"Whoa!"


    Jimmie''s sudden move shocked the crowd of onlookers.


    "What on earth did Lunar say to Mr. Tate to make him grab a stick?"


    "So what if she''s a great dancer? After offending Mr. Tate, she''s finished in this industry."


    "Ynda, your sister really has some nerve," someone remarked. Mr. Tate was about to beat her, and she was still standing there, refusing to leave.


    "Shees from nothing, a low-ss background. We can dress her up, but we can''t change what''s in her blood," Ynda sneered, her mood soaring. "See? She can''t evenpare to a single strand of Elvira''s hair."


    Elvira just listened, a faint smile on her lips.


    "But Lunar was hired by Rachel. Do you think she knows about all this?" another dancer wondered. After all, Rachel had a say in casting the lead.


    Just as they were gossiping, Rachel came running in, looking frantic.


    "Rachel," someone called out, eager to stir the pot. "Mr. Tate found out about Lunar''s scandals and he''s furious. They got into a huge fight, and now he''s about to hit her."


    "What?" Rachel, already sweating and out of breath, only registered the words "hit her."


    "It''s not Mr. Tate''s fault," Elvira stepped forward, repeating the same story she had told Jimmie. "Lunar has no morals. She''s just not a good person. Mr. Tate felt she was insulting his sister''s memory and wanted her to leave, but she refused. That''s why he got so angry."


    "What?" Rachel''s voice shot up an octave. She stared at Elvira in disbelief, certain she''d misheard. Lunar wasn''t a good person? What kind of nonsense was this?


    "You can ask Mr. Tate yourself," Elvira said, pleased with Rachel''s shocked reaction. "Lunar is... well, she''s a piece of work."


    "Yeah, she is," the others chimed in.


    Rachel gave Elvira a long, hard look. She wanted to tear into her right then and there, but her worry for the two in the studio was more pressing.


    "Don''t you go anywhere," she said coldly. "I have something to discuss with youter."


    "Of course," Elvira replied with a gentle nod, content to wait. With Lunar about to be kicked out, the lead role in the MV would be vacant. And who was the most obvious recement? Her, of course.


    Rachel swore she had never run so fast in her life. Panic and adrenaline surged through her, her heart threatening to beat out of her chest.


    She knew someone must have been feeding Jimmie lies, poisoning him against Master Lunar. And with his temper, especially concerning his sister, all rationality would be gone. He wouldn''t just hit someone; in a rage, he was capable of murder.


    Finally, she reached the dance studio. She threw her weight against the door, yelling to stop whatever was happening inside.


    "Stop it! Don''t you two—"


    The door swung open, and the scene before her made the words die in her throat.


    There stood the aloof superstar Jimmie, holding a stick, his body slightly hunched as he stood before Lunar. His voice was soft, almost pleading, "Please, just hit me. It''ll make me feel better."


    Rachel froze on the spot, her mind nk. She stared at the two of them, utterly bewildered.


    Was she hearing things? Was Jimmie actually asking Master Lunar to beat him? What in the world was going on?