JEM: The Women Behind

Jem and related characters are property of Hasbro. This is set in the same universe as "Musical Illusionists".

Chapter 1: Pizzazz- Scars

There's no such thing as a perfect face on a human being. But there's one flaw Phyllis "Pizzazz" Gabor always chooses to cover up. It's a scar on her cheek. She could have had it fixed years ago with the marvel of plastic surgery. But she keeps it still, buried under her makeup.

She keeps it to remember. To remember when she was a hot-blooded teenager with a fiery temper. To remember a young man named Xander Barclay- a man she once loved until she found him in bed with another girl her age. To remember calling him out behind her house for a proper duel.

She keeps it to remember the day she became an unofficial alumnus of the Heidelberg school of fencing. She keeps it to remember Xander's sabre cutting a gash on her cheek. She keeps it to remember the rush of trying to hide it from her dad so that he wouldn't throw a fit upon realizing what she'd done.

It's a rush she's never felt again. Her sabre hangs on the basement wall, occasionally polished to keep it from rusting. She hasn't picked it up in five years. Why would she need to? After all, she's traded in her sword for her singing voice and an electric guitar.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

For the uninitiated, the "Heidelberg school of fencing" is a German thing. Look up "academic fencing" and "dueling scar" on Wikipedia if you want more information.