It’s about time for the world to see
The legend I was born to be.
The prince of pop, a dazzling star,
My fans will flock from near and far.
But superstar fame is hard to get
Unless I help myself, I bet.
I need a plan, a cunning trick
To make my stage act super-slick.
Seven magic clefs I’ll steal —
They’ll give me true superstar appeal.
I’ll sing and dance, I’ll dazzle and shine,
And superstar glory will be mine!
Cover
Title Page
Dedication
Map
Poem
A Picnic Surprise
Jax Tempo Has a Temper!
A-OK Is Not OK!
Gobby the Star!
Kirsty’s Clever Plan
Just Like Magic!
Teaser
Also Available
Copyright
“What a fantastic place for a picnic!” Rachel Walker exclaimed, her face breaking into a huge smile.
She and her best friend, Kirsty Tate, were standing on a grassy hill above the site where the Rainspell Island Music Festival was taking place. The girls were camping there for five fun-filled days. Below them, the two friends could see an enormous stage surrounded by lighting and sound equipment.
Close by was Star Village, where festival-goers were able to try being superstars themselves. The village had a karaoke tent as well as a small stage for dance classes. There were other areas where people could try out hairstyles and makeup, and even design their own stage costumes. There were souvenir stalls and food tents, too, and a campsite for festival-goers where Rachel, Kirsty, and Rachel’s parents were staying.
“OK, girls,” called a voice behind them. “The picnic’s ready!”
Rachel and Kirsty spun around eagerly. Their friends Serena, Lexy, and Emilia, otherwise known as the famous singing group The Angels, were sitting on a fluffy pink picnic blanket, smiling up at them.
Rachel’s and Kirsty’s eyes grew wide as they saw plates and bowls of delicious food surrounding the three girls. Yum!
“Oh, this looks so glamorous!” Kirsty sighed as she and Rachel joined The Angels on the picnic blanket. There were fancy triangular sandwiches and a crystal bowl filled with ripe red strawberries next to another bowl of whipped cream. A pitcher of freshly made lemonade with floating ice cubes and slices of lemon stood in the cool shade of a nearby tree.
“Well, you two are our special festival guests,” Emilia reminded her, passing Kirsty a plate piled high with tiny sandwiches. Kirsty and Rachel had known The Angels ever since they’d won a competition to meet the band. Since then, they’d all become good friends.
Lexy was pouring lemonade into sparkling crystal glasses. “Rainspell Island is nice, isn’t it?” she remarked. “So green and peaceful.”
“It’s a really magical place,” Rachel agreed, glancing at Kirsty.
Rainspell Island was where the two girls had first met on vacation — and it was even more special, because it was also where they had discovered that fairies were real! Since then, the girls had shared many thrilling adventures with their tiny magical friends.
“We have another surprise for you, girls,” Serena said when they’d finished eating. She took two books out of the picnic basket, one bound in pink silk and one in pale blue. The word AUTHOGRAPHS was embroidered in swirly gold letters across the front of each book.
“We thought you might like to collect autographs from your favorite festival acts,” Lexy explained as Serena handed the blue book to Kirsty and the pink one to Rachel.
“Thank you!” Rachel gasped, her eyes shining.
“You’ll sign our books, won’t you?” Kirsty asked eagerly. “Because you’re our very favorite act!”
“We already have!” Serena replied, smiling. “Take a look.”
Rachel and Kirsty quickly flipped open their books. The Angels had signed the first pages of each, and they’d also added the first few lines of their hit song, “Key to My Heart.” Together, the two girls began to read the words aloud, and The Angels sang along:
“When I’m with you I feel so glad,
The truest friend I ever had,
I know we two will never part,
And that’s the real key to my heart!”
But The Angels’ voices sounded hoarse and out of tune. Lexy, Emilia, and Serena looked at one another in dismay as they struggled to hit the right notes.
“That was awful!” Lexy exclaimed.
“Well, we did perform at the opening concert this morning,” Serena pointed out. “Maybe we strained our voices a little.”
“Yes, that must be it,” Emilia agreed. Rachel and Kirsty didn’t say anything, but they exchanged a secret, worried glance. They both knew exactly why The Angels’ voices were so off-key. . . .
When Kirsty and Rachel had arrived at Rainspell Island earlier that day, they’d had a wonderful surprise. Their old friend Destiny the Rock Star Fairy had arrived to invite them to watch the rehearsals for the Fairyland Music Festival. Destiny had whisked the girls off to Fairyland to meet the seven Superstar Fairies. Their magic helped Destiny make sure that music everywhere was fun and in tune.
But at the rehearsal, the Superstar Fairies hadn’t been able to perform well because sneaky Jack Frost and his goblins had stolen their seven magical music clefs. Jack Frost had declared that he was going to use the amazing powers of the magic clefs to become the biggest superstar in the world! Then he and his goblins had vanished in a flash of icy magic to Rainspell Island.
Rachel and Kirsty had agreed to help the fairies retrieve the magic clefs, knowing that music in the human and the fairy worlds would never be the same again if they didn’t find them all.
“Maybe we should rest and let our voices recover,” Lexy suggested.
