With thanks to all the magical people in my life for their belief in me
Special thanks to Maria Faulkner
Cover
Title Page
Dedication
Poem
Map of Astral-on-Sea
Introduction
1
Songs on the Sand
2
Mystery Guests
3
Jacey Day!
4
All the Time in the World
5
Song and Dance
6
Practice Makes Perfect
7
Magic Moments
Make Your Own!
Lucky Stars #4: Wish Upon a Party
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Copyright
Lucky Star that shines so bright,
Who will need your help tonight?
Light up the sky, and thanks to you
Wishes really do come true. . . .
Hello, friend!
I’m Stella Starkeeper, and I want to tell you a secret. Have you ever gazed up at the stars and thought that they could be full of magic? Well, you’re right. Stars really are magical!
Their precious starlight allows me to fly down from the sky. I’m always on the lookout for boys and girls who are especially kind and helpful. I train them to become Lucky Stars — people who can make wishes come true!
So next time you’re under the twinkling night sky, look out for me. I’ll be floating among the stars somewhere.
Give me a wave!
Love,
“Magic moments, these are magic moments . . .” Cassie sang.
“Yowl, yowl, meow, yowl . . .” her black-and-white cat, Twinkle, joined in.
Their voices echoed in the huge observatory dome at Starwatcher Towers. Cassie was singing along to “Magic Moments,” the latest hit by Jacey Day. She was Cassie’s favorite pop star! In fact, that afternoon Cassie and her friend Kate were going to watch Jacey perform. She was the opening act in the Songs on the Sand music festival, right in their own town of Astral-on-Sea!
All week, Cassie and Kate had been practicing a special dance routine to “Magic Moments.” As she twirled around, Cassie imagined that Kate was also dancing in the Fairy Cupcake Bakery, the store that her mom owned.
Cassie turned up the music. “Let’s dance, Twinkle!” she said with a giggle.
Her old cat blinked his eyes. Cassie scooped him up from the old leather chair where he sat, and spun around, being careful not to bump into any of the shiny telescopes. Her dad was an astronomer. Most nights, he could be found up here in the observatory, studying the stars.
“There’s a friend I’d love to meet,
Spinning world beneath his feet.
He’s got pebbles in his hands,
Running ’cross the glistening sands. . . .”
Along with Jacey’s sweet, clear voice, the backup singers added a catchy harmony to the song. The sound of their voices blending together made Cassie want to sing and dance!
When the song ended, Cassie noticed a tingling feeling on her arm. She put Twinkle back on the chair and looked at the charm bracelet around her wrist. Her new butterfly charm seemed to flutter its colorful wings.
“I wonder what magical power this charm has,” Cassie said, “and who I’ll help next.”
Cassie used her charms to help make people’s wishes come true! With each person she helped, she received another magic charm for her bracelet. So far, Cassie had three. The bird charm gave her the power to fly, and the crescent moon allowed her to talk to animals. But she still wasn’t sure what the butterfly charm did. She couldn’t wait to find out!
“Meow!” Twinkle’s ears twitched. He seemed to be trying to tell her something.
Cassie concentrated hard on her crescent moon charm, so its magic could help her understand him. “What is it, Twinkle?” she asked.
“I can hear music,” he said. His ears twitched again. “It’s coming from outside.”
Cassie listened. Yes, there was music! She gazed up into the bright blue sky and saw a star shining there. Cassie knew that it was unusual to see a star in daylight, but she also knew this was no ordinary star.
As she watched, the star zoomed straight through the open skylight of the dome, filling the observatory with beautiful music. Then, with a whizz and a fizz and a zip-zip-zip, it landed next to Cassie.
“Meow!” Twinkle darted under the chair and covered his eyes with his paws.
But Cassie watched with delight as the star grew into a column of dazzling light, which slowly changed into . . .
“Stella Starkeeper!” Cassie flung her arms around her friend. “It’s so good to see you!”
Stella was helping Cassie become a Lucky Star. Today she looked as pretty as ever. Her silver dress and leggings glittered above her shiny boots, and her long silver-blonde hair rippled over her shoulders.
“I see you’ve earned your third charm,” Stella said. “Good work, Cassie! Soon you’ll have all seven charms, and can become a Lucky Star. Then you’ll be able to grant wishes whenever you want!”
“I can’t wait,” said Cassie. She turned the little butterfly charm in her fingers and looked at its pretty pink wings. “But what does my new charm do?”
Twinkle creeped out from under the chair and tried to bat at the charm with his paw.
Stella laughed and tickled Twinkle under the chin, making him purr loudly. “I’ll give you a clue,” she said, her blue eyes shining. “You have all the time in the world to figure it out. . . .”
Beautiful music filled the dome again. With a wave, Stella disappeared in a shower of glittering sparkles.
Cassie looked at Twinkle. “All the time in the world. I wonder what Stella meant?”
Cassie ran downstairs to the first floor, jumping over the bottom three steps. At the same moment, her mom came out of the kitchen carrying a tray with a jug of water, some freshly baked cookies, and a vase of flowers. Cassie stopped just in time — one more step and they would have crashed!
