Chapter 14

Leo admits what happened next is a bit blurry in his recollection. The Hot Seat episode did not air, but by the next day almost every student knows what had happened. Tension mounts as the students wait to see how Stargirl will react. On every holiday so far this year, she gave each student in her homeroom a special treat. The students wonder if she would do so today, on Valentine’s Day. Stargirl gives each student in her homeroom a candy heart that morning.

The first district playoff game is tonight, and the “Mica mob” will settle for nothing less than a state championship. The cheerleaders are as vocal as the crowd is and cheer only for the Electrons, Stargirl included. Leo is relieved, but not for long.

For the first time this year, the Electrons are losing. The reason is not hard to fathom: his name is Ron Kovac. The Sun Valley superstar is six feet eight inches tall, and he averages thirty points a game; his team is ahead by nineteen points. Suddenly there is a scramble for the ball and Kovac is on the floor, writing in pain, and one foot is clearly not right. Coaches, trainers, and players all rush to the injured player, but the first one to arrive is Stargirl.

As they work on Kovac’s broken ankle, Stargirl holds his head in her lap and comforts him in his pain. When the ambulance takes the injured player out the door, everyone claps. Leo claps for the right reasons but suspects others in the crowd are cheering the loss of the superstar. Without Kovac, Sun Valley is demoralized and Mica High wins easily.

Two nights later, the season is over. Glendale has five gigantic players and the outcome is inevitable. The crowd is devastated, and the state championship they were sure would be theirs is about to be taken away from them. The reactions are dramatic: tears, shouting, anger, and frustration. But Stargirl is calm and is determined. She turns her back to the game and cheers with an intensity that borders on ferociousness...until her face turns bloody.

Leo screams out a loud “NOOOOOO!” Her face is red, he realizes, but it is not blood. Someone has thrown a tomato at Stargirl, and some of the crowd cheers and laughs. As Stargirl stands staring in disbelief, some even applaud.

The next morning Leo discovers a card in a notebook he has not opened in several weeks—since about Valentine’s Day. It looks like something from elementary school: a small boy and a small girl with a red heart between them. The card says “I love you,” and it is signed in a kind of elementary school picture code: a star and a girl.

Chapter 15

The next day is a day of mourning at Mica High, but Leo is thinking about other things. He probes Kevin about Stargirl’s card giving on Valentine’s Day. Kevin looks at him oddly but tells him she gave cards to everyone in her homeroom, no one else.

The card is in Leo’s back pocket but he has no intention of showing it to Kevin or anyone else. Stargirl is subdued during lunch today, sitting with Dori Dilson but not playing her ukulele. As she gets up and appears to head for Leo’s table, Leo makes a hasty exit but does not quite make it before he hears her say, “Hi, Leo.” He pretends not to hear her and hustles out of the room before anyone notices.

Leo finally makes it though the day and escapes without seeing Stargirl again. At home, he hibernates in his room, throwing darts. He drives around in his pickup and finds himself near her house but turns before he gets there. For hours he looks at the stars and hears her voice saying, “Hi, Leo.”

Kevin and Leo go to Archie’s the next morning and tell him all about the recent events with basketball and Stargirl. Leo does not say much, and it is clear to him that Archie already knows everything they are telling him. Archie speaks cryptically about extinct creatures and losing games and still showing up for class the next day, then he leaves the boys to their own thoughts.