“That’s a good idea,” replied Serena.
“We’ll pack up the picnic supplies,” Kirsty offered.
“Thanks, girls,” said Emilia. “Listen, did you know that the band A-OK is performing later? The boys in the band are friends of ours, and I’m sure they’d love to sign your autograph books.”
“Great!” Rachel exclaimed. “Kirsty and I love A-OK.”
“Why don’t you go to their rehearsal tent?” Serena suggested. “You should be able to get in with those backstage passes we gave you.”
“We’ll see you at the A-OK concert later, girls,” said Lexy, and The Angels set off down the hill, waving.
“The rest of the festival will be ruined if we don’t find the missing clefs,” Kirsty said with a frown as she and Rachel began collecting the empty plates.
“At least we found Jessie the Lyrics Fairy’s clef this morning,” Rachel said. “That means that superstars won’t mess up their lyrics anymore.”
“It was lucky that Jessie’s clef had just enough magic to make The Angels’ concert a success, wasn’t it?” said Kirsty. “But we need to find all the clefs to make everything right again.”
“Which means we have to keep an eye out for goblins at all times,” Rachel replied.
After Jack Frost had stolen the seven clefs from the Superstar Fairies, he gave some of them to his goblins to hide.
Kirsty reached for the picnic basket to put everything away. But suddenly there was a whooshing sound as a burst of dazzling fairy sparkles shot out of the basket.
“Kirsty!” Rachel cried as she spotted a tiny figure dancing through the glittering mist. “It’s Adele the Voice Fairy!”
Adele greete
d the girls with a wave of her hand. She wore a dark pink tunic over a floaty violet-colored blouse with ruffled sleeves, and she had sparkly pink ballerina flats on her feet. Her shiny hair was chestnut brown and pulled into a neat bun.
“Hello, girls,” Adele called, zooming toward them. “I’m so glad you enjoyed your picnic, but I heard The Angels trying to sing along with you. All the stars at the festival will be singing off-key like that if I don’t find my magical music clef — and fast!”
“We haven’t seen Jack Frost yet, Adele,” Kirsty told her. “But he must be here somewhere.”
“Maybe he’s hiding because he knows we’re after him,” Rachel said.
“I just know my magic clef is close by,” Adele murmured wistfully. “Will you help me look for it, girls?”
Rachel and Kirsty nodded and smiled.
“We were about to go and watch A-OK rehearse,” Kirsty explained. “We’ll keep an eye out for goblins on our way.”
“Perfect!” Adele said. “We can walk through the festival grounds and look for Jack Frost at the same time. But first, I should clean up for you before we go.”
With one flick of Adele’s wand, the plates, bowls, glasses, and picnic blanket rose up into the air and packed themselves neatly inside the basket.
“There are so many people around, I’d better hide,” Adele decided. Rachel opened her backpack and the little fairy flew inside, perching on top of Rachel’s autograph book.
“Let’s go, girls!” Adele called.
Rachel and Kirsty each took one handle of the picnic basket and headed down the hill. Star Village was packed with people eager to try out the karaoke tent, the dance classes, and all the other activities. The girls hurried through the crowd toward the backstage area, where the rehearsal tents and the stars’ trailers were set up.
They dropped the picnic basket off at The Angels’ silver trailer. Then they began to walk through the backstage area, searching for any sign of Jack Frost or his goblins. Suddenly, Kirsty heard someone singing a familiar rap song:
“I’m no fool
It’s the number-one rule,
I’m supercool!”
“Oh, we heard that song this morning in the karaoke tent!” Kirsty exclaimed, stopping to listen. “It’s that new rapper Jax Tempo.”
“It sounds great!” Rachel said thoughtfully. “But where’s it coming from?”
Kirsty pointed to an ice-blue trailer nearby. “Look, that trailer has JAX TEMPO written on the door,” she replied.
Rachel and Kirsty followed the sound of the music over to the trailer.
“Jax Tempo must be inside,” whispered Kirsty.
“Do you think he’d be annoyed if we asked for his autograph?” Rachel asked.
Kirsty shook her head. But before she or Rachel could knock on the door, the rapping inside the trailer stopped abruptly.
“No, no, NO!” Jax Tempo yelled angrily. Rachel and Kirsty recognized his voice from earlier that day. “You’re all supposed to do the background harmonies — you’re not supposed to join in with my rap! Gobby, do you hear me? Stop trying to take over my song!”
Rachel and Kirsty glanced at each other with disappointment.
“Jax Tempo’s really angry,” Kirsty whispered.
“We’d better not bother him if he’s in such a bad mood!” Rachel murmured. “Let’s go, Kirsty.”
The girls turned to leave. But as they did, the door of the trailer suddenly swung open with a crash!
Rachel and Kirsty looked around curiously and saw a boy stomp out of Jax’s trailer. The boy wore a bright green hoodie and a matching baseball hat pulled down low, hiding his face.
“I’m going to join a different band, and then Jax Tempo will be sorry!” the boy muttered grumpily. “All he does is complain about my singing. He just doesn’t realize how talented I am!”
“That must be Gobby,” Rachel whispered as she and Kirsty walked past him.
