys said, barely moving their lips and imitating the same frozen smile Stacy had worn.

"Oh, stop it." snapped Stacy. She sat at the bar and let her head hit the counter.

 

Matt wasn't the only one with an eye on Stacy that day. During the next number, three impeccably dressed girls sauntered into The P*lace as if they were on stage. Failing to get the reaction they expected, they literally walked right below the stage in front of the audience to find an empty table. When they couldn't find one, they made one - by hustling smaller children out of their chairs.

All this commotion was even detected by the band. During her verse, Stacy leapt down the stairs and went over to the table, spotlighting the abusive act with a disapproving glare. It didn't even faze the trio. They proceeded to whip out steno pads and take note of it.

When the set was over, Kids Inc. took the chance to discuss what had just happened.

"I really hate bullies." said Robin. "It's not like there weren't other tables, either."

"Does anybody know who they were?" Richie asked.

"Oh, yeah." Stacy was quick to say. "Angels."

"Uh, I'd say more like little devils." Flip joked.

"I don't know what they're doing here," continued Stacy, "but I'm positive it's not good." Her fears appeared justified as the intimidating trio approached the band.

"Good afternoon!" the middle girl chirped, her toothy grin taking up the majority of her face.

"It was." Kenny muttered.

She turned her nose up at him. "I'm sure all of you know who I am."

"Should we?" asked Devyn.

All three girls appeared to be shocked.  "You should if you plan to be someone in this town!" the smiley girl snapped, removing her smile and replacing it with a scowl.

"What do you want, Prissy?" Stacy asked her before she could speak again.

"Priscilla," corrected Priscilla, "As in Priscilla Von Bron, president of The Angels." She began posing for invisible photographers.

"Yes, I can see the family resemblance."

This made Priscilla cringe. "Poor Gabriella," and her shadows bent their heads as if in prayer, "It's always a sad occasion when an Angel gets put out to pasture."

Stacy made a face. "Isn't she just, like, 18?"

"Gabriella was an airhead with no ambition." Priscilla continued. "Costumes and kitty voices - pathetic!" she scoffed. "Rest assured that my Angels know how to carry themselves with dignity!"

"This is all very interesting," said Stacy, "but if you're here to continue some kind of vendetta against me..."

"Quite the contrary." Priscilla interrupted. "You see, we've been keeping an eye on you for a while now, and it's very impressive how you've made a little name for yourself. We want you to be an Angel."

Stacy said nothing at first. Then she began to laugh. Hard. Much to the dismay of The Angels, Stacy was literally holding her sides laughing.

"Oh, that's funny!" she gasped. "Oh, wow. Thanks, I needed a laugh." She stifled a giggle as she wiped tears from her eyes.

"Are you making fun of my invitation?" Priscilla asked as her thugettes assumed fighting stances.

"No offense, Prissy, but if I'm your top pick...you must really be desperate!"

"I'm still waiting for your answer."

"Does 'no' work for you?"

"No?" echoed Priscilla, stunned.

Stacy leaned forward as if she were speaking to a young child. "It's the opposite of yes." she explained. "You know, as in Fat Chance, Not On Your Life, Get Real?"

"Let's get one thing straight." Priscilla said, her eyes blazing. "You're considered by others to be pretty, smart, and talented. You should have been made an Angel years ago."

"You know, it sounds to me," Flip added his two cents, "like you're afraid of a little competition. You can't beat Stacy, so you get her to join you."

"Nobody asked you." snapped Priscilla, looking him over and dismissing him with a roll of her eyes.

But Flip wasn't a 15-yr-old girl, and he wasn't about to be intimidated by one. "Well, I may not be a social deb, but this is my P*lace you're standing in, harassing my friends. Unless you're paying customers, you can go be holier-than-thou somewhere else."

"I'll assume," Priscilla said to Stacy, ignoring Flip, "that you need a few days to think it over."

"It might take you a whole week to form a single thought, but my mind's been made up for a while now." retorted Stacy. "I wouldn't be an Angel if you paid me."

"Have it your way." Priscilla replied. She and her entourage marched out of The P*lace with their noses in the air.

"I really hate that family." Stacy sighed.

"Well, now that that's over," Flip began to say, but looked to Stacy for approval. "It is over, isn't it?"

"Yeah. They won't be back." Stacy said confidently.

"That Priscilla looked pretty serious." worried Robin.

"I'm not afraid of her, or her fellow nerds. They're all talk."

"I think Flip was right about them being afraid of you." said Devyn. "But then again, I'm nobody." Everyone laughed.

