The Star Agency (The Star Agency Chronicles)

by R. E. Weber

  ‘It’s not healthy you know,’ she said.

  Instantly, Theo’s stomach began to knot up as he sensed yet another argument brewing. It was only eight am and already she was starting. Deliberately, he didn’t answer and just continued eating.

  ‘I said it’s…’

  ‘I KNOW,’ interrupted Theo angrily. ‘Let me guess what comes next. I need to talk to somebody and let it all out. Yeh, yeh, yeh. I’ve heard it all before. What I need is to be left alone. If I want to talk, I have Jules. She’s the only friend I need.’

  His aunt paused for a moment.

  ‘What I was about to say actually,’ she said, puffing out her chest defiantly, ‘was that it’s not healthy for a boy of your age to spend all his time alone with a girl. You used to have mates, you know, other boys. What happened to them?’

  Theo just fixed his aunt with a stare. Did he really want to get into this now? It was far too early in the day for another row. But then, on the other hand, he knew that she wouldn’t let it go easily, so perhaps it was better to confront her and get it over with. Not that she ever listened to his point of view. She always thought she knew best.

  Theo took a deep breath. ‘Look auntie, these other boys who you think were my friends, live on the other side of town. And anyway, all they ever want to do is hang around outside, playing football or listening to their stupid music. They think they’re so cool, but they never do anything interesting. It does my head in. They’ve got no imagination. They know nothing! They’ll never be anything.’

  ‘But sitting in your room playing ‘The Star Race’ or whatever it’s called, that’s using your imagination, is it?’

  ‘YES IT IS,’ shouted Theo. ‘And nobody ever nags you in there either.’

  ‘Theo, I was only saying. No need to bite my head off.’

  Theo looked across the table at his scowling aunt and sighed. Bad idea these early morning chats. Time to retreat.

  Quickly, he glanced at his watch. ‘Time for school,’ he muttered. Then he rose from his chair, picked up his plate of toast and headed up to his room. His aunt said nothing and didn’t try to stop him.

  As Theo packed his school bag hurriedly, he heard the doorbell ring, followed by his aunt opening the door. Then there were a few muffled voices. Wondering what was happening, he headed out onto the landing and peered over the rail down the stairs.

  ‘Theo, come down here now, please,’ his aunt shouted.

  Theo tramped reluctantly down the stairs, readying himself for another argument. But when he got there, his aunt was stood in the porch with the postman: a warm, friendly, slightly chubby, silver haired man, who Theo had known for many years and actually quite liked. He stood there beaming at Theo.

  ‘Is it your birthday again, Theo?’ he said, smiling.

  ‘Every day’s my birthday,’ said Theo sarcastically, staring at the thick padded envelope stuffed under the postman’s arm.

  ‘You need to sign for this one mate,’ he said, holding out an electronic pad and pointing to a small rectangular box. ‘There.’

  Theo took the pad and quickly scribbled his signature with the tiny plastic pen. Then he handed it back to the Postman.

  ‘There you go lad,’ he said, stuffing the envelope into Theo’s hand. ‘Enjoy.’

  ‘Thanks,’ said Theo before turning and galloping back up the stairs.

  Once he’d closed his bedroom door, he sat down on his bed and stared at the parcel. It was a large, brown, padded envelope, heavily sellotaped around one end, with a printed address label stuck carelessly to the front. Theo winced as he read out his full name from the label. Theopolis James Logan. Then he sighed. His parents weren’t around anymore to blame. He flexed the envelope, which bent easily, and he heard a faint crinkling noise from inside. For a moment, his eyes lit up. Was it perhaps a late birthday present? Enthusiastically, he ripped off the sellotape, pulled open the end of the envelope and then shook it impatiently. A thick folded newspaper and a loose sheet of paper dropped out onto his bed. He put the envelope down, picked up the sheet of paper first and turned it over to read. It was a typed letter:

  Dear Theopolis,

  I was so sorry to hear about your Grandpa. He was a very special man. Please accept my condolences to you and your family.