Kirsty nodded. “Look, Rachel, there’s the A-OK rehearsal tent,” she said, spotting it up ahead.
She and Kirsty stopped to find their backstage passes. As Rachel took hers out of her backpack, Adele smiled and waved.
“We’re keeping our eyes open for your magic musical clef!” Rachel whispered to her.
The girls hurried over to A-OK’s rehearsal tent and showed their passes to the security guard outside. As they went in, Kirsty thought she heard the sound of scurrying footsteps close behind them. She glanced around, but didn’t see anyone.
“That’s funny,” Rachel said a few seconds later, as they made their way into the main part of the tent. “I thought I felt something brush against me, but I must have imagined it because there’s no one here except you and me.”
“And A-OK, of course!” Kirsty whispered. “Look, there they are, standing near that piano!”
The four members of A-OK — Jeff, Amir, Rio, and Finn — were gathered behind the piano. Rachel and Kirsty stopped shyly on the other side of the room and gazed at the boys’ familiar faces with delight. There was also an older man with black hair and dark, flashing eyes seated on the piano bench. As the girls watched, the man shook his head in despair.
“That was terrible!” he announced dramatically. “Again, please.” He played an introduction and the four boys cleared their throats, then began to sing.
“I’d climb the highest mountain,
Just to be with you,
I’d swim the deepest river,
Just to be with you. . . .”
Rachel and Kirsty recognized the song as one of A-OK’s biggest hits, but just like The Angels, the boys’ voices sounded off-key. Looking furious, the man stopped playing.
“That was even worse!” he announced. “You sound more like a bunch of farm animals than a singing group. People will blame me if they hear such a horrible noise. Me, Alto Adams, the best voice coach in the world! Now . . .” He stood up from the piano and glared at the boys. “Listen to this note and sing it after me.”
Alto Adams took a breath and then tried to sing one note. But, like the boys, his own voice was raspy and completely out of tune. Alto looked horrified.
“What’s happening?” He groaned. Sinking down into his seat again, he pounded on the piano keys in frustration. “The concert is starting soon. What are we going to do?”
The members of A-OK glanced at one another in despair, but said nothing. As the girls quietly took their autograph books out of their backpacks, Rachel could see that Adele looked miserable.
“No superstars here or in Fairyland will be able to sing beautifully ever again, unless I find my magic clef!” Adele whispered sadly.
Just then, Rio looked their way and saw Rachel and Kirsty waiting patiently nearby, autograph books in hand.
“Sorry you had to listen to that, girls,” Rio said, shrugging his shoulders apologetically. “We’re not usually this bad, are we, guys?”
The others shook their heads.
“Nothing’s going right today, for some reason.” Jeff sighed. “Even Alto’s having problems.”
They all glanced over at Alto, who was sitting on the piano bench and pouting.
“I hope we’re not interrupting your rehearsal,” Kirsty said.
“No way!” Finn replied. “We’re glad to take a break.”
“Do you think we could have your autographs?” asked Rachel.
“Are you sure you still want them after hearing us sing?” Amir joked, but Rachel and Kirsty could see that he looked just as anxious as the others.
Jeff, Amir, Rio, and Finn gathered around and signed the girls’ autograph books. Then they handed the books back to Rachel and Kirsty, who thanked them, smiling widely. And then, right at that moment, something magical happened. A clear, beautiful voice came out of nowhere, filling the tent with its melodious singing:
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“I’d climb the highest mountain,
Just to be with you,
I’d swim the deepest river,
Just to be with you. . . .”
Alto Adams leaped up from the piano bench. “Who’s that?” he demanded. “Come out and show yourself!”
Rachel and Kirsty could hardly believe their eyes when Gobby crawled out from under the piano.
“Gobby must have snuck past the security guard when we came in,” Rachel murmured to Kirsty. “So we weren’t imagining things!”
The members of A-OK were staring at Gobby in amazement, too. Excitedly, Alto rushed over and slapped him on the back. “Wow, your singing is wonderful!” Alto exclaimed. “In fact, it’s A-OK!” And he beamed at Gobby.
Confused, Rachel turned to Kirsty. “I don’t get it!” Rachel murmured. “How can Gobby sing so well when Adele’s clef is missing?”
The A-OK boys had gone over to congratulate Gobby on his great singing, too. Gobby puffed out his chest, looking very happy with himself.
“So can I join the band?” he asked Alto eagerly.
“Of course,” Alto agreed, shaking Gobby’s hand. “We’d be honored to have you.”
“Hooray!” Gobby yelled, jumping up and down with glee. As he did, Kirsty noticed a necklace fly out from the neck of his hoodie. Kirsty’s heart began to pound with excitement. She could see that the charm on the necklace was Adele’s missing magic clef!
“Gobby’s a goblin, and he has Adele’s clef!” Kirsty whispered, pointing out the necklace to Rachel. “That’s why he can sing so well.”
“No wonder poor Jax Tempo was in such a bad mood,” Rachel remembered. “Gobby was probably up to all sorts of mischief in his trailer! But how are we going to get the magical clef back from Gobby without anyone seeing?”
Adele the Voice Fairy Page 1
