Wish Upon a Party

by Phoebe Bright

  With special thanks to Maria Faulkner

  With thanks to all the magical people in my life for their belief in me

  Cover

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Poem

  Map of Astral-on-Sea

  Introduction

  1

  The Great Fandango

  2

  Magic Tricks

  3

  Disappearing Magician

  4

  Out of Thin Air!

  5

  Where's the Cupcake?

  6

  A Magic Show

  7

  Magical Birthday Party

  Make Your Own!

  Lucky Stars #5: Wish Upon a Superstar

  Read more Lucky Stars books!

  Also Available

  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,

  “Snap!” said Cassie, putting a matching card on the pile in front of her. “I’m going to win this time.”

  “We’ll see about that,” said Alex. He grinned and put down another card.

  It was a rainy day in Astral-on-Sea. Cassie and Alex were playing a card game called Snap in her bedroom at Starwatcher Towers. Cassie’s parents owned the Starwatcher Towers Bed and Breakfast, and Alex was her new friend. He was staying there on vacation with his parents and his little white puppy, Comet.

  “SNAP!” Alex shouted. “That’s two wins for me and one for you. You see, it’s all about probability.”

  “Probability?” Cassie repeated.

  “It’s a theory scientists use to figure out how often something might happen,” Alex replied. “I’m figuring out how often the cards will come up in pairs by counting the cards in between.”

  Cassie smiled. Of course Alex would come up with a scientific way to play Snap!

  “I think you’re just lucky!” she said.

  She looked up at the glass roof of her bedroom and sighed. It curved around into a dome shape like her dad’s observatory. At night, Cassie liked watching the stars through the glass, but now all she could see were raindrops falling in a steady pitter-patter.

  “It’s raining too hard to go outside,” she said, petting Twinkle, her old black cat. He purred happily. “What if someone’s making a wish? How will I know, if I’m stuck inside?”

  “You already helped make three people’s wishes come true,” Alex pointed out. “So the probability is good that you’ll help a fourth person.”

  Twinkle nuzzled Cassie’s arm, and the charms on Cassie’s bracelet tinkled together. Stella Starkeeper, Cassie’s magical friend, had given her the silver bracelet for her seventh birthday a few days before. Every time Cassie helped make someone’s wish come true, she received another charm with a new magical power!

  So far, she had four charms — the bird charm made her fly, the crescent moon let her speak to animals, and the butterfly charm helped her freeze time. Her newest charm was a purple flower, but she didn’t know what its magic power was yet. When she earned seven charms, she would become a real Lucky Star, just like Stella. Then she would be able to grant any wish she liked! But Cassie knew she had a lot to do before that magical day.

  Cassie looked up at the gray sky again. There was no sign of Stella Starkeeper among the clouds.

  She heard Alex’s stomach growl loudly. “I’m hungry,” he announced.

  “I’m hungry, too,” Cassie agreed, giggling. “Let’s go and get some breakfast.”

  Cassie carried Twinkle downstairs to the dining room. He sat under the table near Cassie’s feet while she and Alex ate some soft-boiled eggs and toast.

  “I wonder if it will ever stop raining,” Cassie said with a sigh.

  “Hi,” a new voice interrupted. “I think I can make your gray day disappear!”

  Surprised, Cassie turned to see who had spoken. A boy stood in the dining room doorway. He was a little taller than Alex and wore a black cape. He gave them a goofy grin. Cassie recognized him as one of the new guests at the bed-and-breakfast.

  “Hi!” Cassie said. “I’m Cassie, and this is Alex.”

  The new boy bowed. His shiny black cape swung around his shoulders, revealing a bright-red lining.

  “I am The Great Fandango,” he announced in a booming voice.

  “That’s a very unusual name,” Alex said, grinning.

  “My real name’s Marcus Chen,” the boy told them, sitting down. “The Great Fandango is my stage name. I chose Fandango because it sounds magical, and Great because that’s what I want my tricks to be.”

  “You’re a magician!” Cassie said excitedly.

  Marcus nodded proudly.

  “I’m going to be a scientist,” said Alex.

  “Wow,” Marcus said, “that’s great, too.”

  Cassie and Alex laughed.

  “Why do you have your magician’s outfit on now?” Alex asked.

  “I’m doing a magic show at my cousin Lia’s birthday party,” Marcus explained. “She’s turning five today. I don’t see her very often because we live far away, so the magic show is my birthday present to her.”

  “What a fun idea!” Alex said.

  Cassie and Alex grinned at each other. They knew a lot about magic, because of the magical adventures they had with the charms on Cassie’s bracelet.

  “We love magic,” Cassie added.

  With a flourish, Marcus pulled out a black wand with a white tip. “Then I’ll show you my magic tricks,” he said.

  He turned the bottom half of Alex’s empty eggshell upside down on a plate. Then he shook out a clean napkin and carefully covered the empty shell.

  As she watched Marcus, Cassie noticed a glimmer of sunshine peeking through the dining room window. This could turn out to be a magical day after all, she thought with a smile.

