Chapter 1: The Acceptance Letter
Aria Morgan was halfway through deleting a recording of herself when the power went out.
The screen of her tablet went black.
“So that’s a sign,” she muttered.
Outside her bedroom window, rain tapped steadily against the glass. It had been raining since morning, turning the streets below into shiny ribbons of reflected lights.
Aria dropped onto her bed and rubbed her eyes.
Three months.
Three whole months since she’d submitted her audition to the Intergalactic Idol Academy.
Three months of checking her inbox every morning.
Three months of convincing herself she didn’t care.
And three months of pretending she wasn’t terrified of being rejected.
A loud knock rattled her bedroom door.
“Aria.”
Her mother’s voice.
Another knock.
“Are you alive in there?”
“Barely.”
The door opened before Aria could protest.
Her mother leaned against the frame, holding a basket of laundry.
“You know normal people leave their rooms occasionally.”
“Normal people don’t have to listen to recordings of themselves singing.”
“Fair point.”
Her mother stepped inside and dropped the laundry basket onto the floor.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then her mother asked casually, “Any news?”
Aria immediately looked away.
“No.”
The answer came too fast.
Too sharp.
Her mother noticed.
She always noticed.
“Still waiting?”
Aria shrugged.
“It’s fine.”
“Hm.”
That single sound somehow carried an entire lecture.
“It’s just a school,” her mother said.
“It’s not just a school.”
The words escaped before Aria could stop them.
Silence followed.
Rain tapped against the window.
Her mother sat beside her on the bed.
“I know.”
Aria swallowed.
Because she did know.
The academy wasn’t just a school.
It was the school.
The place every young performer dreamed about.
Thousands applied.
Only a handful got in.
And nobody from their city had been accepted in years.
Most days Aria convinced herself she had no chance.
The problem was that a tiny part of her still hoped.
And hope was exhausting.
Her mother nudged her shoulder.
“You’ve been miserable all week.”
“I’ve been normal.”
“You haven’t touched your guitar.”
Aria stared at the floor.
Okay.
Maybe she had been miserable.
Before she could respond, her phone buzzed.
Both of them looked down.
Then looked at each other.
The screen lit up.
A notification.
Not an acceptance letter.
Just a reminder to update an app.
Aria groaned.
Her mother laughed.
Actually laughed.
“You’re evil.”
“I didn’t do anything.”
“You enjoyed that.”
“A little.”
Aria threw a pillow at her.
Her mother dodged it effortlessly.
“Come downstairs for dinner in ten minutes.”
“No promises.”
“Five minutes?”
“No promises.”
Her mother pointed at her.
“You’re impossible.”
Then she left.
The room fell quiet again.
Aria picked up her tablet.
Opened her inbox.
Nothing.
Still.
Her chest tightened.
She closed it.
Opened it again.
Nothing.
She hated herself for checking.
Across town, Leo Carter was hanging upside down from a tree.
“You’re going to fall.”
“I’m not.”
“You literally are.”
“I’m not.”
The branch snapped.
Leo hit the ground.
Hard.
His best friend Kai burst out laughing.
Ethan tried not to.
Failed.
Leo lay flat on his back staring at the sky.
“That was a controlled landing.”
“It absolutely wasn’t,” Kai said.
“It was.”
“You screamed.”
“I did not scream.”
“You screamed twice.”
Leo sat up.
“Fine. Maybe once.”
The three boys were supposed to be studying.
Instead, they were wasting time in the park behind their school.
As usual.
Kai checked his phone.
Then frowned.
Then checked again.
“Guys.”
Nobody answered.
“Guys.”
Leo looked up.
“What?”
Kai stared at the screen.
His expression had changed.
“Something weird just happened.”
That got their attention.
“What?”
Kai swallowed.
“The academy sent an email.”
For a second nobody moved.
The air shifted.
Even Ethan straightened.
“What kind of email?” Leo asked.
“I haven’t opened it.”
“Why not?”
Kai held up his phone.
His hands were shaking slightly.
“Oh.”
Suddenly that made sense.
No one wanted to be the first one rejected.
Leo stood.
“Open it.”
“You open it.”
“It’s your email.”
“I know.”
“Then open it.”
Kai stared at the screen.
Nobody joked.
Nobody laughed.
Finally he tapped.
A few seconds passed.
Then his eyes widened.
“What?”
“What does it say?”
Kai looked up.
Then down.
Then back up.
His mouth opened.
Closed.
Opened again.
“Guys...”
Leo’s stomach dropped.
Kai never lost words.
Never.
“Guys.”
“What?”
Kai looked like he might pass out.
“I think I got in.”
Silence.
Then absolute chaos.
Across the city, similar scenes unfolded.
A dropped plate.
A screaming teenager.
A crying father.
A shocked teacher.
A dozen futures changing at the exact same moment.
And in her bedroom, Aria’s phone buzzed again.
She stared at it.
The notification remained on the screen.
Incoming Message.
Sender:
Intergalactic Idol Academy.
Her pulse stumbled.
No.
No, no, no.
Not yet.
She wasn’t ready.
Her thumb hovered above the screen.
For several seconds she couldn’t move.
The message wasn’t going anywhere.
Yet opening it felt like stepping off a cliff.
She took a breath.
Then another.
Outside, rain continued falling.
Inside, her entire future waited behind a single notification.
Aria pressed the screen.
And the message opened.
