Free Hidden Heart by Amy Patrick Page B

virgin—or she had been when she’d left home. Had she met Vallon already? Had he selected her out of his harem for his special attention one evening?
                  And then a new thought occurred to me—was that what Nox would do? Housed in separate rooms as we were, I’d have no idea if he were to summon one of his podettes to his suite. That’s what they were here for, right? To serve and entertain their master?
    Well, it was none of my concern if he did. As long as he helped me find Emmy, it was none of my business what he did with his time. Or these girls.
    *     *     *
                  I woke to the shrieking, giggling evidence of near hysteria sounding through the hallway the next morning. Gigi opened our door to find out what was going on as Bonnie and Kim emerged from their room.
                  The same knockout woman from the prior night stood amid a crowd of girls in the hall, holding a clipboard.
                  “Ladies, Nox will be appearing on a morning TV program today. We’ll need you to come along and cheer him on. Anybody ready for a bus ride to Burbank?”
                  You would have thought she’d announced a free trip to Maui from all the resulting commotion. Girls were jumping up and down, gripping each other’s hands.
                  “You have one hour to dress and report for breakfast. Then we’ll go to the station together. Be sure to wear your swag and bring your signs.”
                  My suitemates ran back inside, going through their suitcases and chattering as they pulled out clothing and some other small items.
                  “What’s that?” I asked, looking over Gigi’s shoulder at the baubles in her hands.
                  “This is my swag. Don’t you have any?”
                  She held the items up to me—a necklace with Nox’s picture at the end, a charm bracelet with several charms. One of them was his name spelled out in black, glittery block letters, another was a guitar with “The Hidden” written on it in a cool-looking script.
                  Bonnie and Kim also displayed similar items—was it like the podette uniform? Later, as I stepped out into the hallway, dressed in my regular slogan-free clothes, I concluded that was exactly what it was.
    The other girls were decked out in The Hidden t-shirts and swag, some carried glittery hand-made signs bearing silly sayings like “Nox Rox” and “Come Nox my sox off.” I stifled giggles, embarrassed for them.
                  Falling into line, we filed through the mansion, first to a dining room for a quick breakfast, and then out a side door to where a private bus waited in the drive for us. The ride to the TV station seemed interminably long, partially because of the L.A. traffic, which lived up to its nasty reputation, and partially because of the unbearable fan-girling that surrounded me.
                  “I was one of the first applicants for his fan pod. I applied over a year ago,” someone behind me said.
    “Well, I applied two years ago,” countered a girl from the opposite aisle.
    “You did not. He wasn’t even playing two years ago.”
    “He was! I heard some underground club recordings of the band from when he was like, sixteen.” 
    I snorted, imagining it. The only thing that could possibly be more obnoxious than Nox at eighteen would be Nox at sixteen.
                  “Hey, you okay?” Gigi bumped my shoulder with hers. “You’re so quiet.”
                  “Oh. Yeah, I’m fine. I just… miss home, I guess,” I said, grappling for an excuse.
                  Her face quirked in an expression of amusement. “Really? I haven’t even thought about home.” Something like melancholy ran across her face. “Until now. That’s so weird. I said I’d call my mom as soon as I got