Maria relaxed in the back of her limousine on black leather seats. She was in full makeup and they had straightened her hair before they left. They used copious amounts of hairspray to make it stay in place. It looked amazing, but the citrus and melted plastic smell made her sick. Also, she had, mistakenly, tried to fix her bangs when wet and could not get it off her fingers. She rubbed them and they stuck together. She glanced at the glitter that covered her arms.

Her mom had the seat next to her, wearing a black dinner dress. They had straightened her hair, too. Maria wore an outfit from her tour, a black long-sleeve see-through shirt and a very short gold skirt. A black SUV carrying her back-up singers and dancers followed behind her.

She spoke to the hologram image of Skye. Skye wore black stretchy pants and a black Maria Gonzalez shirt from her tour.

"No. I'm not going to Mars. Don't worry. I'm not leaving you."

"Good. We saw what happened the last time."

Maria chuckled, "Nope. I'm gonna do a quick performance and say goodbye to Hope and Cole in person. Then I'll fly back and meet you in New York City for the next concert."

The limo stopped.

"We're here. Goodbye Skye." She smirked and waved then her driver opened the door. She put on her sunglasses and exited to the paparazzi's flash bulbs. She was at the Bettencourt Enterprises launch facility. She marveled at the view, still jealous that she would not be joining them.

Evening approached and the cool night sky forced the hot sun back into hiding. Spotlights illuminated the ship that would take them to the moon. It was like a standard plane used for transportation, except its wings were much shorter. The ground crew did different tests, inspecting the powerful rockets. It also had two diagonal wings in the back instead of one in the middle at the end. The top of the jet was white, with a Bettencourt Enterprises sign on the side and the bottom of the plane was black.

She strutted down the red carpet and journalists surrounded her. "Maria!" shouted a male reporter.

"Yes, Carlos."

"Where is Jacob Hunter? "

She chortled. "I don't know. I'm not his mother."

A woman shouted from behind her. "Do you still want to join them and go to Mars?"

"Yes."

"Will you be joining them next year?"

"No. I asked my manager, and I am too busy. After my tour ends, I'll shoot my next movie called Thriller Girls."

She put on her million-dollar smile and waved again.

Her mom shouted over the murmur of questions, "That is all the time we have." They moved past them to the stage off in the distance. Red rope and security held the paparazzi back. She spotted Johnny Sonic's crazy blonde hair sticking out. He was easy to identify from far away.

Hope ran up to her, hugged her, and kissed her. "I am SO SORRY. I wanted to apologize in person." She caught her off guard, because she thought it was a crazy fan until Hope spoke. "I was still mad that I had followed your advice."

"You two seem perfect for each other." She inspected her friend. She had dressed up nice like Christmas. "You look beautiful. Have you two talked yet?"

"Not yet. They have packed our schedule, filming the goodbye clips and the pre-show interviews for next season. And I did not want to talk to him in front of the entire world."

"Well, the only time you'll have is between now and when you board the Martian transport because once you get on there, it's six months of continuous coverage."

"Plus, he's still stressing out about his dad and if he can or cannot go, so I did not think it was a good time."

"You never do."

"Hey, Hope. There you are." Cole joined them behind the stage. "Woah. Who's your hot friend? You wanna meet me after the show?" He winked at her.

"Are you ever serious?" Hope smacked him in the back of the head.

Maria had a master's degree in joking with other people and knew he was being facetious.

"I came here, so I could say goodbye to you. But I didn't want to see you before because I didn't want to cry. So, go join the masses and enjoy the concert."

"Is that a no?" Cole continued.

She ignored him.

Hope pulled him toward their seats.

"Did I come on too strong?" Cole asked. She could barely understand him from the distance.

The producers were aware of her time constraints and were ready when she arrived.

The stadium lights faded to black, and everyone became silent, waiting in anticipation. A spotlight shined on Johnny Sonic at the front of the stage, and he shouted, "Good evening, everybody! We are here for our annual Mars Kickoff Party!"

The arena was full, and the people cheered.

"My name is Johnny Sonic, and I am the host of the Mars Training Academy shows and tomorrow morning that ship," he pointed at the one behind them. The lights turned back on, "will rocket one hundred and fifty passengers to the moon. The North American winners and their families will join the other global winners on the moon to take off on their six-month journey to Mars."

"So, tonight we have a special guest, worldwide superstar, returning after being abruptly pulled from the training academy, Maria Gonzalez!"

Johnny's spotlight disappeared. The beginning music from her new hit single started, and she snuck to her spot, in the dark. The music reverberated throughout the arena and the fans cheered before they saw her. When the lights turned on a high-pitched scream spread through the stands, louder than any other cheers tonight. Her earphones muted the crowd noise mostly and allowed her to hear the music and her own voice.