"Well, that's their problem. I'm not a social climber, Devyn. There's a lot of bad blood between me and The Angels, and the farther away I stay from them, the better."

But Stacy was about to see more of The Angels than she ever would have guessed. As they strode out of The P*lace, one of the lesser Angels dared to speak without first being spoken to.

"I guess we can cross her off." she said.

Priscilla whirled around. "And why would we do that?"

"She said no." Flunky #2 responded.

"Actually," said Flunky #1, "she said Fat Chance, Not on Your Life-"

"I KNOW WHAT SHE SAID!" Priscilla snapped. "But it doesn't matter. I always win, don't I?"

"She's not going to change her mind." Flunky #2 said.

Priscilla flashed the VonBron smirk. " That's what you think." Already her mind was brimming with ideas. "She'll soon find out that no one says no to an Angel...and lives to tell about it."

 

Unaware of her fate, Stacy entered school the next morning as usual. As she walked down the hall, several people stopped talking and stared at her.

"Hi." she said to them, but they didn't reply. In fact, they turned away as quickly as possible. Some even moved away from her. The hallway was abuzz with whispering.

Uh oh. Stacy thought to herself. I smell an Angel.

Things continued to get weirder in class. Notes were flying around the classroom - skipping Stacy, of course - and whatever the notes said was definitely scandalous. When the teacher entered the classroom and began speaking, the note passing became even more exaggerated. Stacy had always known some of the girls in her homeroom were Angels, but as she looked around today, she realized she had no idea just how many there actually were. Adding to her suspicions was the fact that these Angels were the ones circulating the notes.

Just then, a note landed on her desk. Whether it was by accident or not, she didn't know, but if she got caught opening a note in class, it would mean detention for sure. She quickly knocked the note to the floor with her notebook as she opened it.

Giggles were coming from the back of the classroom, loud enough for the teacher to hear. "What's going on back there, ladies?" she asked. "Would you care to share?"

The Angels quickly sat up straight and assumed innocent positions. "No, ma'am." they said sweetly. "Nothing, ma'am."

Stacy could only roll her eyes. Mrs. Prow, their teacher, generally thought teenagers were worthless, and she never gave anyone a break. Rumor held that she'd had her own son suspended for not doing his homework - and he wasn't even in her class! She wouldn't buy their sucking up today.

"Very well." snapped Mrs. Prow, and resumed writing on the board.

Stacy was shocked, to say the least. I guess everyone gets lucky once! She began the morning assignment and was completely involved in it when the notes began traveling under Mrs. Prow's eyes. The gruff teacher snatched one up and took it back to her desk to investigate. After a minute, she glanced up, her face flushed.

"Stacy," she said, "Come up to the front of the class."

The whole room fell silent. Confused, Stacy went up to Mrs. Prow's desk as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. She was a good student, always behaved well in class. What did she have to worry about?

"Yes?" she asked, and realized her voice was shaking.

Fuming, Mrs. Prow shoved the note into Stacy's hands. "What is the meaning of this?" she barked.

The note read:

I'm writing this in homeroom - ha ha! Mrs. Prow is really getting fat, isn't she? I can't stand how she keeps looking down her nose at me. That's not a nose - it's a beak! You know, I heard she got her own son suspended? He probably told her she smells like a hen house! Big, fat, mean old bird! If she says anything to me today, I just might squawk at her. Let's all do it at exactly 10:00!

Stacy

The paper was dancing in Stacy's hands. Trembling, she set it down on the desk. "I...I don't know." she struggled to say.

"This is your handwriting, isn't it?"

Mrs. Prow took out an essay that Stacy had previously written, and laid the two papers side by side. It did look like her writing! Not her best, but very similar.

"I didn't write any notes." Stacy insisted. "I don't know who did, but it wasn't me."

"Notes?" asked Mrs. Prow, and a few girls giggled. Stacy cringed. Now she was in even more trouble! "Would everyone who received a note from Stacy kindly bring them to my desk?" Stacy's heart sunk when not one, not two, but five girls stood up and produced similar notes.

"Wait, Mrs. Prow!" a girl called out. It was Priscilla's right-hand Angel. "There's another note under that desk." Without being told, she strolled over and picked it up. "Why, it's Stacy's desk!" she exclaimed as if she didn't already know.

Mrs. Prow counted each note with a flourish. "1...2...3...4...5...6...7 - thank you, Marcella - 7 notes in all corresponds to seven days of detention, wouldn't you say?"

"But I didn't write them!" Stacy protested.

"Would you like two weeks?" asked Mrs. Prow, and the class gasped.

"No, ma'am." Stacy said quietly to the floor.

"Then return to your seat."

