LL EYES WERE ON ANGEL. She was almost vibrating with anticipation. Max would never have been able to do this in a million years. Max never would have wanted to. In fact, she would have threatened to lock them all in their rooms if someone suggested it.

Now she tapped a pencil against the tabletop. “Attention! Everybody, listen up! I’ve called you all here to make my announcement!” she said. “Get ready, because I have a huge surprise!”

“Do we need any more surprises?” Iggy asked.

“I’m the leader of this flock,” she announced, “and I want to announce some improvements we’re going to make.”

“What kind of improvements?” Iggy asked, leaning on his broom.

“Well, first, I’m abolishing bedtime,” Angel said, nodding firmly.

“We didn’t have much of a bedtime before,” Nudge pointed out.

Angel frowned at her. “I mean, if we want to sleep all day and stay up all night, then that’s what we’ll do!”

Gazzy shrugged. “Okay.”

“No more homeschooling!” Angel said. “Hear, hear,” said Iggy, clapping.

“I’m still going to learn stuff,” Nudge said. “I’m halfway through the Rosetta Stone level one for French.”

“If you want to, that’s fine,” said Angel graciously. “But right now, I’m going to announce our best, most exciting project ever!”

“We’re going to buy our own car?” Gazzy asked with raised eyebrows.

“Have parties every week?” Nudge guessed.

“How about a little order, a little taking care of business?” Total muttered as he trotted into the room. “That would be a huge surprise.”

Angel ignored him. Even though she was the one who had rescued him from the lab back in New York, secretly she wondered if he was more on Max’s side now. “Okay, everyone, saddle up!” She beamed at them. “We have a long flight ahead of us!”

“To where?” Nudge asked.

“A concert!” Angel said. “In Hollywood! Where we’ve signed up to appear as special celebrity guests!”

Blank faces looked back at her.

“Is this a joke?” Iggy finally asked.

“No! It’s going to be so fabulous!” Angel said. “The concert is a benefit, for fixing up a section of Santa Monica Boulevard. All kinds of famous people are part of it, and they want us to help. If they advertise that the flock will be there, thousands more people will come!”

“And a percentage of them will be toting semiautomatic handguns, or weird mind-control chips, or heck, even bows and arrows!” said Iggy. “There’s a reason we don’t go out in public much.”

“Is this a CSM benefit?” Nudge asked. “I mean, Santa Monica Boulevard?”

“No,” said Angel. “But it’s totally cool. I’ve talked to our agents —”

“What agents?” Nudge interrupted.

“The ones I’ve been interviewing,” said Angel smugly. “The ones who offered us the best deal. They’re going to pay us a whole bunch of money, and guarantee our safety too. We’re supposed to call them when we get to the Villa d’Arbanville.”

“Villa d’Arbanville? I’ve heard of that place,” said Nudge. “That’s where stars hang out! The lobby was voted ‘the best place to break up’ by Superstar magazine!”

Finally, Dylan spoke up. “Sounds like fun, but … I think I’ll be staying here.”

All eyes turned to him in surprise. “C’mon, man — live a little,” Iggy said. He was just starting to get used to having Dylan around.

“Not sure I have time for partying.” He didn’t look anyone in the eye. “I’ve got to keep working on my flying,” he explained. It wasn’t a very good excuse, but Angel could work with it.

“Well, then you’re coming with us, Dylan,” she announced, feeling decisive and leaderly. “We’re gonna fly eight hundred miles to get there. Practice makes perfect.” Angel tried to zero her powers of influence in on Dylan. She wouldn’t take no for an answer.

“I’ll see if I can hitch a ride on a private jet,” said Jeb. “Total, you and Akila are welcome to come with me. Dylan, you can come with us too,” said Jeb.

Dylan shook his head, making some of his shaggy, sunstreaked hair fall into his turquoise eyes. “No. I’ll fly with the others,” he said determinedly, but he seemed sad.

Angel saw the intent look in his eyes. And for the first time, she picked up on some of his thoughts.

He had been hoping Max would come home.