Her dancers met her in the predetermined spots then she danced and sang along with her passionate fans that joined her, screaming every word. She finished this song and then followed that up with her three biggest hits.

When she finished, she strutted off the stage exhilarated, exhausted, and sweating. She staggered down the steps behind the stage to Johnny Sonic. He handed her a towel and she used it to dab the perspiration from her face.

Maria said to him, "Thank you. My overpaid towel boy."

He guffawed then went straight-faced. A spotlight shined over them for her interview. He put on his big fake smile and shouted, "Wow! That was amazing."

"Thank you very much."

"Nobody expected you to be here at all, much less start the show. What do you want to say to the group that is going to Mars?"

"That I am sad that I cannot go with them. But I really enjoyed the time at the school, and I will especially miss Hope and Cole's families. They took me into the homes and welcomed me. Now it feels like part of my family is leaving me."

"Well said. Thank you again. That was fabulous."

Maria gave the peace sign to the camera. The spotlight turned off.

Then she strolled into the arena to find Hope and Cole again. On the way, she bumped into Hope's parents. She embraced her mom and said, "I'm going to miss you."

She turned to Hope's dad and said, "Thank you for taking me in and helping me live out my dream."

She saw Julie, Cole's mom, alone. She empathized with her situation and hugged her too.

"I'm going to miss you," Julie said.

Maria cried, "Do not worry everything will work out. I can't understand how anybody could take a son away from his mother."

"It's so much more than that because I am merely one piece of his life." She gestured toward him standing next to Hope and her family. Hope's mom chuckled and embraced Cole. "If he couldn't go, he would be torn away from everything he knows."

"Well, I pray you told the judge that?"

"I did." She grinned and said, "I'm glad we saw you before we left. You really fit in with us and I have a feeling that we have not seen the last of you."

That overjoyed Maria to hear that and then the tears started.

Maria's mom appeared, and Maria said, "Oh. There you are. I would like to introduce you to Julie, Cole's mom, and Hope's parents."

Maria's mom said, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Julie."

Julie said, "It's a pleasure to meet you too."

Maria's mom said, "Yes. Thank you for watching over my baby girl while she was at the school."

"You're welcome. It was our pleasure. She is an amazing young woman and I know that you would have done the same in our position."

"Yes. Alright, I hate to rush our only encounter, but Maria has another concert tomorrow and we must catch the red eye back. I told her she'd be exhausted the next day, yet she insisted on being here. Now I can see why."

Maria's mom embraced Julie and then Hope's parents and said, "I pray for all of you every day. The judge is cutting it close though."

Julie said, "Yes. She is. She promised to let us know before we leave, so we are here. My lawyer told us to fly to the moon if necessary."

"OK."

She shook Angie's and said, "I'm praying for you, as well. Take care of her." She motioned to Julie.

"Thank you and I'm her best friend, so it comes with the job," she snickered.

Maria moved to Hope and Cole.

She hugged Cole and said, "I am going to miss you. Send me messages on the way. I'll be watching you like normal, everyday on the show."

"You were incredible." He motioned to the stage. "I probably won't send many messages. It's not my thing. Although, it doesn't mean that I'm not thinking about you. Especially now." He ogled at her half naked outfit then winked at her again.

"Cole!" Maria and Hope yelled at the same time.

Hope smacked Cole in the back of the head. When she first saw him being hit on the show, she thought Hope was abusive. Now that she knows him better, she thought he was not being struck enough.

"Can we have a moment alone?" she asked Cole.

"Yes. I will be right back." He ambled toward the restroom.

She put her arms around Hope and said, "I am giving you fair warning. If you do not tell him by tonight, I will send him a message that tells him everything."

Hope said, "Fine. I am going to do it. This is what I've been waiting for."

"Good. I want you to do it yourself, but you always find a reason not to. So as soon as you do, message me, together making out or something."

"What if he can't go?" Hope asked, nervously.

"Woah. Sorry, I never considered they would rule in favor of his dad. If they don't go, then what?"

"I'm not sure. His mom talked about staying here and appealing, but if she does not go, then they'll remove her from the list, and they must do everything over again. That is the same for us, my dad said if that happens then we have to go to Mars. We signed contracts and they could sue. Although, we haven't really discussed it because we're staying positive."

"Wow. That's a lot. I'm staying positive too. After they allow him to go, tell him."

"Yes. I will."

"Don't worry, remember that he chose you."

Maria's mom motioned to her they had to leave.

They embraced again. She gave her a long, firm squeeze because it would probably be years before she could visit her.

"I'm glad you made it."

"Me too."

Maria and her mom returned to the limo and drove away.