  I know right now you are feeling sad and lost, but don’t give in to it. Stay strong, be brave and look to your friends.

  And finally, here is the news. You matter, you really matter so much. You wouldn’t believe how much.

  Look up. The sky is the limit!

  Amistad!

  Love

  A friend

  PS: Don’t believe everything you are told.

  Theo stared for a moment at the letter, confused. Then he picked up the newspaper and unfolded it. It was The Pinton Chronicle: a free weekly local newspaper, delivered every Thursday or whenever the paperboy could be bothered. He checked the date. It was two weeks old. Why was somebody sending him an old newspaper? He opened the paper and quickly flicked through the pages. But there was nothing that caught his eye or was even of any interest.

  As he continued to scan the paper, the doorbell rang again, and he knew that it was Jules ready for the twenty-minute walk to school. Quickly, he stuffed the letter and newspaper back into the envelope and shoved it into his bag. His aunt was just about to shout up to him when he came galloping down the stairs with his bag slung over his shoulder. He opened the door, shot outside and quickly shouted ‘Bye,’ before racing off down the path past Jules, hoping that it wouldn’t give his aunt enough time to call after him.

  ‘Hey slow up mate, what’s the rush?’ panted Jules as Theo galloped ahead.

  Once Theo was out of sight of the cottage, he slowed down and gave Jules a chance to catch up.

  ‘So I suppose this means you’ve had another row then, does it?’ said Jules.

  ‘Same old, same old,’ said Theo.

  ‘When are you two ever going to get on? She’s only trying…’

  ‘Never mind that,’ interrupted Theo. ‘Look at this. I got it in the post this morning. A newspaper and a letter.’

  He took the envelope out of his bag, pulled out the letter and handed it to Jules.

  ‘Have a read,’ he said.

  Jules stopped walking while she read the short letter. After finishing it, she paused before looking back at him.

  ‘So what do you think?’ said Theo.

  ‘Well,’ said Jules, ‘it doesn’t say who it’s from. It doesn’t make much sense, does it? Not the last bit anyway. It’s like a riddle or something.’

  ‘Yeh, that’s what I thought,’ said Theo. ‘But why is somebody sending me a riddle?’

  Jules paused for a moment as she read the letter again.

  ‘Look here, Theo,’ she said, pointing to the last paragraph, ‘it says here is the news. It’s like whoever wrote this is telling you to look in the newspaper for something. We’ve just gotta work out what it is.’

  ‘Yeh, but when I had a look all I could see was ads and stuff. I couldn’t see anything to do with the letter.’

  ‘Well we probably just need to have a closer look. Why don’t we meet in the Library at lunchtime, see if we can work it out together?’

  ‘OK yeh, good one, J. Bout 12:30?’

  ‘Sounds good to me.’

  Theo stuffed the envelope back into his bag. Then they hurried off down the road, both knowing that they might be late for school if they didn’t run.

  Fifteen minutes later, as the bell rang, they reached the school gates and parted, heading for separate doors.

  ‘See you at 12:30,’ shouted Jules, just before she disappeared through the door.

  ‘Yeh, 12:30,’ Theo yelled back as several other boys behind him smirked at each other.

  *

  The village Library was only a five minute walk from the school gates. It was an old 1970’s brown brick building, small and plain looking, with large dirty windows. One side of the Library was overgrown with Ivy,
which a few weeks earlier had been a bold red colour. Now, most of the leaves had fallen off, making it look rather sad and tatty.

  Theo was already sat at a table inside, with the newspaper open, when Jules arrived.

  ‘Any thoughts yet mate?’ she whispered as she sat down beside him.

  ‘Not really,’ said Theo. ‘It’s just bonkers.’

  ‘OK, let’s have a look,’ said Jules.

  She pulled the middle few pages out of the paper and handed them to Theo, leaving her with the remaining sheets.

  ‘You check through that section, I’ll check through this,’ she said.

  ‘What are we supposed to be looking for?’

