BUTTERS HAD been hiding in his room, preparing for the next competition. When I walked into his room, I heard him crying, “I’ll never be able to beat Skylark. He’s too good.”

“You’re just as good,” Betty said, loyally. The Academy didn’t start for another week. Rumor had it they were still looking for a new dean.

“Better, even,” I added. “You can sing better than him. What’s his power, magic birds? That’s got nothing to do with singing.” Betty had summoned everyone over with a text: Butters is having a meltdown. Please help. I had looked at it, reluctant to answer the summons, to spend time with the Misshapes and their various new permutations, until I heard another chirp from my phone: You too, Sarah. I need you. Xoxo Betty

“But that crowd ate out of his hand,” Butters protested.

“Its all stage presence,” Johnny said. “You got the chops, just bring it.”

“But that’s what the Spectors are for,” Butters said, “people care about them. Not me.”

“They’re your back up. You’re the main attraction. You got to be the showman and they’re the side dish,” Johnny concluded. “Try it out sometime.”

“Hear that, Doris?” Butters asked. “It’s about me, not you.”

Doris came running over to Butters. She was pissed off. “Excuse me, little boy? I am not a side dish. If it wasn’t for me this little dish of margarine would still be singing off key at the Doolittle dance hall on all-ages night.”

“But aren’t you just his projection?” Alice asked. “Like you don’t exist without him, right?”

Butters jumped up, trying to shush Alice as she talked, but the damage was done.“Without him? Are you serious, rodent girl?”

Alice gave Butters a look that said, How did she know my power and why is she mocking me for it?

Butters shrugged. “Sorry, I can’t control her.”

“He can’t control any of us,” another Spector added.

Doris rolled her eyes. “I wasn’t finished, Maybeline.” She turned to Alice. “That’s right, I’m talking to you, princess of squirrels. Maybe he doesn’t exist without me, ever think of that? Maybe he’s my, oh, what did you call it? My mental projection. Maybe I live a fabulous life and for some reason I have a stupid little boy pop out of my brain whenever I want to sing.”

“But that can’t be right?” Johnny said. “Or make sense?”

“Can’t it? How could someone so lame create something as fabulous as Doris?” She was right. She was fabulous. She was in gold sequins today with the world’s best cat-eye makeup. I was totally jealous of her style.

Butter scrunched his face and she disappeared. He was sweating and looked terrified.

“Are you okay?” Johnny asked.

“No. She’s been doing that more and more. Just her, not the others.”

“But she’s your projection right?” I asked. “We’re not all coming our of her imagination, right?” I shivered. Maybe reality wasn’t what I thought it was.

“Sarah, come on,” Alice said.

“Sorry, it just made me nervous to think I was the product of someone else’s imagination.”

“Is there anything you can do?” Johnny asked.

“I’ve tried everything. It’s like she’s getting stronger. She keeps threatening to step out.” Betty had her arm around Butters, patting him on the back.

“Let’s focus on the show,” Johnny said. “If you’re relaxed about that maybe it will help. As we’ve established, they’re your projections, so they come from you. If you can create someone like that you can tap into your own creative abilities. Starting with how you dress.”

“What do you mean?” Butters asked.

“Well here are three women dressed to the nines and, um, excuse the insult, but a guy who looks like a dork,” I added.

Butters looked crushed. Everyone kind of glared at me, even though I was right. Maybe being in the jungle for a month wasn’t really helpful for my social skills.

“You’re not a dork, you just dress like one. I blame Betty,” I said quickly.

“Hey, what did I do?” Betty protested. She had been staying silent mostly, comforting Butters as the Spectors rebelled and we looked on in confusion.“You’re his girlfriend, work on this,” Johnny said.

“I think he looks dapper,” Betty replied. Butters was in a polo shirt and khakis, with a navy belt that had little anchors on it. She had influenced his dressing so that he looked preppier by the minute. In comparison to Doris, he looked like a reed that would blow over in the wind.

“That’s the problem. Dapper isn’t show-stopping. Dapper is a ten-year-old at a wedding,” Johnny said.

“Or a frat bro at the party,” Alice added.

Johnny opened Butters’ closet and started to go through his clothes. “Is this okay, Butters?” he asked. Butters and Alice went behind him to check out the scene. I pulled Betty aside to talk outside the room.

“Is he okay? What’s going on with him?” I asked. I could hear the Spectors singing about a “brand new you!” in Butters’ room.

Betty shrugged. She looked tired. “I don’t know. This whole karaoke thing is getting to him. He’s really nervous and he compensates with them and they get more cocky, and it’s out of control sometimes.”

“But this ‘stepping out’ thing. That sounds like some kind of mental break.”“I know.”

“Should he see someone?”

“Who? His parents sent him to a shrink when his powers first emerged and they just drugged him. There were no Spectors but there was barely any Butters as a result. Just a zombie.”

“That’s awful. Maybe if he’s more confident it would help.”

“It seems. The better he feels the less he needs them.”

We went back inside and Johnny and Alice were dressing Butters up like a sparkling Martian. The Spectors looked on in disdain, especially Doris. She was getting to be a problem.

“Maybe they should be wearing something matching,” I suggested.

“That’s what I was saying,” Johnny said.

“More androgynous!” Alice said. “It would look so good. Like Bowie.”

“Hell no,” said Doris. “That’s way too Robert Palmer. I did not get into this to be a Robert Palmer girl!”

“You’re so Eighties,” Alice said in reply, some affection in her voice.

A moment later the Spectors were in matching tuxedos, all black and white, with skinny red bow ties.

“I look like a penguin,” said Maybeline.

“You look great,” said Alice.

“That’s it. I’m done with this gig,” Doris said. She disappeared. The other two Spectors sang an, “OOOOOOH.” It was a bit ominous, I thought.