  Marcus slowly waved his wand over the napkin and tapped it three times. Whoosh! He whipped the napkin away.

  All three kids looked at the eggshell. Aside from a small crack, it looked exactly the same.

  “Oops,” Marcus said.

  “Is something supposed to happen?” Cassie asked.

  “There should be a new egg in its place,” Marcus explained.

  He tapped the egg again. Nothing happened.

  “I guess the yolk’s on me,” he said, shrugging.

  Cassie and Alex giggled.

  “Try another trick,” said Cassie. “You just need to keep practicing.”

  Marcus nodded. “The Great Fandango never gives up!” he cried. He pointed his wand at the scarf that Cassie wore. “Would you mind if I borrowed your scarf?” he asked.

  “Not at all,” Cassie replied. As she untied the scarf and gave it to Marcus, the silver moons on it sp
arkled.

  “I’ll place the scarf up my sleeve. And when I wave my wand, the scarf will multiply to make one hundred scarves!” Marcus explained.

  He waved his wand in the air, then reached inside his sleeve. He frowned slightly.

  Oh, boy, Cassie thought. The trick’s gone wrong again. Poor Marcus.

  Marcus looked up his sleeve and slowly pulled out . . . Cassie’s scarf!

  “That’s weird,” he said. “It’s supposed to be a string of scarves all knotted together.”

  Then he lowered his arm — and a plastic egg dropped out of the sleeve!

  Marcus opened his eyes and mouth wide, making the funniest surprised face, and Cassie and Alex burst out laughing.

  “Well,” he said, “at least I found the egg!”

  Cassie giggled. “You’re so funny!”

  “But I’m not a very good magician,” Marcus said sadly. “I have lots of practicing to do this morning if I’m going to make Lia’s birthday party special.”

  He gave a bow, swirled his cape, and walked out of the dining room.

  “I’d better get going, too,” Alex said. “It stopped raining, and I promised to take Comet for a walk. Do you want to come?”

  “I should help Dad wash the guests’ breakfast dishes,” Cassie replied. “But I’ll see you later.”

  “Okay,” Alex said, waving and heading off to find his puppy’s leash.

  Down by her feet, Twinkle meowed loudly at Cassie. It was as if he was trying to tell her something!

  “Ooh, just a minute, Twinkle.” Cassie concentrated hard on the crescent moon charm on her bracelet. After a minute, silver sparkles swirled around the bracelet and her furry cat.

  “Now I can understand you,” said Cassie. “What were you saying, Twinkle?”

  “That boy is funnier than a dog chasing its tail!” Twinkle meowed.

  “Marcus is funny,” Cassie agreed. “He really wants to be a magician, but he keeps getting his tricks wrong.” She looked at her pretty flower charm. “I wonder if my new charm could help him.”

  “I think he’ll need a lot of help,” Twinkle said, batting the plastic egg under the table. “But I like him even if his tricks don’t work.”

  “Me, too.” Cassie smiled as she piled the breakfast plates onto a tray. She had just picked up the last plate when she spotted a dazzling streak of light stretching across the sky outside the window. A shooting star!

  Twinkle spotted it, too, and bolted under one of the dining room chairs.

  “Dad,” Cassie called into the kitchen, “can I go out and play now?”

  “Of course,” her dad replied. “Thanks for your help.”

  Cassie ran outside, following the spinning star down the hill toward the apple orchard.

  With a whizz and a fizz and a zip-zip-zip, the star zoomed over the orchard. Then it slowed and hovered by one particular tree. Cassie watched as it grew into a column of dazzling light, which slowly changed into Stella Starkeeper!

  Wearing a glittering dress, a sparkling jacket, and shiny leggings, Stella sat on a branch swinging her silver boots back and forth.

  “It’s so good to see you,” Cassie said, scrambling up the tree and giving Stella a big hug.

  “You’ve been very busy,” Stella said, touching the new flower charm on Cassie’s bracelet. “You earned your fourth charm already. Good job!”

  Cassie beamed, feeling very proud.

  “Only three more charms to earn, Cassie, and then you’ll be a Lucky Star — just like me,” said Stella. She tapped the little flower charm. Cassie gasped as the charm transformed into a whole bunch of flowers before becoming a single flower again.

  “How did you do that?” Cassie asked, her eyes wide.

  “I’ll give you a clue,” Stella said with a wink. “Sometimes things appear out of thin air.”

  Then, in a cascade of glittering sparkles, she disappeared.

  Sometimes things appear out of thin air, Cassie thought. What does that mean?

  “Cassie!” a familiar voice shouted.

  Through the trees, Cassie saw Alex walking up. Comet was scampering nearby on the end of his leash.

  “Hi,” Alex said, running over. “Your mom asked if we would pick up the cupcakes she ordered from the Fairy Cupcake Bakery.”

  “Oh, good,” Cassie said, scrambling down from the branch. “Maybe we’ll see Kate there.” Cassie’s friend Kate often helped her mom make the cakes and cookies at their bakery.