  ‘I’m not sure really, but I reckon we’ll know when we see it.’

  Quietly, they both scanned the pages, which were mainly advertisements with the odd local story wedged in between. Jules quickly reached the back of the paper, and just before the sports pages she came across the local services section. There were various trades listed: Computer services, Education Services, Gardening and Landscaping, Painting & Decorating and Self Help.

  Self-help. For some reason it caught her attention, even though she wasn’t immediately sure why, so she quickly read on. There were only three ads in the section, but as she reached the last one, she knew instinctively she’d found what she was looking for:

  Release your potential my friend!

  Ever felt like life is passing you by?

  Ever wanted to try something new, but felt like something inside was holding you back?

  Do you want to climb a mountain or parachute from a plane, but are scared of heights?

  Have you always wanted to write a book or learn to act, but been told you have no talent?

  What’s really stopping you - other people or yourself?

  Throw off your mental chains and reach for the sky!

  Call Juanita, 01456 555635

  ‘Here,’ said Jules, pointing excitedly. ‘Look at this.’

  Theo leaned over and read the ad.

  ‘Just one of those daft self-help groups, isn’t it?’ he replied.

  ‘No Theo, look at the name—carefully.’

  Theo looked at the Name. Juanita. It was unusual for sure, but apart from that he couldn’t see anything else interesting about it.

  ‘I don’t get it,’ said Theo, feeling rather thick.

  ‘Well,’ said Jules, ‘Juanita. It sounds Spanish to me.’

  Theo knew that Jules and her family regularly travelled to Spain on holiday, and that Jules had picked up a few Spanish words and phrases.

  ‘OK, so it’s a Spanish name. So what?’ said Theo.

  ‘Theo, get the letter, quickly.’

  Theo pulled the letter out from under the newspaper and laid it out in front of them.

  ‘Look, Theo,’ she said excitedly. ‘Look at that word. Amistad. I’ve seen it before. I’m sure it’s Spanish. I can’t remember what it means but I’m sure it’s Spanish.’

  Theo stood up and glanced around the library. It wasn’t very big and he easily spotted the languages section. He walked over to it and scanned the shelves. French, German, Polish, Spanish. It didn’t take him long to find a Spanish dictionary, which he brought back to the table and handed to Jules. Quickly, she flicked through the entries beginning with A and there it was:

  la amistad SUSTANTIVO

  friendship

  • hacer amistad - to make friends

  ‘Friendship!’ said Jules.

  ‘Friendship?’ said Theo. ‘Did I miss something?’

  ‘Sometimes Theo you are so dense,’ Jules laughed. ‘Reach for the sky and The Sky is the Limit. Release your potential my friend and Amistad. The Spanish word for friendship in a letter, then a woman with a Spanish name in the newspaper ad. That’s the link, Theo.’

  Theo thought for a moment. Then his eyes popped wide open and he stared back at Jules.

  ‘Of course,’ said Theo. ‘Of course, brilliant, Jules. You’re so clever. What would I do without you?’

  ‘Panic,’ said Jules sarcastically.

  ‘There’s a phone number there. Do you think we should call it?’

  ‘Yeh we’ll call it, but not now. Tonight, round at yours.’

  As Jules and Theo had become more and more excited, they hadn’t realised that their voices were becoming louder and louder. Suddenly, without warning, a stern old man appeared in front of them, almost as if out of nowhere. He was balding, with half-moon glasses hanging off the end of his nose, and slightly overweight. He glared down at them.

  ‘Will you kids please keep the noise down. This is a Library, you know,’ he whispered.

  ‘I…I’m sorry sir,’ stuttered Theo. ‘We’re done now anyway.’

  Quietly, they rose from the table. Theo put the newspaper and letter into the envelope and then stuffed it into his bag. Then they walked quickly out of the Library. Looking at her watch, Jules realised that they might be late for afternoon school and grabbed Theo’s arm.

  ‘Come on mate, we’re gonna be late again,’ she said as she dragged him running towards the school gate.