Stacy did as she was told, but as she shuffled red-faced down the row, several watch alarms began going off, so she looked at her own watch. Ten o'clock!

Every Angel in the classroom stood up as one and began to squawk as loud as they possibly could. "SQUAWK! SQUAWK! SQUAWK!" Anyone not squawking was roaring with laughter.

"Stop that this instant!" yelled Mrs. Prow. Steam was coming out of her ears. "The entire class will write I Will Not Squawk at the Teacher 100 times for tomorrow!" The entire class groaned. "You have your friend Stacy to thank for that!"

 

The rest of the day didn't go any better. People squawked at Stacy from every classroom. It would have been much easier to take if Matt hadn't observed most of them.

"What's going on?" he asked Stacy as they entered the one class they shared together.

"You don't wanna know." she replied.

"Hey, where's my book?" someone called out.

"Probably with my calculator." another kid answered.

It was impossible for Stacy to talk to Matt during class, so she thought she'd wait for him after it was over. Her plans were foiled, though, when an Angel approached her.

"No loitering in the halls." she said. "It's against the rules."

"I'm not loitering." said Stacy. "I'm waiting for someone. Besides, who made you hall monitor?"

"The principal." the girl replied, flashing a badge and a sarcastic grin.

"Whoa! What happened to the skinny girl with the glasses?"

"She...found other interests." the Angel said nonchalantly. "Anyway, the punishment for loitering is litter detail."

"What?!?!?"

"Well, you don't seem to have anything better to do."

“I am not picking up your garbage!” Stacy took a threatening step forward.

The Angel didn’t even bat an eye. “Or you could serve detention.”

"I've got enough servings of detention on my plate, thanks."
Matt was nowhere to be seen. He must have walked by while the Angel of E Hall had her cornered. "And there isn't anything on the floor, so-"

Out of nowhere, half a dozen undercover Angels suddenly reached into their bags, coat pockets, and lockers and produced wastebaskets full of garbage. Soda cans rolled down the hallway. Straw wrappers went flying into the air, and the straws themselves were tossed carelessly over shoulders. A tree's worth of paper fluttered around the floor.

"Get to work." said the hall monitor.

 

By last period, Stacy had trained herself to ignore the squawking and concentrate on doing her work without getting a migraine. What she couldn't ignore was the fact that in every class she went to, someone had lost something.

In P.E. it was the new girl's brush. As both girls and boys were coming out of their locker rooms, she heard Matt calling to his buddies. "Hey, have you guys seen my ball cap? You know, the one I caught when it flew off the 3rd baseman's head?"

"Nope."

"Sorry, man."

“Shoot! And he bent the rim for me and everything!” Matt shoved his shirt in his locker and slammed the door.

As Stacy opened her own locker, her eyes nearly bulged out of her head. She quickly closed it and swung around to see if anyone was looking. "Oh, no. This can't be happening!" Neatly stacked inside the locker were a textbook, a calculator, the coffee mug that Stacy's History teacher couldn't seem to find, a brush...and a baseball cap.

Panic began to set in. What was she going to do? Should she move the stuff? What if someone caught her doing it? She opened her locker again. Matt is gonna think I'm a thief!

"Hey, Stacy, how's it going?" an unsuspecting voice called from behind her.

Stacy swung around and frantically blocked the contents of her locker with her body. "KENNY!" she yelled. "Uh, hi! It's going great! Why do you ask?"

Kenny jumped. "No...reason."

"Well, it was nice talking to you. Bye!"

"Stacy, are you sure everything's fine?" Kenny asked her. "You've been acting strange ever since those Angels tried to recruit you."

She couldn't let him see her unloading stolen property! "Yep, that's me! Strange! You know us girls - we're always strange! Oh, look, here come some more strange girls now. You'd better go, 'cause you don't wanna be around that!" Finally, Kenny took the hint and started to leave. "No, no, no, wait!" A stupid idea was forming. "Um, where are you going?"

Now Kenny was bewildered to the point that he almost forgot what he was doing. "I was going to the...cafeteria?" he offered for her approval, in case she planned to overreact to that, too.

Thinking way too quickly, Stacy grabbed a sweater of hers and wrapped it around the hot items. I can't be the one stealing if I'm being stolen from! "Great! That's great. Could you do me one tiny, little favor? Could you just take this stuff for me and uh, leave it there? You know, save me a spot until I get there? Don't tell anybody it's mine, though!"

"Um, okay."

Before he could change his mind, Stacy shoved the bundle into his arms and turned him in the direction of the cafeteria. "Thanks a bunch! I owe you one. See you later." And she dashed off in the opposite direction.