“Careful, Cass,” said Mom. “You almost flew right into me!”
Cassie smiled to herself. Good thing she hadn’t used her bird charm to really fly down the stairs!
“Sorry, Mom,” she said, holding the dining room door open and waving to her dad inside.
“I heard you singing and dancing,” Cassie’s dad said with a grin. “Are you sure Jacey Day wasn’t up there with you?”
Cassie giggled and looked at the dining table that her dad was polishing. Her brown eyes and blonde hair were reflected in its gleaming surface. “Wow, it’s as shiny as a mirror!” she said.
“We’re getting ready for some surprise guests,” Dad explained. “The reservation just came through this morning.”
Starwatcher Towers wasn’t just an observatory — it was a bed-and-breakfast, too! Cassie’s mom ran the B&B, and her dad used the observatory for his astronomy work.
“The travel agent acted like it was some sort of big secret,” said Mom. “All they told us is that the guests are a mom and daughter who need lots of privacy.”
“We don’t even know their names!” Dad added.
Cassie raised her eyebrows. “Very mysterious,” she said, wondering who the guests could be.
“All mysteries can be solved, as long as you carefully examine the facts,” said a familiar voice behind her.
Cassie turned to see
Alex standing in the hallway with his little white puppy, Comet. She grinned at them. Alex and his parents were staying at the B&B on vacation. He was obsessed with science! At first, he hadn’t believed in Stella Starkeeper or Cassie’s magical bracelet. But soon he changed his mind, and he and Cassie had become good friends.
Ring-ring! Ring-ring!
“Ruff! Ruff!” Comet leaped around the hallway, barking at the ringing telephone.
“Sit, Comet. Good boy,” Alex said, petting his excited puppy.
Comet flopped down, wagging his tail, as Cassie’s mom answered the phone.
“Hello — Starwatcher Towers. Can I help you?” Cassie’s mom said. “Oh, hi!” She paused, her smile turning into a worried frown. “Oh, no. Yes, of course I’ll tell Cassie. I hope Kate will feel better soon.”
“What’s wrong with Kate?” Cassie asked as soon as her mom hung up. “She can still go to the concert, right?”
Cassie’s mom shook her head. “I’m afraid not. Her mom says she’s in bed with a sore throat.”
“Poor Kate! She must be so disappointed that she’ll miss seeing Jacey Day.” Cassie gave a heavy sigh. “Our song and dance routine was almost perfect.”
“I know,” Mom said, giving Cassie a hug. “You’ll just have to sing twice as loud now. And maybe you could do something nice to cheer up Kate.”
Cassie nodded, but she couldn’t help feeling disappointed.
Comet ran over and licked Cassie’s toes, as if he was trying to make her feel better. Cassie smiled.
“I think Comet wants to go to the concert with you,” Alex said, laughing.
Suddenly, Cassie had an idea!
“Would you like to go to the concert with me, Alex?” she asked him hopefully. “I have the tickets already.”
“Really?” Alex’s brown eyes lit up. “I’d love to! I’ve never been to a concert before, so it’ll be kind of like a science experiment for me.”
Cassie giggled and did a little twirl down the hallway. Alex grinned.
Ding-dong! The doorbell echoed in the hallway. Mom hurried to answer it. “Looks like our mystery guests have arrived,” she said.
Cassie felt a flutter of excitement. Who could they be?
“Hello,” Cassie’s mom said to the tall, thin woman standing on the doorstep. “Welcome to Starwatcher Towers.”
Behind her, Cassie could see a girl with long, dark hair. She was wearing sunglasses, skinny jeans, a cropped pink jacket, and glittery silver sneakers. Cassie smiled at her, and the girl waved back.
“It’s so nice to be here,” the woman said. “My daughter and I have had a long trip.”
“Please come in and make yourselves right at home,” Mom said, holding the door open.
The woman smiled at Cassie as she walked past in her high heels, leaving a faint whiff of perfume behind her. Dad helped carry in their suitcases, which looked awfully fancy to Cassie.
Outside, the girl had wandered onto the lawn and was speaking quietly into her cell phone.
“Wow,” Cassie whispered to Alex. “She looks like a movie star with those big sunglasses.”
“I think she must be a famous scientist,” Alex replied. “See that phone? It’s very high-tech. It can do all sorts of things!”
“I love her shiny hair,” Cassie said with a little sigh. “And her silver sneakers. Our mystery guests are so fancy!”
Alex adjusted his glasses, trying to get a better look. “Really?” he said. “Their clothes look pretty normal to me.”
Cassie grinned. Alex would only notice someone’s outfit if it were a lab coat and science goggles!
Cassie knew it wasn’t polite to stare, but she couldn’t seem to tear her eyes away from the girl. Even though she couldn’t see much of the girl’s face behind those big sunglasses, Cassie was sure she had seen her somewhere before. But where?
Cassie and Alex watched from the front step as the girl finished her call and glanced at the gold watch on her wrist. She walked back and forth across the lawn, her forehead creased with worry.
