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Inside was a note, written in scratchy and rushed-looking handwriting.
“Serena!” Jalik slammed open my changing room door with his fists raised and ready. He looked me up and down for any signs of distress and, finding none, released a long breath and shook his head. “You’re okay. What happened?”
I held up the note and grimaced. “Someone installed a… glitter bomb thing in my makeup dresser.”
“A ransom note? Debt collectors?” Jalik asked.
“Well, I’m not sure. Let’s see.”
I looked down at the note and began to read out loud.
“Dearest darling Serena, I watched you again today. Your voice is like the angels of legend who flew through the stars and guided wayward ships to safety with their voices. No, actually, I changed my mind. You put them to shame. Your radiant beauty is a true legend. Two performances back, your dress slid up your thigh just so. I caught a glimpse of flesh I’m sure almost no other man has beheld before.”
“What the? Who writes fan mail like that?” Jalik asked, his face contorted in disgust.
I shook my head and continued, hands shaking. “My perfect angel, the sweet siren of the stars, grounded here on this station, did you know? Did you uncover your purity and place it on display for me alone? I know you did. I’ll see you again.”
I furrowed my brow, feeling a bit of anxiety swelling in my stomach. These were far from innocent words from a regular fan. The idea that someone was taking a normal part of my performance, or even a regular wardrobe slip, as a sign I liked him was beyond creepy.
“I think I’ve never been so glad I’m a man,” Jalik said. “Do you get letters like that often?”
Again, I shook my head. “No, thankfully. This is the first one. It’s not signed or anything. No idea who this could have been. Great. I guess I need to keep an eye out for an obsessive weirdo who likes rummaging through women’s belongings.”
Jalik took the letter and read through it as I retrieved the makeup remover I was trying to grab in the first place. After a quick count, I confirmed all of my things were still in place. Good. I certainly didn’t have the cash to buy new makeup or hair care supplies.
Draven had supplied what I needed, but if anything happened to them, I wouldn’t have been surprised if he added the replacement fee to my indentured contract. Most humans on the station got screwed like that, and there were more than a handful of stories of a ten-year contract that lasted a lifetime.
Of course, our life expectancy wasn’t great here on Thodos, either. Indentured servitude and being treated like an animal could do that to a person.
“This doesn’t seem to be threatening,” Jalik said, but his voice sounded as if he didn’t believe his own statement. I had to assume he was trying to reassure me, but he wasn’t very good at it.
“I’m sure it’s just a super fan who’ll get bored with me eventually and move on to a dancer. I’m more upset that someone was in here rummaging around in my things.” A brief thought of some strange man grabbing my undergarments and taking off with them to do who knows what with them flashed in my mind.
I felt the blood drain from my face, and Jalik must have noticed.
“I agree. This is a severe failure of security for Black Star. Please take my sincerest apology, Serena.”
I looked at him quizzically, then waved away his apology. “Oh, no, please don’t feel bad! I’m sure this guy is just really good at breaking into people’s private rooms. I don’t blame you at all.”
“That’s kind of you, but I do blame our security, and by extension myself. All staff should feel safe while working here, and some obsessed lunatic getting into your dressing room is the exact opposite of safe.” Jalik folded the note and put it in his pocket. “I’m taking this if you don’t mind. See if anyone else might recognize the speech patterns or handwriting.”
Jalik crossed his arms and surveyed the ‘damage.’ Glitter was stuck on the chair, on the floor, on the mirror. An actual bomb might have been less destructive than this! And while it was pretty, it was also a huge nuisance.
I bent over to start wiping it away, but Jalik reached out and grabbed my arm to stop me. I looked up into his eyes and swore I could see genuine concern there. Was I in more danger than I realized? Or was he…?
I blinked away those thoughts. Jalik was far too professional to have feelings for a silly human entertainer like me. I was just seeing what I wanted to see.
“Don’t touch anything else,” he said, his tone deathly serious. “We have no way to know there isn’t anything else hiding in wait.”
“Like another glitter bomb?” I asked with a heavy heart.
“Or worse.”
My eyes shot wide open. He really was taking this seriously. Was this actually common here at the Black Star? How many singers were there before me, and how many retired early due to a crazed obsessive stalker?
“Don’t worry,” Jalik said, placing a hand on my shoulder. I felt the creeping red of a blush spread across my nose and cheeks. I couldn’t help it, just like I couldn’t help the crush I’d been hiding from him. “I’m going to investigate this. I’ll have a guard keep an eye on you at all times until I figure out who this is.”
My heart fluttered in my chest. A guard to watch me? Would Jalik himself be the volunteer, I wondered? Again, my mind raced with thoughts of how very nice that would be.