  Cassie, Alex, and Comet walked down the hill and along the waterfront. Cassie peered around, trying to spot someone who might need her help. There were lots of people walking along the boardwalk, and there were kids on the beach building sand castles and splashing in the waves. Everyone looked perfectly happy, enjoying the sunshine after the morning rain.

  I don’t see anyone who might need to make a wish, she thought.

  When they reached the bakery, Cassie took a deep breath. The air was filled with the amazing smell of cakes and cookies!

  “Comet, I think we’d better wait outside,” said Alex.

  As she pulled the door open, Cassie couldn’t help laughing at the little puppy, who was gazing longingly through the bakery window.

  Inside, the shop bustled with people buying the beautiful pastries, cookies, and cakes that lined the shelves. Cassie could see Kate and her mom busily serving the customers from behind the counter.

  Cassie joined the line behind a cheerful-looking lady carrying lots of bags and boxes.

  “I’m here to pick up a birthday cake,” the lady said when it was her turn. “It’s for my daughter, Lia. She’s turning five today.”

  Cassie realized that the lady was Marcus’s aunt! The cake must be for his cousin’s party, she thought, where Marcus is going to do his magic show.

  “Oh, Mrs. Chen,” Kate’s mom said, “you’re a little early, so I’m afraid it isn’t quite ready yet.”

  She pointed to a beautiful pink and white cake covered in yummy icing. There were five star-shaped silver candles on top. A marzipan fairy castle sat next to the cake, along with some sparkly fairies made from sugar.

  “The icing has to set completely before the fairy decorations can go on,” Kate’s mom explained.

  “I understand,” Mrs. Chen said, looking flustered. “But I have so many things to do for Lia’s birthday party that I don’t know when I can come back.”

  Cassie knew just what to do!

  “Excuse me,” Cassie said. “My name’s Cassie. Marcus is staying with us at Starwatcher Towers, and he told us about Lia’s party. Maybe my friend Alex and I could pick up the cake for you. I could ask my mom to bring us in the car.”

  “Oh, that’s very nice of you, Cassie,” Mrs. Chen said. “Are you sure your mom won’t mind?”

  “I’m sure,” said Cassie. Her parents were always offering to help the guests at the B&B.

  “Thank you so much,” said Mrs. Chen. “Would you and Alex like to come to the party? It’s in the garden at the Flashley Manor Hotel.”

  “We’d love to, thanks!” Cassie replied, but inside her heart sank. I hope Donna Fox doesn’t try to ruin Lia’s party, she thought. Donna’s parents owned Flashley Manor, and Donna liked to get her own way.

  Kate had finished helping the other customers, and now ran over to Cassie with a box of cupcakes.

  “They’re beautiful!” said Cassie, peeking inside the box. The cupcakes were decorated in swirls of yellow, orange, and green icing and topped with shiny cherries.

  “Mom put in a few extra cupcakes for you and Alex,” said Kate as she closed the pretty box.

  “Give her a great big thank-you for us,” Cassie said. Waving good-bye to Kate, she ran outside and joined Alex and Comet.

  “We have to go back and pick up
Lia’s birthday cake later,” she said. “I volunteered to help. And look — Kate’s mom gave us some extra cupcakes!” She lifted the lid of the box.

  “Yum!” Alex said. “They look delicious.”

  Comet yipped excitedly.

  “He thinks so, too.” Alex laughed.

  “Let’s bring a cupcake to Marcus,” Cassie said.

  “Great idea,” Alex agreed. “We can find out how his magic tricks are going.”

  Cassie held on tightly to the cupcake box as she and Alex ran back up the hill to Starwatcher Towers, Comet yipping the whole way. They picked out the extra cupcakes to share with Marcus, and left the rest on the kitchen table.

  But where was Marcus?

  They searched all over Starwatcher Towers. He wasn’t in his guest bedroom or in the living room, dining room, or kitchen. They even checked Cassie’s dad’s observatory and her own bedroom at the top of the house. But there was no sign of Marcus anywhere.

  “It’s almost like he magically disappeared!” Cassie said.

  Cassie and Alex sat on the front steps of Starwatcher Towers, wondering where to look next. Twinkle was dozing in the sunny flower bed. Comet licked the old cat’s ear, and Twinkle opened one sleepy eye.

  “Twinkle likes to watch the guests coming and going,” Cassie said. “Maybe he knows where Marcus went.”

  She concentrated on her crescent moon charm. Silver sparkles swirled around her bracelet — and around Twinkle, too!

  “Twinkle, have you seen Marcus?” asked Cassie.

  “I think he went to the apple orchard,” Twinkle replied. “He almost tripped over me because of all the boxes he was carrying. I had to move off the front steps.”

  “Thanks, Twinkle,” Cassie said, giving the cat a tickle under his chin.

  Leaving Comet in the garden to play with Twinkle, Cassie and Alex ran to the orchard.