“I wonder what’s wrong?” said Cassie quietly.
“It looks like she just got some bad news,” said Alex. “Maybe she’s the person you’re supposed to help.”
Cassie shook her head. “She’s so glamorous. She doesn’t need me to make her wish come true!”
At last, the girl walked over to Cassie and Alex. “Hi,” she said with a grin.
“Hi,” Cassie replied, suddenly feeling shy. “I’m Cassie, and this is Alex.”
“Um . . . hello,” said Alex.
“It’s very nice to meet you,” the girl said. But to Cassie’s surprise, she didn’t tell them her name. Instead, she pointed to Cassie’s wrist. “I like your charm bracelet. I’ve never seen one like it before.”
“Thank you!” Cassie jingled her bracelet and smiled. The girl couldn’t possibly know how special it really was!
“I — um — heard about the Songs on the Sand festival that’s going on today. Do you know how to get there?” the girl asked.
“Alex and I can show you the way to the beach,” Cassie said. “We’ll be going there ourselves soon.”
“Do you have a ticket?” Alex asked the girl.
“Don’t worry,” she said. “I won’t need a ticket.”
Cassie and Alex exchanged a surprised look. Why wouldn’t the girl need a ticket? Whoever she is, Cassie thought, she’s very mysterious. . . .
Cassie, Alex, and the girl arranged to meet their parents at the festival and headed for the beach. Comet bounded along next to them.
Cassie pointed at a cluster of tents in the distance. “You can see the festival from here,” she said as they walked down the hill.
“There’s a carnival, too!” Alex said before Comet tugged on his leash, pulling Alex ahead of the two girls.
“You seem so familiar,” Cassie told the other girl. “I’m sure I’ve seen you before.”
The girl didn’t reply, but pushed her sunglasses farther up the bridge of her nose.
“Sorry, I don’t think I got your name,” Cassie said, feeling more curious about this visitor by the minute.
“Oh, right . . . I’m Jacinta,” the girl replied. “Thanks for showing me to the festival.”
Alex ran back toward them. “Look at that crowd!” he said. He thought for a minute. “I estimate that there must be at least a thousand people!”
They all ran down the last part of the hill and onto the boardwalk. Cassie felt her heart pound with excitement — she would be seeing Jacey Day perform soon! She started to sing “Magic Moments.”
“When the city’s far away,
Then the sunshine fills my day. . . .”
Jacinta gave her a curious smile. “That’s a Jacey Day song,” she said.
“Yes, she’s the best,” Cassie said. “I can’t wait to see her in concert today!”
Cassie noticed that Jacinta’s forehead had creased up with worry again. What was bothering her?
As they hurried along the boardwalk, Cassie waved to Bert, who was giving donkey rides to kids on the beach. When they finally reached the festival gates, they spotted a huge billboard that showed the list of singers and when they were set to perform. Jacey Day’s name was first.
“Look,” Cassie said pointing at the billboard. “Perfect timing — Jacey’s on soon!”
Jacinta just nodded, looking even more worried than before.
What could be the matter? Cassie wondered. I don’t know how to help unless I can find out what’s wrong.
An official-looking man carrying a clipboard walked up to the gates. As he approached, he spoke into a cell phone. Cassie noticed that Jacinta was tapping her foot anxiously.
“Yup,” the man said. “I’ve found her. I’ll let her know
.”
He beckoned for them to come through the gates. They didn’t even have to show their tickets! What was going on?
“Have you found anyone else?” Jacinta asked the man in a quiet voice.
“No, I’m sorry. It’s hard to find replacements with such short notice,” he told her.
Jacinta’s face fell. “But it will be a disaster without them,” she said sadly. “Is there anything else you can do?”
“I wonder what’s going to be a disaster,” Cassie whispered to Alex. “And how does she know this guy?” Alex shrugged, looking confused.
The man spoke into his phone, waited for an answer, and then shook his head.
“Sorry, there’s no chance,” he said to Jacinta. “I’m afraid you’ll have to do it on your own or cancel.”
Cancel what? thought Cassie.
Jacinta turned away and covered her face with her hands. Tears were trickling down her cheeks.
“Oh, please don’t cry!” Cassie exclaimed. She pulled a tissue from her pocket and offered it to Jacinta.
“Thanks,” Jacinta said, sniffling. She took off her sunglasses and wiped the tears from her eyes.
Just then, Cassie’s heart did a flip-flop of excitement.
She couldn’t believe it. Jacinta was actually Jacey Day!
Still clutching the crumpled tissue, Jacey slipped her sunglasses back on before anyone else recognized her.
“Oh, of course!” Alex said, hopping up and down with excitement. “Jacey must be short for Jacinta. Wow, I’ve never met a famous person before!”
Cassie could barely contain herself. She had so many questions she wanted to ask Jacey! What was her favorite color? Did she have any pets?
“I can’t believe you’re staying with us!” she cried. “Starwatcher Towers is only a little bed-and-breakfast. Why aren’t you staying at a fancy hotel like Flashley Manor?”
Wish Upon a Song Page 1
