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Because Stargirl is eccentric and refuses to conform to the status quo of Mica Area High School, a lot of the more "popular" girls, like Hillari Kimble, don't like her and attempt to put her down. 
 
Leo, on the other hand, has a strange type of infatuation with Stargirl. First, he's merely curious about her, then they become friends, and not too long after that, they enter a romantic relationship. It doesn't last long, though, because people start ignoring Leo the same way they do Stargirl.
 
Unable to handle the rejection from his peers, Leo asks Stargirl to try to be more "normal." She tries for a while but, ultimately, breaks up with Leo when she realizes she can't, and doesn't want to, be normal. 
 
That said, while Leo is still in the friendship phase of his relationship with Stargirl, he asks her to appear on the school's television show, Hot Seat, as a result of mounting pressure from his peers, especially that of his best friend, Kevin. Eventually, Leo gives in to the request and asks Stargirl to make an appearance on the show. Being Stargirl, she agrees. 
 
While Stargirl's actual interview on Hot Seat goes well, things start to get uncomfortable when Hillari Kimble and her friends start criticizing her on-air. Hillari refers to her as "goofy" and "crazy" while her friends ask her questions about why she dresses the way she does and why she doesn't wear makeup. They refer to her as "weird" and question why she can't just be "normal."

The group continues to harass her until the faculty adviser, Mr. Robineau, steps in on her behalf. Soon after, he destroys the tape and Stargirl's Hot Seat episode is never aired.
 

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