  ‘I don’t think old three eyes in the Library really likes us kids, does he?’ said Theo.

  Jules didn’t answer Theo, but as they ran, she looked over at him to see that a huge grin had appeared across his face. It was something that she hadn’t seen for a long time. It made her happy.

  Their timing as usual was spot on, and as they dashed through the school gates, the afternoon bell had just started ringing.

  ‘Yours at seven?’ shouted Jules.

  ‘Can’t wait,’ cried Theo as he headed through the door to his next class.

  *

  That afternoon, lessons passed slowly for Theo, and he was even less able than usual to concentrate on his schoolwork.

  ‘Your head’s in the clouds again, Logan,’ his French teacher bawled, bringing him crashing back to reality. ‘CON-CEN-TRATE!’

  Theo did his best but it was really no good. He hated languages at the best of times, and today he’d scarcely heard a word that the teacher had said. He quietly cheered to himself when the 3.30pm bell rang. Then he quickly grabbed his books and dashed through the door.

  ‘Don’t run in the corridors,’ he heard a teacher shouting behind him. But it didn’t make any difference. He was on a mission and nothing was going to stop him now.

  He met Jules again at the school gate and they walked quickly home, breathlessly talking as they went. As they arrived home, they separated and headed for their own front gates.

  *

  Jules arrived at 7pm on the dot, as agreed. Neither of them had been able to think about anything else, other than the letter and the newspaper, all afternoon.

  ‘Jules,’ said Theo as they sat down in his bedroom. ‘Do you really think we’ve got this right? It could be just coincidence. Maybe we’re just looking for things that aren’t there.’

  ‘Well,’ replied Jules, ‘we were given the paper for some reason. Did you see anything else in there to do with the letter?’

  Theo had spent a good hour after he’d gotten home from school going through the paper, but he had to admit that he hadn’t. ‘No,’ he said.

  ‘Well there’s no time like the present,’ said Jules, handing him his mobile phone.

  Theo paused as he looked at the phone, suddenly feeling a little nervous.

  ‘But what’s gonna happen? What do you think I’m gonna find?’

  ‘Dunno,’ said Jules, ‘but there’s only one way to find out. Here’s the number. Come on, get on with it. I haven’t got all day.’

  Nervously, Theo tapped out the number from the advert and then held the phone to his ear. After a short pause, it began to ring. One ring, two rings—Theo’s heart began to thump with anticipation—three rings, four rings—still nothing—five rings, six rings...

  ‘There’s no answer,’ said Theo.

  Seven rings, eight rings. Then there was a click and a recording of a heavily accented woman’s
voice began to play:

  ‘Hola. You have called Juanita. I’m sorry but Reach for the Sky is no longer open for business. Thank you to everybody who has supported me over the years. Have a good life and remember – throw off your mental chains. Adios!’

  The phone clicked and a continuous tone sounded. Theo held the phone out in from of him and stared at it for a moment. Then he ended the call and slammed the phone down on the bed.

  ‘It’s a bloody waste of time,’ said Theo angrily.

  ‘It can’t be,’ said Jules. ‘What did it say?’

  Theo told her what he’d heard as best as he could remember.

  ‘Try it again,’ said Jules. ‘You might have missed something.’

  ‘No I haven’t. That’s itit’s nothing but a con. How could we have been so stupid? How could I have been so stupid? I thought for a moment, just for once, something might have happened to me—something exciting or different. But no, it’s me. Nothing ever happens to me, does it? They’re right my old friends, aren’t they? I’m just Theo the geek! Theo the dork! Perhaps I should just give up using my brain and go and kick a football round the park with them lot and be one of the lads. But no, I’m just….’

  ‘Stop,’ said Jules, grabbing his arm. ‘Don’t do this to yourself. This isn’t like you. Please, let’s try again. Please, Theo, there must be something there. Please...’

  ‘You try then,’ said Theo, angrily thrusting the phone into her hand.

  Jules read the newspaper ad carefully. Then she dialled the number and listened. The phone rang again eight times and then the same voice answered: