CHAPTER 12

Summary

The day following the away game from which Stargirl was tricked out of riding home with the rest of the cheerleaders was the day Stargirl was scheduled to be the subject of Hot Seat.

The Hot Seat show was always taped in the afternoon and broadcast the same night over public access television. The jury only asked questions. They did not render a verdict. The questions frequently made the person on the Hot Seat squirm, but the shows routinely ended with good feelings all around.

Leo was worried about the outcome of this show. Would it end with good feelings? Stargirl's standing had been slipping over the weeks that the fans had observed her cheering for the other basketball teams. Many fans felt that she was jeopardizing the team's winning streak by her behavior. Leo became even more worried when he saw that Hillari Kimble was on the jury.

As the show began, Stargirl let Kevin hold Cinnamon, who crawled into his shirt and peeked out. Then, Stargirl started to lower herself into the Hot Seat, but then acted like it was really hot. The show did not proceed as expected. There was pandemonium when Stargirl screamed in pretend surprise at the heat. In the chaos that followed Cinnamon ran around the studio. It was an exciting beginning to what was assumed would be an exciting show.

Unfortunately, the great scene was never aired.

Notes

Just a month earlier, when Stargirl was invited to be on the Hot Seat, it seemed that Stargirl could do no wrong. But, by the day of the taping, the situation was completely different.

CHAPTER 13

Summary

The great scene was never aired because the show itself was never aired. Here is what happened.

Kevin began the interview with a statement about Stargirl's unusual name. Then came a barrage of questions from the jury section. The jury members were only supposed to ask questions. They were not supposed to make statements. This day they did not follow the rules. Their questions were rude. And, their statements were also rude. They wanted to know why she did not use the name her parents gave her. They wanted to know why she rooted for the other team at basketball games. Kevin tried to keep the discussion orderly. He suggested that there could be one person at the games who rooted for the other teams. The suggestion was not well accepted.

When Stargirl stated that she quit homeschooling because she was interested in making friends, the jury found it hard to believe. If she wanted friends, then why did she do things that made everyone mad?

As the discussion spiraled completely out of control, Mr. Robineau, the faculty overseer, stopped the taping. But, he was not able to stop the shouting.

Notes

The jury did not seem to want to understand Stargirl's side of the discussion. Everyone's interest seemed to be in showing everyone else that they , too, were against this person who did not know who to root for.