"They really are strange." Kenny said to himself.

 

Stacy didn't manage to touch base with any of her friends after that. They waited to see if she would show up at The P*lace.

"What's up with Stacy?" asked Devyn. "She's always looking over her shoulder, like she's being watched."

"I knew this Angel stuff was bothering her more than she let on." Richie said. "She's become a completely different person."

"An odd person." added Kenny.

"I can't say I blame her." said Robin. "I'd crack, too, if people kept squawking at me." She leaned forward and lowered her voice. "They say she insulted a teacher!"

"Oh, now you don't believe that, do you? Stacy? Acting up in school?" Flip said incredulously. "Sounds like propaganda to me."

"Whatever it is, those Angels work fast." said Richie. The conversation ended abruptly as Stacy crept into The P*lace hugging the wall.

"Hi, Stacy." Devyn called to her.

"SHH!" She whispered back. "I'm not here!"

"Okay, now this has gone too far." Flip came out from around the counter and approached Stacy. "Look, there are no hidden cameras at The P*lace, and no Angels, either."

"That's what they want you to think!" said Stacy. "They're everywhere!"

"Since when are you so paranoid?" asked Kenny.

Stacy swirled around to face him. "Who told you I was paranoid?" Realizing how she sounded, she sighed. "Oh, you're right! I can't take this anymore! My teachers hate me, Matt thinks I'm crazy, and if one more person squawks at me..." She sat down on the steps by the jukebox. "I give up."

"But I thought you didn't want to be an Angel." Robin said to her.

"I don't want to be an outcast, either!"

"So you're selling out." said Flip.

"That's a little harsh, Flip." Stacy replied. "Weren't you the one saying If You Can't Beat 'Em, Join 'Em?"

This was precisely the incantation that summoned Priscilla and her Angels. They appeared almost instantly at the counter, followed by nearly everyone Stacy knew, and quite a few people she didn't.

Something snapped in Stacy's brain. Days of seeing that snub-nosed smirk every time she closed her eyes had finally pushed her to the breaking point. "Sorry, this area is reserved for wild barbarians only." she teased. "No nerds allowed." Murmurs danced through the crowd.

Priscilla didn't even bat a false eyelash. "Ha ha ha! Isn't she amusing? It will be very entertaining welcoming you into the fold." She was so intent on ensnaring her prey, Stacy's hands balling into fists didn't register. "Once you sign the contract, of course." With a flourish, she produced a very official-looking document.

"You had a contract drawn up?" Richie gaped.

"Where on Earth do you get one of those?" asked Devyn.

"Future Attorneys Club." Priscilla said matter-of-factly. "I have very good connections. It's all detailed, right down to first-year obligations." she included as Stacy took the contract wordlessly. "Because I'm feeling generous, I've waived the usual dues." This elicited gasps from her lackeys. "For the first 90 days." she continued. "Do you need a pen?"

Stacy looked out into the sea of faces waiting for her to condemn herself to a lifetime of elitist activities. She wondered why they were so anxious to see her admit defeat. Probably because it wasn't them. None of them really liked The Angels - in fact, they all felt they were a little too selective - but it was far safer to roll with the changes than stand up and do something about it.

Safer, yes - but better? Stacy turned now to her friends, her real group, who had been there for her even when she was running around like a fugitive. As an Angel, she'd never see them again because they were "unworthy". Flip was right - she'd be selling out, becoming another person because it was less painful.

"Well?" Priscilla said crisply, sensing the tide changing and desperately trying to maintain a hold over her new recruit.

Still holding the contract in her hands, Stacy held it up in full view of the crowd...and tore it in half from top to bottom.

"I don't care what you do to me," she said, and smiled for the first time that day, "I won't break."

"You've just made the biggest mistake of your life." Priscilla spat. "You could have had us as sisters! Now you have no one."

"She's got us!" said Kids Incorporated.

"She's got me, too." said a voice. It was Matt. "I think you're very brave to stand up to everyone by yourself." he told Stacy, who blushed. "Especially when we were all too scared to do it."

"Well, you'll never be an Angel!" retorted Priscilla in a last-ditch effort to reclaim everyone's attention. It fell flat.

"None of us are angels, Prissy." Stacy said to her. "We're all human beings, and we all deserve to be treated like one."

"Where's the fun in that?" laughed Priscilla. "I was right about one thing - you are very powerful. I suppose you'll be forming your own little club now?"

"Oh, I already belong to one." said Stacy. "It's called Real Life, and membership is completely open and free." She handed Priscilla the contract shards. "I hope someday you'll join us." And she turned to join her friends on the stage, feet planted firmly on the ground.

The End